1. The Last of Us
Racking up numerous 10-out-of-10’s, The Last of Us will be remembered as the high water mark of this generation. With all the hallmarks of a Hollywood grade production, the game has it all, story-telling, top-notch acting, fun gameplay and fantastic attention to detail. Naughty Dog proves that it is at the end of a console generation a developer can really show what a machine is capable of just like God of War 2 showed at the end of the PlayStation 2 era.
2. Total Sales
The PS3 is now ahead of it’s main competitor, the Xbox 360, in worldwide sales. There are 77,313,472 PS3’s and 77,311,669 Xbox 360’s. So no longer can people make the argument that “most people have the 360” because that would be a blatant lie. The numbers show the love of the PlayStation brand throughout the world and Sony has accomplished this despite a full year’s head start for the 360 at the beginning of the generation.
3. Beyond: Two Souls
Beyond: Two Souls promises to be an unique story-driven psychological thriller. From the makers of Heavy Rain, Quantic Dream and director David Cage, comes a game starring actors Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page. Quantic Dream made a brave decision to develop a brand new game engine, exploiting all the power that is left in the PS3 and making sure it’s also fit for the PS4. We can look forward to a compelling story even fit for the Tribeca Film Festival.
4. Indie Games On The Rise
Sony is really focused on supporting independent games and at GDC they showed off no less than 25 titles for PS3, PS Vita and PS Mobile. Gems like Spelunky, Hotline Miami, Ibb and Obb, Guacamelee, Retro City Rampage, Lone Survivor, Divekick, Limbo, Stealth Bastard, Hohokum, CounterSpy, Thomas Was Alone and Sportsfriends to name a few. The recent announcement to make the approval process easier bode well for the future which will greatly help developers self publish titles. The fact that Sony also employed former gaming press individuals like Nick Suttner and Shane Bettenhausen who are doing a great job promoting the indie scene and picking up independent developers has made a huge difference.
5. Free Games With PlayStation Plus
For over a year PlayStation Plus members have been able to enjoy new free games every month for both PS3 and Vita. Every month, Sony offers a new batch of games which will be added to your PSN library. How about awesome games like Little Big Planet 2, Demon’s Souls, BioShock 2, Vanquish, Resident Evil 5, Sleeping Dogs, Borderlands, Infamous 2, Darksiders, Spec Ops: The Line, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, Gravity Rush, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention, Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, Retro City Rampage, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Lara Croft and the Guradian of Light, Quantum Conundrum, The Cave and the list goes on and on. When the PS4 hits, can you afford not to get Plus?
6. Gran Turismo 6
Gran Turismo 6 is the sixth game in the Gran Turismo sim racing game series and yet again Sony proves it is willing to support the PS3 fan base with yet another multi-million seller. Polyphony Digital was probably given as much time as they needed to bring another GT to the PS3 which will have 33 tracks and a staggering 1200 cars. For reference Gran Turismo 5 have sold over 10 million copies to date.
7. Continued Support For The PS3
Even despite the PlayStation 4 launch looming, Sony will continue to support the PS3 for at least two more years. This will give developers a chance to showcase what they can do on a system with a 77+ million strong user-base. The PS3 Slim and Super Slim are being sold at a great price point and will continue to sell for years to come. Also EA have also said that the current generation consoles will be supported with games up until 2017 extending it to a 12 year cycle.
8. Ps4 And Mark Cerny
On February 20th at the global Sony PlayStation 4 unveiling event in New York, Mark Cerny was revealed as the console’s lead system architect. In case you haven’t heard of him before, Mark Cerny is without a doubt the best man for the job. With a vast background working as a developer, designer, programmer and consultant he has now become an industry legend. With Mark at the helm of the project the PS4 will be easy to use, having a familiar architecture but powerful in the long term. Mark Cerny has over 30 years of experience and has previously worked on games like Marble Madness and Crash Bandicoot as a designer and programmer and most recently as a Design Consultant for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, God of War III and Knack.
9. PlayStation Vita
There is no better time than now to get a PlayStation Vita. Loads of indies with Cross-Buy and Cross-Save features are coming to the platform. The system is easy to develop for and over the past few months we’ve seen a growing number of new developers announcing games. Another vital selling-point is the recent confirmation from Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios, that all PS4 games will be playable on the PS Vita through Remote Play.
10. The Last Guardian
Last but not least, if you could choose one more thing this year I bet it would be The Last Guardian. Following up masterpieces like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus has proven a difficult task for Team Ico but we think the time is near for an announcement. Recent leaks suggests that the game may release this year and what better time to announce it than at E3 next week. We’ll forgive Fumito Ueda for the slight delay and welcome that giant feathered bird-creature with open arms!