CVG/PSM have published an article outlining exactly why 2011 will be the PlayStation 3’s year. Unfortunately the list is filled with multi-format releases and, towards the end, rather a lot of speculation.

Here’s a complete list of the games mentioned in the article, in the order they are mentioned. Exclusives are marked in bold:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops (PC, PS3, 360, Wii)
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (PC, PS3, 360, Wii, iPhone)
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (PC, PS3, 360, OnLive)
• Test Drive Unlimited 2 (PC, PS3, 360)
• LittleBigPlanet 2 (PS3)
• Mass Effect 2 (PC, PS3, 360) - [Special PS3 edition with additional content]
• Dead Space 2 (PC, PS3, 360)
• Portal 2 (PC, PS3, 360) - [PS3 version will have Steamworks support, elevating it above the 360 version]
• Bulletstorm (PC, PS3, 360)
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC, PS3, 360, OnLive)
• SOCOM 4 (PS3)
• Killzone 3 (PS3)
• Dragon Age II (PC, PS3, 360)
• Final Fantasy XIV (PC, PS3) - [CVG/PSM erroneously refer to this as a PS3 exclusive]
• MotorStorm: Apocalypse (PS3)
• LA Noire (PS3, 360)
• PlayStation Move Heroes (PS3)
• Ico + Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, PS3) - [HD re-release of previously PS2-exclusive titles]
• Brink (PC, PS3, 360)
• Bodycount (PS3, 360)
• Crysis 2 (PC, PS3, 360)
• Twisted Metal (PS3) - [Reboot of the franchise]
• Duke Nukem Forever (PC, PS3, 360)
• Max Payne 3 (PC, PS3, 360)
• Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (PS3, 360)
• Mortal Kombat (PS3, 360)
• Sorcery (PS3)
• DiRT 3 (PC, PS3, 360)
• Operation Flashpoint: Red River (PC, PS3, 360)
• True Crime: Hong Kong (PC, PS3, 360)
• Infamous 2 (PS3)
• Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (PS3)
• Batman: Arkham City (PC, PS3, 360)
• Rage (Windows, Linux, Mac, PS3, 360, iOS, Android) - [iOS version is an on-rails shooter]
• Hitman 5 (PC, PS3, 360)
• Mass Effect 3 - [CVG/PSM speculation - formats and release date have not been announced]
• Resistance 3 (PS3)
• Metal Gear Solid Rising (PC, PS3, 360)
• Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)
• Aliens: Colonial Marines (PC, PS3, 360, Nintendo DS)
• Assassin’s Creed III - [CVG/PSM speculation]*
• Beyond Good & Evil 2 (PC, PS3, 360) - [CVG/PSM speculation - release date has not been announced]
• DmC Devil May Cry (PS3, 360) - [CVG/PSM speculation - release date has not been announced]
• Far Cry 3 (PC, PS3, 360) - [CVG/PSM speculation - release date has not been announced]
• Shift 2: Unleashed / Need for Speed: Shift 2 (PC, PS3, 360)
• Metal Gear Solid 5 - [CVG/PSM speculation - game has not been announced]
• Bayonetta 2 - [CVG/PSM speculation - game has not been announced]
• The Last Guardian (PS3)
• Agent (PS3) - [CVG/PSM speculation - release date has not been announced]
• Grand Theft Auto V - [CVG/PSM speculation - game has not been announced]
• Half-Life 2 Episode 3 or Half-Life 3 - [CVG/PSM speculation - formats and release date have not been announced]
• Tomb Raider reboot - [CVG/PSM speculation - formats and release date have not been announced]
• Red Dead sequel - [CVG/PSM speculation - game has not been announced]

CVG/PSM name a total of 54 games. Out of those games:

• 46 are sequels, follow-ups, or remakes of preexisting IP.
• 32 are confirmed as multi-format games.
• 13 are confirmed as PS3 exclusives, with only 3 of these exclusives being developed by a third-party.
• 10 are purely speculative. Of these:
  • 6 haven’t had their planned release formats announced, and are also sequels to games with a multi-platform ancestry.
  • 5 haven’t had their release date formally announced.
  • 3 haven’t even been confirmed as in-development yet.
  • 1 is a PS3 exclusive.
• 6 have already been released.
  • 4 are re-releases of games already out for other formats but not yet available for the PS3.
  • 3 are content-enhanced re-releases of games already out for other formats.
  • 1 of these 4 games has not yet been released for the PS3 but has been released for the PC to almost universally negative press. No prizes for guessing which one.
• 1 of these games is erroneously called a PS3 exclusive by CVG/PSM.

So what do we take away from that information? Well for a start, CVG/PSM just started pulling names out of their arses at the end there, probably to make this list seem more impressive.

But most importantly, saying that this is a great year for the PS3 is only looking at part of the picture. Speculative or not, there are a lot of big-name titles on that list and, assuming they all come out in 2011 and that not one of them is an absolute shit tank, 2011 has the potential to be an impressive year for gaming as a whole.

It’s incredibly short-sighted to say that it will absolutely, without a doubt, be the best year the PS3 has ever had when so many of these titles are coming out for multiple formats and, importantly, any and all of them could suck like a Dyson.

This goes doubly so for the exclusives - if all of these exclusives are absolute shash then the PS3 can hardly have been said to have been a good year if it’s been unable to generate a decent number of worthwhile exclusives. LittleBigPlanet 2 and The Last Guardian bode well for the system as, arguably, does Ico + Shadow of the Colossus, although I’m hesitant to refer to that bundle as a PS3 exclusive.

Not to mention the things the list omits. What about Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, apparently due for release next year? What about the Prince of Persia HD rereleases? If you’re going to speculate about games that haven’t even been discussed yet in any way shape or form why not throw the Star Wars Move lightsaber game into the mix?

2011 looks to have some special games out, but it can’t really be definitely described as “the PS3’s best year yet”. If it is the PS3’s best year, by my count it’ll be the PC and 360’s “best year” too.