@LikelySatan I would argue the best multiplayer games are those not meant to last in perpetuity. HD was $40…. All the people complaining likely got their money’s worth within the first few months so it should be quite easy to move on.
The dev team is four brothers, which I think is super cool. However, their previous games were pretty poorly received. I don’t have much hope for this game but I love the idea. Sometimes you just want stupid fun.
@breakneck oof so at launch they are doing 80% digital. My guess is pretty soon physical will be limited to steelbook editions for most releases, so if you want physical you pay extra.
@LowDefAl I dunno I think for most people it’s dead. Capcom said they were at like 93% digital sales in a recent article right? I would have assumed RE and MH were games that got a good physical release.
@MrGawain It’s just aimed at a small audience. If most consumers don’t buy more than a few games a year… why subscribe? You need to be a hardcore gamer, who also plays a wide variety of games, for it to be worth the money and thats a very small portion of the audience. Lots of hardcore gamers only play a few games a year now that there are live service games. So it’s also only a portion of that audience. The recent price increase also hurts any possibility of expansion. I just don’t understand how it’s intended to work.
I didn’t even remember this from the original game so no big loss. I do agree with some of the points being made on violence in video games. I love when a game gives me the choice not to be a mass murderer. Death Stranding was my 2019 GOTY and I never entered combat unless it was one of the few forced fights.
@DTfearTheBEARD just a heads up it’s super easy to replace the sticks on the regular dualsense as well. I bought sticks on Amazon for like ten bucks popped open the controller no more stick drift.
@Czar_Khastik Yea I currently have presets for Helldivers, Returnal, and RDR2. Mostly just mapping buttons and using the back paddles to make life a little easier in-game. You can switch between them instantaneously and actually setting the presets is easy as well.
@Czar_Khastik It’s a great controller. The custom sticks and back paddles have been great and it has other useful features. The actual controller itself is nice and heavy, which I like, and the presets for different games is super helpful. Lots of people complain about the battery life.. but my couch has usb chargers so that doesn’t affect me.
@TheArt the test is going to be whether NCAA moved series s with its launch. That game has the most casual audience most likely to grab the cheapest option jut to play that game.
PS5 gets a lot of flack for being the “worst” ps console and “unnecessary.” I actually think it’s an impressive bit of kit. Load times/download times and the easily expanded storage are great. For the most part the games look and play great. The pandemic and the rapidly changing industry have caused huge problems in an industry with development timelines that are difficult to change.
Also, everything in life has gotten much more expensive, so of course the software and hardware has as well. It’s a bad situation but if labor and cost of living rises… so do hobbies like video games.
Jim Ryan gets a lot of crap, but his supervision of the PS5 launch was epic and is a huge part of the reason why its sales are not far behind the PS4. Sony had to deal with the pandemic, the rise of “lifetime” time-sink free to play games, and MS attempting to buy it’s market share and is still maintaining its position in the industry. Sure it’s a bummer we are not getting first party Sony style games at the same rate we used to, but most of the articles and comments focus on the negative when there is actually a lot to be positive about and a lot to look forward to. The big releases are coming and they will be announced and released on a short timeline, which I think is actually preferable.
Yea this looks like something I would really enjoy. Too bad I promised myself I wouldn’t buy anything new and would clean up my platinum backlog this year… will be breaking that promise for Astrobot
Hmmm I wonder if that will would hold up? Seems like you could challenge that as an unreasonable restraint on alienation but I have no idea where LocalThunk is from.
@Colour The evolution of Remedy as a studio has been great to watch. Control really stepped up their narrative prowess and then Alan Wake 2 surpassed it in every way.
@Bettyswollocks Are they floundering? I think FFXIV is making an absolute killing. They had some underperforming games but they are still making a ton of money.
@OldGamer999 yea dev times have gotten longer, but I imagine a lot of what was done for factions got subsumed by TLOU3, and that happened much earlier than the studio announced. I think we get a new ND game next year, with the announcement only 3-6 months before launch!
@OldGamer999 I think you will see something from them soon enough! It was four years between Uncharted 4 and TLOU2 and they have two games in development with a huge team. They also are going to announce their next game and release it in quick succession when they do announce it.
@RubyCarbuncle Hmmm yes it doesn’t stop me from making a purchase. A short internet outage is not going to bother me, and, like I said if the emp goes off and the internet really goes down the last thing on my mind is going to be video games.
