Sony Interactive Entertainment had a strong showcase yesterday at their press conference, there's no doubt about that. One could argue that it was even stronger than Microsoft's really solid lineup seen in the earlier conference.

　　However, there is a distinct difference between Sony and Microsoft's showcases. Whereas all of Microsoft's games are scheduled between this year and the next (with the notable exception of Sea of Thieves, for which there is no date currently), as you can read below, almost the opposite is true when you consider the games shown at PlayStation's conference.

　　Microsoft

　　ReCore - September 13Forza Horizon 3 - September 27Gears of War 4 -  October 11Dead Rising 4 - Holiday 2016Halo Wars 2 - February 21, 2017Scalebound - 2017State of Decay 2 - 2017Sea of Thieves - In DevelopmentSony

　　The Last Guardian - October 25Gran Turismo Sport - November 15Horizon: Zero Dawn - February 28, 2017Days Gone - In DevelopmentGod of War - In DevelopmentSpider-Man - In DevelopmentDetroit Become Human - in DevelopmentDeath Stranding - In DevelopmentThe concern grows even stronger once you consider Sony's history of showing games well ahead of their release dates. The Last Guardian is obviously the epitome in this regard, but there are many other examples.

　　Even Horizon: Zero Dawn, which is the closest to release now, has been pushed well beyond schedule. The game was first rumored shortly after the release of Killzone: Shadow Fall, which was a launch title for PlayStation 4.

　　Guerrilla Games supposedly had a second team working on Horizon, with the implication that it wouldn't take long to release the game. However, it will be almost two years after E3 2015 (where the official announcement took place) when Horizon is actually launched.

　　Perhaps the most significant embodiment of this situation is Sony Santa Monica, though. It took three editions of the Electronic Entertainment Expo after PS4 launched to get a God of War showcase, and while we are aware that the studio helped with the production of titles like The Order: 1886 in the meantime, their latest internally developed title (God of War: Ascension) released in March 2013.

　　If Sony's current schedule is to be believed, chances are the new God of War might launch somewhere around five years after Ascension - a long time indeed without one of Sony's biggest franchises.

　　With no 2017 release mentioned, that could be the same time frame between Quantic Dream's Beyond: Two Souls (2013) and their new project, Detroit Become Human. Death Stranding (which will also release on PC, anyway) could be even further out, considering that Hideo Kojima didn't even choose an engine yet - and he is renown for delays, too.

　　Spider-man and Days Gone both looked really good, but once again, we have no clue as to when we'll be able to play them. The average waiting time after a showcase by Sony seems to be around two years and that's without considering the worst cases like Wild.

　　Did you forget about it? I certainly didn't. I was in the crowd at Gamescom 2014 when the game was first unveiled, and Wild surely left an impression. Produced by Michel Ancel's (known for Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil) Wild Sheep Studio, it's an open world survival adventure set in the Neolithic period.

　　The procedurally generated game world has been confirmed to be about the size of real Europe; dynamic weather and seasons were also mentioned as well as the ability to shapeshift into any creature of the world (players are shamans). The icing on the cake should be online multiplayer, supposedly inspired by Bloodborne.

　　However, we still know precious little about the game. Hopefully we'll see it again at Gamescom 2016 but even in that case, two years will have passed with a strong chance of a release not quite around the corner, since Sony doesn't seem fond of Fallout 4-like unveilings. That's unfortunate, because those are the best ones as proclaimed by gamers; even some developers have sworn to follow in those footsteps after witnessing the success.

　　There's nothing more thrilling than discovering a potentially great game due to launch relatively soon. Maybe Sony will learn that some day.