Grumblevolcano

In related news, about a week ago Rock Band 4 became £7.99/$9.99 on the PSN store. There's not the usual discount signs which suggests it's the new permanent price for the game:

https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP8802-CUSA02901_00-RB4GAMERIVALSBDL

I'm going to predict around 6 games are PSVR2. While September only had 2 PSVR2 games (Ghostbusters and RE4 VR mode), that State of Play was only for already announced games. The February 2023 State of Play and May 2023 showcase which didn't have that restriction, had 6 games each for PSVR2.

• February - Foglands, Synapse, Journey to Foundation, Before Your Eyes, Humanity, RE4 VR mode
• May - FNaF Help Wanted 2, RE4 VR mode, Arizona Sunshine 2, Crossfire Sierra Squad, Synapse, Beat Saber Queen DLC

It would be cool if true, one of my favourite Sonic games and also it's nice seeing more games from 7th gen rescued. Mentioning Shadow makes me wonder if they may be adding in the 3DS exclusive content. The PS3/360/PC and 3DS had almost completely different stage and boss lists of which 3DS SA2 content was Shadow focused.

An extended look at Stellar Blade makes me think it's releasing in April/May. Sony's extended looks at games during State of Play in the past have been for games releasing within a few months later (e.g. Rise of the Ronin, Suicide Squad before the State of Play reception delayed it, Deathloop).

Sony confirmed State of Play for January 31st with extended looks at Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade:

https://blog.playstation.com/2024/01/29/state-of-play-returns-this-wednesday-2/

@MaccaMUFC Regarding the time period Sony's PC ports have been from so far, the big ones left pre-Ragnarok that seem likely to be ported are:

• Ghost of Tsushima
• Gran Turismo 7
• Demon's Souls remake

Though there's plenty of others that could happen if that Until Dawn rumour is true.

So it looks like if a game is on PS4 and the franchise it's a part of gets a movie or TV show, there'll be a PS5/PC remaster. The rumoured HZD remaster comes with the Horizon TV show, a GoW (2018) remaster comes with the GoW TV show, a Gravity Rush remaster comes with the Gravity Rush movie, etc.

I wish Sony would make use of their PS1-3 gold mine instead of games that are already on PS5 via backwards compatibility though if you must focus on PS4, at least do Bloodborne.

Kojima did tease that Death Stranding 2 would be in the next State of Play:

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/09/rumour-state-of-play-incoming-death-stranding-2-dev-photo-seems-to-suggest-showcase

Regarding the timing, I think Sony's going to do State of Play the same day as Nintendo Direct again and Direct seems extremely likely for next week or the week after.

@ztpayne7 Madcatz did the initial batch of RB4 instruments in 2015. It changed over to PDP in 2016 because Madcatz went out of business in early 2016.

@ztpayne7 @somnambulance PDP (the company that made Rock Band 4 instruments in 2016 alongside the release of the Rivals expansion) teased news about new guitars this month. The purpose of those guitars will no doubt be for Fortnite Festival but it's possible that they work with RB4.

Interesting how all 3 major February PS live service launch trailers dropped on the same day (Suicide Squad, Foamstars, Helldivers 2). Makes me wonder if they're getting live service out of the way to focus on single player in the next State of Play.

It'll be interesting to see how well TLoU 2 Remastered does over the coming weeks.

Rocksmith+ showcases perfectly the future of gaming if they get their wish. You can't play anything without a subscription, subscription price hikes, the return of region locking and content is removed without warning at any time.

It does feel like Nintendo's the last line of defence for physical gaming. Hopefully they stick very strongly with physical for Switch 2.

@Shad361 To be fair, Ghost of Tsushima never had debates about when console exclusivity would end because it's a Sony 1st party game. At most regarding other platforms you'll see a PC port in the coming years though with Jim Ryan leaving Sony in March, even that isn't guaranteed.

Meanwhile FFVII Remake has had a long journey of "Will it come to Xbox and Switch Pro/2 once the timed exclusivity ends?". There are people who would rather wait for a game to come to their platform of choice if there's a chance of that happening.

