2009 - The Year of the PS3?

Allow me to preface this post with the following: I do in fact own an Xbox 360 and its probably seen more hours of play than every system I have ever owned combined. In fact I would go so far as to say that I could be classified as an Xbox 360 fanboy. In fact I have owned a PS3 twice, the first time being so frustrated with the lack of decent exclusive titles that I traded the thing in. This is meant to temper the reality of what I am about to say.

The PS3 is getting it done in '09.

To look at this in a coldly analytical way look at the metacritic reviews of games for this year.

# of Reviewed games with a composite score of more than 90%

360 - 7

PS3 - 9

So just on the face of things the Sony Machine has put out a greater number of high-quality games this year. The telling statistic is this: Of those games in 2009, Xbox has zero exclusive titles with scores greater than 90%. PS3 has 4 so far. (Demon's Souls, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, MLB:09 the Show)

Of multiplatform games the PS3 games are slightly less well reviewed in some cases (and rightly so giving the coding foibles of the machine and the much less friendly online experience).

Could it be that for hardcore gamers the PS3 has turned a corner this year? While its sales numbers lag, good games drive console sales. If the system continues producing exclusive games that, frankly, rock - then it cant be long before some sort of relative parity is achieved. Both consoles have their upcoming novelty gag control systems involving motion control which may give Xbox the edge again given the interest in Project Natal - but the gaming outlook for 2010 is bright with PS3 exclusives like MAG, GoW3, The Agent, Heavy Rain, L.A. Noire, The Last Guardian, Twisted Metal, DC Universe Online and FFIV.

Here's hoping that the bar continues to be raised for both platforms - Better games = happy gamers.

Here's one major flaw - no one buys a console solely for their exclusives. Even though the PS3 may have come out with more games with a 90% rating, doesn't mean that it has more games with an 80%, 70%, 60% and so on.

You seriously can't look at this situation with so little titles.

I have no console preference, I just think that judging this kind of subject with only exclusives is absurd. And let's not forget - Sony started off in the mid 90s, where it was far easier to come up with game titles that would become wildly popular and successful. By the time the Xbox came around, it was actually much harder to come up with new titles that would stick out like those you have mentioned, and Sony was far more experienced with the gaming industry, which would lead to good decision making. Then comes your God Of War, Uncharted, blah blah blah. You get the picture.

Heres another thing, what does the X360 already offer? Sony and their supporters can't keep proclaiming a turnaround based on events and releases that haven't occured yet. Why else do you think its become a running joke about "the killer app" that's going to save the PS3? Even in the months of Sony's biggest releases, the PS3 still failed to outsell the X360 in those respective months.

Personally, when I go to the cashier, I don't limit myself to games with at least a 90% on some score aggregator site. If a game looks cool, I'll get it.

And honestly... exclusives don't mean as much as they did last gen or the generation before that.

Percentages and exclusivity are fine if you want to fan the flame of the fanboy wars. But here in the real world, it just doesn't work that way.

For me 2008 was the year of the PS3, with MGS4, LBP, Resistance 2, and Valkyria Chronicles. 2009 is its second year if you will.lostn

Same here.

Though I would scratch Resistance 2 and replace it with Motorstorm Pacific Rift. Best racer I've played in years!

And yeah, exclusives wise, Sony's line up has been a bit better than Microsoft's. PS3 has 5 great exclusives this year (KZ2, Flower, Infamous, Uncharted 2, Ratchet & Demon Souls if you're into that sorta thing. :P) while the 360 has four, (Forza 3, Halo 3 ODST, Shadow Complex, Halo Wars... if you're into that sorta thing. :P). So my point is that, it's pretty even and it comes down to taste & a matter of preference. I prefer Sony's lineup, but for Halo and Forza fans, this was probably the year of the 360.

The year isn't over yet, so it is difficult to tell. That said, who cares. Just play video games and don't worry about who "wins"

The year isn't over yet, so it is difficult to tell. That said, who cares. Just play video games and don't worry about who "wins"

heysharpshooter

Agreed, 1,000%

Heres another thing, what does the X360 already offer? Sony and their supporters can't keep proclaiming a turnaround based on events and releases that haven't occured yet. Why else do you think its become a running joke about "the killer app" that's going to save the PS3? Even in the months of Sony's biggest releases, the PS3 still failed to outsell the X360 in those respective months.

MarcusAntonius

Like I've said in every PS3 game thread (including those of LBP and KZ2) the PS3's problem isn't software, but price. For most of its existence ithas been A) more money than most people are willing to spend on a system and B) too expensive vi a vi the X360.

Remember, the only time the PS3 outsold the X360 in the US was for the six or so months MS didn't respond to Sony's first pricecut (the PS3 was still the more expensive system, but the price gap was narrower). MS's response (which game in time for the holidays) reopened the chasm inbetween the pricing of the X360 and the PS3.

MS's current pricecut merely lowered the price of the most popular model of the X360 to that of the PS3, so while I'm not predicting that the PS3 will outsell the X360, its a safe bet that the PS3 will perform better vi a vi the X360 than itdid say, three months ago.

I'm jonesing hard for a ps3 with the recent price drop and great titles like Demon's Souls and Uncharted 2. I've had a 360 since day 1 and haven't had much of a reason to get a ps3 until now (the price drop being a major factor).

Well like I said this isnt about one console being better than the other its about a recordable trend.

And as for metacritic ratings its just a composite which gives us a benchmark for comparison thats more or less unbiased and universal. And yes most of the games you'll ever play will be less than a 90% by metacritic - however the point of this was to show the statistics which plainly demonstrate the assertions I made - that as a gaming machine the PS3 is starting to look competitive. That it is starting to produce in quality (if not quantity) games that make the system a safe investment for the future and that as this trend continues it will start pushing the systems more towards parity. This is a good thing as it means more competition, more good games and more fun for gamers.