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Editorial: It’s Happening Again…

Okay, before I explain the headline, let me give you a brief history:

Right around the mid-'80s, Nintendo dropped my jaw with the NES (really, what young boy's jaw didn't drop at the time?), which I believed would make me a fan for life. The SNES reaffirmed that belief and although I liked the Genesis, too, I remained firm in my assessment that nobody beat Nintendo. Then came the N64 and the original PlayStation, and because my gaming preferences had shifted to RPGs, and my old favs like Chrono Trigger , Secret of Mana , and Final Fantasy VI seemed to take the next step on Sony's new machine, I vastly preferred it over the N64. In truth, I despised the N64. Then came the PS2/GC/Xbox generation and despite my hopes for Nintendo regaining my heart, the GC gave me little to get excited about. I owned both the PS2 and Xbox and for a time, the Xbox had a lot of stuff I wanted to play; it had the best multiplatform versions of most games, and I loved early stuff like Halo , Deathrow and Splinter Cell .

But as the generation progressed, I found my PS2 collection was simply growing a lot faster than my Xbox collection. Again, this was largely due to my RPG preference, but let's not forget the GTAs (if they weren't exclusive, they at least had lengthy timed exclusivity), and games with names like Devil May Cry , God of War , Katamari Damacy , Shadow of the Colossus , Amplitude , Gran Turismo , Metal Gear Solid . So, I ended up with like 60 PS2 games and maybe 15 Xbox games. Now…it's happening again. At one point, I had 6 Xbox 360 games and 4 PlayStation 3 games. I now have 23 PS3 games and 8 360 games. Why? Well, something happened that always seems to happen each generation: Sony came with the games. Killzone 2 , Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots , inFamous , Uncharted: Drake's Fortune , Warhawk , etc. And furthermore, because third-parties got past some early difficulties, most all multiplat titles are identical between the PS3 and 360 these days, and I prefer the PS3 controller, so…

Yeah, I got The Orange Box on the 360, and I played F.E.A.R. on the 360 because the PS3 versions were inferior. But then that changed, and since then, I've really only played Gears of War 2 . It ruled; don't get me wrong, but…well, other than Lost Odyssey and Beautiful Katamari , I haven't touched my 360 in over a year. Look, I don't go out of my way to find random games for the PS3 just so I can say I play it more. I don't avoid games on the 360 so I can make the same claim. All I want – all I've ever wanted – is to play the best games available that pique my interest, and I guess it's just a coincidence that for three generations running, I own multiple consoles but invariably end up playing Sony's machine more often. A lot more often. And looking down the road, we all know what Sony's exclusive lineup looks like, so I don't see anything changing drastically in the coming years.

Don't ask me why this keeps happening. I have no answers. But it has happened again… 😉

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napoleon85
napoleon85
14 years ago

I'm with you Ben!


Last edited by napoleon85 on 6/19/2009 9:44:28 PM

bamf
bamf
14 years ago

I started my gaming with the Sinclair ZX Spectrum with the cassette tapes that made the horrible noise when laoding the data. My friend had an Amstrad and would never allow anyone else to have ago (tight Ass) My Dad told me about the Commador Amiga 500 and I wanted it. I got the Amiga 500 plus which had 1mg of memory, wow. My friend got the NES with that Robot rubbish that never did anything and his brother had the master System with the built in Alex the kid game. I still had my Amiga and when the Genises and snes came along, I convinced my brother to get a snes and my sister to get the gensis at one christmas. Through those times I can say I never prefered one console over the other, I liked Sonic more than Mario as I felt each Sonic felt different from the other where as all the Marios where he same till Mario World came out (Mario world being the only Mario game I liked) I can also say all my friends and me didn't really care too much for gaming and would spend more time outside at the park with sports or disappearing on adventures. I was never wanting the next game or looking forward to a game until Donkey Kong Country came out. The first game I ever wanted.

