By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
makingmusic476 on 27 August 2008
Edit Thread

That's the main problem with Sony. They have a history of making really great games, but many of them are new IPs, so they never really build up a strong brand recognition the likes of Mario or Zelda.

For example, going from Jak, Ratchet, and Sly last gen to Uncharted, Resistance, and InFamous this gen. The only one that has carried over so far is Ratchet.

Really, the only big Sony franchises carried over from last gen so far have been Ratchet and Gran Turismo (though only in the form of Prologue thus far). We have Socom on the way, and Killzone 2 (though I look at it as more of a new IP, because it definitely won't do well based on the success of the first), and God of War III later next year.

And Team ICO's games will probably be a sequel/prequel of some form, but the games will be so distantly related that Team ICO's older titles will have little impact on the selling power of the third, outside of extremely hardcore gamers like us.

Sony has two problems:

1. They do make sequels, but they pump them out way too fast. For Ratchets last gen? It was great for fans, but for many people it just got stale.

2. When they move to a new console, they tend to make lot's of new IPs, destroying much of the brand recognition between console outside of third party IPs. Just look at Naughty Dog, going from Crash, to Jak, to Uncharted.

What they need to do is get their developers to focus more on new IPs all the time, rather than just when a new console launches, while returning to older franchises maybe every other game, somewhat like Insomniac are doing now.

Imagine what would've happened if Insomniac had made two Ratchet and two Resistance games last gen. Resistance: Fall of Man would've been a system seller of sorts, and Ratchet & Clank Future wouldn't have been knocked as hard for being the same old stuff. Hell, if they went straight from the original R&C to R&C Future, it would've more akin to the transition from Super Mario Sunshine to Super Mario Galaxy, and Future would've been praised for all the added gameplay elements.

So, my point is that Sony should provide a constant mix of new IPs and well known franchises from it's developers, rather than having them pump out sequels way too fast for a few years, then moving to a new IP and never looking back. They just need to put more time between the sequels, and have the franchises span multiple consoles.