It let me extend last year, though I did upgrade from extra to premium I think if I remember right. If current premium members get no discount option at all, that would be pretty lame to be honest.
Another homm3 type game came out on playstation a couple days ago, confusingly also having songs in the title. 'songs of conquest'. It's pretty good, has gained a following on pc.
@Medic_alert what is wrong with providing for a minority, their money is as good as anybody else's. And physical is very much my personal reason for not moving to pc. Unless I am a very special human being, I doubt that I am alone.
@Medic_alert I honestly believe that the physical option is still a huge benefit to console makers. It's the reason many people stick with consoles instead of moving to pc. Also a drive allows you to watch blu rays and dvds. Something many people still do, even if they have a streaming service as well. Though I believe that Sony probably realise this, it's more likely underestimating rather than some sneaky push for digital. Also we don't know how many drives scalpers out there are sitting on. They are obviously a lot easier to stockpile than a console because of their price and size.
@BlaizeV I can't remember if the PS3 collection even got a digital release, I can't seem to find any info on it, I'm not even sure if it's currently there to be delisted. I guess the only way to check for sure is through a PS3, mines not at hand at the moment though unfortunately. I do know the disc version is still (currently at least) fairly cheap to get hold of.
It's probably more Sony underestimating how many people still want one rather than a forced attempt. There are many companies keen to see and accelerate the demise of physical, but Sony and Nintendo are two that seem happy to keep providing while the demand is there. Indeed, Nintendo could even be seen as actively defending physical. It happens a lot with physical games too. Big releases completely unavailable physically in the first couple weeks because retailers massively underestimate the demand that still exists.
Seems odd all these companies demanding return to the office. You'd assume game development is perfectly suited for remote working. I hope the people demanding it have stronger reasons other than a nostalgic desire for the good old days.
@Futureshark judging by the last paragraph, it seems they are hiring people who live extremely far away from work and will have to commute, I assume at great expense and time.
I personally don't mind the concept of the drive as an add on, it's better than not existing at all, which would pretty much kill my interest in consoles. I'm betting the sorts of games I enjoy, single player RPGs, single player adventures, are probably doing a lot better on the physical side. I can see why stuff like GTA online, call of duty, FIFA etc, dominates digitally, service games.
I'm really enjoying it. The characters are likeable and the story is wonderfully crazy. The combat seems to be a bit tougher than persona so far, about 20 hours in. Monsters are already appearing that are immune to everything my party's got equipped. I guess that's why the class system is so easily customisable. I've even died to random monsters sometimes, usually when they get the ambush advantage, you really want to avoid that. 9/10 so far.
@Dadou Sony have made all of their retro games available to purchase (I think), so I'd assume it's Capcom's decision. Though I've no idea of why, literally none.
Scalpers do annoy me, but the companies selling stuff in limited numbers know full well what they are doing. Giving items resale potential can turn anything, even overpriced tat into something that everybody wants all of a sudden.
Limited run (generally) do give a time window, not a number limit, so they don't tend to sell out at least, as long as you keep track of their releases. It's just a shame I live in the UK, I'd probably buy a lot more from them if it wasn't for the postage fees.
@Medic_alert a license key that you can resell, lend to friends and won't lose access to if your PSN account runs into trouble. If you look really far into the future when the digital downloads might no longer be available, then at least an old version of the game might be better than no version. I've still got my ps1 and Dreamcast discs available to play upstairs, if they had been digital only they'd likely have been lost years ago. Though yes I appreciate that not everyone cares about such things.
@somnambulance I am still fairly positive of ubisoft too. They have put out many games that I've enjoyed over the years. Even that star wars game, I've watched a couple reviews it looks pretty decent, I've only held off because I've never been that into star wars. They did go a bit dlc crazy in the PS4 era, pushing it on the title screens, but they seem to have toned that down severely. I'm not sure if they deserve as much online hate as they get nowadays.
@NEStalgia yeah the difficulty settings aren't a guarantee. Camilla songs in particular, expert is definitely harder than other expert+ songs.
