I’m PlayStation 3 exclusive, now what?

When the PlayStation 3 released in the United States in November of 2006, I was excited with all the possible applications of the system. The original price point of $500 was too much to invest and I didn’t jump into next-gen until June of 2007. Since then, the PS3 has become more than just a gaming system; it’s a media center. What should PlayStation fans expect for the future?

It’s obvious Microsoft gained a substantial lead releasing the Xbox 360 in 2005. The loss of true exclusive titles, especially of some long PlayStation-only series, caused a lot of grief with each press release from big gaming conventions. In some ways, Sony told its supporters that they weren’t interested in throwing cash around to secure titles like Microsoft is doing, especially for DLC.

The two-year anniversary recently passed, and it appears that Sony is finally learning from mistakes and beginning to support the PlayStation brand again. Sony bought many developers during the PS2 years, but then took a difficult route when designing the programming architecture for the PS3. The Xbox 360 programming remained similar to that of PCs, and many developers saw that as an easier venture and less costly way to make some profit.

The market for must-have titles is finally beginning to show. Metal Gear Solid 4 released in June 2008, illustrating what the PS3 was capable of with enough development, and people started to take notice. The Blu-ray format became more legit because of news stating that MGS4 would fill an entire dual-layered Blu-ray disc, some 50 gigs of data. Now the second generation of exclusive titles are beginning to emerge.

Resistance 2 for the FPS crowd, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift for racers, and Valkyria Chronicles for RTS fans are all recent releases that expand the library. Over the next year, more titles will release that should push the PlayStation 3: Killzone 2, God of War III, and inFamous. Sony needs to watch the multi-console releases that will aid the PS3 and secure DLC that typically remains exclusive to the Xbox 360.

A realm that Sony also needs to refocus is the PlayStation Portable. With the ability to connect to the PS3, more cross-format connectivity would help because my own PSP has sat on the shelf due to the lack of titles. Updating the hardware is nice, but without games to play, it is a little useless.

Sony also has to get PS Home past the beta and secure more of a presence online. The PlayStation Network is nice: the game, movie, and television downloads at reasonable prices are all enjoyable diversions. If they could get past the issues with firmware and the apprehension that many users have, (the possibility of bricking the PS3 has emerged once before), and adding more comprehensive updates and features, Sony could bring the PS3 forward as a stronger media center.

With Sony it has become a waiting game, the must-have titles finally around the corner; but the rabid press will still compare titles with the pre-release hype that Sony proclaimed to the public, and that is one of the problems. Sony needs to hold more secrets and surprise the public with something we weren’t expecting. Otherwise, the PlayStation 3 will continue collecting dust with the gamers who own both systems, and continue to sporadically power on with the PS3-only crowd. I was expecting to be blown away, but more often, it feels like we’ve been blown aside.