The argument that Sony exclusives look an play all the same is truly baffling to me (GIF heavy thread).
- Thread starter Lant_War
- Start date
I'd even go as far as saying they're wildly different third person action-adventure games. The mechanics don't feel the same and none of them feel identical to play or anything.
People complain about narrative driven third person action games but who besides Sony is supplying them in regularity? Certainly not the other platform holders, and most of the other publishers cannot match the production value that Sony is putting in these games.
I've played and enjoyed all the games accused of being part of the template and y'know, you really can't deny they share a similar DNA. It just is what it is.
Is this thread for real lmao this is getting petty
Is this thread for real lmao this is getting petty
What is this DNA though, and are you sure this DNA cannot be found on games from other publishers? Otherwise it's just...like going to the bakery and complaining that all the loafs look the same.
It´s an oversimplification, but I can agree that Sony´s BIG exclusives seem to focus around "single-player realistic, narrative driven 3rd person action games". And this is not a critic, it´s the style they´ve developed and says nothing bad about the quality of their games, in fact, for the first time since PS2 I´m seriously considering getting a PS4 thanks to Bloodborne, GoW and TLoU (and DS3, Nioh, Nier, DMC V...).
Eh... I'd argue that overall, PS4 owners are most certainly the majority of the forum. You say Nintendo games chart unusually high in GOTY awards here, but Sony games chart just as much. It seems about even in that regard, but other polls (like the recent first party preference thread) show people gravitating toward Sony games.
It's probably something like:
Sony Fans > Nintendo fans >= PC players >>> Xbox fans.
subtle like port begging in every 3rd party game announcement thread?
Really love shooting that axe in God of War. That machine gun upgrade. Ooof.
I'm sorry, but other than Zelda and Mario, and some of the Wii U ports, Nintendo's output has been incredibly boring so far this gen. And their meta scores kind of reflect that. They've released a fuck ton of 70-75 stuff with charming art style. I've bought most of it because I'm a sucker, but I think we give Nintendo WAAAY too much credit for what are often very unambitious games. Mario Party, Pokémon Lets Go, Arms, and Mario Tennis are all just pleasant easily digestible comfort food.
Couldn't possibly agree more! Sick of those people and the ones who say Sony games are "Movies".The most common complain I see about PS exclusives is that "they all look and play the same". Sometimes you get some variation, like "They're all TLOU clones" but you get the idea.
Having played most of these games, that's just not true at all.
Let's start with Bloodborne. An action RPG with a heavy emphasis on close combat and exploration, set in a dystopic victorian city.
Horizon: Zero Dawn, an open world RPG with heavy emphasis on narrative and long-distance combat.
Gravity Rush 2. I feel like calling this an action open world with a heavy emphasis on a completely unique traversal wouldn't really be explaining what it's about. It's definitely one of the most unique games from this list.
God of War, a semi-linear action RPG focused on narrative and combat with an over-the-shoulder camera.
Uncharted 4. An action adventure game with a heavy emphasis on narrative, exploration and third-person shooting.
The Last Guardian. A Team Ico game, so it doesn't really fit into a specific genre. It's a puzzle game I guess.
Spider-Man. A formulaic open world with an emphasis on narrative and traversal, with Arkham-like combat.
-------There's still some more that I haven't mentioned, like Gran Turismo Sport or The Order, but you get the idea.Of all of these games, the only common theme between them all is... being narrative focused? But even that is such an open definition that it besides "it has a story and it's one of the main draws", it doesn't mean anything.
They all have unique art-styles, atmospheres, gameplay systems, camerawork, etc. that calling them "TLOU clones" is a really superficial comparison, if you could call it a comparison at all. Yeah the camera in GoW works similarly to how it works on TLOU, yeah it has a father-child relationship going on, but the rest of the game is entirely different. It doesn't make sense.
Hey let´s be fair here, if you´re going to compare the outputs in "this gen" you have to address that Switch´s only been in the market for less than 2 years or take into account WiiU´s catalogue: Splatoon (and 2), Super Mario Maker, 3D World, Tropical Freeze, Xenoblade X (and 2), Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors...That or compare Switch´s exclusive catalogue to PS4´s first 2 years.
