Topic: PlayStation 5 --OT--

@BAMozzy She makes a good point about the FIFA Ultimate Team cards. It generates so much revenue and it's so cost-efficient that why wouldn't other companies do something similar with their games. That's why I'm slightly worried about Sony making more live service games. If they end up producing titles that are constantly generating revenue, then there's no point in making new games. They wouldn't need to make any more single-player games, on top of them already being so expensive to make.

Good rant there. It’s refreshing to see someone place due responsibility of the state of the industry on its customer base. Of course, we’ll collectively continue to hypocritically blame corporations and capitalism while blindly supporting its worst aspects for short term gain because “It’s good for the consumer.” Greed, in all of its ugly forms, continues to run the show.

Given games generally take around 5 years to make nowadays, next year is when we'd be starting to properly see the results of the Jim Ryan era in terms of what the 1st party lineup looks like for PS. The PC ports, TLoU Part 1 and Legacy of Thieves Collection will have been Jim Ryan greenlit projects but stuff like Spider-Man 2 would've been greenlit before the Jim Ryan era.

Given what Jim Ryan said in 2022 (12 live service games for April 2022 - 2025) and so far 2 have released (MLB The Show 22 and 23), it looks like 2024 onwards for awhile is going to be mostly a case of live service games greenlit during the Jim Ryan era combined with the new head of Playstation being "obsessed with growth" which doesn't inspire confidence.

At least the 3rd party support is strong to soften the blow.

@Grumblevolcano I looked it up because I couldn't remember the exact wording and turns out it was Ryan saying they would launch 10 service games by 2026 and, a bit later, a slide that said the "projected number of live service franchises" would reach 12 by 2025. The slide listed MLB as the only current franchise but:

• this was before GT7 launched and I'm pretty sure it's one of them
• the wording might suggest that acquiring Bungie and Destiny also counts towards this
• on the other hand MLB 23 doesn't count separately, as it's the same franchise

We do know about a few others:

• Helldivers 2 coming soon
• TLOU if it ever comes out
• The upcoming Bungie and Haven games

Ngl i am quite disappointed wuth the PS5 over the last 2 years. Console works great but the games i've played just haven't been fun. I feel like PS5 just isn't clicking with me like PS4 did.

@WebHead Exactly how I'm feeling towards it. I could often be found playing on the PS4 every spare minute but the PS5 just isn't clicking with me. Apart from the world's most miserable UI, the DS5s are more uncomfortable than the DS4s when trying to play a game but I'm feeling less inclined to turn on 'The Tub o' Lard' (my PS5's official name) than I ever felt with my OG PS4 or the later SSD-equipped Pro.

Personally, I think the PS5 as a 'Console' is great and most games are similar enough to the Series X version as to make little difference. As far as 1st Party games, they were clearly built with PS4 in mind and so you get an enhanced version, but whilst they look visually 'better', they aren't really offering 'better' stories, something 'new' or 'fresh' that really pushes their IP's forward, its a bit too 'familiar' feeling, more iterative...

You could argue that Xbox has been somewhat similar in that its too felt somewhat iterative as we wait for Games that really do utilise the Hardware, built specifically for that hardware etc. However, I feel a lot more 'positive' about the future and direction MS are going with Gaming. Yes it may make Xbox Consoles far less 'important' as Gamers can play elsewhere day/date, but that is more consumer friendly. Game Pass feels more Consumer Friendly than PS+ to me too and once Spider-Man 2 releases, the ONLY 1st Party release I am interested in is Wolverine, where as MS still has numerous games coming that interest me.

Its more the way Sony are running the PS5, their services, their studios etc and their long term plans they have stated themselves that are affecting my enjoyment on PS5. Why would I want to pay £70 to play SM2 day/date when I can play Starfield, Forza, Payday 3, Darktide, Lies of P etc for 'free' day/date and wait for sales or even wait for the PC release? I don't feel like I want to 'support' Sony or their Direction they seem to be headed with Marathon, FairGames, Helldiver 2 & Foamstarz - let alone Factions or the Horizon 'live service' games, so why spend my time/money in their 'ecosystem'.

If Sony had a plethora of games I was looking forward to, I may feel differently but its more Sony than the PS5 that is eroding my enjoyment on that Console.

