2009 - How the PS3 Tides have Turned

[nomore]

Ever since its launch in November 2006, the PS3 has received a significant amount of criticism over its software lineup, much of which was justified. During its first six months of availability, the PS3 had only received two titles worthy of praise, Motorstorm and Resistance: Fall of Man. Overall software quality was just one of many complaints regarding the fledgling platform, but has become the leading topic in regards to why the PS3 has managed to make so many inroads over the past three years.

During the first year or so of the PS3’s initial release, many game developers were criticized for merely “porting” multiplatform titles, instead of actually taking the time to work with the PS3’s architecture (being comprised of the Cell Broadband Engine and the RSX Reality Synthesizer). Expectations of the PS3’s graphical output were very high, particularly because of some of the comments Sony executives were making (1)(2).

However, Sony’s next-gen rival, Microsoft, got their system out of the gates first. They released their console to North American audiences November 22nd, 2005, almost a full year ahead of the PS3’s North American and Japanese release dates. This gave developers ample time to develop and work, albeit for a short time, exclusively on the Xbox 360 in terms of next-generation consoles. When the PS3 came onto the scene, many developers were either unaware of the technology the mighty behemoth possessed, or were too ignorant to appreciate it.
This in turn led to PS3 titles that were noticeably inferior to their 360 counterparts. For the first full year of release, critics and gamers alike were quick to point out the noticeable gameplay issues and graphical flaws that plagued many multiplatform games.

The situation started to turn around in late 2007 with the release of the epic online multiplayer title, Warhawk, as well as the phenomenal Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. After these releases, critics began to quiet down. And most surprisingly, and game developers that for whatever reason were unable to get a handle on the PS3 during its early months really began to see what it was capable of. Rather than complaining about the architecture, a vocal minority began to praise Sony for making Cell and RSX as powerful as they were. And best of all, the development tools were beginning to mature.

An unbiased measuring tool for grading multiplatform titles is the popular website, Metacritic.com. Metacritic is the one-stop shop for all the reviews of a particular title. Beginning as a film site, Metacritic expanded and began to compile reviews for video games.

Even highly reputable organizations such as The New York Times have praised Metacritic by saying, “Movies have Roger Ebert. Wine has Robert Parker. Videogames have Marc Doyle.”
With Metacritic being the premiere review compilation service on the internet, SMGamers.com found that in 2007, the first full year in the PS3’s life, 57% of multiplatform games scored higher on the Xbox 360, 26% scored better on the PS3, and 17% resulted in a tie across the platform. Fast forward to 2008, 50% of the games scored better on the 360, 30% higher on the PS3, and 20% were tied.

Now on to 2009. For the first half of this year, SMGamers found that, on Metacritic, 54% of multiplatform titles were rated higher on the PS3, 35% scored better on the 360, and 11% were tied. This is a dramatic turn of events, considering the lackluster numbers 2007 posted. It is evident that the high-profile PS3 games that released in 2008 really had a deep impact, as 3rd party developers such as EA and Ubisoft really began to explore the idiosyncrasies that make up the PS3’s architecture, and began to develop higher quality games.
It is evident that 2008 was a turning point for the PS3’s game library in terms of technical quality. This was the year we saw the phenomenal Metal Gear Solid 4 being released, which unanimously blew critics away. Resistance 2, although not as universally accepted as its predecessor, still delivered a strong, cinematic experience.
2009 multiplatform titles such as Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, Fight Night Round 4 and Resident Evil 5 have all fared better on the PS3. Even though all of these games were better on the PS3 only by a few points, the mere fact is that developers are really beginning to turn things around for their PS3 audience.

