At E3 last week, Sony boasted what I thought was an incredibly strong lineup of games. Their presentation included new IPs like The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Three new IPs which Sony admitted to "taking a lot of risks with".
"If you can find another publisher in this industry who would build Beyond, I'd like to meet that publisher," software product development head Scott Rohde told Gamespot. "I really think that [Beyond] is as far from 'safe' as it gets."
For those who haven't heard, Beyond is an all new title from Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream. Esteemed actress Ellen Page (for some reason Sony and gamers LOVE her) portrays Jodie Holms, a woman who's always felt the link between our world and "the other side". Details abou the game are scarce but its said to follow the life of Jodie as she grows and evolves over 15 years and discovers more about what's beyond. There was a short teaser at E3 and the game look incredible, but Rohde's argues it's far from a "safe" title.
"Heavy Rain, by itself was not a 'safe' title. And to do it again with a totally different story, a larger investment, and to bring Hollywood in, to really enhance that genre that really isn't touched by many folks in our industry, I think is anything but 'safe.'"
Another PS3 exclusive, The Last of Us, was also shown off at E3 and while we've known a little more about this game, we finally got to see some gameplay footage. Despite its similarities to Naughty Dog's Uncharted, Rohde's argues that it's still riskier for the company to release an entirely new IP rather than just another installment to their Uncharted franchise.
"For a developer of that caliber, this late in the cycle of the platform, to introduce a totally new IP for a different audience–meaning going from T-rated to M-rated–I think is anything but "safe." I really feel like we're taking a lot of risks with both of those titles."
New IPs are always a risk, but I think we can pretty much know we are going to get something solid from both of those studios. Unless they royally screw something up, I don't see how Beyond or The Last of Us can tank. Now, as for sales, that's a totally different discussion and it's sad that more of these PS3 exclusives don't sell as well as they deserve.
With that being said, have any of Sony's exclusives caught your eye?
[GameSpot]