Paid dlc songs are usually easier than the base game ones, I got good at expert + finding easier ones and practicing them first.
It's hard to explain, but you really do just get the movements ingrained if you keep playing, you reach the point where you can get through a new expert+ song first try once you've learnt what to expect.
Edit : I think the Camilla songs are supposed to be beat saber's 'hard' mode. They seem to make a point of being a lot harder than the others.
@MathiasBS are you allowed to say what game it was? Consoles opening the gates to indie games has generally been good I think, but so many of them, and so little quality control nowadays.
@NEStalgia beat saber is a case of the more you play the better you'll get. I know that's true of anything but in beat saber's case it's very surprising how quickly you can ramp up from not even understanding how people manage expert+, to doing themself with relative ease. Well except Camilla ones. And sandstorm. I haven't got the faintest idea how anyone does them on expert+.
I usually rage at scalpers too, but in this case, Sony has clearly encouraged them, with such a limited amount. I guess they think these situations makes the brand look more premium or something.
@Xenofastiq you have more rights with a physical copy. The right to resell it for a start. Also it can't be taken away from you. Yes you don't 'own' the game, but you certainly own the physical item.
Digital gaming hasn't seen a case of a company removing players libraries yet (either by closing down or just a business choice.) even the earliest digital libraries, PS3, Wii, psp they still let you download stuff you already bought. It'll happen sooner or later though.
Star wars seems to have lost the licence to print money, and not because of the 'political' stuff I think. There was just never enough there to make a universe out of it.
@Mandrax it's held its resell value incredibly well for a playstation game, that'd suggest that despite always being an unpopular release amongst forums, it's been quite well received by the masses.
Is it possible to disable game updates before they take it out? Or will that stop you being able to play it all? Not sure how Minecraft works regarding that nowadays.
I honestly believe the fact that it is a direct sequel has lowered sales more than people think. Does anyone consider this a game to jump into without playing the first? People who have the first on their waiting list (very possible with RPG fans) prob wouldn't even consider it as an impulse buy until they've played 1.
@Alexface the servers are down I think, which likely means that hardly anyones playing them, as sharing your levels was the main focus of the lbp series.
Road 96 is a really cool game with an unusual premise and tons of style that'd i'd recommend people try. Quite well suited for extra too, as it's quite short.
If it still has to communicate with the playstation, then wireless seems a little pointless to be honest. You're still going to have to be near your ps5. That said, I find it hard to believe a completely standalone one is in the works, one that offers the same quality as psvr2 would cost a fortune to make, assuming it's even currently possible.
It'll prob sell anyway, I personally will skip though I think. I got a PS4 pro, and never really figured out what I bought it for. Maybe my TV wasn't good enough or something. I can kind of understand the price, the glory days of rapidly advancing tech and fast dropping prices seem to be over. Even the disc drive, I guess we should just be glad the option is still there. Not including a stand is a joke though, as is Sony seemingly forgetting how currency conversion works.
@Azuris the nes game isn't that bad, difficulty wise if you take the time to learn the quirks, I beat it back in the day. People understandably don't want to do that with such an old game though.
@get2sammyb playstation (and the other consoles) pretty much opened the door wide for indie games on PS4 onwards, which I guess removed the point of minis. I loved canabalt though, still go back to it sometimes.
People always use that street fighter example. But Nintendo/Capcom charged that price back then simply because they could get away with it. It was more expensive than other snes games because they knew people would pay anything for it. Games have become a lot more mass market since then. If 100 people want a game that costs 100000 to develop, then that's a £1000 each. If a 1000 want it, that's a £100 each. Though the audience has stopped growing by the sounds of it, that is perhaps why developers can't rely on growth to keep the prices stagnant any more.
Some of those games certainly being back some memories, especially the spectrum and c64 ones. I feel like playing head over heels right now lol. But I tend to agree that it seems a bit weird to be streaming them.
@Haruki_NLI yes, the Wii u and 3ds closed for purchases early last year, and online functionality a couple months ago. You can still download purchased games, but that's about it. Wii u in particular seemed to have a very short life. Yes I know it was same fen as PS3, but it came out a lot later. Though I think Nintendo fans tend to be more inclined to stay physical than other systems.