Years later my friends brother got the Saturn and thought it was a good console. Not bothering with owning one or looking at what the PS1 was about. But then there was one significant day that change me forever. Someone borrowed me their Playstation as he had a few games. Tell you the truth, he left his Playstation at a friends house and we been up all night playing Tekken. He went home in the morning and I went home with the Playstation under my arm to play more Tekken, than he said I could borrow it. My intentions were to better myself at Tekken. With the console there was this game called Tomb Raider. When I played this game I was immediately hooked and at that point I wanted a Playstaion so bad. This game was something I've never seen or experienced before and more powerful hardware that allowed better gaphics in 3d really did change the way we thought about and played games. I had to have a Playstation and I rally got into gaming much more at this point and I've been gaming ever since.
When the n64 came about, I had a nosey but there was nothing that interested me like how PS games were doing. Besides I found the N64 visuals to be too blurry and I always found them unappealing to look at.
So when I heard of another more pwerful PLaystation was coming I was intrigued. I remember getting a DVD (could be from PSW mag?) and this DVD had a trailer of Metal Gear Solid 2. Metal Gear Solid on PS1 wis my favourite PS1 game. After I saw the MGS 2 trailer I knew at that moment I was 100% getting a PS2 and I pre-ordered one when pre-orders came available. I gave this DVD to a friend and he told me as soon after he seen the MGS 2 trailer, he went out and pre-ordered a PS2.
The xbox came but I never wanted to play and didn't know anyone who owned one, they were never popular in my area. There were many exclusives on PS2 that totally outstripped the xbox and PS2 library was absoloutely massive. Multiplatform game had been superior on xbox but only by a little, sometime unnoticeable, like for instance Burnout that looked very similar visually to each other. The PS2 versions of multiplatform games were never broken.

WHen the 360 came first I never had the intended to go out and buy one until Gears came out. I had played a few 360 games, Ghost Recon, condemmend and thought they were good but I had seen what the PS3 was bringing. I had seen the specifications, Cell, bluray etc. and I confident the line-up of games would be better. Having both PS3 and 360 in the first year of PS3, I did go for 360 versions f multiplatform games. Unlike the PS2 were the multiplat games were great, PS3 versions of games were broken. Now those times are over I am now buying or renting PS3 version of games and are not playing the 360 as much.

I prefere my PS3's multimedia features, PSN over live arcade, the online play is what you want and its free, PS3 controller is way better to hold and the button layout is perfect (don't like the L + R 2 buttons much) it has a built in bluray player, it is much better for storing media files on there as 360 sucks for this, my PS3 is a freeview digital recorder which is brilliant (you need this in the US and we want movie service on PSN) The main factor is that the PS3 exclusive games are franchises I love and familiar with and the exclusive line-up is better than 360. I've always prefered Playstations variety of software over the competition. Like Phil Harisson said once 'its not the killer app (I think he refered to Halo) its the killer library' which he is so right.
Nintendo's library of games and its hardware isn't worth mentioning. So what if you can control a load of rubbish with motion. With games I believe its not the input that makes the game enjoyable, its the output. Motion controll doesn't change what you see on screen, you get the same output from a motion controller to a more traditional controller. A movie is the same, no matter how many different ways you can view a movie, the movie will always be the same. If you use 3d glasses, then the output changes into 3d, if you have HD again its the output that s different with improved picture. The ouput is giving you a more enjoyable better experience.


Last edited by bamf on 6/22/2009 8:37:53 PM

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

Too young to really have experienced the original Nintendo.

But I did literally grow up with the Super Nintendo! What a console!

I thought just like you that the Nintendo 64 was going to be the console of choice. But Playstation1 had it all! They just kept coming out with more and more of what I wanted to play.

-You get all your crazy rpgs
-Platform games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Klonoa, and Tomba!!!
-Gran Turismo
-Metal Gear
-Street Fighter Alphas

^Any Nintendo fan had to give in by that point…Though I also had an N64, and it had some GREAT games. It really gave the ps1 great competition.

————————–

I've always said it, history will repeat itself. 360 is like the Dreamcast.

^I've always made that claim and it will always stay true!

The 360 had the edge in the first year when it came to games, hence why you had more 360 games. But then you enter 2008 and 2009 and Playstation 3 brings its army!

The ps3 strikes from all sides, East, West, North, South. Sony is dedicated to their exclusives, to their first and second party companies.

In time, the ps3 will show exactly what Playstation1 and Playstation 2 showed. Simply put: The Playstation experience.

