Even Sony Playstation 3 lovers would admit the console has been trailing the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360 in general sales since the day it was launched. Sony promised consumers that it will regain the market leadership by the end of 2007 - a leadership it once enjoyed with the Playstation two ( PS2 ) - but it did not occur, mainly thanks to the lack of strong console exclusives. Sony promised clients that 2008 will be the PS3's year, but this failed to materialize, regardless of tough showings from Metal Gear Solid 4 (MGS4) and Little Big Planet.
Industry leaders believe that 2009 is the "make or break" year for the PS3. 2009, they are pronouncing, is the year that may either mark the PS3 as a meriting entry to Sony's series of console excellence, or brand the PS3 as a market failure notwithstanding its obviously superior engineering.
For 2009, the PS3 is banking on five key titles hoping at last bring the console to the head of the sales charts. These games are:
1. Killzone 2. Released last Feb, Killzone 2 - one of the PS3's most hyped games, that the industry has enthusiastically awaited since 2004 - is well on its way to saving Sony's reputation as a pace-setter in the Playstation game market. The title sold 2,000,000 copies on its first month, a feat that is positively entrancing for a game which is exclusive to a single console.
2. God of War 3. Still a PS exclusive, the franchise remains both Sony's secret weapon and saviour, always guaranteed to bring in phenomenal market.
3. Final Fantasy XIII. Outside Japan, FFXIII will undoubtedly win major console sales, as the Final Fantasy franchise has long been related to Sony's machines and given the long playtime supplied by the game, issues on the Xbox 360's engineering reliability may force buyers to choose the PS3 version.
4. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Uncharted : Drake's Fortune, was a dark horse entry, exclusive for the PS3, which wowed casual gamers with fleshed out, likable characters and immersive gameplay. The sequel, which is claimed to mix elements of Gears of War, Tomb Raider, and FPS multi player madness, will be even better than the first, and now that gamers know to keep an eye out for it, the title seems likely to bring in some major business.
5. Massive Action Game ( MAG ). Forget Resistance 2 and its 64-player team death matches. Get ready for a particularly wide scale war with MAG, one that may involve up to 256 players at the same time. If it lives up to its guarantees, it could be the PS3 title to make other FPS multiplayer games outmoded. If it doesn't, it is going to be the Kane and Lynch of 2009.
Will these games ultimately catapult the Sony PS3 to the throne it once owned unchallenged?
