Enriesto

I don’t think I could give more than a 6/10, and that’s being generous. So disappointed, what were they thinking when organizing this? That we don’t want to see first party content? And after almost 2 years of keeping quiet? They have some explaining to do, my goodness. I need to go for a walk lol, that was a travesty.

I love this game!! One of my favourite coop games ever. I always hogged the good items on screen haha, no ray guns for you!

First Party - Shadow of the Colossus, Little Big Planet, Twisted Metal Black, TLOU, Wipeout XL, GT3, others I’m forgetting…

Third Party - Vagrant Story, FF7, FF10, RE4, Elden Ring, Persona 5, Dark Cloud 2, Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3, MGS2, others I’m forgetting…

And that’s just PlayStation! There’s more but that’s just off the top of my head without considering my favourite Nintendo and Xbox titles.

Wow, I imagine a lot of the OLED models were TOTK editions? No doubt this peak in sales is related to the Zelda release, and I’m wondering if this will continue on beyond an initial release trend. Also imagine the same will happen for PS5 just before Ff16. Interesting times!

I’ll be getting my copy of Zelda at midnight tonight 🙂

@somnambulance Well said, and understood. You learn to pick your battles after a while on these sister sites, sometimes it's best not to leave a comment that disagrees with most of the community, I get that.

Stray was published by Annapurna, sorry, I mentioned it as something I enjoyed on PS5 last year as I was just sharing that it was the platform I enjoyed most in 2022, and Stray was one of the highlights for me.

I don't disagree with any of your takes regarding the PS exclusives that came out last year, no problem. I just feel that way about the Nintendo exclusives from last year, and it's blasphemy to indicate you didn't think it was THAT strong of a year from them on a Nintendo-focused blog site. I certainly think this year will be better for me.

Square Enix cranked out a lot! There might be a good case for them being the key player, and I share the nod you make towards Triangle Strategy, it's a gem. They gave us an insane catalogue, with a few standout titles.

Anyway, you can see I'm not trying to take away anything from your experience and I believe most here would never do that either. Sometimes gamers need to retract their claws and open their minds to what other people say, it's not necessarily a form of tribalism.

@somnambulance A totally valid experience for you to have! Nintendo was very diverse in the releases as you say, and did have a strong year. I think I'm on the other end of what you're saying, and that's not bias, it's just I don't think the games Nintendo released in 2022 truly compelled me. I enjoyed XBC 3 for instance, great story and characters, but the world was less imaginative than previous titles and some of the RPG functions in the game just didn't work for me. I also didn't like Pokemon Arceus, and am not a fan of Splatoon or Bayonetta. So, just not the year for me personally.

Sony hit home with me just through two titles alone. Ragnarok and Stray, the latter of which left a bigger personal impact on me than any other game in 2022. It's a precious game I recommend to all. I only just picked up GT7 but am enjoying that too.

Hopefully you don't get negative feedback for your thoughts, I think it's great when we can talk about why we preferred certain publishers over others in a given year. Hell, Xbox had a decent year with games that didn't deserve enough attention, like Pentiment.

Maybe it's an effect of something like metacritic? I've always had an issue with the site, I don't agree with their aggregate score formulas, not to mention the total mess of user score ratings in the last few years. I just don't think it can do any game's experience in others proper justice.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed Nintendo so much last year. May the big 3 succeed in 2023.

@eduscxbox where is your source on spiderman originally being multiplat? It’s widely known that ms turned it down.

As for the FF games, I agree with you there, they are aggressively held deals to keep big games exclusive for Sony’s consoles.

I suppose I’ll be the one to give the unsexy answer… invest in the studios you have, and/or pick up a small studio that is ambitious and willing to partner with Sony.

