List of games on the PS3 worth playing that aren't multiplat

[Skykid]

Sony has far more first-party development houses than Nintendo, 15 to 7 (or so).

Sorry, to be more specific, largest as in commercial success was where I was going with that, and looking at the current, rather than the past (see Wii and NDS).

I actually think Sony have more than 15 though. More like 19 to 16:

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
* Clap Hanz – Everybody's Golf series
* Polyphony Digital – Gran Turismo series
* SCE Japan Studio (Project Siren Team, etc.) – Ape Escape series, LocoRoco
* Team ICO – ICO, Shadow of the Colossus

SCEI Subsidiary Divisions
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

* Incognito Entertainment – Twisted Metal series, Warhawk
* Naughty Dog – Jak & Daxter series, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
* SCE Bend Studio (formerly Eidetic) – Syphon Filter series
* SCE Foster City Studio – Jet Li: Rise to Honor
* SCE San Diego Studio – NBA series, MLB: The Show series
* SCE Santa Monica Studio – God of War series
* Sony Online Entertainment LLC. – EverQuest, Star Wars Galaxies
* Zipper Interactive – SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs series, Massive Action Game

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd.

* Bigbig Studios – Pursuit Force
* Evolution Studios – World Rally Championship series, MotorStorm
* Guerrilla Games – Killzone series
* SCE London Studio (includes Team SOHO & Camden) – The Getaway series, SingStar series
* SCE Studio Cambridge (formerly Millennium Interactive) – MediEvil series
* SCE Studio Liverpool (formerly Psygnosis) – Wipeout series, F1 series

Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Inc.

* SCE Korea – EyeToy: EduKids, GloRace: Phantastic Carnival

Some real shit in there, but some good stuff too.

Nintendo:

* Brownie Brown — Software developer consisting of former members of Squaresoft. Responsible for Magical Vacation and Magical Starsign, and for supporting Shigesato Itoi and HAL with Mother 3.
* Intelligent Systems — Established in 1986 by former members of Nintendo Research & Development 1 to develop games. Responsible for Metroid, Fire Emblem, Wario Ware, Card Hero, Paper Mario series and Famicom Wars franchises.
* Monolith Soft — Founded in 1999 by a former member of Square Co., Nintendo bought a majority stake on April 27, 2007 from Namco Bandai. Developer of the Xenosaga series, as well as Namco x Capcom, and the Baten Kaitos series. Developed the Wii title Disaster: Day of Crisis and the DS titles Soma Bringer along with Mugen no Frontier: Super Robot Wars OG Saga.
* Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (Originally "Nintendo Research & Development 4") — Largest division at Nintendo. Managed by Shigeru Miyamoto. Responsible for the Mario, Star Fox, Zelda, Animal Crossing, Wii Series, and other franchises.
* Nintendo Software Technology Corporation — Redmond-based studio responsible for Metroid Prime Hunters, among others.
* Nintendo Software Planning and Development — Development division inside Nintendo. SPD was created during a corporate restructuring in 2004 and primarily assists other first party teams and manages overseas production of first party franchises.
* Retro Studios — Austin-based studio fully owned by Nintendo. Developer of the Metroid Prime games excluding Hunters and Pinball.
* AlphaDream — Developer of Tomato Adventure (Japan only) and the Mario & Luigi games.
* Ambrella — Developer of Hey You, Pikachu!, Pokémon Channel, Pokémon Dash, and My Pokémon Ranch.
* Camelot Software Planning — Developer of Nintendo's Mario Golf and Mario Tennis series as well as the Golden Sun franchise. Recently developed We Love Golf for the Wii, published by Capcom.
* Game Freak — Developer of the Pokémon video game series and Drill Dozer.
* Genius Sonority — Developer of Pokémon Colosseum, its sequel, Pokémon XD, Pokémon Trozei, and Pokémon Battle Revolution.
* HAL Laboratory — Developer of the Kirby franchise, Super Smash Bros. series, the Eggerland series (also known as the Adventures of Lolo series), the development of the e-Reader, and co-produced the EarthBound/Mother series.
* NDCUBE — Developer of F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, Tube Slider, and various other Game Boy Advance and GameCube titles.
* Noise — Developer of the Custom Robo franchise.
* skip Ltd. — Developer of the Chibi-Robo series, the bit Generations series (Japan only), GiFTPiA (Japan only) and Captain Rainbow for Wii.

