The current collective hype surrounding the PlayStation 5 and Sony first-party games is through the roof. Not only is thePlayStation 5 the fastest-selling gaming console in U.S. history, but people are eating up anything and everything coming to the console in terms of games. For good reason too, the PS5’s current library is full of smash hits from studios that fans have been expecting hits from. As more and more first-party studios release games, however, PS5 owners are looking to the studios with things to come. That gaze usually ends up on both Insomniac Games and Santa Monica Studio.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2and the sequel to 2018’sGod of Warare two of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s most anticipated games that the public knows virtually nothing about. It’s been clear sinceSpider-ManandGod of Warreleased back in 2018 to critical and commercial success that fans wanted more and their respective studios were planning on giving that to them. Sony will eventually share more information on the games, but before it does, there’s a good possibility that, despite the massive excitement surrounding the nextGod of War,Spider-Man 2will be a bigger hit.
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Common Spider-Sense
It’s no secret that people love Spider-Man. Through comics, movies, TV shows and video games, he’s become one of the most popular fictional characters ever made. This can be reflected in the gaming world by the fact that Insomniac’sSpider-Manbroke all sorts of records for Sony Interactive Entertainmentwhen it launched. Just about any solid game featuring the web-head is almost guaranteed to be a hit. While not a full-length sequel,Spider-Man: Miles Moraleswas able to continue showing off the character’s popularity, selling 4.1 million units in just two months of 2020.
God of War2018’s sales were nothing to scoff atand also broke records for Sony when it released; however, its sales records were the ones broken bySpider-Manlater in the year. While its sales numbers were impressive and it was championed as another excellent addition to the PlayStation exclusive games club, Kratos just isn’t as popular as Spider-Man. This isn’t the fault of Santa Monica Studio or even Sony; it’s just that Spider-Man has such a history across all forms of media that it would be challenging for any character to catch up.
Insomniac is on Fire
In addition to the general widespread popularity of Spider-Man,Insomniac Games has much wider mainstream appealthan Santa Monica Studio and has been consistently putting out games every few years since the original PlayStation. While some of its games and series have ‘M’ ratings from the ESRB, it’s recently been focusing on ‘T’ rated games that have more wide appeal. Santa Monica Studio, on the other hand, has mostly focused on the hyper-violent ‘M’ ratedGod of Warseries.
Since 2018’sSpider-Man, Insomniac has releasedSpider-Man: Miles Moralesto great critical and commercial success and is gearing up forthe release ofRatchet and Clank: Rift Apartwhich is likely to be one of the PS5’s largest summer blockbusters. It’s still to be seen how successful critically and commerciallyRift Apartwill be, but if it’s received as well asMiles Moraleswas, then the studio might be cemented as one of Sony’s all-time greats. By continuing to put out quality titles at a more frequent rate than Santa Monica Studio, Insomniac is continuing to set upSpider-Man 2for success over the untitledGod of Warsequel.
No Matter What, PS5 is a Great Place with God of War AND Spider-Man
At the end of the day, both are set to be great games from great franchises by great studios, and sales numbers and popularity won’t change that fact. Just becauseSpider-ManoutsoldGod of Wardoesn’t makeGod of Warany less excellent.The follow-up toGod of Warwill most likely outsell the 2018 series reboot and it may even outsell Insomniac’s firstSpider-Mangame, but as with everything else, it seems like there’s always a bigger dog. Spider-Man, in the current media frenzy, is that dog.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2has still yet to be announced.
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