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[Donniewahlberg]

There's not really a question aobut the PS1 + PS2 in my mind. The PS3? I don't think so, not yet, but it could surpass it potentially. Honestly though, I thought the modern military shooter trend that ran through the Ps3/360 era though was bad, but I honestly get so little benefit out of the current *games as service* thing and find so many negatives. Obviously that's entirely subjective, as is the overall question, but I don't know. The direction games are trending in and probably will for the next few years at least, makes it hard for me to imagine the PS4 surpassing the PS3, and that's not for lack of a quality machine. It just is what it is for me, preference wise.

A resounding no all around for me then. In a few years time I may have changed my mind on it's position relative to the PS3 though, just need to see.

 

[MCD250]

Nothing has ever or will ever surpass the PS2.

It's probably better than the PS1/PS3 were at the same point in their cycles.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Sure, if you pretend the PS1 and PS2 never existed

 

[RefigeKru]

I feel like it's a better console than the PS3 already.

I can see it topping the PS2 by the end of the generation, not in sheer exclusives (that'll never happen again) but the library itself so far is stellar, with room for improvement still.

Imagine TLOU2. Just imagine.

 

[D1renegade]

Quality wise, yes and it's not even close. Bloodborne alone is better than most games from previous generations. Only thing PS4 lacks is the variety from the PS2/PS3 days.

Edit: Oh and I forgot to mention controls today>>>>>>> controls back then.

 

[primasaurus]

 

[Ivory Samoan]

Subjectively for me: Yes (I'm more hardcore into gaming now than previous generations).

Objectively I would say: No (PS2 has the epicness of a catalogue, but PS4 is on track to get there I reckon).


Definitely better than PS3 though IMO, it's probably better than PS1 too.

 

[mindsale]

You should list the games. I guarantee you their quality. I don't think 58 titles with 90+ on Metacritic is anything to scoff at.

I don't support my argument, but I'll list them.

Tony Hawk III
GTA III
RE4
MGSII
GTA: SA
GTA: VC
Gran Turismo 3
Madden '03
Tony Hawk IV
Devil May Cry
Madden '02
Madden '04
MGSIII: Subsistence
NCAA '04
God of War
Virtua Fighter IV
Burnout III
God of War II
SSX
SSX III
Okami
Virtua Fighter IV Evolution
World Soccer Winning Invitational 6
NFL2K3
World Soccer Winning Invitational 7
Soul Calibur II
SSX Tricky
NHL '02
Prince of Persia: SoT
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy X
Guitar Hero 2
ESPN NFL Football
Guitar Hero
Madden '02
Klonoa 2
R&C: Up Your Arsenal
MGSIII
Twisted Metal Black
Shadow of the Colossus
NCAA '03
DoA Hardcore
Madden '05
World Soccer Invitational 8
ICO
Tony Hawk Underground
R&C Going Commando
NBA Streets 2
NFL 2K5
MVP '04
Jak & Daxter
Burnout Revenge
NCAA '02
Persona 4
Timesplitters II
Viewtiful Joe
ESPN Hockey
Rayman 2 Revolution


Holy shit cull these sports titles.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

PS2 is still the GOAT, but PS1 is tough to beat. PS3 is pretty great and it looks like it could pass it soon, but there's still time. Better to make this topic around the end of the gen, because no way is it better than PS1/PS2 already.

One big advantage is the OS as someone else said though. Being able to seamless put your console on rest and get right back into an amazing game a day later is a pretty incredible option for people who don't have too much time.

 

[Collateral22]

MGS5 is better than MGS2.

How can the worst game in the series be better than the best?

 

[bennibop]

Apples and oranges comparing with PS1/2 as games development was a lot cheaper...I do feel though PS4 has easily bettered PS3.

 

[Vital Tundra]

Nothing beats the PS2s library besides the PC. So no.

 

[facetheslayer92]

I don't support my argument, but I'll list them.

