Upcoming Exclusives and Why The Internet has Sided with PS4?

Let me get this out of the way up front: I own all three of this generation's consoles, so I'm not bringing this up to make myself feel better about my decision.

So is it just me, or is the PS4 internet love covering up a lack of upcoming titles? People seems really in to shitting on the xbox (in forums and posts I've been seeing in places like Polygon and Kotaku), and PS4 has seemingly become the new default console for multiplatform releases for a lot of folks, as well as quick looks on this site. But looking at upcoming exclusives for both consoles is starting to make me wonder what everyone is so stoked for on the PS4. Honestly I'm also just a devil's advocate and it really bugs me when people come to unanimous opinions on things just because of a bandwagon.

So before the end of 2014 on PS4, the upcoming releases before the end of the year are:

-Driveclub

-Little Big Planet 3 (Sorry, could not care less about this one)

That's it. Both consoles have relative smatterings of really cool looking indie games (Rime and Ori and the Blind Forest on their respective consoles), but most of them are coming to PC anyways, and a lot aren't coming out this year either.

So moving to Xbox exclusives before the end of 2014:

-Forza Horizon 2

-Sunset Overdrive (huge Insomniac fan, so super excited about this)

-Master Chief Collection

So I'm planning on buying all 3 of those, and since I also think the crew looks fantastic, two racing games probably fills my quota beyond the point where I would want to buy Driveclub.

Things seem to even out a bit in 2015, but just to have it here:

PS4 in 2015:

-The Order: 1886 (Color me excited about this one)

-Bloodborne (My most anticipated game of 2015. HOLY SHIT THE MONSTERS)

-Uncharted 4

-Ratchet and Clank 1 Re-make

-Let it Die (Will always give Suda 51 a chance)

So yeah, 2015 is looking substantially better for PS4.

Here's Xbone in 2015:

-Halo 5 (If they fix the multiplayer, I'm super in)

-Fable Legends (Haven't like any fable game ever, but this looks sorta like gauntlet)

-Crackdown 3

-Scalebound

-Tomb Raider (Timed exclusive, but the reboot was one of my favorite games that year)

-Inside (Sequel to Limbo, looks fantastic)

There's great stuff on both consoles by the end of 2015, so I'm glad I own both. Also the Wii U has my favorite lineup of games but that isn't even part of this discussion as they aren't really competing for the same market in my opinion.

My point is, in 2014 the Xbox clearly has the better lineup (especially if you include Titanfall, Dead Rising 3, and Ryse versus only Infamous Second Son), and then things even out depending on your tastes in 2015. So what's the deal? Why the heck has the internet just decided that PS4 won already and that we want nothing to do with the Xbone? Competition is good, and I don't really understand heaps of negativity being piled on to any of the platforms.

Cuphead is also on PC, just to answer your question on that.

I can't answer the rest of it though. I see people being positive and negative about both consoles.

It isn't about the games, this is about people not forgiving or forgetting how Microsoft had some ideas that a lot of people deemed unfriendly to consumers. And so it was that the Internet almost collectively decided that Microsoft was clearly an evil corporation and Sony and the Playstation 4 was the second coming of Christ.

@jesus_phish: Changed!

I'll take Guilty Gear at 60 frames over anything in the Microsoft list, sadly...

Much like last generation, I don't feel like Microsoft has anything interesting to offer that can't be played elsewhere. Owning a computer and a PlayStation should once again provide 95% of the non-Nintendo/handheld market, only this time with some bonuses to frame rate and resolution for console titles.

I'll just reiterate what I said in some other PS4 thread recently, it's the "minor" games that allows PS4 to stay ahead. I own both consoles and while I only have a handful of big hitters on both my PS4 also has a good amount of f2p and cheaper games that are pretty good and I keep coming back to. They basically won the "Geometry Wars" war.

People who are indicating who is 'winning' are no longer coming from the (relatively) unbiased position of having neither console. Many now own a PS4 (many more than own XBones) and thus are now biased in favor of perceiving themselves as having made the right choice.

