Was 2009 really the year dominated by the PlayStation 3?

We take a deep look at what Sony offered this year and why they are actually the crowned King of 2009.

The PlayStation 3 has been the subject of much criticism since the day of it’s release. Detractors have stated that PlayStation 3 was broken, late and launched with a pathetic line up of games. Three years have passed since that bashing and thrashing and now here we are, waving off 2009. A year where Sony has totally dominated every major gaming console in terms of quality and perfection, the PlayStation 3 has offered gamers a AAA experience throughout the year. So what did Sony do right? Let us do a recap starting from the first month of this glorious year of gaming.

Q1 2009

Let’s start with January. As usual there were less games released in the first month of the year. Most of the games released were multiplatform games. Some of them were Skate and Afro Samurai. But the real big deal came in February when most of the good ones came up. First up was Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box which was again, multiplatform game. Quite simply, Burnout Paradise was a game that you had to own no matter what kind of a gamer you are. This was followed by FEAR 2, the sequel to the 2005 super hit FEAR. If that was all that the PlayStation 3 had to offer, then it would have been a shaky year for Sony. However, two of the major PS3 and PSN exclusives were still to be released. Flower was released and the game was heralded by many as the best PSN game to date. Next up was Killzone 2, one of the games that had a huge hype since we first put our foot in the door of this generation of gaming. The game was sensational in it’s gameplay and is easily one of the best shooters of 2009. March was a bit slow again for Sony, but they knew what they were doing this time around. Out comes MLB: The Show on March 3, 2009. The game not only bettered its predecessor by sizeable margin but is also one of the finest baseball games to date. Another AAA game in the bag, Sony was getting into the groove.

Q2 2009

April started with The Chronicles of Dark Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, which was of course a multiplatform game. The game had some strong game play and an interesting plot line, and was an easy pick for the fans of the series. April was a pretty slow month for almost every console out there. But in May we had some major games. The much anticipated next generation X-men was released and it was actually a very good game; playing as Wolverine was a lot of fun. Then a series of multiplatform games like Sacred Fallen Angel, UFC: Undisputed 2009 and Bionic Commando were released which did pretty well on the PlayStation 3. But after few months of silence, Sony finally broked it with the release of Infamous. Infamous was easily one of the best super hero games that I have played for a while- at least until Batman came around and changed it. But to be honest Infamous is a game which has a class of its own. May ended with a series of flop multiplatform games like Damnation and Fuel. In June Infamous’s competitor came out: Prototype. And it nearly came close to knock Infamous out. But due to some inconsistencies it wasn’t able to do so. Ghostbusters was one of the game that Sony had a slight advantage at least in European countries, since it was a timed PS3 exclusive for Sony in that region. So it was another good game in the bag where Sony was able to capitalize. Just like May the month ended with multiplatform games like Transformers and Fight Night Round 4.

Q3 2009

Now we come to the third segment of the year. July 1st marked the release of one the major multiplatform games of 2009- Street Fighter IV. The game is a pinnacle on how fighting games should be made and it also got a superb nine out of ten from us. August saw the release the of EA’s premium game: Madden NFL 2010 and we were happy to report back than it was one of the best football games ever made. At the end of August, one of the major surprises came out: Batman. The game was phenomenal achievement given that all the previous Batman games were mega flops and also for the fact it got nominated for the Game of the Year award by many outlets including us. For music fans the month ended with a very good game in Guitar Hero 5. Code masters tried and test formula worked with Dirt 2 and it sold in millions. September was the time where things were heating up with solid releases like Mini Ninjas, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, WET, NHL 2010 and Shift. Around this time Sony announced the PlayStation3 slim and this was the moment in this generation where for the first time the critics agreed that Sony won’t look back after this. And man, were they right. The coming last months of the year was a phenomenal test of strength for the PS3.

Q4 2009

October saw the release of Demon’s Soul, arguably the best role playing game of 2009 besides Dragon Age origins. Codemasters came up with their second notable game of the year: Operation Flashpoint. But Sony’s major trump card was still remaining to be revealed. October 13th…It was finally unveiled. Nathan Drake’s next big adventure was not only huge achievement technical wise but also set a benchmark which might be difficult for games to reach, at least in this generation. If that was not enough, Insomniac came up with Ratchet and Clank for another wild ride with video games most favorite couple. The game did very well and it was a fitting end to the Tools of Destruction storyline. Tekken 6 and Fifa 2010 rounded up October which was easily one of the best months for video games in the year. November saw the release of major multiplatform games like Dragon Age origins, Assassin’s Creed II and Modern Warfare 2. They were all a AAA experience…Man I must say November was super hot! If you thought that was the end, Sony delivered again. Well we are up to the last month now; December. This month saw the release of The Saboteur and the only notable game which is still to be released includes Guitar Hero Van Halen.

Conclusion

Well that was quick. We just completed a year in a few minutes! I hope I have covered every aspect as to why Sony was dominant in 2009 with the PS3. I must say, they had a great combination of exclusives at the right intervals and a continuous stream of great multiplatform games. I have also mentioned some of the crazy and cool firmware updates that Sony released throughout in 2009 in the honorable mentions below since I believe a gaming console is only as good as its library of games. Sony was right about their ten year old marketing plan. Recent games like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves tells us a lot about how games will be viewed and played in years to come. With a very strong line up expected in 2010 as well, it’s safe to assume that Sony are back in the reckoning. 2009 is the year that was dominated by Sony…by some margin.

Honorable Mentions

• Get real-time news and information in an amazing interactive 3-D globe environment on the Live  Channel.
• Watch the protein-folding simulation in real time on the  Folding@home channel. The goal of the project is to understand protein folding and misfolding, and how these are related to diseases and many  forms of cancer.
• Play your favorite CDs and rip them to the PlayStation®3 system’s HDD.
• Choose from a huge list of full-length movies from top studios including 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM  Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment and The  Walt Disney Studios and many more from the top production houses.