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Sony could have put themselves in a better software position for the PS4 launch......

B

BruiserBear

Banned
I know there are some people excited about Killzone Shadow Fall, Driveclub, and Knack. However, I think it's quite fair to say that lineup isn't lighting most people's hair on fire to buy a PS4 day one. There are lots of reasons to be excited about the PS4, but that exclusive launch lineup isn't looking stellar. All three might turn out to be solid games, but I think the launch window lineup could have been better. Here are my thoughts on how.


For starters, why does Driveclub even exist? I think this is very fair question to ask. Sony already has the premiere sim racer in Gran Turismo, so creating another simmish racer just strikes me as the strangest decision. Have Evolution cranking out a crazy arcade racer of some sort. At least that would create a new standout franchise for the PS4. Driveclub is just depressing every time I think about it.

I think Sony needs to manage these in house teams better, and they should have demanded back in 2010 that Polyphony was going to have Gran Turismo 6 out in the fall of 2012 on PS3. A two year window is not asking too much, and tons of teams pull it off. Yes, you'd have to pull back the scope a bit, but that's exactly what this team needs, some discipline. Then, they could have ensured a GT6 "PS4 edition" for the launch window. So now you've got an exciting arcade racer from Evolution at launch, and a Gran Turismo game following soon after. That would have been a great one two punch.

Knack. I won't ask why this exists, but as a fan of character action games I'd be lying if I said this game has me excited. The initial reveal in February had me intrigued, but as soon as we saw real gameplay at E3 it didn't get anyone excited. IMO having Cerny lead a team making a new Crash Bandicoot or Jak and Daxter game seems like a far smarter idea. At least there you've already got great mascots in place, and you're not creating one that looks as bland as Knack. Hell, even Puppeteer would have been a nice choice for the PS4 launch. It's not going to sell gangbusters on PS3 anyway, so why not put it on the new console where it could look even better, and get people excited about something new that looks great?

I'll leave Killzone alone, as I think it makes sense to have an exclusive shooter at launch, and I'm confident this game will be solid, and probably score the highest among the three PS4 launch games.

Anyway, in my world the PS4 launch lineup would look like this.

Killzone Shadow Fall
Crazy Arcade Racer from Evolution
Crash Bandicoot or Jak and Daxter game headed by Cerny
Maybe Puppeteer too.

Then next Spring they'd have Infamous and Gran Turismo 6 PS4 Edition still coming. I think that lineup would have garnered a lot more buzz than the current one.
 
Driveclub exists because GT PS4 wasn't going to be ready and Microsoft has Forza. Otherwise, they'd probably have Evolution making another arcade racer.
 
I'll probably end up canceling my preorder and waiting until next year when it has a decent library. I still gotta play a bunch of PS3 games :)
 
They could have, sure, but I'm not too worried about it. There is still so much coming in the first year that we don't know about.
 
I think they both could have (both PS4 & X1) IMO. I am going with multi-platforms for my first few games.

And yes - a new Crash would have been great!
 
Dizastah said:
I'm sure they will announce new games but not sure if they will be launch titles.
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True, but then again, some of the games that have shown aren't launch titles either. At the same time, we could see a chunk more indies announcing their next projects for launch.
 
Solstice said:
Driveclub exists because GT PS4 wasn't going to be ready and Microsoft has Forza. Otherwise, they'd probably have Evolution making another arcade racer.
Click to expand...

Well, that's part of my point. Sony needs to manage their teams better, and after the debacle that was GT5's development cycle, Sony should have demanded that team crank out a sequel in 2 years. Then that would have given them time for a nice port to PS4 in the launch window. That would have been the best business decision, and sometimes it feels like Sony loses sight of that.

Microsoft could have certainly sold more copies of Forza 5 on the 360, but they realized it was smarter to make it a launch game as it helped the new console get off the ground with a great title.
 
I agree that Knack doesn't look that appealing but it Drive Club is there so they'd have a racing game at launch since GT6 won't be a PS4 game. TGS is coming and hopefully we'll see something from Sony and third party developers soon, maybe we'll have a a look at Deep Down there too !

And yeah Polyphony Digital need to get their shit together and finish their games quicker.
 
BruiserBear said:
You believe they're going to announce more launch games at Gamescom? I don't see that happening.
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Launch window is definitely a possibility.

I still don't understand the logic in releasing Beyond Two Souls, The Last of Us and Gran Turismo 6 on Playstation 3. I understand wanting to support your current generation platform, but at least one of those should have been a Playstation 4 launch title, or at the very least, cross generation. The presence of any of those, particularly the latter two, on the Playstation 4 would have made their launch lineup legitimately great.
 
