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Does PlayStation All-Stars Have Enough Icon Power?

Forget the comparisons to Super Smash Bros. for a minute.

The big question here is whether or not the characters in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale have enough iconic punching power to charm and intrigue even the most ardent PlayStation lovers.

To be fair, this game is clearly designed for long-time fans of Sony's universe. It's not about delivering a complex, intricate fighting mechanic and it probably won't offer much in the way of combat innovation or evolution. The primary appeal is obvious- The nostalgic fan desire to pit their favorite characters against one another in a fun-filled romp.

In SSB, the appeal is the same. But in that case, we have several decades of iconic memorable faces; from Mario to Samus to Link to Bowser and a dozen others in between. And while I'm a plenty big PlayStation fan, and I have very fond memories of Kratos, Drake, Ratchet, Parappa, etc., I'm wondering if there's enough history behind such characters to entice the fans. It's all about character impact, is it not? Granted, sometimes I forget just how long the PlayStation brand has been around; it has been around a good, what, 17 years?

And I suppose in the long run, Nintendo wasn't that much older when we first heard about SSB. But at the same time, we're talking about the dawn of gaming, the characters that defined the childhoods of a great many teen and adult gamers. Many younger people will argue the same for PlayStation but the gaming landscape was very different at that time and overall, nobody will say someone like Kratos is as well-known and beloved as Mario. In short, I'm just not sure the legendary status of the PlayStation characters are enduring and deep-set enough to warrant this title.

It's not a rhetorical question; I have no answer. I didn't care about SSB; I don't care about PlayStation All-Stars . This is merely a simple observation and nothing more.

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Palpatations911
Palpatations911
11 years ago

I think it does have enough name recognition to be successful.

Will it be as successful as the Smash Bros. series? Maybe not. There are a lot more people that grew up with the Nintendo characters like Mario, Samus and Link then some of the big name Sony characters. Nintendo's first home console came out in like 1985 or so and the original Playstation came out 10 years later.

Also, Nintendo had a good run where it was ultra dominant in the homes until the Sega Genesis came out.

Nonetheless, Playstation All-Stars should be a blast to play and it will create a lot of interesting matchups. I just hope that Sony does even more fan service and allows us to vote on some of the included characters (at least via DLC after release) and while I am not a Crash Bandicoot fan, I know a lot of people will be frustrated if they don't add him. Heck, Sony owes much of their PSX success to the little furball.

I think they'll do the right thing.

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
11 years ago

Anyone else think it would be hilarious to have Kevin Butler added as a character?

ZettaiSeigi
ZettaiSeigi
11 years ago

I too think it'll be hilarious to see Kevin Butler in the game. Who knows? He might even be the final boss. Haha!

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

I think somebody else owns Crash Bandicoot now.

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
11 years ago

Naughty Dog

TheAgingHipster
TheAgingHipster
11 years ago

Naughty Dog doesn't develop Crash anymore. The most recent devs for the Crash games were Radical Entertainment. And Activision owns the publishing rights. Before that was Sierra.

bebestorm
bebestorm
11 years ago

Alot of iconic characters are 3rd party… Out of the few you mentioned I know Drake,Kratos but I don't who Parappa is and I wouldnt be able to identify Ratchet of course I've heard of him.


Last edited by bebestorm on 4/27/2012 9:52:33 PM

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
11 years ago

I read that they planned on getting some 3rd party developers characters!

dbyzforce
dbyzforce
11 years ago

Well Nintendo got Snake from MSG and Sonic from Sega to guest on SSBB, so 3rd party characters showing up on this game shouldn't be a problem…


Last edited by dbyzforce on 4/28/2012 9:03:19 AM

Temjin001
Temjin001
11 years ago

I suppose it's games like this that help form that iconic status. I think Sony has done well to really draw their base to recognize Sony owned franchises. For me, their exclusives have been the show saver for PS3 this gen, moreso than any PS gen before it. I see it wise to help cement the identity and appeal of PS brand franchises by drawing more attention to the icons that helped define the PS experience over the years.

While this game just isn't for me, I do like Sony's effort to delineate their offerings from MS's and Nintendo's by putting more products out their that brings Sony's family of icons to light.

I do question how segmented Sony's franchises are. Franchises that specifically target different ages. Games like LBP and Modnation Racers, to me, seem to have a very different target than the audience drawn to GoW and Resistance etc. It just seems like a pretty large range of ages they're attempting on this one. It sort of has me wondering how successful this game will be.

