In part 1 of this series, we cast a reflective glance back at the PlayStation 3 during the early stages of its life, visiting topics such as price tags, games, Blu-ray’s victory against HD-DVD, the introduction of DualShock 3, and the launch of PlayStation Home. After covering the period 2006-2008, we now move forward to the year 2009 and beyond in part II of PlayStation 3 – then and now.
2009
All three major platform holders made a great showing at E3 2009; however, Sony’s presser included games such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and God of War III, which won many post-E3 awards. Also of particular note at Sony’s show was the PlayStation Move, the company’s counter to Nintendo’s Wii Mote motion controller, and later, Microsoft’s Kinect. Elsewhere, the Japanese giant also announced that an additional 50 PSOne classics were to be added to the PlayStation Store.
In terms of core software, 2009 saw the release of a number of triple-A titles, among which included some notable PS3-exclusives. The first half of the year included titles such as Flower, Killzone 2, Resident Evil 5, Infamous, and Prototype, while the latter portion of 2009 saw the likes of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dirt 2, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Demon’s Souls, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Trine. Uncharted 2 in particular was a standout release, considered by many as one of the greatest PS3 games ever conceived and raked in numerous awards for its landmark visuals and gameplay.
2009 also saw the release of the PlayStation 3 Slim model, which was announced during Sony’s Gamescom press event. These systems were lighter, smaller, more energy efficient, and less likely to suffer the infamous “yellow light of death” error that plagued its bulky brother.
2010
Although Nintendo arguably made a great impression at E3 2010, Sony’s conference was spectacular. The hardware manufacturer took the wraps off an impressive Killzone 3 demo, and announced PlayStation Plus, a service available to those who were willing to pay more money for additional content via PSN. Sony also demoed LittleBigPlanet 2, Dead Space 2, and dropped a huge announcement – a new Twisted Metal game was in the works. Not to be outdone, Valve boss Gabe Newell also made a surprise appearance during the show and confirmed that puzzle sequel Portal 2 would be coming to PS3, while marketing maestro Kevin Butler popped up for a quick chat to rapturous applause. Later on in the year, Sony also made a splash at Gamescom with the announcement of Resistance 3, and rolled out PlayStation Move in September 2010. Sales were modest compared to Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral, however, though Move has seen healthy support in the year following its release.
Overall, the year 2010 was a great period for quality PS3 games. The first chunk of the year featured titles such as Heavy Rain, Bayonetta, Final Fantasy XIII, MAG, Bishock 2, Battlefield 2: Bad Company, God of War III and Red Dead Redemption among others. Heavy Rain and God of War III in particular won many awards and are must-have titles in their own right, boasting sumptuous visuals and compelling gameplay. Later on in the year we were treated to heavy hitters such as Madden NFL 2011, Dead Rising 2, Vanquish, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Gran Turismo 5 and Echocrome 2. By this time, developers found it easier to create games for the PS3, and so games like Madden NFL 2011 and Final Fantasy XIII looked just as good as their Xbox 360 counterparts.
That year, Sony churned out two new PS3 models: one with a 160GB hard drive and the other with 320GB of storage. By that point, the 20 GB and 60 GB launch SKUs were no longer in production, nor was the 80GB unit bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Controversially, these newer models lacked the backwards compatibility function seen in earlier consoles.
2011
And so our feature brings us up to date in the year 2011. In this year’s E3 conference, Sony dominated with games such as Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and Resistance 3. One of the biggest PS3 game announcements came in the form of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, with fans of the stealth- adventure series overjoyed to find out a 4th title was in progress.
The PlayStation 3 has been packed with excellent games and this year is no exception. The first half of 2011 included games such as Dead Space 2, LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3, Dragon Age 2, Crysis 2, Mortal Kombat, Portal 2, LA Noire, and DIRT 3. This year also saw an influx of High Definition collections, including The Prince of Persia HD collection, God of War Origins Collection, and The ICO and Shadow of the Colossus HD collection, offering classic PS2/PSP games with HD visuals and Trophy support among other features. Looking ahead, the next few months will see the release of big hitters such as Uncharted: Drake’s Deception, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Dark Souls, and Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One.
The reception of the PS3 has changed very much since its 2007 launch. PS3s are found in millions of homes in North America, although the Xbox 360 remains the main console of the continent. Indeed, everything was looking pretty rosy for Sony until April 20, 2011, which marked the day the firm’s flagship online service, PSN, was taken offline due to an “external intrusion.” However, Sony failed to notify consumers of the reason behind the outage until several days after the hack, and users were understandably angered as to why they failed to act more swiftly. PSN was offline for over a month before finally being restored in early June. One would assume this would be a big blow to Sony and its online services, and indeed the company did suffer a lot of flak because of it; in the long run however, it actually benefited PSN somewhat. The system was rebuilt, made stronger, and safer for the company’s customers, but the most surprising effect of the hack was that PSN saw an increase in user registration. Furthermore, as a means of extending their gratitude to returning customers, Sony launched a “Welcome Back” program that offered two free games and other free content to members affected by the hack.
2012 and Beyond
E3 2012 is almost a year away, but we wonder what direction the PS3 will take next. Exclusives such as The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy Versus XIII remain in development while the library of PlayStation Move games continues to expand. As for the games gracing the console in 2012, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Mass Effect 3, Twisted Metal and the aforementioned Last Guardian are just some of the highlights we can look forward to for next year.
Will the PS3 close the unit sales gap between itself and the Xbox 360? It is hard to say at this point, though Sony’s console is undoubtedly gaining ground, albeit slowly. Furthermore, while PlayStation Move has got off to a successful start, it’s still being eclipsed by Microsoft’s Kinect. Will that change with the PS3’s library growing at an incredible speed? The future is never certain, but what is visible is that Sony’s huge gaming console has stolen its way into the homes and hearts of millions. Thanks to a good library and quality services at reasonable prices, the PS3 is now seen as a success and a worthy investment for gamers.
Gamers and analysts believe the next Sony game console won’t see the light of day until around 2014, but in the meantime that gives PlayStation 3 owners ample opportunity to soak up the plethora of new games, content, and services offered by platform holder Sony. Back in 2006, the road was a decidedly bumpy affair, though these days you’d be hard pressed to find someone who won’t concede things have smoothed out nicely. PlayStation 3 owners back in 2006 didn’t have an easy ride, with few killer games to tuck into and the constant barrage of criticism piled on the platform by the media and gamers alike. However, these days things are another kettle of fish altogether, and needless to say it’s incredibly pleasing to know your $500-$600 purchase was well worth it.