PS4 Launch Titles are (Surprisingly) not getting good reviews

[luvd1]

Meh. As pointed out, a stellar launch line up is pretty unique. But buying on day one of a new console isn't really about the games and more to show support for the potential of the console. People can have a dig at early adapters for having more money then sense but if it's not for them showing faith through investment then we wouldn't get the games in the future. Sure the first batch of games will be doo doo and the console will be a bit buggy, but it's the future your looking at.
Not that I'm making excuses for Sony. It's just the way new consoles go.

 

[Thr33X]

Here's a history lesson for you. Launch titles, ESPECIALLY first party launch titles...suck. Sony has historically only released one or two first party games at launch of of each of the previous generations and only in the case of the PS1 which saw Battle Arena Toshinden and Wipeout were their real standouts that became Playstation franchises. (I still dream of a current gen Toshinden...how beautiful would that be...but Sony might have Street Fighter all to themselves now, so...)

The rest of their launch lineups were third party games, and in that mostly games in already established franchises with exception of PS1 era games which were all mostly start-up IPs. This is really nothing new. Killzone, for what it's worth isn't exactly one of Sony's A-list franchises anyway compared to Infamous, Uncharted and God Of War.

The ratings mean nothing, except of course that game "critics" are fickle...but we all know that already. The best is still yet to come.

 

[Saelune]

Only launch game I ever cared about was Oblivion (which is literally the reason why I got a 360). Ofcourse it was the only time I was aware of launch games, since I got a PS2 late, and I wasn't aware of how games were when I got my N64. (Back then I learned and bought games based on box covers while browsing Toys R' Us)

Though I suppose CoD: Ghosts will be my first game regardless if I go PS4 or Xbox One.

 

[seditary]

I've actually been reading the Killzone reviews out of curiosity and pretty much all of them (lawl Polygon) say its decent to pretty good.

Not going to get many release day titles that end up even doing as good as that.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Killzone is reviewing well most places. Not surprised about knack.

Nba 2k14 is enough alone to hold my interest in getting a PS4. I already love the series and the PS4 version looks slick as anything.

 

[Rob Robson]

In what world is a 74 a bad game? If a game that I'm interested in has a score like 74 then it tells me that I should still check it out.

Yeah but a 74 is not enough to convince non-target-audience gamers to pick it up. Which is what most bloated publishers aim for. Universal appeal.

Hell, if you're a huge fan of something 6/10 will be enough.

 

[jackpipsam]

Not shocked about Killzone.
The series has always been more tech-demo than game.

Knack is a shame though.

 

[Robert Kalmar]

I'm sorry, but I have to do this. "Sony is DOOOOOMED, there are no GAAAAAAAMES! They should stick to making cd players and TVs!". I thinks it's unfair that there are only dumb Nintendo doomsayers. Seriously, i'm not that surprised. Outside of FF15 and MGS5 I didn't found anything interesting in the upcoming library of games for the PS4 and I would say that there is a 99% chance that they will be ported to the PC. PC is the fastest growing market these days and I think MGS5 is already announced for PC and Nomura said, that they are making FF15 for the PC, then downgrade it for the consoles. My prediction is that the PS4's sales won't meet Sony's or anybody else's (read: Sony fanboys) expectations. They will be higher, than the Wii U's, but not that amazing.

Must. Resist. Fanboy urge. To cuss you out. BLARRG!

That's all well fine and for you not to find particular games interesting and thus system is doomed without them, but other people have different tastes. People love the shit out of Angry Birds enough to justify make sequels than there are Nintendo generations, doesn't mean I have to like it.

And to use one that's a bit closer to home, I didn't feel compelled to buy a 3DS or just Pokemon again, that's justifiable to a lot of people (as the sales have proven) not myself personally.

The reason there are Nintendo doomsayers is because: a) there isn't a Wii Sports to suck in the casuals and gimmick isn't as esay to sell, b) it's been buggerising around for a year now with without the big franchises to boost sales, and c) the hardware gap between it an the Xbone/PS4 is steep enough that it's going to/is driving away 3rd party games.

Sorry to jump up your ass on your first post but... yeah.

Actually I was joking and making fun of the Anti-Nintendo Squad. It's just so stupid to say doom and gloom about a hardware that's not even 1 year old. PS3 had a bad first year, 3DS had a bad first year, yet both of them came around, when good software is released. Maybe the PS4 is much stronger, but until the games are released for the current gen machines I wouldn't predict total dominance of the PS4. Until CoD, Battlefield, FIFA and Madden is released on PS3/Xbox360 people won't care to buy a new console. Most people won't even notice the difference in graphics... It's not like last gen, when the polygon count quadrupled and every game has fancy shader effects.

 

[lylemcd]

In what world is a 74 a bad game? If a game that I'm interested in has a score like 74 then it tells me that I should still check it out.

In a world where anything less than 10/10 "Metal Gear is a PERFECT GAME" by paid off reviewers is unacceptable is where.

