The reason I believe Sony's exclusives can't sell as well as they should this gen.

[Jay520]

When it comes to the PS3, a game's success is mainly dependent upon the game itself. Specifically, it's quality, longevity and it's appeal. When a game has those two qualities in abundance, it receives appropriate marketing and it then sells as much as it should.

A lot of times, high quality games get high rankings, so it's fairly simple to find quality. Appeal is how attractive a game is, based on the general nature of the game, to it's potential audience. Games with low appeal have low potential for sales, regardless of quality. However, games with high appeal has lots of potential and only needs the quality to fill that potential. Longevity is simply the amount of time a person can spend with a game before they become bored with it. Games with low longevity typically have a lower potential as a lot of gamers will decide to rent them rather than buy. Let's look at a few of Sony's IP's.

Gran Turismo. Quality: High - The GT series is known amongst critics and gamers as the most realistic driving simulator. Appeal: High - There is a huge number of people interested in cars & driving simulators, particularly in European countries. Longevity: High - The massive amount of content included in these games also encourages consumers to buy the games, not just rent them. It sells extremely well.

Uncharted. Quality: High - Uncharted's cinematics & production values combined with smooth controls rank Uncharted as top-tier in the industry for action games. Appeal: High - Much like the movie industry, a large amount of people enjoy the simplistic, action-packed, adrenaline-filled titles that they can spend a few hours on without too much thought involved. Longevity: Low - Though high quality, the Uncharted games are short. I think it's common knowledge that the Uncharted games are popular for their campaigns, which can be finished in 10 hours or less. After which, the games serves little value. It sells very well.

God of War. Quality: High - Like Uncharted, GoW's cinematics, smooth controls, & sheer epicness is highly praised. Appeal: Moderately High - Again like Uncharted, God of War reels in consumers because it offers the visual eye candy & an action-packed ride for very little thought required. It is slightly less accessible than Uncharted in some areas though. For one, it's in the hack-&-slash genre, which isn't exactly famous for having high sales. Secondly, it takes blood & gore to a level beyond what you'll find in another M rated game like Halo & CoD. This excessive gore is likely the culprit behind it's low sales in Europe. (See European sales for other bloody games and see if you find a patten. Hint: Gears of War, Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil, Dead space all see drastically low sales in Europe). Longevity: Low - Same as Uncharted. 10 hour campaign. Only worse because it doesn't even offer multiplayer. It sells very well.

LittleBigPlanet. Quality: High - Critics & gamers agree that LittleBigPlanet is one of the most creative titles to enter the industry. Appeal: Moderate - There aren't that many platformer fans on the PS3. The "kiddy" look of the game certainly turns away a lot of PS3 owners as well. For the Platform fans on the PS3, they probably were turned off by the floaty jumping. Longevity: Moderate - High - I wasn't sure what to put for this. LittleBigPlanet's good levels are probably hard to find for a lot of gamers. I know I had troubles finding any decent levels in the game and I'd imagine the average gamers has had more problems. It sells respectably (sp?)

Killzone. Quality: Moderately high - Killzone (particularly KZ2) has received a lot of praise from gamers & critics for it's unique controls, in-your-face action, and tactical gameplay. Though even some of the most hardcore gamers detest it's controls. Appeal: Moderately Low - Yeah, it's a shooter, but it's very hardcore. Gamers are used to having FPS controls like CoD. They need to move fast. They need to aim fast. They don't want to wait. They don't want to plan. They don't want to think. They want to react. They just want action. And they want to shoot people in the face without difficulty. No doubt the controls turned away a lot of people. Longevity: Moderately High - It has a good online system & some cool unlocks to keep people playing. Sadly, the appeal, the nature of the game, turns people off from the beginning. It sells modestly I'd say.

Games rated in the mid to low 80s (InFamous, Resistance, and my beloved Ratchet & Clank) are viewed as B-Level. And though that isn't bad, consumers rarely buy things when there's a better alternative (A-Level games) which explains their low sales.

Games like Demon's Souls & Valkyria Chronicles. Though of high quality, have very low appeal, which explains their "low" sales.

There are other factors for a game's sales also like uniqueness, but I think I covered the major 3. Quality, Appeal, & Longevity. Marketing is very important as well, but once a game has 2 or 3 of the previously mention traits, the game receives decent marketing. That's why game like Uncharted & God of War received big marketing pushes, while Infamous & Resistance did not. No point in spending so much on a game with (relatively) low potential.

This same rule applies to multiplats. A game like Skyrim is of high quality, appeal, & longevity. It sold well. Yes, even CoD is seen as being high quality. And it has enormous appeal and longevity. It sells well. Same for Halo. Same for Battlefield. Same for GTA. As you can see, game with two of the three traits are usually successful. Games with all three are very successful.