Update #2: Well, yes, we can now say with complete confidence that the Stroke series is about to completely take control of the PS Store. Another 71 Trophies have emerged for a brand new title: Stroke the Hamster. And yes, it's exactly the same list: 2,000 pets will net you the Platinum.
Update #1: Perhaps with inevitability, Stroke the Cat has released on the PS Store, suggesting there are many more petting Platinums to come. A quick glance at Exophase confirms the Trophies are identical to Stroke the Dog. No sh*t, Sherlock!
Personally, we're looking forward to this series venturing outside of the domestic animals category. Like, Stroke the Porcupine would be entertaining, wouldn't it?
Original Story: As you know, the PS Store has become overrun with cheap and cheerful Platinum Trophy games. But here’s a real stat padding release: Stroke the Dog. At just £3.29/$3.99, the release has an eye-watering 71 Trophies for you to unlock – and all you need to do is, well, stroke the dog approximately 2,000 times.
“Dog: man’s (or woman’s) best friend,” the blurb reads. “We aren't all lucky enough to have one, but that should not mean that you don't get to stroke one whenever you like. Get a real life yet not actually real puppy in your front room or bedroom, or bathroom, or kitchen, wherever you have your TV. Stroke it as many times as you want, then stroke it some more. Relax with a dog.”
You’ll get a Bronze Trophy for every 25 pets or so, allowing you to significantly bolster the size of your virtual display case. We suppose this was always the natural next step for smaller developers looking to profit from Trophy collectors: we’ve already had the easy Platinums, but now it’s time for teams to cram as many gongs into their titles as possible.
Still, we suppose stroking a dog is a trifle more satisfying than tapping a mayonnaise jar.
[source psnprofiles.com]
Comments 95
Dang it, I just stroke my "dog" 5 minutes ago, I don't think I'm up for it again in the near future!
This belittles the fantastic trophy challenge system, leading to people rejecting the extremely fun and satisfying challenges in most games, and ultimately may lead to its loss. Sony need to put a stop to this.
How is this trash even allowed on the store?
This is the same "dev" behind Push Cross For Trophies. Sony wouldn't let them release that "game" so now they're releasing this garbageware. Cat and hamster re-skins are next.
Is it just the one dog you stroke 2000x or do you get to pick your dog breed or does the game just swap out dogs every few hundred strokes to keep things fun?
My dog reacts to other dogs on TV, so this might be a fun experiment if the dogs make actually sounds.
I guess this shouldn't bother me. But it really, really does. I like money as much as the next guy but I'd be downright embarrassed to carry garbage like this on my storefront.
Surely they could’ve used the word pet instead of stroke. Makes this game doubly embarrassing.
@Fight_Teza_Fight you seem to be confused thinking this might even resemble a game. It's just going to be a static picture of the dog from the thumbnail while you press cross 2000 times.
"stroking a dog is a trifle more satisfying than tapping a mayonnaise jar"
Nah! My name is Mayo 2 & 3 have far more though, effort and quality put into them then this garbage. Also don't ask me why I bought and platinum the Mayo trilogy 🥲
@Milktastrophe I don’t see myself buying this game, but it’s a free market.
These games obviously sell to those that want a quick platinum.
Let people buy what they want to buy. Sure it affects visibility for other games & that’s up to Sony to fix.
These games aren’t going anywhere. Not too long PlayStation Access- the official Uk channel, did a 4hr livestream or so to see which hosts could get the most amount of platinums. The games were pre-selected but the lineup had not Mayo1 & 2 in it.
As a side note, Nier Automata actually allows you to purchase all the trophies with in game currency. Is that ok?
why give this stuff attention? should be ignored as much as possible, let alone articles on it, that short on news today?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPkAj9zIr08
8 minutes of tapping X, while a picture of a dog is on screen.
@Fight_Teza_Fight what is the point of having platinum trophies? Does Sony reward you with free stuff or something?
Paying for trophies or doing some ridiculous task like petting a dog for a trophy is akin to cheating in a game. The win is meaningless.
Are people really that pathetic?
@Fight_Teza_Fight idk, I'm not big into trophies so this doesn't impact me much but this really does dilute their value. There are people putting on impressive displays of platinum-snagging and then you have the option to just basically buy them. And if you're just looking at totals, they all weigh the same. That's a busted system if you ask me.
Hardrive space theives
@GreatAuk For me, and I suspect a lot of other trophy hunters, part of the fun was competing in the leaderboards against other trophy hunters, but over the last couple years the entire system has been altered because of the massive influx of these 'press X for platinum' type games. Sure, there's always been some games that were easier/quicker to plat than others, but at least they were actual GAMES. It's gotten to the point now where anyone, regardless of skill, could earn 100 platinum trophies in a single day provided they are willing to drop the cash on garbage like this game (or any of the 100+ that exist or will be released). For me, stuff like this has taken a lot of the fun, satisfaction, and sense of achievement out of the trophy hunting game.