Gran Turismo 5 = The biggest punch to 360's gut

kratos17
kratos17
14 years ago

ben we able alike in so many ways

i own a ps3 and a 360 as well and prefer ps3 games

i have 24 ps3 games and 6 xbox games

but really the only xbox game that raises the bar is the gears games

also i think halo 3 is way to over rated

kratos17
kratos17
14 years ago

sorry for bad writing

ben we think alike in so many ways

i own a ps3 and a 360 as well and prefer ps3 games

i have 24 ps3 games and 6 xbox games

but really the only xbox game that raises the bar is the gears games

also i think halo 3 is way to over rated

kevinater321
kevinater321
14 years ago

I agree it is overrated, but it's all they got so let them hold onto it, i'm not missing anything.

Anonymous
Anonymous
14 years ago

The age old Xbox only has Halo saying from sony fanboys… At the very least you should call it the Halo(9.75m)/Gears(6m)(5m)/Forza(4m)/Fable box(2.75m).

Oxvial
Oxvial
14 years ago

I remember the N64 when I buy it I was like..hell yeah now wait to play the Megaman X 's ,Final Fantasy's and Street Fighter games with their spinoffs and the King of Fighters games I just wanted those 4 franchises and they never come in the end to the big N.

I really don't get why games like street fighter never was released on the N64.

but still that was a great console I wonder what would happened if nintendo used cd's instead of the cartridges .


Last edited by Oxvial on 6/19/2009 10:16:44 PM

MadPowerBomber
MadPowerBomber
14 years ago

Cartridge and memory restrictions. Polygons use up a lot less memory than hand-drawn sprites do, which is why we never got a arcade perfect port of any 2D fighter on the SNES, Genesis, N64, etc.

Oxvial
Oxvial
14 years ago

snes street fighter games were good ports I would be okay on those days with a decent port on the N64 of king of fighters 96 =p.

Gregory Freeman
Gregory Freeman
14 years ago

playstation was actually originally designed in partnership with nintendo as a new snes CD drive

sony being the cd giant at the time, was asked to do the job.

ninty tried screwing with sony, so sony designed the system as a stand alone console.

true story..

kokoro
kokoro
14 years ago

Don't forget that the next wave of RPGs are almost all ps3 exclusive:
Final fantasy 13
Final fantasy versus 13
Final fantasy 14
Tales of VEsperia
……

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

Tales of Vesperia is the only one I'm really interested in.

FFXIV, maybe, but paying for online isn't my kind of thing.

Unless two babes sign a contract to be in my party 😀

Ahem!

PS: And they have to be hot-looking.


Last edited by Scarecrow on 6/19/2009 10:39:05 PM

OverlordZero
OverlordZero
14 years ago

I loved Tales of Vesperia. I bought it once when it released and was addicted to it for a month. Im gonna buy it again for my PS3. Also cant wait for Final Fantasy 13 and im pretty sure FF Versus 13 is at least a 2011 launch although i hope it comes sooner.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

Yeah, I'm waiting for Tales as well. I still hold out some hope for a 'slightly' enhanced PS3 port of Star Ocean 4 as well.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

I understand completely. I've seen this happen with PS1 and PS2 as well.

I think that this has to do with the way in which Sony pushes games of all genre. It's the jack of all trades, not specific to a given genre. Microsoft really has hung their hat on the hard core gamer and shooters/action games. They did the same thing with the original Xbox. Nintendo has as always targeted kids and non-core gamers. Sony has as usual targetted everyone, with games of high quality coming in nearly every genre.

At some point people who are interested in more than one genre or games that are not built for kids realize that the PS3 offers not only the genre they are used to by all the others as well. Right now PS3 is coming into it's own, it has plenty of games with lots of first party exclusives coming soon. The RPG drought is coming to an end, and Sony isn't overly dependent on Square Enix or any other third party developer.

In the end I think that the variety of games and the quality of those games draws people in, even against their will.

Fane1024
Fane1024
14 years ago

I think Microsoft are TRYING to expand their variety; look at how many exclusive RPGs they bought. Their problem is they don't have much in the way of first-party developers.

Sony, on the other hand, has a huge stable of fantastic developers, which is why, Ben, that you are buying more PS3 games.

sticklife
sticklife
14 years ago

The same thing has happened to me and the DS. at first, for what seemed like two years maybe I had very few psp games and had a ton of ds games but now I see much more for psp that I'll get.

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

I bought the wii then the ps3. I had 10 wii games and one ps3 game for a while. Until MGS4 was released. Now I have 6 wii games and 16 ps3 games.

