Year of the... No, better not go there. But next year the PlayStation 3 should have a huge year in North America, thanks to the arrival of God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII and better-than-ever third-party support.
Granted, 2009 will be hard to top, let alone match, thanks to releases like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Killzone 2, Demon's Souls, Infamous, a solid PlayStation Network line up and some strong multiplatform contributions. 2009 was the year that the PlayStation 3 reached a more consumer palatable price point and got a whittled down redesign.
But PS3 owners are getting two Final Fantasy games next year alongside original efforts like MAG, White Knight Chronicles, Heavy Rain and—fortune willing—The Last Guardian. And PS3 owners are getting their own motion controller, the PlayStation Eye enabled magic wand that may be known as the PlayStation Gem, plus some games to go along with it.
Third parties appear to be on board more than ever before, with more PlayStation 3 games expected day and date with their Xbox 360 counterparts. (We're looking at you, sequels to former Xbox 360 "exclusives," Dead Rising 2, BioShock 2 and Lost Planet 2!)
Let's take a look at the PlayStation 3's announced and expected 2010 line up, minus a few titles—we're talking about you, Metal Gear Solid: Rising—that we just don't think will make it here before 2011. Let's begin.
Note: We'll be looking at every platform's currently announced and estimated 2010 slate over the course of the rest of the week-and much much more.
God of War III
The third installment in Sony's epic God of War franchise makes the leap to the PS3, adding to the list of mega-blockbusters in Q1 2010. Word on the street is it's nifty.
Gran Turismo 5
Polyphony Digital's car sim is finally here. No more HD demos, no more Prologues. This is the real deal.
Heavy Rain
This story driven investigative mystery asks the question, "How far will you go to save someone you love?" And how far will the unique, graphically impressive Heavy Rain go in winning over PS3 owners?
The Last Guardian
Hate to say it, but The Last Guardian feels like something of a long shot for 2010. But we hope that Team ICO, creators of two of the PlayStation 2's finest adventures, can impress us with their first PS3 outing next year.
White Knight Chronicles
Level 5's traditional role-playing game finally makes it stateside.
Yakuza 3
Sega gives North American and European PlayStation owners one more chance to recognize the beat 'em up gangster greatness that is Toshihiro Nagoshi's Yakuza series. The Japanese action adventure game joins a crowded Q1, but offers something unique.
MAG
Zipper Interactive, famous for its SOCOM shooter franchise, goes that much more massive with MAG, the 200-plus person multiplayer shooter. Will SOCOM fans follow?
ModNation Racers
Play, create and share your own track levels, characters and vehicles in this adorable kart racer that may evoke thoughts of LittleBigPlanet.
EyePet
This fuzzy virtual pet, a cute monkey-dog thing, is already being enjoyed by PAL PlayStation 3 gamers, but North America gets EyePet next year. Hopefully, that means some extra time to tweak the PlayStation Eye sensitivity of the pet sim.
PlayStation Motion Controller
It may be called Gem, eventually, but we know for sure that Sony will be tackling a new motion controller in 2010, one that relies on the PlayStation Eye camera and some smart engineering to get things done. Software support is initially strong, but we look forward to future original efforts more than retrofitted support.
Final Fantasy XIII
Square Enix's long-promised, gorgeous role-playing game is finally here. Already out in Japan, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game is the first multi-console release in the series, the first for Sony's current gen console.
Final Fantasy XIV Online
The sequel of sorts to Square Enix's first Final Fantasy MMO, Final Fantasy XIV Online gives the PlayStation 3 double the fantasy.
Army of Two: The 40th Day
EA Montreal's co-op shooter leads a very long list of shooters coming in 2010. The 40th Day improves upon the first in many ways, including the toning down of some of the "bromance."
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Another shooter bound for the PS3 is Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which will fight MAG for big, bombastic multiplayer FPS for the year.
Bayonetta
PlatinumGames witchy woman Bayonetta brings more Devil May Cry-like action to the platform, but with a much more attractive package. The PS3 version may get knocked for lagging behind that other version, but Bayonetta is worth playing on whatever platform you prefer.
BioShock 2
Be the Big Daddy in 2K Games' sequel to the mega hit BioShock. The prequel adds multiplayer, if you consider that a positive or negative.
