I had to laugh at espion4ge’s post last week detailing Halo 3: ODST’s kung-fu grip on his friends list. Last week’s release, combined with the out of this world reviews for the upcoming Uncharted 2 on PS3 got me thinking about what games are system sellers on the big gaming systems (especially because I’ve felt tempted to buy a PS3 lately, though I have resisted that urge for fear of death). Some of these games justify the very purchase of the system itself, which are “must have” games for their respective systems. Anyway, I only own a 360, Wii, and DS, but I did my best to compile these system sellers anyway.
Xbox 360
System Seller: Halo Series
Halo is basically the reason why Microsoft is still in the games’ market today. Halo and Halo 2 singlehandedly saved the original Xbox from turning into the next Jaguar or 3DO, and ODST just showed once again that Halo is as popular as ever. Love it or hate it, Halo sells boxes.
Must Have Exclusives: Gears of War Series, Fable Series
A lot of people who don’t like Halo love Gears of War, the original cover based 3rd person shooter. It’s bloody and full of machismo which makes it pretty popular. Fable 2 (and the recently announced Fable 3) are also incredibly popular for the wide range of choices they give the player: the quintessential western RPG.
Upcoming: Mass Effect 2, Halo: Reach, Fable 3
Playstation 3
System Seller: God of War III
People probably will disagree, and it’s bit a ridiculous since this game isn’t even OUT yet, but I think God of War III is PS3′s system seller. None of PS3′s exclusives can really compete with Halo’s grip on the gaming community, but God of War comes close. I know people who bought a PS3 just in anticipation of this game, and they’ve been waiting ever since. The time is near…
Must Haves: Uncharted Series, Little Big Planet, Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone Series
PS3 makes up for its lack of a killer app with a bevy of very strong exclusives. Resistance, MLB: The Show, and Gran Turismo could all be added to this list. The Uncharted series is incredibly well reviewed and hailed as the next Tomb Raider, but for some reason, it doesn’t seem as popular (to me at least) as it deserves. And I still don’t get why Little Big Planet didn’t hit it big, but Sony’s trying to remedy that with the sequel.
Upcoming: Heavy Rain, Little Big Planet 2, God of War III, Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Note: I am more interested in Heavy Rain than any other game on the horizon, including Modern Warfare 2. Hopefully that game turns out better than the last game I was intrigued by did. I’m looking at you, Scribblenauts.
Anyway, it’s weird to start with 2nd and 3rd place, but 360 and PS3 are the “hardcore” systems. I’m sure I may have missed some exclusives. If I’m being honest, I actually think PS3 has more to offer in terms of exclusives. But Halo still trumps them all for me, plus I find Xbox Live so superior that I have no problem paying for it. I’m always checking out what my friends are playing, and it does a great job of building more of a gaming “community.” But to each his own…
Next week: Wii, DS, and PSP. Until then, what’d I miss? And please, if you own a PS3…tell me what’s awesome. I’ve only played MGS4.
all i can say is, LittleBigPlanet == not awesome. maybe i missed the point of the whole game. graphics are really nice, sackboy is really cute, but the gameplay is no fun. at least for me.
i hear inFamous is awesome. but i have not played it.
the definition of a “system seller” is pretty difficult to pinpoint and can sometimes be confused with “must buy games” if you’re already a system owner. questions arise for specific titles like “Why would a sequel such as gears of war 2 or uncharted 2 be considered a system seller when its predecessor was already released on the console?” Where were the buyers of the console then? And another question is whether or not a game is considered a system seller when the competiting system has a game that’s better than the system’s exclusive (am i really going to go buy a PS3 for Killzone 2 when Halo 3 is better?).
going by my definitions above, I would consider the system seller list to be very small. these are games that actually make people go out and buy a system just to play. i.e. if that game wasn’t out on the system, they’d wait until it was.
360: Gears of War, Halo 3
PS3: Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War III, Gran Turismo 5
That’s really it! Uncharted 1 wasn’t exactly a game that made people go out and buy a PS3 over, but I’m sure God of War III will definitely move units since it’s the only good “western developed” action-adventure game. Gran Turismo 5 will be a system seller as well, since that is the premier racing simulator.
In a way, the 360 is well known as the better system for multiplayer games, so even Modern Warfare games may push people into buying the 360 if we take the Modern Warfare 2 360 bundle into consideration. And while Final Fantasy XIII is being released on both systems here in the states, I think it will be a PS3 system seller as well. And maybe those are the two niches that the systems are carving out – strong multiplayer games on the 360, or innovative single player games on the PS3.
Yea I just chose the one game I thought would sell the most systems (Halo + God of War). If it were me, I’d buy a PS3 for MGS4 personally, but for some reason, MGS didn’t sell as many units as Sony had hoped. I’m not a God of War fan at all.
And you’re right, Sony has the majority of single player exclusives I want. But I like playing with friends so much more!
Agree MLB The Show if your a baseball person is reason enough to get PS3. InFamous is really good and fun. Socom for some ppl is rlly good too *cough* matt *cough* lol.
Haha, does Matt even read this? And shouldn’t you two be focusing on COLLEGE?
pretty much agree with your list.