Which of the big three has the best first party and why?

[Turkoop]

Well, I can speak for me and it is Sony. I know, probably Nintendo has better 1st-party exclusives but played 3DS very rarely and did not purchased the Switch, yet.

So
Sony had a great line-up of exclusive games in the last generation.
Sucker Punch made Infamous which has a big fanbase. Sony launched many AA-titles like PlayStation All-Stars or Little Big Planet and LBP was very succesfull. On the other hand Naughty Dog has made The Last of Us, probably Sony's biggest title ever. They had also few poor titles which sold less units than their prequels like GT 6 or Beyond Two Souls.
And now, Sony will release a remake of Shadow of the Colossus, Spider-Man, Days Gone, Death Stranding, TLOU2, Ghost of Tsushima, Dreams, Wild, Detroit in the coming years and this is Sony's best Line-up I have ever seen. They have released horizon Zero Dawn which was great and a masterpiece IMO. Uncharted 4 was the best Uncharted made by ND and sony has finally launched The Last Guardian.
So yeah, Sony has done things that I wanted and BEYOND.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

Nintendo. Nothing compares to Nintendo.

 

[Mediking]

Nintendo and Sony tied.

Nintendo has the quality while Sony has the quantity (and also some very good quality).

MS needs to invest a lot more into first party support.

Click to shrink...

Wrap it up. We're done.

 

[VicGmz]

For my personal taste I think Nintendo is the answer

 

[Nesther]

Easily Nintendo for me. Their catalog is unmatched, both filled with all time classic video game franchises and new risky IPs like Splatoon.

Sony comes in a very strong second though, imho they're lacking in the platformer department with only Knack and maybe Gravity Rush really representing it. Hoping for some Ape Escape soon.

MS first party offering interests very little besides Rares stuff.

 

[Icky Thump]

I LOVE me some Halo, and Sony exclusives are all solid, But Nintendo is still the obvious answer here. I don't even generally play their games, but come on let's be real here.

 

[Brotherhood93]

I can't really be objective about this because Nintendo just don't do it for me. I accept they make a lot of high-quality games but they just do not interest me personally. I would say both Sony and Nintendo are superior to Microsoft though based on a larger, more diverse range of games. As a primarily PS4 player I couldn't be much happier with Sony's first-party, it's a large reason I am a PS4 player in the first place. They have great studios backed up by great IP. The variety of games they put out is really cool too with the likes of The Last Guardian and Dreams being different to mainstream AAA stuff where they also compete with games such as Uncharted and Horizon.

 

[Anubis]

I wonder how the polling would be if it concerned exclusives/console exclusives?

Probably the same result but closer as Sony has several second party exclusives so to speak?

 

[Molto]

Nintendo and it's not even close IMO. I mean Breath of the Wild and Odyssey in the same year, are you fucking kidding me?

Sony and MS have GREAT 1st party series, don't get me wrong. But Metroid, Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Smash, Mario Kart, Pikmin, etc. The list is exhaustive and their game play is unparalleled IMO. Also I personally just prefer the style of games Nintendo makes, with a focus on gameplay over graphics and story.

 

[Richietto]

Well, I can speak for me and it is Sony. I know, probably Nintendo has better 1st-party exclusives but played 3DS very rarely and did not purchased the Switch, yet.

So
Sony had a great line-up of exclusive games in the last generation.
Sucker Punch made Infamous which has a big fanbase. Sony launched many AA-titles like PlayStation All-Stars or Little Big Planet and LBP was very succesfull. On the other hand Naughty Dog has made The Last of Us, probably Sony's biggest title ever. They had also few poor titles which sold less units than their prequels like GT 6 or Beyond Two Souls.
And now, Sony will release a remake of Shadow of the Colossus, Spider-Man, Days Gone, Death Stranding, TLOU2, Ghost of Tsushima, Dreams, Wild, Detroit in the coming years and this is Sony's best Line-up I have ever seen. They have released horizon Zero Dawn which was great and a masterpiece IMO. Uncharted 4 was the best Uncharted made by ND and sony has finally launched The Last Guardian.
So yeah, Sony has done things that I wanted and BEYOND.

Click to shrink...

They definitely have had some stellar output, my real issue is how many we get in a time frame. They can't pump out games at a reasonable rate like Nintendo, and many of those games took forever to come out. The first 2 years of the PS4 were pretty bad waiting for the slew of 1st party titles.

 

[Haunted]

You mean between Nintendo, Sony and Valve? It's a tough battle for #2, Dota 2 is pretty great. But I'd probably give it to Sony. Nintendo is obviously king while "Microsoft first party" is basically an in-joke at this point, like "Nintendo and third parties".

