The argument that Sony exclusives look an play all the same is truly baffling to me (GIF heavy thread).

[SecondNature]

All these games are realistic, emotional narratives, focused on shooting. I can only take so much seriousness and devs trying to make hollywood styled cutscenes.

I dont dislike these games at all, but they all share that.

I want more variety like Dreams, LBP, and Astro Bots. Dreams is taking a long time, and I miss the magic LBP gave me on release. Id get Astro Bots if I had VR. I am craving for a racer that's not Gran Turismo or Driveclub and more Mod Nation Racers.

Then there's top down games and JRPGs like Alundra that I wish Sony would do. Bunch of PSOne era games that Id like to see (Medieval will be fun to see back). I think those kind of games are lacking, but the Switch really nails that.

 

[ZSaberLink]

I think it's partly the graphics style and the fact that they are very Western looking games. After a while going for realistic graphics will start to look samey. Of the ones Op listed, they fall into a mix of largely 3 buckets - RPG, action-adventure, and open world (often with guns) while targeting the 18-35 male demographic. To be fair, other western devs do this too. They're also all single-player experiences if I'm not mistaken?

 

[TheGhost]

Those games sell, and a lot. where are games like twisted metal and Warhawk you ask? In the bargain bin.

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"play together"
Yet most of their exclusives can't be played together because they are all "single person focused/third person/action adventure cinematic experiences"

I want something different and I don't mean dreams. Re-invent twisted metal. Put some effort into a new Warhawk. It doesn't have to be bargain bin. Give me something new. Give me something not in the grand scale mold. Give me something with a fun game play loop I can do co-op or with friends and don't pawn off that audience to third parties.

 

[OneBadMutha]

Their biggest games do fit into a genre. I don't think it should be offensive or trolling to say this. It's not even an insult. These games all do play different with different settings, stories and characters but they appeal to fans of single player narrative driven action adventures...for the most part.

I think Sony is currently the #1 publisher in gaming. Even the best have opportunities. I'd like to see more multiplayer. Would like some of this narrative strength to work in a FPS. There's been a void since Halos been struggling with its campaign.

 

[xxracerxx]

I want something different and I don't mean dreams. Re-invent twisted metal. Put some effort into a new Warhawk. It doesn't have to be bargain bin. Give me something new.

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You missed both of these reinventions last generation.

 

[Schreckweg 5000]

I was just picking a few that came to my mind. All Stars being the dumpster fire it was doesn't make Sticker Star less of a dumpster fire. There's a good amount I can list if you really want to get down it and it would really show the contrast between the two, at least starting from this gen onward. Last gen was just a mess for everyone so I'm not even going to try to get into that. Nintendo's side has a far more quality control problem than Sony, and it's been even more apparent recently so whenever people try to argue this it makes no sense to me. There's a lot of crap or just "average" stuff there that just gets excused for whatever reason.

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Sticker Star was not what fans wanted, but it is really not a dumpster fire.

And dude, your narrative was look at Sonys quality control since 2015 and than you namedropped a 6 year old Nintendo game.

Anyway, we are going offtopic. I think we can all agree that WiiUs final breath was a really dark time and both Sony and Nintendo stepped up their game(heh).

 

[Toriko]

I think a big part of this is that Sony's most popular exclusives are more similar to eachother than if you would throw in their less popular ones like Gravity Rush or Astro Bot.

Their biggest sellers like Uncharted, TLOU, GoW and Horizon, while having their differences, are all cinematic third person action games and are much more similar to eachother than Nintendo's biggest sellers like Mario (platformer, 2D and 3D) Zelda (action adventure 2D or 3D), Splatoon (online MP FPS), Mario Kart (racer), Fire Emblem (SRPG), and Smash (fighter).

The truth is that Sony is more close in diversity to Nintendo than a lot of people think but this isn't really known because lots of their entire lineup isn't too popular.

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All of those Nintendo titles are just the usual colorful family friendly titles with the same narrow colorful art style ( nothing wrong with that btw) though .

I don't see it really being any more diverse. Sure genres are different but if you are going to quote Mario kart and Splatoon it is not fair to leave out Gran Turismo, MLB and Dreams. I will agree Sony seems to focus a lot more on the Action Adventure genre but I don't think that makes it way less diverse than the other popular ips out there.