@Yagami Certainly. One of the main themes of the game is the encroaching civilization on the natural world and the way of life lead by the main character. Traveling across vast expanses where you can hunt, camp, fish and do what you please is a stark contrast from the eastern side of the map where large towns are heavily policed. Also, the size of the map is used to the games advantage through the gameplay, which is deliberately slow and methodical, through the chance encounter story telling and set pieces that you can stumble upon. Traveling from one town to another feels like a journey through a mostly untamed landscape and there is an enormous amount to do in the world that lets you feel like you are actually living that cowboy life. While the story itself is very well told and compelling, the open world is what makes the game special.
@Batesy125s I agree with you, although I think this was a statement to attract talent to the studio more than anything. For me, there are only a few genre defining games. Red Dead 2 for open worlds, the last of us for story centered single player sad dad cinematics, etc. seems like there can only be one for each genre to be truly genre defining.
@nessisonett Interesting, in the U.S. she would be a public figure and would have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you were lying, knew you were lying, and acted with actual malice (knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth). It’s an exceptionally high burden.
@nessisonett Well thought out and perfectly understandable stance. I have taken similar stances in my own life, I havent voted since the first Obama election because he immediately bombed civilians using drones like a week after taking office, so I appreciate your conviction.
Harry Potter is just an important cultural touchstone for an entire generation, and it is a real shame the author is using her status to do what she does. I just think its hard to tell people to forego something they love and grew up loving because the creator is such a scumbag. The world is too complicated, you can't buy an electronic device without supporting the destruction of the environment, unfair labor practices (arguably slavery or indentured servitude in some situations), or the corporations that make them and use their money and influence to control government policy around the world. Buying actually sustainable groceries is near impossible for most people on a budget. When it comes to how people spend their money on entertainment, their means of escape from an ever complicated world, I find it hard to pass judgment.
Regardless, best of luck to you and your community, things are also getting worse than they are better on this side of the world depending on what state you live in.
Edit: Also, not sure why your comment was removed. This was a good faith discussion with zero animosity displayed on either side.
@get2sammyb It’s sad how refreshing that is. I have fond memories of unlocking characters and skins through gameplay without a battle pass or micro transactions. I think there is actually a lot of room for developers to sell more copies by adopting that practice again.
@nessisonett Rowling sucks but she is a billionaire. Buying or boycotting the game or anything she does will have zero effect on her life. Of course it’s a personal choice and we all need to make a judgment call on what we stand for. I do think, however, people can buy and enjoy Harry Potter products without supporting Rowling. It is impossible to life an economically moral life unless you are rich and can carefully source everything you buy.
@LikelySatan Well you criticized the game itself for micro transactions… that is always fair so my observation was not based on your comments. What’s more I generally agree that EA sports games inclusion of a pay to win mode in almost all of its games is at least a little gross.
I remember playing as Bo Jackson on the SNES madden game that was practically a cheat code but you didn’t have to pay for him 🤣
It is weird how rude and divisive the comments on this article are. College football is a huge cultural event in the U.S. if you don’t like football or don’t understand why it’s so popular, is the best use of your time really coming to the comments and being negative about it?
@OldGamer999 outside of Xbox console sales arnt really down. The software sales are… but I think that’s more due to the subscription services entering the console space. Overall I think the push for more revenue is just coming from the decrease in profits caused by ballooning development costs.
@KundaliniRising333 "It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
Just replace president with whatever you are talking about and this Hitchhikers Guide quote applies to pretty much everything.
Comments 538
Re: Helldivers 2 Community Fractures, Traitor 'Chaosdivers' Want to See Super Earth Burn
@LikelySatan I would argue the best multiplayer games are those not meant to last in perpetuity. HD was $40…. All the people complaining likely got their money’s worth within the first few months so it should be quite easy to move on.
Re: Test Your PlayStation General Knowledge - Issue 25
Had to guess on most of them this time… not a good showing
Re: Rumour: Xbox to Announce a 'Big' Game Coming to PS5 at Gamescom
@Specky I wouldn’t play either the only Xbox exclusives I think I would get would be a halo 1-3 collections and a gears 1-3 collection.
Re: Rumour: Xbox to Announce a 'Big' Game Coming to PS5 at Gamescom
@Frmknst Hellblade 2 is way smaller than Forza or Starfield on pretty much every metric though…
Re: Dino Shooter Son and Bone Achieves Peak Video Game in PS5 Gameplay
The dev team is four brothers, which I think is super cool. However, their previous games were pretty poorly received. I don’t have much hope for this game but I love the idea. Sometimes you just want stupid fun.
