Find out what a selection of games industry figures nominated as their PlayStation highlights of 2008.
"The highlight of 2008 for me has been watching PLAYSTATION 3 grow. 2008 has been the first full year in PS3's lifecycle in Europe and the improvements and rapid growth that we have experienced have been phenomenal. This year has seen a fantastic software line-up, which we call our landing lights, key titles from both our first party studios as well as our third party partners. We started the year with the launch of GT5: Prologue, then we had GTA IV, closely followed by Metal Gear Solid. Since then we have released Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Resistance 2 and of course LittleBigPlanet. All these titles and many more, alongside new services and hardware, such as Home and PlayTV has seen PS3 really take hold of the European market and move from strength to strength. This year has shown what PS3 is capable of, but knowing what we still have to come, I can assure you that it only gets better."
David Reeves, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
"2008 turned out to be a great year for PlayStation. PS3 has seen release of many excellent exclusives, and the release of LittleBigPlanet will be remembered by gamers in the future as the beginning of an era of user generated content. PS3 has also been given a lot of great network platform upgrades, including in-game XMB support, Trophies, and PlayStation Home Open Beta.
“On PSP, we've released the new PSP-3000 with cutting-edge new LCD technology for ultra vibrant colours and microphone support out of the box. We've also seen the release of great exclusives such as God of War: Chains of Olympus, Buzz!: Master Quiz and Secret Agent Clank."
Shuhei Yoshida, President, SCEE Worldwide Studios
"Metal Gear Solid 4! I'm a massive fan of the series and it was the main reason for me getting a PLAYSTATION 3. It was such an epic game and was a fantastic finale for the series overall. You really get a sense that you've been on a journey with Snake and the guys. I'm praying that Kojima-san will change his mind and decide to do one more Metal Gear game."
Ron Festejo, Creative Director, SCE London Studio
"Obviously Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe was a big game for us, so for this year that's my number one title. It's a great game. Also this year what's been interesting is the advancement made by PLAYSTATION 3 - we've seen a lot of good titles come out on PS3."
Ron Ashianti, Art Director, Midway
"Playing the finished boxed version of MotorStorm Pacific Rift. It's hard when you're working on a game for nearly two years to be objective about it, but I probably finished up on that title in late September, and I didn't touch it again until a couple of weeks after it was released in November. Seeing it with fresh eyes after that time, and seeing it with the intros, background videos, and full soundtrack in place, all the final tweaks, it really blew me away. I don't think I've ever felt prouder of anything I've worked on, and I don't think there's been a game that's had more play on my PS3 at home than this. I just adore the game. Simple as that really."
Jed Ashforth, Game Director, Download Content, Evolution Studios
"It has to be the launch of WipEout HD because of what it stands for today: an incredibly high quality game running at 1080p, retailing at an amazingly low price. It really raises the bar for everyone on PSN, and is a game you just have to own."
Phil Gaskell, Senior Producer, PlayStation Network
“LittleBigPlanet because of its fantastic, appealing tone and presentation; it’s a fun game that gives children a chance to be creative.”
Jason Wilson, Creative Director, Concept Team, SCE Cambridge Studio
"If I was going to pick a personal favourite, it's got to be LittleBigPlanet. That's something we've had running here at the studio, many of us participated in the beta trials. It's such a crazy, creative game. We've been contributing feedback to Media Molecule about it. We all love it here."
Hermen Hulst, Managing Director, Guerrilla Games
"My 2008 highlight has to be seeing my non-gamer wife in hysterics within minutes of us sitting down to play LittleBigPlanet together. It’s just the most charming, social, fun filled game I’ve played in a long time."
Jonathan Alpine, Lead Designer, EyePet, SCE London Studio
"Grand Theft Auto 4: such scope, ambition and sheer quality deserves the critical and commercial success it has had. Niko Bellic is one of the most accomplished character designs our medium has ever seen, and the supporting cast were brilliant too. Being much tighter than previous versions was a welcome refocus."
Matt Southern, Game Director, Evolution Studios
"Without a doubt it's got to be LittleBigPlanet. It's such a fresh game experience, the integration of online modes is seamless and the user generated content creation is instantly accessible. It really delivered all that it had promised and should be a PS3 classic."
Mark Lintott, Technical Manager on EyePet, SCE London Studio
"Call of Duty: World at War is my highlight of 2008, I'm really pleased they decided to revisit the Second World War."
Phil McDonnell, Head of Console Division, Konami
"This year I've really enjoyed playing Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Grand Theft Auto 4, one of my favourite games."
Simon Woodroffe, Creative Director, Midway
"I’ve spent over a year working hard on MotorStorm Pacific Rift and so I’ve really not had a chance to play anything else...which is OK as I love action racing games and so it has been a blast to make. The real highlight for me though, was just sitting on my sofa playing split screen head to head with my mates and realising just how much fun the game I helped create has turned out. The downside is that I’ve had a couple of online races and I’ve been battered and can’t get on the high score leaderboards!"
Paul Hollywood, Creative Director, Evolution
"LittleBigPlanet – an industry landmark and genre-defining product that innovates on so many levels. It will be a reference standard for many community features and business model innovations in future games."
Phil Harrison, President, Infogrames
"The highlight of my year was Metal Gear Solid 4. Everyone will agree that the gameplay, art and storytelling brought out what really makes Metal Gear Solid special, for better or for worse. The gameplay was the best in the series and my fanboy inside was both happy and sad to see it end. On PSN, I was giddy over Bionic Commando: Reamed. Beautiful, fun, and old-school."
Tim Ernst, Producer, Alpha Protocol, Sega
"The release of WipEout HD on PlayStation Network, bringing the original PlayStation flagship title up to date with 1080p graphics, 60hz frame rate and excellent game modes that matched up to my nostalgic memories of the title."
Simon O'Brien, Art Director, Evolution Studios
"The thing that I've really enjoyed over the last year is the number of brand new franchises that have appeared. This year I've spent a lot of time playing Dead Space, Guitar Hero and LittleBigPlanet and they're all filled to the brim with imagination and innovation. I've also been really impressed at how established franchises are benefiting from appearing on PS3. Games such as FIFA, Ratchet & Clank and especially GTA have just been tremendous, so as a gamer I think 2008 has been hugely enjoyable.
"As the lead designer of SingStar, I've really enjoyed being able to see the SingStar community in the videos that they've uploaded to My SingStar Online. It's been amazing to see how creative people have been with just a short section of video and it's also very heart-warming to see families playing together with people of all ages."
Kevin Mason, Principal Designer, SingStar, SCE London Studio
“LittleBigPlanet without a doubt. In my eyes the first console defining game we've seen yet. Not only is it incredibly creative, immersive and visually stunning, but my wife even likes it as well!”
Tom Jones, Lead Artist, Killzone 2, SCE Cambridge Studio
Gavin Carter, Lead Producer, Fallout 3, Bethesda Game Studios
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