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[Fbh]

Exclusives are one of the big reasons I stick to Sony. I just really like how they still seem committed to investing in big AAA single player games in an industry that feels more and more like it's going towards everything being online and connected (at least in the realm of AAA games). Thinking back at both this gen and last gen, some of my favourite games have been exclusive to Playstation and when looking towards the future, several of my most anticipated games are playstation exclusive.

But during this E3 I've seen a lot of comments (both here and in other places) that Ps4/Sony exclusives feel too similar to each other. That they are all third person, cinematic experiences that pretty much feel like different takes on the same formula.

But I disagree. I think they all feel pretty different from each other. I think the problem is the way Sony is showing them.

A good example would be the recent God of War.
When it was first shown I was pretty skeptical. I was of the opinion that GOW needed a change but that first demo made it look like they had taken The Last of Us and put a God of War skin on it which wasn't the sort of change I was hoping for. The camera angle was similar, there was also a kid, and a large part of the demo was them walking and talking in what looked like a pretty scripted/cinematic type of experience.
But as I play the game now I couldn't have been more wrong. Both the camera angle and the fact there's a kid still make it easy to draw comparisons to TLOU but the games feel completely different. Where TLOU was indeed a more narrative/cinematic experience, 90% of my time with God of War has been pure gameplay. There are some cutscenes and there are a few walking and talking scenes but 90% of my time has been spent fighting, exploring, solving puzzles, improving my gear and engaging in fun gameplay focused side content.

Now, looking at the other games I can't help but feel like they are making a mistake by focusing on all the similar elements in them instead of what makes them unique. During the conference, Spiderman looked like another highly scripted and cinematic game but looking at the extended gameplay demos (and impressions from people that have played it) it seems to be way more in line with something like Arkham City or Infamous than TLOU or Uncharted

Then comes Ghost of Tsushima which I obviously haven't played and, thus, gives me no choice but to speculate. But I saw a lot of people in the thread be like "great, another heavily scripted, cinematic third person game". I can only guess from my past experience with Sucker Punch games, but I think the actual game will be way more open than what we saw and I'm sure that while some of the missions will play out like that demo (which at least to me is great), that section wasn't representative of the what we will be doing the vast majority of the time (In the same way as the first gameplay demo of God of War wasn't really representative of what the game really is like).

So how do you feel about them? Do you indeed think that they are too samey, do you think the approach of how they are showing them is wrong or do you have another take?

 

[Codes 208]

I can kind of see that. Sony likes cinematic experiences (tlou, 1887, gow) ms likes shooters and dude bro action games and nintendo likes implementing gimmicks into every major game they sell.

Though sony is kind of pulling a 360 with their marketing deals with cod and destiny this gen.

 

[Musky_Cheese]

Like Nintendo, Sony’s exclusives are diverse and that allows them to be fresh.

Even Last of Us and Days Gone aren’t similar.

 

[bitbydeath]

I like third person games much more than first person if we're talking that as the alternative.

The Last of Us is largely considered as one of the best games of all time, if not THE BEST.
Warhawk is the best multiplayer/shooter game of all time. IMO

Silent Hill, Detroit, GoW, GTA, Until Dawn etc are all fantastic.
The best games are made in third person and if that makes them all similar to one another then I don't really care.

 

[MayauMiao]

Right now games done in 3rd person is currently the best way to do games with seamless cinematic experience.

Even if Sony exclusives start to look the same, as long as they can bring something new to the table game, then it really doesn't matter.

 

[HarryKS]

The showcase ones are cinematic.

 

[TGO]

Yeah Ghost of Tsushima, TLoU2 and Spider Man look near identical, Ellie even has Web Slingers and Samurai Sword.

 

[Vawn]

I played Bloodborne followed by Little Big Planet 3 followed by Uncharted 4 followed by Persona 5 and finally MLB The Show '18.

I swear it's like I played the same exact game five times. They were basically palette swaps for each other.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I think Death Stranding is going to give us something more than a typical cinematic experience. It's like with MGSV. Didn't some people say MGS was mostly cinematic? If you've played the games, obviously there's more to it than watching a film. But MGSV was very different. It gave you that change, regardless if you thought it was bad or incomplete.

I personally think Death Stranding could be the Citizen Kane of PS4 exclusives.

