In case you didn’t read my article from two months ago called “PS3’s Lineup for ‘09 Too Good To Be True?“, check it out as this article will pretty much be an E3 checkpoint explaining how thankful my wallet will be for 2009. The prior article was pretty much going over how every year Sony lists about eight or nine AAA titles at the beginning of each year, only to end up releasing about three or four of them.
What I will do is take a look at what I said back on April 10th and then reflect on how things have transpired since then due to some of the E3 announcements. This will give an idea as to how things have played out even over the span of two months – which is an eternity in the gaming world.
Final Fantasy XIII
April 2009 – 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.
Post E3 – Well, as things currently stand with Square Enix and this game being multiplatform, the release date for Japan is “sometime during 2009″, while the rest of us will get it April 2010. I am wondering how the lozalization for this game will be done so quickly considering it usually takes nearly a year which prompts me to have a big question mark over my head.
God of War III
April 2009 – 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″.
Post E3 – I’m not even going to brag about nailing this one on the head, because this was such an easy call to make considering how scarce the gameplay footage was for this game up until E3. I am glad this game won’t come out until 2010, my wallet thanks all of the developers at santa Monica Studio for one - pushing the game back and saving my wallet; and two – taking the time to make sure they get this game done right.
White Knight Chronicles
April 2009 – 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.
Post E3 – Alright, logic somewhat failed me here as there was a playable demo at E3, but the announcement was made a week before E3 – March 2010. Good luck releasing this game around God of war III and Final Fantasy XIII, because I was just starting to think this was one of those games that will have some legs in the sales department – they announced this atrocious release date.
Check out our latest Vice Weekly Podcast where we discussed this game being delayed and the reason why it was delayed, which makes sense but I think we just want the game at this point.
Heavy Rain
April 2009 – 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.
Post E3 – Everywhere I’ve looked says “Early 2010″ which is starting to look like a date that developers are saying, but will be scared away from actually following through on. With games like God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII and White Knight Chronicles releasing early 2010, I see a game like Heavy Rain being scared away until around June 2010.
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
April 2009 – 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.
Post E3 – It was quite surprising not to see much of anything about this game at E3, but with all the other announcements that Sony made, they didn’t really need to show a game that wasn’t going to wow the crowd any more than what they already had planned for the presentation. All we know right now is that this game will be released Q3 2009 and Insomniac is one of the developers who are pretty good on their word, so I believe it.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
April 2009 - 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.
Post E3 – Pretty much what I knew then, I know now – this game is and will be a reason to buy a Playstation 3 come holiday season after an imminent price drop. Get your wallets ready for the gun show!
Ninja gaiden Sigma 2
April 2009 – 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!
Post E3 – Right now, this game looks to be ready sometime during the Fall which will be a pleasant upgrade to the 360 version. The timed exclusivity is getting tiresome this generation, but only time will tell on whether or not our patience will be paid off with a superior product to the one we would have had.
Massive Action Game (MAG)
April 2009 – 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.
Post E3 – The working title that was rumored around the time I wrote the original article was MAG: Shadow war, but that was off a teaser site and has evaporated ever since that rumor started. This game currently has conflicting release dates – Best Buy has it for 10/27/09 and GameStop has it for 11/27/09 which is surprising considering I had the impression that it wouldn’t be out until sometime 2010. If this game can get released sometime during 2009, that would be a huge addition for PS3 owners regardless of how uninterested I am in this game, the masses want to play it and hopefully Zipper follows through.
*Gran Turismo 5
April 2009 – When i wrote the last article, I placed it in the 2008 section as a game that was supposed to come out then and didn’t bother making a 2009 prediction as I did not see any more on this game since Prologue. I am adding this game to the list because it had a pretty big presentation at E3.