Anonymous
Anonymous
14 years ago

I first played an NES when I was REALLY young, then my first owned system was an SNES, loved that thing, still do. Then I didn't really know anything, so I got an N64, didnt have hardly any games I wanted to play (and I subscribed to Nintendo Power at this point, so I didnt know about much else) Then I was still thinking "Nintendo all the way!" because again, I didn't know any better, and got the Gamecube, though I was leaning towards getting a PS2 instead. afetr the gamecube, I was finally knowlegable enough to think about the past two consoles I had owned and was fed up with Nintendo. I then set my sites on a console that hadn't been made yet, but I knew it would have the power, and the selection I wanted in gameing entertainment. That was of course the PS3, its the first time in a long time I have been confidant that I made the right choice in a console, in fact the first time since the SNES.

kevinater321
kevinater321
14 years ago

*claps hands*…..*then stands up and walks away* (not in a sarcastic way)

GuernicaReborn
GuernicaReborn
14 years ago

I went from NES to Genesis to PS1 to PS2/Gamecube and now I have a PS3. The only constant in my gaming timeline has been Sony, they always deliver the goods.

Jed
Jed
14 years ago

I was the same way with the ps1/N64 and ps2/xbox. But this gen I waited for the ps3 to come out first. I was just so stoked about the ps3 for the longest time. Then I got a 360 when halo 3 came out. I use my 360 for exclusives. Frankly, I'm scared to use the 360 for multiplat games because the more I play the more likely it will crap out.

Hexen
Hexen
14 years ago

I guess I am the only one here who has never owned a Nintendo machine.I just thought back then that Genesis was Superior and basically turn me into a Sega fanboy which explains why I have every single Sega system and handheld to date.Even after I got the PS1 I felt wrong playing it but after the collapse of the (Precious)Dreamcast I jumped the sunken ship to the PS2 then PS3 and haven't looked back; now I am playing all of the PS1 games that I refuse to enjoy back then.

NonProphet
NonProphet
14 years ago

Ben:

I don't think its a coincidence that you've continually ended up using your Sony console the most. Sony makes good hardware and software, they support their systems well and they don't gouge their customers on peripherals.

I basically just use my 360 to stream Netflix, which, while really cool, is also kind of sad. When I bought the thing I didn't expect to become what is basically a glorified Roku box.

Jiggy
Jiggy
14 years ago

Man, Deathrow is one of my all time favs!! It combined sports and beating the crap out of ppl. So Sweet! Also, the N64 had the most idiotic controller design I've ever seen. How could anyone see that being fun to handle & play with?

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

Hehe…
Humongous controller…

jmo_INDY_Repub
jmo_INDY_Repub
14 years ago

My SONY collection: 1 PS1/ 14 games. 3 PS2s / 31 games. 6 PS3s / 23 games. Not to mention Accessories. Well over $9,000. Me = HUGE SONY and PS fan. I know, pathetic… right? but I'm pretty damn happy with my decisicions. All that was over 15 yrs.

Midris7
Midris7
14 years ago

I'd be happy with the collection. The one thing that would sting me would be paying for the six PS3s though.

HOODGE
HOODGE
14 years ago

Why'd you buy so many PS2 and PS3's? I'm a huge hardcore gamer and i've only ever bought one console of each. I really take care of my stuff. Keep it dusted on a weekly basis. You can check out all my game disc back from the early PS1 era, and not one of them have a scratch on them.

I could box my PS1, PS2, PS3, and all devices with it in its original boxes, and you'd never know these machines were ever opened and used. That's how amazingly I take care of them. And I put them through thousands of hours of gameplay as well on top of that.

Take care of your stuff, and you'll have it for a very long time.

By the way great article Ben. I too have way more PS3 games in my collection compared to 360. Comes in at a 4:1 ratio. 360 really sits a lot now. Bought a Nyko cooling fan for the back of it recently. Hate when I pull my discs out and they feel like they came out of the oven. Never like that in the case of the PS3.

jmo_INDY_Repub
jmo_INDY_Repub
14 years ago

Oh I forgot my PSPs / 3 currently, 1 more coming in October, PSP GO!

Midris7
Midris7
14 years ago

I must say I am an odd one when it comes to this. I owned a Genesis first, never owned SNES. Then I owned a N64, only owned a PS at the end of its life cycle when a friend gave one to me. When the PS2 era came around, I ended up owning a Xbox.