Plus it was the developer showing off Ghost of Tsushima, which for all we know could have a huge world to explore and multiple tasks to complete. Plus who knows how each battle can play out. Maybe that dual they showed off needed to happen in order for the world to open up.

Sekiro could be what action games need. Dark Souls was a work in progress. It took years for that game to come out. Who knows if Ghost of Tsushima is what we need.

I certainly see a point if you want to call something out. Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, Assassin's Creed Origins all have a world HUB and your quest markers. They change it up by allowing us to hide the interface or HUB. So AC is multiplatform, but I had open World vibes from owning AC:O on PS4.

They all are different. I sometimes skip a cutscene here and there or I skip a dialogue sequence so that I get actual game time.

TLoU2 looked very good, but there's also that feeling like the game can't possibly be played a better way than how the developers played in that demonstration. That's bound to happen and I wouldn't judge a game based on it. Like I wouldn't judge Ghost of Tsushima based on a rescue mission.

Spider-Man's demonstration was heavily scripted. He was counting the clock to get out of the building and each area wasn't meant for exploration. Sure, the cutscenes could get annoying in some places, but I don't think that's the entire game. There has be to a good sense of balance. Insomniac has always had good pacing to their games. I think Spider-Man might be excellent.

 

[bitbydeath]

I played Bloodborne followed by Little Big Planet 3 followed by Uncharted 4 followed by Persona 5 and finally MLB The Show '18.

I swear it's like I played the same exact game five times. They were basically palette swaps for each other.

That's because they were all created in LBP3.

 

[Vawn]

Yeah Ghost of Tsushima, TLoU2 and Spider Man look near identical, Ellie even has Web Slingers and Samurai Sword.

I think she's also pregnant with a crazy alien baby that gives thumbs up.

 

[Moneal]

I don't care if they all look the same. I care how they play. I don't know anyone that would say God of War played like Uncharted or TLoU. They have a similar camera angle, that is about it. Spiderman, God of War, TLoU, Tsushima, and the rest all play different enough for me to not feel like I'm playing the same game. I can see how they might look the same, due to being 3rd person.

 

[Danjin44]

I personally like third person waaaay more than first person, so I'm glad Sony making more third person games.

 

[Raoh]

That's because they were all created in LBP3.

LMFAO

 

[Cyber Caesar]

Would have been nice to have a Driveclub sequel about now.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Yes in that they tend to be third-person action games with very high production values.

But so far, so good: I haven't found many of them to not be to my liking.

 

[Horsemama1956]

I think you could say this about all 3. Generally the exclusives are just newer versions of previous gen games with a few slight changes.

 

[Hotspurr]

I think the gameplay is different enough, but what is the same is how often they make you do a mindless walking sequence or something that has no gamrplay or immersion value what so ever (like picking flowers in GoW, if it was for.comic relief I didn't get the joke). Stop compromising gameplay for cinematic frivolity. Same goes for camera positioning, big hit on GoW gameplay IMO in favor of a more cinematic feel.

 

[farmerboy]

On a superficial level they bear some semblance to each other but that's it. As you discovered there are important differences and nuances that seperate these games.

 

[Fox Mulder]

They're diverse but I can see people thinking otherwise if they don't like cinematic single player stuff or just want to dismiss things they aren't playing.

Now MS has been beating that ForzaGearsHalo drum for generations though.

 

[oagboghi2]

Similar in that they tend to be game of the year contenders?

 

[xool]

[Spiderman doesn't - it's a contracted developer anyway]

Yes they look similar - they share a ton of tech, as well as third person design.

Just for fun (not my montage)

http://leeterr.tumblr.com/image/174861866540

(don't go deeper into that tumblr because TOTALLY NSFW - I warned you, the link is ok though)

 

[thelastword]

Op, that is some meme that was trying to gain some traction by some detractors of Sony games, I see it has reared it's head again, well it's E3 afterall. The truth is, Sony has many games that are third person, so people assume all tps are the same, having not played them of course. Sony has many TPS that push great graphics and tell a story, so all TPS with nice cutscenes and great visuals and animations are the same......regardless of how different they play. So First light plays like GOW, Detroit plays like Horizon, UC4 plays like MLB the Show or even Until Dawn.

Hey, GTS has an opening cutscene or scapes driveby, all of Sony's games are cinematic you see. Dreams, Concrete Genie, all the VR games are so cinematic you see. Wipeout is too slow at 24fps, therefore too cinematic....they're all the same.

