PAIN most popular PSN title of 2008

By Robert Purchese Published 22 December, 2008

But where are you WipEout HD?

Sony's Pulse video show reckons PAIN has been the most downloaded PlayStation Network game this year.

The physics-based hurl-an-avatar-into-things-for-points title was released in March, and has benefited from extra levels and Trophy support over the subsequent months.

Even David Hasselhoff hopped on board, re-recording Culture Club and perhaps slopping a cheeseburger on the floor in the process.

High Velocity Bowling managed to take second, according to the list on PS3 Fanboy, followed by Super Stardust HD and the excellent PixelJunk Monsters. FlOw eased into fourth, tailed by Warhawk at five and Aquatopia at six.

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection kicked up a fuss at seven, beating High Stakes Poker at nine and Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty at 10.

But where is WipEout HD? The game Sony Europe told us (on Friday, in a statement about the Trial version) was the "fastest-selling" PSN game to date and the "top seller" for the whole of November?

The WipEout HD trial will go live from 24th December, which is when we will be doing our Christmas shopping.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • TheWretched #1 3 years ago

    I dunno... I made the mistake of getting Pain^^ I played it for half an our and didn't start it up ever again^^

    The Pixeljunk games however were my favourites this year round! As well as Tekken and MK for the nostalgia. BC:R was great too!

  • billythekid #2 3 years ago

    Seems like every few weeks when I decide to have a quick blast of PAIN, I have the joy of 300Mb or so of updates to download and install. :(

  • Dizzy #3 3 years ago

    High Velocity Bowling????

    Confused the PS3 with a Wii?

  • jonsaan #4 3 years ago

    Yes, but it does not say if that includes micro transactions? Pain has had 2 new levels and about 20 characters.

    Pain is good though. Once you get how the scoring works. Deceptively deep.

  • HiddenAway #5 3 years ago

    Isn't it something to do with the fact that WipEout only released in November while everything else has been out for a lot longer?

  • Haggar #6 3 years ago

    The most popular would probably be Street Fighter II HD IF THEY EVER RELEASE IT IN THE UK.

    What does a Playstation 3 owner need to do to get some retro 2D beat 'em action? Thats it I'm buying a Wii

  • GitSomE_UK #7 3 years ago

    I've always thought WipeOut HD should have been released as a cheap 20 quid off the shelf game, low price point, a few adverts it'd easily sell and boost the PS3 no end.

    A somewhat deluded idea to make it PSN only IMO.

  • drumbaby #8 3 years ago

    jonsaan, yer damn right. It's a good game to just pick up and play when you're not in the mood for anything tactical/ scary/ story driven...but you can really ramp up those scores if you really know what you're doing.

  • berelain #9 3 years ago

    Wipeout HD suffered from the same problem most PSN games do- no demo. I usually pointblank refuse to buy a digital distribution game unless I can try it out first. I don't understand why the PSN doesn't have many demos- its such a must-have feature, as the XBLM proves.

    Plus, Wipeout HD only came out back end of the year, so its not had long to rack up the sales.

    Pain however.... gah. I mistakenly handed over the fiver for it, and have regretted it ever since. The scoring might be deep, but its the dullest, most lifeless, uninspiring game I have ever had the misfortune to play. Its not even entertaining when played multiplayer.

  • Rash' #10 3 years ago

    can't say i'd be surprised, if the source was credible; sony have excellent range in their first party games.

  • chessboxer #11 3 years ago

    @ GitSomE UK

    WipEout PS3 "it's current working title" should be a retail game. I believe this is still being worked on and may be out in late 2009.

    For those who might be a bit puzzled, WipEout HD is to WipEout PS3 what Gran Turismo 5: Prologue is to Gran Turismo 5.

  • Petulant_Radish #12 3 years ago

    Wipeout bores me, I’ve just never been able to enjoy it, I can see the appeal, but something has just never clicked with me…

  • berelain #13 3 years ago

    Hmm, not quite, Chessboxer. Wipeout HD is more like a PS3 port of Wipeout Pure / Pulse, since it features the same tracks, ships, and gameplay mechanics as the PSP games.

    Wipeout PS3 should (hopefully) be a brand new game with all new tracks etc. Though I personally hope that Gare d'Europa makes a return...

  • Doctor_What #14 3 years ago

    I'm not surprised Linger In Shadows wasn't on there, but I really liked it. Cheap as chips too - well, almost the exact same price as my local kebaby, to be more accurate.

    Wipeout HD proved to me that I've moved beyond the time in my life where I can spend hours plugging away at something, whittling down my perfect corners. It's very, very slick, but it's too damn tough for a short-session game.

  • Kenshin001 #15 3 years ago

    Does Rob Purchese know there are two different Sony divisions, SCEA and SCEE? Apparently not.

  • bad09 #16 3 years ago

    While I don't think it really deserves top spot, I can see why Pain is the most downloaded. It really is a good little game.

    I find myself always chucking it on for a while just for a giggle :)

    As for WipEout, well...it's good but at the end of the day it is just a pretty PSP game, so I can see why it's not up there.....

  • chessboxer #17 3 years ago

    @ berelain

    Very true, although I meant in terms that WipEout HD should not be seen as a full retail-esq game that many were hoping for.

    Maybe some news about WipEout PS3 will be revealed leading up to E3.

    Something which may have put people off of buying WipEout HD was its difficulty. I know it has been patched now but many people might not know about it. WipEout HD is fucking hard until you get the hang of it. It's certainly the hardest PSN game I've played and it's harder than most retail games.