Re: Alan Wake 2 Still Hasn't Made Remedy Any Royalties, But Work Is Underway on Max Payne's PS5 Remakes
@breakneck oof so at launch they are doing 80% digital. My guess is pretty soon physical will be limited to steelbook editions for most releases, so if you want physical you pay extra.
Re: Alan Wake 2 Still Hasn't Made Remedy Any Royalties, But Work Is Underway on Max Payne's PS5 Remakes
@LowDefAl I dunno I think for most people it’s dead. Capcom said they were at like 93% digital sales in a recent article right? I would have assumed RE and MH were games that got a good physical release.
Re: Fortnite's Next Season Will Make Unthinkable Sums of Money on PS5, PS4
@Malaise Fortnite’s success was when I realized I was old and just didn’t understand these youths.
Re: Alan Wake 2 Still Hasn't Made Remedy Any Royalties, But Work Is Underway on Max Payne's PS5 Remakes
@Alexface Remedy budgets are famously low for the quality of their games. Unfortunately, reports have been that the game did not sell well.
Re: GTA 6 Won't Be on Subs Like PS Plus at Launch Because Take-Two Makes 'Rational' Decisions
@MrGawain It’s just aimed at a small audience. If most consumers don’t buy more than a few games a year… why subscribe? You need to be a hardcore gamer, who also plays a wide variety of games, for it to be worth the money and thats a very small portion of the audience. Lots of hardcore gamers only play a few games a year now that there are live service games. So it’s also only a portion of that audience. The recent price increase also hurts any possibility of expansion. I just don’t understand how it’s intended to work.
Re: Dead Rising's PS5 Remaster Will Strip Bonus Points for Erotic Photos
@DeepEyes Isn’t demolition man about a utopia where people from the past return and destroy it.
Re: Dead Rising's PS5 Remaster Will Strip Bonus Points for Erotic Photos
I didn’t even remember this from the original game so no big loss. I do agree with some of the points being made on violence in video games. I love when a game gives me the choice not to be a mass murderer. Death Stranding was my 2019 GOTY and I never entered combat unless it was one of the few forced fights.
Re: Astro Bot PS5 DualSense Controller Pre-Orders Are Now Live
@DTfearTheBEARD just a heads up it’s super easy to replace the sticks on the regular dualsense as well. I bought sticks on Amazon for like ten bucks popped open the controller no more stick drift.
Re: Astro Bot PS5 DualSense Controller Pre-Orders Are Now Live
@Czar_Khastik Yea I currently have presets for Helldivers, Returnal, and RDR2. Mostly just mapping buttons and using the back paddles to make life a little easier in-game. You can switch between them instantaneously and actually setting the presets is easy as well.
Re: Astro Bot PS5 DualSense Controller Pre-Orders Are Now Live
@Czar_Khastik It’s a great controller. The custom sticks and back paddles have been great and it has other useful features. The actual controller itself is nice and heavy, which I like, and the presets for different games is super helpful. Lots of people complain about the battery life.. but my couch has usb chargers so that doesn’t affect me.
Re: The Smash Hit Vampire Survivors Finally Comes to PS5, PS4 Later This Month
@Frmknst It’s a great game with a satisfying gameplay loop. You don’t actually have to be negative every time you post it’s not a requirement.
Re: Reaction: PS5 Needs a Price Cut
@TheArt the test is going to be whether NCAA moved series s with its launch. That game has the most casual audience most likely to grab the cheapest option jut to play that game.
Re: Reaction: PS5 Needs a Price Cut
PS5 gets a lot of flack for being the “worst” ps console and “unnecessary.” I actually think it’s an impressive bit of kit. Load times/download times and the easily expanded storage are great. For the most part the games look and play great. The pandemic and the rapidly changing industry have caused huge problems in an industry with development timelines that are difficult to change.
Also, everything in life has gotten much more expensive, so of course the software and hardware has as well. It’s a bad situation but if labor and cost of living rises… so do hobbies like video games.
Jim Ryan gets a lot of crap, but his supervision of the PS5 launch was epic and is a huge part of the reason why its sales are not far behind the PS4. Sony had to deal with the pandemic, the rise of “lifetime” time-sink free to play games, and MS attempting to buy it’s market share and is still maintaining its position in the industry. Sure it’s a bummer we are not getting first party Sony style games at the same rate we used to, but most of the articles and comments focus on the negative when there is actually a lot to be positive about and a lot to look forward to. The big releases are coming and they will be announced and released on a short timeline, which I think is actually preferable.
