The announcement of Darksiders II: Definitive Edition coming to PlayStation 4 later this year got Kotaku wondering if we’re seeing way more direct ports this generation. While it sure feels that way, I’ve compiled a list of them from last generation, and it doesn’t seem all that different!
I came up with a couple of rules to help put this list together. They are as follows:
- The ports in question are from the previous generation to the current generation. That disqualifies games like DuckTales, for example, since we’re talking NES to modern times.
- It had to be released in the US at retail shops. Otherwise, we end up with a bunch of games, especially indie titles, simply being released on a new platform — i.e. Fez on PS4.
Here we go.
Last Generation (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)
Interestingly enough, the re-release phenomenon takes a few years to get going, and for a while, the most prolific company was Nintendo. When the Wii was taking off, the platform was starved for new software. Since the GameCube didn’t sell nearly as well as the Wii, Nintendo started porting some of its GameCube releases to Wii. Why didn’t we get Super Mario Sunshine? Sigh.
Soon enough, though, Nintendo passed the baton to Sony, who would quickly embrace the remastering philosophy as the years between the PS2 and PS2 continued to lengthen. I’m not sure anyone’s upset Sony finally decided to give Shadow of the Colossus a decent frame rate.
Even though we have Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U in our lives now, companies haven’t forgotten about these platforms, which is why some re-releases are still coming out in 2015.
2007:
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma
2008:
- Bully: Scholarship Edition
- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
2009:
- Chibi-Robo!
- The Chronicles of Roddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
- Mario Power Tennis
- Metroid Prime Trilogy
- Pikmin
- Pikmin 2
2010:
- Medal of Honour: Frontline HD
- No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise
- Prince of Persia Trilogy
- The Sly Collection
2011:
- Beyond Good & Evil HD
- God of War Collection
- God of War: Origins Collection
- Halo: Combat Evolved
- The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection
- Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
- Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD
- Tekken Hybrid
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy
- The Tomb Raider Trilogy
2012:
- Devil May Cry: HD Collection
- Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection
- Doom 3 BFG Edition
- Jak & Daxter Collection
- Killzone HD
- Okami HD
- Ratchet & Clank Collection
- Silent Hill HD Collection
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD
- Under Defeat HD
- Zone of the Enders HD Collection
2013:
- Hitman HD Trilogy
- Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix
- Ratchet: Deadlocked HD
- Tales of Graces f
2014:
- Cel Damage HD
- Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
- Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix
- Tales of Symphonia Chronicles
2015:
- Resident Evil HD Remaster
Current Generation (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U)
Since we’re in the early years of this hardware cycle, we’re likely to see more re-releases in the future. It’s fair to say, however, publishers have been much faster with “definitive” editions this time around, a likely byproduct of the formula being a success a few years into last generation.
Then again, we’re also looking at a generation in which two of the three major consoles have zero backwards compatibility with the previous hardware set. Xbox 360 games won’t play on Xbox One, and PlayStation 3 games won’t boot on PlayStation 4. Microsoft and Sony calculated they could leave the last generation behind, which no doubt has encouraged more re-releases.
By my count, we can look forward to, at least, nine more re-releases in 2015.
2013:
- Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
2014
- Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Halo 4 (Halo: The Master Chief Collection)
- The Last of Us: Remastered
- Metro: Redux
- Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
- The Walking Dead: Season One
- The Wolf Among Us: Season One
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
2015
-
Borderlands Remastered*
-
Darksiders II*
-
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin*
-
Dead or Alive 5: Last Round*
-
DmC: Definitive Edition*
-
Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition*
-
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster*
-
Ratchet & Clank*
-
Saints Row IV: Re-Elected
- Tearaway Unfolded*
I might have missed a game or two, so let me know in the comments. I’ll make sure to update the post as I’m able to verify what slipped through the cracks. Double-check the rules above!
In the meantime, I’ll patiently wait for Red Dead Redemption HD…
Comments
31 responses to “Remember, Last Generation Had Plenty Of Ports Too”
Twilight Princess wii was a port.
Resident evil 4 wii
Windwaker HD
Bayonetta? If the prime trilogy counts, then that probably does, too.
Windwaker HD was two generations back and doesn’t fit into criteria, although he has also included Ratchet and Clank for PS4 , but I would agree that Bayonetta fits
There’s probably a difference when you consider how old the games were that got ported to PS3/360 and how much value they were when, normally, offered in collections. (Edit: And the debate about how much is really added to these ‘remasters’ that are, subjectively, just the PC version of the game ported to the new consoles vs. games like the Windwaker HD, which are reworks and had substantial work done on them.)
I don’t know how to feel tbh. I want more new games and less recycled ones, but I have indulged in GTA V and The Last of Us on PS4. *slaps hand*
There isn’t a single PS4 owner that would blame you for picking up The Last of Us.
*Raises hand*
I would.. I dont get the ridiculous hype that title has.
