310°

Why Sony is Taking the Lead in Software Quality and Quantity

It has been a long and winding road for Sony as the Playstation brand now surpasses its 15th birthday. For the most part, they have only seen ups during this time, with a slight downturn during the previous two years, which appears to be coming to end with the recent price cut, overabundance of unchallenged software titles, and greatly improved online experience. How did Sony turn it around? Obviously getting the price down is one of the key reasons, but another aspect I think that many will overlook (because the game industry is very short sighted) is Sony's preventative, future-proof methods software strategy. Sony has created an unbelievable network of interrelated and high quality first and second party developers that consistently produce exclusively for them. This is something that sets Sony apart from Microsoft and Nintendo, which in a software perspective are complete opposites in two very distinct ways. I believe this will help explain the holiday season's lack of exclusive titles for the PS3's competitors.

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zoks3105661d ago

Make great unmatched games and people will come in droves. Cant wait to see what they do with motion controller gaming, if they put half the effort into motion controller games that they put it U2, KZ2, and many more then the PS3 will be the place to go for motion gaming for hardcore gamers.

Anon19745661d ago

Certainly Sony has no shortage of quality when it comes to their exclusives, but even with the multiplats we've seen developers out there start to shape up. Instead of the quick and dirty PS3 ports to make a couple of quick bucks back in 2007, we've now seen reviewers weigh in in 2009 and through their review scores show us that the majority of multiplats score better on the PS3 as well.

There are still a few developers who churn out those "quick and dirty" ports that they obviously didn't spend any time on transitioning over to the PS3 properly, but with the PS3's library so choke full of quality titles, I feel those developers will quickly discover that PS3 owners simply have more choice now compared to 2007, and will find that these half assed porting attempts just won't be as profitable as they were in the past.

saint_john_paul_ii5661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

the news was fake, the news came from a fake website.

EDIT: the source of the news wasnt in PSXextreme, but some website pretending to be R* newsfeed.

-Alpha5661d ago

To catch up to 360's software quantity as A-AAA games are still more numerous on the 360 since it came out a year earlier and got a list of good AA games.

Sony has first party software quality nailed down though.

Good relationships + talented teams + Great franchises + Money= Quality.

It's amazing how important good relationships is and how Sony gives its team freedom of choice (according to a blog from Jaffe)

5661d ago
Godmars2905661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

You say that and yet there hasn't been a highly recognized graphic quality title on the 360. Some titles have actually been downgraded since being announced like Alan Wake or not shown to full extent like most Halo titles.

Meanwhile Sony was questioned on Motorstorm and KZ2. Delivered on one.

MS has done well delivering an online player's network. Have had since Xbox1 to create it.

Bigpappy5661d ago

Lackluster sales of exclusives show that they are not the selling point for the system. Games like COD2, Batman, Madden and AC2 sold on the system better that the exclusives. The price is the biggest aspect of the improved sales. It gets some of those who owned the PS2 to move back to the brand even if they already owned another console. What exclusives like KZ2 and UC2 do is take the sting out of the fact that the multi-plat's usually look better on 360. They can also thank M$ for shooting themselves in the foot with the "RROD" hardware failures that were so widely publicized early in the life of 360. Had 360 not have this defect so early, the Wii would not be leading in the US, Canada, and maybe the UK. As it is the Wii only has a few million ahead of 360 in N. America according to NPD.

Rumor5661d ago

@this article

uncharted 2..... nuff said

zeeshan5661d ago

With PS3 you are most likely guaranteed that you will get to play multiplatform and more important exclusive AAA titles in different genre. For instance,

Action/Adventure - UNCHARTED 1/2 and Metal Gear Solid,
Racing - GRAN TURISMO 5,
JRPG - FFXIII Vs (I doubt it'll be an exclusive though)
Platform - R&C series
FPS - Mag/KZ2/Resistence
Drama/Thriller - Heavy Rain and some unique titles like The Last Guardian

and the list keeps going on. We know and I guess Sony knows that games like Heavy Rain, The Last Guardian won't ever sell that well, yet they still keep pushing the envelop, they give us more variety. I remember that about a year ago, I thought that PS3 is also turning into an FPS fest console (Resistence, Resistence 2, Killzone, MAG) but when they announced more titles, it became obvious how wrong I was and also how right I was when I bought a PS3 knowing that I will get quality, quantity with variety out of gaming.

-Alpha5661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

Graphics quality title?

There was nothing mentioned about graphics. That's a component in a game, but we are talking about overall, in which case sine its conception, the 360 has more overall A-AAA titles.

The 360 this year was wasted, which allowed Sony to catch up with their first party titles.

Sony is on a roll now as most of their studios can consistently release games to keep the PS3 active. And then of course there are the multiplats.

