420°

When Sony Almost Conquered the Shooter Scene

Eric from GamR Mag writes: "...the truth of the matter is that Sony nearly stole the show from Microsoft when it comes to shooters. Some of these games ended up doing pretty well, a few struggled, and one fell flat on its face."

slinky1234563881d ago

Sony has many exclusive titles in just about every genre, while ms just has a couple in some and none in most.

ABeastNamedTariq3881d ago

I'd have to agree with that. Shooter and racer mostly, IIRC. They're still fun, but.. You know.

shivvy243881d ago

I really hope someone picks up the Resistance franchise, I was a huge halo fanboy until I got resistance on my 14th bday back in 2007 ! Man I was hooked on both 1 and 2 ! I liked 3 but it didnt feel like a resistance game ! I reckon insomniac didnt have enough to fund R3 so the game was smaller , small mp , no co-op compared to the huge scale in R2

UltimateMaster3881d ago

I really loved MAG, Sony should've kept Zipper Interactive.
They should make a sequel.

Campy da Camper3881d ago

What I like about Sony is they take chances with devs. Some of what I consider this gens greatest games (TLOU, Heavy Rain, Infamous, Little Big Planet, Demons Souls) have been on the PlayStation.

Games with a awesome SP are what I prefer. Sure, mp can be fun but I spend 60.00 on a game that I want to sit in a dark room, wired in to my LED 55" with my Sennheisers 7.1 surround sound headphones and become lost in for hours at a time.

I don't care so much for loadouts and Hollywood voice acting I want a game with great atmosphere and unyielding gameplay. I want to turn off my console and sit there for a few minutes having to process what I just played. I want to be at work physically but mentally day dreaming about how I'm going to tackle that level and research online other peoples comments about being stuck or over burdened by an enemy. This is the sum total that makes a game great.

The order, second sun, knack, the next ND and MM game...this is what excites me to buy a ps4

AbortMission3881d ago

Meh. Resistance shouldn't be milked anymore. R3 was a good ending.

I want new memorable IPs instead for the PS4 and Vita!

itBourne3881d ago

R:FoM was possibly the best shooter of this generation. R2 was trash and not even remotely like the first resistance. R3 was a CoD syndrome game, the story was trash (sp gameplay was fine). Resistance was the best thing Sony had going and whether it was Sony or Insomniac they ruined it. I know at lest 15 people that abandoned Resistance when it came to R2. 4 people that bought a ps3 because of RFoM as well, and didnt like any of the sequels

I_am_Batman3881d ago

@AbortMission: I really have to disagree. If there was anything that I disliked about Resistance 3 it definately was the ending. I really was hoping to get to the world of the ancient chimeras or at least for them to get in the real world. The actual ending was way too predictable. I'm not a huge fan of happy endings just for the sake of it. I especially liked the ending of Resistance 2 because it took me by surprise.

ohiostatesman3881d ago

It doesn't really matter because Sony does not have Halo. The king of FPS games.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 3881d ago
TomShoe3881d ago

If I wanted a console that was entirely about FPS games, I'd get an Xbox.

UltimateMaster3881d ago

And I'd agree with you more if bungie was still making Halo.

But so far, Microsoft doesn't have an Exclusive First Party Shooter coming out this year, which is kinda odd. Halo's only coming out next year.

CrimsonStar3881d ago

Xbox 1 : no exclusives for shooters
PS4: KZ-SF , Planet side , and war thunder (think that's what it is called)
Your comment just imploded with an incredible amount of contradiction .

JBSleek3881d ago

That is disingenuous really at the start of this generation because MS is launching without their major shooter games while Sony actually is.

Fireseed3881d ago

Except they don't even have a fighting game for launch... let alone an exclusive.

JP13693881d ago

Key words: At launch. Over the course of the console cycle it's very likely that Sony will produce more exclusives with more variety. But, you keep pointing to that narrow window of time in which most of their studios and third party partners won't have had the opportunity to release or show their newest products and act as if that's somehow a barometer for the next 5-7 years. How'd that turn out the last three generations?

WeAreLegion3881d ago

Killer Instinct looks good, but it easily could have been a 360 title.

pr0t0typeknuckles3881d ago

I completly agree with you,heck tge reason I like Sony and nintendo mire cause they have a bigger variety than Microsoft.

humbleopinion3881d ago

Actually last gen started quite the opposite: Sony came strong from the PS2 era in JRPGs and action-adventure games (especially platforms), plus they had the ultimate racing franchise, while Microsoft was much stronger in FPS games and Western RPGs.