There are a lot of silly arguments from people posting and talking in bad faith on forums, in videos, and elsewhere.
It's like when people say Nintendo franchises are the same thing each and every entry, which is misguided at best, or that Xbox has no good exclusives, or the Sony argument you're fighting against in the OP. It's all nonsense and not worth entertaining other than "Yawn."
It's like when people say Nintendo franchises are the same thing each and every entry, which is misguided at best, or that Xbox has no good exclusives, or the Sony argument you're fighting against in the OP. It's all nonsense and not worth entertaining other than "Yawn."
Yeah and that's why I included "other than some of the Wii U ports and Mario and Zelda" look at most of those games you listed. They are either re-releases or pretty lukewarm games. I'm not saying they don't have value, cuz they do. I'm just saying that Nintendo almost automatically is given WAAAY more credit for what are just easily digestible games you can play in short snippets. Many of their games aren't that ambitious in scope. They usually just focus on one thing and do that competently/good.
Nintendo games have narrow focus.
I guess really what I'm getting at is that comparing Sony and Nintendo in design philosophy and studio management is apples to oranges.
But I think we have a tendency to view Nintendo games with rose tinted glasses and forgive their shortcomings, or repetitiveness, or smaller scope much more easily.
I've repeatedly been deeply disappointed with my Nintendo consoles generation after generation, but I keep coming back, for some sort of... I dunno, chase for nostalgia, I guess? To get that Super Nintendo feeling again?
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It's just a lazy dismissal from fanboys of other consoles. I wouldn't even waste my time trying to prove them wrong tbh.
My post wasn't about which platforms games chart, but which games have or have had representation well beyond the norm, or results skewed in favour of particular platforms versus the results from other popular outlets, polls, reader awards etc.
In that sense, if you look at the results and data, on this forum it's clearly Nintendo games that are over represented versus the norm. In general the forum tends to lean more Nintendo and Japanese gaming than most major or popular outlets.
I'm sorry but did you miss things like Bowsette? Nintendo's games may be more subtle in some ways, I'll give you that. But I fail to see the subtlety in their fans.
No, they don't all look and play the same.
Yes, the majority of Sony's first-party AAA exclusives are story-focused third-person action adventure/role-playing games.
It wouldn't hurt to expand the lineup with other genres. Especially something multiplayer-focused.
Yes, the majority of Sony's first-party AAA exclusives are story-focused third-person action adventure/role-playing games.
It wouldn't hurt to expand the lineup with other genres. Especially something multiplayer-focused.
Why? So many other publishers are focusing exclusively on multiplayer GaaS. It seems redundant for Sony to have their own.
There definitely is a sort of style you can get away from some of the games (not all, clearly), much like how certain Microsoft titles (the ones in fairly close genres) have a thing or two in common in terms of design and feel. The people who seriously push the agenda that Sony only makes identical games are the same kind that go around saying Microsoft has no games or Nintendo consoles only have kiddy stuff. They are clearly in this for the console wars, not the actual gaming.
I think the PS4 has the most varied and rich exclusives lineup of any console ever. You have FPS (Killzone), open world action (which has the biggest lineup with Horizon, Spiderman, Infamous, albeith quite different one another), linear tps (Uncharted), linear action (GOW and Bloodborne, which are VERY different one from another), choose-your-own-adventure (Until Dawn and Detroit), driving (Driveclub and GT), platformer (Astrobot, Knack?), survival horror (TLOU2, which seems to be more linear, and Days Gone, which maybe will be more open world), weird (Yakuzas)... and that's just on the top of my mind, I'm surely missing lots.
I meab like 4 of the games u listed in op say heavy emphasis on narrative. In that aspect yea the games are similar and that's normally where the comparison starts and finishes
And it's not wrong.
The argument isn't about the games are exactly the same. Its they follow the same formula / offer same experience being narrative driven
And it's not wrong.
The argument isn't about the games are exactly the same. Its they follow the same formula / offer same experience being narrative driven
Having a narrative focus in games these days is pretty much ubiquitous. It's certainly not unique to Sony, or any publisher or platform for that matter. In fact it's much stranger or rarer for a game not to have a heavy narrative element these days than it is to have one.
