Final Fantas 7 Remake PS4

Let's not beat around the bush here. Besides Death Stranding, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Resident Evil 2, 2019 has been a poor year for major video game releases on PlayStation 4. The AAA space has seen the likes of ANTHEM's disappointment and seemingly big titles come and go without an ounce of post-launch chatter in the space of 365 days, to the point where the PS4's penultimate year of relevance could very easily be considered its worst since 2014. Many games haven't quite lived up to expectations, but there has always been a light at the end of the tunnel. 2020, which has been seen as a bit of a gaming Mekkah for the longest time, is almost upon us. Containing huge first-party and multi-platform releases, it's easy to see why PS4 fans are getting excited for the year ahead. However, is it too in danger of falling victim to the hype cycle?

Of course, the eventual release of the PlayStation 5 is wrapped up in all this excitement, but let's focus on the current generation for an article. Final Fantasy VII Remake, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Last of Us: Part II are three of the biggest launches of the PS4 era -- there's no doubting that. Backed up by the likes of Marvel's Avengers, DOOM Eternal, and Nioh 2, 2020 makes for great reading across its first six months. Hell, the likes of Elden Ring could add to that list even further. Although, going into 2020, it's also a list completely devoid of context.

At the time of writing, PS4's first noteworthy release of next year isn't until 23rd January with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition, at which point we then have to wait another month for Marvel's Iron Man VR to arrive on 28th February. Obviously, this won't be the full release calendar when the time comes, but in terms of important launches, developers are going to need to start announcing dates sooner rather than later. This line-up isn't going to change all that much.

The Last Of Us 2 PS4

And then comes the onslaught. In the space of three months, every single title we alluded to earlier launches. It's going to be a pretty incredible stretch of 100 days, as long as each and every one of them lives up to the hype, but it's that which also highlights the biggest issue going into 2020. Its biggest releases are so tightly packed together that it could leave the rest of the year starved for content.

Again, PS5 will arrive in November of next year, but there's also 10 months of time in between January and then which needs to be filled with something to play on PS4. To make matters worse, Sony and other publishers are presumably going to be laser-focused on their next-generation titles when it comes to conventions and press conferences. There's not another huge exclusive coming to the current generation of consoles just waiting to be announced -- we're all but done in terms of reveals.

Let's not be debbie downers. 2020 is surely going to be a great end to the current generation, its line-up of games is enough to prove that, but we can't shake the feeling that some are getting a little bit too excited. What with how closely packed together the biggest titles are, it gives us pause about what we'll be playing outside of the months of March, April, and May.

Do you worry that 2020 is in danger of becoming overhyped? What do you plan on playing outside of the year's biggest months? Take part in our poll and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Is the PS4's Final Year of Relevance in Danger of Becoming Overhyped?