It's hard not to be at least intrigued with Sony's upcoming announcement on February 20 that is almost certainly the unveiling of the Playstation 4. The current generation of gaming has lasted abnormally longer than generations past, and gamers are very eager to experience the next stage from the remaining two companies. Sony seem to be finally leading us there.
Way back in 2006-2007, the Playstation 3 didn't have the greatest launch titles. It's clear standout, Resistance: Fall of Man, was an above average shooter which only really took off with its sequels. The lack of other killer titles and a ridiculous launch price of around $1000 AUD is what drove me away from the PS3 initially, so I'd like to see Sony step it up, use their great exclusive franchises and get us the good stuff on day one.
Here is my ideal launch line-up for the PS4 -- a mixture of exclusives and long-awaited third-party titles -- which I acknowledge probably won't happen, but who knows? They've surprised us before.
Killzone 4
Sony's developer Guerilla Games has been in the spotlight lately, with news of Killzone: Mercenary in development for PS Vita and a report on Killzone 4 allegedly arriving in time for the Playstation 4's launch running rampant online. The developer is known to have been working on several projects for some time.
New Killzone titles have been typically announced alongside Sony's hardware reveals, with Mercenaries originally alluded to during the Vita's launch. With two years passed since Killzone 3, it isn't a stretch to hope for one of the best-looking console shooters around to debut at the PS4's launch.
Beyond: Two Souls
Beyond: Two Souls is the next game from Heavy Rain development studio Quantic Dream, a developer known for their cinematic take on gaming. Beyond: Two Souls chronicles the life of a young woman named Jodie Holmes, played by actress Ellen Page, and will be heavily narrative-based; "for the first time we will step away from the character to really learn about them. We will live a life through happy times, sad times, and shape the character until the very end."
If it's anything like Heavy Rain, it will be an experience to remember, and I wouldn't mind to wait a bit longer if David Cage and his team developed and surprised us with a PS4 launch release for this intriguing title.
The Last Guardian
One of two supposed exclusives for the Playstation 3 that continues to allude release and frustrate fans, it would be a perfect way to make it up to the Playstation fan-base by surprising us all with The Last Guardian becoming a launch title for the PS4.
Of course, we don't live in such an ideal fairy-tale world as The Last Guardian has crafted, but one can hope... right? Interestingly, news of the game conveniently sprang up today, with former head director Fumito Ueda stating a release announcement is "solely decided by Sony" in response to the staggering amount of emails he's been getting. Maybe they've been holding a reveal off?
Beyond Good & Evil 2
Beyond Good & Evil is one of the best adventure-platforming games ever, yet the existence of a sequel never surfaced until 2008. Since then, Ubisoft and creator Michel Ancel have been extremely quiet about the title, with only scattered bits of information and leaked gameplay videos with great art direction and graphics keeping fans sane.
If the wait was for a surprise reveal on the next PS4 (or Xbox, whatever, I'll take it) then I'll forgive Ancel for unjustly delaying the fate of Hillys for almost a decade.
Watch Dogs
We all saw the trailer at E3 2012, and we all know Watch Dogs stole the show with its intriguing premise of cyber warfare, hacking and gorgeous graphics that couldn't possibly be run off current console specs.
Ubisoft have two clear thirty-party hits -- outside Rayman and Splinter Cell, of course -- in the pipe-line they can potentially run with in the new generation, and if I can't have Beyond Good & Evil, then Watch Dogs is almost certainly the next best thing.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Announced way back in May 2006, Square Enix has been irritating and disappointing fans for nearly eight years with the lack of information on the independent title set in the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology, but completely unrelated to the unpopular FF-XIII trilogy (whew).
I'm just going to say what everyone's already hoping and thinking: it's never going to make it to the PS3, so the wait better damn well have been to be a launch title for the PS4.
LittleBigPlanet 3
I was a late-comer to the LBP franchise, but I inevitably became hooked on Sackboy's adventures all the same. I now understand why Sony use Sackboy to represent them in the same prominence as Nintendo uses Mario; a family friendly, extremely deep and enjoyable platformer, LPB is easily one of my favourite exclusive franchises to debut this generation.
It would be immensely awesome to begin the new generation with more crazy customisation and creation with Sackboy and Sackgirl, and will give me another reason to buy a PS4 and convince my girlfriend to do so -- she's the one who got me hooked on the series.
New "killer" IP
Sony is a company I respect, adore and always go to when it comes to quality exclusives. It's a no-brainer to expect a new series up the company's sleeve for the PS4 launch. With plenty of first-party studios entirely devoted to Playstation development, and a whole lot of those companies very conveniently quiet lately, it's not a stretch to hope for the next big franchise starter to kick the next-generation off. I just hope it's not another average shooter like Resistance.
What are your ideal launch titles for the Playstation 4? Share your list and thoughts in the comments below.
By Nathan Misa