For my money, I was on the PS4 bandwagon for a good while, but with the announcement of the Tomb Raider exclusive and the arrival of some Halo information, I'm drifting back toward MS.

Personally outside of Uncharted and The Last of US I never cared much for any of Sony's exclusives. But that's totally a personal thing and everyone is attracted to different titles/etc.

You're assuming people only buy consoles for their exclusives. The popularity of the ps4 vs xb1 has very little to do with their respective lineups.

For me, personally, Halo lost all of its graces with me after 4. That's no longer a franchise I care about and I strongly believe Microsoft will release the MC Collection on PC at some point within a year of its Xbone release. That being said, I find Sony has a stronger lineup with their 1st party exclusives added on top of how amazing PS+ is. Also, I use my Vita a lot for remote play/cross buy/cross save games, and you can't get that anywhere else right now. Also, with me being a PC gamer the Xbone is becoming less interesting as time goes on. I also like the controller on the PS4 better, all my friends are on PS4, and I think Sony has some real weight with their exclusives.

Quarter 1 of 2015 is going to be very expensive, indeed. Bloodbourne, by itself, is enough to justify a PS4 in my eyes.

I think your statement that "Xbox clearly has the better lineup" is a bit unfounded. It's true if you look at the number of releases, but doesn't account for differing tastes among gamers. Personally, I could care less about all three of the Xbox titles you name. On the other hand, I've never played a Little Big Planet game before, and I sort of looking forward to that one so I can see what it's all about.

Ultimately, I think @village_guy is correct. Microsoft lost the battle for hearts and minds pretty early on with some of their business practices. They didn't help themselves out of that hole very much either. First it was the "deal with it" controversy. Then there was the epically terrible E3 presentation (seriously, look it up on the site - it's a-w-f-u-l) where they couldn't explain their own policies cogently. Then they backpedaled on all that stuff but framed it as this sort of non-apology that didn't sit real well with a lot of people. My point is that they didn't shoot themselves in the foot so much as shoot themselves in both feet, both knees, and both elbows. Then they realized they were out of bullets.

As far as I can tell, the PS4 has more exclusives -- but the more important aspect is that (and I say this as an owner of all consoles and a preference for PC) the PS4 doesn't have the XBox's shitty interface (though it needs much improvement, too) and it has, so far, had better framerates and higher resolution. Why would you not pick the system with the better presentation, unless its available library was so dismal as to not compete? Not to mention, the addition of not wanting to contribute to Microsoft's band of bullshit since E3 before last, treading us like fucking morons as they tried to shove everything we didn't want down our throats only to back down on all of the things they said were technically impossible to change.

In counter to the last generation, this one has been all PS4 for me, except for titles that are exclusive to XB1 -- with COD being the exception (because of their shitty month-in-advance DLC deals). Everything else that is cross-platform and everything that is cross-platform as far as I can see into the future is coming down on PS4, for my purchasing choice. Even despite the weak battery life of their controllers that can't even last for an entire game session.

Plus, an HD release of a bunch of old games that I didn't care about the first time around isn't really something I would consider an "exclusive". I'd consider it "filler".

Ever since MGSV became the latest console exclusive to come to PC, I'm actually more interested in the Wii U than the PS4, though I probably won't buy either. Sony and Microsoft barely have any interesting third party exclusives now, and I don't think their own studios are very talented. The third party exclusive is dying fast. It makes me happy.

According to my tastes, I'm more interested/think Sony's lineup is better by alot, even though it's smaller by a couple games. Actually, if the lineups were switched, Sony's games would probably push me past xbox's PR nightmare and get me to get a One. It's all subjective.

For me, as someone else said, it's the little guys and random games that aren't on the other platform. Sportsfriends, Rogue Legacy, Surgeon Simulator, Injustice, Last of Us Remastered, MLB The Show, Fez, inFamous. And then you can just generally expect games to run better on a PS4 it seems, so of course you'd get The Crew and NBA 2K15 and Dragon Age and whatever else on the platform.