I think the ps+ premium streaming still relies on the PS3 network doesn't it? In that case, they may as well leave it accessable if it's staying up anyway. That said, I don't really understand why other systems close the ability to purchase if they are keeping the ability to download purchased stuff on anyway. If the frameworks still there might as well let people use it, a few sales are better than no sales?
@NEStalgia I feel you are underestimating just how much supporting so many studios costs, and the impact gamepass could potentially have on those studios traditional forms of revenue. But as ms do not release any figures, this is a debate that will never end.
@NEStalgia I'm pretty sure that noone except ms know if gamepass is actually profitable or not. You need a VERY high revenue to support the amount of publishers they now own.
Minecraft has lots of potential to be better with more power. Just because it's blocky doesn't mean it doesn't use resources. Draw distance is my first thought, it actually has quite a short distance on the PS4 version, the details like npcs and buildings disappear from not too far away.
Comments 877
Re: PS5 Handheld Device in the Works at Sony, New Report Claims
@Friendly if it runs ps5 games straight from the library, it won't need as much support as a system with completely different games I suppose.
Re: Poll: Rate Your Favourite PS1 Games
@Deljo I played ridge racer so much. Seems crazy in hindsight, so little content compared to modern racers yet it's prob my most played racing game.
Re: Huge PlayStation Black Friday Sales Begin 22nd November
It let me extend last year, though I did upgrade from extra to premium I think if I remember right. If current premium members get no discount option at all, that would be pretty lame to be honest.
Re: Songs of Silence Finds Harmony Between Real-Time, Turn-Based Strategy on PS5
Another homm3 type game came out on playstation a couple days ago, confusingly also having songs in the title. 'songs of conquest'. It's pretty good, has gained a following on pc.
Re: PS5 Pro Pre-Orders Are Stronger Than PS4 Pro, But Scalpers Are Losing Money
@Medic_alert what is wrong with providing for a minority, their money is as good as anybody else's.
And physical is very much my personal reason for not moving to pc. Unless I am a very special human being, I doubt that I am alone.
Re: PS5 Pro Pre-Orders Are Stronger Than PS4 Pro, But Scalpers Are Losing Money
@Medic_alert I honestly believe that the physical option is still a huge benefit to console makers. It's the reason many people stick with consoles instead of moving to pc.
Also a drive allows you to watch blu rays and dvds. Something many people still do, even if they have a streaming service as well.
Though I believe that Sony probably realise this, it's more likely underestimating rather than some sneaky push for digital. Also we don't know how many drives scalpers out there are sitting on. They are obviously a lot easier to stockpile than a console because of their price and size.
Re: Where To Buy PS5 Pro
I would be tempted, but most my big games are still physical though, so it's not even an option until the stock issues with the drive are sorted out.
Re: Movement from Amazon's Mass Effect TV Series, Fast & Furious 9 Writer Signed
I'm definitely down for a new sci-fi space series. I still miss the glorious 90s when there were seemingly hundreds of them.
Re: SEGA Is Delisting a Bunch of Retro Games, And It's Got Fans Thinking
@BlaizeV I can't remember if the PS3 collection even got a digital release, I can't seem to find any info on it, I'm not even sure if it's currently there to be delisted. I guess the only way to check for sure is through a PS3, mines not at hand at the moment though unfortunately.
I do know the disc version is still (currently at least) fairly cheap to get hold of.
Re: In the UK, You Can't Buy a PS5 Pro Disc Drive without Paying a Premium
It's probably more Sony underestimating how many people still want one rather than a forced attempt. There are many companies keen to see and accelerate the demise of physical, but Sony and Nintendo are two that seem happy to keep providing while the demand is there. Indeed, Nintendo could even be seen as actively defending physical.
It happens a lot with physical games too. Big releases completely unavailable physically in the first couple weeks because retailers massively underestimate the demand that still exists.
