Sony admits that first party lineup was "not as strong" in 2015
Microsoft painted this holiday season as the "season of first-party exclusives," constantly discussing about how it's a holiday lineup that "we've never seen before." And it's true: I've never seen a half-hearted first-party game go against arguably the year's most anticipated game and get knocked out so badly that Microsoft has to reassure them that they did a good job.They were right on one thing: Sony's first-party lineup was quite lackluster, and it seems that Sony agrees with them. Talking to GameSpot at a PlayStation 20th Anniversary event in Sydney, Michael Ephraim, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, discussed the PlayStation 4's minimal first-party presence of the last generation.
Microsoft painted this holiday season as the “season of first-party exclusives,” constantly discussing about how it’s a holiday lineup that “we’ve never seen before.” And it’s true: I’ve never seen a half-hearted first-party game go against arguably the year’s most anticipated game and get knocked out so badly that Microsoft has to reassure them that they did a good job.
They were right on one thing: Sony’s first-party lineup was quite lackluster, and it seems that Sony agrees with them. Talking to GameSpot at a PlayStation 20th Anniversary event in Sydney, Michael Ephraim, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, discussed the PlayStation 4’s minimal first-party presence of the last generation.
“Games that have been released this year, from Destiny, Call of Duty, Star Wars — most of them we have a collaboration with for additional content if you play on PlayStation 4, so we’re pretty confident with the way Christmas is going. The demand is strong.” Ephraim stated. He later added to that comment: “We have worked very closely with third parties this year because our first party lineup was not as a strong as we would have liked.”
He displayed much more hope, however, for next year’s lineup of first-party games.
“Next year, our first party lineup looks incredible. You’ve got Street Fighter, Uncharted 4, No Man’s Sky, The Last Guardian, Gran Turismo. These are all exclusives, and two of them are new franchises.”
As well, it’s hard to think of what Microsoft’s got up their sleeve to combat this Sony lineup. This year might have been the year of Xbox One exclusives, but next year is looking to be Sony’s turn.