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Sorry, but I don´t agree. Mario Tennis (the Switch one, the WiiU was really poor), ARMS, Mario Party...those I can agree are not masterpieces but are fun games. However, the following ones deserve every inch of praise they can get:
- Splatoon: Outright reinvented a genre whihc is, IMHO, much more difficult and deserving of praise than just upping the scale in the graphics department and did it in an incredibly sucessful way.
- Super Mario Maker: The ultimate 2D Mario. One of my most played games in WiiU.
- Xenoblade X: Talk about "narrow focus": One fo the biggest worlds in all of gaming, with spectacularly varied landscapes and bursting with creativity at every turn. And you can explore it seamlesly with a giant flying mecha.
- Tropical Freeze: 2D platformer GOAT.
- 3D World: Possibly the best obstacle-course 3D platformer.
- Bayonetta 2: Not strictly Nintendo developed, but if we´re counting Bloodborne, we should consider this as well. This was Neogaf´s GOTY when ti released so I wouldn´t call it a "lukewarm" game, it´s one of the top games of the character action genre.
ARMS is also a reinvention of the fighting genre which, again, I think that is a much more ambitious task than trying to distinguish your game based on scale or technical prowess. After all, trying something like the reinvention of a genre can have disastreous results and you may not even come up with something playable. This is a risk you don´t take when you build your game from an already established template.
In this way, Mario Tennis (again, the Switch one, the WiiU one is better forgotten) readjusted the system of something as old as tennis games to come up with a system that can be compared to those in fighting games and it succeeded in creating and engaging game.
I think that we look at different things: For you something praise-worthy must have scale and gravitas like TLoU or the new GoW. In my case I´m not impressed by graphics or narrative and like more to look into the game´s design, which IMHO is the strongest aspect of Nintendo games and where they still remained unchallenged (and is why I am so harsh with them when they underachieve in this field, like with Smash or Xenoblade 2). For me Nintendo´s way is better, but I can understand that for you Sony´s way is.
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Love how OP is using horrible examples.
The fact is, lots of creative within the industry caught the Naughty Dog cancer after TLOU. Check God Of War. What was once a fast, action game-play series with an intentionally fun but over the top story gets streamlined into some slow, repetitive serious cinematic experience.
The fact is, lots of creative within the industry caught the Naughty Dog cancer after TLOU. Check God Of War. What was once a fast, action game-play series with an intentionally fun but over the top story gets streamlined into some slow, repetitive serious cinematic experience.
That's because they were going for a GOTY bait strategy and it worked, unlike Spider-man who went heavily as a sales-bait type of design.
"Action-adventure" is like as broad a genre as you could possibly get. Third-person perspective is about as liberating a perspective as you can get. Saying that the vast majority of Sony's output is "action-adventure" and "third-person" is not a valid complaint, because these can apply to the vast majority of modern single-player games. If a game has you running around an environment engaging in any form of combat, it's action-adventure.
They don't do multiplayer games much if at all anymore because they have found a corner of gaming that they are the best at and have little competition. Multiplayer focus is a huge risk in today's highly competitive multiplayer world.
No, it doesn't get boring. Just like movies don't get boring. Having a heavy narrative is not a limiting factor in a game. It can be a facet of ANY kind of game.
They don't do multiplayer games much if at all anymore because they have found a corner of gaming that they are the best at and have little competition. Multiplayer focus is a huge risk in today's highly competitive multiplayer world.
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This reminds me of individuals who say : "I'm just sick of them" like the market is flooded with them 😂 A few cinematic story focused games could release in one year and some would act like it's 50. You never hear people talk shit about any other type of game that is produced way more. This hatred obsession some hold against 'cinematic experience' is crazy.
But at the end of the day Sony's extra focus on cinematic storytelling is popular and that's where this non-issue becomes a weekly, monthly or yearly discussion because people can't stand seeing that formula succeed.
Sony could release a 100 colorful hop over the rainbow clouds to save the anime princess throughout multiple dimensions type shit where is if you die once, you have to start over because that's what makes it a real video game with a challenge and certain individuals will still be pissed because the new naughty dog game is taking all the spotlight.
I'll probably forget and regret this post the morning, but whatever fuck it.