 

[Akumatica]

You can go outside but can you go outside and have a shoot out on a moving train or have a 15 minute convoy chase through Madagascar?? Uncharted is more than just looking at trees; although they have really good looking trees.

It goes for a more realistic style but there's still a strong art direction through all of it. It's fantastical and wild with its pulp action. There's still amazing art direction/animation in the game, that I'd put above most games on the market.

Horizon's robot dinosaur design is iconic. They've really set up a great universe and it's due to having a strong visual identity.

Also GOW is set in a Norse fantasy land. Can't really go outside and jumped by giant 12 feet trolls.

I love DQXI, Persona, and art styles of various types. But Sony first party games have no problems with art direction and diversity. They have some of the best artists in the business.

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I was only referring to the realistic graphics and the unlikeable (to me) characters. The gameplay and set pieces don't matter if I can't get into the game on those factors, like I mentioned with Spider-man. Insomniac are great, the Spyro and Ratchet series are favorites of mine. Resistance had an art style that turned me off but Sunset Overdrive has a great look. It's the only Xbox One game I own (I can't afford another system to play it).

Horizon looks fun until you see the dead eyes, off putting movements, brand new action figure/ plastic cosplay look of the characters in the cut scenes that weirds me out and that's down to the graphic style and art direction. The realism or what I feel is a failed attempt at what they're trying to achieve, when it's off-putting like the Robert Zemeckis CGI films, keeps me away-

 

[luffie]

It's a lame argument, you are just feeding the troll. One might as well take all 1st person shooter and call them all the same.
Haters are just crying inside they can't play all these fabulous exclusives.

I have PS4, and I do hate it a little that those are exclusives and not available on PC.

 

[MillionIII]

"play together"
Yet most of their exclusives can't be played together because they are all "single person focused/third person/action adventure cinematic experiences"

I want something different and I don't mean dreams. Re-invent twisted metal. Put some effort into a new Warhawk. It doesn't have to be bargain bin. Give me something new. Give me something not in the grand scale mold. Give me something with a fun game play loop I can do co-op or with friends and don't pawn off that audience to third parties.

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They did that last gen and it simply didn't work.
Like you said 3rd parties make those kind of games already so I don't see why Sony should follow suit.
Really there is no shortage of co-op games on the market.

 

[DekuBleep]

I usually read people saying that "Sony 1st party games" are mostly walking simulator open world movie games heavy on QTE. (I don't agree.). I never read people talking about "Sony Exclusives" like that.

 

[Betty]

It's a bad faith argument made by salty people who know they can't attack the quality or selling power of Sony's exclusives.

It's like when people say all Nintendo have is Mario, Zelda & Pokemon, as if somehow it's bad Nintendo revisits their most popular and well selling franchises just like every other company.

 

[whiskas_fanatic]

Why have you just copy-pasted same gif OP?

 

[xxracerxx]

Really there is no shortage of co-op games on the market.

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[SuperBoss]

That sentiment has always been nonsense OP.

 

[Phendrift]

All of those Nintendo titles are just the usual colorful family friendly titles with the same narrow colorful art style ( nothing wrong with that btw) though .

I don't see it really being any more diverse. Sure genres are different but if you are going to quote Mario kart and Splatoon it is not fair to leave out Gran Turismo, MLB and Dreams. I will agree Sony seems to focus a lot more on the Action Adventure genre but I don't think that makes it way less diverse than the other popular ips out there.

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I mean sure, but I don't really think being family friendly is important for this comparison. I thought we were going by genre.

 

[Deleted member 8777]

It's a valid criticism. Their big budget games do seem to follow a LOT of the same design principles, especially when it comes to exploration, character progression, having very simple crafting, a semi open world, the same kinds of side missions, presentation style, collectibles, the list goes on. A few cinematic gifs dont really change that.

 

[ALIENSUPERSTAR]

they're all single player action games for the most part but action games have a really wide range soooo

 

[Lant_War]

It's a valid criticism. Their big budget games do seem to follow a LOT of the same design principles, especially when it comes to exploration, character progression, having very simple crafting, a semi open world, the same kinds of side missions, presentation style, collectibles, the list goes on. A few cinematic gifs dont really change that.

