Sony’s 2015 first-party games were “not as a strong as we would have liked”

I often get asked these days “Darryn, which console is the best to buy” by eager people with money that is burning a hole in their pockets. And usually, I reply by screaming at these people and stripping naked so that I can go run through a local Spar while humming the tune to some Slipknot music along the way. When I’m eventually in a more stable state, I can tell you that the hardware is secondary.

It’s the games that come first, and always will. And that’s what’ll determine your taste in hardware. Lately, Microsoft’s push into more first-party titles has paid off rather well. Thanks to games such as Sunset Overdrive, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Ori and the Blind Forest and Forza Motorsport 6 have all made for a markedly improved Xbox One experience in 2015.

And with more games on the way in 2016, the future is looking green. Sony also had its fair share of exclusives this year, which were a mixed bag of decent and lacklustre. While Bloodborne may have been superb, The Order: 1886 was more of a tech demo than a game. And Until Dawn was alright, we reckon. It was a skint year for PlayStation exclusives, something that Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia Michael Ephraim felt would be rectified in 2016.

“Games that have been released this year, from Destiny, Call of Duty, Star Wars — most of them we have a collaboration with for additional content if you play on PlayStation 4, so we’re pretty confident with the way Christmas is going. The demand is strong,” Ephraim said to GameSpot.

We have worked very closely with third parties this year because our first party lineup was not as a strong as we would have liked.

Next year, our first party lineup looks incredible. You’ve got Street Fighter,Uncharted 4, No Man’s Sky, The Last Guardian, Gran Turismo. These are all exclusives, and two of them are new franchises.

And then there’s PlayStation VR, something that I’m staying far away from because I’m afraid that I might cover my lounge in virtually real vomit.

“We’re still in the planning stages of PlayStation VR, and clearly based on the responses we’re getting so far: it’s very solid,” Ephraim said.

But our core business right now is PlayStation 4 and the offerings we have on there. Disc, digital, downloadable season passes, and endless entertainment. So, it’ll be another component. In 12 months time, PlayStation 4 is still the primary business because it’s the foundational device. PlayStation 4 will still be our primary objective to grow the install base.

PlayStation VR is new, everyone wants it, there are a lot of publishers developing for it. But whether it’s going to just go completely nuts early, or if it’s a slow build, time will tell.

2016 does look like a good year, for both Sony and Xbox. Hell, 2015 is easily one of the best years we’ve had in gaming so far, now that the big two and their small army of developers have gotten through the teething phase of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 hardware.

Last Updated: December 14, 2015