There are about three months until the New Generation And this has been talked about and debated for months and months: hardware, specifications, peripherals, development studies, catalogs, prices, etc. There are still important details to be known such as, without going any further, the final Xbox One release date or the detailed specifications of it.
The fact is that, leaving aside the chips and circuitry, what always ends up being decisive when choosing one platform or another are the games. And more, now that Microsoft has backtracked on most of the wrong and conflicting decisions it had made: draconian DRM, necessary connection, obstacles to independent developers, mandatory Kinect connected, etc. What good would a machine with stratospheric specifications with a rickety catalog be worth? And in this regard, we know that the bulk of it is made up of multiplatform titles such as Call of Duty or FIFA on duty, as well as new franchises with a future such as Destiny or Watch Dogs. But, logically, we will always find those exclusives that make us choose one machine or another.
And in this aspect, I believe, Sony and Microsoft seem to carry quite differentiated strategies. Microsoft neglected the catalog and the exclusive releases for Xbox 360 in its final stretch in order to focus on its next console and form what is, in my opinion, the most complete and varied catalog of the two: Forza Motorsport 5, Killer Instinct, Dead Rising 3, Ryse, etc. All this combined with exclusivities and advantages such as the dedicated servers in Call of Duty: Ghosts, the most content in FIFA 14 (a game that is given away with reservations in Europe) and with games like Project Spark, Kinect Sport Rivals 2 and, mi most anticipated, Titanfall on the horizon.
Meanwhile, the Playstation 3 Sony has yet to receive two great titles such as Gran Turismo 6 and Beyond: Two Souls and, perhaps for this reason, its launch catalog is somewhat weaker if we talk about blockbusters or triple AAA. We find Driveclub, an overwhelming Killzone: Shadowfall and Knack among the most remarkable titles that, yes, will be complemented by a huge number of independent titles and free2plays interesting like Planetside 2 or Blacklight. The horizon, in the short term, also seems somewhat more uncertain being the impressive Infamous: Second Son or the mysterious and distant The Order: 1886, the only thing we can find dated 2014.
But just as a generation is not won with numbers and hardware data, it is extremely difficult to obtain a launch catalog that, yes, can contribute to swell initial sales and form a good park of consoles. And that's where Microsoft You have to invest the money that you currently spend on exclusivities with certain companies such as EA or on company games cookies like Dead Rising 3 or the future Sunset Overdrive. And it is that, with respect to what we saw in 360, the console has stopped having large studios such as the defunct Bizarre, Epic Games or Bungie among its ranks of first party (studios that develop exclusively for a company) and neither took advantage the opportunity to gain more franchises to work with when THQ disbanded and put its franchises up for auction. Meanwhile, two of their own studios were created in Victoria and Osaka, still without known projects, and several small developers such as Twisted Pixel or Press Play have been acquired that seem to be mired in projects for Kinect.
But the main question arises when thinking of a long-term catalog when Microsoft has already shown practically all its cards. If we focus on the first, we know that 343 Industries is working on a new Halo for 2014, that Lionhead Studios is with the new Fable Legends, a teaser of the futuristic shooter of Black Tusk has already been shown (Microsoft relies a lot on this title), Turn10 will launch Forza 5 at launch and RARE is back to work on an exclusive title for Kinect although it is quite likely that it is working on something else. If we talk about second party, we also know what Remedy, Crytek and Insomniac are working on while, possibly, Playground Games has a new Forza Horizon in mind. All this, again, skipped with numerous "smaller" companies working on projects for the cloud and Kinect and, for now, and pending the new policies on the publication of independent titles, a catalog that is too scarce in this regard. In fact, companies and developers that had partnerships With Microsoft Studios such as Tequila Works, Jonathan Blow or Mojang they have chosen to open relationships with Sony and publish their new titles on Playstation 4.
If we continue with Ps4 we will see how the company has shown the same catalog throughout the year, with independent titles such as Rime or MurasakiBaby shown at Gamescom the main novelties of the same in recent days. But in return, and supported by your reservation number, Sony has in the chamber a long string of projects from its main studios. We do not know anything about what Naughty Dog (creators of Uncharted and The Last of Us) or Santa Monica (God of War), who already declared to be working on several large projects (there is talk of up to three internal studies). In addition, Guerrilla Games is working on a new IP, Media Molecule still does not release a pledge on its new project and Sony Japan and Quantic Dream have recently finalized their titles for Ps3 with what it would be logical that they were already immersed in future releases for Playstation 4. All this without forgetting the almost forgotten The Last Guardian of Team Ico.
Ultimately, Microsoft has seen the need to show its main cards too soon, leaving practically nothing to announce. Meanwhile, Sony has built a somewhat lazy outlet catalog, spiced it up with an immense amount of indies And, surely considering the number of reservations and the reception of the console, they have a lot to teach and with what to surprise for the coming years. And in this aspect and with Microsoft acquiring temporary exclusivities and partnerships with third parties Instead of promoting your own development, you may end up falling into a case of "bread for today and hunger for tomorrow." Time will tell.
After E3 and just finished Gamescom, the next stops to find out more about new titles for the new generation are the Tokyo Game Show and, above all, the VGA end of the year where, if we look at the background, great projects are always shown. What there is no doubt is that we have a great generation ahead of us, we have to enjoy!
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