List of Sony Greatest Hits games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greatest Hits are video games for the American PlayStation, PlayStation 2 (PS2), and PlayStation Portable (PSP) consoles that have been officially re-released at a lower price by Sony. Greatest Hits (GH) titles are referred to as "Green Label" for PlayStation games and "Red Label" for PS2 and PSP titles, referring to the colored band that is added to the packaging to differentiate it from regular releases.
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[edit] History
When Sony introduced the program for PlayStation in 1997, games could become GH titles after selling at least 150,000 copies and being on the market for at least a year.[1] Minimum sales required eventually rose to 250,000.[2] When the program came to PlayStation 2 in 2002, games could become GH titles after selling at least 400,000 copies and being on the market for at least 9 months.[3] Suggested retail prices of GH titles were initially $24.99, but they now typically retail for $19.99. Though Sony-published games are virtually guaranteed to eventually be GH titles after they meet their sales and age marks, other companies are not required to make their games GH titles even if they meet the criteria. In addition, Sony also allows other publishers some flexibility in the pricing of their own GH titles, but most companies stick to the agreed-upon $19.99 suggested retail price. Games that are multi-million sellers may become GH titles much later than 9 months to maximize profits. It is also a common practice for a game to become a GH title at a close proximity to the release of that game's sequel or follow-up.
In 2006, Sony extended the Greatest Hits program to the PlayStation Portable.[4] To qualify, a title must be on the market for at least 9 months and have sold 250,000 copies or more.
[edit] "Special edition" Greatest Hits
While GH titles are usually just straight re-releases of the original game with altered packaging and a cheaper price, occasionally a game is given a "special edition" of its original version, released under the GH label. Usually the changes are smaller bonuses like newer game demos and soundtrack CDs added to GH versions of games, or slight improvements such as adding analog control or vibration functionality to games that didn't have these features in their original releases. Occasionally, however, the changes are much more significant. Noteworthy examples of this are the GH special edition of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution and Silent Hill 2, which were enhanced significantly from their original releases with added characters, levels, modes, features, etc. Overall, though, any change from the original release to the GH version is the exception rather than the rule.
[edit] Other countries
While the term "Greatest Hits" is only applied to games released in North America, each territory has its own name for officially budget-priced PlayStation titles. In PAL territories, Sony uses the "Platinum range" (not to be confused with the Xbox budget line Platinum Hits), while the branding "The Best" is used in Japan and parts of Asia.
[edit] List of official Greatest Hits titles
[edit] PlayStation
[edit] PlayStation 2
[edit] PlayStation Portable (PSP)
[edit] References
- ^ PlayStation Leads Videogame Industry with Aggressive New Price Structure; PlayStation Game Console to Retail for $149 and PlayStation Software to be Targeted at a MSRP of $49.99 or Less | Business Wire | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ Playstation.Com - News - Press Releases - Sony Computer Entertainment America Expands Extensive “Greatest Hits” Software Library By Adding Three New Titles
- ^ Playstation.Com - News - Press Releases - Sony Computer Entertainment America Expands Extensive “Greatest Hits” Software Library By Adding Three New Titles
- ^ IGN: E3 2006: PSP Greatest Hits Program to be Launched
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