There are a million shooters, a million zombie games, soon there will be a million battle royale games on every system. Thank Crom that Sony is not wasting it's time pushing more of those (unless it's the resistance trilogy being remastered or the Killzone series by Bluepoint). I personally love TPS games, I would love another Ninja Gaiden, I was really excited when I saw the first few seconds of that DOA6 trailer, thought it was Gaiden for a bit.....so TPS are great and take several forms of gameplay.......and speaking of Crom, I would love another Conan (2007) game, not exiles please.

So yes, Sony is concentrating on the right things, they have all genres covered and offer experiences in VR no other console is touching. Where else are you going to play something like Detroit, then dreams, then the last guardian, then gravity rush or Gow, GTS or DC, if there is one thing you could say about Sony is that they have mastered variety in games and offer the most genres and perspectives to play at in the console space.....That can't be contested.....So whoever is trying to push that is just trying to find a line to shine.

You will also hear;
Sony's games are overrated
Sony's games only focus on visuals
Sony's games are too cinematic, I'll watch it on youtube...

The last one is where you're at, no sane or reasonable person ever made any such argument above.....You know who made those...come on now...

 

[Rathorial]

The camera perspective and cinematic production values does lump their stuff together on face value, but for me it's just their lack of genre variety. It's mostly some kind of action game or RPG, then an occasional sports (Gran Turismo) or adventure game (every David Cage thing, Until Dawn).

If Sony put out a AAA strategy or sim game, I'd actually be surprised. Microsoft doesn't do any better than Sony, but Nintendo at least has Pikmin and Animal Crossing on top of a bevy of other stuff they try.

 

[oagboghi2]

Sony invests money in games people will actually buy. Animal Crossing and Pikmin, are respectively among the weaker selling Nintendo franchises.

 

[Halo0629]

It looks the same if you look on a smaller picture but seriously if you look at every sony exclusives released on the ps4 it has a diversed line up of exclusives with different genres.

 

[xool]

Op, that is some meme that was trying to gain some traction by some detractors of Sony games, I see it has reared it's head again, well it's E3 afterall.

Really Xbox should start getting some stick for its portfolio -

• Gears 5 (or any gears) - last one had an age rating of 18 - how is any of the character design supposed to appeal to anything other than pre-pubescent boy
• Halo Infinite - it's 2018 and they've just worked out open world is a thing. Master Chief's (what sort of name is that?) design looks like $2 off brand plastic soldier doll for ages 4+. They've even matched the cheap green plastic look.
• Forza - wow drive a car. Thanks MS. Never thought of that.
• Sea of Thieves - ok a sub-Fable cartoony look - well at least it's got a design. Sea looks amazing, the rest looks like shit, 4 years in development.

I'm not serious, but fuck they need to move Gears and Halo on a bit.

 

[xviper]

they are similar in two things

1- cinematic story telling
2- high quality graphics

 

[Jarbloko]

Sony needs more new Cartoonish characters.
I miss characters like ratchet, sly, jak, and even...Knack.
Now we only have ultra realistic foes who shots , or uses bow and arrows.

 

[Aces&Eights]

Sure, they do a lot of third person games but I fail to see any similarity between Detroit, Bloodborne and Ratchet and Clank. Little Big Planet is not even close to Horizon Zero Dawn.

 

[DonF]

It's called style, budget and attention.

 

[Velius]

OTS with tons of cinematics. Yes.

But I mean people are buying them, so why would the not keep making them?

 

[n0razi]

I honestly think Nintendo titles are more samey

 

[Bryank75]

People often forget Ratchet & Clank, TLG, Knack 1 & 2, Everybody's Golf, LBP3, Dreams, Infamous, SOTC remake, DriveClub, GT Sport, Gravity Rush 1 & 2, Killzone, MLB, Detroit...

The only truly cinematic games are TLOU, Uncharted series and The Order

GOW is too gameplay focused to be cinematic on their level and has a way higher challenge and skill ceiling.
Horizon is a true open world rpg game in line with Witcher 3.

Death Stranding will very much be a Kojima game about rebuilding the future.
Spider-man is classic Insomniac , with that amazing fun gameplay only they can do.

There is no reason to complain, as long as you have a PS4. I am very grateful for the effort they put into these games. We have an amazing catalogue of titles made to the highest standard.