Now this generation, I had a 360 for two years and loved it, then it died on me. Bought a Playstation 3 and now am loyal to it since it has brought me the best gaming experience I've ever had.

But I have to say, the original Xbox and Halo hold a dear place in my heart because it introduced me to online multiplayer. But when I look back, I wish I owned a PS2 and had the chance to play all those exclusive games.

I know own a 80g PS3 (The MGS4 bundle), and I am currently in the process of playing those PS1/2 titles I missed out on. i.e MGS1,2 (Beat 3), FF VII,IX,X, and of course GoW.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

no one stopping you from getting one now.

Midris7
Midris7
14 years ago

Well as much as I would like one, my PS3 is BC.

jmo_INDY_Repub
jmo_INDY_Repub
14 years ago

@midris i got the PS3s for $40 each. i cant remember the website but it was out of a warehouse in Georgia, it came with the warranty and everything. It was legal.

King James
King James
14 years ago

u selling?

Mrizzle1991
Mrizzle1991
14 years ago

dude can you see if u remember the website or have a hint cause i really want a ps3 and i live inGA

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
14 years ago

@Scarecrow
<<<<Unless two babes sign a contract to be in my party>>>>

Ask Ben if you can borrow Courtney & Amy, I'm not sure if he's getting the full useage out of that strange relationship anymore these days, LOL

BTW, that damned Dreamcast controller's so gigantic, that if you place it on a map, it would probably wipe out a 1/3 of the USA, from Maine all the way down to West Virginia.
Oops, there goes North Carolina & Florida too.


Last edited by BikerSaint on 6/20/2009 2:13:47 AM

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

lol, nah, those are Ben's babes.

But yeah I don't see myself paying $10/month for FFXIV.

Unless my party is full of babes(cute/sexy babes)

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
14 years ago

Pffft. He can have 'em.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

Am I the only one that found the DC controller comfy?

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
14 years ago

Er…maybe.

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

DC controllers made my hands cramp up and started giving me callus' in weird place. Worst controller evah!

King James
King James
14 years ago

ha ha whats wrong ben, u don't wanna play that huge line of xbox exclusives like:

Rock Band Beatles
MGS Rising
Tony Hawk Ride
Halo Recon & Reach
Halo Wars
Gears DLC
Xplosion man
and Kudo???

Proposterious!


Last edited by King James on 6/20/2009 2:18:23 AM

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

Respectfully, I would ask that you remove Rock Band Beatles, since only one track is exclusive, and MGS Rising, needs to come off, since it's not exactly exclusive. Probably ought to remove the Tony Hawk game while you're at it.

I mean, I know you were trying to show how 'exciting' the Xbox lineup for 2009 is… 😉 But, let's not over do it.

pavlovic
pavlovic
14 years ago

Don't you know what "sarcastic" is?

Naga
Naga
14 years ago

OMG Xboxs getting Tony Hawk RIDE NOOOO

LOL ironically the lineup for the 360 still looks weak again it's just Halo & Gears why not make Xplosion Man the new Halo 😀

King James
King James
14 years ago

LOL @ The Highlander

I can just picture you telling M$ the same thing at its E3 conference. Like a referee, only for calling BS on bogus announcements.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
14 years ago

Works for me, just point me in the direction of their marketing folks.

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
14 years ago

@ Ben,
Yup, same here…
you can alway visit our distant Xbox or Wii relatives , but you always wind back to the Playstations, because the Playstation brands are home & when we're in our home, we're in our comfort zone

Damn, as gaming writer, I'd of thought all of the company's send you guys tons of games to play & report on, so I figured you would've already have a ton of games & not just 32 of them.
So I'm assuming that you actually had way more, and that you just kept the picks of the litter & then 86'ed the rest of 'em?

@Arnold,
and how about yours, do you have a vast collection, or did you just keep a few favorite games?

Hell, I'm just a "stuggling" collector but so far, I've gotten 871 games for the Playstation & Xbox systems in my collections(I keep everything, even the games I'll never ever play).

My Xbox & Playstations collection(still collecting)
Xbox 178
360 3(No Elite yet, but started collecting)
PS1 536
PS2 140
PS3 24(recent buy, hence my small collection)

And that's not even counting the games from all the older systems I have too.


Last edited by BikerSaint on 6/20/2009 2:50:46 AM

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