Excelsior1
Excelsior1
11 years ago

Excellent post Temjin that shows some great insight on your part. I agree Sony's exclusives were the real show saver for the PS3. They gave the PS3 a much needed shot in the arm. The complaint the PS3 has no games is dead and buried. I think Sony's exclusive developers are one of their single greatest assets. Another thing Sony exclusives helped do is attract the attention of the gaming media. It really helped by putting the PS3 on the map so to speak by providing a lot of positive news coverage for Sony. I still remember the huge positive reaction Uncharted 2 received coming out of E3.

The question as to whether or not this title is warranted is a legitimate one. It's also legitimate to wonder if Sony's icons have enough star power to make this title a success. I also wonder whether this is the type of game the more mature PS3 demographic would go for in the first place.

Sony did state back in the past the wanted to target a younger demographic. It looks like this is the type of game that might help accomplish this goal.

I sure hope the include Cloud and Sephiroth.

DeusExMachina
DeusExMachina
11 years ago

Nice post Temjin, agree fully. But I think something we must all remember as well is Sont have always been dynamic in their exlcusive's genre's and age ratings since PS1 and I think as a result of that a lot of Playstation fans hav that exact diverseness in mind in their gaming. We dont own sony platforms cause only like shooters or platformers or RPGs we own them cause they have always had a bevy of variety. I can see it in my game collection (hell I own both LBPs, I have 3 Ratchet&Clanks, I have all the God of Wars and Ive got the 1st Resistance still planning on getting the other 2, I hav Disgaea 3 and FFXIII, I have all 3 Uncharted titles as well as all 3 Killzone titles, yet I also have the sly trilogy all the MGS titles).

So I think this title wil 1. as you say only help Sony cement there francises further in the industry and 2. Give something I feel the playstation fans have always wanted actually, I know I have ever since I played SSB (still love that damn franchise) "this would be so awesum with Playstation characters".

H0TSHELLZ
H0TSHELLZ
11 years ago

Ill try this out……Had a blast with Super Smash Bros.

VampDeLeon
VampDeLeon
11 years ago

Right now off the current line-up, they are missing a HUGE amount of potential characters. Considering that they will be following Nintendo's pattern on how only characters from games that were released on their console(s). I'm glad to see Parappa made the list, since that means they aren't forgetting their original Playstation mascots.

I can imagine from PS1, famous characters would include: Cloud & Sephiroth.. maybe Aeris and Tifa too (FFVII), Squall & Laguna (FFVIII), Zidane/Vivi (FFIX), Heihachi, Kazuya, and Jin (Tekken series), Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid), Crash & Coco (Crash Bandicoot), Duke Nukem, Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil), Spyro the Dragon

PS2: Jak & Daxter, Prince (Prince of Persia), Ico, Wander (Shadow of Colossus), Tidus & Yuna (Final Fantasy X & X-2), Raiden (Metal Gear Solid 2), Big Boss & Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)

PS3: Altair/Ezio (Assassin's Creed was originally announced as a PS exclusive game prior to release), Lightning & Serah (FFXIII & FFXIII-2), Niko Bellic (Grand Theft Auto 4), Robed Figure (Journey), Old Snake (MGS4),

This is pretty much who I can think up off the top of my head without looking through my game collection, though I'm sure I'm missing a ton who would also fit in.


Last edited by VampDeLeon on 4/27/2012 10:18:27 PM

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
11 years ago

Spyro would be a good one but most of those characters are not playstation all-stars because they were multiplatform.

LowKey
LowKey
11 years ago

UMMMM…. Dude some of those characters arent sony exclusive… Especially not Duke Nukem, I remember playing Duke on my PC years before PS came out.

VampDeLeon
VampDeLeon
11 years ago

I believe you're missing the point.. Of course not all of them are exclusive anymore (or ever were). The main idea was to list characters that have made PlayStation what it is and became an icon for it.

Best example, Snake was on Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl because of the MGS remake, Twin Snakes despite the fact that he was on just about every console and handheld prior. Using that ruling, that invites a large majority of famous characters that have debuted on a PS console.


