Summary
ThePlayStationbrand is one of the major pillars of the gaming industry. It became the biggest competitor for both Nintendo and Xbox, as Sony has delivereda great number of amazing home consoles and handheldsthat have been the ideal place to try out some truly incredible video games.
However, PlayStation’s franchises are quite different from Nintendo’s, since some of their biggest ones – likeCrash BandicootorSpyro The Dragon- were never actually owned by Sony. And many other ones don’t have many releases because they were either forgotten or created relatively recently. Nevertheless, there still are a few iconic PlayStation franchises that have a lot of games under their name, and these are some of the most prominent examples.
During the PlayStation 3 era, Sackboy and theLittleBigPlanetfranchisebecame one of the brand’s biggest mascots. These platformer games were colorful, fun, accessible, and gave players the ability to create their own levels. This simple but effective concept worked well, and it had a lot of potential for a lot of different games.
In sixteen years,LittleBigPlanethas released ten different titles, from great sequels that expanded its unique mechanics, to fun spin-offs that took advantage of its charming world and characters, like the racing gameLittleBigPlanet Kartingor the 3D platformerSackboy: A Big Adventure.Sackboy is an adorable character and fans are hoping to see him again in the near future.
PlayStation has a weird legacy of franchises that used to be extremely iconic, but that are forgotten by the modern public. One of the best examples of this phenomenon is theWipeoutseries. There was a time in which these high-speed futuristic racing games were one of the brand’s flagship franchises, and it was considered to be the main competitor to Nintendo’sF-Zero.
DespiteWipeout’sslow descent in popularity –caused mainly by the closure of its original developer, Psygnosis– Sony managed to release more than twelve different entries on almost every single one of their systems, including some collections and even a mobile spin-off. The PlayStation 5 is the only Sony home console without aWipeoutgame, so hopefully they’ll change that soon.
Tying up withWipeoutwith twelve games in total, there’sEverybody’s Golf, which used to be known asHot Shots Golfin North America. While most people may see this as a rip-off ofMario Golf, it actually precedes Mario’s spin-off series and the first entry was developed by the same studio, Camelot. But even after they left, to make more games for Nintendo, Sony kept developing and releasing many more entries in theEverybody’s Golfseries.
With a fun anime art style and accessible mechanics, this franchise managed to go toe-to-toe with the aforementionedMario Golfseries, and it caught the attention of many gamers with its fun cameos of other PlayStation icons like Ratchet and Clank and Kratos.The most recent game in the series was released in 2017, so it’s time for Sony to deliver another one of these addictive golf games.
Something that differentiates Sony from its competition is that they have no problem with developing first-party realistic sports simulators. This was a great idea becauseGran Turismois currentlyone of the most renowned racing franchises in the entire gaming industry.
Beginning with the first game back in 1997, this IP quickly became one of PlayStation’s most recurring franchises, as it would eventually release more than one game on every single one of the company’s systems. These are simple yet dynamic and realistic racing simulators with fluid controls and a lot of vehicles to choose from. With this efficient formula,Gran Turismobecame a major success for the company, to the point that it was adapted into a live-action movie in 2023.
The PlayStation 1 was home to many classic platforming mascots, but most of them weren’t owned by Sony. Luckily, one of the exceptions wasApe Escape.These games, about using many fun gadgets and traps to catch cartoon apes, were a lot of fun, and they were the reason why most PS1 users bought a Dual Analog Controllerback in the day since they used the analog stick in inventive ways.
The silly apes fromApe Escapebecame some of Sony’s most recognizable characters, and they eventually starred in countless sequels and spin-offs on almost every single one of their consoles. Because of its creative concept and charismatic characters, this franchise has a lot of potential for many different game concepts, and Sony used this to their advantage for many years. Despite its legacy,Ape Escapewas last seen in 2010, so many fans are hoping they will someday reuse this IP for a future PlayStation 5 title.
TheGod of Warfranchise became one of the PlayStation 2’s biggest system sellers, despite being introduced relatively late in the console’s lifespan. Because of its huge success, this series of violent and epic hack & slash games changed the industry forever, and Sony kept releasing many sequels and prequels for both their home consoles and their handhelds.
After a hiatus of five years, Kratos came backwith the critically acclaimed Norse duology, and hebecame one of PlayStation’s biggest icons once again. However,God of Wardoesn’t have as many games as someone would expect from such a huge flagship franchise. And it’s also important to clarify that a fair number of these releases are comprised of remasters and collections. Regardless, theGod of Warfranchise has shown no sign of stopping anytime soon, so this number will keep growing.
After losing iconic platforming mascots like Crash and Spyro, Sony made the right call and created new and similar franchises for the PlayStation 2. Nowadays,Jak & DaxterandSly Cooperwere left behind despite their impact on the brand. But Insomniac’sRatchet & Clankseries never stopped releasing games, to the point that this duo of lombax and robot became one of PlayStation’s biggest icons alongside Kratos.
PlayStation would be nothing withoutRatchet & Clank, as this is an amazing game seriesthat combines 3D platforming with fun third-person shooting. Coupled with top-notch graphics and a hilarious sense of humor, this is something that anybody can enjoy. Sony and Insomniac took advantage of this factor and released a lot of sequels and spin-offs on every single one of their systems, including both handhelds.Ratchet & Clank’srelevance could be seen as recently as 2021, whenRift Apartwas released on PS5, and was considered a worthwhile experience on that console.
This may be surprising or disappointing to some fans, but the truth is thatMLB: The Showis the PlayStation franchise with the biggest number of games. Sony has developed yearly releases of this series from 2006 to 2024, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. And why would they? There’s clearly a market for this, as these are the quintessential baseball games, and their enormous success forced Sony to make them multiplatform in 2021.
If only the entries in theMLB: The Showseries are counted, it amounts to nineteen different games. But, considering that the simply titledMLBgames were also exclusive to the PS1 and the PS2, it could be said that this franchise truly began in 1998, with the release ofMLB ‘98.Counting every single yearly release from that year until now amounts to twenty-eight different entries. As such, this is the biggest number of video games in any PlayStation-exclusive franchise.