They stack up fine versus their launch window competitor
..outside of forza they have a weaker launch.

They don't need GT7 right now to move boxes, they are doing fine without it and will wait till they need a shot in the arm...

Sony is going to be just fine. Hell, MS is too
 
Do y'all not get the tired of rehasing old thread topics?

PS4 Launch lineup is fine if you compare it to most launch lineups.
 
BruiserBear said:
Well, that's part of my point. Sony needs to manage their teams better, and after the debacle that was GT5's development cycle, Sony should have demanded that team crank out a sequel in 2 years. Then that would have given them time for a nice port to PS4 in the launch window. That would have been the best business decision, and sometimes it feels like Sony loses sight of that.
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I'm sure Sony would rather have a good game than get PD to crank out a piece of unpolished shite in 2 years.

GT5 came out November 2010 so it's only been 3 years anyway.
 
harSon said:
Launch window is definitely a possibility.

I still don't understand the logic in releasing Beyond Two Souls, The Last of Us and Gran Turismo 6 on Playstation 3. I understand wanting to support your current generation platform, but at least one of those should have been a Playstation 4 launch title, or at the very least, cross generation. The presence of any of those, particularly the latter two, on the Playstation 4 would have made their launch lineup legitimately great.
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Keep in mind that besides being a platform holder, Sony is a publisher and they need to make money. The games you mentioned, while it would have been ideal for the to release on the ps4, it would require people actually having the ps4 first compared to the ps3 which they already have. Its all about install base
 
Solstice said:
Driveclub exists because GT PS4 wasn't going to be ready and Microsoft has Forza. Otherwise, they'd probably have Evolution making another arcade racer.
Click to expand...
GT PS4 would be GT6.

BruiserBear said:
Then, they could have ensured a GT6 "PS4 edition" for the launch window. So now you've got an exciting arcade racer from Evolution at launch, and a Gran Turismo game following soon after. That would have been a great one two punch.
Click to expand...

If you're gonna remove Drive Club then why make GT6 PS4 edition a launch window game?
It should've been a cross platform game, released day and date with the PS4. Keep releasing it on the PS3 and do a Full HD edition for the PS4 running at native 1920x1080, fixed 60fps, high precision effects like smoke, weather effects, shadows and you're done.

Tried the PS3 demo and i'm dissapointed. I think they dialed back all the effects, interior shadows, amount of smoke and the game still has framerate problems. There are also only 6 cars in a race in the demo. I hope PD can sort this about before launch.
 
I doubt those are the only games. If you look back at the Vita, they tended to spread announcements over several conferences, so they woudl always have something to show.

I don't expect to know all launch window games till post TGS.
 
I agree with you OP. Their launch lineup could and should be a lot better than it is. The exclusive software they have is completely unappealing to my friends and I. It's hard to get excited about the console because of that.
 
If KZ and Driveclub are solid games that's more than enough when you include Watch_Dogs, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Black Flag and probably others in forgetting.

I don't feel like I need 5 top tier first party exclusives from the get go. They'll come down the road and it will be fine. I only want a few games to play at launch, not like 10. The launch lineup is fine.
 
awesomebro said:
Keep in mind that besides being a platform holder, Sony is a publisher and they need to make money. The games you mentioned, while it would have been ideal for the to release on the ps4, it would require people actually having the ps4 first compared to the ps3 which they already have. Its all about install base
Click to expand...

It also pays to have foresight. What's more important: Bringing in immediate profit on a video game, or insuring that the future of your video game platform gets off on the best foot possible?
 
I would have waited until they officially announced the entire launch software lineup before making this thread

Solstice said:
Driveclub exists because GT PS4 wasn't going to be ready and Microsoft has Forza. Otherwise, they'd probably have Evolution making another arcade racer.
Click to expand...

but..................... Driveclub is a fucking arcade game, It was announced an arcade game, it- oh why bother



*thread saved*
 
Should have just made The Last of Us, Beyond, Rain and Gran Turismo 6 all PS4 games. :/

Saying that I wouldn't be surprised if a few of those are also released on the PS4, just a shame not at launch though.
 
For me it's not even about the launch titles. I want to play the best versions of games like Watch Dogs and CoD Ghosts and that's on PS4 for $400.

Also Battlefield 4 and AC IV are there too.

Launch games aren't just about exclusives to me.
 
I honestly agree. There isn't a single PS4 game in the near future that I care about. inFamous is nice, but it's stupid to buy a console to only play one game and it's not out until next year anyways. All in all, Sony really hasn't made a compelling argument for why I should buy their system, and as such I'm just not going to.