That's my general feeling. I don't like the direction sony and frankly games in general are going in.

@Kidfried How very true! Xbox had a bad 2022 and their XB1 was somewhat of a disappointment, Sony struggled with the PS3 launch and the PSN outage during that era too but managed to bounce back after each. Nintendo too struggled particularly with the WiiU era but the Switch has been successful and PC isn't always the 'best' place to play either - even if you have the 'best' hardware.

Its an ever changing world due to it being very much linked to technology and technological advancements. The 360/PS3 era saw the rise in Online gaming and MANY Studios were 'shoehorning' Online into Single Player games to jump on that trend - Dead Space 2, AC2, Bioshock 2, Uncharted 2 etc all had MP with the rise in Online games. By the XB1/PS4 era, that had become 'Loot box' hell but also Open World was a trend so that kind of evolved into 'Live Services' and/or these much more 'open' world games - even if they weren't 'true' Open worlds, they were much more 'open' (Wide-Linear, big open 'hubs'). Open World & 'Live Service' is the current trend from PUBG/Fortnite/Warzone Multiplayer games to AC:Valhalla/Odyssey/Origins as Single Player games.

From my perspective, the PS3 era was probably one of the most exciting eras of gaming. We had so many AAA publishers experimenting and bringing out 'new' IP's that really pushed Gaming forward. Games like BioShock, Mass Effect, Uncharted, Dead Space, Assassins Creed etc all took gaming to a 'new' height and the Stories, the acting, the voice work etc could rival the best from Hollywood. The PS4 era was a bit more iterative in that it helped them refine the Visuals and reduce the 'loading/streaming' areas that interrupted the 'flow' - which again has been 'improved' with this gen. I don't think the quality of the Stories, Voice acting or Game-play loop has 'evolved' - more refined.

I have no doubt that Sony will have Games that I will want to play and that I will end up playing on Playstation. There have been other times in the past where I considered whether or not I would bother returning to my Playstation - the PSN outage stopped me playing on PS3 for months and as I was playing mostly elsewhere, I could have easily left then, but 'Games' brought me back. I spent more time on my PS4 than XB1 in the first few years and could have left Xbox in that time too.

Gaming is 'personal' so I am sure it will have moments that feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to enjoy everything you want to play, and other times you'll be looking ahead for some glimmer of hope, where every 'delay' or announcement of projects that don't appeal will feel like they are letting you down after 'investing' time, money and passion into their ecosystem. As many feel very passionate about Gaming too, it can be an emotional rollercoaster...

@WebHead To be fair, the PS4 wasn't all that great either until its fourth year. The console finally clicked with me in 2017 when games like Horizon Zero Dawn, NieR: Automata, Yakuza 0, Persona 5 and so on came out. We're in PS5's third year now, so who knows maybe next year will provide some great experiences similar to 2017.

Personally though, the PS5 clicked with me much earlier than the PS4 did. Astro's Playroom, Returnal, Final Fantasy XVI and even Assassin's Creed Mirage are all fantastic experiences that I played this year when I got my PS5. Granted, most of them aren't "new games" like Horizon, NieR: Automata or Yakuza (I say new in the case of Yakuza because it didn't get popular in the West until Yakuza 0, so most people didn't play it until then). But the PS5 has simply been an excellent experience for me given how high quality everything has felt compared to the competition. I barely play anything on my Series X now and while I have tons of games on Switch, they aren't as appealing to play as PS5 games.

@LtSarge fair enough. But idk i ain't feeling it. I am not fond of the controller either.

The last couple of years I travelled a lot for work and opted to take my PS4, the OG because it is smaller, paired with an internal SSD and a Steam Deck. I did not take the PS5 with me because well it is huge and heavy. Before the release of FF16 (I am a huge fan of the series) I didn't miss it. I played on my PS4 God of War Ragnarok, RE 4 Remake, Resident Evil Village, Horizon Forbidden West, Sonic Origins, Atelier Sophie 2 and Stranger of Paradise. All those games run fairly well. However, when FF16 relased I knew I had to carry my PS5 with me. And, to be honest, there is nothing announced except Rebirth that I want and I can't day one play on the Deck or the PS4.