Post E3 – After the E3 presentation, rumors are swirling that this game could be released before forza 3 on the XBOX 360. I am starting to wonder if this game could be released with the Slim PS3 that we should be expecting at TGS along with a price drop announcement. At this point, bundling GT5 with a slim PS3 would be a savvy move on Sony’s part, but just releasing them close to one another will suffice at this point. We should expect more on this game on the next issue of Official Playstation Magazine…stay tuned.
So to recap everything I’ve gone over with this article, the games that are slated for 2010 currently are God of war III, Final Fantasy XIII, White Knight Chronicles and Heavy Rain; following that, the games guaranteed to be released in 2009 are Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, MAG and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. The one huge game rumored to be released in 2009 is Gran Turismo 5.
The gaming lineup for the Playstation 3 is already stellar with at least three blue chip titles guaranteed to come out along with what is already available. The addition of Gran Turismo 5 being released in ‘09 would really make this a stellar gaming year for the console, yet still extremely strong even if it doesn’t.
After going down the line of the PS3’s top games, I ask ‘was the lineup that we saw earlier in the year too good to be true?’ In my opinion, somewhat-yeah because we’re not getting God of War III and White Knight Chronicles. While the lineup was already great enough regardless if Sony went overboard with their announcements once again, they’ll at least be bat around .500 or better to finish off the year.
Just getting Ninja gaiden Sigma 2, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, MAG and a new Ratchet & Clank game in addition to the other games slated for 2009 is good enough, but the possibility of Gran Turismo 5 would put this years lineup right over the top. What do you think?
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im not 100% sure but maybe most of those games coming out early 2010 are within sony’s fiscal year? if thats the case it’ll still boost their yearly sales technically
Sony’s fiscal year wraps up at the end of March, so within their fiscal year the lineup is ridiculously strong…
disagree with half of these. uncharted 2 will defenatly been out before 2010 same with MAG and Ninja Giaden 2
thanks for the response Dustin, you should re-read the article…
I remember that first article, particularly the part about GOW3 always coming in March. Nailed that one. Any predictions for next year? R3, GTA, Zuma 2?
Honestly, Resistance 3 could sneak into the 4Q of 2010…
but GTA is a ways off since I think their PS3 exclusive “The Agency” should probably be coming out by the end of 2010 which is another can’t miss title…
and..lol Zuma 2…
edit: It’s just called “The Agent”…I think anyways…
..not “The Agency”
It’s called ‘Agent’. ‘The Agency’ is a completely different title.
yeah…I corrected that in the post above yours…
You have to give credit to those who see through Sony’s shroud of hype.
While everyone else was busy foolishly drooling over Sony’s “superior” “year of the PS3″ 2009 lineup, the author was wise enough to see that it was too good to actually be true.
Frankly by now if people have not figured out how Sony plays most of us and the media every year, they deserve to be lied to, hyped up and let down.
You totally missed the point, it’s not so much calling BS on Sony as it is they were expected to release a lot of these titles by the end of ‘09. In reality they still have the best 2009 line, and all of the games on this list will be out BEFORE their fiscal year ends in March, with the lone exception of FFXIII, so it’s technically still 2009 for Sony. So if Sony says GoW3 will make it out sometime in ‘09 they are likely referring to their fiscal calendar.
well, a lot of these rumored dates were sparked by “reliable” media sources…so it’s not just Sony who comes with these dates…
and as for White Knight Chronicles, there never was a release date for it in the US…Level 5 just stated that the game will be out in 2009….so they were wrong there, even though the delay is justifiable regardless of how much I just want the game and will gladly accept the additions as DLC…
thanks for checking the article and malkidian pretty much hit the nail on the head…
GT5 alone will push ps3 sales high. those other games is just the icing
GT5 is a huge wildcard this year, even though I’m not real big on that game…the following it has is ridiculous…
also, be sure to check out our podcast…#37 was the recap of E3 as the majority of our staff was there…and our most recent recording was a follow up on what is going on in the gaming world..
check em out…
there’s no point in releasing GT5 this year with GT PSP coming out in October. But if Polyphony’s not lying about the actual stage of development on GT5 (they say it’s mostly complete but not “perfect”) then i’d expect this game around April/May 2010.
