Fall Guys is a console exclusive for now, but what could be next?
For Generation X (and early Gen-Y) gamers like myself, there was never a choice which system you owned if you wanted to play games online. If you were to ask someone why they were an Xbox gamer instead of PlayStation, you were likely to hear “because that’s where my friends play” or something very similar.
Games like Halo 2, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Star Wars Battlefront 2 were mainstays during the early days of Microsoft’s wildly popular Xbox Live service, and Sony had no real answer. They have spent the better part of two decades trying to catch up and find the killer app that would help them compete with Microsoft, while at the same time often portraying a casual disregard for the importance of the multiplayer space. Let’s take a look at the details and a few of the games Sony has tried to put into battle against the Xbox behemoth.
From the very beginning, Sony allowed Microsoft to get well ahead of them when the original Xbox released with a built-in Ethernet jack in November 2001. Sony did not offer any sort of connectivity until it launched the PS2 Network Play initiative in July 2001 in Japan and August 2002 in the US. Along with the initiative, Sony began marketing the PS2 network adapter, featuring both a phone-line modem and Ethernet jack which fit into the console’s Expansion Bay at the back of the system. Sony would later build the Ethernet jack into the slimline PS2’s starting in 2004.
Even with that step, Sony was apparently unconvinced of the future of multiplayer gaming. Unlike the full-fledged Xbox Live service offered by Microsoft, Sony did not create their own service to go along with the network adapter hardware and instead relied upon the publishers of the games to use their own servers to host multiplayer matches. It wasn’t until November of 2006 that Sony officially launched the PlayStation Network (PSN), a service that finally let gamers play online in a unified ecosystem that Sony itself controlled.
When the PS3 launched, the PlayStation store didn’t even have it’s own app or functionality within the system. You actually had to launch a browser on the console (not an easy or intuitive process to be sure) and navigate to the web page that was the store, where you could then browse for games. It was clear Sony had put very little thought into the online portions of their ecosystem.
It is impossible not to also mention the devastating hack that shut down PSN for almost a month in 2011, damaging Sony both financially and in the reputation of its service. This also played into the failure of one of the few franchises where PlayStation found some success in the online space, as we will see soon.
The Japanese giant actually made a few prescient moves here that helped them begin to win over fans who loved PlayStation games but had been coerced by the online possibilities on Xbox. First, the service was initially free, which performed well against the subscription model that Xbox Live employed. In addition, Sony conceived the Trophy system, its own take on the Xbox Achievements system. This has become wildly popular with gamers and spawned a subculture of trophy hunters that will buy and play almost any game in order to add to their count of the ultimate prize, the Platinum Trophy.
As always though, it’s all about the games in the end, and Sony has struggled these two decades to find exclusive games and franchises that would compete with the 800-pound gorilla that is the Xbox online ecosystem. Gamers no doubt play titles like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto Online with their PlayStations, but the Holy Grail are games like Halo, platform exclusives that sell systems and draw players into the orbit of your console, leading to brand loyalty and increased sales.
It’s not that Sony hasn’t tried, but they just haven’t been able to figure out the secret sauce that would lead to the kind of ubiquitous success and participation in the zeitgeist that their competitor has enjoyed. Here are just a few of the titles that tried to usurp the throne over the years, as well as a look at where Sony stands today.
The original SOCOM released in 2002 for the PS2 and was Sony’s original first-party foray into the online gaming world. The squad-based tactical combat genre was still emerging at the time, and this one brought a lot of console gamers into what had previously been the domain of PC gamers alone. SOCOM was a big hit, as the multiplayer functionality was strong with little lag and good matchmaking. The games combined single-player campaigns in addition to the core multiplayer action, so there was something for everyone.
The game was popular enough to receive multiple sequels, and even a few PSP iterations, each one refining the online shooter formula and receiving good to great reviews all around. Later games had the capacity for up to 32 simultaneous players, and dedicated teams and clans emerged. Zipper Interactive, the studio that originated the series and lead development on most of the titles, was lauded as one of Sony’s best first-party studios. As broadband technology became faster and more ubiquitous, it appeared SOCOM would continue to grow and be the tentpole online experience that both Sony and it’s fans craved.
Alas, it was not to be, as a stroke of horrible luck would see the downfall of the series. SOCOM 4 was released on April 19, 2011, and while the reviews were good, they weren’t quite up to par. The nails in the coffin, however, came the day after the game’s release, when Sony was forced to shut down the PlayStation Network due to the hack that exposed the information of millions of its subscribers. With the network crippled, the game’s main fan base of online gamers was unable to play for over three weeks. By the time the service came back online, the window for SOCOM 4 had passed and lack of trust in Sony’s service kept people away in droves. Zipper Interactive would go on to make one more game, but SOCOM 4’s fate would be the studio’s as well, and they were shuttered in March of 2012.
Many gamers still pine today for the return of SOCOM, and it seems like it would make sense for Sony’s re-entry into the online shooter realm to happen with a recognized IP. But the gaming world has changed since 2011, and with the ubiquity of Battle Royale games and online shooters in general, it’s hard to say if Sony has the appetite to jump back into those shark-infested waters once again.
Releasing in 2010, this was an online-only squad-based shooter, also by Zipper Interactive. The hook here was, as the title suggests, the game supported 256 players at a time, a number unheard of on consoles at that time. In fact, the game held the Guinness World Record for that feat for a while. The various game modes had anywhere from 64 players all the way to the full 256 pitted against each other across three different factions. Players could level up their characters and, with the game world being persistent, could grow them into positions of command over platoon and squads.
