Microsoft should be afraid of Sony. Before the PlayStation publisher’s pre-Gamescom press conference this week, Sony’s foreseeable software future seemed weak. The PlayStation Vita seemed only to have a handful of promising titles for the remainder of 2012 – LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, a Call of Duty game we knew next to nothing about, a Persona 4 remake, and a poorly timed Assassin’s Creed tie-in were the PlayStation brand’s best and brightest. But after displaying a strong lineup of exclusive games on both PlayStation platforms, a brilliant new business strategy, and confidence in risky game ideas, Sony’s future couldn’t look better than it does now.
Gamescom will be Sony’s show. This is bad news for Microsoft, who didn’t even bother to show up.
Sony’s Cross Buy announcement undoubtedly earned it a great deal of gamer goodwill. Buying Battle Royale, the new Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time on PS3 scores you a free Vita copy. This is an incredible move for Sony. These are three of its most popular and promising titles, and you can play them anywhere, any time, for one price. Cross Buy puts PlayStation fans ahead of the curve, and rewards them for purchasing PS3 games they were likely to buy anyway. It looks amazing on the back of the box, it’s something people will tell their friends about, and it makes a Vita worth owning for every single PlayStation fan. That’s just smart marketing.
Until Dawn, Rain, and Puppeteer all represent something astounding about Sony’s initiative toward supporting innovative ideas. Following Papo & Yo, Journey, and many other clever concepts, this trio of games look unlike almost anything you’ve played. Each of them certainly has a niche appeal, but Sony’s willing to risk a limited audience if it means putting exclusive, original games on its platforms. Add in the casual mentions of Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us during the conference, and you’re looking at a large stack of Sony-only goods. Oh, and let’s not forget Media Molecule’s cute and creative Tear Away, either.
For the first time since I bought it, I want to play my Vita. A quirky indie game like Sound Shapes reassures me that more great stuff is on the way, and Sony really came out of the corner throwing haymakers. I want Black Ops Declassified because it looks like a true Call of Duty game. Killzone Mercenary is the Sony sequel I want most on the platform I’m aching to play.
Before I came to Gamescom, I played my Xbox more than any other platform. That changes the moment I get back to my living room. All of a sudden, the future of gaming in my life is dominated by a platform I traditionally ignored for my Xbox 360. The level of imagination and accessibility in these original, exclusive games is so much more interesting to me than another Halo game. Make no mistake: I’m thrilled about Halo 4, but it’s the one and only Xbox exclusive I plan to play this fall; the only other two exclusives I can think of in the next few months are Gears of War: Judgment and Fable: The Journey – of those, I only have faith and interest in the former.
Microsoft missed a great opportunity at Gamescom to tell the world about why it should care about Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the fall update, and how it all connects to Windows 8. More importantly, maybe, just maybe, it could have given us a game worth thinking about, investing in emotionally, or getting excited to play with on Surface, Windows Phone, Windows Live, or any other gaming platform it may have on the way. I love my Xbox 360 -- I just want as much a reason to play it as I now have for my PlayStation devices.
Gamescom belongs to Sony, as does my heart. This is a brilliant sign of things to come, and it was all done before the show had even begun.
