As Christmas approaches, the Daily Reaction duo of Seb and Dan interpret the latest lyric from the 12 Days of Christmas – six geese a-laying. Drunk on Christmas Sherry, we take a look at Sony’s biggest golden eggs this gen.
Seb: Sony might not have had the best time this generation, with billions in losses and a drop in market share, but they still have sold over 70 million PS3s. And, to support these gamers, they have a host of top-notch developers that they own to help release hit after hit.
Undoubtedly, Sony’s biggest success story this gen has been Uncharted – it has blown critics away (leading to the release of actual, legitimate GOTY editions), and, more importantly, it has sold phenomenally well. As of April, the series has passed 17 million – Gears of War has 19 million as of November, so that shows just how big a franchise it is for Sony.
Another big hit for Sony this year has been LittleBigPlanet. A fantastic game that really proved how the platform holder is open to creating unique and risky ideas that no one else would be willing to do (something they have also shown with Heavy Rain). While LBP hasn’t led to a Play.Create.Share revolution, it has definitely made more developers and publishers open to it, as well as allowing gamers to work out whether they’d actually make a good game developer. Plus, LBP has made Sony a lot of money, with over 5 million sales for the original release.
Killzone might not have been able to emulate the same level of success – with ‘only’ around 2 million sales for 2 and 3 – and it’s hard to argue that the game pushes any genre boundaries like LBP, but it is still a momentous achievement for SCE. Each game looks absolutely stunning, and presents a very gritty take on the future. Killzone began on the PS2 as a simple attempt at being a Halo killer, but it has grown to be far more.
Dan: Sony really has brought out a number of big guns this year with those 3 titles, and, while some were more successful than others, they do mark certain milestones in Sony’s list of amazing first party titles. Much like Killzone, Sony has had a number of amazing games that date back to the PS2 era, and, while some may not be as memorable as others, the one that has stood atop the fallen bodies of its forgotten comrades has definitely been the God of War series.
After losing Crash Bandicoot as a mascot, Sony needed to find another character who could lead them into the next generation of consoles, and they chose a man who would stop at nothing to accomplish his goal – Kratos. A character fans had been waiting for since the final days of the PS2 era, everyone knew that when Kratos made his presence known he would leave nothing intact. Then, in 2010, God of War 3 launched and Sony finally brought back the titular character and were able to move over 5 million copies.
While not a first party title, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has been a milestone in the history of the PS3 for a number of reasons. While also being the much anticipated endcap to the story of Solid Snake, the exclusive release of the title from a third party developer showed fans that Sony had not lost all of its support, and brought fans hope. During a time when Sony had lost franchise exclusivity on a number of titles, fans were not sure whether or not MGS4 would continue to be a figurehead for Sony’s black beauty. Releasing in 2008 exclusively for the platform, it sold over 5 million copies despite the exclusivity, making it a success both to Sony and gamers who needed to remember why they bought a PS3.
Ending our look at the biggest exclusives for the PS3 is one of the best selling Sony titles this generation, a game that many waited years to play again in full HD – Gran Turismo 5. A title so big they released a $40 demo called Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, a stripped down version containing only a few cars and tracks that sold over 5 million copies. Then, in 2010, the real Gran Turismo 5 hit and eventually went on to move over 9 million copies, and proved to fans across the globe that Sony still had some fight left after one of toughest console platform battles we have ever seen.
Which of Sony’s blockbusters this gen excites you the most? Or are you more interested in their upcoming titles like The Last of Us and Beyond? Let us know in the comments below, or watch us lay an egg on Twitter at Seb and Dan.
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