Comments 897

Re: Ghostwire: Tokyo's Big PS5 Update Is Out Now, Adds New Content

Bleachedsmiles

Just in time to add to the discussion of parity.

What I personally find interesting is that this is the second game now (other being deathloop) that has come to gamepass a couple of weeks after it’s been placed on psplus subs. Obviously these being now MS owned IP we can probably assume that them coming to plus first was part of the contract. What will be interesting is if Sony have added this to all their 3rd party contracts - we already know that games they have marketing for prevent them going onto gamepass day 1. I wonder if 3rd party timed exclusive deals they’ve done and 3rd party games they have marketing for, have it in the contract that they have to be on plus first before gamepass… that would be quite an impressive move by Sony as they’ve secured marketing to all the big AAA games…

Re: Reaction: Dreams Losing Support Is a Sad End to PS4's Most Unbelievable Project

Bleachedsmiles

Just so people don’t get the wrong idea, Dreams is already backwards compatible on ps5 and benefits from its engines uncapped framerate. You can play and create fine with the Dualsense, and psvr still works via the ps5 too with it. It just never got a dedicated ps5 version…there wasn’t really any need.

It’s a real shame Sony never packaged it in with every console and psvr headset years ago.

The ones keeping it alive for years are creators…but creators create…they don’t play. So there’s loads of content on there but nobody playing it.

Hopefully Sony will just make it F2p at some point and it can get a second life. We’re going to see gaming make more moves in this direction regardless - epic are currently marketing the unreal engine to show how transformative it can be for fortnite.
Leslie Benzies‘s Everywhere is set to garner plenty of attention…a game that sounds very much like Dreams. It really would be a good opportunity for Sony to get the conversation back on dreams again by announcing f2p. Trouble is…there’s no money to be made via microtransactions in dreams - and that’s the real shame, it will probably be the last time we see a game like this release where it’s not full of microtransactions…it’s just surviving off the love of gaming and creating.

Re: A Year After Stadia's Death, PlayStation Appears Poised for Cloud Gaming Push

Bleachedsmiles

Good news! You don’t have to wait awhile at all to see how cloud gaming is revolutionising gaming. Xbox already have cloud gaming as part of gamepass - this has revolutionised accessibility… you can now try any game on gp within seconds without the need of downloading first to see if it’s for you or not. It opens up the doors for you to try anything! And it’s available a variety of devices you probably already have at hand!
Amazon have now added cloud gaming to your firestick…you can go from watching a film to loading up a game instantly without the need to even be a gamer let alone a console.
Even psNow held a decent connection for cloud gaming for awhile to let you try games first.

Cloud gaming is the future for all platforms. And one of the main reasons sony is so concerned about MS gaming growth. Mobile being the other kicker. Which you’ll soon be hearing more about Sony making more moves into.

Re: Resident Evil 4's PS5, PS4 Sales in the UK Leave Xbox to the Los Ganados

Bleachedsmiles

Remember folks…it’s only video games, let’s not get crazy with console wars… at the end of an article about PlayStation sales with a heading that makes sure to encourage us to collectively find inner peace in the comments as we get to once again laugh at lack of sales on the Xbox platform…and find comfort in the dream that all this will surely result in games soon skipping xbox and giving PlayStation exclusives. Because we’re not at all worried about what Xbox are doing.

Thanks for trying Khayl 👍

Re: Media Molecule to Cease Live Service for Dreams, Now Working on a New Project

Bleachedsmiles

Disappointing news. And means no psvr2 support - this is frankly surprising. Also no multiplayer that was promised? Glad I didn’t just spend the last couple of years making a mp game in prep for that update if that’s the case.

Dreams is the biggest Sony mismanaged game. It should have been packaged in with every PlayStation console for years now. It’s one of PlayStations most ambitious and important releases…and they simply let it die. To the point where most gamers don’t know about it or have the wrong idea about it. The potential of this was huge and it deserved far more success than it saw. It needed a big installbase to thrive and packaging it for free would have fixed this.