Re: Black Ops 6 Devs Walk Out, Activision Strike Makes the Local News
Seems odd all these companies demanding return to the office. You'd assume game development is perfectly suited for remote working. I hope the people demanding it have stronger reasons other than a nostalgic desire for the good old days.
Re: Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition to Be Updated with Three More Games in 2025
"watch this!" Blasts self into water with bazooka
Re: Minecraft's Native PS5 Port Is Now Available, Free Upgrade for PS4 Players
@SheerDisappointment they seem to have given up on Minecraft vr unfortunately. Even announced that they are removing the pc vr.
Re: 1,000+ PS5, PS4 Games on Sale in New PS Store Promo
Double dragon and kunio-kun bundle for £6.99 looks pretty good for retro gamers.
Re: Ubisoft Labour Woes Spread, Milan Office Strikes in Solidarity
@Futureshark judging by the last paragraph, it seems they are hiring people who live extremely far away from work and will have to commute, I assume at great expense and time.
Re: Like It or Not, This Is Why PS5 Pro Doesn't Have a Disc Drive
I personally don't mind the concept of the drive as an add on, it's better than not existing at all, which would pretty much kill my interest in consoles.
I'm betting the sorts of games I enjoy, single player RPGs, single player adventures, are probably doing a lot better on the physical side. I can see why stuff like GTA online, call of duty, FIFA etc, dominates digitally, service games.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Metaphor: ReFantazio?
I'm really enjoying it. The characters are likeable and the story is wonderfully crazy.
The combat seems to be a bit tougher than persona so far, about 20 hours in. Monsters are already appearing that are immune to everything my party's got equipped. I guess that's why the class system is so easily customisable. I've even died to random monsters sometimes, usually when they get the ambush advantage, you really want to avoid that.
9/10 so far.
Re: Boy! Sony and Amazon to Start from Scratch on God of War TV Show
I agree, god of war is all about big set pieces. While that makes it sound like the ideal TV show/movie, it'll surely be an expensive one.
Re: PS Plus Extra, Premium Offer 14 More Games to Play Today
@Dadou Sony have made all of their retro games available to purchase (I think), so I'd assume it's Capcom's decision.
Though I've no idea of why, literally none.
Re: Publishing Director Calls Out Shameless Baldur's Gate 3 Collector's Edition Scalpers
Scalpers do annoy me, but the companies selling stuff in limited numbers know full well what they are doing. Giving items resale potential can turn anything, even overpriced tat into something that everybody wants all of a sudden.
Limited run (generally) do give a time window, not a number limit, so they don't tend to sell out at least, as long as you keep track of their releases. It's just a shame I live in the UK, I'd probably buy a lot more from them if it wasn't for the postage fees.
Re: Aspyr Brings Back Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles, Out for PS5, PS4 in January
Me and my brother used to play this loads. Though yeah I do remember it being very challenging I don't think we even got close to the end.
Re: Get Back to JRPG Basics with Physical Final Fantasy 1-6 Collection Anniversary Edition on PS4
@Medic_alert a license key that you can resell, lend to friends and won't lose access to if your PSN account runs into trouble.
If you look really far into the future when the digital downloads might no longer be available, then at least an old version of the game might be better than no version.
I've still got my ps1 and Dreamcast discs available to play upstairs, if they had been digital only they'd likely have been lost years ago.
Though yes I appreciate that not everyone cares about such things.
Re: Tencent, Guillemot Family Reportedly Considering Ubisoft Buyout
@somnambulance I am still fairly positive of ubisoft too. They have put out many games that I've enjoyed over the years. Even that star wars game, I've watched a couple reviews it looks pretty decent, I've only held off because I've never been that into star wars.
They did go a bit dlc crazy in the PS4 era, pushing it on the title screens, but they seem to have toned that down severely. I'm not sure if they deserve as much online hate as they get nowadays.
Re: Beat Saber Will Give You More with Britney Spears DLC Song Pack
@NEStalgia yeah the difficulty settings aren't a guarantee. Camilla songs in particular, expert is definitely harder than other expert+ songs.