The game was generally well-reviewed, and the fact that it had good online performance given the number of players and a new style of server architecture employed to get to those massive numbers, speaks to the quality of the product. Unfortunately, the game had two things going against it. First, it was a PS3 exclusive, and that console had an extremely rough go of it in the first half of its life cycle. Sony had designed an incredibly powerful system, but it was notoriously expensive and hard to develop for, so it suffered from a lack of developer support and sales lagged the competition in the early years. Due to this, the audience was not as large as it could have been for the game.
M.A.G. was also a victim of the PlayStation Network shutdown in April 2011, so while it had a good following, when you take something away from gamers for that long they are going to find something else to play. The game never recovered and it’s servers, along with those for SOCOM, were shut down in 2014. This is another title mentioned heavily when industry watchers and fans talk about a return to the online shooter space for Sony in the PS5 era. This game seems to fit with what is happening in the online FPS space, and the 256 player hook may still attract some to check it out. As with all things Sony, it remains to be seen if they have the desire to mess with it.
Sony’s first attempt at an online-focused driving game was basically doomed before it even had a chance to leave the starting line. Driveclub was actually announced alongside the reveal of the PS4 in 2013 and was supposed to launch with the console that November. However it suffered some of the worst delays seen in recent years, and even when it launched in October of 2014, it was still plagued with bugs and performance problems that kept most people away.
A free, stripped-down version was supposed to go on PlayStation Plus at the same time to help entice people to play and, hopefully, upgrade to the full version, but that was delayed as well, until the following year to keep from stressing out the already over-taxed servers.
Another problem that likely cost the game an early audience was the unclear messaging about what kind of game it really was. Racing games are typically either simulations or arcade-type racers, but Driveclub seemed to occupy the no-man’s zone in the middle. The graphics looked like a simulation, but the play tended more towards arcade-style. Unfortunately for the game, Sony already had established franchises that filled the roles very nicely, with Gran Turismo the much-loved simulation and Need For Speed the long-running arcadey franchise, so Driveclub ended up being the unloved middle child in the family.
The game was ultimately fixed from its disastrous state at launch and did find good reviews and some level of popularity. The titular “clubs” were apparently done well, a feature not seen before or since, and it has been supported well in the years since, with motorbikes and a VR mode adding to the value. Sadly, it was too little too late for the game’s maker, Evolution Studios, which Sony shuttered in 2016. The game’s servers were shut down earlier this year, so despite it’s comeback, this one has to be regarded as a missed opportunity for PlayStation fans.
Sony has had some success elsewhere in the online multiplayer space, with favorite franchises such as Metal Gear, Uncharted, and The Last of Us having solid entries in that field. All were well-regarded games in their own right, but the multiplayer modes of these single-player, story-driven franchises were never going to sell systems or bring Sony the mass appeal they sought, as the servers were mainly populated with players that had already bought the games for their single-player campaigns. And that brings us to today…
If you’ve been asleep for the last month, or perhaps marooned on a desert island, you may not have heard of the game that is taking Twitch, Twitter, and PlayStation by storm. Fall Guys seems the least likely candidate imaginable for achieving the killer app status that Sony has longed for, yet here we are.
Launching with relatively little fanfare earlier this month, Fall Guys looks like a Candyland fever dream where jelly beans in various costumes with dodgy physics-based controls try to complete various mini-games on a quest to be the last bean standing. It is essentially several rounds of mini-games that look best suited to a party type game seen many times before, but this one rises far above and manages to be much more than the sum of its parts. You can, of course, purchase increasingly adorable costumes with the in-game currency earned through each match, or use real money, but it is definitely not pay-to-win, so there is little to object to on that front. Progression is quick and you can win the crown whether you’re playing for the first time or the hundredth.
The cheery colors, ridiculous controls, hilarious costumes, and general chaos with 60 players at once makes for instantly addictive and occasionally frustrating gameplay. The ability to spectate your friends or jump right back into another game makes each death seem less upsetting, and this one excels in pulling you in for that “just one more” feeling. While Fall Guys isn’t a true exclusive, appearing on Steam as well (but strangely not on Xbox), it’s a game that seems ready-made for the console player and Sony is reaping the rewards of having the exclusive on that side of the ledger.
Whether the adoration of the game and it’s massively positive reception among the all-important influencers and Youtube personalities can persevere is yet to be seen. This seems to be a game ripe for the kind of licensed content and fresh seasons or new mini-games that Fortnite does so well, whether that’s new taunts and dances or excellent new costumes. Sony has the kind of clout to make that happen, but whether they see fit to exercise it will ultimately tell the story of Fall Guys and its staying power.
With PlayStation 5’s launch just months away, this is the perfect time for Sony to announce something big with which to storm back into the online multiplayer race.
Could SOCOM make a comeback? Will they make another attempt at a persistent racing game? Will they employ one of their AAA studios to make something altogether new and different? This is Sony, so the crystal ball is spectacularly cloudy, but it stands to reason that the gaming giant will have something up it’s sleeves to continue the fight for dominance with Microsoft. Stay tuned!
August 25, 2020 at 02:10PM
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Sony's Long Search for Multiplayer Success | by Bryan Finck | SUPERJUMP | Aug, 2020 - Medium
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