People keep saying Playstation 2 had a good lineup... did it? Because that’s not what I remember.
I do agree that fall 2001 was friggin’ epic: FFX, GT3, MGS2, GTA3, Ico, Silent Hill 2, Devil May Cry, and Jak and Daxter.
The PS2’s first year lineup was legendary. To bring it into context, imagine if next year saw the release of Final Fantasy 16, Gran Turismo 7, Metal Gear Solid 6, GTA 6, a new Team Ico game, a Silent Hill reboot, Devil May Cry 5 and Jak and Daxter 4... all exclusive for PS5 (or timed exclusive, in some cases). That’s what it would take to truly surpass the PS2.
I think discussing the first year of PS2 is a bit tricky. I agree with Entroyp that the first year was rough until fall 2001 when it went into overdrive. But i remember finally getting my ps2 in may 2001 and having nothing to play on it other than tekken and DoA. I had been used to dozens of PS one games at my finger tips at all times, and it was bizarre going to blockbuster and being forced to play games like SSX because there was literally nothing else.
GT3 came out in the summer, and then DMC and Code Veronica late august, but i remember going through a rough couple of dry months. I wasnt even into RE Code Veronica or Zone of Enders but i remember renting them because i wanted to play the DMC and MGS2 demos. Remember winback and the bouncer game? i played some awful shit that year lmao. thats how thirsty i was.
I am only nitpicking here because technically the PS4 had a great first year if you start including all the third party non exclusive stuff. DriveClub, KZSF, Infamous, Watch Dogs, Destiny, Dragon Age Inquisition, AC Unity, werent exactly MGS2 and GTA3 caliber games, but looking back you see plenty of games, but it's important to note how dry it was for most of the year until fall when the big hitters like Destiny arrived and turned us all into loot addicts.
PS3 was the same, Resistance, CoD 3, Motorstorm simply werent enough. but as soon as fall hit, it was like the Christmas. Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Ratchet, Uncharted, CoD 4, AC1, Half Life Orange Box. Once again, the fall lineupn redeemed the first year, but no one will say that the PS3 had a great first year because those first few months were so rough.
I think with the PS5, it really depends on how Sony does at launch and at launch window. I think for PS5 to be considered great, it has to launch with GT7, Spiderman and Demon Souls. Then Ratchet can be their big Spring title with Horizon coming in the summer like TLOU2 or Ghost. Though Fall is far more likely.