[bay]

how good a system is has nothing to do with it's exclusives, rather it's the amount of games you'd play that have come out for that platform. so in the end, as expected, it's a matter of opinion. with that in mind, most all the games that have been mentioned are worth checking out if you like that general genre.

[CStarFlare]

I think they're mostly crap. Eternal Sonata was a little dissapointing, but on the whole it's probably better than Folklore.

Eternal Sonata was decent unless you're the kind of person who wants to analyze every element of the game for parallells to chopin's life. Then it's supposedly amazing, but you have to be incredibly gay to get enjoyment out of that.

In any case Eternal Sonata is not a 360 exclusive though it wasn't a terrible feather in MS's cap considering the other JRPG offerings of the time.

how good a system is has nothing to do with it's exclusives,

This is true, but exclusives are what are needed to tip "console A vs console B" dilemmas that a lot of people have. Get a PS3 or a 360? The games you can get either way don't factor into that decision; the games that you can only get on one do.

[RackGaki]

why do folks CONSTANTLY compare the cocks of their systems then compare and argue who's is the biggest.

Five year old compares his Frosted Flakes with another kid's generic knockoff. Asshat with money compares their Bentley with your Aston Martin. In between, he argues his triple beats someones 360. Same shit.

Most likely the same kid, too.

[bay]

This is true, but exclusives are what are needed to tip "console A vs console B" dilemmas that a lot of people have. Get a PS3 or a 360? The games you can get either way don't factor into that decision; the games that you can only get on one do.

this is definately true when you can afford to buy the system yourself. however, lots of kids are at the mercy of the parents. with the 360 price drop lots of kids are getting 360 for xmas guaranteed.

lots of adults are considering ps3 as a bluray player + a game console. so consider that a media "exclusivity."

360 has the netflix service, sony has their service.. yada yada.

once sony gets their online offering better fleshed out (home?) then maybe the hype around that will give people some incentive to use ps3 and a service that doesn't cost money to use online games. 360 is definitely not a kid friendly service, while psn and now LBP is definitely more kid friendly.

it's funny, nintendo used to be the only one that was all about kids and family fun.. sony is actually placing themselves more in this genre (while still catering to hardcore gamers as well)

ps2 has Buzz! (i believe ps3 will as well) which is a party game.. (sounds nintendo-like)... and as far as i know, 360 doesn't have anything like it. this seems a bit like sony responding to nintendo cornering this market. i'm stretching this a bit far by this point however.

ok, that's the last stop on my train of topic derailment.

[Strider77]

Also, people is poor and they only get one system or another.

I'm not saying you have to buy both, just make a choice and hopefully you'll enjoy it.

But that doesn't mean just b/c you will own just one... the other MUST be worthless and not a enjoyable console at ALL.... I mean it's not the one you own so how could it possibly be ANYTHING worthwhile. That's the attitude that gets really old....

Maybe as I'm getting old now I see things less black and white as that.

[Skykid]

ps2 has Buzz! (i believe ps3 will as well) which is a party game.. (sounds nintendo-like)... and as far as i know, 360 doesn't have anything like it. this seems a bit like sony responding to nintendo cornering this market. i'm stretching this a bit far by this point however.

Thanks Bay for keeping the debate on a neutral level. MS certainly aren't oblivious to the family success stories of the Wii and Buzz, and are introducing Scene It! Which is a quiz game of the same ilk. Here's the controllers:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=167680

I think Nintendo has forced everyone to look at this area of the market. XBL is getting some kind of insane overhaul planned in November (?) which will introduce the quiz game as part of the normal online package (no software required) and up to eight people per party participating together in 'television-like' quiz shows.

[Motorherp]

ps2 has Buzz! (i believe ps3 will as well) which is a party game.. (sounds nintendo-like)...

Sorry to be pedantic but you got this the wrong way around. Sony were the pioneers of the social living room gaming fad with the likes of EyeToy, Singstar, Buzz, etc. They busted that door wide open and then for some reason didn't follow through with it as forcefully as they should (maybe due to concentrating on the Sony MS next gen war). Instead they ended up creating that social gaming market and leaving it thirsty for more only to step aside and let Nintendo reap all the rewards.