Hopefully they’ll bring it to pc. And hopefully they’ll figure out a way for us to save games and music and movies we created on it beyond the console if it doesn’t come to PC as soon as servers go so does everything else

Re: Sony Patents Heat Dispensers Inside PS5 Controllers

Bleachedsmiles

This would be awesome… giving an experience that feels like somethings wrong with your controller and it’s about to blow up in your hand. Hopefully they add this tech to psvr headsets too… fry our brains. Are any games using the psvr2 haptics in the headset yet? How are they?

Re: Rumour: PS Vita 2 Dreams Killed But Sony Might Have a Handheld for PS5 Remote Play in the Works

Bleachedsmiles

I’m surprised they’d go a handheld route for a streaming device rather than just something the size of a firestick that can just go in the back of any tv and give you access to psplus’s cloud streaming. I guess more people would prefer to play their ps5 games on the toilet than on additional tvs 🤷🏻

Either way, I can’t say I know enough about it right now to know what this does that a phone app wouldn’t. Right now, to me, it sounds more like a controller attachment for a phone than anything…which, with Duelsense haptics, could be pretty good if priced right

Re: Rumour: PS5 Pro Really Is Targeting 2024 Release Date

Bleachedsmiles

This gen has made 3 things standard so far…

1)cross gen games
2)£70 ‘next gen’ versions of cross gen games
3) compromises sold as options

And like the little genius’s console gamers are, each one has been applauded.

So it really wouldn’t surprise me if they did try (and succeed) in selling us PRO models whilst having less than a handful of dedicated current gen games out that we’d all struggle to comfortably point to as examples of ‘next gen’ visuals
But, seeing as it’s doubtful we’ll see properly optimised games again on these closed platforms, if it eradicates some of the options we now get in deciding whether to compromise visuals or framerate…I’ll totally be part of the problem and invest in a ‘PRO’ model…and then roll my eyes at news reports of a ‘pro pro’ model that will almost certainly be rumoured as a generation, that’s already touted as being far longer than the last, carries on.

Re: UK Regulator No Longer Concerned About Activision Buyout's Impact on Console Competition

Bleachedsmiles

@Stocksy whole lot of stupid written their friend.

First, having games not all come out in the same month isn’t a bad thing - long as they actually come out. It’s beneficial for the gamer. Importantly it’s beneficial for the developer.

Second, back catalogues are created because…? If you said too many games coming out at a particular time then you are ‘getting it’.
MS plan for gamepass is one big release per calendar month…that’s their goal. Resulting in a steady consistent stream of Xbox content - adding value to a service that ultimately will just contain Xbox content…which will in turn remove barriers for gamepass being on more platforms…such as playstation.

Third, adding more devs hasn’t made current dormant IPs any more dormant. If anything it will allow more chances of those IP being resurrected. We’re already seeing this is the case with newer MS Xbox studios - currently working on new Perfect dark and fable games

Fourth, Unfortunately GAAS games are going to be unavoidable. And have no relation to this ABK deal going through. Sony currently have a reported 10 GAAS games in development…without having made such a giant acquisition.

Lastly, you can pay for games if you choose…regardless of gamepass. It’s up to you.

Re: Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes Was an Experiment Fans 'Didn't Understand'

Bleachedsmiles

Been my theory for the longest time that he’ll end up doing the episodic releases with his Xbox game Overdose…which surely works better on a subscription services.
Frankly I think it would be pretty awesome if it’s released almost like a weekly event…akin to a tv show. Generating conversation each month rather than just the month of an initial release.
The danger is having huge gaps between releases

Re: Rumour: PS5 Pro Targeting Potential 2024 Release

Bleachedsmiles

Huge slap in the face to ps5 owners if there’s a better version of the console released next year when we’ve hardly seen the base one supported in the last 2 and half years…Sony have given us what? 3 ps5 exclusive games in that time???
Add 2 years of stock issues…can’t see this coming out next year to be honest. They haven’t even tapped the potential of the current console…unless that potential has been vastly over sold to us

Re: The State of The Outer Worlds on PS5 Has Players Calling for Refunds

Bleachedsmiles

@Otherbarry one would think, alongside complaining about concerns over lack of parity (after a decade of cod on PlayStation getting exclusive content), raising this as an example when MS had nothing to do with it would get laughed at by the likes of the CMA…but, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it was used and taken onboard…maybe as a fear MS could potentially have a 3rd party publisher put PlayStation versions out on the cheap. But then the whole point of the 10 year contract is to also ensure parity -same game, same quality.