Dark Void
Capcom's oft-delayed jetpack hero adventure may have a hard time standing out in a crowded early 2010, but the third person shooting, climbing, flying and UFO hijacking sounds like a good combination.
Dead Rising 2
Zombies require killing in Fortune City and you're just the right guy to do it. Kill 'em again with motorcycles, roulette wheels or moose antlers. Your choice.
Dead Space 2
Visceral Games follows up on the excellent Dead Space (and very good Dead Space Extraction) with a new Necromorph dismembering adventure for old Isaac Clarke. Rocket boots? Yes, please.
Dante's Inferno
If God of War III leaves you wanting more God of War, why not try Visceral Games very God of War-like descent into Hell, Dante's Inferno. It has decaying purple boobs...
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Another Prince of Persia? Yes! And this one looks a lot like the Prince of Persia movie that will hit theaters around the same time. And it looks not too dissimilar from the Prince of Persia game the movie is based upon.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Just recently revealed, we're mostly excited to see just how LucasArts fits this new Star Wars adventure into the timeline.
Lost Planet 2
Get up in them giant bug guts with the sequel to interplanetary adventure shooter Lost Planet. Everything's bigger!
Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar returns to the Red Dead realm, now with a more open-world environment, filled with random encounters, train robberies and all manner of varmint to shoot.
Super Street Fighter IV
New characters, new old characters and new online modes—plus a more budget minded price—make the quick addition of Super to Street Fighter IV that much easier to swallow. But when's Cody going to get some new clothes?
Castlevania Lords of Shadow
Hideo Kojima's game that will likely make a 2010 release could result in the best 3D Castlevania yet. Just try not to think too much about developer MercurySteam's other games.
Medal of Honor
EA reboots Medal of Honor, taking the series from World War II theaters and into the modern age. Could have more beards than any other first-person shooter released next year.
Mafia II
Shoot things '40s style with Mafia II, another game that should've been released in 2009, but will settle for a 2010 release nonetheless.
Max Payne 3
Max is back and far less attractive to women. The paunchier, less follicled Payne is drawn back into the dive and shoot at things world he tried to leave behind him. Expect this one late in 2010.
Blur
Bizarre Creations gets colorful with Blur, a frantic arcade racer with kart racing-style power ups, but none of them banana peels.
Resonance of Fate
Sega's futuristic RPG collaboration with developer tri-Ace follows a group of sharp dressed teens who have access to guns, but not clean air, in this forthcoming adventure.
Aliens Vs. Predator
Aliens and Predators settle their differences in this, the first Sega game that will actually take advantage of the Aliens license. Rebellion is at the helm again, which can only mean good things.
Fallout: New Vegas
Crap, they got Vegas too? We don't know too much about Bethesda's follow up to Fallout 3, only that gambling and mutant showgirls are likely to be involved.
EA Sports MMA
EA Sports challenges the UFC's dominance in the mixed martial arts space. Can EA compete? Or will Dana White put them into a headlock?
UFC Undisputed 2010
THQ sees more success for next year's UFC Undisputed, now with additional Kimbo Slice.
Alpha Protocol
The espionage RPG!
3D Dot Game Heroes
Dungeon crawling and role-playing go modern-retro in From Software's PS3 original. Atlus brings it stateside next year.
No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise
Travis Touchdown and crew get the high-resolution, waggle-free treatment in this remake of the Wii original from Grasshopper Manufacture
Brink
Splash Damage's squad based and class based tactical shooter is brighter and more promising than most, featuring a unique movement method dubbed SMART.
Singularity
Raven's time-traveling first-person shooter was moved out of Modern Warfare 2's way, but now lands directly in the middle of 2010's busy first half. Perhaps that time glove will find it a better spot to find an audience...
R.U.S.E.
Real-time strategy? On my video game console? From Ubisoft? Yes, at least based on our hands-on time with the game, which seems to work quite well.
Darksiders
Be the Apocalypse as one of four horsemen in this gritty action adventure game from THQ.
Joe Danger
Hello Games handsome stunt 'em up is already on our short list of PlayStation Network games to watch in 2010.
After Burner Climax
Still unofficially announced by Sega, but that won't stop us from rabidly anticipating the long awaited port of this intense arcade game.