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@pumpkin_head Maybe the gameplay is better than the artwork, but with so many games out there, I'm not drawn to this stuff. I only really like retro-style games when they are doing something that wouldn't be possible on the old systems.
I don't think Lillymo are doing such great work that they deserve to get noticed, but they are defintely doing better work than stuff like depression quest that got an unfathomable amount of coverage. I'm interested in hearing about the new RPG that Colin is writing, so I will be ready to buy their games as soon as one looks worth it for me personally.

@tameshiyaku I didn't play Shenmue when it came out, but I was aware of it and wanted to play it back then. When it became convenient for me to play it, I got the remaster on PS4. I was able to get past the frustration of the controls etc. to find an incredible game in there for the first one and a decent sequel. I'm disappointed that Sega gave up on the remake of the original, because that would have been a chance to make a great game in its time a great game in our time.
I really hope that 4 does not get Kickstarted because that is a terrible way to make a game. It means that the game has to be made for the very hardcore.

The anime is decent, but they really rushed the Japan section and they made some annoying changes to move the story along. I think they even left out the iconic scene of Ryo riding the motorbike down the expressway in the snow.
I don't know where the anime is going to end. I doubt they would continue the story past 3, and there isn't that much material in 3 to make many episodes.
The same team should totally make a Yakuza anime, but I'd want them to not rush too much and miss important story beats.

@RudeAnimat0r Do you think that Yu Suzuki is an asset or a liability? I'm wondering if it would be better to keep him as a consultant only and not the director of the game, because I wonder if he would ever agree to fixing basic issues with gameplay.

This trailer looks great, now just remove the Disney characters and set it only in real-world Japan, and I'll buy if for sure.

@RudeAnimat0r @carlos82 People talk about it being impossible to make a good modern Shenmue game like they talk about it being impossible to have a good videogame movie adaptation. It really doesn't seem so much of a stretch to make a Yakuza game reskinned as Shenmue. The main problem with Shenmue is the way they made them. They were just too expensive for Sega and they didn't sell well because the Dreamcast didn't sell well. It is the weirdest series ever. The first game was a Dreamcast exclusive, the second game was an Xbox exclusive, and the third game was a PlayStation exclusive.
Anyway, there is definitely a great game in there in the right hands. Ryu ga gotoku studio can definitely do it. I'd love to see them do something that is not set in one or two big cities. I really loved the vibe of Onomichi in Yakuza 6. I really like the idea of them making a narrative road trip game like the last of us, but set in Japan in a real-world context.

@Uncharted2007 I'd say that the main problem with Shenmue 3 is that it achieved what it set out to do, and that was as you say to be a Dreamcast game. It was a game built for the Kickstarter backers and not for the general market. It was annoying that they didn't move the story on so much and there was an opportunity to make a modern game that still had the same essence of the originals. We can still root through drawers, but do we really need to press a button to open a drawer press the button again to zoom in and again to open a box in the draw. Just stuff like that where it was tedious for no purpose. It could still be a sim without it feeling more tedious than real life!
I have to say that I mostly enjoyed 3 and I'm glad I played it, but clearly it was a bad game. I hope that 4 comes, but with proper funding that is not a kickstarter.

@Jacko11 If you enjoyed the games, then great, but as much as I like Colin, I'll only buy his games when they appeal to me. It's not like Colin is struggling financially.

@wiiware @Jacko11 What is remarkable about Lillymo other than it is part-owned by Colin Moriarty? It's cool that he's getting out there and making games rather than just criticizing them, but none of their games look anything other than generic. I would support Colin if he had a way of donating directly and not through Patreon, who I cannnot support on moral grounds.

@BrockSmith They only deserve success with their games if their games are good.

@hbkay How does that make any sense? The service is just staying the same for people with the current PS+

@naruball I wonder how many people don't want to buy it on PS4 and can't get hold of a PS5. I'm in that boat. I just won't buy new games on PS4 anymore.

I know it's selfish, but I loved the days when Yakuza games came out months before the western release date. Imports are quite expensive, but it made them really worth it. It definitely made Yakuza 6 very special for me. I haven't felt that excitement for a game for a long time.

This is one of my most anticipated games.

Why don't Ubisoft just stop and take stock of their IP and really make a considered change to them like they did with Assassin's Creed? It feels like they are on such a production treadmill that they never get a chance to think.

If it comes to PSVR2, I'll check it out.

What is this Soccer thing the makers of eFootball keep talking about? This game has a huge potential market, but by releasing a totally broken incomplete game they have left themselves so much to do. As it's free-to-play cross-play, I'll probably give it a chance depending on feedback on how much it has been improved.

@KidBoruto I've never played them either. They seem like the kinds of games that I would absolutely play if they had modern controls and graphics, but I absolutely won't go back to the originals.

Maybe if they sell well we'll see a fourth installment?!

This is really cool news. I would definitely have played them if I had a PS2.

@Relygon You're doing it wrong. It's going to be the first game I play on PS5 when I can get one.

@Thelegend159 I think they had a major problem from the first game that it was basically only about Lara and the only one of the supporting cast that was interesting was Sam, and they basically left her out of the story. The other guy (Jonah I think) was cool. I don't even remember what happened in the last one. Then Square killed the momentum of the series by making it an Xbox exclusive for a year. The third one sounded great, but they didn't quite execute. I don't even remember what was bad about it.

@MFTWrecks I loved the one set in Japan. Each subsequent game left less of an impression than the last. I don't know what was wrong with them, because they were both ok. I love the series, but maybe it needed a rest.

