BacklogBrad

I'm passing on this one. I wasn't that crazy about the game on my first playthrough that feels like it was only a few months ago.

Companies need to get comfortable with digital piracy. I am more and more a fan of emulation with each day.

(I am probably one of the only ones here that still buys cds and dvds as well as games)

That's the PR way of saying he is not interested.

I'm going to have a retro weekend for the 3 day weekend. I've been playing Diablo 1, Series Sam 1st encounter, and Quake 2. Might dive into a jrpg if I finish a couple of those. Something like Final Fantasy 9 or Vagrant story.

@DeathlySW yeah they are a great idea but almost never implemented successfully. Seeing how much money they collect is upsetting too. I got to the point where I treat union jobs as a last resort.

I'm currently in the banking industry and being able to leave to the competition if I hear things are better somewhere else seems to be enough for them to make sure our pay, benefits etc are satisying. Probably a better system than if we were all in a union and all companies were agreeing on the same workplace policy.

This has been my professional experience with unions as well. They protect their bread winners and screw everyone else.

I wouldn't get hopes up about a grand change in strategy. This is really just a continuation of them releasing AA games on other platforms like Ori or live service games Sea of thieves/minecraft.

Not really a shocking revelation if well received small titles like HI Fi Rush or Pentiment are ported around.

I wouldn't be shocked if Sony was thinking the same thing about their smaller games that do nothing for console sales. Twisted Metal, Returnal, sackboy, etc. Why not open them up to the 120 million switch users?

@11001100110zero i do that from time to time where i go a month or two without touching my ps5. I play 3rd party stuff on other platforms so I'm mostly just playing the exclusives from ps4/5.

I did get to be a part of history in December but it was spent playing Forspoken so i wasn't exactly having the time of my life.

Xbox makes a ton of money selling 3rd party games through their consoles. They won't be letting that go anytime soon. It's already known that a new Xbox gen is coming in 26 so you're looking at least another decade of Xbox hardware, probably longer. They don't care about the number of units they sell but it's still a highly profitable sector for them.

Hi fi Rush is speculation. The rumor is just a highly acclaimed game that was in game of the year discussions at the time of the release. That doesnt necessarily mean the Keighley's, it doesnt even mean its a recent game. It could be forza horizon 5, flight sim, age of empires 2, pentiment or even then the Ori games to ps5.

Oversaturation really only becomes an issue when your live service game is a copy paste of the other mega hits. It would be foolish to think another cookie cutter battle royal can compete with fortnite, COD, apex, etc.

An innovative live service can absolutely succeed. I think the Finals is a decent example of bringing a fresh enough idea while sharing some similarities to the others.

So much for my 2024 wish of no more needless updates from ps4/xb1 era.

Little nightmares plays and looks great as it is. I don't currently see the point in buying a "next gen" edition.

I'm digging deep into my backlog this weekend. Hopefully I can complete a couple of these older games.

Xbox - call of duty modern Warfare II (2022)
Playstation - trover saves the universe (psvr1)
Nintendo - Kirby return to dreamland
Pc- prince of persia 2008, gta San andreas

I think it's a great game now, just can't find the time required for these ongoing games. It is a legitimate Fallout experience.

I would definitely put it on the no man's sky, Cyberpunk list of successful turnarounds.

VR paradox - user base is small because the game library is lacking, the game library is lacking because the user base is small.

I don't know if it will ever get out of the niche corner of gaming and become mainstream. Personally, I see 95% of VR games as cheap gimmicks. It's hard to justify the hardware cost on such a small number of quality games(especially the psvr2 which will likely be tied to this console gen only).

Hopefully you will be able to turn it off and rock a traditional difficulty setting. I'm not a fan of the handholding that already happens in a lot of modern games.

One of the things I hated about the last of us was that it was a collectathon and encouraged exploration but the second you wandered off the most direct path to the next cutscene you were bombarded with the "does someone need a hint?" messaging. It made me want to scream at the screen "I'm looking for resources and collectibles like I'm supposed to be doing."

Final Fantasy 7 remake also had a thing where if you stopped moving for a second one of the companions would just tell you exactly how to solve the puzzle and it drove me nuts. I would like to be challenged by the puzzles and not have my hand held.

Seems more like ineptitude than an outright scam. Couple that with the weak economic environment and its easy to see a scenario where they are not only failing to realize their vision but they weren't able to put out much of a functioning game at all.

Assume it is only xbox/pc until you hear otherwise. This should be the approach for all xbox games except call of duty.