 

[camelCase]

People often forget Ratchet & Clank,

My words exactly.

But the games mentioned/pictured in the OP are very samey in my opinion and that's why I rarely get em, uncharted is the main one. Been a PS maniac since the first one but couldn't care less about UC. Nice to see yakuza and persona on PS platform, I don't think you can find jpn games that are that easily accessible to someone who isn't into them, on xbox.

 

[MayauMiao]

No one mention Detroit Become Human is also 3rd person?

Just goes to show you depending on how developers implement game play mechanics, a game can feel quite different from one another despite sharing that "samey" camera perspective.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Yes totally, cause the xbox has games like Hatsune Miku Future Tone, Dragon's Crown, Under Night, Persona...So samey!

 

[Tarkus98]

I’ve gained a great deal of respect for Sony’s gaming division(s) over the years. In addition to the cinematic (stupid term) games they takes chances constantly on new IP’s and are willing to fund and release niche titles (Gravity Rush) that they know won’t sell gangbusters (Last Guardian, etc).
They give their studios lots of creative leeway and they results show.
Loved that they released WipeOut and looking forward to MediEvil.
They also have a back catalogue of games that they can resurrect at any time - Syphon Filter, G-Police, Warhawk, damn list can go on forever. So yeah, hope they keep doing what they are doing.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

My words exactly.

But the games mentioned/pictured in the OP are very samey in my opinion and that's why I rarely get em, uncharted is the main one. Been a PS maniac since the first one but couldn't care less about UC. Nice to see yakuza and persona on PS platform, I don't think you can find jpn games that are that easily accessible to someone who isn't into them, on xbox.

Yakuza is on pc lol

 

[camelCase]

Yakuza is on pc lol

Yeah, in your dreams buddy.

 

[Danjin44]

Yeah, in your dreams buddy.

But they did announce Yakuza 0 and kiwami coming to PC.
https://www.pcgamer.com/yakuza-0-and-yakuza-kiwami-announced-for-pc/

 

[meirl]

They are all like watching a movie. Still don’t get the appeal. If I want to watch a movie I turn on the TV or go to the movies.

 

[Danjin44]

They are all like watching a movie. Still don’t get the appeal. If I want to watch a movie I turn on the TV or go to the movies.

Come on. Game like Last of Us might look "cinematic" but it still has tones of game play in survival and grounded difficulty it gives nice challenge. They far from being called movie games.

 

[Tarkus98]

They are all like watching a movie. Still don’t get the appeal. If I want to watch a movie I turn on the TV or go to the movies.

Indeed, because as we all know the games will simply continue to play in movie mode without controller input.

 

[MayauMiao]

Come on. Game like Last of Us might look "cinematic" but it still has tones of game play in survival and grounded difficulty it gives nice challenge. They far from being called movie games.

Its cinematic game is why I continue to game.

Imagine playing Nier Automata without any cinematic, the game would be less memorable and people would see it as another generic hack and slash.

 

[WaterAstro]

Well, samey is literally making the same game, like 11 Forzas, 6 Gears, and 7 Halos.

Even Sony knew when to call it quits when they had ended on the fourth Uncharted or completely changed up God of War.

 

[Danjin44]

Its cinematic game is why I continue to game.

Imagine playing Nier Automata without any cinematic, the game would be less memorable and people would see it as another generic hack and slash.

umm....When was last time you saw game other than NieR series change camera perspective or have bullet hell mechanics or having one of the most unique end sequence?

 

[Psykodad]

I think some people are too narrow-minded at first glance.

Every single title of Sony's exclusives is very different from the others.

- Uncharted
- TLOU
- Horizon
- GT
- Bloodborne
- LBP
- Dreams
- Infamous
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Killzone
- The Order
- Detroit: Become Human

Like others have said, despite some games going for the cinematic feel, each of the above game is quite different.

I feel that the problem is that the word "cinematic" has people roll their eyes instantly, because it has been used for marketing so heavily.

Still, even if you'd have two similar games, at the end of the day it's all about the execution.
I still remember when TLOU was looked at as "just another cover-based shooter/zombie-game".

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Yeah, in your dreams buddy.

Two games are coming to PC

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

umm....When was last time you saw game other than NieR series change camera perspective or have bullet hell mechanics or having one of the most unique end sequence?

Starfox touhou game