Sonys trying to reach beyond the stars at this point, so who knows

Re: The State of The Outer Worlds on PS5 Has Players Calling for Refunds

Bleachedsmiles

@MaikonCSGarcia Never let the truth get in the way of a good story - it’s always been like this.
Of course you’ve got the misinformed, ignorant, and just plain stupid, currently having a field day over this on twitter…using it as an example that backs up Sonys paranoia about Cod that was revealed yesterday. Of course, regardless of truth, it’s not exactly great timing for this given it is now an Xbox ip. I’m honestly surprised I’ve not yet seen conspiracy theories that Sony themselves are behind it… might start one.

Re: Sony Ordered to Pay Refunds As Austrian Court Declares FIFA Gambling

Bleachedsmiles

@StylesT the article states at least one being a minor. And let’s not pretend we’ve not all rolled our eyes at one point reading an article about kids spending loads on microtransactions.

Parents should parent their children… and we’re now well in a generation where these parents have grown up with gaming so understand what these games contain. There’s no real excuse other than bad parenting… and things always need to be put in place to protect stupid people from themselves - that’s just life.

Re: Sony Ordered to Pay Refunds As Austrian Court Declares FIFA Gambling

Bleachedsmiles

@StylesT That simplifies it way too much. The trouble is that kids, with no real concept of value, get attracted by the potential of unlocking something they really want - because it’s marketed to be as alluring as possible (flashing lights, fireworks etc), and they’ve seen their favourite YouTubers making videos showing excitement over opening these things… these kids are getting hooked in. And luckily, because all our consoles are now always online and have card details saved to them, it’s super easy to start spending without understanding just how much you’re spending. There’s nothing in place there regulating these video games. No system from Sony ensuring you have to do a security check per purchase.

And then there’s the problem that the numbers are completely skewed…the possibilities of unlocking the thing you want are never transparent. Which is misleading at best.

Re: Sony Wants to Make PlayStation the Best Place to Play Third-Party Games

Bleachedsmiles

3rd party exclusivity is becoming less common…but thanks to PlayStation, 3rd party exclusive content is not. Sony have took ms playbook and completely ran away and dominated with it. Having the marketing rights is the perfect way to compete against a platform that has the means to buy studios outright…allowing your brand to be the association to the game, getting the mindshare from the majority casual audience, the games may as well be exclusive.
Hands up if you knew the last FF game came to Xbox? Hands up if you knew hogwarts was on Xbox one and switch? Hands up if you think the casual gamer likely does?

You have to wonder though if that reaction/response goes both ways. As we saw with Bethesda, Sony monopolising timed exclusivity deals…starfield heavily/reasonably rumoured to be the next one. How best to securely counter this than buying the publisher outright?

One thing is for sure though, at no point during Sony getting the marketing for EVERY 3rd party AAA game released these few years has parity ever been a concern for Sony, or media outlets. There’s something wrong there. And when charging £70 for both it really doesn’t matter if it’s year long timed exclusivity in full games modes (cod), exclusive missions (hogwarts) or simply exclusive betas or skins -parity is either important to you or it isn’t.

Re: PSVR2 Gets The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR on Launch Day

Bleachedsmiles

@ThorsHammer The setting and build up in VR really worked for me. I don’t think the game would have pulled me in nearly as much had I played it flat. But in VR that slow build up, interaction with your mate, the whole something being not quite right…just played well with the limitations of psvr.
And then leaving the cell offered a decent jump scare, like you say.
I think the ending was rushed. And there’s basically very little in the different endings. But I dunno, it felt like being part of a movie more than a game I guess…and that just clicked with me.

RE8 would be one of my pick ups…it’s just a shame I already played through it flat.
Horizon really isn’t doing it for me. It looks pretty. But also looks a bit ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’
I was hoping for a full GT.

They really needed half life Alex to get me there day 1 though. And even then I’d have to think about it when I know there’s only two other games of interest to me right now…the majority being pretty filler shovelware again - which is a problem psvr had…only I didn’t pick up psvr for £530.