This is 2009, and there is no room for excuses. Lazy and/or incompetent developers that don’t put the time in to understand the PS3’s architecture, and instead choose to port directly from the 360, consequently end up inferior versions that just don’t sell as well as they could have. And it’s not like Sony isn’t trying to help developers, as they recently reduced the price of their development kits to a mere $2,000. Furthermore, longtime Sony supporters Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog have been sharing their source code and techniques with the 3rd party development community for quite some time now (1)(2). And it’s important to note that Sony’s generosity isn’t a recent fluke; their EDGE Tools have been available for years.
The once tried-and-true claim that the PS3 has no games, or that PS3 games are graphically inferior to those of the 360, is over. Multiplatform games aren’t as bad as they were, and the PS3 is really beginning to separate itself from the competition, with spectacular 1st party software and games from 3rd party developers that are really learning to appreciate the console. The only question left unanswered is whether or not multiplatform developers will start to make their games more advanced than the 360 versions in order to keep up with the high calibur of Sony’s 1st party gaming lineup.

http://playstationlifestyle.net/2009...have-turned/3/

I don't play a lot of multiplatform games on the PS3, since PC is still the better platform for the multiplatform games.
however Wanted demo, Batman demo and few others I tried in the last year looked really good on PS3 compared to the PC version even though they were playable at a lower resolution than 1920x1200.

and it would be awesome if the multiplatform games can be as good as or even better than most of the PS3 exclusive titles.
but I mostly want to play very high quality exclusives.

[Hidavi]

This is 2009, and there is no room for excuses. Lazy and/or incompetent developers that don’t put the time in to understand the PS3’s architecture, and instead choose to port directly from the 360, consequently end up inferior versions that just don’t sell as well as they could have.

[Jamar]

Awaits obligatory SubCog post...

[tranCendenZ]

Are you saying that 2009 IS THE YEAR OF THE PS3!!?/?

[Jamar]

Originally Posted by tranCendenZ

Are you saying that 2009 IS THE YEAR OF THE PS3!!?/?

Pfff. You're no SubCog.

[SubCog]

Originally Posted by Jamar

Awaits obligatory SubCog post...

sorry, havn't had much time to post lately.

Honestly, PS3 is getting better and better all the time. I'll be picking one up as soon as I find work (I graduated earlier this week with a masters degree in human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon, btw). I'll be buying it for bluray and 1st party exclusives... all my friends are on xblox live and that's where I play all the 3rd party stuff these days.

My take on the PS3:

• Still too expensive, but a pricedrop is certainly coming this fall. Hopefully its a substantial pricedrop ($100).
• Quality of 3rd party games is finally caught up to xbox360. It took way to long to happen, and I'm pretty sure that devs have to spend more time and $$ to get the PS3 version up to par... I often wonder if the xbox360 versions could look even better if they put equal $$ into them. There's no evidence yet that 3rd party titles will ever be better on PS3. Honestly, I think 3rd parties are more interested in having both versions look and play decently, rather than really pushing one machine to its limits.
• 1st party exclusives (some of them) look fabulous. I love the exclusives on the 360, but its clear that I'm gonna need to own both systems to play all the games I want. Once again, it took sony way too long to get their exclusives up to par, especially when they hype up their exclusives even if they're garbage. But the important thing is... Uncharted2 .
• Stronger rumors of compatibility for PS2 games... if its true, it adds massive value to the PS3.
• Overall the theme here is that, while its clear that Sony made a ton of mistakes with PS3, that they're getting their act together, and that's good for all gamers.

[Hidavi]

I'll get one when it hits $300 including a good game.

[Ego]

Praising Metacritic and blaming devs for being "lazy" when it comes to an unnecessarily complicated console to develop for from a man hour and budget point of view in the same article has made me spill coffee on my brand new shirt

Good read, cracked me up.

[The_KELRaTH]

It doesn't even have to be any more complicated... it's missing some vital memory!!!

[gamekill]

If every single person on earth got their memories cleaned from the PS3 and the X360, every single word about them written after both console's release were erased... then suddenly everyone woke up and got to see and know and play them for the first time ever, at their current state right now in August 2009, I bet the PS3 would be the majority's favourite option...

Too bad these thing's don't happen. Or, good that these thing's don't happen. Anyway...

