Launch Title Letdown: What Happened to Exclusives?
We've had a week with the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One is finally here as well, but now that we've had some time with the games, how are you feeling about them? Amazing graphics? Slick presentation? Maybe so, but in my opinion, these launch lineups are big disappointments.
Third-Party Games Are Great, What Happened to the Exclusives?
I don't necessarily mean that all the games are bad, but what I'm more focused on are the first-party exclusives. Sure Forza Motorsport 5 is amazing and Resogun is a pleasant surprise, but beyond those, I feel like the Sony and Microsoft put forth merely a decent lineup of titles. The third-party games like Assassin's Creed IV, Battlefield 4, Need for Speed: Rivals, and NBA 2K14 are all excellent, and make for plenty of great games to play on your new console. But the exclusives are lacking.
Not Enough to Keep Me Coming Back for More
Killzone: Shadow Fall, for example, is a beautiful game that runs at a buttery smooth 60 frames per second. But the depth of the game really isn't there. The single player campaign is ok and the multiplayer is stale, so there really hasn't been a whole lot of reason for me to come back to it. Dead Rising has never been a series that appealed to me, and the newest entry is no exception. Granted, I don't own an Xbox One, but I have spent a significant amount of time with the games, and I haven't been blown away.
Like I said, Forza is amazing, and Resogun will last me a long time. The third-party games are solid enough to help make these launch lineups some of the best ever. But I'm disappointed in the efforts of the first-party studios. I feel like they could have given us a Halo or Fable or Uncharted or Gran Turismo. Had these games been available at launch we may all be singing a different tune.
The future is no doubt bright for these two consoles, filled with many great games, both first and third party. But as far as launch lineups go, I'm not impressed.
Brian Armstrong
Proud gamer parent and freelance journalist (and fundraiser). I cover anything and everything that's interesting about the gaming industry, and even some stuff that isn't so interesting.
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Yeah, I had the same feeling with Killzone. A beautiful game, and I loved the color, but it felt more like a tech demo than a fleshed out universe.
I'm really waiting for that "killer app" that will define the generation, like Mario 64 for the N64. -
Forza is a great racing series. I'm with you on that one.
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Great launch games are a rarity anyway... Super Mario 64 and Soul Calibur are the only two that come to mind that were like perfect 10 launch games.
You have to take into account the development cycle for a AAA title these days though... a really good game takes 3 to 4 years to make now. Sony and Microsoft made sure to get dev kits out as early as they could... but you can't expect all these developers to stop 360/PS3 development 3 years ago to focus on making next gen games for hardware that doesn't even exist.
I'm also looking at things from a marketing/business standpoint. Both Sony and Microsoft has sold out their entire stock of systems through the end of this year... so they don't really need to show all their cards just yet. We have the VGX awards in December. We know Fallout 4 is going to be announced. We know a Tomb Raider is being announced. We will see PS4 Uncharted gameplay. We'll probably get to see Rocksteady's next gen Batman game.... there's a lot to look forward to.
I just feel sorry for all those that bought into the hype and are sitting with systems that could have faulty components and hardly any games to play on them. -
I can definitely agree with some of these points, having played most of the One launch titles so far. I have faith in the spring titles of 2014 (Destiny, TitanFall) so I'm just trying to enjoy the launch titles however I can. I've been having quite a bit of fun with the digital exclusives on the Xbox One, actually. Killer Instinct and Crimson Dragon ftw!
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I think last generation was lacking for launch titles too. They ran good, and looked good, but we didn't see Fight Night until a little later.
I have to agree with you, though Sony was touting the "indie" games quite a bit, and maybe for good reason. :)
Great read as always.
