If only, for Sony, it was always so easy to argue that the PlayStation 3 version of a game is the superior edition.
When Sony launched the PS3 in 2006, stressing the advantage of games being on the console was certainly was part of Sony's plan:
Flaunt the positives of games being pressed on Blu-Ray discs rather than Xbox 360 DVDs.
Hype the free PlayStation Network in some way.
Something.
Instead, Xbox 360 versions of games have taken prominence, showing up at more press demos and often being the ones tied to apparently exclusive DLC. These advantages are not always advertised. The box for GTA IV launched with no mention of any episodes coming to the Xbox 360, for example. But the talking points for Microsoft, console acolytes and those making purchasing suggestions to consumers unsure of which system to buy have been there.
PS3 games seldom bore any stamp of superiority or had any differences about which to even consider boasting. Batman Arkham Asylum is the exception.
On the front of the box is a label promoting the PS3-exclusive Joker levels. And when you open the case and move the obstructing instructional manual, you see what I've shown in the lead picture: More Joker details, promotion of an exclusive PlayStation Home Batman space, and some spin about Blu-Ray quality trailers of the game that's in the case.
What's important here isn't that the PlayStation 3 version of Batman has meaningful advantages over the 360 version. Some people might say it doesn't. But there are differences and they're being noted. Surely this is the message Sony wished it could send years ago?
In retrospect, could advantages have been stressed for other PS3 versions of multi-platform games?
Imagine:
*Burnout Paradise PS3: "Made first for PS3"
*Oblivion PS3: "Won't make your disc drive run as loudly on PS3"
Maybe it wouldn't have worked. There weren't many ways for Sony to tout a real or pretend advantage. Unless you can think of some?
If nothing else, the Batman: Arkham Asylum box may stand as an example of what Sony wished this generation was all about but often hasn't been: Sony gaming product appearing to be superior to its competition.