@liljazzy2 Only in America.
Thanks for the tip, will immediately buy.
If you like this game there is also stroke the cat and stroke the hamster. Guessing the creator is stroking his ego and beard at the fact this was allowed on the ps store while sonys pr team is having a stroke
@zupertramp @GreatAuk Trophies don’t have any real value. No rewards, discounts, etc. I do care about them if I like a game enough, because I would’ve seen everything a game has to offer.
IMO a good trophy list is a checklist that will allow the player to experience the most out of a game.
@Fight_Teza_Fight Nier Automata is an actual game with real gameplay mechanics. So yes, it's ok that it's allowed to release on PSN.
The saddest part is there are AAA $70 games out there that are worse…..🤣
@nicc83 fair enough. I suppose it’s only embarrassing on one level in the UK.
We need more of this to finally kill off this trophy hunting nonsense. I'l be waiting for @liamcroft to write a review of this. He has a reputation to uphold on these animal games
Tie trophy value to rarity, which PSN already tracks. Watch as the people who invested hundreds of smackers into games like this melt down.
@Richnj so it's not even moving? I thought so after seeing the cat version of this game, At least make it look realistic stroking like Nintendogs or something lol
@GreatAuk that's the 1st thing I said when I saw the cat version of this "game" 🤣🤣
@NEStalgia Well, I can't let you all down
@huyi Nope. I was expecting a cute petting animation too.
I've played some stupidly easy games and got plats (and do not feel bad because of the number of plats I've been cheated out of with closed servers), but there was always some effort from the devs and fun in them.
There's zero effort or fun here though.
@Fight_Teza_Fight Just don't do it, dude. You gotta vote with your wallet, and if people keep buying, this junk is gonna keep getting pushed out! 🥲
Edit: I also had no idea you could do that in Nier. That is an odd choice! Guess you still have to 'earn' points through gameplay, but I see your point.
@Fight_Teza_Fight no they don't have any "real" value, although Sony Rewards did have the trophy pass program up until 2019 which allowed users to earn points on trophies and I think they'd be a little more willing to crack down on this nonsense were that still around.
But anyway back to value, accolades rarely do have value except to the recipient. And that value, unquantifiable as it may be, is surely being diminished by a pay per plat scheme. It'd be like if I could just buy an Olympic gold medal just all normal like, at the store.
This sounds too hard. Let me know when they release a Choke The Chicken game, had plenty of practice at that. I’d be good at that game.
Must pet all dogs!
I also saw stroke the cat too on the store.
www.doesthedogdie.com
Where is the gameplay video of Stroke the Dog?
"To be honest, why don't we skip the whole development process and start selling platinum trophies and trophy bundles instead"
F. Sony
@avatarian OMG that's the future isn't it? Launch Day digital pre-order bundle includes 5 hour early access, Knack costume, and unlocked platinum trophy only $124.99!
Don't doing an excellent job of "lowering the barrier for entry"
You reap what you sow
8% of Mayo don't have platinum.
It's amazing.
This needs to be pulled from the store, devs banned for life and everyone who got these trophies should have their PSN accounts shut down permanently. Unacceptable.
Sony on shovelware recently: “If Nintendo can do it, we can too!”
There should be a platinum trophy for scrolling through all of these rubbish 'indies' that clutter the PS Store.
I do like trophies and achievments in games but ive got to say that the trophy situation on playstation at the moment is messed up.
Theres a stupid amount of reskinned games all attempting to cash in on the Platinum trophies. At this point Sony needs to do something to stop crap like "The football F" & "Jumping whatever" appearing and then been reskinned and sold again.
They could start by having one list per game and format regardless of format and then scrap regional variations.
@Richnj Holy crap, I thought at least you would pet a dog, not a stock photo would be removed. At least the mayonase game had an animation as I recall. This has to be removed. This is just insane.
@LazyLombax not really.... This game makes other shovelware look high-effort. It's really amazing.
@Jaz007 No really, Saints Row is that bad.
really disappointing you guys are giving this MORE promotion.
means people giving them money, and them staying cluttering the store. you guys getting a cut?
this stuff shouldnt be on there and Sony should do a better job on it.
Just discovered a "studio" named The Voices Games that has a bunch of filthy garbage in the store, for example something called Lady in a Leotard With a Gun.
If is that easy getting on the store maybe I should buy a couple of random Unity assets, put them in a blender and present that to the PS store and see if they put my game up 🙂
It's Stroke the Hedgehog before porcupine (and still hamster at some point).
Is there any video gameplay or screenshots about that game?
Is that similar as Nintendogs?
@get2sammyb So is the Pushsquare review for this title incoming perhaps?
@somnambulance Liam promised!
@NEStalgia I cannot wait to see how it reviews!