Last edited by VampDeLeon on 4/28/2012 10:15:58 AM

LowKey
LowKey
11 years ago

Actually, Snake started out in Metal Gear as an NES exclusive, which is why it was acceptable for him to be in SSB. But thanks…


Last edited by LowKey on 4/28/2012 12:46:10 PM

VampDeLeon
VampDeLeon
11 years ago

Well actually.. Metal Gear 1 debuted on MSX2 before being modified and ported to NES (think that was the one where they changed the final boss into a super computer). But yeah, I'll stop correcting you now 😛


Last edited by VampDeLeon on 4/28/2012 1:38:38 PM

inkme101
inkme101
11 years ago

curious as to whether or not this will come to the vita? it would be a great game to showcase some cross-platform play.

grayfox2k8
grayfox2k8
11 years ago

Kiryu Kazuma /Yakuza.

He better be in it.

Mog
Mog
11 years ago

I also hope Sora is in it.

Palpatations911
Palpatations911
11 years ago

I could argue that since you have to denote he is from Yakuza then he is probably not an all star. Yakuza is NOT an iconic game series by any means. It is more of a cult favorite.

Fabi
Fabi
11 years ago

Let's not forget that SSB doesn't have all AAA characters.

Mr. Game&Watch, Marth, Meta Knight, DeDeDe, Ike, Lucas, Ness, Popo, Nana aren't all exactly gaming legends either.

There is also another list of mid-tier characters and then the heavy hitters like the 14 versions of Mario and Luigi, hehe.

Anyway, Sony's characters might not be as iconic, but I feel like they are all good enough to carry a game. I think it will all make a little more sense when we find out who's in it.

I think a lot of the complaints are coming from X-Box owners because they realize their system doesn't have enough characters to pull this off.

Phoenix
Phoenix
11 years ago

O how wrong you are, Game & watch was quite big for it's time, Marth and Ike come from Fire Emblem, and they are big titles aswell, DeDeDe and Meta Knight come from the Kirby series which is/was pretty huge, Ness and Lucas come from Mother, which was extremely popular in Japan, but the NA release didnt go over so well. So, as you can see, all these characters come from popular games, and were very welcomed into the SSB series.

Fabi
Fabi
11 years ago

Just like Cole, Sackboy or anyone else from the PS universe will be welcomed. But it doesn't mean they are all AAA characters. Just because YOU hold them dear, doesn't make them iconic.

I've been gaming since the Atari 2600, and have never been a Nintendo fan, but I know tons about gaming. So therefore I never cared for Nintendo characters, so when I first started playing SSB I didn't care or even know about a lot of those characters.

Don't tell me Marth, DeDeDe and Lucas are icons. Please.

Phoenix
Phoenix
11 years ago

And that's the appeal of SSB, all the older NES players getting to have fun with some of the characters they grew up with, if you were never in the loop, I wouldnt expect you to understand. Now sony is trying to cash in on it, which is fine I guess, but I just dont think it's going to do well, simply because the PS family doesnt have many iconic charcters, but again, time will tell.

I've only played 1 Fire Emblem game, and 0 kirby games, and I knew who marth/ike and DeDeDe were, and they ARE iconic to thier franchise, so PLEASE!.

Fabi
Fabi
11 years ago

They are iconic to their franchise. Haha. Cole is iconic to Infamous.

You don't think there are tons of people who have owned every PS system and hold these PS characters dear to them? You're acting like if the PS brand has only been around for this generation or something. Must I remind you how many systems the PS2 sold?

Phoenix
Phoenix
11 years ago

You'd have to be pretty new to gaming to know who cole is, and not know who king DeDeDe , or Marth/Ike are.

Honestly, Cole is a nobody compared to them, and so is just about everyone sony can muster. You can argue about is asmuch as u wish, still doesnt change the fact that Sony just doesnt have the star power.

Fabi
Fabi
11 years ago

I play SSB with a group of 4 people, and out of those four, only the owner of the Wii knew who Marth, Ike or DeDeDe were. So just because you know who they are, doesn't make them icons. They might be icons to Nintendo fans, but they are faaaaar from being gaming icons.

JackDillinger89
JackDillinger89
11 years ago

Wii fanatics that love sbb and have a ps3 also will certainly pick this up. Im not really into fighters anymore and not pumped for this. But its still good another ps3 exclusive added to the ps3 library. I would like to try a demo if one releases. Maybe i like it.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

I like fighters, but not "romps".

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

No, but…

The presence of Nariko better not be a cruel joke, it only had 1 game and if she is going to be considered any kind of icon we need sequels damnit!

Lawless SXE
Lawless SXE
11 years ago

They'll exclude and blame it on her fighting style being too similar to Kratos. I think we need to accept that Heavenly Sword will go no further. And it causes me great pain to write that.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

Is that image above fake then? Cuz she's in it.