I have no experience with the XBox Marketplace but it seems to me the PSN is much more fluid in terms of deals and things that end up on the store. None of the four Play 2014 games (Hohokum, CounterSpy, Rogue Legacy, The Swapper) are on XBox One, and I'm sure ID@XBox will catch up at some point but right now the PS4 is already one of the stranger, more unique things I've ever had in my home. I owned a PC for five years once and despised it, so PSN becoming about as Steam-like as it can is pretty exciting to me. Whoever thought I'd get to play something as stupid and worthless as Surgeon Simulator?!

The Xbox is pretty much the same as the Xbox has always been for me, in that I could not care less about the majority of its exclusives. Literally the only thing I have a strong interest in is Sunset Overdrive, but not enough to spend hundreds of dollars to play it. Tomb Raider might have also been on that list, but if turns out to just be timed exclusive that's not enough.

It's true that the majority of the exclusives I'm most excited for in the near future on the PS4 are multiplatform, but it doesn't take much to compete with that line-up. As someone else said, Guilty Gear Xrd on the PS4 is still more exciting than anything Microsoft is offering me.

I don't mean for any of that to sound like it's shitting on Xbox fans, I just don't need one.

Awh c'mon how could anyone say Sunset Overdrive doesn't look new and cool! Totally is all subjective though, I'm glad I have both haha.

We've seen this effect a few times now where the company that is "on top" or "winning" gets arrogant and thinks that just because people favored them the generation before they can get away with anything. Examples: N64 vs Playstation and PS3 vs X360.

Has nothing to do with games. Microsoft spent months (years before that, arguably) making itself look like a terrible company no one should like, that's why the internet is (largely) on "Sony's side".

I think your lists are kind of... useless :S ... no offense, duder! For many gamers the small games are just as exciting as the big ones. So why leave them out? They matter. I find it weird you included Inside but no small games on the Sony side. You say you aren't trying to make one look better than the other but it kind of looks like you are grasping at straws - I believe you! - I just think the list isn't even-handed.

If you want to have a meaningful list debate you need to show every "exclusive" game, timed exclusive, indie, AAA, Japan-only, etc. You shouldn't decide which games are important to people beforehand than say "look, X console has more games coming".

@czarpyotr:

I really don't think Sony has much to worry about:

I think a lot of Microsoft's problems started the E3 before the consoles were released. I don't think they really ever recovered from that initial message that they started spreading. I think that really turned off a lot of people and they are now gun shy in going the Microsoft route since it seems like even Microsoft doesn't know where they are going with their game plan.

Also, the differences in performance is something that people are looking at and saying why go for second best for my games when I can just have most things I want to play on Sony's platform.

It also seems like Microsoft is also just one step behind Sony. Whatever move Sony makes Microsoft makes some similar steps but they just always seem to be behind and following instead of trying to lead an innovate.

Never underestimate how much a strong indie library can carry a system. Even though they don't a butt ton of exclusives coming this year(though they aren't totally dead), they are rolling out small games on a constant basis. That makes it way more of a value proposition.

Honestly the only thing on Microsoft's side I'm interested in is Tomb Raider and that's coming anyway. A lot more people own a PS4 right now than an Xbone because of how much Microsoft fucked up before the gen started. A lot of people are gonna be biased towards the PS4 because of those things. And then there's the tastes. Most AAA games come to both consoles with PS4 getting quite a few more in the indie department and I COULD NOT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT MICROSOFT EXCLUSIVES! I don't like the types of games the usually go for.

I think why people have sided with the PS4 is that Microsoft totally screwed themselves at E3 with all of the used games and Kinect nonsense. They totally lost any good-will they had with people. Add to the the PS4 being slightly cheaper and slightly more powerful, I think it's kinda hard for most people to justify and Xbox One over a PS4. Add to that the games as well - I think PS4 has more to offer, and I think their exclusive titles like Uncharted hold more weight than what Microsoft is offering. To me it seemed like the two things that Microsoft was really betting on as system sellers were Titanfall and Watch Dogs. Titanfall came out and was gone within a few weeks and didn't sell nearly as much as anyone hoped, and Watch Dogs came out and totally flopped. Everything Microsoft had for this year was just totally ripped out from under them. It's kinda sad actually.