@Jack

Maybe, but I was talking about quantity, not the quality of rated titles.

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-Alpha5661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

We are not talking about the whole 360 library, we are talking about the quality A-AAA games, so I agree with you that quality> quantity but it is irrelevant in this case.

The title says that Sony took the lead, which is inaccurate. That's all I'm saying-- when you consider the whole lifespan of both consoles, the 360 has been around longer and has more highly rated games overall.

You keep telling me how great Sony's games are but your assuming I disagree with you. I'm telling you that statistically there are still more games on the 360 that fair between A-AAA.

Look, I'll even source this for you:

http://www.metacritic.com/g...
http://www.metacritic.com/g...

301 360 titles compared to 206 PS3 titles that fair 75% and over.

I can pull out gamerankings too, however its clear that there when it comes to quantity the 360 is still leading.

There is nothing more qualitative than UC2, though I do consider Halo 3 a qualitative package considering what comes with the game.

@darthv72

Yeah, I was listening to a podcast with David Jaffe and he was talking about how Sony would give your studio money and you literally had the free will to create whatever the hell you wanted and Sony would support you.

It's funny how stuff like this actually has worth in the business.

I think that's why we've seen more risks with Sony than with MS-- Sony simply feeds money to their studios and they have the freedom and care-free choices of doing something without having to worry about financial problems. That's why games like Heavy Rain and LittleBigPlanet exist.

darthv725661d ago

I can remember when it was nintendo pulling all the strings. Any company that signed a licensing agreement were locked out of making any game for a competing system. The agreements werent about certain games being made for the competition but about any game. period.

I also remember when nintendo got sued by all the different developers to change their agreements. This started the early days of multiplatform games back on the nes/genesis.

The difference between the monopolistic ways of nintendo then and sony now is sony actually treats their exclusive devs with respect. I do find it funny how they have become more like what EA used to be. EA would buy up any and all devs they felt was worth something based on their content. Orion, Bullfrog just to name a couple of good independent devs who got swallowed up by EA.

Sony does things a little different. As an independent dev, if you show interest in making for the ps3, they show interest in you. They wont just buy you outright...not yet any way. I like how sony treat their 1st and 2nd party teams, some of the close 3rd ones too (insomniac). In return for $$ invested in game development they get first dibs on any new projects. That seems pretty standard now.

MS doesnt seem to want the burden of managing teams like that which could explain their stance on buying content instead of teams to make content. MS to me seems like a strict micromanage type of boss where as sony is more laid back. If you produce results, you get more out of it for yourself. MS...if you produce results, they take credit for it and demand more. At least..when they had teams under their wings.

Nintendo...they just say: screw it...we have our fan favorites and people will always buy those. Let the other devs figure it out for themselves.

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sikbeta5661d ago

"Lackluster sales of exclusives show that they are not the selling point for the system. Games like COD2, Batman, Madden and AC2 sold on the system better that the exclusives"

So what?

The games are good cuz sell like crazy, so wii-fit and wii sport are THE BEST GAMES EVER MADE

If it not sell a sh*tload of copies in 1 day is not an +AAA game
/s

QUALITY > everything

"What exclusives like KZ2 and UC2 do is take the sting out of the fact that the multi-plat's usually look better on 360"

NO! Exclusives SHOW how Graphically Amazing a game can be if Devs put some effort and Deal with the Architecture instead of make a cr@ppy port

-Alpha5661d ago

I'm arguing that the PS3 still has less quality titles than the 360 which is undeniable. I think it's fairly obvious Sony-owned software trumps Microsoft-owned software in terms of quality and quantity.

Anyways, I see your point-- I misinterpreted to mean "PS3" has the lead. Sorry about that.

Christopher5661d ago

Sony is proving themselves, but this means absolutely nothing if they don't shove what they've down the throats of the the public through marketing. XBox 360 has the lead in software sales because they deliver fun products and market it well enough.

So, who's really winning out when people don't care about how much effort you put into making a quality game or how many quality games you put out? Sony is spending more money and getting less from it.

Trust me, I love Sony and my PS3, but no matter how much we sit here and tout what Sony does, in the end it doesn't matter to the overall public.

Saaking5661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

It is a fact that if you don't own a PS3 you WILL miss out on some of the most innovative, generation defining games such as LBP, UC2, MGS4, KZ2 etc. If you don't own a 360 you don't really miss anything big, other than more Halo and that's it. The 360's highest rated game is at 94 I believe, while the PS3 has like 3 exclusives that are rated higher. Not to mention the huge lineup of TRUE exclusives next year. PS3 is full of win and like the PS2 before it it's THE console for gamers.