Tony Hawk III
GTA III
RE4
MGSII
GTA: SA
GTA: VC
Gran Turismo 3
Madden '03
Tony Hawk IV
Devil May Cry
Madden '02
Madden '04
MGSIII: Subsistence
NCAA '04
God of War
Virtua Fighter IV
Burnout III
God of War II
SSX
SSX III
Okami
Virtua Fighter IV Evolution
World Soccer Winning Invitational 6
NFL2K3
World Soccer Winning Invitational 7
Soul Calibur II
SSX Tricky
NHL '02
Prince of Persia: SoT
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy X
Guitar Hero 2
ESPN NFL Football
Guitar Hero
Madden '02
Klonoa 2
R&C: Up Your Arsenal
MGSIII
Twisted Metal Black
Shadow of the Colossus
NCAA '03
DoA Hardcore
Madden '05
World Soccer Invitational 8
ICO
Tony Hawk Underground
R&C Going Commando
NBA Streets 2
NFL 2K5
MVP '04
Jak & Daxter
Burnout Revenge
NCAA '02
Persona 4
Timesplitters II
Viewtiful Joe
ESPN Hockey
Rayman 2 Revolution


Holy shit cull these sports titles.

Lol, I didn't expect that many sports titles.

 

[ianpm31]

We still a lot of this gen left but as of right now its PS2, PS1, PS4, and PS3. I will say if the PS4 keeps up this pace then it will have a shot to do so

 

[Varjis]

PS2 is still king and will probably remain king.

Don't have a PS1 or PS3 anymore, but I still have my PS2.

 

[Jack The Nipper]

This was how it was super early on PS1. PS4 in the same span that early on? it's funny and it only got way better from there.

You don't know what christmas even was if you didn't unwrap a psone and demo discs

 

[Goose_Se7en]

I have to say, given the amount of incredible games we have seen so far this year alone (Gravity Rush, Nioh and Horizon in a few short weeks), has this generation got the PS1/2 beaten for sheer quality? When you throw in multi platform games too, is it fair to say that this is the greatest PlayStation ever? If not now, God of War and TLOU2 on the way as well as FF7 Remake, along with Days Gone if that turns out to be a great game too, have Sony actually managed to live up to the hype or even surpass what was expected at launch?

 

[Gaspard]

PS2 will be topped in nether quality nor quantity.

 

[jett]

I lol'd.

 

[LordOcidax]

You must be very young.

 

[Ridley327]

The collapse of the B-tier market on Playstation and Xbox systems makes it really difficult for the PS4 to match up to the PS2 for me, which had such a fantastic balance of all kinds of games. Indies are definitely stepping up to the plate, but they're not coming close to the kinds of runs that companies like Capcom, Konami and others had in between their breadwinners.

 

[Blobbers]

uh fuck no

Compare Atlus' support on the PS2 vs PS4 and it'll tell you all you need to know.

 

[Freshmaker]

Not until Soul Calibur VI comes out.

 

[Manmademan]

Getting ahead of ourselves just a bit here.

The PS4 is performing strongly but in NO WAY is it's library anywhere close to the totality of what's available on the PS3, and it will NEVER hit the sheer volume of exclusive software that's available on the PS2.

Sony's overwhelming dominance that generation plus the inexplicable longevity of the system means it will almost certainly never be equalled. The market is just too different. Dev cycles are longer, games are more expensive, exclusivity doesn't make financial sense.

PS1 is the only system I would say it's passed definitively- PS1 games had a lot of jank and compromises even for their time, and many of those games aged really badly. The ps4 catalogue is technically superior and there's a lot of indie games, arcade games, and ps3 classics available via PSN.

 

[Barry Burton]

I think this generation in general is already way better than last generation's disappointment-fest, so the PS4 has already easily surpassed the PS3 in my eyes. The PS1 as well, but that's mostly because its library never did a whole lot for me, and I had a much stronger preference for the N64.

The PS2 will be tough to beat, however. I think in terms of just first-party software, it has, but I don't think we'll ever see the same level of third-party support (particularly w/ exclusives) that the PS2 boasted.

The PS4 has been a pretty awesome system so far, though. It will end up as one of my favorite consoles, no doubt about that.

 

[On Demand]

Is this a reaction to the other thread?


It's way better than the PS3 but nothing will match PS1's and PS2's software output for obvious reasons. Then again, why don't we wait until the generation is over?

There is not enough licensed games and shovelware.


I'm serious.


I fondly remembering playing games like Rugrats Studio Tour, SpongeBob SquarePants SuperSponge, King Kong the Official Game of the Movie, and so on in the 5th and 6th gen. They filled a niche that is left barren today. Sure, a lot of them sucked, but a few were great.