Paid dlc songs are usually easier than the base game ones, I got good at expert + finding easier ones and practicing them first.
It's hard to explain, but you really do just get the movements ingrained if you keep playing, you reach the point where you can get through a new expert+ song first try once you've learnt what to expect.
Edit : I think the Camilla songs are supposed to be beat saber's 'hard' mode. They seem to make a point of being a lot harder than the others.
Re: Microsoft Is Investigating Why Devs Are Prioritising PS5 Over Xbox
@MathiasBS are you allowed to say what game it was?
Consoles opening the gates to indie games has generally been good I think, but so many of them, and so little quality control nowadays.
Re: Beat Saber Will Give You More with Britney Spears DLC Song Pack
@NEStalgia beat saber is a case of the more you play the better you'll get. I know that's true of anything but in beat saber's case it's very surprising how quickly you can ramp up from not even understanding how people manage expert+, to doing themself with relative ease.
Well except Camilla ones. And sandstorm. I haven't got the faintest idea how anyone does them on expert+.
Re: PlayStation Fans Gleefully Snitch on 30th Anniversary PS5 Pro Scalpers
I usually rage at scalpers too, but in this case, Sony has clearly encouraged them, with such a limited amount. I guess they think these situations makes the brand look more premium or something.
Re: Newly Signed Law May Restrict Sony's Use of Terms Like 'Buy' or 'Purchase' for Digital Games
@Xenofastiq you have more rights with a physical copy. The right to resell it for a start. Also it can't be taken away from you. Yes you don't 'own' the game, but you certainly own the physical item.
Re: Newly Signed Law May Restrict Sony's Use of Terms Like 'Buy' or 'Purchase' for Digital Games
Digital gaming hasn't seen a case of a company removing players libraries yet (either by closing down or just a business choice.) even the earliest digital libraries, PS3, Wii, psp they still let you download stuff you already bought.
It'll happen sooner or later though.
Re: Ubisoft Board Orders Internal Investigation and Review into Company's Financial Woes
Star wars seems to have lost the licence to print money, and not because of the 'political' stuff I think. There was just never enough there to make a universe out of it.
Re: The Last of Us: Part 1 Is Coming to PS Plus Extra, Premium
@Mandrax it's held its resell value incredibly well for a playstation game, that'd suggest that despite always being an unpopular release amongst forums, it's been quite well received by the masses.
Re: Rumour: Concord Cost $400 Million, Sony Believed It Was the 'Future of PlayStation'
I have to agree with the doubters, I'd need something a bit more concrete before I could believe that figure is true.
Re: Minecraft Is Dropping PSVR Support Early Next Year
Is it possible to disable game updates before they take it out? Or will that stop you being able to play it all? Not sure how Minecraft works regarding that nowadays.
Re: PS5 Exclusives Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Failed to Meet Expectations
I honestly believe the fact that it is a direct sequel has lowered sales more than people think. Does anyone consider this a game to jump into without playing the first? People who have the first on their waiting list (very possible with RPG fans) prob wouldn't even consider it as an impulse buy until they've played 1.
Re: 10 Major PS5, PS4 Games Are Getting Axed from PS Plus Extra, Including LittleBigPlanet 3
@Alexface the servers are down I think, which likely means that hardly anyones playing them, as sharing your levels was the main focus of the lbp series.
Re: Poll: Are You Happy with Your PS Plus Extra, Premium Games for September 2024?
Road 96 is a really cool game with an unusual premise and tons of style that'd i'd recommend people try. Quite well suited for extra too, as it's quite short.
Re: PS5 Fans Think Sony's Accidentally Leaked a Wireless PSVR2 Headset
If it still has to communicate with the playstation, then wireless seems a little pointless to be honest. You're still going to have to be near your ps5.
That said, I find it hard to believe a completely standalone one is in the works, one that offers the same quality as psvr2 would cost a fortune to make, assuming it's even currently possible.
Re: Talking Point: Is PS5 Pro Way Too Expensive?