 

[Camwi]

Don't think I can vote, as it's too hard for me to choose between Nintendo and Sony when it comes to first party games.

Microsoft clearly in third, though.

 

[Camjo-Z]

Nintendo by far, for reasons everyone has explained far better than I could.

Sony comes in second because they make some great games, even if I don't like a lot of them, but damn do they have a tendency to kill off just about every series I enjoy. PaRappa, Ape Escape, Jumping Flash, MediEvil, Patapon, Loco Roco, PlayStation All-Stars - just gone. Even Knack will likely never see another entry considering Knack 2 got undeservedly shit on by gamers simply for being a sequel to a game dunkey told them was a meme.

Microsoft just plain sucks. If it weren't for the Rare buyout I wouldn't even own an Xbox.

 

[TMC]

Definitely Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft don't have anything that is equivalent to Super Mario and Zelda in my eyes.

 

[Nintendojitsu]

I need a magnifying glass to see those Microsoft results.

 

[ManatuBear]

Nintendo invest in more new IPs, take more risks even after way more failures and are the ones innovating the most. I'm not saying Sony doesn't do that, but in that aspect Nintendo is better (maybe Sony's innovations fit more your tastes but that is another discussion

Click to shrink...

How many new IPs has Nintendo released the past 5 years and how many has Sony?

 

[Flevance]

Isn't that obvious..?

http://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html

 

[MrS]

Sony because they make mature games

 

[AniHawk]

in graphic design, you can approach things in two ways. one is formalism, where you follow the rules that make a piece of work dynamic and interesting. the rules are there so therefore the work should be good in the end - damn the concept. the other is conceptualism. this is forming an idea first and then building your other elements around it. whatever that idea is will inform your other decisions such as color, typography, etc. i think the presentation-focus is where sony often winds up first and foremost, where nintendo is heavily more invested in conceptual design. it's the difference between first wanting to tell a good story in jak 2 versus making a thing that mario can ride about on before determining it would be a green dinosaur. i think the cultures behind these studios makes this happen too. sony is a premium goods company and they push for presentation first and foremost. their studios are also pretty spread out so they can't instill the same corporate culture everywhere all the time. so the stuff that looks the best gets promoted the most. nintendo consolidates most of its talent under one roof, and those teams will all work with each other. there, concepts are prototyped long before they get turned into anything, and sometimes it's new ips or sometimes it's to fit an existing franchise. this makes sense with their history in making games (starting with cards in the 1880s). i think that between the two, nintendo generally cares more about the process of game design than sony does, while sony puts more effort into the storytelling informing the entire experience (although that's a pretty broad statement as those companies are pretty spread out versus nitendo's core groups).

microsoft... they're basically like sony in that they have a bunch of groups that are spread out, but i don't know what their philosophy is when it comes to game design. i think they generally want popular things and chase what other people do. that's how they broke into the first-party part of the industry - buying bungie, buying rare, trying to buy sega, etc. they are a bit all over the place and constantly starting over. it makes them difficult to follow or care about since it seems like they don't even care about their own stuff.

anyway, i put my vote behind nintendo. a game with good design is what i seek out - something that will engage me on the level of something that is challenging by either being well-designed and difficult, or a new concept that i've never seen before. sony is too inconsistent and they don't put the focus on the kinds of games that i tend to enjoy in the first place.

 

[TreIII]

Nintendo, easily.

This might have been more of a challenge if "90s Sega" was an option on the poll.

 

[A Syrian Communist]

I think Sony and Nintendo are good equals. They both bring something to the table that nobody else really does at their calibre of quality. I personally prefer Sony, but I love both at the end of the day.

 

[Richietto]

Nintendo and Sony tied.

Nintendo has the quality while Sony has the quantity (and also some very good quality).

MS needs to invest a lot more into first party support.

Click to shrink...

Wouldn't it be Nintendo that has the quantity?

 

[Turkoop]

They definitely have had some stellar output, my real issue is how many we get in a time frame. They can't pump out games at a reasonable rate like Nintendo, and many of those games took forever to come out. The first 2 years of the PS4 were pretty bad waiting for the slew of 1st party titles.

Click to shrink...

For some it was bad but I was happy with the first 24 months. But now, I think *everyone* should now be happy.

 

[Dabi3]

As much as I love Nintendo, their games are more or less palette cleansers to me. I loved Odyssey but near the end I was craving a strong narrative game. Same could be said for Splatoon and ARMS.