[Skykid]

ps2 has Buzz! (i believe ps3 will as well) which is a party game.. (sounds nintendo-like)...

Sorry to be pedantic but you got this the wrong way around. Sony were the pioneers of the social living room gaming fad with the likes of EyeToy, Singstar, Buzz, etc. They busted that door wide open and then for some reason didn't follow through with it as forcefully as they should (maybe due to concentrating on the Sony MS next gen war). Instead they ended up creating that social gaming market and leaving it thirsty for more only to step aside and let Nintendo reap all the rewards.

This is true!

[benstylus]

Sorry to be pedantic but you got this the wrong way around. Sony were the pioneers of the social living room gaming fad with the likes of EyeToy, Singstar, Buzz, etc.

Sorry, but no.

'Casual Party' games have been around far longer than Sony... games like Mario Party (Nintendo), Point Blank (Namco), and Dance Dance Revolution (Konami) certainly helped pave the way for the success of the genre, but even predating that you've got games like Anticipation (Rare), or Pictionary (LJN) on the NES, or any of the hundreds of variations of Bomberman (Hudson). I would also argue that the number and popularity of SNES Street Fighter II (Capcom) parties that I had or attended rivaled anything anyone is doing today, though that game is far more 'hardcore' than any of the others I've mentioned.

"Social Living Room Gaming" has been around for as long as there have been two controller ports, and just about everyone has dabbled in it from time to time.

Nintendo is just the first to pretty much make it the entire point of their console.

[Motorherp]

There's a difference between the odd game which is fun to play with your mates and purposefully building entire franchises and markets specifically targeted at social gaming for non hardcore gamers (or just non gamers is general). Sony where the first to really push the later.

[benstylus]

There's a difference between the odd game which is fun to play with your mates and purposefully building entire franchises and markets specifically targeted at social gaming for non hardcore gamers (or just non gamers is general). Sony where the first to really push the later.

All the mario party and mario sports titles are pretty much geared to the non-hardcore / non-gamers...

[Motorherp]

As were bishi-bashi and many other such games. They weren't games specifically targeted that way though, they just happened to be enjoyed by the odd non gamer who stumbled across it through friends or whatever. The point is that they didn't nor weren't trying to build and grow a casual market the way Sony did with Singstar etc.

[spadgy]

Having played LittleBigPlanet constantly for 4 or 5 weeks, I can confirm it is unbeleivably good. My favourite boxed game of this generation - Super Mario Galaxy quality and then some...

[benstylus]

As were bishi-bashi and many other such games. They weren't games specifically targeted that way though, they just happened to be enjoyed by the odd non gamer who stumbled across it through friends or whatever. The point is that they didn't nor weren't trying to build and grow a casual market the way Sony did with Singstar etc.

This is where we disagree - I think Mario party and the like were specifically targeted towards the casual/non-gamer (but with enough stuff to do to keep a regular gamer busy).

[Elixir]

Disgaea 3 and Cross Edge. Nippon Ichi have only made a single non-Sony release, Disgaea for the DS. I expect to see more from them in the PS3 department over the next few years.

There was also a port of Rhapsody to the DS. http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/data/946831.html

True, but they were just ports. N1 were possibly the first people to produce a 2D game for the PS3. I don't think they've ever made a original, notable game for a Nintendo console in.. ever. That said, praying for a 360 port of Disgaea 3 is a waste of time, so I'm going to end up purchasing a PS3.

I happen to be selling a Japanese 360 in the Trading Forum, if anyone's interested.

[MR_Soren]

Valkyria Chronicles, Disgaea 3, and MGS 4 interest me, but I have not played any of them.

Disgaea 3 will probably get ported to the Wii or something, and I can live without the other two.

I don't think they've ever made a original, notable game for a Nintendo console in.. ever.

I believe Puchi Puchi Virus for Nintendo DS is developed by N1 and is not a port.

N1 has stated that they are traditionally Sony-exclusive, but they want to start developing for the DS and eventually the Wii. So far, a puzzle game and two ports are all they've done, but I expect there will be much more as time goes on.

[jpj]

i think what motorherp was saying is that sony were the first to *market* towards a non-gaming crowd. singstar in particular had a six figure advertising budget here in the UK. LBP's marketing spend is £4.1 million.

