Ranking Every PlayStation Developer From Worst To Best
How does Sony's wheelhouse stack up to Microsoft's recent acquisitions?
It's strange to think that for the first two generations of PlayStation consoles, the emphasis on first-party studio productivity was little more than an afterthought.
That had a lot to do with there being little need for it, alongside Sega sinking into ruin and Nintendo remaining adamantly stubborn about cartridge technology. So, third-party companies flocked to the forward-thinking haven of the PS1, with the majority all onboard when the generation segued into the PS2.
It wasn't until the painful stumble of the PS3's launch that Sony realized they needed to build an adamant advantage for themselves. They prioritized on buying or strengthening first-party studios that could create consistent content found nowhere else, and for the most part, it paid off quite handsomely.
During the last couple of years, several business decisions have led Sony to get scorn from gamers, but no one can challenge their high bar on exclusive first-party content, with 2018 being a particular watershed moment. Yet, Microsoft is aggressively attempting to turn things around - as of just last month, they surprisingly own more first-party studios than their direct competitor.
There's no more a relevant time then, to sift through Sony's first-party catalogue and examine just how strong their arsenal is to weather the upcoming storm.
13. Manchester Studio
Notable Games: Nothing, as yet.
In Development: An unknown PSVR title.
Formed in 2015 (originally as North West Studio) with the purpose to be Sony’s go-to-developer on all things PSVR.
Since then, the headset has launched with plenty of games coming and going - but this studio has yet to show a peep of what the heck they’ve been working on for the past three years.
Word is they’ve been in full-time production mode and the project is big - but one wonders why not even a teaser trailer or logo in all this time? Let’s hope, it's not a sign of inner turmoil and that what is cooking will be worth the wait.
As of now though...we’ve got zero to judge them on.