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Except it's not. It's one thing to say that they share some elements in their design (which eh, maybe if you exclude some games), and it's another thing to say they're pretty much clones which it's factually not true.

 

[Mechaplum]

It's a valid criticism. Their big budget games do seem to follow a LOT of the same design principles, especially when it comes to exploration, character progression, having very simple crafting, a semi open world, the same kinds of side missions, presentation style, collectibles, the list goes on. A few cinematic gifs dont really change that.

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You just described a large portion of all games on all consoles. Well done.

 

[VanDoughnut]

I was only referring to the realistic graphics and the unlikeable (to me) characters. The gameplay and set pieces don't matter if I can't get into the game on those factors, like I mentioned with Spider-man. Insomniac are great, the Spyro and Ratchet series are favorites of mine. Resistance had an art style that turned me off but Sunset Overdrive has a great look. It's the only Xbox One game I own (I can't afford another system to play it).

Horizon looks fun until you see the dead eyes, off putting movements, brand new action figure/ plastic cosplay look of the characters in the cut scenes that weirds me out and that's down to the graphic style and art direction. The realism or what I feel is a failed attempt at what they're trying to achieve, when it's off-putting like the Robert Zemeckis CGI films, keeps me away-

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I just don't get the "I can just go outside" argument I guess lol you initially asked why it was even impressive in the first place.

Not saying you have to like them but there's just as much style and artistry in TLOU as there is going on in a Guilty Gear game. Though it's okay to perfer one over the other.

And Horizon DLC ravamped a lot of the dead eye and presentation. The game in combat and in motion is visual insanity and it's hard to really critique when it's at its best. So it's easy to forgive if you like intense action games and gameplay when the end result is stuff like this (on the regular):

 

[Deleted member 19924]

-

 

[jroc74]

OP, I'm with you. Also agree with those saying it has to be ppl trolling. Has to.

Seems as though if you use the same camera angle and trees, its all the same. MLB The Show is the main culprit. Why do I need to be behind the batter to hit the ball????

 

[Revolsin]

I mean, a lot of them are similar, cherry-picking the most unique among them over years of output isn't proving the point much.
Especially Bloodborne, which is far less a "Sony" made IP than it is a From IP(and it's pretty normal by From standards). It's like putting Bayonetta 2/3 in a Nintendo list and going "Look, Nintendo makes action games with more realistic graphics" even though they have little to do with the games.

But in any case it's not like being similar is a bad thing. They're following a template that works really well for them, just like Nintendo does.

 

[Equanimity]

It's a valid criticism. Their big budget games do seem to follow a LOT of the same design principles, especially when it comes to exploration, character progression, having very simple crafting, a semi open world, the same kinds of side missions, presentation style, collectibles, the list goes on. A few cinematic gifs dont really change that.

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You heard this man. A few cinematic gifs don't change the very real problem with Sony exclusives, take these people seriously, God damn you.

These big budget exclusives are practically clones at this point.

 

[John Rabbit]

I swear I'm not thread-shitting but didn't....haven't we had this thread already? Like on this site?

Am I losing it?

 

[nib95]

It's mostly just salty trolls and fanboys, and/or those who equate anything that is AAA or with high production values as being the same or similar.

 

[Mobius and Pet Octopus]

I haven't heard people say they all look and play the same but I have heard people say they provide a similar experience.

 

[OrdinaryPrime]

I swear I'm not thread-shitting but didn't....haven't we had this thread already? Like on this site?

Am I losing it?

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The image has been used sincerely and mocked at various points. Perhaps that's what you're remembering. Either way, there's no reason to get irritated by bad faith arguments.

I haven't heard people say they all look and play the same but I have heard people say they provide a similar experience.

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What distinction are you making here?

 

[nekkid]

I hear far more people defending against this argument than the accusation itself.

 

[Stealth X Hawk]

Looking at your gifs... You seem to have a hard time figuring out what gameplay is in your very cherry picked images. Yeah they're all "different" but as someone who loves Sony exclusives and played all of those aside from last guardian.... They all play relatively similar. Sorry. Third person over the shoulder, climbing, yadda yadda. Granted fantastic games... But man did you cherry pick your "gameplay" gifs.

