Everyone knows that Sony isn’t fooling anybody with the consistent lack of killer apps being released for their PlayStation 3 as of late.
But according to a list featured within a thread on PS3Forums, there are currently one hundred titles currently in development for the console. However, will they be enough, at this stage in the game, to prevent the possibility of Sony placing down their crown more imminent than ever before?
Judging from the list of titles (most of which are exclusive to the platform), there are some undeniably big name franchises worth noting, one of which is Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy.
Despite the fact that the Japanese role-playing powerhouse has its own corporate agenda with the Final Fantasy franchise (some of which find unfavorable light with all of the spin-offs and re-releases of the earlier titles in the series), nobody can deny the power of the brand and the fact that the thirteenth installment of the series is exclusive to Sony’s technical beast — it’s almost an instant guarantee that it will move units off of store shelves at retail.
This discussion of exclusive games leads to another point: there is a distinct difference between the last generation (original PlayStaion) and present gen PlayStation (PS2) console in terms of third party support. Prior to the PlayStation 2 launch, gamers were well aware of the fact that their favorite, established game franchises (such as the aforementioned franchise in addition to others, such as Konami’s Metal Gear Solid and Eidos’s Tomb Raider) would strive forward into the following generation on the superior machine of their cherished platform.
For the most part, Sony’s second console quickly convinced early adopters that they needed one in their living rooms and a somewhat acceptable launch line-up of games tided them over until the heavy hitters were finally playable in their home.
However, this isn’t the case with the PS3 at all. It almost seems as though Sony has developed a somewhat we’re-the-king-of-this-castle-and-no one-is-capable-of-claiming our-throne type of attitude after their wild success with the PS2, and in turn forgotten what resulted in their dominance in the industry in the first place.
The company has admitted to allowing third party exclusives slip through their fingers like a freshly melted block of butter in favor of taking advantage of their own resources to develop games for their own platform. Despite the fact that development costs of this generation’s titles are through the roof, it’s probable that there are existing third party companies that would’ve appreciated support from Sony to aid them in the production of their titles. As a result, major third-parties were given no choice but to develop games for multiple platforms to stay financially sound.
So, this begs the question: is Sony seriously spiraling to its demise? While the six hundred dollar price point is an obvious factor among many to its lack of success on the market right now, there’s reason to believe that they aren’t completely damned.
Many of the titles listed on the PS3Forum thread have been announced, but a miniscule amount of these games have been actually presented to the general public in any form… for a while now, no less. While that’s not necessarily a positive indication of what we can expect, if a little more than half of these games offer great experiences unlike anything before, Sony might not have to hand over their crown just yet.
However, the pressure is on them from the rising success of other competing platforms on the market. Not only has the time arrived where it’s mandatory that they show what solid software they’ve got hidden up their sleeves to support the hardware they began distributing to gamers worldwide last November, but to satisfy the audience they’ve captivated all those years ago with their gray colored box that we all came to know and love.
Face it guys, we deserve it.
[Via PS3Forums]