In any case something that is rarely talked is the horrendous PS5 UI that I hate with a passion. It is bloated with useless stuff, using a HDD via USB is a pain, games take forever to move like we are back in USB 2 ports. You cannot back up PS5 saves in USB.

Yet the biggest offender of all, the worst thing is that there is no way that I found to update a game without having it in the home screen!!!! There is no option to manually check for updates!

@WebHead
I'm the opposite.
Despite I don't have PS5 machine yet (already have the PS5 games) but I really want to play my PS5 games.
On my purchase list, I have written at least 80 PS5 games I can pick.
So far I have collected 11 PS5 games.
Also, I only play kids games, don't even care with AAA games so the reason I can get a lot of choices of kids games on PS5.

(I replied over here so as to avoid further derailment of the thread about the visual design of the PS5)

@Max_Headroom Yeah, I play zero online, but am quite happy with my PS+ Extra subscription (although not too thrilled about the recent price increase). The game catalogue, cloud saves, and sales make it worth the price for me.

@nomither6 It’s a really valid point about the simultaneous use of all the social networking and multimedia stuff you can do on PC. I do think PlayStation has Discord integration now, if I’m not mistaken, but I think they severed ties with Facebook. Most of the others it has also like Spotify, Twitter, Twitch, as well as all major TV streaming like Netflix, Apple, YouTube, etc. But yeah, I don’t think they can be run in tandem with a game. I never use my console for TV apps anyways since my Smart TV does them and I figure, why run two appliances when I can just run one.

I could see if a gamer was really into staying simultaneously connected with several things concurrently that PC would be much easier since you can flip between windows back and forth and run multiple applications at once. But yeah, for me personally that sounds awful. I’m trying to limit notifications I get, not add to them. 😅 Again, at a busy day job that’s what I do all day — people hounding me with messages and interrupting me to do stuff, and me having to email, message, and call people, collaborating with colleagues, bosses, and customers, web meetings and presentations… When I’m home I want people to leave me alone. 😂.

And I don’t even want to multitask by listening to a podcast while I game, much less concurrently watch a movie. My attention range just isn’t that wide and it feels like sensory overload for me.

But I’m probably in the shrinking minority. In a world of constant connectivity and instant bombardment of information, I could see PC being attractive to that subset. So I’ll definitely give you that and I do think you represent a growing subset of gamers who wants those features. And I do think PlayStation (and Xbox, and Switch) is trying to keep up by having the limited social media and streaming capabilities that they do have.

@Th3solution you can always mute your notifications on PC & adjust your settings - remember endless customization ? heh, not that it matters, different strokes for different folks i understand console provides a different need for you that you prefer . i don’t know about you , but i have something called a “social battery” and when it runs out , i want to be left alone and seek solitude & console was good at providing that - after a long day you can just come home hit the “appear offline” button and slouch on the couch and let a good RPG take you away . As i said consoles strong suit will always be conveniency, it’s great for busy people such as yourself .

that said though , i will always have a console around for exclusives & because keyboard and mouse SUCKS ! i was raised on controller and will die with a controller, sucks that i can’t play the new counter strike though because of no controller support! ugh

but hey, spider-man 2 is right around the corner & im hyped for that ! leaked reviews are saying it’s the greatest superhero game they ever played !

@nomither6 That’s a good way to put it - ‘social battery’. I run through my whole battery most days. It’s why I like Push Square because it’s easy to interact with on my own time without interruptions. And everyone here is nice and enjoyable to interact with.

But yes, Spider-Man 2 is looking more and more like a launch purchase for me. I was going to wait but as it gets closer the hype is building. So many games!

I have a question about the PS5 and automatic downloads/updates.

So, I turned off both system and game auto-update features but still when I install a game a then connect to the internet the console starts downloading the updates and installs them.

Am I missing on something here? I want to download and update everything manually.

It is really annoying that I have to cancel and delete everything manually because after having an internet connection all of my games queue and start downloading patches ...

Is this a bug?

@Kidfried I'll be surprised if it's less than that. And I'll question reality if it's less than 8

@Kidfried 9/10 with a Metacritic score in the 88-90 range is a pretty safe bet. Anything lower than 8/10 would be a complete shock.

@Th3solution I won't be surprised if the metascore is above 90 this time (even though the first one "only" had an 87)
Edit: I was right about the metascore, 91 after 63 reviews