Sony’sPlayStationline of consoles isthe most successful in the history of gaming, with more than 450 million systems sold since the PS1 first went on sale back in 1994. Since then, PlayStation consoles have hosted some ofthe biggest and best franchises in gaming,many of them exclusively. Although some now lay dormant, others have stood the test of time and have appeared on every iteration of Sony’s home consoles.
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Given the fairlylackluster launch-lineupof the newly releasedPlayStation 5, looking back at the series which have appeared consistently across Sony’s systems should give a fairly good idea of what’s still to come. Several of these series havealready announced new titles for the PS5. For the others, it is probably only a matter of time.
10Tomb Raider
There was once a time when Lara Croft was the face of the PlayStation. She actually made her debut on the ill-fated Sega Saturn though. The European Saturn release ofTomb Raideronly predates the PlayStation version by 20 days, but, strictly speaking, the Saturn got there first. Ultimately, however, it really didn’t matter much in the long run.
Since 1996, there have beena further 19Tomb Raidergames, most of which have been available on PlayStation consoles.The Angel of Darknesswas the first to appear on the PS2,Underworldthe first on PS3, and the 2013 reboot the first to make its way to thePS4.
9Crash Bandicoot
If Lara Croft was the face of the original PlayStation, thenCrash Bandicootwas the attitude. The magnificent marsupial first spun his way onto the console in 1996 and made a huge impact right off the bat. The original trilogy are some of the best platformers available on the system and still hold up pretty well today.
Crash made the leap to the PS2 in the 2001 titleThe Wrath of Cortex, althoughthings went a little downhill from there. Due to a drastic decline in quality, the series went on a seven-year hiatus with Crash’s only appearance on PS3 coming courtesy ofSkylanders Imaginators Crash Bandicoot Edition. Eventually, things did get back on track for Crash, with theN. Sane Trilogyarriving for PS4 in 2017.
8Tekken
The original PlayStation had a fairly underwhelming launch line-up that relied on titles likeRaymanandRidge Racerto sell the console. Whilethese weren’t bad games, it was not untilTekkenarrived a month later that people really had a solid reason to pick up Sony’s new machine.
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The first 3 mainlineTekkengames released for the original machine beforeTekken Tag Tournamentushered in the PS2 era of Tekken titles in 1999. Eight years later andTekken 6became the first of the series' two PS3 titles, whileTekken 7arrived for the PS4 another eight years after that.
7Final Fantasy
TheFinal Fantasyseries actually started life asan ever-present on Nintendo consolesbut, due to Nintendo sticking with cartridges for the N64, it moved over to Sony’s machines in the mid-nineties.Final Fantasy VIIwas the first of the series' many entries on PlayStation and the one that reallyhelped it to gain a proper foothold in the Western market. From there, it’s gone from strength to strength.
There were three mainline titles on the original PlayStation beforeFinal Fantasy Xreleased for the PS2 in 2001.Final Fantasy XIIImarked the series' shift to the PS3 andFinal Fantasy XIV: A Realm Rebornwas the first of three big releases on the PS4.
6Metal Gear
Metal Gearis another series thatstarted life on Nintendo consolesbefore finding its home on PlayStation. It may have become a multiplatform series in recent years, but there was a time when the only way to playMetal Gearwas on PlayStation. This was the case withMetal Gear Solid, which released for the system in 1998.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Libertyarrived on PS2 just three years later and was the first of two mainlineMetal Geargames that appeared on the system.Guns of the Patriotsushered in the PS3 era in 2008 and the 2014 titleGround Zeroeswas the firstMetal Geargame for the PS4.
5Resident Evil
Capcom’s survival-horror series has had its fair share of flings over the years, most notably with the Dreamcast and the GameCube. In its heart though, it’s always been bound to the PlayStation. The firstResident Evilgame took the world by storm when it arrived on the system in 1996,effectively creating a brand new genre overnight.
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The onceDreamcast-exclusiveCode Veronicabecame the firstResident Eviltitle to make its way to the PS2 when it released in 2001, just over a year after its Dreamcast debut. 2009’sResident Evil 5was the first of several titles available for the PS3 andRevelations 2was the first to hit the PS4 when it did so in 2015.
4Gran Turismo
There have been somegreat racing series on PlayStation consolesover the years, but few have stood the test of time as well asGran Turismo. Best known for its cutting-edge graphics and realistic simulation, the series has released high-quality games on every Sony console. It all started withGran Turismoin 1997.
Gran Turismo 3: A-Specarrived later for the PS2 and 2006’sGran Turismo HD Conceptwas the first of the series' entries on the PS3. Releases have become a little more sporadic since then with just three console titles in the 11 years betweenHD Conceptand the 2017 titleGran Turismo Sporton PS4.
3MLB
It’s incredibly rare to find a sports game franchise that’s exclusive to just one line of consoles, but Sony’sMLB: The Showseries is just that. Prior to 2006 though, it was simply known asMLB. The very firstMLBtitle released on the original PlayStation and, since then, a new installment has arrived every year without fail.
MLB 2004was the first of these titles for the PS2 andMLB 07: The Showmarked the series' debut on PS3.MLB 14: The Showbecame the first game for the PS4 and, given the pattern, it seems a fairly safe bet thatMLB 21: The Showwill be swinging its way onto the PS5 sometime next March.
2Grand Theft Auto
The firstGrand Theft Autogame was a 2D top-down title that released for the PlayStation in 1997. Versions for both the N64 and the Saturn were originally planned but, for various reasons, were never actually released. As a result, Sony’s machines effectively had exclusivity on the series until the Xbox came along four years later.
It would not be until the series made the leap to 3D thatit really took offthough. The PS2 version ofGTA 3was the best selling game of 2001 and the second best selling game of 2002, with the first being its sequel,Vice City. 2008’sGrand Theft Auto IVsaw the series make its debut on the PS3, and its sequel,GTA V, was the first for the PS4. Interestingly, the latter is not onlythe best selling PS4 game of all timebut also the best selling PS3 game.
1Spider-Man
Before Sony snapped up the rights to video game adaptations ofSpider-Man, Spidey’s games were multiplatform. Since 2014’sThe Amazing Spider-Man 2, they have been exclusive to Sony consoles. The very first Spider-Man game to release on a Sony machine however wasSpider-Man, which released in 2000.
Just to be confusing, the 2002 gameSpider-Manwas also the first Spider-Man game on PS2, but not the sameSpider-Manthat was on the original PlayStation. This version ofSpider-Manwas based on the Tobey Maguire movie, which also happened to be calledSpider-Man. Thankfully, the PS3’s first Spider-Man game at least had the number three tacked on to the end which helps to differentiate it from the other two games.
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