Maybe if they announce some worthwhile launch games at GamesCom I might change my mind, but the chances of anything significant for launch being announced this close to launch are basically nil.
 
Carl said:
I'm sure Sony would rather have a good game than get PD to crank out a piece of unpolished shite in 2 years.

GT5 came out November 2010 so it's only been 3 years anyway.
Click to expand...

People are gonna jump down my throat for bringing the Xbox into this, but Turn 10 studios turned Forza 4 out in 2 years. It was a very nice product.

Now they're going to have Forza 5 ready for launch this fall, 2 years after Forza 4. Did you see Forza 5 at E3? That was a game that created some buzz. It looked and ran great months before launch.

I don't think there is any denying that Polyphony is an undisciplined team that needs some tighter management. 2 years is enough time to make a great game for most teams.

gogogow said:
If you're gonna remove Drive Club then why make GT6 PS4 edition a launch window game?
It should've been a cross platform game, released day and date with the PS4. Keep releasing it on the PS3 and do a Full HD edition for the PS4 running at native 1920x1080, fixed 60fps, high precision effects like smoke, weather effects, shadows and you're done.

Tried the PS3 demo and i'm dissapointed. I think they dialed back all the effects, interior shadows, amount of smoke and the game still has framerate problems. There are also only 6 cars in a race in the demo. I hope PD can sort this about before launch.
Click to expand...

I didn't suggest GT6 being a cross platform game precisely because I figured that would be asking too much of Polyphony. They have a hard enough time just getting a PS3 game done on time, let alone a launch version for a new console.

By pushing them to have GT6 ready in the fall of 2012, that would have then given them 15 months to work on a PS4 port in the Spring of 2014.
 
Evolution_1ne said:
I would have waited until they officially announced the entire launch software lineup before making this thread
Click to expand...

smh



Evolution_1ne said:
but..................... Driveclub is a fucking arcade game, It was announced an arcade game, it- oh why bother
Click to expand...

They can call it whatever they want, but it looks like a Gran Turismo game to the average consumer. I said "crazy arcade racer". That means I think Evolution should have been making something that looks nothing like Gran Turismo.

Duxxy3 said:
The new ratchet and clank and gt6 should be on the PS4.
Click to expand...

Shit. I totally forgot about that one. Good point.
 
BruiserBear said:
Now they're going to have Forza 5 ready for launch this fall, 2 years after Forza 4. Did you see Forza 5 at E3? That was a game that created some buzz. It looked and ran great months before launch.
Click to expand...

I thought they said they made Forza 5 in tandem with Forza 4 because they were preparing their Driver AI stuff early.

Besides, PD said themselves that once Gran Turismo is done selling on the PS3, they'd consider a port.
 
3-4 exclusive titles are more than enough.

People will buy third party software anyway, with the likes of BF4, CoD, AC, Watch Dogs, etc. coming out in the launch-window of both consoles.

I do agree that Ms' launch line-up looks a bit more interesting, at least for me.

But we don't have the complete picture yet.
 
Karuto said:
I thought they said they made Forza 5 in tandem with Forza 4 because they were preparing their Driver AI stuff early.
Click to expand...

I haven't heard that, and I'm sure all these games share assets with their sequels, but the Turn 10 team is going to have shipped Forza 4 and 5 about 2 years apart. That is impressive, and it's a shame Sony can't make Polyphony that productive.
 
But what will be Xbone's exclusives at launch? I'm not being sarcastic. Will it be better?

Also, how many games you guys can play in six months? I can't really play more than 6 games a year without generating some serious backlog.

I mean, any multiplayer FPS will easily consume 500 hours to get things going. Any single player that is not Journey will consume 30 to 100 hours if it does not suck.
 
BruiserBear said:
smh





They can call it whatever they want, but it looks like a Gran Turismo game to the average consumer. I said "crazy arcade racer". That means I think Evolution should have been making something that looks nothing like Gran Turismo.
Click to expand...

shaking your head for what, you have the confirmed launch lime up?

and yeah you right, the average consumer is indeed a collection of brain dead fucking morons who would mistake Drive Club for GT, thus begins the degradation of this generation of games
 
Agree. I was forcing myself to get hyped for Knack so hard, but the truth is it's absolutely not a system seller for me and it pushed my PS4 purchase into next year. That being said it's the same for XB1 and out was the same for WiiU. Bland launches all over the place.
 
I have no idea why they greenlighted Killzone 4 for the same season of BF4 and Ghosts.
I understand that Driverclub is meant to not devaluate the brand Grand Turismo due to its business model.
 
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