Sony need another huge franchise, what will it be?

[Sullla]

I disagree with most of the posters here. You don't create huge franchises by creative derivative games that imitate what other developers are already doing; it's foolish for Sony to try and out-Halo Halo with extremely similar games. Yes, Killzone 2 is an exceptionally well made game with high production value and outstanding multiplayer. At the same time, it's extremely similar to Gears of War. Sony is never going to get a true breakout hit by developing shooters that are imitative of so many others already out on the market, no matter how well made they happen to be. Ditto for any kart racing spinoffs - Nintendo has that covered already, don't waste your time.

The good news is that I think Sony has a good chance to develop something genuinely new that could be a major hit. Ideally, it would be something that leverages the unique features of the platform that can't be duplicated elsewhere, so possibly something that makes use of hard drive space, free online, Blu-ray content, etc. I liked the direction that Little Big Planet took, and potentially something really creative could emerge from a focus on online community/user-driven content. I don't know what form that would take, as we're talking about a game/franchise that doesn't exist yet! But Sony has talented people, they can come up with something.

I also think Sony would be wise to bring back a central mascot/face for their platform; look at how well the Crash Bandicoot games did on the original Playstation. It would need to be something with a lot more universal appeal than God of War or Uncharted, however.