Ainu20

@Beerheadgamer82 Tormented Souls is a nice throwback to PS1 era classic horror survival, something you don't see very often anymore. Hope you enjoy it, I did!

Even though it's just a state of play, I still expect one big announcement. My money would be on Ghost of Tsushima 2.

@OthmaneAD I'm very jealous of you if What Remains of Edith Finch is one of the worst games you've ever played.

@OthmaneAD How can anyone say they're not a great studio? That is madness. Publishers of indie gems like What Remains of Edith Finch, Outer Wilds, Neon White, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and so many more.

They might not have made a name as a developer, but they have perhaps the greatest indie publishing track record of all, together with Devolver.

This would be horrible, Annapurna are one of the best indie labels out there. It just seems to be one terrible blow after another in the world of video game studios these days.

I'm all for taking the piss out of it, but couldn't they find some, I don't know, funnier jokes? I feel like the internet has exhausted its meme game. Diminishing returns indeed.

@RiverGenie Of course, anyone can have valid reasons not to buy it, be it a matter of personal taste, financial situation or anything else. And no one should have to justify that decision.

But collectively, enough of us should be buying games of this quality. If not, we'll need to accept that we're not giving companies any incentive to create games like this or diversify their library.

I remain hopeful that this figure is not representative of a broader narrative though.

I have no idea what to make of all this. If Astro Bot really doesn't end up selling well, I can only say to gamers in general: we get what we deserve.

@StylesT It only sets a precedent if there's mass adoption, which there won't be and Sony also didn't target that.

@StylesT No reason to call them mongs. If they want the product and they're happy to pay for it, then I wish them all the best with their purchase. There's nothing inherently wrong with this, it's just not particularly accessible for the average consumer.

@Czar_Khastik I thought you meant the direct store, but after checking a couple of the biggest external eshops here, they're all at €139 as well. That's actually pretty surprising as these are usually cheaper than other direct stores (Samsung, Sennheiser et al), but in this case clearly not.

@Czar_Khastik It's €119 on the direct store in Belgium, really strange that you guys have to pay 20 extra for no clear reason.

@Zeke68 I just don't know on here anymore. I thought repeating it two posts in a row was a bit weird.

@Luna-Harmony I don't know where you got that information but the detachable drive comes with its cover plate included. The situation is bad enough as it is, no need to make it worse.

You could probably make a good case for the price by considering what you're getting, the current cost of components and the fact that they're not really drawing in new customers and thus not subsidising the cost like they usually do.

However, the problem is that, despite all that, it isn't very palatable to the overwhelming majority of customers. To the point where you have to wonder if this entire endeavour is even worth the R&D put into it.

Maybe there is a market segment out there that makes it all worth it for Sony, but it feels like they're also damaging their own brand a little bit in the long run. Or perhaps that's just because we're all part of this bubble that cares about this stuff, while the vast majority of gamers simply doesn't give a toss.

@PuppetMaster Obviously no chance that the PS6 will be 300-400 USD, but I do think the 500 for PS5 was pretty reasonable. That's what both the Xbox One and Series X launched at in 2013 and 2020 respectively. We can only hope that component costs start decreasing in the next few years and we start seeing some price cuts. If not, I fear for what the next generation is going to cost.

Regarding the Switch 2, I wouldn't be surprised if this too will sell for more than you'd traditionally expect from Nintendo. Even at lower specs, they can't escape the economic reality and getting everything into a handheld device certainly doesn't make it cheaper. The current climate for electronics is just really, really bad.

@PuppetMaster I think there's a significant difference between offering an upgraded model at a premium price and setting the price of your next base model that high as well. With PS5 Pro, they're not trying to get people to buy into the generation, that is done through the base PS5. The PS6 is a different story. Then again, the PS3 lauch happened.

Do I want one? Yes. Will I buy it at that price? Nope, just not going to happen. I can't imagine this will sell a lot.

It's clear that this thing is only meant for enthusiasts, but this is simply not going to sell in Europe and the UK at those prices.

Would be a shame if this ends up not selling that well. I think it'll get some pretty good numbers by the time the holiday season is over though.

To be fair to him, that bit at the beginning about not adding staff too quickly is sound advice. A lot of the post-covid lay-offs probably could've been avoided if companies hadn't done that.

He should've ended there though.

@LordAinsley Apparently having a woman as main character who isn't hot enough by their lofty standards is now DEI according to that lot. Or whatever else they'll come up with.

Lost your livelihood? Just go chill on a beach for a year! Here's an exec that clearly cares about the wellbeing of regular employees. Who wouldn't want to work for a generous boss like that?

Spare a thought for those poor shareholders. Breaks my heart that they should have to miss out on that third property they've got their eye on, but fortunately a quick staffing optimization might set things right.

Sony giveth, and Sony taketh away. All in a week's time. Couldn't they just accept the win Astro Bot gave them.

@Yagami No it's awful, Sony paid off all critics and players, including those on a Playstation focused site, to talk positively about it.

Good that they're looking to change it, but it's another example of why buying day one is generally* a bad idea.

*except in Astro Bot's case, what are you waiting for?!

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Absolutely agreed. You can try to avoid spoilers as much as you like, but when they're so obviously visible on PushSquare's front page, it's just impossible.

PushSquare, this is just disappointing stuff. Saying stuff is NOT included is just as much of a spoiler as saying that it is included. You could've handled this a lot better.

I think that can only be good news. It doesn't need to be another Uncharted with loads of action.

@Rodimusprime1313 How did you come to that conclusion? Since the launch of the PS5, we've seen new entries in the Horizon, God of War, Spider-Man, Gran Turismo, Ratchet & Clank and Astro IPs. And I'm not even counting non-PS Studios games that are still technically Sony IP, like Helldivers and Sackboy.