My god, I'm a trophy hunter but I would never buy something like this, I platinum games that are meaningful, not rubbish like this smdh
@Anti-Matter no, it's just a image of a dog/cat and you press X thousands of times to get plat, that is all there is lol
I feel as though i should unlock a trophy everytime pushsquare covers these little horrors. If people want trophys that bad then so be it but at least make a decent game with easy trophys to unlock..
Well, I do like cats..
@somnambulance I really need an in depth comparison to the petting mini game in the Japanese version of Fire Emblem Fates. It's not PlayStation but I think the community is really owed a solid look at how it compares to the genre gold standard.
Update the article with Stroke The Hedgehog and Stroke The hamster also on the store.
I'll do the review for this one if we get a code.
I will wait for stroke the wookie.
Then i can be like han solo!
God...when is Sony going to put a stop to these games.
@kairu when theres articles on them it pushes more people to notice it, in Turn more gullible sales, leading to more shovelware
They even used the word 'animal' in the trophy description so they can just copy and paste them from game to game
Sony should just sell platinum trophies. Maybe £5 each? What's the point in trophies now, with games (I use the word 'game' loosely) like this.
Playstation Stars rewarding you with PSN funds for obtaining trophies will make the sales of these kind of games skyrocket...
For the 25 times trophy it actually says, STOKE the animal 25 times, not stroke...
Makes you long for the days when having the Hannah Montana platinum trophy was as shameful as it got 🤣
I actually love Miley Cyrus too and think she has an amazing voice but even I didn’t play that Hannah Montana game for an easy plat.
Atari era game industry collapse vibes
Quick let's get together and buy a Push dev kit so we can make a game where you get a platinum trophy for letting your DS controller's battery run out. We're gonna' be riiiiich!!!
Removed - inappropriate; user is banned
"Games" like this are just feeding into people's addictions now. When I see people bragging they have thousands of platinum trophies that they basically just spent loads on quick 5 minute games then I don't see that as an achievement but how much time and disposable cash they have. It used to be some what of a challenge I the early days of trophies and achievements in games where something like a platinum trophy meant you put time and effort in now those get burried under a mountain of shovelware.
I blame Sony for this. These things aren't even games. They should have never been published on the ps store. Some quality control would be good for almost everyone.
@get2sammyb why is pushsquare basically advertising shovelware? 3 times now.
@naruball there should be, but while sites like this advertise them, (reputable) more chance people are scammed and more appear
@Kairu Add the word simulator to the end of them and you'll get them day 1 on GP
"Get this trash off my store!" Is what I wish somebody at Playstation was saying. Pet the dog? Pet the cat? Pet the hamster? What's next Pet Jim Ryan?
Edit: Oh excuse me it's Stroke not Pet.
bonus trophy feed hamster to the cat and get the dog to chase after the cat
Say what you want it’s genius. There’s a market of trophy hunters out there that must be playing these games. 🤣
@Smiffy01 I appreciate this comment very much 😂
@tallythwack Wee bit banter for a friday no harm done
Stroke the snakes next
@Smiffy01 true 🤣
..................
I take it all back. It appears that this is to be the PS5's identity......
@Korgon That one's called "Promotion Simulator"
The trophy system on PlayStation has just become worthless. 15 years of trophies have just been made useless in the space of a few months.
Most of the time if a release was on multiple consoles and PC I would choose the PS version for 1. The controller and 2. the sense of progression and community, but now not so much..
Let me guess, the music track includes the novelty song "Don't Pet The Dog".
The word on the street is that gamers that were bad and don't go to heaven have only the Stroke games to play.
If you want to see how depressing this all is and even for the absolute top tier trophy collectors I recommend checking out the psnprofiles leaderboard. ViensDanser is No.1 in the world and his list is now nothing but these games. A really impressive profile once upon a time reduced to utter misery.
The speed at which some of these Platinums can be unlocked is madness. For example he unlocked the platinum in the JP version of 'Chicken Quiz' in just 13 seconds!!
Most of these games are beginning to make a new race to the bottom in how quickly a platinum can be achieved. The 'new' Pizza Fun (Logo the same as Pizza Run just changing a single letter) is apparently a sub 1 minute platinum.
Sony are ***** idiots for letting this ***** on the store. It has done irreversable damage to their trophy system and it has made the 'new games' part of their store a complete disaster which I now look at less and less and that has to be a trend across the board. I mean why would I bother to look when all that is going to be there is 90% complete trash.
This is a well established IP by now, so when are we getting our long overdue Stroke the Dog Remake?
well, just don't buy it. problem solved
We need quality control for crap like this. Not just PlayStation store games but across all media. There should be a certain bar that games and entertainment need to hit in order to be released. I really enjoy collecting trophies on games I like and now with all this shovelware it feels pointless
This kind of thing is so cringe.
@GreatAuk It's a disgrace
@stvevan agreed!
@get2sammyb The list has evolved, since this article there's been:
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