Despite all of these items, the service has stumbled in a number of ways. Chief amongst them is the constantly delayed release of PlayStation Home, Sony's 3D virtual community that will contain avatars and other digital spaces. Remote Play integration between PSP and PS3 still seems relatively shaky if not completely forgotten, and items like Qore, Sony's interactive digital magazine, don't deliver nearly enough content for the price paid for each episode. However, one of the largest problems lies within its striking lack of content on the PlayStation Store in comparison to the Xbox Live Marketplace. Although the Store is updated every Thursday and offers a variety of items for download, most updates have tended to include a large amount of add-on content, videos and themes instead of full games. Similarly, while the addition of the video download service was added in June 2008, the number of high profile films has not impressed.
This, of course, got us thinking: where the hell are the big games and movies for the PSN? Obviously, some games, like Castle Crashers, are exclusive to the Xbox Live Marketplace, but the release of other titles is completely up to the whim of the developer and publisher, which makes it incomprehensible that the love hasn't been shared on Sony's console. Similarly, even with Sony's deals with motion picture studios, there's no excuse for the lack of major blockbusters that hit the PSN each and every week. Below, we'll highlight some of the games and films that have managed to mysteriously dodge the grasp of the PSN -- hopefully we'll see these turn up in an update sooner rather than later.
Games
Assault Heroes
With dual analog stick shooters like Everyday Shooter and Super Stardust HD conquering the PSN, you'd think that there would be more of these games on the PlayStation Store. Unfortunately, there's a severe drought of these kinds of games to be found on the system, which is why a game like Assault Heroes would definitely be welcome. The action game by Wanako Games that was published by Sierra was only ten bucks, but gave players a chance to drive their armed 4x4 through an enemy controlled island, blasting everything in sight. The scrolling shooter has lots of action, and multiple vehicles for players to command, which would be a change from the other shooters on the PSN.
Sonic the Hedgehog
There are 25 classic titles on the PSN, all from the PSOne era of gaming, but not a lot of older titles that can be found. SEGA and the Sonic Team graced Xbox Live with not only one, but two Sonic ports of the classic Genesis games, featuring the blue speedster and his ring collecting antics. Dr. Robotnik has to be defeated, and only Sonic (with the help of Tails in the sequel) can accomplish this task. Insanely fast for the Genesis days, this game deserves to race its way to Sony's console.
Samurai Shodown II
If you've never played Samurai Showdown II, stop reading this now and hunt down an arcade (we know they're hard to find, but it's worth it). Now that you're back, you realize just how great a fighter this game was on the NeoGeo and in the arcades. Just imagine having this classic brawler on the PS3 with a D-Pad that's actually functional to pull off special attacks and combos, and you'll realize just what a missed opportunity this is. What's more, when you note that the PlayStation Store only has five brawlers, you can easily see what a fighting drought the service finds itself in -- Shodown II could help ease fighting fans' pain.
Vigilante 8: Arcade
The PSOne hosted a large number of vehicular combat titles, with everything from JetMoto to Twisted Metal leaving burned husks of machines littering screens around the world. Unfortunately, very few of these car combat titles have crossed over to the PSN, and those that have are primarily ports of the classic games. Vigilante 8 is a direct carryover from the old days, and considering that it only came out a month ago on the Live, it shouldn't take Activision and Luxoflux a lot of time to bring this game over from the XBL Marketplace. Many car combat fans would burn the ten dollars in their pocket to ensure that this one landed on the PS3.
Soulcalibur
Earlier, we mentioned the lack of fighting games that was found on the PSN. Not to belabor the point, but we know of another classic that should definitely be on the PS Store as soon as possible. When this fighting game was released along with the Dreamcast, fighting fans were engrossed by its incredibly accessible controls that allowed many players a chance to compete against even the most hardcore expert. But apart from that, the fighting system was deep, the characters were memorable and the visuals were great. While SoulCalibur IV might have Darth Vader, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that PS3 fighting fans would love to hop into the start of the series. Project Soul and Namco Bandai could easily make this happen.
Galaga Legions
We're not letting Namco Bandai off the hook just yet. While its denying PS3 fighting fans their Soulcalibur fix, its also denying PS3 arcade fans their classic fix with both Galaga Legions and Pac-Man Championship Edition. Both are engaging remakes of the classic titles that can quickly take up a player's time because of the "just one more try" factor, which manages to hone in on the addictive nature these games had when they were initially released in arcades. It's criminal that Namco Bandai is neglecting the PSN, and considering that there are only seven games in the Arcade tab on the PSN Store, the inclusion of at least one of these games would be huge for the system.