Indie games has sort of taken that place. Though less noticeable because they aren't physical retail games.

You're right though. Those smaller AA games filled out a consoles library that's missing from ALL consoles these days.

 

[JimmyRustler]

PS2 had basically no competition and therefore a load of exclusives by default. So the compression is a little bit unfair. Make 90% of the games released this generation exclusive to PS4, then compare.

The PS4 has less original games but the quality is much higher on average imo.

 

[sugarhigh4242]

How can the worst game in the series be better than the best?

No accounting for taste, but you might what to get yours checked out. Your engine light's blinking.

 

[kunonabi]

It's ahead of the ps3 for sure. Nowhere close to the ps1 or ps2 though.

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

Isn't this a question you ask retrospectively as the PS5 is hitting the market?

 

[Greddleok]

I don't support my argument, but I'll list them.

List

Holy shit cull these sports titles.

Wow, that's a lot of games I don't give a shit about. So many sports games!

I didn't even know Guitar Hero came out on PS2. I thought that was a PS360 gen game.

 

[OG Shaka Zulu]

Not even close. This and future gens will forever lack the variety and levels of experimentation done in previous gens.

And MGS2 is better than 5.

 

[sugarhigh4242]

It's ahead of the ps3 for sure. Nowhere close to the ps1 or ps2 though.

SCE was never better than the PS3 era. The only way I can see PS2 > PS3 is if you're mainly into Japanese games. And even then PS3 had a huge library.

 

[mindsale]

I'm going to modify the PS2 All-Time List removing sports titles which presumably are not as good as today's and removing iterative games from the list (specifically Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution and MGSIII: Subsistence).

GTA III
RE4
MGSII
GTA: SA
GTA: VC
Tony Hawk IV
Devil May Cry
God of War
Virtua Fighter IV
God of War II
Okami
Soul Calibur II
Prince of Persia: SoT
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy X
Guitar Hero 2
Guitar Hero
Klonoa 2
R&C: Up Your Arsenal
MGSIII
Twisted Metal Black
(I removed other racing games, will let this slide because of vehicular combat not exactly a sport)
Shadow of the Colossus
DoA Hardcore
ICO
R&C Going Commando
Jak & Daxter
Persona 4
Timesplitters II
Viewtiful Joe
Rayman 2 Revolution

This pegs the PS2's 90+ games at 30, even.

PS4 90+ games:

Grand Theft Auto V
The Last of Us Remastered
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Journey
Bloodborne
The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine DLC
Inside
Flower
Diablo III
Overwatch
Shovel Knight
Rayman Legends
Tales of the Borderlands
The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone DLC

3 of those are really just 1 game, The Witcher III. Some of them are remasters of PS3 games as well.

 

[Floody]

No accounting for taste, but you might what to get yours checked out. Your engine light's blinking.

Although I don't think it's the worst in the series (Peace Walker is of the canoe games at least) I think it's the worst numbered entry, literally everything but the gameplay and performance was super disappointing for me, the gameplay was good enough to make up for a lot of it, but I very much doubt I'll ever touch 5 again, whereas I've played through 1, 2, 3 and even 4 multiple times.

Edit: just looked up MGS2's MC score and it's 96, so it doesn't really disprove him. Though the actual best MGS game, Snake Eater only has a 91, so it's all wrong anyway.

 

[Elephant]

Lets be honest, modern games have a much slower development lifecycle these days. Studios used to be able to pump out quality games on a regular basis. It's frankly ridiculous to suggest that the PS4 is anywhere, or will ever be, close. (Not that it hasn't had some great games).

As an example, FFVII was released in '97, FFVIII '99, FFIX '00, FFX '01. Imagine that kind of output now!

 

[Ushojax]

Nothing will ever come close to the PS2. Just compare the quality of big franchises on PS2 vs PS4. Half-baked titles like MGSV and FFXV look pathetic against MGS2/3 and FFX/X-2/XII.

The cost of making games has ballooned so dramatically that both the quality and quantity of AAA software has taken a massive hit. We are at a stage where games are taking 5 years to come out and still aren't finished when they launch.

