Comments 1,318

Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?

Grumblevolcano

@tomic20 Sony's clearly not happy, otherwise they wouldn't have made the statements they made back in February and they wouldn't have tried to force PSN integration into their PC ports (Sony haven't given up on that one considering they've delisted GoT's PC release in regions that don't have PSN). But the reason they're not happy is likely that the CEO and investors are being extremely greedy rather than PS actually doing poorly.

Most of gaming's problems are caused by investors and people higher up in companies (like the CEO) being extremely greedy. They want infinite growth and treat devs as disposable when there's not enough growth. In hindsight, this is probably the real reason why Playstation moved from Japan to California in 2016 considering American laws are really weak when it comes to worker protections. This is all really disgusting stuff.

Re: God of War Ragnarok Set for PC, New Report Claims

Grumblevolcano

@AdamNovice They may leave it for PS Blog as there's only been 1 PC only announcement in a PS event before which was Spider-Man in the June 2022 State of Play. All the other PC announcements in State of Play were PS5/PC announcements.

They may pull a "By the way it's coming to PS+ Extra/Premium" if it was to appear in the showcase but I think it's more likely that Sony have realized the Game Pass model is toxic for 1st party games.

Re: Minor GTA 6 Website Update Pushes Community Closer to the Brink

Grumblevolcano

@Americansamurai1 I could've seen it be present if PS5 Pro was being announced in the showcase to try and convince people that the console isn't meaningless. But the timing here is all off, Sony announces showcases a week in advance so it's unlikely the showcase would air before May 22nd (PS events are most commonly on Wednesdays and Thursdays) which is too late for GTA6 news if Rockstar wanted to announce release date and preorders before May 16th.

Re: Talking Point: What's Next for Xbox Games on PS5, PS4?

Grumblevolcano

I think either the Xbox showcase ends up a fully multiplatform event like after each trailer you see the PS5 logo (and sometimes the Switch logo) or some other event like a Nintendo Direct or Summer Game Fest reveals phase 2 in May/June to be smaller in scope. The main thing being that whatever phase 2 is, it'll likely be announced by the end of June as Microsoft's fiscal year ends in June.

Re: Xbox Confirms June Showcase, Bound to Feature Some PS5 Games

Grumblevolcano

@BloodyBlact That was last year's showcase. While there probably will be a Playstation Showcase in May considering the last Playstation Studios release with a release date (Stellar Blade) released on Friday, it's very unlikely they'd do a showcase on a Friday as Friday announcements are generally associated with bad news.

Re: $70 Games Are Just a Phase, Believes Saber Interactive CEO

Grumblevolcano

I think it’ll come down to what the future of physical gaming is. Physical keeps prices in check because if retailers are unhappy with the RRP, they’ll just sell games for cheaper anyway. Like I remember Spider-Man 2 being around £60 physical at some retailers at launch (RRP being £70).

If Microsoft gets their wish of digital only future and Sony follows however, I think prices will skyrocket. 1 month of PS+ Premium/Game Pass Ultimate for £30, £100 to buy Spider-Man 3/Halo 7, etc.

Re: Sea of Thieves Reportedly a 'Key Test' for More Xbox Games on PS5

Grumblevolcano

I get the feeling that watching the Xbox showcase in June will be like watching a multiplatform showcase. So like they reveal the Shattered Space expansion for Starfield and then after the release date appears it shows that Starfield is coming to PS5 as a complete edition, they reveal that a Marcus Fenix collection is coming to PS5 same day as Xbox/PC, etc.

Re: Jim Ryan Leaves PlayStation as PS5 Set to Become Its 'Most Successful Console Ever'

Grumblevolcano

It honestly feels as though despite Jim Ryan leaving, the Jim Ryan era has only just begun. Like games tend to take around 5 years to make nowadays and Jim Ryan became head of Playstation in February 2019 (a bit over 5 years ago).

Jim Ryan’s main legacy so far is the really bad stuff like the mess regarding Bungie, the recent layoffs and studio closures, the gigantic push towards live service in general (Factions 2 even got caught up in the crossfire), the end of smaller single player games, etc.

The one positive that Jim Ryan has done was fighting against the Activision acquisition. While he failed to stop it, his efforts were not wasted.

Re: PlayStation Fans Torn on Prospect of PS5 Pro

Grumblevolcano

It all comes down to the software, right? I mean look at Playstation Meeting 2016, they announced the hardware (PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro) and presented a bunch of games to show off the Pro (Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone and a load of 3rd party games).

Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Slated for Adding Sinister PS5 Microtransactions at Launch

Grumblevolcano

@NEStalgia Nintendo's still mostly safe from that kind of stuff (microtransactions contained to mobile) though I do worry about next gen. Tactics seem to mirror the generation's power so like Switch is 7th gen power and we saw a lot of PS3/360 era strategies.

The main things that happened with 8th gen were:

  • Unsustainable AAA
  • Live service (loot box model and then the battle pass model)
  • PC ports of 1st party exclusives
  • PS Now/Game Pass model
  • Trying to push people towards digital and always online

Re: PS5 Pro's Rumoured Spectral Super Resolution Tech Could Be Transformative

Grumblevolcano

@NEStalgia I wonder how much new hardware is driven by 3rd party requests so like Square Enix wanting PS5 Pro for a stable performance mode for FFXVI/FFVII Rebirth/KH4, Capcom wanting PS5 Pro for stable Dragon's Dogma 2/MH Wilds/whatever the next RE game is, Rockstar wanting PS5 Pro for more visually impressive and/or stable GTA6, etc.