The call of duty community actually seems pleased with the game. I havent played it yet so i cant give a personal opinion yet. I really don't think they care that much about poor reviews especially when you consider that they only paid for 17 months of development time and it still sold like hot cakes.

It's probably more likely that they abandon the singleplayer campaigns before doing any sort of overhaul. I always found it kind of strange how the campaign gets like 90% of the review coverage but 10% of the players actually play the campaign. It will always be a multi player game at its core. Campaign and zombies are a bonus until they finally get the axe.

Pc- just cause 2, stalker
Xbox- Halo infinite, dark pictures the devil in me
Ps5 - forspoken

I fully support this decision. If I'm expected to sit through over 3 hours of content, I would much rather it be game trailers and not some dev thanking everyone they know.

So we might get a case where Sony takes over, the people that wanted that freedom will leave, and Sony will be left holding multiplayer FPS IPs that they don't know what to do with. Sounds like a crappy situation. Hopefully they can meet their targets.

Wasn't the whole purpose to shore up their lack of multiplayer/live service knowledge? If Bungie blows up they will be back at square one. Embracer level screw up of an acquisition.

@Jamesblob I don't see the connection between buying a publisher and putting a game streaming service on a rival platform.

They still have the desire to put it on playstation and nintendo. There are no active negotiations going on because they know that neither party has any interest in allowing gamepass on their console.

Like I said in the other article, this is exactly like the "they are trying to buy nintendo" reports. If that was actually possible they would be very interested but until it is possible all they can do is continue as usual.

Literally nothing has changed in the last couple weeks. They have had this desire for a long time now and will continue to have this desire for a long time.

There is a big difference between desire to do something and actively working on something. Xbox's stance on this is exactly the same as it was a week ago, month ago, year ago, etc.

@somnambulance I really doubt this gamepass on playstation and nintendo is anything more than wishful thinking on xboxs part. I doubt they are having active discussions about it with Sony or Nintendo. It is probably one of those " if the opportunity ever arrives" type of things.

Like technically Sony shouldn't be interested in having disney+, Netflix, etc on their devices but after weighing the pros and cons it makes sense to have them. I know they signed a deal to make content for netflix but they are technically competitors in the movie/tv space. Maybe one day gamepass will make sense too (hard to imagine).

@somnambulance they would still sell enough of them to make it worth while. They have the established ecosystem. People will want their gamerscore, friend list, digital libraries, etc. There are still plenty of people tied up in their consoles to abandon.

They have already acknowledged that gamepass does not reach the entire user base and never will. People will always buy games and they are well aware of that. They will make 100% of the profits of call of duty sales on xbox compared to playstation where they have to give a cut to Sony. They make about 30% off of every 3rd party game that sells on xbox. Isn't that worth spitting out a box for?

They might not give it their full attention but they will always have a box if there is still a market for home consoles.

@somnambulance I don't get the sense that they are exiting the console space. The bulk of their gaming revenue is from sales of 3rd party games on xbox consoles. I dont see them giving up on that easy money. I also don't think they would have such an emphasis on having the two system approach of the powerful and budget models.

Their focus is just not on being the best selling console. They have already admitted defeat on that front. Instead of convincing people to abandon their favorite platform, maybe they can convince them to buy a Series S as well, or gamepass on pc/mobile/cloud, etc. In the future they want to be able to sell a subscription to even more people that they already know do not want to buy their consoles.

I think it's a little bit of a pipe dream to expect it to come to those platforms and xbox probably knows that. I think this is similar to the "they want to buy nintendo" reports where they were basically just saying "boy, wouldn't that be nice."

To clarify this is nothing new. They have the same desire they had years ago. They will have the same desire in 5 years when GP still isnt on playstation/nintendo.

Until xbox says we don't want to put gamepass on playstation we should just assume that they still do want to put it there.

That's a pretty big insult for a team of writers to have their work mistaken for AI. I bet it has been painful for them to see all these tweets from crappy people.

I believe they are saying potentially closing to leave the door open for a last minute sale. The issue with that is it is a relatively obscure IP and unproven studio that Embracer reformed in 2021. We don't really have an idea of what state their game is in either. Not sure anyone will see that as a fit.

From a collectors standpoint, I wouldn't mind having one of these but I'm struggling to come up with a use case in my current gaming lifestyle. I think I'm passing on this unless fomo gets me and i shelf a sealed box for a couple decades.