 

[Betty]

I swear I'm not thread-shitting but didn't....haven't we had this thread already? Like on this site?

Am I losing it?

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We have yes, but I think it was from the other perspective that Sony needed to vary it's games because someone felt they were all too similar.

 

[Mass Effect]

"play together"
Yet most of their exclusives can't be played together because they are all "single person focused/third person/action adventure cinematic experiences"

I want something different and I don't mean dreams. Re-invent twisted metal. Put some effort into a new Warhawk. It doesn't have to be bargain bin. Give me something new. Give me something not in the grand scale mold. Give me something with a fun game play loop I can do co-op or with friends and don't pawn off that audience to third parties.

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So... Twisted Metal PS3 and Warhawk PS3?

 

[Stealth X Hawk]

Also... This is a Sony forum... So.. I don't think it's beneficial to even have this argument here. Most will agree with you and those who don't will be labeled, ignored, or dogpiled.

 

[twdnewh]

I definitely see some common ground when it comes to a theme of cinematic 3rd-person action adventure games.

While I think it's not fair to call all Sony exclusive titles the same, I think its equally unfair to poke fun or label those who do see some similarities as fanboys. It's not always a negative observation, and even if it is, so what? It's ok to disagree

 

[xxracerxx]

Also... This is a Sony forum...

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Jesus Christ.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

they don't look the same, but they do publish a large amount of cinematic third person action adventure games. i don't think anyone can deny that, and the complaint/argument comes from that.
no one is saying they absolutely don't have games in different genres or games with different vibes, but most of their big games do follow a certain pattern, and there's nothing wrong with that since their fans really seem to enjoy them.

While I think it's not fair to call all Sony exclusive titles the same, I think its equally unfair to poke fun or label those who do see some similarities as fanboys. It's not always a negative observation, and even if it is, so what? It's ok to disagree

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agreed, it's weird to see so many people lable those who notice that obvious at pattern in their biggest games. like, it's there. should people pretend not to see it in order not to seem like a fanboy?

 

[Ryuhza]

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Spoiler

Shouldn't have to say it, but I'm kidding.

 

[tutomos]

What a waste of money to have all these different engines just to have the games look the same to people who aren't interested in them in the first place.

 

[norealmx]

In all honesty, they fell like a chore to me. Never enjoyed playing any of them.

 

[Riversands]

I never heard that comolaint, but i did see the meme. I basically think that it is just meme that wants to be funny. Never thought that it was supposed to be taken seriously

 

[pixelation]

No game of the generation mention?... tsk tsk.

 

[nib95]

Also... This is a Sony forum... So.. I don't think it's beneficial to even have this argument here. Most will agree with you and those who don't will be labeled, ignored, or dogpiled.

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It isn't a Sony forum, all evidence thus far actually points to it leaning Nintendo. This is evidenced in polls, game of the year awards, specific thread post counts and so on, which compared to polls and results at other outlets, be they YouTube, IGN, Game Informer, Gamepot, Game Awards and so on, tend to have slightly different results that better correlate with each other than they do the results here.

Here you have games like Xenoblade 2 coming in at number 9 in the Era GOTY awards, Splatoon 2 beating out PUBG and Wolfenstein II, ARMS beating out Injustice 2 and so on, these are out of sync with other popular user voted results, forums, outlets etc.

You even have Xenoblade 2 being voted as the 29th best RPG of all time on Era (in comparison Horizon Zero Dawn, which not only reviewed far better, but also sold orders of magnitude more, is at number 75). Compare that to the TotalNerd user voted results which have hundreds of thousands of votes, and Xenoblade 2 isn't even in the list.

These kinds of results and other stats point to there being a rather obvious general Nintendo slant in results on here. You'd expect PlayStation fans to greatly outnumber other platforms by virtue of it being by far the most popular console platform, but that is simply not the case on Era.

 

[Crayon]

Truckloads of salt. People saying that would be doing backflips if they had half that lineup.

