2009 - was it really that great?

As the outspoken 'journalists' of the gaming industry trumpet their respective 'Games of the Year' - we're reminded how crap 2009 really was.  Wait...scratch that - ok, it was reasonable.  Certainly, it was a banner year for Sony with the introduction of the Slim and the debut of Uncharted 2 - my prediction for GOTY back during E3 when the first footage and screenshots were shown.  For the 360, it was a far different story.

At the beginning of 2009, the 360 owners were lording over PS3 fans for a number of reasons - sales were still behind (and widening), the games were STILL running better on the 360 at initial launch, PS Home appeared to be a lame duck (still is really) and all-in-all, Xbox LIVE still appeared to be the better service despite the annual fee.  Then E3 came and went and the world went 'oooooh-aaawwww' at the unveiling of Natal while Sony and Nintendo fanboys around the world denied that Microsoft had won the hype award of the event.

However, that all changed when everything in Microsoft suddenly went very, very quiet.  It was as though Microsoft had run out of cue cards for 2009 and had escaped into the mountains outside of Redmond.  A disastrous showing at the European Game Show had many journalists cocking their heads as the Microsoft conference ended abruptly after a rather unceremonious Fable III presentation - and with the PS3 Slim rumoured-dismissed-rumoured-confirmed and finally presented - it seemed as though the Xbox 360 campaign was slipping into a black hole of Microsoft's own making.

Sony didn't waste any time and exploited Microsoft's silence by trumpeting the arrival of a fairly attractive PS3 'Slim' complete with price cut and 45nm processor technology allowing the unit to run even quieter than its rather garish predecessor. Game-wise (shy of Uncharted 2), the PS3 really didn't show much this year despite fanboys trumpeting over some rather mind-numbing titles such as Infamous (or was that inFamous?) and some rather generic FPS entries - neither of which had much replay value.  However, with increasingly passionate support from third-party publishers lead by Electronic Arts, the PS3 has gained a lot more attention this year - and sorely needed considering the enormous posted losses for Sony across all of its divisions.

Despite everything, there is one key detail that has steered 2009 into Sony's favour: advertising.  After a number of years with a seemingly incompetent marketing department, Sony has roared back to full strength this year and the numbers show it.  Furthermore, 2009 has also been a banner year for BluRay - and this has no doubt fostered the PS3's popularity against its competitors.  A slick machine with a nice price tag, that plays the new movie format, is black in colour (Nintendo has only JUST clued in) AND is being heavily marketed - my god, Sony!  Where the bloody hell have you been?

So I say 'Welcome back to the fight' for Sony.  To Microsoft I throw out a big 'WTF' with lights for the last half of 2009

...and to Nintendo - 'yeah, you're still the king...but we still hate you.'

Peace out and Happy New Year to all.
I close out the year with props to Justice for a mighty swell tune:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5srlg_justice-genesis_music

Lovingly Yours,

The Angry Rabbit.