 

[Private Custard]

They're launch titles, of course they aren't going to be received well. Which console has had a good start/decent launch titles? I've heard that the Dreamcast did but we all know how that turned out.

Sega Megadrive/Genesis - Golden Axe.

SNES - Pilotwings, F-Zero, Super Mario World.

Playstation - Wipeout.

N64 - Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64.

PS2 - Unreal Tournament, Timesplitters, Tekken Tag, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2.

XBox - Halo, PGR, JSRF, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Max Payne.

360 - COD2, Condemned, PGR3.

At launch, you generally have decent enough quality to live with until devs really get their shit together. A lot of the games above are absolute classics.

 

[Mr C]

Here's a history lesson for you. Launch titles, ESPECIALLY first party launch titles...suck. Sony has historically only released one or two first party games at launch of of each of the previous generations and only in the case of the PS1 which saw Battle Arena Toshinden and Wipeout were their real standouts that became Playstation franchises.

Forgive me if I am reading this wrong, but neither of those titles were first party. Both actually came out for the Sega Saturn. Wipeout was by Psygnosis, though the franchise was purchased by Sony later. Toshinden was by Tamsoft and actually got a Gameboy release in addition to the Saturn and PC.

 

[thewatergamer]

Surprising? Since when have launch titles been good on any console?

at least in the past few decades

 

[GoaThief]

So why did so many pre-order a PS4 knowing that launch titles suck?

Because they are idiots that need to have the new shiny gadget. There are still a shitload of games coming to this gen, some even exclusive like Dark Souls 2 or Gran Turismo 6.

So I'm an idiot? Nice.

I'll give you a little hint, nobody has to justify themselves to you, especially with that attitude. Without people like me, the industry would collapse.

 

[FrozenLaughs]

So why did so many pre-order a PS4 knowing that launch titles suck?

Because they are idiots that need to have the new shiny gadget. There are still a shitload of games coming to this gen, some even exclusive like Dark Souls 2 or Gran Turismo 6.

So I'm an idiot? Nice.

I'll give you a little hint, nobody has to justify themselves to you, especially with that attitude. Without people like me, the industry would collapse.

Without people like you, maybe the industry would learn to slow the fuck down and put some quality control into what they do instead of redesigning and patching everything.

I never needed to replace a console or patch a game before this generation. (barring mmos)

 

[josemlopes]

So why did so many pre-order a PS4 knowing that launch titles suck?

Because they are idiots that need to have the new shiny gadget. There are still a shitload of games coming to this gen, some even exclusive like Dark Souls 2 or Gran Turismo 6.

So I'm an idiot? Nice.

I'll give you a little hint, nobody has to justify themselves to you, especially with that attitude. Without people like me, the industry would collapse.

I know that there needs to be people to buy the console for devs to publish on said console, its that whole problem that all consoles go through but they really could give out some more incentive to buy a console at launch then just "You get to play it first".

The Xbox 360 launched with only a 20GB hard drive and now the default version comes with 250GB, the PS4 came out with 500GB (400GB of usable space, for some reason 100GB are locked out, maybe OS?), like with the 360 you will have to shell out more money later on that a new buyer wont (as a launch buyer you are already putting yourself in a position where you will have to pay more later on), Sony and Microsoft know this so isnt there anything they could do to convince that maybe you can get the same quality deal as the late buyer since they are so dependent on you?

Yes there is but they wont do anything since the PS4 already sold a million units so they dont have anything to worry about.


For example, why not have a founders deal where if you bought the console during its launch window you would get an additional 10% discount on all PSN+/XBLG discounted products? It may not sound much but for the long term the loyal costumer that supported them at launch would get enough saved money to justify the need of having to buy a new hard drive later on. They would still get your money since you would be paying for the product (even at a discounted price) and for the online service (PSN+/XBLG) but just not as much for the trade of getting a bigger playerbase on their console.

 

[Tom_green_day]

Why is this a surprise? A kids game and an FPS sequel as the ONLY TWO EXCLUSIVES?
Really, I want to like the PS4 but such a shockingly poor launch lineup just makes me hate it. Games to me are everything. I'm not going to buy a PS4 yet because of them. Really, a game for children made up of triangles and an fps sequel that was so boring I couldn't watch through the demo? No, I'll give them a miss thanks. Ryse and Dead Rising for me.

 

[Korten12]

So why did so many pre-order a PS4 knowing that launch titles suck?

Because they are idiots that need to have the new shiny gadget. There are still a shitload of games coming to this gen, some even exclusive like Dark Souls 2 or Gran Turismo 6.

Right... Because no one should buy a launch console, so it can burn... People do realize that SOMEONE needs to buy a console at launch. If no one did, it would die... Do people not understand this?

Wait, are you saying we have some sort of moral obligation to spend hard-earned money on sub-par products?

Please tell me you didn't just use that rationale.