 

[Ganzlinger]

For my tastes, Sony. I like more graphically realistic games.

But Nintendo are the best of their "kind".

 

[Breakfast at Noon]

Sony variety.

Nintendo solid.

Microsoft lol.

 

[Dash]

Sony. They're not afraid to experiment and they appeal to my sensibilities as a primarily single-player gamer.

 

[AniHawk]

Wouldn't it be Nintendo that has the quantity?

Click to shrink...

nintendo publishes 20-24 games in a year (generally), but sony handles a lot more.

 

[Deleted member 1413]

Nintendo and Sony tied.

Nintendo has the quality while Sony has the quantity (and also some very good quality).

MS needs to invest a lot more into first party support.

Click to shrink...

Doesn't Nintendo put out more games? Or am I confusing the quantity bit?

 

[chandoog]

Doesn't Nintendo put out more games? Or am I confusing the quantity bit?

Click to shrink...

I meant quantity of first party studios, but maybe I'm wrong on that based on how many internal development branches Ninty might have.

 

[Chainshada]

For me, it's Sony by far. Really looking forward to Xenoblade 2 to justify my Switch purchase, BoTW was fine the first time through, but then on Master Mode it started to feel like a chore, which is weird for someone who plays MMOs a lot. Odyssey I went cold on much faster, just got to

Spoiler

the Dark Side, saw that I have to fight the Broodals...again.. in what I'm assuming is going to be a boss gauntlet

, saved the game and haven't touched it in a couple of days. The games are polished as hell and well made, and promise good old fashioned video gaming goodness, but for me those are nice breaks or palate cleansers between story-driven games.

 

[Raijinto]

Isn't that obvious..?

http://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html

Click to shrink...

Those are 5 damn good games lol.

 

[Damn Silly]

Nintendo, and yeah, as many have said it isn't even close.
Sony's second, even if I'm not as big a fan of them as others are.
Even as someone who uses the Xbox One the most, it's certainly not for their first party line-up. Which is a shame, because they're sitting on a bunch of IPs that could make them a contender on that front (aka give me a new Viva Pinata please Phil)

 

[Reynolds Woodcock]

Nintendo. Between Breath of the Wild and Odyssey they've had a hell of a year.

Also, their first party is integral to them as they lack 3rd party support. Sony and Microsoft console's best selling titles tend to be third party multiplat.

I have to give credit to Sony though for having a really diverse line-up with a lot of new ips and having some smart big gets recently like Spider-Man and Death Stranding.

 

[SuperFakerBros]

For me, it's far and away, Nintendo. Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild were easily my favorite games this year and my favorite games this generation, with Splatoon 2 being one of my favorite shooters. Smash 4, Mario Kart 8, and Pikmin 3 are by far my favorite Smash and Mario Kart. That and their 3DS output was pretty strong with Fire Emblem: Awakening being my favorite Fire Emblem to date, an opinion I know not everyone shares, and A Link Between Worlds being my favorite 2D Zelda. I'll always respect Sony's tendency to keep making new IPs and focusing on single player narrative driven games, even though a lot of the industry seems to be somewhat moving away from single player games. Their output has only improved overall. But I don't particularly care for most of their output. Stuff like God of War, Uncharted, Gran Turismo, MLB, The Last of Us, Little Bit Planet, etc. don't appeal to me and they've straight up dropped franchises I've enjoyed, such as Jak and Daxter. But I won't deny that I'm hyped for Spider-Man, the Shadow of Colossus remake, and still wanna play Horizon Zero Dawn.

 

[Deleted member 10293]

Most Sony first party stuff is zzz. Nintendo still has the strongest first party games for sure. Microsoft has nothing at this point

 

[Currygan]

I'm early 30's and mario/Zelda do nothing for me, But still can appreciate they are top tier games.

Click to shrink...

ah, the good old age card

 

[sora87]

I can't pick between Sony and Nintendo. Sony are pretty wide and varied, high production values and presentation. Although we have seen less of the Tokyo Jungles and Puppeteer type games from them this gen sadly. Nintendo just have that quality, unrivaled knock it out the park gameplay.

Microsoft kinda have nothing of interest to me first party wise. I do hope someone picks up Sunset Overdrive 2 though.

 

[ArmadilloGame]

Building on my earlier post, because this got me thinking:

What Nintendo needs from its first party: everything. Nintendo simply can't rely on third parties to carry the weight for its systems, so they have to do it themselves. That means fewer big risks, and a more broad library than its rivals.
What Nintendo makes: everything. Barring M rated stuff, Nintendo hits all kinds of genres, and does so with a level of quality that is insane. Even their worst first party titles are decent.

