Although Destiny has only been available for a little over 24 hours now, gamers are already weighing in on the title's potential. Some are praising Bungie for their work on the MMO-esque shooter, while others continue to criticize the game's lack of depth. Either way, the people are talking about Destiny, and some see that as a very good thing.
However, while having gamers talk about Destiny and show interest in Destiny should presumably be a good thing for all platforms (save for PC), Sony apparently doesn't see it that way. Rather, they believe that Destiny is their big system-seller this fall season and are almost treating the game like a first party exclusive.
Obviously, Xbox gamers are not locked out of purchasing Destiny, but there's no denying that Sony's exclusivity deal with Activision has paid off. So much so, in fact, that Microsoft needed to release a fake fragrance ad just to remind gamers that Destiny isn't only available on PlayStation.
Regardless of what platform you buy Destiny on, though, most would agree this is the first big game of the fall season. And with new systems available, there's a high probability that Destiny will encourage gamers to go out there and pick up either an Xbox One or a PS4. Sony UK Boss Fergal Gara hopes it's a PS4.
"We're treating it, for all intents and purposes internally, as if it's a first-party release. We're wrapping our arms around it on all levels of the organisation. It's a special project and an important project and it has the power to launch Christmas. It's hugely important."
Gara also believes that Destiny's promotion has run concurrent with that of the PS4, to the point that it almost becomes a Sony-published game. He even thinks that Destiny will help Sony break some records while also breaking records of its own.
"I think a lot of people are going to decide now is the time to go and buy a PlayStation 4 because this very ambitious project has come along that looks exciting...Yes, it's fantastic to have the exclusive content and the co-marketing, but it's more than that. It's a parallel track we've ridden together to get to this point. It's a lovely synergy that we're also going to have big milestones and set records next week.
"I see it as the launch pad for the whole festive season," he said. "It comes nice and early in the season. People will go out and get a new console and then they'll want more games to play on it. It really does kickstart the market for ourselves, retailers and publishers alike."
Obviously, a big game from a big developer is going to get people interested, especially coming off a very slow summer season. But whether or not Destiny will act as the "first party exclusive" Sony needs is another issue entirely. For that matter, there's no guarantee that gamers won't still go out and pick up the Xbox One version of Destiny despite the PS4 exclusives.
But with a shiny new white PS4 bundled alongside Destiny, it may be hard for gamers on the fence to keep away. Sony certainly hopes people don't, and this month's sales numbers will tell us whether their investment paid off.
Do you think Destiny is a system-seller? Where will the game rank among all the fall releases?
Destiny is available now for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
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Source: Eurogamer