I'm already sold on this one, but I'll probably play it when it makes it to PS+

I love Time Crisis and Virtua Cop

@Lem1697 I've played both and almost completely finished the sub-stories and side content in 0 and have a bit left to get to in Kiwami 2.

@Jacko11 There are a lot of clicks to be had to trashing Sony for not giving away everything. Which people are not in the real world and don't appreciate that if you value something, you should be prepared to pay a reasonable price for it?

@Mayhemlikeme It's going to be worth the money just because it is so incredibly cheap.

@Th3solution I think it's pretty clear that the window between when a game releases and when it is put on PS+ will be reduced. You can guarantee that there will be a few recent games or new indie games or they may just pay for the new game from a popular third-party series.
It really does feel like they are playing with fire. Because I feel like I am heavily being incentivised to spend less on PSN.

@Korgon That's a great point. I'm not sure it would be worth the money to pay for translations of old games, but it would be a really cool PR move, and I'd subscribe for the PSP Yakuza and a playable version of the vita Uncharted.

@Lem1697 I jumped in on Yakuza from 6 and I've bought a lot of them (I imported every PS4 game prior to 7, and I have Lost Judgment on PS5, but no PS5), but I haven't finished getting through the backlog. I find it painful to play the older titles because of the lack of animation and voiced story and sub-stories. I was planning on getting through 3, 4, and 5 and maybe playing 6 again, but 7 going turn-based put me off my mission of playing through the entire series. Apart from 6, for which I got the platinum, I haven't finished any of the other games. After a certain point I just mainline the stories and vow to get back to clean up the sub-stories and get most of the tophies. Instead, they keep on bringing out games faster than I play them. I'm very busy, but I'm trying to get back into 4, then I will definately play 5 after a break. When I finally get a PS5 Lost Judgment will probably capture me in a way that 6 orignally did.
I'm looking forward to the new direction that the new team will take the series or maybe just make something new.

@nessisonett Maybe they are distracted by developing the game across platforms? Anyway, all of these annualized sports games should be service games really.

@HotGoomba One of the negatives for the review is that it's baseball, but a positive is that it's not actual baseball.

Yakuza 7 is not better than 6, but at least 7 is an RPG.

It sounds like it will be ready for me to play when I get round to it. Remind me why anyone buys games on or near the release date.

This is a list of games that should be remade!

@Ken_Kaniff Personally I don't think Bethesda or Activision has anything that compares to Sega. The only think I can think of is Wolfenstein. Obviously, in terms of business, Activision and Bethesda are much more significant, but in terms of growth potential, Sony could take Sega and make them worth twice as much pretty quickly and develop some of the old IP. It just excites me more. Sony need more Japanese developers.

@themightyant The good thing about watching it on Youtube is the timestamps. I usually skip what they've been playing and the chat if it get annoying, plus I listen when I'm doing other stuff.

@Resi32 Presumably these people with PS3 games also have a PS3 though, right?!

@GADG3Tx87 No-one has PS3 discs anymore, if they did they'd have a PS3 that they could play them on.

@nessisonett Why announce that you are looking into something. Sony are much better off keeping quiet totally and letting people say what they want if there isn't a proper solution ready to go.

PS3 emulation on PS5 is more annoying than the BlueBox abandoned rumours at this point.

@themightyant If you have a good podcast people will wait a week to hear your take on it. I much prefer sacred symbols. I really love that they aren't playing games and talking about them before they actually come out.

@tsznx Last month was ok. This is a rubbish month, but actually I'm quite happy not to add anything to the backlog.

@Rob_230 If Sony could get agreements in place that their Japanese partners just stay independent, then that could work. As you say, it might start getting difficult for Microsoft to buy any more publishers. I would be fine with Microsoft getting Ubisoft and would be disappointed if Sony bought them. Sony buying Take Two or EA makes a lot of business sense, but personally I want Sega and Koei Tecmo making games for PlayStation, I just can't trust Sony not to kill off their smaller games, unless maybe they would be a good fit for the PS+ model. I could see all Sega and Koei Tecmo games coming to PS+ day one or maybe just the lower tier titles.

@UltimateOtaku91 Yes, but with the Bungie acquisition, Sony showed that they are comfortable working with a model where the company stays multi-platform, so I don't see a problem with Sony buying those companies and keeping their games on Nintendo systems, but making those games available for PlayStation players.

@Shepherd_Tallon Considering PS+ back catalogue, Sega and Square would be incredible buys as would Capcom.

@UltimateOtaku91 In business sense Atlus is more valuable, but to me, I'd rather Sony got Ryu ga Gotoku Studio. Hopefully it's the whole company and they keep making games for Switch too.

@RevGaming It sounds like Microsoft have been very hands-off with their studios. It works well if the culture is a good fit, but it can be a disaster otherwise. Sony had a smart business model of acquiring teams after they molded them in their image. Microsoft may have got a good price for Activision, but it will be very difficult to turn them around.

@get2sammyb Yep, it's just hungry, hungry hippos out there!

@BeerIsAwesome The main reason that Nintendo buying Sega doesn't make sense is that they don't have a multiplatform model and for Sega, PC and PlayStation are very important. The ideal would be if Sega moved into the same division as Bungie, i.e. the multiplatform wholly-owned subsidiary. It would be easy to stop making games for Xbox and continue with Playstation, Switch, and PC. Or they could even continue on Xbox if they want to maximize revenue.