What Sony needs from its first party: To be the flagship. Sony has a ton of third party support, so filling in the few gaps in the catalog that exist isn't hard, and the rest of their effort can be spent on taking risks and making "water cooler games." Make the games that no one else can risk making.
What Sony makes: ambitious games that usually work but sometimes don't. Sony has created some of the best games of the last 20 years. Games like The Last Of Us, Uncharted, God of War, and Horizon. They have also created games like the Last Guardian, Knack, Little Big Planet, The Order:1886. Games whose ambition outpaced their execution. And that's fine. They know their strategy will have hits and misses, and embrace it. It makes the Playstation catalog the best in the world, because they know what they have and build off of it.

What Microsoft needs from its first party: to fill in the catalog gaps and have a few flagships. Microsoft is sort of halfway between the other two first parties strategically. They have AAA support, but not Japanese support, so some notable game genres are underrepresented on the system. Not nearly as many as Nintendo, but enough to require first party attention. They need to fill those gaps and have a few IPs that are the absolute best at what they do.
What Microsoft makes: stuff they like to make, not what they need to round out their library. Forza, Gears, Halo. Those are good to great IPs. And they are rightly used as the flagships of the system. But they don't cover for the library's weaknesses at all. To the contrary in fact. Microsoft first party intentionally caters to one part of the market, and pretty much ignores the rest (at least since Rare stopped making Viva Pinata type games). The fact that their first party is also by far the smallest of the three by a lot doesn't help.

 

[Vault]

I don't like all there output but Nintendo normally deliver Zelda and Mario were great.

Sony have disappointed me this gen thought infamous Second son was terrible, Knack was garbage, found horizon boring quit after 10 hours felt been there Ubisoft Open world, Uncharted was good though.

Don't have an Xbox.

 

[LightEntite]

I vote Sony because of they are not afraid to invest in new IPs and take risks, even after many failures. Without innovation the industry becomes stagnant, and it cannot rely solely on indies for that.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this is primarily why I love Sony's first party games.

Nintendo is more a driver of innovation in hardware

Sony is more an innovator in software, and the content of the software

 

[orochi91]

Sony for me.

Xenoblade series is the only narrative-focused Nintendo franchise that I care about.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Prefer Sony's output.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Sony wins in numbers. Nintendo wins in style, as their games are unlike anything else on the market. Microsoft wins on my tastes, hence the fact I own multiple Xboxes. None of them are best or worst, they all are best at some aspects.

 

[PunkMilitia]

Now this is a tough one.

Nintendo if you like to go retro or play something nostalgic.

Sony for new ideas, mainly adventure games, or mixed varieties.

Microsoft if you want a good driving game every year.

I'm slightly leaning towards PlayStation, followed by ninty, then probably phones, With Ouya and Xbox drawing last.

(Not being an Xbox hater as I own one, just being real)

 

[Forearm_Star]

My vote goes for nintendo. Simply because none of the others can keep their consoles afloat based solely on their out put.

Nintendo has had to do it with minimal 3rd party support thus far and have still managed to sell gangbusters.

 

[Miniature Kaiju]

It's a toss-up between Sony and Nintendo. Depends on what you want from your games, really.

 

[mopinks]

I think Smash Bros shows the depth of Nintendo's first party line-up.

Click to shrink...

this is the long and short of it as far as I'm concerned

 

[Renna Hazel]

Nintendo is WAY ahead of Sony, who is WAY ahead of MS.

 

[Papacheeks]

They definitely have had some stellar output, my real issue is how many we get in a time frame. They can't pump out games at a reasonable rate like Nintendo, and many of those games took forever to come out. The first 2 years of the PS4 were pretty bad waiting for the slew of 1st party titles.

Click to shrink...

i would argue though that most of Sony's first party games are much larger in general in creation and take more time than Nintendo's first party. Nintendo doesn't have lot's of story driven games, they are gameplay driven primarily. Anything from cutscenes, voice acting mo-cap and all that especially world creation in Horizon's case take a long time. The tech that made up of all the mo-cap animations in Uncharted 4 took years alone to develop. None of that really applied to Nintendo made games.

Even when looking at this years Zelda, and Mario. Though they were probably fairly lengthy in dev time, they were a drop in the bucket compared to how long it took to make Horizon.

They both just do different things. If Sony made games that had no narrative and were just gameplay driven you would see games at a faster clip I guarantee you.

For the scope and size of the games Sony puts out and at the quality, I think it's pretty impressive actually.