Lawless SXE
Lawless SXE
11 years ago

So far as I know, it's fan-made. Only six fighters have officially been revealed.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

fan made huh, people have too much time on their hands!

PC_Max
PC_Max
11 years ago

Look the game will appeal to some gamers whether you care or not. Any console or gaming device needs a bit of variety within its respective genre. It looks like an appealing game, not the kind I like to play, but I can see it being hit with those of the genre.

I have heard people call this a rip-off game. Please. There is no such thing as an original game. Every game, its dynamics and such is based on game that came before it. The first vid games were based on board games and the game dynamics within the those games. Ideas come from what the devs enjoy playing. Thats the way of it. And this game works off that.

Keep Playing!

UbiEaActisuck
UbiEaActisuck
11 years ago

If I can fight as a patapon 1DP. On a more serious note though I can only think of six Sony franchises I would want to see represented from my seventeen year history with Sony: Sly Cooper, GOW, Jak, Ratchet, Infamous and Uncharted. I love Twisted Metal, but must say I am burned out on Sweet Tooth.

LowKey
LowKey
11 years ago

I don't see spyro anywhere in that pic…

Oxvial
Oxvial
11 years ago

They have the best variety in this Gen.I just hope they put some villains I want Zeus there!

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

The Xbox All-stars game has been announced too, it's called Master Chief vs Marcus Phoenix vs A Forza car.

Fabi
Fabi
11 years ago

Haha

karneli lll
karneli lll
11 years ago

"To be fair, this game is clearly designed for long-time fans of Sony's universe."

Not really,this could be a big marketing stunt in disguise. People play,enjoy the characters and look for their games.With all these casual games, it seems like Sony is gearing up for the fallout of the wii u

frylock25
frylock25
11 years ago

this game has to have sackboy! he can dress up like other characters and have their powers and moves but they would have some sack styling to them.

AugustoDeItalia
AugustoDeItalia
11 years ago

that would be great ! i'd love to see sackboy being the ''kirby type'' character in this game

Vivi_Gamer
Vivi_Gamer
11 years ago

This is the issue I raised in the announcement post yesterday. While I have supported the Playstation for giving me some of the best gaming memories, heck the majority of them even. But when you think about it, what made the original Playstation so strong was all the thrid party developers. Crash, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Tekken, Tomb Raider, Spyro Metal Gear Solid… all of them are from 3rd parties…

When you look at Sony's list, sure you do have a few good one's Drake, Kratos, I even like the re-appearance of Pappa the Rapper (& hope to see more come backs like that.) But the list pales in comparison and unlike back in the PS1 days a lot of these third party games went on the 360 so that eliminates, Dante, Vincent (Catherine), Big Daddy, (Bio Shock), Monkey (Enslaved., Isaac (Dead Space), The Woman from Mirror's Edge, any FF character… The list goes on…

Assassins Creed characters seem to whore up any series, so I am sure Ezio or Altair will make an appearance. Snake might be a possibility too… but overall the sucess really depends on if they get 3rd parties involved.

___________
___________
11 years ago

close, crash came from ND who was a first party studio.
FF was first on ninty platforms too, only when they ditched $ony for the ps1 disk attachment and stuck with cartridges did FF leave ninty.
its going to be allot harder now because allot of their mascots are no longer exclusive, crash, snake, spyro, but they have added enough new ones to fill the gaps.
we NEED to have sweet tooth, doll face and ratchet and clank in this!

Phoenix
Phoenix
11 years ago

Yea, gotta agree with Ultimadream, this title is going to be kinda limited if sony doesnt bring in 3rd party characters, in which case I think a rename is in order to, Playstation and Friends All-star battle royal!

IF they bring in 3rd party characters, this might be worth a look come launch, but if they dont, this has PASS written all over it.

Just curious, all the fanboys getting wood over this game already, what was your first console?

Fabi
Fabi
11 years ago

Phoenix, you act like the PS brand was just born this generation.

I don't care if the game copies SSB. I don't care if they aren't icons to everyone else. I personally know and care about all those PS characters. It's not like this game is being made for people WHO AREN'T into the PS brand. So then why does it matter if they are gaming icons or not? They are PS icons.

I personally don't give two s*its about Mario, Metroid, Halo, Gears or Kirby. So this game is being made for someone like me who has played all these PS games and want a 4 player brawl game on my system.

When I play SSB, I don't even use the characters that I know! I use Marth, someone who I didn't even know existed in gaming until I played SSB. I don't care if I'm using a icon, I just want it to be fun.

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