How are they only interested in new IP?

He's saying what Playstation fans want to hear, but does he truly believe it himself? I'm not convinced, but the next year or so will tell us a lot about the future direction of PS Studios.

@Lup Oh come on, that was more of a jab or roast, and at the same time a joke at his own expense (referring to his overlong speech). This is simply bitter, there's nothing funny about this.

You have to wonder just how miserable and sad someone has to be to resort to this sort of behaviour. It's just inviting ridicule from the entire industry and player base.

For what it's worth, I liked Days Gone but I'm not particularly sad that it will remain a standalone game. Surely not everything needs a sequel? It'd just be more of the same, and we've already got enough of that going on.

It's given Bend an opportunity to come up with something new and I don't see why we should all be so negative about that.

It's heartwarming to see everyone, critics, gamers and studios alike, come together in a joyous celebration of not just an incredible game (and yes, I'm playing it, as should you!) but a rich tradition that goes back three decades - and I'm old enough to have been there for all of them.

The Playstation of those early generations is still there, somewhere, it just needed something special to remind them of it. It's probably a bit utopic to think that this will reach upper management in the way we all hope, but I'd like to believe that every little bit helps.

And yes, spare a thought for Firewalk.

I feel like this quote must have been taken out of context. I'm not sure what he means by "early phase". They don't have a Mario, Zelda or Sonic, maybe that's what he means?

Looking at the aggregate scores, this is a glorious triumph. Everyone, please buy this.

@LifeGirl She doesn't need to look like her, she needs to look like someone who fits in the Star Wars universe. And she does, she looks perfect for the role. This madness needs to end.

@Korgon Exactly. They just launched a project that they'd been working on for about 4 years under his direction, it's completely understandable if he's a little disappointed with the reception. I would be too, we're all human and it certainly takes a better person than me to remain unaffected by criticism of my work, no matter how valid it is. It's equally understandable that he's looking for positives in this situation.

That doesn't mean he thinks his work is perfect or he's unable to recognise what they should improve upon. Some people seem to think that he needs to fall down on his knees and beg for forgiveness for the hot pile of steaming garbage he made or something.

@waynesworld I have no idea what's going on anymore. She looks absolutely fine, not that it even matters. The old "2/10 Would not bang" memes sadly still seem as relevant today as they ever did. Will we ever progress past this?

@themightyant There are definitely enough caveats mentioned in most reviews to wait for a good sale, but I'm at least cautiously optimistic about how much I'd enjoy it. Sometimes that's all I need.

@Frmknst Sometimes these are the games that I enjoy the most. Some jank here and there, questionable gameplay and technical stuff, but a great and immersive world to be in and memorable characters that stay with you.

That's at least the impression I get from having watched/read several reviews. I particularly enjoyed Skill Up's review, and how he said it all came together in a fantastic final act.

Not really the most comfortable looking controller, but it does look spectacular. I imagine this would sit nicely on a Warhammer collector's shelf.

@Thatguyoverthere I'm devastated for you that she doesn't meet your hotness standards. Will you be ok?

@Kienda I don't think MS have confirmed it at all. There's basically no new information in this article.

Am I missing something here, or does this just look like Paul Tassi doubling down and trying to save face? There seems to be nothing of substance here.

There's a lot of doom and gloom here, especially about the idea that Sony have moved away from their traditional single-player model towards live services. I get that, but it's important to remember that their three most high-profile live service projects - Concord, Fairgame$ and Marathon - are all from studios that weren't part of Playstation until recently and that have never delivered single-player games for Playstation.

Factions complicates this story a little bit, because that was definitely an instance of a traditional single-player studio trying to pivot towards live services, but fortunately that experiment has been abandoned.

Ironically though, people now seem to point to Factions as an example of a project that Sony should have gone through with, while that was literally the only known instance of a high profile single-player Playstation studio moving their focus away from their tradition. Why on earth do we suddenly see that as a good thing?

I have no problem with Sony trying to complement their single-player offerings with live service projects, if they're coming from newly acquired studios. In theory, beyond the resources spent on it, nothing is lost in terms of single-player studios, provided those are allowed to continue as before. With Naughty Dog back to focusing 100% on single-player, I'm optimistic enough that that is the case.

As a last remark, one thing I've seen mentioned and I absolutely agree with: Sony should look to complement their AAA offerings with some smaller projects, like Nintendo does with Super Mario Wonder and Zelda: Echoes, either with original IP or linked to their existing IP. There's just so much to win with that strategy: improve the release cadence, tell new and original stories that wouldn't fit in AAA projects, try out unique and interesting gameplay concepts that are too high-risk for the big titles and keep the fans happy. Really wish they'd do more of that, but fortunately we're at least getting something along those lines soon with Astrobot.

This is clearly not the time to try to raise excitement for Sony's next live service offering, no one is going to take that seriously. Regardless of what will come out of the aftermath of Concord, Fairgame$ will be in a seriously unenviable position. I suspect the people at Haven are pretty worried right now.

@__jamiie If you don't want to list them, don't. I've literally never listed mine nor ever felt pressured to do so, and I've never once been bothered by anyone else listing theirs. It's so utterly harmless, except to people who want to be outraged by something, I guess.

@Wallace80 Unless you speak a language where they don't exist (no idea if this is a thing), you've been using them your entire life.

Got to be honest, looking at it from a distance and reading the description, I would almost dismiss it at a glance. Yet everyone, including a lot of people whose opinions and tastes I really respect, seems to adore it.

Guess it's time to find out.