Following on from the "best PS first party game ever" thread, if we set aside third party for a moment and just focus on Sony's own games, which PS system do you consider to have the best first party lineup, and what's your argument for why it's the best?

Note: For the purposes of this thread, this is in terms of original/new first party games, not counting backwards compatibility with first party games from prior systems.

I’ve never really played too many PS first-party titles (though I did recently purchase a PS1 recently!), so I cannot vote on this. EDIT: Actually, I’ll vote PS1. Spyro and Crash (are these first party?) are enough to sway me.

That said, to share some thoughts, my understanding of all five home console systems is this: PS1 was varied and original, PS2 did everything PS1 but significantly better, PS3 tried to repeat PS2 but fell a bit short, and PS4 & PS5 have abandoned the original generations’ approach of wide library of mixed results, instead prioritizing quality over quantity — a respectable model especially for people who don’t have the time nor money for hundreds of games.

From this perspective, I’d say PS2 and PS4 are the most attractive generations… but for polar opposite reasons. PS2 is filled with a wide library of short-and-sweet experiences, so there’s no pressure to feel as committed to any single game; PS4 is far less overwhelming in its options, and every title is crafted with a very high standard of quality.

As far as handhelds are concerned: PSVita was a Japanese machine with virtually no support for western devs, PSPortable was filled with an okay library of on-the-go games which paled in comparison to the home console experience.

PS4

PlayStation 2, but PS1 is a close second.

You have your bigger hitters like God of War and Twisted Metal, Jack and Daxter. Then they put out Ratchet & Clank. Mark of Kri, Wild Arms. Sly Cooper. For better or Worse, Killzone. Made that Jet Li game. Published Rogue Galaxy. Dark Cloud 1-2. Ico. Extermination. Okage. Kinectica. Frequency. Drakan the Ancient Gates. Everquest. Hot Shots Golf. Soccom. Jet X2O. War of the Monsters.The Getaway. Primal. Arc The Lad. ATV off Road. Eye Toy games. Syphon Filter. Champions or Norath. Genji. Shadow of the Colossus. Ape Escape 3. GT. Singstar. BUZZ. A bunch of sports sims.

Even ignoring the vast 3rd party library of PS2. If you just wanted a Sony-published game. They had a genre for you. They covered almost anything. Variety and mostly quality.  In Where PS3 era, they mainly just did shooters, and PS4 era became sad dads in forests, and the PS5 just Fart gas. 

Easily PS3. My two favorite Sony first party games ever in Uncharted 2 and Last of Us. My introduction to Ratchet and Clank games. God of War, and Killzone games, and Fat Princess.

PS2 library is the greatest library of first party/third party exclusives this side of the NES. It wins for me. Every time.

It's pretty close between PS3 and PS4. PS3 has the quantity of titles, but PS4 took the quality to the next level.

Uncharted 4, Horizon, Driveclub, Spiderman, God of War, Bloodborne, Ratchet, Ghost of Tsushima....

Nostalgia and variety makes me want to pick PS3 though.

PS3

God of War 3, Resistance series, Uncharted 1-3, Twisted Metal, MAG, Ratchet and Clank, GT5 and GT6, Motorstorm, Littlebigplanet, Heavy Rain, White Knight Chronicles and Demon's Souls, Infamous 1 and 2, PS Move games, MLB, Journey and other indie games, Playstation all Stars Battle Royale, Tokyo Jungle, Singstar and many more.

The vast variety leads it to be the best, despite me personally not liking the majority of it.

Other PS 1st party games couldn't really pull me away from the 3rd party games, though there were a few gems.

I think the top three would be the PS2, PS3, and PS4.

PS2 for having generation defining titles like God of War, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and the Jak, Ratchet and Sly trilogies, Gran Turismo 3 and 4. It took the blueprints of the PlayStation style the PS1 established and further developed upon them. Honestly, the PS2 era really was when the "PlayStation" aesthetic really came into its own. People forget how foundational this system was for the brand.

PS3 started off a bit weak. But once Sony ramped things up, then arguably became the greatest first party lineup that generation. Big titles like the Uncharted and Resistance trilogies, The Last of Us, the Infamous and Killzone games. Platformers like LBP, Ratchet, & Puppeteer. And truely unique and unusual games like Folklore, Heavy Rain, Journey, Everyday Shooter, Eye of Judgement. Huge amount of variety, and most of it very high quality.

PS4 also doesn't get enough credit sometimes. It may not have as many AAA releases as 2 & 3, But the games it does have really delivered. Horizon, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, Bloodborne, Ghost of Tsushima, Dreams. And you still had a wide variety of other stuff like Knack, Astro Bot's Rescue Mission, Gravity Rush 2, The PlayLink games, Entwined, etc.

If I had to pick one though... It's the PlayStation 3.

Best Third Party Console Exclusives: Playstation 1 & 2
Best First Party Exclusives: Playstation 3