I have mostly avoided sealed box collecting or things I don't play but it might end up bugging me if this and psvr2 are added to the very short list of playstation hardware I don't have in the collection.

Xbox - starfield
Nintendo - New Super Mario bros 2
Sony - Farpoint (psvr1)
Pc - Civ 6, Lamplighters league (pc gamepass)

My personal list goes Starfield, Pikmin 4, Resident Evil 4 but I haven't played spider man 2 or alan wake yet.

Psvr 2 seems like a reach for hardware of the year. ROG Ally or Lenovo Go easily beat it in my opinion.

I do like the idea of a smaller ps5. I hate the look and size of my original model. This one is not enough of a "slim" for me to bother. I also need it vertical in my office and having to pay extra for the vertical stand is a slap in the face.

I am no longer a subscriber. I am able to justify a NSO and game pass sub but just couldn't anymore with ps+.

The horizontal "stand" is the tech equivalent to sticking a sugar packet under it.

Xbox - Lamplighters league, cities skylines 2
Playstation - parasite eve
Nintendo - Mario wonder
Pc - steamworld dig

@Old-Red nintendo uses contractors and treats them like crap (referred to as "red badges" by full time employees and even "the dating pool" according to a sexual harassment complaint). To avoid labor laws they run 10 month cycles and have 2 month breaks without pay. This way they dont need to pay for their benefits like a full time employee.

Female contractors have complained about a large number of sexual harassment incidents and claimed they are stalked by some full time employees. They even alleged that female hires are warned to keep their distance from certain senior employees.

One contractor complained to the media that they were told if they went to their grandpa's funeral they would no longer have a job.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-report-alleges-nintendos-female-contractors-faced-sexual-harassment/1100-6506583/

https://www.axios.com/2022/05/12/nintendo-contractors-investigation

I think it is more indicative of the global economy and not the games industry. I survived a big round of layoffs (for now anyways) at the bank I work for. Not many people are bullish on the next few years across the globe.

A lot of people point to consumer spending as a sign that everything is hunky dory but consumer dept is skyrocketing.

I'm out of town this weekend so I just have my switch and ROG Ally. I will play more cities skylines 2 when I get home.

Switch - Mario Wonder
Ally - dead island 1, the evil within

Completed the first one multiple times amd love it but waiting for a sale on the second one. I almost never pay full price for a digital game. I probably won't check this one out until its $20 somewhere.

Makes sense to keep the holiday launch in this case. These are really minor bugs.

Xbox - starfield (almost done with second new game+ run. Haven't decided if I'm doing another one or finally moving on.)
Playstation - Resident Evil 7
Nintendo - pikmin 4
PC - emulation

I will definitely play this one but might end up waiting for a sale. I'm hoping black Friday 2024 will have it for $20. I have a mountain of games I haven't gotten to yet.

I liked the other two games but I'm not a big Marvel or Spiderman guy. I can conquer the FOMO in this case.

There is really zero reason to "upgrade" from the current ps5 model.

The only thing that I care about is how this appears to be a money grab situation. Not only are they cutting costs on manufacturing, they are also raising the price. Literally all marketing images show the ps5 vertically but now they are charging extra for that vertical stand and the horizontal stand looks ultra cheap.

@Flaming_Kaiser to quote the official Circana post. "Top 20 games (Physical and full game digital from eshop,playstation, steam, and xbox platforms)."

Digital sales are included. The caveat is that it is done at the publishers discretion but the question is why would you want to exclude the fact that your game is a bestseller? It's free advertising and would drive more sales.

In the article above, only the ones with * symbol are excluding digital sales (2 nintendo games and NBA).

@Texan_Survivor building a studio from the ground up takes a really long time and it doesn't get you any already established IP. You're looking at possibly 10+ years before you see game 1 and that game will be an unknown quantity that you need to market heavily. If game 1 is not a success then you are looking at possibly another 5+ years for game 2.

It's way easier to buy a studio that has IP and everything setup already. Adding talent to a struggling studio is relatively easy compared to a full scale startup.

Does Sony want to spend the money for 2 years of legal battles and end up divesting part of the deal to a 3rd party?

I'm surprised Balders Gate 3 failed to chart with a full month on playstation and only its second month on pc.

House of ashes was a good time, probably my favorite game from that studio. (Starting the devil in me this week so the jury is still out on that one)

Xbox - dark pictures the devil in me, starfield
Playstation - death stranding
Nintendo - new super Mario bros (3ds)
Pc - dead island 1