PS3′s lineup for ’09 too good to be true?

The lineup that the PlayStation 3 has set for 2009 looks amazing, everyone knows this because the PS3 fans won’t shut up about it, myself included. But nobody wants to talk about how the PS3 does this every year and only delivers on just a little over half of the exclusive titles originally promised.

So you’re probably asking yourself “What’s the Don getting at?”. I’ll tell you exactly, this will be The Don’s interpretation of what will realistically transpire over the next 8 months and so on for the PS3′s library. This is The Don’s guideline to the A-list exclusives that the PS3 has in store.

It appears that over the past few years that the PS3 has been in existence, there is always this amazing lineup of games slated to come out during the course of the year. Then you hear rumors teeter back and forth about the release dates which end up being pure speculation in hindsight.

I’m starting to wonder if the games they “expect” to release in the Fall really have “see you next year” written on them. Remember when White Knight Chronicles, Killzone 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Gran Turismo 5 and Infamous were  slated for 2008 and then pushed back to 2009? Now 2009 seems quite optimistic for some of these titles at this point. Yet, while a lot of those games missed the boat, you still had Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2 that all hit their mark without a hiccup.

Below, I will show a quick rundown as to what has transpired for some of the big titles for the PS3 in 2008.

• White Knight Chronicles – This title was released in Japan on December 31st and they announced the first week of January that they had already begun localizing the game for the rest of the world.  It’s been 3 months and no word since then. This title pretty much screams “E3 Booth”, but I assumed this game would have had a release date by now.
• Killzone 2 – They were pretty good with this one, I actually liked the fact that they pushed this game back if it meant working out all the kinks that would have put this title in the Gears of War 2 category. However, this title missed the mark by about a good 4 months.
• Final Fantasy XIII – This one is anyone’s guess and has one half of the gaming world in an uproar and the other half has apparently lost interest at this point. But I bet you these are the same people that will buy this game day and date of the release.
• Gran Turismo 5 – Well, they gave us Prologue and have kept this one quiet for some time now. I fully expect there to be an E3 booth and release date for this game.  Even if it’s not ready, I think they’ll throw in a patch or two and then some DLC like everyone else seems to be doing.
• Infamous – Apparently this game has multiple release dates lurking around. I keep hearing June and then I heard the 1st week of July. There is one thing we can guarantee on for this title, and that is a 2009 release date.
• Metal gear Solid 4 – An epic game that lived up to most of it’s hype and released when it was promised.
• LittleBigPlanet – This game was pushed back twice, I believe but it did release the year that it was slated for.
• Resistance 2 – While this game didn’t live up to the hype, it was still quite entertaining and it was released right on schedule.

Now we’re in the 2nd Quarter of 2009, four out of those eight titles have been released (five: if you count White Knight Chronicles in Japan). What I will do now is list some of the more popular, exclusive PlayStation 3 games slated for this year that are being hyped up for the 2nd half of 2009. This is where The Don’s deciphering skills will reveal exactly which games have a more realistic shot at being released this year and which one’s will be a 2010 release.

• Final Fantasy XIII – This game is starting to scream 2010 because there is so much development that still needs to be done before they even begin localizing this title. I don’t even know why I added it, because this title may not even be released outside of Japan until 2011.
• God of War III – Every God of war title has released in March, I think that the developers like saying that it will be released this year and it makes them feel all tingly inside, but in all reality I am going to temper my expectations here and say “March 2010″.
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – This game is slated for the 4th quarter and I can definitely see it coming out in November based on my gut, but logic tells me this will be a 1st quarter in 2010 title for the PS3. Based off what the trends have shown – yeah, but Naughty Dog definitely does have their act together and I think we can seriously expect this game to come out in 2009.
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 – This game is slated for the 4th Quarter and I believe it in this case because they are pretty much upgrading the graphics from the 360 version and adding certain things to an already stable game as it is…So it’s pretty safe to say this game will be available in 2009 at sometime!
• Heavy Rain – This game was buzzing around E3 last year and then the holidays and then evaporated. I could see an early 2010 release, but something tells me that with the unique approach they are taking with this game that they’ll push it out early and feature DLC. This just makes the most sense based on the trends I’ve seen thus far this generation.
• Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time – This is another game I expect to come out in 2009 because the Ratchet & Clank brand generally offers the same thing in every game, but it is quite fun and entertaining. Yet I don’t see it taking too much time for Insomniac to push this game out. Insomniac, much like Naughty Dog is among Sony’s reliable group of developer’s, so this is another expected 2009 title.
• MAG: Shadow War – This game just seems to be another FPS with a new gimmick that will entice many. I1st off, it has all kinds of explosions and 2nd, it boasts an online multiplayer mode that features 256 players! I expect this game to be ready by the end of this year, but it I wouldn’t be shocked if they pushed this one to 1st Quarter 2010 to avoid missing out on big money with all the other massive titles slated for the 4th Quarter.
• White Knight Chronicles – Please let there be something announced for E3! this game is complete and only needs to be localized. So my logic tells me…….that there will be a release date announced at E3. End of story.

Now, even after sounding extremely optimistic on most of these titles, I’ve listed 8 exclusives and I think we’ll be lucky to see 5 of these games in 2009.

I’m already counting out God of war III and Final Fantasy XIII, now here’s the tricky part, and that’s naming the games that are most likely to be released this year. I’ll start this off with White Knight Chronicles, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.

That’s three games I think we can safely say will come out in 2009. The three remaining games are Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Heavy Rain and MAG: Shadow War,  now as a fan I am hoping it is Uncharted 2 and based on the developer for that game being Naughty Dog, I think I can safely say this game will come out this year.

The problem is, can we expect Heavy rain and/or MAG: Shadow War to join the 2009 lineup? Only time will tell.

Be sure to check in on our Vice Weekly Podcast posted every Sunday for discussion on these games here at Gamingvice.net.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Related posts:

1. PS3 Over-Booked To Start The Year?
2. Are Motion Controls The 32X Revisited?
3. PS3 Lineup For ’09 Was Too Good To Be True?
4. White Knight Chronicles Will Best the Current RPG Lineup
5. Infamous pushed up? Not a problem.