I think this is going to be the year we see the extent to which Jim Ryan focused on live service. If live service was in addition to the usual single player experiences, we'll likely see a very strong single player focused showcase sometime this year with 2025/2026 being very strong for PS Studios.

On the other hand, if Jim Ryan basically forced all the studios to work on live service instead of the usual single player experiences then I think Sony will be very quiet this year and any showcase would be like last year's one.

@Jacko11 @Tecinthebrain Nintendo and Sony's goals for mobile were different. Nintendo were using mobile to convince more people to buy Switch hardware and software. For example play Mario Kart Tour, see that MK8 Deluxe is a much better game so buy a Switch + MK8 Deluxe. So Nintendo were successful with their mobile strategy as Switch is currently the 3rd best selling console for total sales (only behind PS2 and DS) and Switch software sales are also extremely high.

Nintendo's big challenge now is converting Switch purchases into purchases for the Switch's successor. Mobile isn't important here.

Sony's strategy however is that their single player epics aren't profitable so they rely heavily on 3rd party live service microtransactions (we know this because of the FTC trial). As a result they tried to get their own source especially with Microsoft being allowed to buy up so many publishers but Sony's strategy backfired as the live service bubble has mostly popped outside of the juggernauts.

Less focus on live service, Nixxes pivot to remastering PS1-3 games for PS5 instead of porting PS4/PS5 games to PC (their Tomb Raider console ports were fantastic) and if PS5 Pro exists there ends up being a big showcase that leans more towards PS Studios to back the system up.

@danzoEX When either governments get involved or the live service juggernauts like Fortnite die. The combination of governments regulating loot boxes and the gigantic success of Fortnite is the reason why loot boxes got replaced by battle passes.

I have a feeling this State of Play will have a sizeable live service segment and air before Suicide Squad releases:

• Suicide Squad - February 2nd (Sony has the marketing)
• Helldivers 2 - February 8th (PS Studios)
• Skull & Bones - February 16th (Ubisoft seem to commonly appear in these PS events)
• Foamstars - Early 2024 (Appeared in both May PS Showcase and September SoP)
• Concord - 2024 (PS Studios and the only game in Sony's PS5 2024 hype video which doesn't have gameplay)
• Destiny 2 Final Shape DLC - June 4th 2024 (PS Studios)

While there will no doubt be single player games like FFVII Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin, it feels like Sony may use this State of Play while Jim Ryan is still there to get the live service stuff out of the way. Then do a showcase in Spring/Summer that's single player focused when Jim Ryan has been replaced.

@XenonKnight However Amy Hood at the FTC trial and the Xbox leaks in September does make it seem like Microsoft's patience is running out with Xbox not being profitable enough.

@CielloArc Yeah, PSVR2 announcement at CES 2022 and then they announced the GT7 update for PSVR2 announcement at CES 2023.

@Deoxyr1bose I think part of it is just an unfortunate side effect of Sony's new approach of announcing games. If you look back at Naughty Dog in the PS4 era:

• Uncharted 4 - Announced in November 2013, released in May 2016
• TLoU Remastered - Announced in April 2014, released in July 2014
• Uncharted The Lost Legacy - Announced in December 2016, released in August 2017
• TLoU 2 - Announced in December 2016, released in June 2020

Considering that games take around 5 years to make nowadays, Naughty Dog's next new game is probably a 2025/2026 release. In this case, under the old announcement approach this game would've been officially announced around 2022 so TLoU Part 1 and TLoU 2 Remastered would've just been seen as small side projects.

With the new announcement approach, if Naughty Dog's next new game is releasing in 2025/2026 it would be announced in 2024 at the earliest resulting in what you see now about Naughty Dog being seen as a remaster/remake studio.

I definitely think announcing games closer to launch is for the best overall though that setup does work most effectively when you have a very packed 1st party lineup like how Nintendo averages around 12 1st party games a year (Sony's average is much smaller).

@Mintie @themightyant @thefourfoldroot1 I think it comes down to why you buy a system.