 

[Greddleok]

Why are you even comparing metacritic scores? Not only is it irrelevant to quality, but scoring systems have changed over time.
There are now fewer "large" game journal/websites that actually give a score, and there are more no-name fans who give scores (anyone remember Biogamer girl?)

It's not a valid comparison at all.

literally everything but the gameplay and performance was super disappointing for me, the gameplay was good enough to make up for a lot of it, but I very much doubt I'll ever touch 5 again.

This makes no sense. The gameplay was disappointing. The gameplay was good. What?

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

I'm going to modify the PS2 All-Time List removing sports titles which presumably are not as good as today's and removing iterative games from the list (specifically Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution and MGSIII: Subsistence).

GTA III
RE4
MGSII
GTA: SA
GTA: VC
Tony Hawk IV
Devil May Cry
God of War
Virtua Fighter IV
God of War II
Okami
Soul Calibur II
Prince of Persia: SoT
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy X
Guitar Hero 2
Guitar Hero
Klonoa 2
R&C: Up Your Arsenal
MGSIII
Twisted Metal Black
(I removed other racing games, will let this slide because of vehicular combat not exactly a sport)
Shadow of the Colossus
DoA Hardcore
ICO
R&C Going Commando
Jak & Daxter
Persona 4
Timesplitters II
Viewtiful Joe
Rayman 2 Revolution

This pegs the PS2's 90+ games at 30, even.

PS4 90+ games:

Grand Theft Auto V
The Last of Us Remastered
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Journey
Bloodborne
The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine DLC
Inside
Flower
Diablo III
Overwatch
Shovel Knight
Rayman Legends
Tales of the Borderlands
The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone DLC

3 of those are really just 1 game, The Witcher III. Most of them are remasters of PS3 games as well.

You're intentionally ignoring people. In the early 2000s there would be 40 games with 90 metacritic or higher, now theres only beem a handful this generation. Reviewers are dramatically more critical than they were 15 years ago.

 

[Unknown?]

It's not really fair to compare until all is said and done now isn't it? I'd say it can hold its own but maybe not up there with the PS2. Everyone saying not even close probably are blinded by sheer nostalgia.

That said the reason why it seems so far ahead is the competition is even weaker than ever. PS1 had to compete with N64 which was strong. PS2 had GC/Xbox which both had great games. Nintendo has been nearly non existent this gen. They've had a small handful of good games but not much. Xbox is even worse this gen and has wider gas in exclusives than even Wii U.

 

[Jarmel]

Closer to the bottom than the top.

 

[mindsale]

Imagine that kind of output now!

That many Final Fantasies would mean a lot of exploring gas stations.


Also too right about development time being slowed exponentially. Plus resources funneled into mobile, which just wasn't a developer drain two decades ago.

 

[ScherzoPrime]

I think it would if there was a robust backwards compatibility library, or better yet some way to play PS1/2 games off disc. I still have some hope those can be incorporated though.

 

[mindsale]

You're intentionally ignoring people. In the early 2000s there would be 40 games with 90 metacritic or higher, now theres only beem a handful this generation. Reviewers are dramatically more critical than they were 15 years ago.

You're intentionally ignoring 2 of my previous replies where I agree that criticism has become much more stringent in subsequent console generations. Read.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Hardware and OS? Absolutely.

Library? Nah... but we have a few years to go and there's already a lot of great stuff out so far this year.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

I think I have 1 (Uncharted 4) and a half (Battlefront) original games for PS4. But maybe it's just me. I do need to get the latest entry (entries?) in the "Tales of" series, though.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Not close to the first 2 playstations imo

 

[HotHamBoy]

I think I have 1 (Uncharted 4) and a half (Battlefront) original games for PS4. But maybe it's just me. I do need to get the latest entry (entries?) in the "Tales of" series, though.

Weird.

PS4 has a lot of great exclusives.

 

[Outrun]

Not even fucking close...

I know it is good time to be a PS4 owner...

But come on now.

 

[Future PhaZe]

PS1, yeah, PS2 and PS3? No. PS4 doesn't have its own TLOU, Journey, or GOW3. Not yet anyway.

Not trying to be mean, but how old are you?

Like, better than Ps1? Seriously? The sheer number of amazing games on that console is insane. I'm talking GOAT quality games. FF7, 8, 9, GTA 1/2, MGS1, etc.

Come on man