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We’ve written so much about the PlayStation 4’s holiday lineup that we’re beginning to sound a little bit like a Skrillex record that has bass drops so heavy that the needle gets caught in its cavernous grooves. Much like the PlayStation 3 before it, there’s a narrative developing that Sony’s next-gen super machine is short on content – despite the fact that it’s received new releases on an almost weekly basis. It’s an exaggeration, of course, potentially borne out of the popularity of the beefy black box – but it’s a complaint that’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore as we labour our way towards Christmas.

The issue itself appears to stem from the lack of exclusives in the platform holder’s usually so prolific pipeline; inFAMOUS: Second Son is the only real blockbuster first-party title to deploy on the Japanese giant’s uber fast-selling format so far this year, with DriveClub the solitary other original outing on the docket. PS3 re-release The Last of Us Remastered is due out at the end of this month as well, while cross-platform game creation toolkit LittleBigPlanet 3 is set to challenge your muggy grey matter this November. It doesn’t look like a lot when arranged on pixel-powered paper, and it comes up even shorter against competing consoles – but it’s smarter than you think.

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The real genius of the roster is that it’s cunningly spread out and much more varied than armchair analysts are giving it credit for. Throw co-marketed titles such as Bungie’s next big thing Destiny, first-person shooter Far Cry 4, and the re-release of Grand Theft Auto V into the mix, and Sony has something massive for virtually every month left in the year. You may argue that these promotional collaborations don’t count – after all, they don’t add a bullet point to the system’s exclusives list – but they are becoming increasingly important in the ongoing battle for mindshare, and the Japanese giant has virtually all of the biggest blockbusters attached to its brand.

The grass may often look greener on the other side, but forget to water it and it will wither and die

But while the abovementioned skew towards a more classic demographic, we think that Sony’s been smart at selecting different types of software to enforce its hardware this fall. Speaking at the Develop 2014 conference in Brighton last week, group president Andrew House admitted that the platform holder’s trying to convince Nintendo Wii-only owners to upgrade to its console, and there are hints of that in its software offering. That doesn’t mean that it’s trying to find a replacement for Mario Kart and Donkey Kong, but more that it wants to attract the more casual gamers that perhaps picked up its competitor’s motion controlled machine for family orientated experiences.

So, while LittleBigPlanet 3 and SingStar may not necessarily register at the summit of your wishlist, these are important titles to have showing on store shelves. Compare and contrast to the Xbox One’s lineup and it’s somewhat more one-dimensional, with Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare offering experiences already familiar to fans of the format – even if Sunset Overdrive does appear to be a particular standout. These types of titles aren’t exactly missing on Sony’s system, but the platform holder clearly realises that ‘For the Players’ must now incorporate everybody, rather than the sliver of core gamers that it originally targeted at launch.

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And as a result of that, the new year is looking much stronger, too – an attribute that’s perhaps being overlooked by those unable to see beyond the busy Christmas months. The Order: 1886 and Bloodborne are both set to debut at some point during the first half of 2015, and while there’s a possibility that they may yet get delayed, it makes sense for Sony to spread out its software lineup, and give core gamers – the people that are prone to purchase software at any point in the year – something to play during those weary winter months. The grass may often look greener on the other side, but forget to water it and it will wither and die.

As such, this may not necessarily be a vintage year for first-party software on the PS4, but we get a sense that the holiday offering is much more cleverly concocted than people are giving it credit for. Not only has the platform holder ensured that it will have the best versions of most third-party games, but it’s also conceived a software lineup that both complements and contrasts the blockbusters coming from big multiformat publishers. Granted, the company’s competitors may have more in the pipeline this particular Christmas, but a better spread of content means that you’ll be returning to Sony’s first-party buffet deep into the new year, too. How is that a bad thing?


Do you agree that Sony’s software lineup this year is much more varied than its competitors, or is it just not your cup of tea? Would you prefer all of the big games to drop at once, or do you like it when titles are a little more spread out? Tell us why we’re wrong in the comments section below.

How would you rate Sony's holiday lineup? (65 votes)

  1. Very good18%
  2. Good37%
  3. Average28%
  4. Poor11%
  5. Very poor6%

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