If you buy solely for exclusives because you'd rather play multiplatform games elsewhere, 1st party droughts are devastating even if the 3rd party lineup is strong. 3rd party exclusives are mostly timed when not using 1st party IP nowadays so you have the option to wait and it may end up on your platform of choice.

But if you really like the ecosystem such that you'll happily use it for 3rd party games, there's a very good chance that while 1st party droughts may be disappointing you'll easily find 3rd party games if there's a strong 3rd party lineup and probably have a backlog too which can fill in the gaps.

I don't remember who it was but someone in the Nintendo Life chat during the September Nintendo Direct said that SaGa Emerald Beyond looks like an AI game. I guess that was the first signs of this announcement then...

So that must mean The Last Hope - Dead Zone Survival is #1, despite being a Switch exclusive it got in to the rankings because it uses Sony's TLoU franchise

@CJD87 The top 10 so far:
3 - Resident Evil 4
4 - Alan Wake 2
5 - Final Fantasy XVI
6 - Street Fighter 6
7 - Lies of P
8 - Dead Space
9 - Star Wars Jedi Survivor
10 - Cocoon

@twitchtvpat It doesn't explain Infamous but regarding the other 2, all of Sony's shooter franchises disappeared when Sony got the CoD marketing and timed exclusivity deal in 2015.

It would be fantastic and very wise for Sony to delve into their gold mine of games for systems that released prior to the PS4. That said, I doubt it will happen given so far Demon's Souls is the only PS Studios game that has been remastered/remade for PS5 that wasn't already playable on PS5 via backwards compatibility.

Those rumours from 2022 about a Horizon Zero Dawn remake feel a lot more likely to be real than this.

I think it's a combination of PSVR2 entry price (at normal price PS5 + PSVR2 is just over £1000), no 1st party games post-launch and the decision for the game to go live service.

A strong 1st party lineup showcases to players that the platform won't be abandoned and so it's safe to buy without regrets.

@InsaneWade I appreciate when sites are cautious of spoilers even with old games. I played FFVII for the first time last year and while it was still a very good game, I got spoiled on some of the major plot points because Sephiroth came to Smash Ultimate which took away from the experience.

@GamingFan4Lyf This licensing mess may be something do with the upcoming Warner Discovery/Paramount merger.

It's impressive that it only took 1 extra week for PS5 to reach this goal compared to PS4 considering the stock shortages earlier in the PS5's lifespan and that the PS4 Pro released in 2016 so some PS4 owners will have upgraded for more power.

@get2sammyb @PlayStationGamer3919 @themightyant At least Sony's timing is predictable enough that you pretty much know when you'll get info:

• State of Play in February/March
• State of Play or Showcase in May/June
• State of Play or Showcase in September
• Some presence at Summer Game Fest (June) and Game Awards (December)

My main hope is that PS5 Pro isn't just "yet another hardware announcement" but rather is announced as part of or shortly after a very strong Playstation Showcase.

The right choice given they were given only those 2 options but the big mistakes were forcing Factions 2 to be live service and getting Bungie involved.

Look at Nintendo, they're still making multiplayer focused games that have the kind of post-launch support you'd see from the PS3/360 era rather than going live service and that's going extremely well for them.

Now there's this awkward situation where the only way to play Factions on PS5 is the PS4 remaster because the PS5 version only has the single player.

Interesting seeing Mega Man 1-11 here, given Capcom has used PS+ Extra/Premium to help prepare people for new entries in franchises (e.g. last month had Dragon's Dogma and Dragon's Dogma 2 releases in March) maybe Mega Man 12 exists and gets announced in the next Nintendo Direct?

The only way I see it coming to PS is if Microsoft kills off Xbox or if Sony allows Game Pass on PS. The absence of platforms is likely about the release timing and it comes out Holiday 2028 at the earliest where it would be next gen Xbox if Xbox still exists at that point.

Look at Metroid Prime 4 for example, Nintendo announced that game for Switch in June 2017 and Switch 2 is seemingly fast approaching. If Nintendo made Metroid Prime 4 a Switch 2 exclusive there would be gigantic backlash because it was already announced for the current Switch. It's the same reason they didn't cancel BotW Wii U.