I don’t want anything that would shift the market further into publisher consolidation. Besides, as I (and others) have mentioned multiple times, Sony doesn’t need to buy any major publishers they deal with. Capcom and Square Enix happily do marketing and exclusivity deals for PlayStation, and are able to continue growing their development teams with the revenue they incur from them and their other partners (Nintendo and Microsoft). A lot of good can be done with 5b, so do what Microsoft should have done and invest in what you have. But alas, a dreamworld I know, because of profit hunting, capitalism, etc. just not reality.

But that’s what I would like, call it my wish list 😅

@JSnow2 All this news of PS5 growth screams for an event, I hope the rumours are true that something soon is coming!

Although, could do without seeing Jim Ryan during the announcements 😂

Certainly curious, as though it’s in preparation for releases like FF and other big names this year on PS5? I’m not even sure what else is releasing this year that would pull Japanese consumers in to buy a system. Are they all digital purchases? It’s interesting.

I could see Switch doing spikes the next couple of weeks after yesterday’s Direct (which was super), but it otherwise might be PS5’s time to rise there. And for what it’s worth, good for the Series S!

@NEStalgia sheesh, that’s a very sad story lol. I hope at some point you were able to keep a working PS3, sounds like very rotten luck.

My only point, exceptions aside, was that the DVD function served as a temporary draw in for consumers, around launch until about 2 years later (give or take) as dvd players became very cheap following the ps2’s launch. Anecdotes don’t do much for me, as I could easily remember households having both a ps2 and dvd player growing up. I’m just tired of seeing people online, especially content creators, say it sold well because of the dvd player as it lacks analysis.

Not saying you’re doing that 😎 and again, I love that the Switch is doing well.

I don’t agree with the comments arguing for the DVD player narrative, that it was a large reason why it sold so well. Given how many software units were sold (almost 1.4b), and that it had a higher attach ratio than both the GameCube and Xbox shows people bought it to engage in the game library. The DVD player was a very small factor for most I would argue, especially since the PS2 continued to sell well during the PS3 days, not to mention dvd players were cheap following PS2’s launch. Sorry, just don’t buy the notion, and I’m not sure why people keep on with the idea that it sold because it could play dvds. The evidence shows otherwise.

That said, not trying to poopoo on the Switch, and I commented on NL how impressive it is.

One of the few games I’m interested in fully completing. It’s just an excuse to explore every minuscule corner of Hogwarts, would be a delight rather than a chore. Haven’t bought a game yet for 2023, this might be the first one 🙂

@Jdduhd the op I was commenting on was suggesting Microsoft would try to acquire square if the AB deal failed. Because Nintendo and Sony are so much more involved in their products (and their success), they would be extremely hawkish against competition trying to buy them out. They wouldn’t have a chance, so my point I suppose was that there’s no need for Sony to buy them as a pre-emptive measure against Microsoft.

I do agree that Sony would be more likely to purchase them than Nintendo, but I don’t think they ever will. I wouldn’t want them to either, as I don’t think consolidating an entity that big is good for most game consumers (I obviously feel the same way about the ongoing acquisition). But, it’s been a wild year with the AB situation… anything’s possible!

@4kgk2 Sony and Nintendo would both be on the warpath if they tried to acquire square. Not to mention the legal hoops they’d have to hop over concerning the Asian market (look how hard they’re fighting for Activision Blizzard).

I also don’t think that Sony should buy them. Why do it? They have a very strong relationship and do exclusive deals for their biggest games. It’s unnecessary imo

This already has my attention more than Engage. Not to prematurely dismiss the next Fire Emblem game, it could be great, but this style and grittiness interests me more, and has a team with a solid portfolio working on it. 2023 off to a good start for TRPGs

I thought about picking it up, but I spent a lot on Black Friday deals and one of my favourite games is getting the PS5 upgrade treatment this week. For free! So I’ll be playing the Witcher 3 and keeping an eye on a sale for Crisis Core next year.

Great news. Not only was the original length very generous, but highly replayable. We will be sinking much more than 15-20 hours into this 🙂

No order, all must-plays in my view:

Bloodborne
GoW
GoT
Persona 5 Royal
RDR2
Witcher 3
Dark Souls 3
RE7
TLOU Part 1 (haven’t played 2 yet)
Medievil (Wildcard. I love Daniel Fortesque, the original is one of my favourite games ever).