Re: Preview: Space Marine 2 Is a PS5 Blockbuster That's Worth the Hype
Yea this looks like something I would really enjoy. Too bad I promised myself I wouldn’t buy anything new and would clean up my platinum backlog this year… will be breaking that promise for Astrobot
Re: Balatro Creator Ensures IP Won't Ever Be Used for Gambling
Hmmm I wonder if that will would hold up? Seems like you could challenge that as an unreasonable restraint on alienation but I have no idea where LocalThunk is from.
Re: Random: Alan Wake 2 Fan Detects Audible Scratch Foreshadowing, to the Relief of Dev Responsible
@Colour The evolution of Remedy as a studio has been great to watch. Control really stepped up their narrative prowess and then Alan Wake 2 surpassed it in every way.
Re: Chill Exploration Game Caravan SandWitch Parks on PS5 in September
Not a game for Jeremy Clarkson
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth PS5 Sales Still a Secret as Square Enix Reports Year-on-Year Decline
@Bettyswollocks Are they floundering? I think FFXIV is making an absolute killing. They had some underperforming games but they are still making a ton of money.
Re: The Last of Us Season 2 TV Teaser Trailer Revealed
End episode one with the scene. Loved it in the game would love it in the show.
Re: Test Your PlayStation General Knowledge - Issue 24
I will admit I guessed on three…
Re: Naughty Dog Allegedly Found Bungie's Feedback on Binned The Last of Us 2 Multiplayer Extremely Helpful
@OldGamer999 yea dev times have gotten longer, but I imagine a lot of what was done for factions got subsumed by TLOU3, and that happened much earlier than the studio announced. I think we get a new ND game next year, with the announcement only 3-6 months before launch!
Re: Naughty Dog Allegedly Found Bungie's Feedback on Binned The Last of Us 2 Multiplayer Extremely Helpful
@OldGamer999 I think you will see something from them soon enough! It was four years between Uncharted 4 and TLOU2 and they have two games in development with a huge team. They also are going to announce their next game and release it in quick succession when they do announce it.
Re: Kitana's Only Fan Leaks in First Mortal Kombat 2 Movie Image
@LifeGirl “Those were $500 dollar glasses a**hole.”
Re: Civilization 7 Gameplay Reveal Set for Gamescom 2024 Showcase
@Kidfunkadelic83 I had to watch YouTube guides to understand it when I played it. Makes it much easier.
Re: Popular Survival Sim Green Hell Makes Contact with PS5 Port
I enjoyed this game for what it was. Mostly bought it to fill the void while waiting for the Forest 2 to finally come to PS5.
Re: Panned PS5 Survival Horror Silent Hill: The Short Message Has Topped 3 Million Downloads
@Cloud39472 I still sometimes think about what could have been with PT.
Re: Reaction: Sony's Billion Dollar Bungie Buyout Is Looking More and More Like a Blunder
The entire rise and fall of Bungie is crazy. Really interesting story I would read the book.
Re: Preview: Star Wars Outlaws Thrives in Its Rewarding Open World
@RubyCarbuncle Hmmm yes it doesn’t stop me from making a purchase. A short internet outage is not going to bother me, and, like I said if the emp goes off and the internet really goes down the last thing on my mind is going to be video games.
Re: Preview: Star Wars Outlaws Thrives in Its Rewarding Open World
@Yagami Certainly. One of the main themes of the game is the encroaching civilization on the natural world and the way of life lead by the main character. Traveling across vast expanses where you can hunt, camp, fish and do what you please is a stark contrast from the eastern side of the map where large towns are heavily policed. Also, the size of the map is used to the games advantage through the gameplay, which is deliberately slow and methodical, through the chance encounter story telling and set pieces that you can stumble upon. Traveling from one town to another feels like a journey through a mostly untamed landscape and there is an enormous amount to do in the world that lets you feel like you are actually living that cowboy life. While the story itself is very well told and compelling, the open world is what makes the game special.
Re: Horizon VR Dev Still Recruiting for Its Big Budget PS5 Exclusive
@Batesy125s I agree with you, although I think this was a statement to attract talent to the studio more than anything. For me, there are only a few genre defining games. Red Dead 2 for open worlds, the last of us for story centered single player sad dad cinematics, etc. seems like there can only be one for each genre to be truly genre defining.
Re: Preview: Star Wars Outlaws Thrives in Its Rewarding Open World
@Yagami Red Dead Redemption 2. Giant open world that 100% makes the game better.