@Ainu20 I think Sony "taking control of the generation" would be an outcome where Microsoft having all the CoD marketing (all those PS5 CoD ads will be Series X|S CoD ads instead from sometime next year) and the franchise being all on Game Pass (including future games being day 1) doesn't shift interest towards Series X|S because people just end up buying the games on PS5 instead.

@ChrisDeku I think it comes down to which metric is used, when comparing PS5 2020 - 2023 to PS4 2013 - 2016:

• PS5 had more big games than PS4
• PS4 had more games than PS5
• PSVR had more games than PSVR2 (the latter has been a complete afterthought to Sony)

I think Genshin will win again because it's the only game offering free rewards for winning. If Honkai was also in the top 5, I could've seen the 2 gacha games split the vote resulting in BG3 winning.

Glad that it's a standalone trailer rather than at the Game Awards because it means there's a higher chance of Sony and Nintendo announcing 1st party stuff at the Game Awards.

It definitely felt like the Bungie acquisition was a panic move at the time given Microsoft's acquisition spree. The whole dilemma of "What happens if Microsoft's acquisition spree results in CoD/FIFA (EA Sports FC)/Fortnite/GTA being taken away?" will have put Sony in a difficult spot.

I do feel acquiring Bungie and putting them in charge of live service backfired but I feel the entire live service push backfired.

Their logic was probably that Mario Odyssey and Sonic Forces released very close together with Sonic Forces still selling well so they felt they could do the same with 2D Sonic.

Superstars could've done with a delay given the Switch version is unstable at times (mostly later on in the game), for example there's repeated stuttering during the final boss.

It would be cool if PS+ would have a month where there were no live service games. Lego 2K Drive is pretty much "Microtransactions: The Game".

I think the Switch 2 may factor somewhere into all this (the delayed Level-5 games are also coming to Switch). Releasing early on in the Switch 2's lifespan may give it an interest boost.

Kind of surprised it's just a free update for that 1 outfit rather than part of a bigger plan to have a PS5/Series X|S version.

If the strategy is more like Nintendo where the expansion's purpose is to get people buying consoles, it's fine. People check out stuff like the Mario movie, the mobile games and the theme park which convinces them to buy a Switch + MK8 Deluxe + SMB Wonder.

But that's not the impression I get from Jim Ryan. Rather an approach where it doesn't matter if people buy a console or not, just that they're spending money on Sony content. If mobile profits grow they'll focus more on mobile, if live service profits grow they'll focus more on live service, etc.

My prediction for the 5 finalists in a normal setup will be something like:

• BG3
• Alan Wake 2
• TotK or SMB Wonder
• Spider-Man 2 or FFXVI
• Hi-Fi Rush or RE4

But if there's rigging like last year I think the 5 finalists will include Genshin/Honkai, Hogwarts and Starfield. Geoff should really have banned Hogwarts from being a nominee.

@Jayslow I'd guess it's to do with the value of currency fluctuating (not talking about ingame currency but real currency like pounds, euros and dollars). You can gift stuff on Xbox but the redemption is region locked to an extreme extent (e.g. EU player can't redeem a game gifted from a UK player).

The more of an ad infected mess Xbox is, the more likely other publishers will join in with intrusive ads on console because Microsoft made it "acceptable". Rockstar or WB will probably be next.

I think it's a mixture of both to be honest. Sony did an amazing job in getting people hyped about the future of PS in 2020 and then the games did the talking. Communication has been absolutely atrocious for 2022 and 2023 but at the least the lineup was there and the price drops for the original PS5 disc model worked well.

But Microsoft's mistakes also helped PS, for example:

• The July 2020 Xbox Showcase was a complete trainwreck
• While 2021 gave some hope for the future, that hope was dashed when Halo Infinite turned out to be a disaster
• 2022 was probably the worst Xbox lineup in franchise history
• 2023's heavy hitters turned out average at best, trainwreck at worst

Though as games generally take around 5 years to make and Jim Ryan became head of SIE in February 2019, the true beginning of the Jim Ryan era starts in 2024 which is ominous.