So both focused on their weaknesses: MS started with some action-adventure and platforming efforts with games like Kameo and Banjo, and at the same time focused heavily on JRPG - in fact the Xbox 360 was the best place for JRPGs until about two years ago when MS abandoned them and sony picked up the spoils of war - so now the tables have turned again. Microsoft also delivered PGR and Forza games back to back, and thanks to Sony missing the mark with GT it turned out that the 360 became the best place for racing franchises. Microsoft also put some focus on H&S games (Where Sony completely dominated last gen thanks to GOW and DMC), but after a few failed attempts (Ninja Blade, NNN and losing the Ninja Gaiden exclusivity) they bailed out.

Sony on the other hand focused on shooters: From Killzone to Infamous to Haze to MAG and SOCOM. But nothing in that least could even come close to dethrone Halo... hell - none of the games even comes close to the feature set offered by Halo 3 back in 2007. Not to mention the 360 had some assitance from games such as Metro 2033, PDZ, and (and that's exlcuding 3rd person shooters such as Gears). But it was eventually multiplatform games like COD and Battlefield that made FPS games a non-issue whichever console you owned

But sony also failed to hit one other major genre: the Western RPG. The PS3 practically had none (the closest thing was the ARPG Demons Souls). Meanwhile the X360 had the Fable series (which is only Semi-RPG), built up on the Mass Effect series (which was initially exclusive) and had some other console exclusives such as The Witcher and Divinity 2.

Sony also stayed on top the Platformer genre (with Ratchet and Sly games for example), while Microsoft expanded to the strategy genres (Halo Wars, Toy Soldiers for exmplae) with no real answer from Sony. Both had their 3rd party exclusive stealth-action game (MGS4 VS SC:C) but both have their sequels turned multiplatform so no real dominance here.

At the end of the generation it turns out that both have a varied selection of titles, with the PS3 strengths being mostly H&S and Platformers, while the 360 strengths are Strategy and RPGs. In almost all other genres each console has a fair share of exclusive counteroffers.

But lastly, microsoft also better capitalized on the indie market and small games segments, with Xbox Live Arcade outshining at least in quantity whatever the PSN had to offer. This is probably why Sony identified this as a key weakness of the PS3 and is now moving on full force towards the indie scene with the PS4. This gen is going to be very interesting.

savaroth3881d ago

"with the PS3 strengths being mostly H&S and Platformers, while the 360 strengths are Strategy and RPGs. "

Most of your arguement is actually good, but you forget to mention that MS has left RPG gamers out in the cold now the next gens are about to appear. Sony came with Ni No kuni and Tales of Xillia. MS came with what?

Do agree with your statement that MS did have a good start. Fable, Star Ocean ( THe PS version was better with dual JP/EN audio , but came out a year later )

humbleopinion3881d ago (Edited 3881d ago )

@savaroth

I actually agree with you - but please note that I was making a distinction between RPGs and JRPGs (who for most part aren't really RPGs in the same sense western games are).

Regarding JRPGs, I clearly stated that "about two years ago when MS abandoned them and sony picked up the spoils of war" - which is exactly whay you are saying. MS dropped the ball here.

But if someone is picking up the Xbox 360, he still has about 4-5 exclusive JRPGs not available on the PS3 to play (although most of them are from 2006-2009). Hell, Lost Odyssey is still one of my most recommended JRPGs to date this gen.

But when Regarding western RPGs - I still stand by my statement that Sony doesn't really have anything exclusive on the PS3 to counter what the 360 offers.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3881d ago
Amazingmrbrock3881d ago

Aww I didn't know they were shutting down the MAG servers. That makes me kind of sad. I haven't played it in a long time but I put a lot of hours into it. I'll probably never throw away the disk just because of all the memories.

MRMagoo1233881d ago

I would rather all devs put FPS games aside for a while and concentrate on different genres this gen.

shivvy243881d ago

I would like to see more platformers/adventure games

-Alpha3881d ago

I remember I used to be so hyped for Haze. My Halo friends would laugh at me... I had so much faith in Free Radical.

It's unfortunate how these shooters struggled. Resistance and SOCOM should have been so much more. Sony always had SOCOM, it's definitely the biggest disappointment and a title that should have succeeded if not for horrible management and cluelessness from the developers.

