There is a console war going on, but it’s not the one people think it is. The big three, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox have been locked in a ruthless battle for decades, competing head to head to see which one can disrespect their own legacy the most. Xbox has been in dead last this generation thanks to Game Pass, where you can find everything from the Halo Collection to 2001’s Fusion Frenzy and play them for free*.
*It’s free if you have a Game Pass subscription, that’s Gamer Math™.
Nintendo is, surprisingly, in second place. Although the Big N is by far the most anti-preservation of all the big publishers and routinely sues people who create emulations of unavailable games back to the stone age, it still demonstrates a respect for its legacy through new releases. Mario, Kirby, Zelda, Samus, Donkey Kong – many of Nintendo’s franchises started in the 80s and are still going today.
Congratulations For Being The Worst, PlayStation
PlayStation is the current front-runner for the Companies That Hate Their Own Games awards, but according to new rumors, it’s about to take a huge dive. On a recent episode of The Video Game Podcast, VGC’s Andy Robinson revealed that PlayStation is in the process of reviving old IPs. He says there are “at least a couple” being worked on, and he described them as “deep cut, old IP stuff”, saying they’d be smaller-scale games to fill in the gaps between big first-party releases.
There’s been a lot of speculation over the last week about which PlayStation IP might be making a comeback. It’s a subject that’s been on a lot of our minds thanks to Astro Bot, which showcased many of Sony’s beloved and forgotten characters. Some popular suggestions include WipEout, Killzone, Sly Cooper, Resistance, Ape Escape, and Jak and Daxter. Everyone has a favorite abandoned PlayStation IP, and boy, there sure are a lot of them.
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I want to latch on to the term “deep cut”, which is Robinson’s description and thus his perspective on the games he knows about, but it’s all we have to go on so let’s explore that idea a bit. Is Jak and Daxter a deep cut? Are Killzone, Sly Cooper, or even Knack games that would be considered “recognizable or familiar only to passionate enthusiasts” as defined by whatever Google uses to define things? If it’s a popular choice that a lot of people are talking about, it’s sort of by definition not a deep cut.
Which Games Are Really Deep Cuts?
A deep cut would be something like Warhawk. The third-person team shooter developed by now-defunct Incognito Entertainment was loved by some and ignored by most when it launched on the PS3 in 2007. As one of the earliest online-only console games, Warhawk came packaged with a Bluetooth headset to encourage people to communicate with their teammates. Many internet trolls were born on the battlefields of Warhawk. The game did get a sequel in 2012, Starhawk, which was even more niche. Given Sony’s desire to expand its live service library, Warhawk seems like the kind of deep cut it might return to.
Or what about Tokyo Jungle? Today it’s regarded as one of PlayStation’s most interesting hidden gems, but even if you’ve heard of it, you probably haven’t played it. The early days of PlayStation digital exclusives were dominated by games like Journey, Patapon, and Fat Princess. But I was obsessed with this strange action survival game about exotic animals living in post-apocalyptic Tokyo. I’ve loved this game since it came out in 2012, and it wasn’t until the last couple of years that I’ve heard its name come up a lot.
I want a new Resistance, Gravity Rush, or Heavenly Sword as much as everyone else, but when I think deep cut, I think of games like 2003’s survival horror Siren or the bizarre musical mini-game PS1 game Incredible Crisis. Anytime you rescued a bot buddy in Astro Bot and had to look up what game they were from – those are the PlayStation deep cuts. It’s not PaRappa The Rapper, it’s the puzzle game Devil Dice or Zelda-like The Adventures of Alundra.
Everyone wants Legacy of Kain, but that’s not a deep cut. Intelligent Qube, now that’s a deep cut.