Well, I would say I don’t get the hype GTA V had. It’s all subjective lol.
I haven’t so much as watched a video of V
I played through it on PS3, and while it was a good game, there’s little incentive for me to play through it again with prettier visuals on PS4.
It’s not the existence of ports thats the problem; its that there’s not much else.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_4_games
Look at the PS4, there’s only 6 exclusives that are currently available in the US. O.o
I’ll be getting Dark Souls II on X1 because I want to be able to play that game on my new console, probably Borderlands as well and I definitely got Tomb Raider and when the price is right will get GTA V!
Man… Red Dead Redemption HD.
If only.
Maybe a PC version too. Imagine what modders could do with that game.
Remember when 3rd party games would get ported to everything & they’d even work out a GameBoy version?
Those were the days.
Life’s too short to play (most) games twice. On the other hand, it’s thanks to new ports that I’ve been able to play some games for the first time. A few spring to mind:
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Prince of Persia: Rival Swords
Metroid: Zero Mission
Okami
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD
Plants vs Zombies
Prince of Persia Classic
Chrono Trigger
Ace Attorney 1, 2, 3
Grim Fandango Remastered
Hmm… a bit of a longer list than I thought.
Sure, but the difference is that these ports are all coming out seemingly in lieu of actual worth while new titles. I’ve got things in my freezer that are older than Saints Row 4, it’s not exactly a “bringing back a beloved classic” scenario.
True, but didn’t Saints Row 4 come with Gat Out Of Hell attached? I saw it as more of a bonus game included with Gat rather than a unnecessary straight port.
Too many damn ports. I understand pubs wanting to get out nicer versions of games that were released late in the cycle of the last gen, but this is ridiculous. It feels like there’s one or two games for PS4/X1 and everything else is a port or some shitty indie platformer that has 5/5 ratings inexplicably because of the bright colours and ADD reviewers or some shit
There’s 6 PS4 exclusives currently released, with a few more coming in the next month. 🙂
I reckon the list would be more interesting if there was a measure of how many years there were between the original and the re-release after each listing.
Your list kinda speaks for itself..
old gen = 43 games across 9 years… (ave: 4 per year)
new gen = 20 games across 2 years… (ave: 10 per year)
And I’m sure we haven’t heard the last for re-makes / remasters / HD versions coming over the next 18months as it is.
New gen is across 3 years, so not quite as bad as 10 a year. I’m sure there’s plenty of old gen rereleases missing too. Personally I don’t think Tales of Graces f is a remaster, Wii and PS3 were of the same “generation”.
Fair call, guess my brain automatically excluded 2013 as I was only thinking about Ps4 and XBone.
It was also a much longer generation last time around, so more source material to potentially comb through.
almost half as many in almost half the time, so I guess it’s about the same. I’m sure there will be others as people have pointed out.
[EDIT: Bit less than half, but] I guess financially it makes sense, it can’t take an awful lot of work to port an older gen game to new hardware, they must be pretty profitable. I wonder if it’s going to cause more people to pause and not buy on day one, opting to wait for the DLC bundled GOTY/Next Gen edition
One thing I forgot to mention is some of those last gen ports were OLD games. Some of these new gen are literally from last year and being marketed as a “remaster” as opposed to a simultaneous/delayed release (a la Twilight Princess). Maybe that’s the reason for scoffing these new remasters.
Here’s a few important factors no one seems to be talking about:
1. The length of last gen. PS360 was getting very old when PSONE was released so many of the late last gen games were really struggling with old tech. It makes sense to release them again soon after with more power than they know what to do with.
2. The unprecedented number of “switchers” this gen – a lot of PS4 owners never owned a PS3 so missed out on some of the gems of last gen. These remasters seem catered for them.
3. Remasters presumably don’t take a hell of a lot of a dev’s resources to push out. For example Naughty Dog releasing TLoU remaster probably didn’t do much to affect the UC4 release date. You can’t really blame remasters for the dearth of new games coming out.
4. Profit. Remasters probably give devs a good profit margin over new games. That’s profit they can be using to develop original IPs and new entries to franchises. That’s gotta be a good thing, right?
Plus remasters let studios get their heads around developing on the new platform without the troubles of developing an entirely new title at the same time.
They can take the lessons learned making TLoU remaster straight into making the new Uncharted game, hopefully MS can take the steaming pile of crapfest trouble the Halo MCC was and use what they learned to make a trouble free Halo 5.
In the meantime, I’ll patiently wait for Red Dead Redemption PC…
:'(
This list is missing The House of the Dead Overkill – Wii version then upgraded to a PS3 HD remaster, valid if No More Heroes is on the list
Ratchet and Clank is a reboot, not a remake/port.
Red Dead PC damn it, we need it!!
This sentence can be used to solve the majority of the internet’s problems. Just because it feels like that, doesn’t mean it’s true.