Bigpappy3881d ago

The only shooter I really wanted to play from Sony was Socom. I was playing Ghost Recon on Xbox and some of the feature in Socom sounded like they would have added to the fun in Ghost. Doing co-op online missions in Ghost was priceless though. Love those Xbox Ghost. GRAW was not quite as good.

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80°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers4h ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

z2g35m ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing3m ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H928m ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg16h ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos15h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion15h ago(Edited 14h ago)

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola11h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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350°

New SOCOM Game Possibly Leaked by Actor

Over on actoraccess.com, acting talent David Veach lists on his resume motion capture work for "SOCOM 111" by Sony. According to the resume, he is the co-star of the game.

Read Full Story >>
comicbook.com
_SilverHawk_18d ago

Hopefully true with a single player campaign and robust online multiplayer

InUrFoxHole18d ago

I remember at the time socom 3 had the best audio ever!

Cacabunga17d ago

I want to giggle, but i keep seeing those gaas ghosts those days😣

INMATEofARKHAM17d ago

I remember liking SOCOM 4 a lot for its single player... Its MP got delt a devastating blow right after it released so I think my memories of it were of the betas...

Anyhow, it released the week of the PSN hack that left the network being down for a week or two... I enjoyed the SP in that time but all of my group that was looking forward to it just went back to the previous MP games we had been playing (mostly Uncharted 2) because after that break everything felt fresh and new again.

purple10118d ago

O jeezuz, praise the lord

They have seen the light

purple10117d ago

More info: developed by Geruilla games, (so no kill zone anytime soon).

The studio hired ex- rainbow 6 siege developers in 2019, also hired Chris Lee as principal game designer, guess where he used to work, “Slant Six’, ive just been informed thats the PSP version of SOCOM: US Navy seals developer!!

2+2 equals four in this case lads! It’s gotto be’

Omegasyde17d ago

Great If True. I gave money to the H Hour kickstarter and it was sad how that turned out.

Shiro17317d ago

I'm still waiting for my ps4 copy 😭 lmao

Johnh522317d ago (Edited 17d ago )

If this is true graphics should be amazing using decima engine.

Amplitude17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

The only source I can find with the info you just said is one random Reddit comment from two years ago and a very fake looking box art of "Socom Resurgence" with Guerrilla's logo on it. Not saying it's not true but definitely take it with a grain of salt lol

It does seem likely that a new Socom game in 2024 would follow the same path as R6 Seige' Free to Play model though, unfortunately. I highly doubt we'll get a new Socom game that plays like Socom 2 and doesn't gouge you for microtransactions. It's too niche and too slow to hold the attention of the TikTok YouTube Shorts generation enough to be profitable. I'm equally as cynical about this as I was when waiting for Last of Us 2's multiplayer lol I dont trust this new "Games As A Service UwU" Sony very much. Helldivers 2 proved me wrong though so we'll see

Inverno17d ago

Don't let it be GaAS for the love of all that is gaming goodness. I only played the PSP games but I enjoyed them very much. If it does have multiplayer then I hope it's quality, FACTIONS needs a good replacement after it was cancelled.

Rynxie17d ago

Socom and MAG can only survive being a gaas game. I also don't mind it. I would gladly support a kz, resistance, mag or socom gaas game if it means longevity with updates.

Inverno17d ago

Longevity with updates can be achieved without it being GaAS, as evident by all the games supported long term before this service trend.

NotoriousWhiz17d ago

Games don't need to be supported long term to be successful. Just make a good game. Socom never had any updates because it was fantastic straight from the disc.

Rynxie17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

Socom would die again, if it's not a gaas game. Cod releases every year, in order to compete with cod and stay relevant in the market, socom would have to release yearly (resulting in rushed or poor quality releases). If not, every two to three years and that would mean it would never grow to the level of cod, because it would become irrelevant. Being a gaas game, socom could be updated regularly with content and remain relevant in the market.

NotoriousWhiz17d ago

Socom's community lasted for years without any updates. If they make a solid game, it can do the same.

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Johnh522317d ago

Multiplayer can really work as a gaas. But need a single player mode too.

outsider162417d ago

They Have to have a good single player campaign to atleast sell the game to players who love single player games. For online it's ok they can gaas it. I hardly buy them anyway unless its worth it and i support it.

ocelot0717d ago

Fingers crossed it's true. Socom confrontation was great imo.

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