Re: Persona Fans on PlayStation Get Sold Short Again as Xbox Deal Reveals Native Ports

Bleachedsmiles

@Pusher2021 the lack of self awareness is touching insanity levels. PlayStation has marketing deals with so many up coming 3rd party multiplatform games that are forcing technical parity whilst promoting content exclusivity, it’s unreal how anybody is moaning about Xbox finally getting persona games after decades worth of platform exclusivity on Sony consoles. But boo ***** woo evil Xbox paid to keep an announcement for a two days - stop the press.

Maybe this has more to do with Xbox forward thinking with console features than it does anything else - smart delivery has proven to benefit these things

Re: PS Plus Premium's Logic Doesn't Even Make Sense to Sony

Bleachedsmiles

The original big sell on me with premium was that it was supposed to have demos for every game on the store…obviously this was far fetched and hasn’t even come close to happening.
They need to add all these remasters they’re making to the service day 1.
And make a bigger marketing push for their cloud service

Re: Sony Gates Customer Service Priority Behind New PS Stars Program

Bleachedsmiles

@BeerIsAwesome well it’s arguable that acquisitions are anti-consumer…I mean sure it may prove anti consumer for PlayStation and Nintendo customers…but they’re not Xbox customers.
What can’t be argued though is that they’ve been given a free pass for these acquisitions…I mean just the other day there was Sony fans writing to President Biden to try and get the activison/blizzard deal blocked…can’t make it up. MS has had plenty of scrutiny placed on them over their buying spree
I really wouldn’t consider buying studios or publishers to enhance their services for their customers as anti consumer though…no more than I’d class PlayStation have all the marketing rights to big 3rd party titles and using them to get exclusive content, or force parity, to benefit their install base as anti consumer. That’s just competition.

Sony have done plenty of actual anti consumer moves towards their own install base in the last two years without reaching to include game and marketing deals

Re: Sony Gates Customer Service Priority Behind New PS Stars Program

Bleachedsmiles

@koverby well I think people are probably shocked because it’s not really that common with video game companies…I mean I can’t at least recall Nintendo or sega or Atari or Microsoft…or any of the other platforms ever selling better customer service as a ‘perk’. It just seems poor taste as much as anything.

I get the whole ‘burn and churn’ thing…but are we really now comparing Sony to a small time tax attorney with a handful of clients?…rather than the multi-billion dollar company they are?
It’s just another bad look. And at some point the customer has to come first or ultimately they’ll go else where.

One things for sure, we’re only in year 2 of this gen and things are already pretty interesting. Competition usually benefits all gamers…hopefully Sony get that memo soon.

Re: Sony Gates Customer Service Priority Behind New PS Stars Program

Bleachedsmiles

@BeerIsAwesome what are you talking about? Who has the perception of when MS do something it gets brushed off straight away? What are you basing this on? Give at least one example where Xbox has done anything antisocial and just got a free pass for it…as I honestly can’t think of a single one. In fact they usually get it worse than Sony and Nintendo

Re: Once Considered a PlayStation Competitor, Google Stadia Is Shutting Down

Bleachedsmiles

@Snake_V5 Streaming is 100% the future of gaming. Not the exclusive delivery of…but certainly where we’re heading for ease of accessibility. We’ve seen this is in movie subscriptions. We’ve seen this in music subscriptions. We will 100% see it in gaming subscriptions.

The difference with stadia was they charged full price per game to stream it. That was never going to work as effective as simply a subscription service with an ever expanding library of games to stream for a monthly price. This is proof of that…not proof that we’re never going to get to a place where the vast majority of us simply stream our gaming.

Re: Sony Gates Customer Service Priority Behind New PS Stars Program

Bleachedsmiles

@BeerIsAwesome But the point being it didn’t get a free pass…
And the fact that they then removed f2p from a paywall was done, yes to gain some good faith…but was also something people were vocally complaining about. If no one cares they probably wouldn’t have done it to earn back some good faith.

For me the only thing that could be truly perceived as anti-consumer from Xbox is the fact that mp is still behind a paywall when all their games go pc day 1 without that paywall…and more often than not cross platform.

What things that could be considered anti consumer has Xbox done that they’ve had a free pass on comes to your mind?