Apfelschteiner

It would be great if these studios could dump the licenses and put out some of their own games without having to fit the latest trends. Dumping these studios to pursue block chain and NFTs is such a terrible waste.

@jdv95 The reason they are keeping the IP is because they don't own the studios that produce them. SE clearly does not want to manage Western studios.

@RavenWolfe81 They could have made Crystal Dynamics a second Santa Monica studio.

@Kopite Harry Potter DC Comics and Lord of the Rings would all be part of the deal as ongoing licenses for those teams. It would be the equivalent of what they are doing to Insomniac in making them a license studio. They wouldn't be my first choice, but the business argument is strong. I can't help feeling that Microsoft buying Activision is becoming a millstone around their necks as while they have the spare cash, they can't buy any more studios until the Activision deal goes through.

@UltimateOtaku91 You'd imagine that they would have given Sony a heads up (why wouldn't they want more interest to drive the price up), or are they not really that close?

Microsoft also didn't pick them up. To me it seems like there is more to this story. Like another person said, maybe it was necessary to take on the debt or also take on a studio that they didn't want to get the IP.

@GADG3Tx87 That's hardcore getting platinums for Yakuza 1-7. I only have the platinum for 6, which incidentally was my first Yakuza game, is my favourite, and was the easiest platinum to get from the lot. I must not be that far off of the 0 platinum, but I decided to catch up on the series and play through the story and substories of the other games and Judgment games before I come back around to finish off some plats (ideally for all of them). I especially want the Isshin plat. I own all PS4 Yakuza games, but I lost interest when it was confirmed that Yakuza 7 would be turn-based. Aside from the essence of the Yakuza games being fast kinetic action that leaves your heart pumping, I just don't like most turn-based combat. I played the demo for 7 and I love the sound of the story, but the combat is so dull to me. It's cool to see those animations first time, but It soon got dull. I did like final fantasy XV, so hopefully the combat gets adjusted for Yakuza 8. The other problem I had with 7 was that it was not fully-voiced like 6 was. It felt like such a downgrade. I'm going to get round to 7 eventually and grin and bear it (maybe I might even learn to enjoy it), but I don't feel any urgency to catch up. I was just getting back into 4, but then I got a PS5 and now Nioh 2 ultimate edition, Ghost of Tsushima, Kena Bridge of Sprits, Lost Judgment, and probably Stray and Cyberpunk 2077 are ahead of Yakuza 4 for me now.
I'm excited to see what the new leadership of Ryu ga gotoku studio will do in future.

@Korgon Sleeping Dogs is up there as one of the best open-world games of all-time. That games kept me engaged right up to the platinum after which there was literally nothing left to do.

@GADG3Tx87 Amazon are already a publisher. They also had/have a streaming platform Luna (knowing that obscure knowledge feels like getting a point for a quiz question).
My worst scenario would be Microsoft getting Sega. I love the Yakuza games. I really feel like with the right support and budget that game could sell on the same scale as Sony first party games. The problem would be that Sony appears to have no interest in AA games, and I love what Sega do in that space. I'd love Sony to invest in Koei Tecmo, but I don't want Sony stopping them making their smaller games and censoring the kinds of games that they make.

@GADG3Tx87 Amazon could make games exclusive to their platform if they still have one, aside from that Amazon and Disney are pretty evil megacorps. Tencent is probably the best of the bunch, but their profits are bankrolling communists and they will no doubt have an influence on chilling free speech. On balance, I would prefer Tencent to buy a company that makes games that I love over Microsoft.

@themightyant I consider the whole push towards a subscription model to be a major threat to the viability of premium games (i.e. games that are worth playing). Microsoft has also triggered the mass-acquisitions and part of that has not been forthcoming with which games will be exclusives. There are lots of little examples that people don't remember or don't mention. Xbox was about to raise the price of game pass (it was right to do so, like Sony was right to charge extra for PS5 upgrades, but Sony got a lot of stick for that).

@pumpkin_head I guess the difference is that Sumo digital is a very well-run business with a big head-count of staff. Maybe the value is more about the people than the IP because Bungie don't have any IP that compare to Tomb Raider.

@themightyant Take2 were about to buy Codemasters before EA swooped in with a higher offer. Maybe this isn't all over, or maybe the circumstances are just different.

@Nepp67 The steam numbers don't really concern me. Perhaps they are a reflection of the PlayStation numbers, but there will have been a big boost from PS+ players. I'd love to play an open-world narrative-based Robin Hood game, but as soon as it is multiplayer only, I'm out.

@Priyesh I'd say that it was an objectively ok month, but I have no interest in even putting any of these games into my library.

@DualWielding I won't put any of these in my library. I absolutely know that I will never be so low on games that I will want to play any of these.

@themightyant At the same time that Microsoft have been making some pro-consumer choices, their anti-consumer practices have been largely ignored and Sony in comparison has been harshly treated for their bad choices, but not really praised for their good choices. It was probably the opposite in the last generation, but for some reason there has to be a narrative for the games media and also among gamers rather than taking each policy on its own merits.

Square Enix have at a stroke cut my interest in their games in half.

@4kgk2 Are you thinking that this makes a Sony acquisition of SE more rather than less likely? Tomb Raider is clearly the crown jewel. Maybe Sony would have liked the film rights at least. Maybe they think that Uncharted is going to be bigger, or the two franchises are too similar? Sony don't tend to want to take over badly run studios. It surprises me that Microsoft wouldn't scoop up Tomb Raider, but I'm glad that they didn't.