And PS3 games sell fine in the US. Don't forget the ONE YEAR HEADSTART and the fact that the 360 OUTNUMBERS the PS3 2:1. The 360 will obviously sell at least twice as many games as the PS3 wouldn't it? It's expected.

For example: MW2 in NA(VGchartz numbers):
PS3: 2.71 million
360: 5.32

That IS pretty much a 2:1 ratio isn't it? So it's expected since the 360 leads in NA by 2:1. Get it?

Godmars2905661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

Does it make any difference to you that in your metacritic argument that thee are few if any 360 exclusive titles? Can you even name 10 popular titles that are 360 exclusive?

MS on its own, by the way the company does things, has not delivered quality. No matter how many times you wave the "games sell better on 360" it wont change the fact that most of those games aren't MS games.

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Microsoft Xbox 3605661d ago

You are counting the year of games the 360 came out when the PS3 didn't even have much games yet. Of course there were a handful of A-AAA games on the 360 back then, videogame standards were low back then.

-Alpha5661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

I know that there a few that are on PC, but it makes little difference considering the fact that there is a +100 difference.

When I was arguing with Jack I misinterpreted the title and assumed it meant PS3, overall, was taking the lead in software quality and quantity. Jack was arguing about exclusives. I wasn't.

"MS on its own, by the way the company does things, has not delivered quality. No matter how many times you wave the "games sell better on 360" it wont change the fact that most of those games aren't MS games."

Well "Sony" hasn't delivered quality then either, their studios have. Sony simply injects them with money and its the studios that actually deliver the quality. And I wasn't saying anything on games selling better on 360, so I see no reason why you would bring that irrelevant statement up.

@Microsoft

That's a poor excuse-- standards don't change, but as time goes on the bar is set higher. That's not unexpected, nor does it change the fact that games still redeem quality. If anything, graphics get outdated, but nothing to the point where a game loses quality due to it being unplayable. Now, of course games are always outdone but how does that help your argument? Because now, if your going to penalize games for being old, then you also have to penalize the PS3 games that are also as old, meaning we still end up with the same difference.

DMason5661d ago

While I do agree that Sony's quality is second to none, I believe their software sales are not as good as they should be. With the amount of quality exclusives recently (and the lack thereof on the 360) I'm surprised they dont have a higher attach rate.

Christopher5661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

Contrary to blind eyes, there are a lot of games that have sold at least 1 million more on the 360. It is very uncommon that a game on the 360 doesn't sell at least 25% more than on the PS3.

GTA4 - 1.4 million more
MW2 - 3.8 million more
MW - 3 million more
CoDWaW - 2.25 million more
Assassin's Creed - 1.1 million more
GH3 - 2.4 million more

As far as exclusives, while Sony does have some strong numbers, they normally come over a very long period of time and still don't match up to the 360's

MGS4 - 4.5m ........ Halo 3 - 10.6m
RFoM - 3.6m ........ GoW - 6.0m
MoSt - 3.5m ........ GoW2 - 5.4m
GT5P - 3.4m ........ ODST - 4.1m
LBP -- 2.9m ........ Forza 2 - 4.1m

I'm not saying that 360 games are better, but what I am saying is that sales have shown that people are less inclined to look for quality games that Sony is putting out and more into the very well marketed games that Microsoft is putting out. This goes for third-party titles as well.

Nor am I saying that one should not support Sony. All I am saying is that this tactic has so far proven to be a poor business decision considering their considerable losses in comparison to Microsoft.

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Sevir045661d ago

They dont need to reach out the 3rd parties to help diversify their platform. ^^

Godmars2905661d ago

Most 3rd party devs are working on clones of MW2, which is itself a poor example software quality.

Good marketing yes. Software quality no.

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NYC_Gamer5661d ago

Sony has great first&second party support..

Godmars2905661d ago

And that's why MS tries to buy/steal anything and everything that was on the PS2.

rawd5661d ago

knock knock, who's there.. PS3 overtakes 360 in Europe
OHHHHHH

table5661d ago (Edited 5661d ago )

Microsoft needs to start making some games, it's more advantageous to the gamers that way. It makes more sense to game with sony/nintendo when they are the ones supporting the gamer. The 360 does have quality titles, but microsoft throw money around for exclusivity as opposed to actually making a game. Not what I like to see.

Godmars2905661d ago

The PS1, the differences between FFVII and FFVIII says as much. Putting a DVD drive in the PS2 or the BR in the PS3 and saying, "Hey, lets do more than just play games!"

That's something that Nintendo hardly ever did since the NES. MS has yet to learn the lesson as they concentrate on getting something out. Fixing it later if need be, which it usually has to be.

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70°

Split/Second Is The Explosive Racing Game That Deserved a Sequel

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