‘preciate the response, jack
you may very well have a point, but saying that there is “no point” in releasing GT5 around the same time as the PSP version might be a little short sighted…
these are two games that will sell well regardless of when they are released…
I think your points are pretty well made. I definitely think Sony is going to look at the time of WKC and bring it into the earlier portions of 2010, instead of the later(fiscal end), it wouldn’t stand a chance with GoW3, not to mention the looming release of FFXIII. I would almost definitely say that FFXIII will hit right before the end of the fiscal year or right at the beginning because both time would offer up maximum impact. I would guess it will be later, so they can give GoW3 time to move on it’s own without a ton of competition and they wouldn’t want the sales of FFXIII to be interferred with since it’s being released on the X360 as well, they have to make sure that the PS3 is picking up well over half of the sales of the game. Since they started working on the X360 version two months ago, it’s logical to assume that they have started localisation on the PS3 version for NA, since that’s what was supposed to happen. Again, it depends on where SE wants that impact since their fiscal year ends the same time as Sony’s, will they want to end with a bang or start with one and I would go with start with one.
Ratchet and Uncharted will definitely be out this fall, probably in the same release spots they held in ‘07, both devs are notoriously awesome at getting their games out on time. Ratchet in Oct., and Uncharted in Nov. would give them plenty of time to stretch their legs into the holidays, and both are hugely anticipated titles.
GT5 ain’t coming out this year, they may want to hold it where there isn’t a lot going on for maximum sales potential, a lot of which would be garnered on it’s own, not crowding it with multiple releases will be even better. Late Spring, or post-E3 2010, is for sure. They can’t let Forza talk shit(pardon me) at E3 without showing the finished prduct of the highest grossing and rated racing sim of all time to the same press that bought into Turn 10’s crap.
I love how this list is just the biggest titles of the next what, nine months, and there is still so much more. Every one of these titles are day one for me, with the exception of MAG, I could care less about that game. Every year this gen gaming just gets better and better, it hasn’t been this good since the end of the SNES/beginning of the PSOne era(s). Nice read keep it up.
damn makidian, that response was epic….it’s pretty much an extension of my article aahaha…
I also agree that GT5 will probably be out next year, but right now it’s rumored for 2009…
just two months ago, I swore this game didn’t even have a chance at releasing in 2009….so much that I didn’t even bother putting it on my list…
…so much changes after two months…and we’ll no doubt have more clarity on this situation at TGS which should be another epic showing for the PS3 from what I’m hearing..
@Makidian, When a company says 2009, it means 2009, if a company is referring to fiscal year 2009 then they say so. Reason being, customers do not look for release dates according to fiscal years, customers look at 2009 as just that, 2009.
If Sony were to announce a release date in such a fashion, it would be manipulative and down right dishonest, and I personally would want no part of that game.
So in 2009, actual 2009 not some fiscal fantasy world that is more comfortable for Sony and some folks, the PS3 line up is NOT the best, for every big game on PS3 in 2009 there is also at least one big game on the 360.
I disagree. Citing the fiscal year may be annoying to some of us, but its not dishonest. Shareholders want to know where their money is.
Ummm yeah so your gut is telling you that all of these games will be released in early 2010? So EVERY game will come out between january and march of 2010? Okayyy. And one more thing, you need to realize that these guys get so used to what “their” 2009 is. They are developers and CEO’s and whatever else saying their game will release in 2009 which to them, can be up to the end of March 2010. It’s their own schedule that their brains are working on, so don’t go mocking them simply because they say 2009 and you think that means by Dec. 31 09. It doesn’t.
thanks for the response wampdog!
actually, these are the current release dates as things stand…
God of war and White Knight Chronicles are both slated for March….FFXIII is slated for April…
thanks for reading the article…
every GOW game has been released in march has it?
ok than in that case chains of Olympus isent a GOW game?
thanks for the response, name…
you should google/check gamespot the release date for this game as it was March 4th, 2008…
I’ll be back sometime in the afternoon to check the rest of the responses as quite a few of them seem very well thought out..