Re: Preview: Star Wars Outlaws Thrives in Its Rewarding Open World
@RubyCarbuncle imma be honest if the internet goes down like down down we will have much bigger problems than access to a video game.
Re: Quidditch Champions Is the PS5, PS4 Harry Potter Sports Sim You've Been Waiting For
@nessisonett Interesting, in the U.S. she would be a public figure and would have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you were lying, knew you were lying, and acted with actual malice (knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth). It’s an exceptionally high burden.
Re: Quidditch Champions Is the PS5, PS4 Harry Potter Sports Sim You've Been Waiting For
@nessisonett Well thought out and perfectly understandable stance. I have taken similar stances in my own life, I havent voted since the first Obama election because he immediately bombed civilians using drones like a week after taking office, so I appreciate your conviction.
Harry Potter is just an important cultural touchstone for an entire generation, and it is a real shame the author is using her status to do what she does. I just think its hard to tell people to forego something they love and grew up loving because the creator is such a scumbag. The world is too complicated, you can't buy an electronic device without supporting the destruction of the environment, unfair labor practices (arguably slavery or indentured servitude in some situations), or the corporations that make them and use their money and influence to control government policy around the world. Buying actually sustainable groceries is near impossible for most people on a budget. When it comes to how people spend their money on entertainment, their means of escape from an ever complicated world, I find it hard to pass judgment.
Regardless, best of luck to you and your community, things are also getting worse than they are better on this side of the world depending on what state you live in.
Edit: Also, not sure why your comment was removed. This was a good faith discussion with zero animosity displayed on either side.
Re: Quidditch Champions Is the PS5, PS4 Harry Potter Sports Sim You've Been Waiting For
@get2sammyb It’s sad how refreshing that is. I have fond memories of unlocking characters and skins through gameplay without a battle pass or micro transactions. I think there is actually a lot of room for developers to sell more copies by adopting that practice again.
Re: Quidditch Champions Is the PS5, PS4 Harry Potter Sports Sim You've Been Waiting For
@nessisonett Rowling sucks but she is a billionaire. Buying or boycotting the game or anything she does will have zero effect on her life. Of course it’s a personal choice and we all need to make a judgment call on what we stand for. I do think, however, people can buy and enjoy Harry Potter products without supporting Rowling. It is impossible to life an economically moral life unless you are rich and can carefully source everything you buy.
Re: Quidditch Champions Is the PS5, PS4 Harry Potter Sports Sim You've Been Waiting For
In-game currency but no micro transactions. So that means you will not be able to buy in-game currency with real money?
Re: EA Sports College Football 25 (PS5) - Stunning Sim Worth the 10 Year Wait
@LikelySatan Well you criticized the game itself for micro transactions… that is always fair so my observation was not based on your comments. What’s more I generally agree that EA sports games inclusion of a pay to win mode in almost all of its games is at least a little gross.
I remember playing as Bo Jackson on the SNES madden game that was practically a cheat code but you didn’t have to pay for him 🤣
Re: Assassin's Creed Protagonist Infiltrates Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony
@Yousef- I only saw Gojira play but that was cool.
Re: Big Daddy Expectations Lowered as Netflix Douses BioShock Film Budget
@B_Lindz that was a labor of love. Hopefully this is too.
Re: EA Sports College Football 25 (PS5) - Stunning Sim Worth the 10 Year Wait
It is weird how rude and divisive the comments on this article are. College football is a huge cultural event in the U.S. if you don’t like football or don’t understand why it’s so popular, is the best use of your time really coming to the comments and being negative about it?
Re: EA Sports College Football 25 (PS5) - Stunning Sim Worth the 10 Year Wait
@Splat I would pay the $69.99 just to play as Butterbean and Tyson again. That game was amazing back in the day.
Re: GTA 6 Not Affected by Current Union Strike Over AI Issues
@OldGamer999 outside of Xbox console sales arnt really down. The software sales are… but I think that’s more due to the subscription services entering the console space. Overall I think the push for more revenue is just coming from the decrease in profits caused by ballooning development costs.
Re: Random: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris Potentially Linked to Shadowy Federal Bureau of Control
Sam Lake bringing the Alan Wake shared universe meta into reality and exposing the deep state 🤣
Re: Video Game Performers to Strike Due to AI Concerns
@KundaliniRising333 "It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
Just replace president with whatever you are talking about and this Hitchhikers Guide quote applies to pretty much everything.