Games Thrist News Gamers Thirst For

When you’ve been around something for a while, you get the sense of what’s going on with it. Whether it’s a good situation or nasty one, because of its familiarity to you, there are certain answers you’d be able to give without stuttering. For example, if you told me that my wife was a talkative girl, I’d call you a boldface liar because the woman’s hardly ever running her mouth. On the other hand, if you told me she’s somewhat feisty, I’d agree with you wholeheartedly. It’s a no-brainer really, you get to know to an extent, the things and people you hang around.

I’m sure you’re saying to yourself ‘where the hell is he going with this’ and to that question, I’ll answer, to the truth.

Because truth be told, Xbox 360 owners, most of them, are not happy with their purchase. Oh yes they love the console, but the company that owns the next-gen system’s left the ones that brought them thus far out in the cold, and because of it, most of them are now wishing they owned a PS3. And as for the ones who’re yet buying the console, by the time mid-2011 hits, they’ll be feeling the same way.

Since the advent of Kinect, Microsoft’s forgotten its hardcore audience, the very same group that made the software giant viable in the gaming industry some six years ago.

It was once known as the hardcore console. You had major exclusives like Gears of War, Bioshock, Mass Effect and countless other titles showing up on the Xbox 360, all while the PS3 was struggling to make a name for itself. The latter barely had games; far less exclusive ones. In fact, many called the PS3′s doomsday early in this generation, creating an epitaph before it actually happened, one that read: “Sony failed, Microsoft Won.”

But now we’re in 2011 and oh how the tables have turned. Sony’s been ramping up its efforts since 2009, and 2010 was an extremely great year for the giant. In fact no other console matched the PS3′s exclusive lineup in 2010, a lineup that included games such as Heavy Rain, God of War III and Gran Turismo 5 just to name a few. Yet we’re seeing that even last year was a joke, a drop in the bucket, compared to what Sony’s got in store for PS3 owners this year.

So if you’re on Microsoft’s side of the fence because you own the console once hailed as the go-to for a hardcore experience, you must be disappointed. There are virtual NO exclusives coming to the system in 2011 apart from Gears of War 3 and the expected Halo game.

It’s obvious that the recent success of Kinect has made the situation even worse. At CES, Microsoft barely mentioned Xbox 360 as a gaming system, instead they spoke of how Kinect will literally change the way we do everything, bragging that it’d shipped over 8 million Kinect units worldwide in 60 days. That’s good and all, but how can you negate to mention the console as what it is, a console, not even mentioning some titles that will realize releases this year? Are you really biting the hand that fed you? Choosing to feed them only leftovers in the name of the almighty dollar, because, apparently, Kinect is where it’s at?

But it’s true, Microsoft doesn’t care about the gamer because if it did, we’d see a much more robust lineup for the 360. And speaking of the devil, where are the Xbox 360 exclusive games for 2011?

Here’s what Sony will deliver this year alone for the PS3 system (via the US PS Blog):

-Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel (March, 2011)
-Hyperdimension Neptunia (February, 2011)
-The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection (spring, 2011)
-inFAMOUS 2 (2011)
-Journey (2011)
-Killzone 3 (February 22, 2011)
-The Last Guardian (Holiday, 2011)
-LittleBigPlanet 2 (January 18, 2011)
-MLB 11 The Show (March 8, 2011)
-MotorStorm Apocalypse (spring, 2011)
-No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise (fall, 2011)
-PixelJunk Shooter 2 (2011)
-PlayStation Move Heroes (spring, 2011)
-Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (fall, 2011)
-Resistance 3 (September 6, 2011)
-SOCOM 4 (2011)
-Sorcery (2011)
-Twisted Metal (2011)
-UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception (November 1, 2011)
-Yakuza 4 (March 15, 2011)

In comparison, here’s what Microsoft has in store for the hardcore gamer:

-Gears of War III
-Project Kingdoms
-Forza

Seriously MS, what the hell is going on at your headquarters? Can’t anyone see what’s happening here? You’re leaving the people that made you who you are out in the sun to die of thirst, while you feed a new crowd’s appetite to the point of gluttony.

Then there’s the fact that they pay for Xbox Live Gold while PSN members can play for free. So apart from having the best library in 2011 or any other year for that matter, PS3 owners get to play them for free. Right now paying for Xbox Live Gold is like paying for an extra phone that you do not use because there’s no one to call. You play the same games over and over again because MS isn’t supplying the exclusives.

And so I’ve come to realize, being an Xbox 360 owner myself, along with my PS3, that the latter system’s crowd is a happier, way more satisfied bunch. See, I hang around a good bit of folks who own Microsoft’s latest next-gen system, and we all have the same disappointed, distressed feeling. One of my brothers tried to trade in his 250GB Final Fantasy XIII Bundle 360 many times, but failed because no one would give up their PS3.

People aren’t foolish anymore.

I’m mostly on PSN these days, and the reasons are obvious. As a gamer who owns both of the next-gen consoles, I must admit, knowing myself better than anyone else but God, that I’m fed up with Microsoft’s literal abandonment of the crowd I’m a part of, and every time I think of the Xbox 360, I feel a deep disdain for everything Redmond. On the other hand, when I’m thinking about my PS3, an uncontrollable smile wells up and consumes my entire face because all I see is gaming heaven. All I see is Killzone 3, Resistance 3, Uncharted 3, SOCOM 4, Twisted Metal PS3, Ratchet And Clank: ALL4One, MotorStorm Apocalypse, LittleBigPlanet 2, MLB 11: The Show, inFamous 2, The Last Guardian, Team Ico Collection, Yakuza 4, PlayStation Move Heroes, Agent, No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Sorcery, PixelJunk Shooter 2……..

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