I think that given GT Mobile is out on October 1st we wont see GT5 till 2010
The fact that Sony has already released 2 AAA titles this year (killzone 2, infamous) that is not something to ignore when talking about a 2009 line up, you know 2009 doesn’t start in September, it start way back in January! And they still have Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, MAG and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, don’t you think that is something of an awesome line up?
definitely freitax…I said the same thing in my article…it is an awesome lineup…
Yeah, like so many other people with inside sources have said and been wrong. Believe it when I see it.
Anthony, I believe you responded to the wrong post…
I was just stating how “awesome” the lineup for the PS3 will have been after 2009 is all said and done even if the confirmed games are the only ones released..
”this game is and will be a reason to buy a Playstation 3 come holiday season after an imminent price drop. ”
There are already many reasons to own a ps3 (the first Uncharted, MGS4, Killzone 2), and don’t expect a price drop in 2009.
…I won’t expect a price drop in 09….I actually know there will be a price drop announced at TGS…
Really? Price drop for the PS3, not the PS1 or PS2 or PSP/2/GO? This year? at the TGS?
You swear? Put that on somthing!
ahaha…what do you mean by “put that on something”?…
and yes, it’ll be for the PS3…plus it’ll drive home huge numbers for the PS3 during the holiday season..
but I’ve said it in our recent podcast’s…it’s not so much of a prediction as it is a fact and you probably won’t hear me bring it up after TGS….I’ll probably be more focused on the big news..
darkie your wrong the ps3 has a much more exciting lineup, and im not biased either i own all 3 consoles and have nearly 60,000 gamerscore so i do play xbox
Yeah, pretty sure they are localizing FF XIII WHILE they are making the game. I think I read that on 1up.com.
As for the gist of this article, most of these games the author ASSUMED they would be coming in 2009, then he carps on Sony for not living up to his speculation. Not impressed.
Dude, FFXIII was already confirmed to be coming to the US on 360 and PS3 Spring 2010. That was confirmed at E3.
exactly…I’m not sure if you’re telling me that or if you’re telling the readers this…but that point is and has been well known for a few weeks now…
Don,
Good article. Well constructed and your point is clear. Stop being so smarmy in responses to comments. It makes you sound like an arrogant cunt.
aww…well, thanks for the response Rob…I assure you that I am not an arrogant cunt..
when people don’t get the point of the article, I let them know by responding…
you’re taking the fact that I respond to the responses as being smammy because other sites don’t do it…
and while my point is clear, some people still don’t get it…
I wish FFXIII and White Knight were here already. To the GV crew that went to E3, did you guys play these games?
Mel played White Knight Chronicles and actually has talked about his experience on both of our last two podcasts…
FFXIII wasn’t playable though…
I know Mel did, I listened to all three of you rmost recent podcasts this morning. I’m just curious as to who else on the crew played the game.
And I thought for sure FFXIII was playable. I thought someone said that it was in an appointment booth?
Gary tried to play WKC and couldn’t wrap his head around it…but Mel explained why…which you’ve heard…
as for FFXIII….from everyone I’ve spoken to, nobody has played it and I didn’t even know there was a playable demo anywhere at E3 whether it be on the floor or behind closed doors..
I’m going to have to look into that…
Great, great article and easily one of the best I’ve read at the site. Cements the fact in my mind that Don is my favorite staff member. Bang-up job on the article and I hope to see more from him in the future.
wow, as much as I enjoy the negative comments I receive…it’s definitely good to see someone enjoy my articles…
I’ve seen that you mentioned Kevin and Roger who are probably some of the more polished writers on the site, but definitely check out some more of Tony’s work as he might be one of the more slept on writers of this site…
and again…it’s extremely humbling to see someone appreciate my articles…