I guess it's a good thing Sony went with a good-games-bait type of design for the PS4.
I've actually seen people do exactly that! You'd be surprised by how many people say they hate all FPS. Or talk about how every shooter is a "dude bro shoot bang" or something equally dismissive.
On the other side of the coin, people do dismiss "kiddie" Nintendo games despite a pretty wide range of genres being covered there.
But, I would actually like to see Sony put the resources into making a non-third person action game one of their "blockbuster" titles. I do miss the variety of the PS1 days, but the truth is games cost a lot more and take a lot longer to make these days. You can hardly blame them for not betting the farm on genres that don't usually resonate as well commercially.
Of course they absolutely don't play the same. However, it's hard to deny how much Naughty Dog has shaped and influenced much of Sony's current DNA, and there's nothing wrong with that. Just like how the platformers and quirky toons of the 90s still resonate with Nintendo today, it's pretty obvious to see how Uncharted and TLoU shaped the drive of many of Sony's dev teams.
While they don't play the same, they're going way to deep down the dramatic cinematic 3rd person route standards set by Uncharted/TLOU. Naughty Dog isn't just influencing WWS but the rest of the gaming industry too.
Sony needs more games like anything else like in the past, you know the WipEouts, Motorstorms, Folklore, Journey, Warhawk, Tokyo Jungle, the 3D platforms, them karting games last gen etc. They have also some laid back Nintendo like games which they never localized too, like My Summer Holiday inJapan. Apparently they've lost their indie publishing arm at SSM and those guys founded Annapurna Interactive so all those cool looking indie games that were once Sony exclusives are now multiplat.
Maybe next gen Sony will surprise us again.
Sony needs more games like anything else like in the past, you know the WipEouts, Motorstorms, Folklore, Journey, Warhawk, Tokyo Jungle, the 3D platforms, them karting games last gen etc. They have also some laid back Nintendo like games which they never localized too, like My Summer Holiday inJapan. Apparently they've lost their indie publishing arm at SSM and those guys founded Annapurna Interactive so all those cool looking indie games that were once Sony exclusives are now multiplat.
Maybe next gen Sony will surprise us again.
Sony have that stuff in things like Dreams, Astrobot, Concrete Genie, Resogun, The Last Guardian, Ratchet and Clank, Helldivers, Fire Wall Zero Hour, RIGS, Until Dawn etc. Hell, they're constantly experimenting with new IP's alongside their tent pole releases.
I think some also fail to realise that it's as much consumers and gamers influencing games, as it is the other way around. We as consumers who make up the market, ultimately partially dictate the kinds of games that get made.
If we buy fewer arcade racing games or RTS titles, less of them will get made. Similarly, cinematic or narrative heavy games tend to have greater appeal (since so many people want stories and characters in their games that move them), and as a result more studios (on all platforms) put more of a focus on them. That supply and demand metric and fiscal benefit, is also likely one of the main reasons Nintendo keeps consistently relying on and releasing their same tentpole IP's every few years, decade after decade, instead of experimenting with more AAA new IP's.
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If we´re talking about that stupid meme picture then yes: the argument is totally dumb.
If we´re talking about how a lot of their games share a similiar footprint then no: there is a valid discussion to be had about that opinion.
For instance: it seems pretty obvious to me that SONY is going for "cinematic" experiences. Could there be a way do deliver that kind of experience by using a different gameplay-style instead of 3rd Person? Is there a way to mix it up with First-Person view or even 2D-segments? etc.
If we´re talking about how a lot of their games share a similiar footprint then no: there is a valid discussion to be had about that opinion.
For instance: it seems pretty obvious to me that SONY is going for "cinematic" experiences. Could there be a way do deliver that kind of experience by using a different gameplay-style instead of 3rd Person? Is there a way to mix it up with First-Person view or even 2D-segments? etc.
I was thinking outside of the shooter field. Like Wipeout, Colony Wars etc.
That's like saying since all racing games have a chase camera and driving, Burnout, Mario Kart, Spintires, and Gran Turismo are practically the same with some subtle differences
Like God of War, Horizon, Spiderman, Last of Us, Bloodborne, etc are all very different, play and feel very different
Lumping them under a "style" because they share a camera perspective and action doesn't make sense to me.