Max's 2009 in retrospect. A look back...

[Maximus]

So while I'm stuck at the airport waiting for a flight that may or may not take off I figured it would be a good idea to take a look back at the year and relive the many highs and lows.

So as well all know early 2009 started badly, PS3 had underperformed WW over holiday season and there were plenty of people predicting its doom and untimely death. The main reason behind this very short sighted thinking was that the PS3 had become an also ran in the console war...



By the end of Jan, the pressure was on and Sony had to do something, something big that shoots. Boy did they deliver...



With stunning graphics and gameplay to match Killzone 2 delivered everything we needed... or did it. With niggling complaints about controls and online Guerilla worked on patch after patch to placate the haters with out realising that haters are exactly that, haters.

March to April passed without much going on, just a few multiplats and casual games. It wasn't until May that we got a taste of what Sony had been working on internally. On the 21st of May Sucker Punch gave us a demo to the exclusive game inFamous. Hardly hyped and barely registering on mainstream websites this demo put this game on the map.



A week later the game went on general release, and it was received as the best new IP of the year and is still considered one of the best, most fun games to release this year.

Around the same time rumours were starting to pile up that Sony had something in the works, a cooler, sexier, slimmer PS3. Pictures and reports from manufacturers in China started to gather steam and Sony's denials were sounding more and more phoned in. The rumour mill was running in over drive by the time E3 came around, people talking about Sony announcing a PS3 Slimline and shipping in August.

E3 came and went, no PS3 Slimline, only a disappointing PSPGo on the hardware front, but SCEWWS continued to deliver on the software side. The strength of the first party continued to show as it had done in previous years. SCE showed off the Wand advanced motion controller...



...Uncharted 2...



...Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time...



...The Last Guardian...



...and The Agent from R* North.


E3 was hailed as a potential turning point for the PS3, but it turned out to be premature, the real turning point would come in Europe two months later at GamesCom. The PS3 Slim was announced for a price of $299/€299. This will be seen in the history books as the point where Sony went from being an also-ran to being the contender for market leader again. While most recognise the road back to redemption is a long one, no one doubts the effect the slim has had on sales. Top of the US charts in the release month, top of the Japanese and PAL charts since launch. Around 4.5m units sold to date with December yet to be counted (projected at around 3m WW by some).

Then we got to TGS. Nothing major, a few setbacks in that GT5 was confirmed for March 2010, but for the delay we consumers will receive the game we have all been waiting for. Murmurs of exclusive RPGs behind the scenes, but nothing concrete. Even more amazing TLG footage shown and WKC2 announced. RE5:Alternate Edition announced for PS3 Wand. Japanese gaming industry declared DOA, except Capcom, of course...

October was a big month for PS3, Uncharted 2 released with rave reviews and gifs. multi-player was a big success and Naughty Dog have been rewarded for their success with shipments of over 2m for the game and Drake is looking set to be the biggest PS3 IP introduced this gen! Insomniac gave us yet another instalment of the R&C franchise amidst claims that it has become a tired formula and calls for them to move on from the series and invest in a new IP more adult oriented. Despite this background of negativity Insomniac informed the gaming press that R&C:ACiT has become the fastest selling Insomniac game on PS3.

Rolling into November PS3 had a lot of momentum and with the release of COD:MW2 is continued, and Sony boosted their position in the US with some very good value bundles for the Black Friday buying bonanza but by this time all eyes were fixated on December 17th. This was the release date for a certain Final Fantasy game in Japan. FFXIII broke all current gen records in it's release week and became the highest selling PS3 game in Japan in one day and by the end of the week it had sold more than double the previous top game MGS4 (what great company to be in!). At the end of the week, FFXIII had sold around 1.5m copies, the largest opening of a home console game since the last FF game on PS2 and PS3 sold around 0.25m units for the week or the biggest sales week it has ever had.

Moving into 2010 GT5 is scheduled for release WW and FFXIII in the west in March. GoWIII in March and MAG in January. 2010 looks set to be another stellar year, and we can see how well SCE expect to do when they release their fiscal projections in May, but early estimates are looking at a repeat of the 13m predicted for this year!

What do you guys think of the year just gone? How about 2010?

NB - screens coming soon, my internet is too poor for me to be bothered to try and get them over here.