[Skykid]

As were bishi-bashi and many other such games. They weren't games specifically targeted that way though, they just happened to be enjoyed by the odd non gamer who stumbled across it through friends or whatever. The point is that they didn't nor weren't trying to build and grow a casual market the way Sony did with Singstar etc.

This is where we disagree - I think Mario party and the like were specifically targeted towards the casual/non-gamer (but with enough stuff to do to keep a regular gamer busy).

I think Motorherp is right here - the 'casual' games you've mentioned, Mario Party & Point Blank etc were still marketed at the current gaming demographic at the time.
Sony's eyetoy and Play were designed to broaden the demographic and involve more 'non-gamers'. The marketing of these products had an obvious push in this direction.

I'm not saying I didn't get my gf to play Point Blank or Mario Party, but its on the off chance. I couldn't imagine my family getting involved in Mario Party the way they got involved with the eyetoy. The buy-in required is completely different.

[spadgy]

I think the important thing here is the distinction between not just 'core' and 'casual' gamers, but between 'core', the modern 'casual' market, and less dedicated gamers who still like a decent, challenging and involving game whowould have been called casual a few years back before the new market for farming out crap like My Bratz Pony Musical Minigame Puppies 4 or some such shit started.

Most of my work (and now some of Skykid's!) is for a UK industry mag aimed in particular and game retailers, and the new 'casual' market is very very profitable for them, but they still see a separate demographic to sell to in terms of the likes who bought Mario Party and such.

I guess like dividing people into their classes, broad divisions never work, but in the industry there is certainly a distinction between hardcore, casual, and what are often called everyday' gamers - misleading in itself as it's supposed to people who don't play every single day....

I love the idea that high quality, casual-friendly games like LittleBigPlanet and such are welcoming whole new demographics to high quality gaming, but sadly the reality is that all to often (but not always) those people are getting bombarded with utter shite that takes dev money and resources away from truly decent games. Oh well...

[Motorherp]

Yes jpj and skykid pretty much sum up what I was getting at. One of the big distinctions is that products like Buzz and Singstar removed the barriers to non-gamers by replacing the user interface with something gimmicky and intuituve. On top of that the marketing revolved not around the game itself such as its features and graphics but rather focussed in on how much fun friends and family could have together by playing it. Sounds rather like Nintendo's strategy for the Wii dont you think?

[spadgy]

With regard to my previous post, I think benstylus is in many ways right, in that games makers have always had a keen eye on 'non-gamers'. In fact, think of the heyday of arcade cabs in pubs and in every other cafe. Really, harnessing the 'non-gaming' gamer just lost its was a little in the 90s, but it was still very much there with the likes of Mario Party.

Ironic that our own, closely-guarded, hardcore niche hobby started with one (even 'some') of the very original casual games. Maybe one day games about petting animals will have their own forum like this where bitter arguments ensure over the merits of My Pet Hotel 2! If it can happen to Space Invaders...

[black flag nc]

Oh yeah, the PS3! I forgot.

That was that system that costs twice as much as the others. But, don't worry. The PS3 can play a new kind of DVD that costs twice as much as a regular DVD!

In this awesome economy, how can you go wrong?

ahem... ask sony.

[Diabollokus]

I'll buy a PS3 eventually as I'll be on xbox number 3 soon! but right now I'm only interested in Wipeout HD and MGS4.

[Motorherp]

In this awesome economy, how can you go wrong?

If we're going to do price comparisons lets at least do it on a level ground which takes features into account. Also "new kind of DVD player"? That's a laugh, ever heard of HD movies? So anyway since the PS3 is the most feature packed of the consoles lets bring everything up to it's feature specs and see how the consoles compare then.

I've taken my prices from Amazon.co.uk and taken the cheapest price I could find for each component.

PS3 60GB model (just the bare unit) -> £320

To bring the Xbox 360 up to spec we need to add in say a years subscription to Live plus a blueray player, and for the sake of fairness we can remove the cost of a DVD player since it can play SD movies.

XBox 360 60GB model + Live + blueray player - dvd player = £160 + £40 + £160 - £30 = £330

For the Wii we need to add a blueray player and a 60GB harddrive. For the harddrive I've halved the price of the 120GB xbox 360 harddrive add on.

