Source: www.examiner.com
Author: Matt Furtado
Every generation we see interesting twists and turns to the main competitors. We’ve seen Sega fail and bailout during the Dreamcast lifecycle, while Microsoft came into the picture as the next contender for the home console title. Sony and Nintendo have studied each other over the years and formed patterns to combat against each other. Nintendo relied strongly on superior first-party offerings, while Sony created strong third-party relationships and offered a wide variety of exclusive titles. A change of strategy is now being made.
Everyone attacks the PS3 for the weak sale numbers it reports every month. Never gathering massive success, many are declaring the PS3 as a failure and Sony’s first major misstep – unless you consider the PSP a failure. Nevertheless, Sony has a totally different stance on the PS3 and how it’s marketing the system. The PlayStation and PlayStation 2 were powerhouses when it came to third-party titles. They had some great first-party titles release, but the majority of the games people remembered and bought for those systems came from outside developers – except for titles like God of War, Ratchet and Clank and a select few others. Sony is now shifting gears to the Nintendo approach.
This generation, Sony has become much more reliant on the prospect of first-party offerings to bring in the gamers. Uncharted, InFamous, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, two Resistance titles, Ratchet and Clank, etc, have become the mainstay titles to the PS3. Thankfully, the first-party offerings from Sony have been amazing. Introducing several new franchises from established developers, Sony has been able to create a lineup strong enough to rival that of Nintendo. On the flipside, Sony doesn’t have the in with the third-party developers. This biggest, and by far one of the best games this generation, third-party title Sony has exclusive rights to is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. After MGS4, we have scrapings of major releases. Several niche titles have seen release like Disgaea 3 and the under loved Valkyria Chronicles. Sony had to make a shift and start crafting AAA first-party titles to counteract the sluggish third-party support.
If Sony became Nintendo, then who became Sony? Simple: Microsoft. Microsoft took advantage of their one year lead and built a strong online community via Xbox Live and hooked every third-party developer they could. Whether it was by paying for exclusives or just landing them, Microsoft captured every development team they needed for success. Any major multiplatform third-party title released this generation was developed on the Xbox 360 first – minus Final Fantasy XIII. Sony has had to get the hand-me-downs and these titles often felt incomplete or didn’t run properly on the hardware. Microsoft created an easy to use architecture for the Xbox 360 and it allows developers an easier time for development, while many have claimed the PS3 is too difficult to develop for. This sounds a lot like the PlayStation vs Nintendo 64 days. The CD format was much easier to use and offered more space compared to the massive N64 cart.
Nintendo is still the same Nintendo we have always known. They continue making the games they like to make and the third-party developers abandon ship very quickly. Unlike the last few consoles, third-party developers are staying around a bit longer with Nintendo, mostly thanks to the massive sales numbers the Wii has put up. With so many Wii consoles in homes, third-party teams are putting out more games, though mostly low-grade awful titles, and every so often we find a gem among them.
Is this the natural progression of the gaming circle of life? One thing is certain: Sony becoming more reliant on first-party offerings is definitely benefiting the gamer. We are getting higher quality titles every year and this year we will be enjoying Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, and MAG. That’s a good lineup.