Theres huge blockbuster ones all have uh... characters and stories i guess. I'm not actually thay attracted to them myself. So i think ots possible that someone would not happen to like gow/unchartedhorizon/etc. But cmon: Look who's talking when you hear this bs about them all being the same. Some familiar names im sure. It's a response to the fact that theres too many to even dissmiss individually. Lump all those games up into one huge bundle and brush them off.

 

[chandoog]

Also... This is a Sony forum... So.. I don't think it's beneficial to even have this argument here. Most will agree with you and those who don't will be labeled, ignored, or dogpiled.

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huh ?

 

[Ryuhza]

I do wish they'd take another crack at the FPS genre (I loved Resistance 3, and really enjoyed KZ 2 and 3), but maybe they feel like the genre is a little oversaturated by third parties.

Activision alone has Overwatch, Destiny, and the mammoth of Call of Duty. EA has Battlefield, Battlefront, and Titanfall. Ubisoft has Rainbow Six and Far Cry. Bethesda/Zenimax and its subsidiaries pretty much specialize in first person perspective games with the Elder Scrolls and Fallout, plus the likes of DOOM, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, Prey, and RAGE. And just imagine how things would look if Steam stopped functioning forever and Valve had to refocus their efforts on actually making good games.

I know these games are doing a lot of things differently from one another, and I'm collating a lot of them based on perspective, but like... those things matter when advertising a game, regardless of how different they are under the surface. These publishers have trouble keeping their own series from cannibalizing each other (just look at Titanfall 2).

Microsoft's only foray is Halo, and Nintendo hasn't done much FPS wise since Prime 3. There just ain't a lot going on with the big three and FPS.

I also wish Sony would have a real go at fighting games. MS adopted Killer Instinct and revived it beautifully, and Nintendo has Smash of course. Sony has the biggest fighting game scene as far as third parties are concerned, and helped with SFV and all that but it'd be interesting to see them come up with something of their own. Maybe a 3D fighter.

Or maybe just revitalize Virtua Fighter and put some money behind a Virtua Fighter 6. Maybe do exactly that.

 

[Deleted member 24907]

The only thing they have in common is the that they're games in third person and have an over-the-shoulder perspective.

It's like saying all FPS's are the same because you're in first person and the gun sticks out from the right corner.

 

[Deleted member 8777]

It isn't a Sony forum, all evidence thus far actually points to it leaning Nintendo. This is evidenced in polls, game of the year awards, specific thread post counts and so on, which compared to polls and results at other outlets, be they YouTube, IGN, Game Informer, Gamepot, Game Awards and so on, tend to have slightly different results that better correlate with each other than they do the results here.

Here you have games like Xenoblade 2 coming in at number 9 in the Era GOTY awards, Splatoon 2 beating out PUBG and Wolfenstein II, ARMS beating out Injustice 2 and so on, these are out of sync with other popular user voted results, forums, outlets etc.

You even have Xenoblade 2 being voted as the 29th best RPG of all time on Era (in comparison Horizon Zero Dawn, which not only reviewed far better, but also sold orders of magnitude more, is at number 75). Compare that to the TotalNerd user voted results which have hundreds of thousands of votes, and Xenoblade 2 isn't even in the list.

These kinds of results and other stats point to there being a rather obvious general Nintendo slant in results on here. You'd expect PlayStation fans to greatly outnumber other platforms by virtue of it being by far the most popular console platform, but that is simply not the case on Era.

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I kinda wish Sony fans were as subtle as nintendo fans not just on this board but also across the rest of the internet tbqh.

 

[Laughing Banana]

The only thing they have in common is the that they're games in third person and have an over-the-shoulder perspective.

It's like saying all FPS's are the same because you're in first person and the gun sticks out from the right corner.

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Ah yes, but all those FPSes are still indeed, in the end, FPS. Sony games do tend to fit neatly into a narrow set of genre, but then so what? It's not a weakness as far as I'm concerned: 'mature' 3rd person action games are what they're good at, so it's not an issue if they decide they just want to keep playing in that field.

 

[xxracerxx]

I kinda wish Sony fans were as subtle as nintendo fans not just on this board but also across the rest of the internet tbqh.

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This may be the first time someone has called Nintendo fans subtle.