[SubCog]

Originally Posted by gamekill

If every single person on earth got their memories cleaned from the PS3 and the X360, every single word about them written after both console's release were erased... then suddenly everyone woke up and got to see and know and play them for the first time ever, at their current state right now in August 2009, I bet the PS3 would be the majority's favourite option...

Too bad these thing's don't happen. Or, good that these thing's don't happen. Anyway...

wiping memories still wouldn't fix:

• PS3's higher pricepoint
• preferences in controllers (most people seem to prefer the 360 controller)
• back-log of bad ports
• lack of Halo and Gears of War (could be generalized to say differences in 1st party games... but those two are immensely popular)

[Wraith1283]

And yet Sony is still getting thumped. I own a PS3 but I only use it as a Blu-Ray player (Which is what I think Sony wanted me to use it as.) and only to play 1st party must have titles.

I dont care what anyone says about games and this and that, the deciding factor is Xbox Live. Everything is much more streamlined and just easier. Its like Bill Gates saw the future because social networking is becoming so popular its crazy. Look at facebook, youtube, and other things of that nature. Xbox Live makes it so easy to hook up with friends and play some games.

Playstation Network is so far behind Xbox Live it isnt funny. With things like LastFM so I can stream music to my Xbox and Netflix Exclusivity, the overall experience on 360 is better. Sony needs to catch up to the times before it gets totally left in the dust.

[Hidavi]

Originally Posted by gamekill

If every single person on earth got their memories cleaned from the PS3 and the X360, every single word about them written after both console's release were erased... then suddenly everyone woke up and got to see and know and play them for the first time ever, at their current state right now in August 2009, I bet the PS3 would be the majority's favourite option...

Too bad these thing's don't happen. Or, good that these thing's don't happen. Anyway...

Then maybe Sony should include a free memory eraser with each purchase because the only way the can succeed now is if everyone gets amnesia

[wc326]

PS3 Sucks (BAH), Because i don't have one

my new toy is 4890 1GB ^^
nba 2k9 1920 x 1200 everything MAX 24 AA x 16 AF

[Hidavi]

Yeah, we don't like you

[jimjobob]

Originally Posted by gamekill

If every single person on earth got their memories cleaned from the PS3 and the X360, every single word about them written after both console's release were erased... then suddenly everyone woke up and got to see and know and play them for the first time ever, at their current state right now in August 2009, I bet the PS3 would be the majority's favourite option...

Too bad these thing's don't happen. Or, good that these thing's don't happen. Anyway...

I own both. I have owned the ps3 twice as long. I have twice as many games for the 360. I play the 360 more then my PS3, wii and PC combined (not counting wow). Even when i can get a game for half the price on the ps3 as the 360 I think long and hard about buying it for the ps3 over the 360. If i had to give one up the PS3 would be the one to go in a heartbeat.

I guess im not part of your majority.

How any one could complain about the price of the ps3 though over the 360 is beyond me as the ps3 would be a far better value with all thats included if the games were actually on par.

[monkeyx]

PS3 price is such a dead horse. It costs as much as an elite does right now with more added value for it's options. I know the discount is coming, but we're talking right now and the price point has been there for a while.

[Hidavi]

And sales have also been stale for a while...

[Emilee]

Yes, they have been stale.

The fact is however, better PS3 games have been coming out. Leave the rest of the flame bait article alone, the metacritic numbers dont lie. More and more good PS3 games are out now. Which is good news for everyone.

Originally Posted by Wraith1283

And yet Sony is still getting thumped. I own a PS3 but I only use it as a Blu-Ray player (Which is what I think Sony wanted me to use it as.) and only to play 1st party must have titles.

I dont care what anyone says about games and this and that, the deciding factor is Xbox Live.

Guess what, MS is "still getting thumped" too. The Wii doesnt have anything close to Live, and still crushes the 360, and the PS3. You're missing out on a lot of good titles only playing 1st party games.

Maybe for you, not for me. I dont care about live, or playing with friends. Mainly because I play FPS games on my PC, and play mostly everything else on the console. FPS games is where most people play with friends on consoles, and I dont like to on consoles.