  • Kenshin001 #18 3 years ago

    "While I don't think it really deserves top spot, I can see why Pain is the most downloaded. It really is a good little game."

    Might have something to do with it being bundled with the MGS4 pack too.

  • berelain #19 3 years ago

    @ Chessboxer-

    I think the trick there is to treat Wipeout HD as its own, fully fledged game ^^ Its not too tough if you're familiar with the series, and the pilot assist does help newcomers on slower speeds, but theres a definite learning curve there that could well be a barrier to many player who aren't used to the WipeOut style...

  • FeralUK #20 3 years ago

    so the list goes...
    1. Pain
    2. High Velocity Bowling
    3. Super Stardust HD
    3. PixelJunk Monsters
    4. flOw
    5. Warhawk
    6. Aquatopia
    7. Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
    9. High Stakes Poker
    10. Ratchet & Clank.

    ... am i missing something or can Rob not count to 10.
    (There are two 3's and no 8)
    Edited by 1 at 22/12/08 @ 15:19

  • Feanor #21 3 years ago

    Wipeout PS3 should (hopefully) be a brand new game with all new tracks etc. Though I personally hope that Gare d'Europa makes a return...

    +oo +1

  • Dezm0nd #22 3 years ago

    The problem with Wipeout HD was that it was a buggy mess on release which soon spread over the internet. I didnt enjoy losing my save twice, let alone the third when they released a patch.

    Shame really, Sonys online offering this winter missed the boat. So much inompetence. Socom being the flag holder.

  • spudsbuckley #23 3 years ago

    I too made the mistake of buying PAIN. It's pretty much a crappy version of Gary's Mod. Fun for about 5 minutes because of it's utter lack of depth.

    Wipeout HD, Siren:BC, Quest for Booty and Warhawk are much better than it to name just a few that i've bought.

  • Scimarad #24 3 years ago

    Wipeout HD was buggy? I never had a single problem with it and don't even seem to recall it coming up in the thread.

  • David_W #25 3 years ago

    I bought PAIN almost entirely based on the EG review and found it extremely dull. I always meant to get back to it to find out just what was supposed to be so good about it, but reading some other comments makes me uncertain that it ever was any quality gaming to be had in PAIN.

    About Wipeout, I just don't think it's rewarding enough to be prepared to invest enough time to get good at. Thus I haven't picked it up in quite a while with only the first 4 or 5 campaigns cleared.

    Might get flogged for this, but I also failed to get what RIFF was all about.

    My favourit PSN titles are probably (not counting titles such as Warhawk and Burnout that can be had on a disc) Bionic Commando, PixelJunk Eden and of course mighty SSHD.

  • BonzoBanana #26 3 years ago

    went for super stardust hd when I first got my ps3 but thats it, nothing else appeals to get my money. I've always been crap at wipeout so that has no appeal to me to but enjoy watching others playing it or watching videos of it.

  • Les #27 3 years ago

    Like PAIN. It's very addictive and deeper than the subject matter would suggest. The multiplayer is reasonable but very accessible, which is nice when non-gaming friends are visiting. I'm not sure whether to get the Movie Studio expansion though (even with the Hoff being included in it).

  • Arwin #28 3 years ago

    Well, the PSN certainly does a good job of getting its games more visible so they keep selling longer, resulting in the longer that a game is out, the longer it will keep selling. But it is interesting to also see how DLC keeps a game more in the minds eye.

  • GamesConnoisseur #29 3 years ago

    The offerings on PSN in latter half of 2008 is much improved over the Mother's Hubbard cupboard that was the earlier months of the year.

    The advantage of HDD is clear with Siren Blood Curse and Wipeout HD, though Siren is also available on retail release but it was a great move to have the game available on PSN. Here hoping that 2009 will be ever better yet!

  • layleeloo #30 3 years ago

    Whether people think Pain is dull or not - at least you have to appreciate what we have on PS3 as opposed to 360! And dont start calling me faboy either. I have a 360 aswell (check my profile) as a high end top spec gaming PC so im not being biased and yes I defo agree PS3 needs demos - i think its ludicrous that it does not.

    However with the likes of pain, stardust which I love, yes I have Wipeout too and the recent R-Type shoot em up type game, soldner or something (I got it last night, cant remeber the name) its amazing we can have such content for a decent price. The 360's limit of arcade games means they get loads of updates but 80% are crap and not worth playing. The PS3 gets much bigger, prettier more luxurious games at the expense of them being fewer, which I dont mind (agian, if only they would do demos grrrrr). Perosnally, I liked Pain, admittendly I havnt played it for a few months, but its decent enough when your bladdered at 3am and cant physically play Counter Strike Source or Gears of Warso whether its good enough to be number one or not I won't debate, but I can definately understand why it is.

  • Ryze #31 3 years ago

    Sony might want to start promoting their content, as it might lead to some sales for them.

  • woodnotes #32 3 years ago

    PAIN is dreadful IMHO but I also picked it up - I think it was pretty cheap?

    Probably the David Hasselhof pack sent sales through the roof.

  • woodnotes #33 3 years ago

    "Sony might want to start promoting their content, as it might lead to some sales for them."

    The irony is, this entire comments page is surrounded by a massive advert for GTI Club+.

  • Agent_Llama #34 3 years ago

    I'd be happy enough for PSN to stop booting me out every few minutes, never mind the games themselves.