Ikaruga
Forget the analog shooters for a moment and concentrate solely on the classic top down "ship against the universe" gameplay that requires intense amounts of skill and focus. Ikaruga is one of these games that will constantly kick players when they're down thanks to its difficulty level: it may be only five stages, but the incredible difficulty of those five levels will be so addictive that players will constantly go back for more. Treasure, stop holding out on us -- you brought this to the Xbox earlier this year, so you could easily swing this to the PSN.
Rez HD
Honestly, this is just an embarrassing situation when you consider that the original Rez was only released on the PS2 and Dreamcast in a limited run, and quickly became one of the rarest titles on just about any console. For some strange reason, Q Entertainment chose not to bring the trance-inducing rail shooter home to the PS3, but instead decided to cheat on Sony by going over to the 360. It's okay, Rez HD, we'll forgive you if you buy us flowers and candy, and land on the PSN quickly.
Alien Hominid
Once again, another title that was released on the PS2 strays away from the Sony fold. Alien Hominid was an awesome side-scrolling shooter with humorous gameplay elements and tons of action. The basic premise: you're an alien trying to repair your spaceship and blow away the people that shot you down in the first place. Sure, it might have been an incredibly difficult game, but the fresh take on sidescrolling action is more than enough to enthrall any shooting fan. Let's hope The Behemoth comes around and develops a port of this game for the PSN.
Doom
There's absolutely no excuse for the PSN not having a classic first person shooter like Doom on its system. Not only is it a seminal title in gaming history, but it's also one of those games that no shooter fan should live without having played and beaten at least twice. While we know that Microsoft published this one, Id and Activision should still own rights to the title, meaning that the PSN shouldn't be excluded from getting their hands on this game. Seriously, if Virgin America can put levels of Doom on their plane, the PSN could at least get something!
Other items worth mentioning: it's a no brainer, but there are three things that could be fixed. First, the PSN should have many more games in development and released on a frequent basis. Second, it doesn't make any sense that the North American PSN doesn't have nearly the same number of classic PSOne games that the other regions of the world do. The Japanese PSN Store dwarfs the US store four times over, and the UK store has received more titles than the US has with more frequency. Otherwise, throw in games like Every Extend Extra Extreme, Aces of the Galaxy, Zuma Deluxe or Duke Nukem 3D, and you'll have a nice assortment of games across the board that would add to the store.
Movies
Bond, Any Bond
If you were looking for any film with Ian Fleming's superspy on the PSN, you've got an extremely long wait ahead of you. It would appear that every single film that's been made in the Bond series is exclusive to Xbox Live. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, especially since Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired MGM in 2005. James Bond movies, for those of you that are unaware, have been distributed by MGM for years.
Pirates 1 and 3
Curiously, both the PSN and XBL Marketplace both have Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, but for some reason, neither online store has either the first title or At World's End, the third entry in the popular film series. This could be a coup for Sony, particularly because the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been wildly popular for Disney, and would be a major addition to their online film library. Come on, Sony -- let's make that happen!
Incredible Hulk
If we didn't include this one in the list, Jeremy Dunham, Games Editorial Manager for IGN, would probably cry bloody murder. We're inclined to raise our voices with him in this case, because the PSN doesn't have the latest Incredible Hulk movie. Most likely, this is because the movie was released by Universal Studios, which Sony hasn't managed to ink a deal with for their store. That's a shame, because the film that was released earlier this year was really good.
Ray
Once again, another Universal film winds up standing out as a large hole within the PSN strategy. Ray, the biopic of Ray Charles, was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful hit when it was released in 2004. The fact that a major award winning film like this is excluded (once again, solely because of the missing business deal for the store) is a disappointment.
Any Austin Powers
We started with a spy, so it only seems appropriate that we end with a spy (or at least an International Man of Mystery). Mike Myers' hilarious send up of espionage films (including In Like Flint and various Bond movies) spanned three movies and was a box office smash. The New Line Films should be available on the PSN, since they're now part of Warner Bros., but for some reason, the PSN doesn't have the trio.
Other items worth mentioning: the most immediately obvious solution for the movie situation would be to boost the number of films from different studios, as well as signing a deal with Universal and getting many of those films on the PSN as soon as possible. Apart from that, it would make some sense to fill in some of the gaps that are left in some series'. It doesn't make any sense to include three of the four Alien movies, for example, and leave out the original movie that launched the franchise.