It'll prob sell anyway, I personally will skip though I think. I got a PS4 pro, and never really figured out what I bought it for. Maybe my TV wasn't good enough or something.
I can kind of understand the price, the glory days of rapidly advancing tech and fast dropping prices seem to be over. Even the disc drive, I guess we should just be glad the option is still there.
Not including a stand is a joke though, as is Sony seemingly forgetting how currency conversion works.
Re: Antstream Arcade (PS5) - Instantly Add 1,300 Retro Releases to Your Console Collection
@Azuris the nes game isn't that bad, difficulty wise if you take the time to learn the quirks, I beat it back in the day. People understandably don't want to do that with such an old game though.
Re: Antstream Arcade (PS5) - Instantly Add 1,300 Retro Releases to Your Console Collection
@get2sammyb playstation (and the other consoles) pretty much opened the door wide for indie games on PS4 onwards, which I guess removed the point of minis. I loved canabalt though, still go back to it sometimes.
Re: How Much Would You Pay for Your PS5 Games? Dev Says Industry Is Waiting for GTA 6 to Hike Prices
People always use that street fighter example. But Nintendo/Capcom charged that price back then simply because they could get away with it. It was more expensive than other snes games because they knew people would pay anything for it.
Games have become a lot more mass market since then. If 100 people want a game that costs 100000 to develop, then that's a £1000 each. If a 1000 want it, that's a £100 each.
Though the audience has stopped growing by the sounds of it, that is perhaps why developers can't rely on growth to keep the prices stagnant any more.
Re: Get a BFG of Your Very Own with Physical DOOM Anthology Preorder on PS5, PS4
That's super shady, the download code bit only mentioned right at the end. And a steel book to distract you. Come on doom you are better than this.
Re: Antstream Lets You Stream 1000s of Retro Games, and It's Coming to PS5, PS4
@PuppetMaster it's 40 bucks a year I think. Or 100 for lifetime access, or however long the service lasts.
Re: Antstream Lets You Stream 1000s of Retro Games, and It's Coming to PS5, PS4
Some of those games certainly being back some memories, especially the spectrum and c64 ones. I feel like playing head over heels right now lol.
But I tend to agree that it seems a bit weird to be streaming them.
Re: Minecraft's Latest DLC Turns Tetris into a Dungeon Crawler
Not even sure what this is after the article and the video lol, but I do like Minecraft and I love Tetris, so I'll prob get it anyway.
Re: Random: PS3 Last Seventh Generation Console Standing with Functional Storefront
@Haruki_NLI yes, the Wii u and 3ds closed for purchases early last year, and online functionality a couple months ago. You can still download purchased games, but that's about it.
Wii u in particular seemed to have a very short life. Yes I know it was same fen as PS3, but it came out a lot later.
Though I think Nintendo fans tend to be more inclined to stay physical than other systems.
Re: Random: PS3 Last Seventh Generation Console Standing with Functional Storefront
I think the ps+ premium streaming still relies on the PS3 network doesn't it? In that case, they may as well leave it accessable if it's staying up anyway.
That said, I don't really understand why other systems close the ability to purchase if they are keeping the ability to download purchased stuff on anyway. If the frameworks still there might as well let people use it, a few sales are better than no sales?
Re: Talking Point: Was Sony Right to Resist Adding PS5 Exclusives to PS Plus Day One?
@NEStalgia I feel you are underestimating just how much supporting so many studios costs, and the impact gamepass could potentially have on those studios traditional forms of revenue. But as ms do not release any figures, this is a debate that will never end.
Re: Talking Point: Was Sony Right to Resist Adding PS5 Exclusives to PS Plus Day One?
@NEStalgia I'm pretty sure that noone except ms know if gamepass is actually profitable or not. You need a VERY high revenue to support the amount of publishers they now own.
Re: Mojang Is Building a Native PS5 Version of Minecraft, And It Needs Your Help
Minecraft has lots of potential to be better with more power. Just because it's blocky doesn't mean it doesn't use resources. Draw distance is my first thought, it actually has quite a short distance on the PS4 version, the details like npcs and buildings disappear from not too far away.