2009: Best PS3 exclusive lineup ever, 2010 looks even greater

The seventh generation of consoles is in full swing now. Nintendo ran away with the casual market, Microsoft is doing well, and Sony finally got its groove back. But for the latter, it wasn't always rosy, in fact, if you listened to the media in 2006, 2007, and even 2008 when the PS3 was already doing great, you would have thought Sony's Playstation brand would die. But the so called journalists baseless predictions were wrong; they were dead wrong.

It's believed that you make or break a console depending on the amount of first party "exclusive" titles available for said system. Well if that saying rings true, Sony is here to stay.

When the PS3 was released in November 2006, there were many issues plaguing the console. First, the price was much higher than any other next gen system on the market, supply and demand was a constant hassle, since Sony's PS3 carried a Blu-ray drive and components for the technology were always in short supply. This would in turn cause the hardware giant to lose sales because of not being able to instantly make available units to consumers. On top of that, there were few games released for the system at launch. Resistance: Fall of Man was one of the titles that displayed the PS3's potential, but multiplatform games almost constantly looked better, (way better) on the Xbox 360.

But that was then, and this is now. Although 2008 was a mighty good year for PS3, to date, 2009 is the best the console has seen on many fronts:

The redesigned PS3 ~ It's arguably the single biggest move Sony has made this generation in terms of strategy for the PS3. On August 18th, 2009, at GamesCom in Cologne, Kaz Hirai announced the slimmer, slicker version of the company's flagship console that would be made available globally on September 1st, 2009. Ever since then, the PS3 has been the top selling console globally, outselling even the Nintendo Wii.

Advertising ~ It's hailed as the best ad campaign seen in the industry for a very long time, but ironically, the company behind the ads is the same company that has gotten flak in the past. Many people once labeled the Playstation advertising department as the worst ever. Now everyone's singing a different song.

Console exclusive games ~ In this department, not even the most loyal Xbox 360 fanboy would argue the fact that the PS3 hands down outdid the Xbox 360 in terms of exclusive games this year.

~ Killzone 2

~ inFamous

~ Demon's Soul

~ Ratchet & Clank: ACIT

~ Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

All the games listed above are available now for your playing pleasure on the PS3, but if you think that's huge, wait till 2010:

~ God of War III

~ MAG

~ Gran Turismo 5

~ Heavy Rain

~ Agent

~ Resistance 3

~ Quantum Theory

~ The Last Guardian

~ White Knight Chronicles

~ Killzone 3

~ ModNation Racers

~ Final Fantasy Versus XIII

According to this list, clearly Sony has positioned itself to be the leader when it comes to exclusive titles. And although Microsoft's lineup is nothing to scoff at either, nothing can come close to Sony's offerings for 2010.

So if you own a PS3 be a proud owner, find yourself a second Job, because by the look of things, you'll be out of cash buying exclusive games for your system, let alone the awesome multiplats.

11/03/09 Ernice Gilbert