Please tell me you actually understood what I said? Because you clearly didn't. Do you know why consoles like the Vita struggle? Low player base, there's only so much a company can do to drive sales up to get more games made on a system. If everyone agreed to not buy a console at launch, there would a low install base, therefore companies wouldn't put the time and effort into a dead console.

Hell it's the reason why the Wii U is struggling right now, it has a low install base and 3rd party support is dropping.

But apparently that's what people want, they want a low amount of people to buy consoles at launch so that there is lower support because you know. Logic.

I mean dear god South Park's latest episode understood this better than most people who surround themselves with gaming!

Edit: Also to make something more clear before it get's brought up... While yes, the original Wii did in fact sell a shit ton, but still didn't have third party support is for another reason all together. Whereas on other consoles third party titles sell well, typically on Nintendo consoles they fare quite poorly, only really Nintendo games sell well. Considering many of the users of the Wii were casual (not saying that casual is bad, mind you), and most likely didn't pay attention to many of the third party games outside a few, the console lost much support in terms of third party.

Not to mention the power issue.

 

[GoaThief]

So why did so many pre-order a PS4 knowing that launch titles suck?

Because they are idiots that need to have the new shiny gadget. There are still a shitload of games coming to this gen, some even exclusive like Dark Souls 2 or Gran Turismo 6.

So I'm an idiot? Nice.

I'll give you a little hint, nobody has to justify themselves to you, especially with that attitude. Without people like me, the industry would collapse.

Without people like you, maybe the industry would learn to slow the fuck down and put some quality control into what they do instead of redesigning and patching everything.

I never needed to replace a console or patch a game before this generation. (barring mmos)

I can't remember the last time a game I played absolutely required s patch out of the gate to work without major trouble. I remember the late 90s on PC with user made patches to fix problems as companies often did nothing. Even the NES had major issues with a ejection spring. Things have got better, if anything.

Spare me the hyperbole, please. If you don't like something then don't buy it, that simple and the only way to get your message out. Don't insult others for their choice of luxury entertainment products, eh.

 

[Korten12]

Please tell me you actually understood what I said? Because you clearly didn't. Do you know why consoles like the Vita struggle? Low player base, there's only so much a company can do to drive sales up to get more games made on a system. If everyone agreed to not buy a console at launch, there would a low install base, therefore companies wouldn't put the time and effort into a dead console.

Hell it's the reason why the Wii U is struggling right now, it has a low install base and 3rd party support is dropping.

But apparently that's what people want, they want a low amount of people to buy consoles at launch so that there is lower support because you know. Logic.

I mean dear god South Park's latest episode understood this better than most people who surround themselves with gaming!

Edit: Also to make something more clear before it get's brought up... While yes, the original Wii did in fact sell a shit ton, but still didn't have third party support is for another reason all together. Whereas on other consoles third party titles sell well, typically on Nintendo consoles they fare quite poorly, only really Nintendo games sell well. Considering many of the users of the Wii were casual (not saying that casual is bad, mind you), and most likely didn't pay attention to many of the third party games outside a few, the console lost much support in terms of third party.

Not to mention the power issue.

If you don't think I understood what you said then why should I tell you that I did.

If the companies want us to buy our products, it's the companies' responsibility to have good games that we can play on them or some other incentive for purchase. It is, in no way, shape or form, our responsability to buy their stuff. That's how it's worked since forever, and what you're saying makes no goddamn sense.

The Wii U is struggling because it's not good enough. That's the reality of it. I'm not the one who should do something if the Wii U's struggling, Nintendo is.

edit: accidentally read Wii U as Vita

But does the PS4 currently not have good games? That's kind of a funny thing, reviews say: "Not any games worth playing" but isn't that really fucking subjective? I got games for mine, I love the games I have for it. Sure they aren't "next-gen gameplay" (what ever the hell that even means), but honestly it doesn't actually have a bad launch line up, same for the XBO.

Anyway, you say that it's their responsability, but your also misguided. A company can only do so much before it also falls in the hands of the consumers. A company can try and try but if they don't get consumers they're going to stop. With the PS4 selling 1 million at launch in North America alone is great?

Why is it? Because now it's going to become a target for many game developers. They see a very large player base and they will release their games on it. First Parties can only do so much, and really the Wii U has proved that. Nintendo has actually put out a good number of good games on the Wii U but it's still not being picked up as fast.

If the Wii U had sold as many as the PS4 at launch last year, it would be in a MUCH better situation right now than it is now.

To put it simply, this is all a balancing act. Consumers and the Companies need to balance each other out. One can't support the other, they need to work together.

 

[DanielBrown]

Yeah, I'll go with the train; 74 isn't bad. The rating system have gone a bit out of control. Not every good game has to have 9-10/10. These days it seems everything below eight is considered average and worthless. 7,4/10 I'd consider a great game. 5-6 is where it starts to go average.

But yes, I had a quick look at the launch titles the other day to see what I was missing out on and from the looks of it there was pretty much only sports games. Didn't find a single game that was intresting to me.