The PlayStation Network has had its best year yet. After a spotty release schedule in previous years, Sony has had some good luck with continuous releases throughout the year. They've been expanding the types of releases with two exceptional PixelJunk games, WipEout HD and more.

1. PAIN
2. High Velocity Bowling
3. Super Stardust HD
4. PixelJunk Monsters
5. Flow
6. Warhawk
7. Aquatopia
8. Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
9. High Stakes Poker Edition
10. Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty

The PlayStation Network list is a strange one. PAIN leads the list, certainly helped by the consistent buzz for the game on the PlayStation blog and the numerous downloadable content they've been releasing, plus it has been bundled with many different titles in retail stores.

Big surprise with High Velocity Bowling making it to number two - which also kept its buzz throughout the year with downloadable content, as well as finally adding online play later on in the year. Perhaps all those who wanted some Bowling Wii-style got in on this action as well.

Aquatopia also snuck in at number seven. Considering its only $1.99 I'm not particularly surprised. Even without an Eye Toy it's a pretty screen saver at least.

What is worrying is that despite 2008 being the PlayStation Network's most solid year, only two titles came out in that period - PixelJunk Monsters at number 4, and Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty squeezing in at 10th place. Every other game was released in 2007.

This leaves several high profile, high quality titles, such as PixelJunk Eden and WipEout HD, not selling nearly as well as these 2007 titles.

Even sadder is the lack of Capcom titles, the one major publisher pushing to release titles on both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade - Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 9, Age Of Booty, Street Fighter II HD Remix, Commando 3, 1942: Joint Strike and Rocketmen. None of them in the Top 10 despite their huge efforts.

One explanation for Capcom's absents could be that the release of their games on multiple consoles, which therefore caused one console to lose some sales, but realistically this should be a very small amount of people. If this is affecting it this much, it may mean that the PlayStation Network is not being used by gamers as much as a more casual audience.

It should also be noted that only Tekken 5 (Through an expansion, totaling $29.99), High Stakes Poker Edition, High Velocity Bowling (since October) and WarHawk ($29.99) are the only games in the top 10 that support online multiplayer. With games like Street Fighter HD Remix supporting online play for free, you'd think it would be on the list.

To complete the PlayStation Network analysis, out of the Top 10 titles, only 2 of them - R&C:Q4B and Aquatopia, had no additional content. Every other game had an expansion of some kind, bringing the games back in the spotlight and allowing the online communities to thrive.

In 2009 we know of several titles coming to the PlayStation Network which should end up breaking into the Top 10 of next year. Noby Noby Boy, despite being incredibly bizarre, will also be priced very low, possibly less than $5USD. If flOw is anything to go by, Flower will do very well too.

For the more hardcore gamer, OutRun Online Arcade, Fat Princess and Trine are currently looking very hot. It will be interesting to see if Bomberman Ultra will also become as popular as its XBLA cousin.

Two multiplayer shooters are also coming to the PlayStation Network - The Punisher: No Mercy and CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars. Though now that we've seen that most multiplayer games haven't been doing as well on PlayStation Network I'm a little more worried about them - Fat Princess too.

The PSN will continue to expand, giving us more quality games, but also expanding on their strange and bizarre games like Flower, Noby Noby Boy and more. They're still playing a bit of catchup with Xbox Live Arcade, but the gap continues to get a little smaller each Thursday.