I think back to the Nintendo comment about how they said recently that they don't need more power for 1st party games (current Switch is powerful enough) so by that logic the only reason Switch 2 would exist is for better 3rd party support.

Re: Sony Polls Players on Favourite Games That Aren't Bloodborne

Grumblevolcano

All the games listed have at least 1 out of a native PS5 version and a PC version. That said, they could've varied the list more by including Days Gone (got a PC version) and Sackboy (got PS5/PC versions).

Maybe they're teasing that HZD and GoW (2018) end up getting PS5 remasters later this year as they're the only ones that have a PC port but not a native PS5 version?

Re: Rumour: PS5 Pro Is Up to Three Times Faster Than PS5 as Specs Surface

Grumblevolcano

@NEStalgia I think Microsoft will keep only 2 Xbox consoles on the market at a time (they made sure to discontinue 360 before XB1 got a revision and XB1 X|S before Series X|S released) so like if a handheld happens, the Series S is discontinued.

I think the holiday 2024 Xbox hardware will either be the September 2023 leak or the September 2023 leak with Series S replaced with a handheld. They may tease next gen but I don't think there'll be a Pro.

The focus being on trying to get people to subscribe to Game Pass and porting Xbox exclusives to PS5.

Re: Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis Will Be Locked Behind Expansion Pass

Grumblevolcano

@ShadowofTwilight I still think the Microsoft deal with SEGA and the nature of Game Pass is the source of all this. It feels like the setup for Atlus releases for non-Game Pass members are to pay for Atlus games to be on Game Pass.

So like how the floodgates opening on XGS exclusives going multiplatform feels like Microsoft's way of making up for lost money from putting CoD day 1 on Game Pass.

Re: Rumour: The Last of Us 2 Remastered Is Sony's Next PC Port

Grumblevolcano

Looking back at previous PC port gaps between announcement and release:

  • HZD - 5 months (March - August 2020)
  • Days Gone - 3 months (February - May 2021)
  • GoW (2018) - 3 months (October 2021 - January 2022)
  • Spider-Man Remastered - 2 months (June - August 2022)
  • Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection - 13 months (September 2021 - October 2022)
  • Sackboy - 1 month (September - October 2022)
  • Miles Morales - 5 months (June - November 2022)
  • Returnal - 2 months (December 2022 - February 2023)
  • TLoU1 - 9 months (June 2022 - March 2023)
  • Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart - 2 months (May - July 2023)
  • HFW - 6 months (September 2023 - March 2024)
  • GoT - 2 months (March 2024 - May 2024)
  • Until Dawn - TBA (January - TBA 2024)

So I'd guess early 2025 for TLoU 2.

Re: Exclusivity Is the Achilles' Heel of Huge Blockbusters, Says Former PlayStation Exec

Grumblevolcano

In the end Nintendo's strategy seems the most sustainable, staying fully exclusive but focusing on a wide range of experiences and taking full advantage of the gold mine that is legacy content (Sony has a pre-PS4 gold mine that they're almost completely ignoring).

@TwoDents I think the timing of Microsoft's releases are a result of opening the floodgates, that there's seemingly no 1st party Microsoft releases on Xbox until May (Hellblade 2) and that their fiscal year ends in June.

Re: Japan Sales Charts: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Tops, But Doesn't Even Come Close to Remake

Grumblevolcano

I think it's to do with the announced exclusivity side of things. Remake was 1 year PS4 exclusive, 16 was 6 months PS5 exclusive and Rebirth is 3 months PS5 exclusive. Considering the lifespan of the Switch so far and Square Enix's support of the Switch, until yesterday's article about Remake and Rebirth being PS console exclusive (rather than launch console exclusive) you could deduce that recent PS exclusive FF would come to Switch's successor.

Plenty of people are willing to wait for games to come to their system of choice if you give them any hope that it could come to that system.

Re: Ghost of Tsushima's Anticipated PC Port Launches an Assault on Steam Charts

Grumblevolcano

@Legend_Au I think eventually there may be day 1 PC releases that aren't live service because Jim Ryan's replacement said about aggressive PC strategy. There's a point where the slowing down of PS5 PS Studios releases and running out of PS4/PS5 games to port over to PC converge. At that point you're either ending up with no longer having an aggressive PC strategy or you're releasing day 1 on PC.

Similar thing happened with Xbox and the XB1, by the time day 1 on PC started (ReCore in September 2016) there wasn't much left for XB1 in terms of already released games that could be brought to PC:

  • Killer Instinct (2013) - December 2016
  • Sunset Overdrive (2014) - November 2018
  • Master Chief Collection (2014) - Gradually over December 2019 - November 2020, the XB1 version had to be fixed up first for PC port to be viable

These never made it to PC:

  • Kinect games - Microsoft abandoned Kinect
  • Halo 5 - Microsoft abandoned Halo 5 to focus on MCC and Infinite, there was a Forge version but the normal single player and multiplayer never made it to PC
  • Forza Motorsport 5/Forza Horizon 2 - I'd guess licensing reasons
  • Rare Replay - I'd guess the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility games causes problems with the creation of a PC port