Like Jeff said on the bombcast *paraphrasing* "Sony walked in and brought a fucking knife like you wanna go? You wanna go son? and Microsoft was in the corner going please, please stop hurting me!"

I don't buy a console for their first year lineups. I buy a console based on what I hope to see from them years down the line. Playstation 4 has come out with a consistent message and a clearly stronger machine. While that may not really matter much now, I think we will see some key differences 3,4, or 5 years from now when developers are unlocking the true horsepower of these machines.

The boxes cost the same. One comes with a $100 AMD GPU inside, the other with a $150 AMD GPU inside. Those things don't scale linearly when you get to budget prices so the cheaper one loses a lot of cores and units (eg half the raster units is not good when you're only punching a 7% clock speed advantage to try and claw back) with which to render the games. The boxes are really similar so it's not like the fast but hard to code to PS3 vs the cheap and easy to code for 360, it's an easy thing to compare the SoCs and see how these systems were put together.

That reason means that every non-exclusive, if you want to play it on a console, is best on PlayStation. That's the comparison bar here. Unless it's exclusive on Xbox One then a well optimised game will be significantly stronger on the PS4 and that's the platform you should buy it on. And the devices cost the same. And the PS4 install base is currently looking quite a lot larger so dev teams will have incentive to spend longer tweaking/leading on that platform when tuning and optimising.

When you balance the scales and put every non-exclusive down as best on PS4 then it's not even close to a balanced competition. Sony got a lot of goodwill but also ended up (via risks like going for GDDR5 and lucking out that prices/availability meant they could get 8GB into the final specs rather than MS, who always knew they wanted 8GB and so were forced down the path of quad-channel DDR3 and using loads of transistors for a big eSRAM block) putting out a box that's a lot faster but doesn't cost a lot more to produce (even without the camera difference that is now removed from the core strategy) while their competition looked to be scrambling ever since they announced the box as an always-connected, TV-friendly, mandatory camera thing that is certainly not what they're advertising it as now.

Edit: to pre-empt any "but graphics don't matter" arguments: two of the three games listed as 2014 Xbox exclusives aren't exclusive to the Xbox One if you don't care about visuals. All the Halo games work just fine in a 360 (Hell, only Halo 2 is even getting a new remastering for this release) and Forza Horizon 2 is also a 360 release. Graphics and what you do with these immersive worlds matter; more perf for free is always a good deal.

It's probably mainly attitude. People pick up on it how the companies present themselves. Sony had come out and presented a good attitude at least in appearance for the consumer, whereas Microsoft came in with full arrogance and then went ahead and muddled up their whole mission statement for the box in the fallout. It's basically the reverse of last gen.

You are only talking AAA exclusives also it seems, they are few and far inbetween. It seems to me ps4 seems to have the larger library for the small downloadables and that counts for a lot more now that there are less fully fledged titles developed in general. Also you are wasting your time referencing glorified tech demo launch titles such as Ryse or (I forget the name of sony's platformer release game with the little stone guy), lets be honest you aren't buying consoles post launch for that shit. Also I understand people are excited for the halo collection, and i'm not against the idea but come the hell on its the equivalent of a god of war collection for the PS4. It's kind of sad and indicative of the current state of consoles if that what you are purchasing one for.

Personally I give no fucks at this stage since both are glorified door stops in regards to the small selection they offer at this stage of the cycle and i'm pretty content at the moment over here in PC land, but for the eventual purchase at this stage i'm gravitating towards Sony purely for those reasons. It's funny because I went with the xbox last gen (at least the first half of it) for exactly these reasons.

I understand it's annoying peoples tendency to bandwagon without explaining themselves, but hey welcome to the world, the majority of the population does this in every regard - ultimately they are following the lead of the small educated hardcore audience and their opinions.

See: Xbox 360.

Didn't mean to leave out indie games, but there were too many on both sides. Also xbox has just about as many indie titles coming through their ID program as sony does through ps plus from the looks of it.