@themightyant What I can't believe is why they wouldn't take advantage of a bidding war. I suppose SE do have a pretty decent track record of doing right by their former studios even if it's not the best business move (with IO being the prime example).

Does Embracer now have the rights to Sleeping Dogs? Out of anyone to acquire these studios and IP, Embracer are a pretty decent one. I would hate for them to be gobbled up by Microsoft and how likely would Sony be to focus on the smaller IP or dormant IP like Sleeping Dogs?

@themightyant This move is not surprising, but it's also not a good business move. Square have not really known what to do with their western studios. This just seems like a terrible deal along the lines of letting IO interactive go indpendent. With proper management these studios and IP could be really something. Even if we can understand the logic of focusing on the Japanese side of their business, it makes no sense that SE would not be trying to get Microsoft to offer a billion for their western studios. The other question is why keep life is strange and Just Cause?
Surely this shows that Sony are not going to be buying SE. Why wouldn't Sony bag Tomb Raider (it is worth it for the movie rights alone) in a deal for the whole of Square Enix.

Nioh 2 for me, and Kena with my daughter, maybe a bit of it takes two with the wife.

Usually pixel art and roguelike descriptors put me off, but add samurai and a reasonable price and I will probably check it out.

@UFCfan I looked into it again thanks to your comment and got it working. Thanks! One less thing for me to complain about!

@Juanalf As other people have said, you give notification, you give people motivation to get in before the loophole is closed.

@UFCfan Thanks, I can't work it out. My TV used to link to my PS4, but I think I turned it off and it doesn't work for my PS5.

@Enigk You can leave your PSN account to someone in your will and the gamble is worth it because you will save over time. I don't care enough to get a discount on PS+ because it is such a cheap service for what you get that I'm happy to pay full price.

@themcnoisy Sony are evil, Microsoft are angels does seem to be the narrative. It makes me wonder if the gaming press are getting paid to say that. Most of the situations are just reasonable, like asking for more money for a better product that has had extra effort put into it, and actually asking customers to pay the correct price for PS+.
There are other annyoying things that Sony has to fix like have a proper fast resume function that works on all games, not automatically download PS4 versions when a PS4 disc is inserted, and allow the PS5 to link to the TV so the TV automatically turns on when you press the PS button.

@get2sammyb How much a corporation makes does not have any bearing on whether their actions are moral, it's more that you think that they can afford it.

@tomassi You might have a point in general, but this is not the hill to die on. Microsoft are doing much worse things to the industry. All of their "consumer-friendly" initiatives are all about them making a profit. All these corporations are the same. Sony just make better games.

@UFCfan You seem to be the only person on here who's not an entitled gamer! No wonder we are getting free to play junk all the time, people just don't want to pay for anything.

@Resi32 Make your own choices with your money, but don't whine about Sony closing a loophole that people were exploiting. It's their fault that they allowed people to buy cheap subscriptions, but it's fair play for them to close the loophole.

@get2sammyb It seems perfectly reasonable for Sony to fix a loophole. It's fair enough that they lost out with the people who got in early. I don't understand why people feel so entitled.

I don't really have time for Dreams. Dreams is the game I wish that I had when I was 13. It's a great way of gaining experience and showcasing talent.

Stray is my most anticipated game. Really looking forward to this one!

@L_Bosch The only people who I was saying are groomers are people who would deny parental rights to be informed about their own child's well-being.

@get2sammyb I don't think saying that I am boycotting Disney is off-topic for a story about a Disney game.

It's really obnoxious for these people who only really use Twitter to humble boast about their amazing jobs.

@NOLIMITGHST Except they aren't really experiencing the next gen with the S, it's more like a half-step. It only makes any sense as a game pass machine for parents who are fine with giving their kids curated gaming that most likely means that they will miss out on most of the best games and will get a lot of time fillers along with the odd gem.

These sales are just a trick to make me spend money on games that I'd like to play, but probably never will, and if I do they will probably be cheaper by then. I only put select games in my wishlist and if they go on sale I will think about buying them, but maybe not even then.

@Godot25 I didn't realize that Deathloop is PS5 only (not PS4).

@themightyant The thing about competing on price is that there is always something cheaper. There are so many games on mobile that are free to play and most people already have a phone. Series S would be the kind of thing that a mum would buy for Christmas because the shop assistant pushed her toward it. I wonder how long the Series S will still be able to play the latest games.

@Floki There are no next-gen games on Xbox, and there are only about 4 on PS4 (only Astro's Playroom, Returnal, Ratchet & Clank, and Ghostwire Tokyo come to mind).

@themightyant If people want the cheaper option, they need to go for the disc version, unless they only want to play the games that are on a curated list of games that are old or not so popular. Anyway, it's pretty obvious that consumers don't always go with the superior product. There are a lot of stupid things about the PS5 that Sony really should have had straight. It was ridiculous that Microsoft was making a big deal about how the system should just automatically recognize what version of the game you should play, until we found out that even to this day every time you try to play a PS5 version of a PS4 game you have on disc, the PS5 automatically downloads the content for the PS4 game even though the PS5 version is already there. Some games have fast resume from the cards, but many don't.

@themightyant If my kids want a console, they can either have my old one or save up their own money. The point is, that if you want just value you get a second-hand Xbone if you happen to like Xbox, you get the series X. The guy in the shop will probably tell you that the X and S are the same generation, but in reality, S is more like the Xbone Pro (I can't remember the name of that thing).