Wii + blueray player + 60GB = £180 + £160 + £40 = £380

So feature for feature the prices are:

PS3 = £320
Xbox 360 = £330
Wii = £380

So in terms of cost effectiveness the PS3 and 360 are about equal but the Wii falls well behind. Take into account the power of the machines and the PS3 and 360 stay the same but the Wii becomes even more cost innefective since it doesn't even have half the power of the other two.

Awesome economy? I wouldn't call it awesome but I'd say it's fair with the exception of Nintendo in this comparison.

[Shocky]

To bring the Xbox 360 up to spec we need to add in say a years subscription to Live plus a blueray player,

Don't forget to add the X360 sold-separately wlan adapter thing and battery pack/charger (all PS3 controllers are rechargable via usb). I think Wii also uses separate finger batteries on default, and drains them quite quickly according to my Wii-playing friends. Sucks.

Then again, X360 comes with a headset. Then again, the 60 GB PS3 comes with card readers.


And worthy PS3 exclusive games? These are the ones that I've been most pleased with:

Metal Gear Solid 4 (the only god-game so far this gen IMO)
Super Stardust HD
WipEout HD
Uncharted
Time Crisis 4 (the new fps mode on a video projector = badass!)
Motorstorm (the load times suck though)
Resistance (especially co-op)

Girls seem to love Flow, Locoroco Cocorecho and Super Rub'a'Dub btw...

[Skykid]

Don't forget to add the games.

[black flag nc]

In this awesome economy, how can you go wrong?

If we're going to do price comparisons lets at least do it on a level ground which takes features into account. Also "new kind of DVD player"? That's a laugh, ever heard of HD movies? So anyway since the PS3 is the most feature packed of the consoles lets bring everything up to it's feature specs and see how the consoles compare then.

XBox 360 60GB model + Live + blueray player - dvd player = £160 + £40 + £160 - £30 = £330

Dude, you're making the same argument Sony makes. I hope they mail you a check.

Judging by sales (.06% of all DVD sales are blu-ray) folks aren't too damned impressed with blu-ray technology. It's like Sony wants to charge us for something we didn't ask for and wouldn't use.

It's like you trying to sell me a 2004 Ford Taurus for $48,000 and when I complain about the price, you explain to me that this Ford Taurus can double as a speed boat. I didn't want or need a speed boat.

Even if you walked up to me and handed me a free Blu-Ray player, I wouldn't even open it. I was being sarcastic about the economy. I can't afford many $10 DVDs let alone $30 for "super special high-def with extra awesomeness" DVD's.

I just wanna play some games, man. In the US, the PS3 is being outsold by the Wii/360 at a rate of 4 to 1. Apparently a lot of people see it the same way I do.

[BrianC]

I believe Puchi Puchi Virus for Nintendo DS is developed by N1 and is not a port.

According to gamefaqs, it was developed by Jaleco. I think NIS America is only publishing it. They are getting really odd about releasing it. I heard they actually sold it at a booth at Anime Expo, but still delayed the game to 2009 for stores.

[Motorherp]

Don't forget to add the games.

Ah yes, very true. The PS3 and Xbox360 prices were for bare units with no games bundled. The Wii however comes bundled with sports for that price so roughly that brings it into the same ballpark figure, although still a bit on the higher side. Still though, when you factor in the power and capabilities of the machines, purchacing a wii is still like buying a Ford Focus when you could have an Aston Martin DB9 for the same price. Now maybe you just happen to really like the Fords handling or whatever just like you might prefer the Wii games but it's still not cost effective which was is what black flag was having a stab at.

Dude, you're making the same argument Sony makes.

Your point being what? They make the argument because it's a valid one.

In the US, the PS3 is being outsold by the Wii/360

Not everyone lives in the US. Anyway, in terms of cost effectiveness, if blueray doesn't interest you in the slightest then buying a PS3 over a 360 wouldn't be so cost effective. There's no need to point that out to me, you dont have to be a genious to see that. However to some people it does matter, personally I quite like to enjoy the finer things in life since I've only got one of them. If you want HD movies at home then you could argue that the PS3 becomes even more cost effective than the 360 since you can leverage the blueray in your games as well as movies, not to mention that the PS3 is one of the highest quality blueray players on the market.