@czarpyotr: crackdown and scalebound are not 2015 game there 2016 games (because they showed GCI trailer at e3 and also no closed demo at e3, also no metion of them at gamescom that means 2016 or beyond)

I kinda feel like it is. I've yet to see any game that's made me interested in either system to the point I've regretted building a new PC. Blodborne is the only contender so far maybe Sunset Overdrive. I'll just wait for Rise of the Tomb Raider to come to PC. And none of those look like games that require the hardware capabilities of the Xbox One or PS4.

Sony has been smarter at marketing than Micorsoft so far, but neither has delivered "must have" exclusive software yet. Which seems like the theme of the whole generation. The WiiU is just finally starting to do that now and I wouldn't call its lineup very robust yet despite being out for two years.

@alexgbro: I pulled those from a list on gamesradar that said 2015, my mistake then.

I don't know man... Every move Microsoft has pulled in regards to its exclusive games and its platform offering has made me glad I picked up a PS4 instead. Dead Rising 3 did away with the hardcore structure/gameplay mechanics I enjoyed in previous games and they put that stupid grit filter on everything. Halo 4 is making me doubt 343 has what it takes to reinvent Halo in a way that would make me pumped the same way I was for Halo 3. I loved fable 1 and 2 but the new one seems like a completely different game I don't want to play with focus on multiplayer, combat and dungeon crawling, boooh. Sunset overdrive just seems like a goofy arcade style shooter and I don't see a story or gameplay hook. I would probably be bummed I couldn't play below but it's probably going to run on my crappy PC.

On PS4 I get my first uncharted game, bloodborn (holy fuck), no man's sky, an avalanche of indy games every month and better versions of every third party game. Dragon age, Far cry 4, shadow of mordor, probably destiny and AC:unity just this year. For someone who doesn't want to waste money on a PC I'm super happy with the game selection on PS4 this year.

That's the part everyone seems to forget around here: if you don't have a gaming PC (like most people buying games), the game offering for new consoles this year is fantastic.

I prefer Sony's exclusives to Microsoft's. The only upcoming Xbox One games I want to play are Scalebound (because of my irrational love of Platinum) and Quantum Break (which will probably come to PC looking at Remedy's track record.)

On the Sony side I really like Infamous, I love Uncharted (2 is one of my favourite games ever), I want to try Bloodborne even though I know I'll suck at it and every multiplatform game is better on Playstation, even if Xbox has timed exclusive map packs or even timed exclusive games (which is a practice that just makes me not like Microsoft more).

@spaceinsomniac: Nice charts. The ps4 has so many more games coming out on a monthly basis it's crazy.

Because Microsoft fucked themselves with a chain of shitty policy decisions that made people hate them and then they released a less powerful console for a higher (now equal without Kinect) price. If Microsoft's exclusives heavily outweigh having the worst version of multiplatform games (read: 80-90% of games), then sure, buy an Xbone, but claiming that Microsoft has "better" exclusives is a really fucking dumb way to try to convince someone because it's subjective.

I, personally, have a gaming PC, so the only reason for me to buy a console is for the actual exclusives. I could not give any less of a shit about playing another Forza/Halo/Gears/Fable/etc. Sony's exclusives IPs are actually interesting to me. Couple that with Sony not treating consumers like garbage and I'll take the PS4 any day.

I would say it is largely for two reasons: 1. PS4(and Sony platforms in general) have been doing much better when it comes to downloadable games, and 2. Multiplatform games have so far been better on the PS4(obviously PC versions are better than both most of the time but whatever).

It is less about what is upcoming and more about what has already happened. The Xbone started out slow due to the issues with DRM and Kinect, as well as being priced higher. This gave the PS4 a head start at launch time of the two. The PS4 has had a better (not in quality as that is opinion based but in quantity) selection of games since launch too.

Exclusives don't seem to really be as important nowadays as we make them out to be. Companies and fans will go on about all the exclusives they have but at the end of the day like 80% of the best games are multiplats. Since the PS4 does those better for now it is in my opinion the console of choice.

They side with PS4 for the same reason they sided with 360 the last time. The market leader acted ignorant and arrogant, made stupid decisions as a result, and people picked up on it. It shouldn't surprise you when a few years from now the XBox begins to catch up and winds up being the fan favorite for the next generation (if there is one), just like the PS3 was essentially caught up by the end of the last generation.