There’s so many more, both 1st and 3rd party that are great. The PS4 library is something I think many will appreciate more as time goes on, I see the term “overrated” too often in reference to the games. That’s not a dig at Nintendo or Xbox, the PS4 really is that great.

@Gunnerzaurus To be clear, I don’t think it’s a good thing this acquisition is underway. I’m not a cheerleader for Microsoft, despite loving Xbox (I love all three console ecosystems). So I can also be critical of Sony while enjoying my PS5, meaning I’ll exercise my skepticism when they do something as described in the article - doesn’t affect me enjoying a little Returnal tonight.

I’m also not sure what you mean by good PR. Do you mean Microsoft is being seen as something positive for this deal being made? I certainly don’t, which is why Phil and his associates are so often covered about their thoughts on the process. Believe me, I don’t accept much of what they say - they can’t appear malevolent by any stretch.

That said, I think you would agree that Sony is, at the very least, not helping their image at all in engaging their competitor with all these online feuds. They have years left with COD, and can figure something out.

As if Sony doesn’t have enough bad PR? They just keep digging… and use the consumer’s well-being as a scapegoat for their frustration with Microsoft’s deal. Let it go… any more digs like this will hurt Sony regardless of the deal going through or not.

Just watched it after work. Both Nintendo and Sony delivered today, amazing announcements. Great to be a gamer 😎

Have to be honest, I didn’t care for the original game. Wonderful soundtrack, beautiful design, but the writing, stories, and characters were generic and poorly done to me. So I’m in the minority likely of not being excited for this, but I’ll keep an eye on it. Happy for you all that are hyped for it!

1) Ragnarok
2) Callisto
3) Hogwarts
4) Witcher PS5
5) Rollerdrome (seriously, where is the love for this game?)

I am excited! I played the sequel on PS2, but never the original. I remember one PS magazine back in the day describing World as the Mario 64 on PS1 - whatever that would mean today lol. Might be a day one pickup for me!

I’m stoked for all of these, what a show last night. But it’s XVI for me, barely. Subject to change. I just want them all lol

I will try at some point, I did enjoy the original. But the Blasphemous sequel is most on my radar for 2d souls-likes. I’ll play that day one even if it scores a 6/10 too ☺️

I assumed it was a timed exclusive for Xbox and PC based on platform release. Only two programmers, wow! I’m happy to pick this up on my laptop and then double dip later, I love supporting small indie teams.

Haven’t played HFW yet, so it’s Elden Ring. But a shout to Kirby and the forgotten land! Beat it this week, what a wonderful game.

If true, don’t split it up. Don’t tease us with parted sequels, don’t rush it and ABOVE ALL… don’t forget chocobo hot n cold.

Very happy for the team, it’s a truly phenomenal game.

If they announce a proper remake or something like HD-2D, I’ll be very excited. I believe Sakimoto, my boi, did the sublime score for this title.

If it’s just a cheap remaster, I’ll still be excited. Why? I’m a sucker, that’s why.

Sheesh, that’s a lot of projects. Just checked the company size, less than 300 people there. I’m sure Sony is managing the various studio teams well, hoping there aren’t crunch issues. ANYWAY.. cool announcement, looking forward to more news in the future.

It’s still Astro’s Playroom. I said in another blog that the only other game that elicited such wonder and emotion in me was Mario Galaxy. It’s a work of art and so much more than a tech demo. In my view, I’ve yet to see anything match it on PS5 so far.

@TheRealist haha sorry, thought it best to break the phrase into the comments in a light-hearted manner. Not a fan of the saying myself 😅

Booked off work next week to immerse myself in it. Threw in a day at the spa and museum to balance things out so I’m not playing too much 😜 regardless, beyond excited for a game I’ve been waiting to play since the first trailer. Let’s all “git gud” together fam!

