drboot said:
Because Sony is the only company in this industry truly investing to make video games a valid artform.
Team ICO have an unlimited budget despite not making commercially successful games. Flower, Flow, MGS, LBP, and others, they make, sponsor and promote games with artistic sensibilities rather than just trying to cash in on the less sophisticated mainstream market.
They are willing to lose money on their consoles and their games (Team ico and others) to elevate the industry. Nintendo is doing the opposite by giving the perception of the industry being a toy, rather than a valid form of social, political or artistic expression/commentary. |
I agree with some of this in a different way. The Biggest reason I like Sony is they have provided innovation into the industry and have from day one. I don't mean with just consoles either. Electronics in general, Sony is a breeding ground for innovative new things.
Sony is far from perfect (I went through 2 PS2's, etc), Their prices are almost always too high, generally I have had horrible lifespans with their electronics but I like that they are always in the forefront of innovating new game IP's, new hardware innovations, and are almost always the first company to come out and stand on a limb with them.
A lot of people make a big stink about them losing some of their exclusive games (But here's the reason why I haven't been concerned). Sony develops new, great IP's, constantly. (Which is a way to keep ongoing success IMHO).
When I think about all of the game franchises that had Sony roots, It's impressive.
Games like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Guitar Hero, Devil May Cry, Onimusha, Time Splitters, Grand Theft Auto (I know it wasn't rooted in Sony but it certainly gained popularity and was given the carte blanche to do what they pleased and it resulted in a cult phenomenon. The list goes on and on too. (Twisted Metal, God of War, Metal Gear, Gran Turismo, Uncharted, Resistance, To a lesser extent, Kill Zone(Early yet), WipeOut, Warhawk and many others.
Sony also breaks away from that tired trend/mold that the other companies are too often stuck in. Don't get me wrong Sony has it's negatives and these other companies have their positives. But for me this is why Sony is better in a nutshell.
Nintendo is all about the kids or games that kids/casuals can play. What makes Nintendo great is they have always managed to make older, more mature gamers enjoy their casual games. My problem with Nintendo is that far too often they won't make ANY games for their more mature crowd and IF they do make these more mature games they are almost always dumbed down. (I know there is a few examples of actual violent games..RE4, etc, but not many and certainly far,far less than Sony/Microsoft).
Microsoft is all about the games that they can sell or market for mass appeal. Microsoft is the type of company that has done their research. They know the average age/sex/gaming desire of 90% of their potential buyers. As such, they know who and what to appeal to primarily and design many games around this. (Generally, their more successful games). Microsoft isn't just a shooter system(So I don't want to place it into that stigma) but it certainly deviates much closer to the stereotypes of what their owners or potential owners will stereotypically or 'statistically' enjoy.
What I like about Sony, is they provide almost all of the avenues of maturity that Microsoft provides but also make a good run at the casual side that Nintendo provides as well. Then on top of all of that. Sony provides games that are truly impossible to categorize (Like Flow, Flower,etc) but provide 'something' else into a stale industry. I'm not some artistic person by any means, but Sony brings variety and innovation IMHO.
Microsoft has a lot of potential I think and certainly might knock Sony off of their horse. However, my concern with this is that Microsoft to me hasn't shown enough innovation as it relates to original games (Beyond Halo and to a lesser extent Gears). They have gotten older Playstation franchise exclusives put on their system (Which is a great move for them) but their first party development is very barren IMHO. So what happens when the Halo/Ex-PS exclusives well runs dry? We'll have to wait and see if Microsoft can pull some rabbits out.