I didn't buy either at first. Microsoft still couldn't figure out their own policies and the PS4 had literally zero exclusive games worth playing. Around March or April I felt like MS was finally starting to get their shit straight and I bought an XBox.

Haven't looked back since. Have greatly appreciated the changes MS has made in the last ~6 months. Still haven't seen much that interests me on the PS4 that I can't also get on the Xbox.

Games i am waiting for, let's see here:

Ps4: LBP3, The Order 1886(Somehow), Bloodborne, Rime, Uncharted 4

Xone: Sunset Overdrive, Halo: TMC, Halo 5, Fable Legends, Ori and the Blind forest, Project spark, Quantum Break, Tomb Raider, Scalebound, Inside

Well Xone has the longer list, but Ps4 has the better games :D.

Though, I think this should be part of the discussion.

WiiU: Bayonetta 2, SSBU, Splatoon, Xeno, Zelda U, Fatal Frame 5

I find those exclusives better for some reason... Am i weird?

It all boils down to perception. While the PS4 and Xbox One are probably evenly matched in their amount and breadth of games, one of them has done a way better job of highlighting it. And I think we all know which one.

From day one until Phil Spencer's appointment as head of the Xbox division, Microsoft has done a terrible job highlighting their big and small games, going for a all-in-one media centre approach. "Use it as a set-top box!", "Control your Xbox media experience with voice commands and intuitive gestures thanks to Kinect 2.0!", "We've partnered with content providers to bring you exciting new ways to experience media with our Smartglass technology!". While these features are tempting for the mainstream, they're not what core gamers and your early adopters are looking for. Making Kinect and an always-on internet connection mandatory also didn't do them any favours. And let's not forget about the baffling attitude they had when faced with criticism.

In all fairness, with a better pitch and better messaging Microsoft could have made this race a lot closer, but now they're reduced to catching up with Sony.

Adding to the list of PS4 games coming out, we still have inFamous: First Light (downloadable or not, still first party) coming out and a couple other games from indie studios partnering with Sony. Second point is debatable, obviously. You forgot to include MLB 14: The Show and The Last of Us: Remastered. Ryse & DR3 came out in 2013 by the way (and everyone says Ryse is poo). I think the PS4 has the better lineup from launch and throughout 2014 because I suck at FPS (Titanfall), I hated Dead Rising 2 (DR3), Ryse looks like poo (all Crytek games suck to me, although I've only played Crysis 3 & played an hour of Crysis 2) and I don't give a shit about racing games unless it's Burnout Paradise (Forza). On Sony's side, I am god awful at sports (MLB 14) and I doubt I'll like Driveclub. All in all, both consoles have had a pretty dismal year but I still think Sony had the better year between inFamous, TLOU Remastered, all the indies and with more to come, it's definitely way better then the X1 offerings imo.

To answer your question:

The internet. That's why.

Microsoft screwed up so badly at the start of this console generation that I can see why people are still holding it against them. I don't own a Xbone or a PS4 though, so I really don't care very much at all.

@czarpyotr said:

These are the only only games I care about on your list and Wii U and PC both have better exclusive line ups in my opinion.

Microsoft lost it long before the XB1 was even announced as far as I'm concerned, 2012/2013 was really pathetic for the 360, especially when compared to what was going on with the PS3, PS3 finished very strong and PS4 is benefiting from that.

This. The fact that the PS4 is superior in terms of performance (Xbox is struggling with with the whole 1080p thing) and is cheaper doesn't do any favors to Xbox either.

They are the same price now but ultimately what wins me over is the difference in the third party games. While that margin might be negligible to some I haven't seen a game yet that has ran better on Xbox One over PS4.

Still can't wait to get my Xbox in 2015 though. So many good things coming out and I'll have plenty to catch up on for cheap too.

"versus only Infamous Second Son"

Killzone exists.

Fuck all exclusives. Unless they are directly developing or funding a game, I think it should be multi-platform.

You said it yourself in the opening post. Bloodborne