I think that set the bar for State Of Play going forward. Content is strictly associated with the game the presentation is meant for. No ads, no other game trailers. This should be it, and I’m so much more hyped for GT7 now. Cannot wait.

Potential hot take.. but what if Nintendo is finalizing an acquisition right now that isn’t Platinum games? As in, they’re going for a major publisher themselves? Seems like they’re left out of this conversation because the two big buys that occurred don’t affect them much, but I suspect they’re quietly playing the acquisition game too. So I think Geoff could be hinting at Nintendo doing something soon.

@MaccaMUFC I don’t think future projects will be multi-platform. Maybe? I don’t see it. I imagine Sony will have them revive old IPS or create something new. Like you, I’m hoping they don’t do something like Destiny 3, but rather pool that talent into a different series. Anything they whip up won’t be on Xbox, but I could be wrong. Regardless, I think shooter fans on PlayStation have something to be excited for.

@Shepherd_Tallon I am so jealous! I’ve also just had a week off approved from work for last week of february, but I will only be playing the regular copies. Oh well - still excited and will be getting lots of spa treatments throughout the week when not gaming (covid has been hard, so why not)

I’ve seen a lot of different views online, and I’m in the camp of “they need to shift gears.” This could mean more acquisitions including one big one (Square Enix, Capcom), or pushing Spartacus to do more PS5 titles. They might have had the foresight of Microsoft doing something big, and have been building their studios and services accordingly.

Otherwise, they need to be more aggressive. Sorry, they just do. They will lose countless millions in the long run from this acquisition and they won’t make that revenue back from their first party releases. They need something huge.

Also a state of play or something really soon, that would be nice.

@spakai Totally your call but I would recommend you finish the main story first.

@spakai GoT is wonderful. I hope you try the Iki Island addition, it’s the chef’s kiss of extra content. Just finished it myself, sublime 😎

Access to their legacy library. That’s my priority, even more so than day one drops. Give me the ability to play a high volume of older titles - like hundreds and hundreds - and I will pay around the game pass amount, probably more.

Does replayability factor in for you folks? I just played RE3 remake for the… sixth time? That clocked around 20 hours and was satisfying to me. RE2 Remake even more so, given the Game B options for Leon and Claire, I easily have 40 hours in that one. I can’t get enough.

As for games in general, the sweet spot is 15-20 hours if you exclude open world titles. So if you asked me about Rift Apart or Metroid Dread from last year, I’d tell you too short. Even factoring replayability - they both me took me 20 hours to 100% on the hardest difficulty and I don’t see the need for return.

I suppose I can’t shake the notion of not going through a game again. I don’t play a game, get my “10 - 20 hours” and move onto something else forgetting the game. I want to connect with the experience, and that often means replaying and better understanding the story. Bloodborne comes to mind.

I could ramble endlessly about it, but being able to enjoy a game with variation through multiple plays is crucial to me.

This is crazy exciting! No doubt there will be more acquisitions to follow in the vein of VR game development. If Sony doesn’t fumble on availability and affordability, this could be a massive success.

@iStarkill It will be a very tiny slice of games. If I’m not mistaken, the combined libraries make up more than 10k games. Sounds great, but we will only receive a small portion unless Sony has some tricks to try. Not telling you to not be excited or hope for a win, but I currently don’t see much more for legacy titles than something like NSO games. I will happily eat my words if I’m wrong.

Just received this game as a late Christmas gift, been playing for a couple days. It is breaking my spirit thus far, I’m in disbelief at how bad I am. I love the world, the audio, the story is interesting… but it’s aggressive, sheesh. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, it may not be for me, but there are a lot of exceptional qualities so far.

@Subsided Hellblade - That was a pretty jaw-dropping trailer.

@MatthewJP hahaha, that’s exactly what I thought when I got my ps5 and checked it out to see if it was worth buying. I had a hunch in about a year, ps plus would find a way to give it to us - and here we are.

Happy about Mortal Shell though 😎