Nintendo still entices third party exclusives and a lot of third parties that are not exclusive or indies. But you are correct that it is not the same as Sony. And to be honest, third party exclusives like FF16 and FF7 Remake/Rebirth have been system sellers for Sony. I’m not sure Nintendo has a 3rd party exclusive franchise that is on that level by any stretch of the imagination.
But the point I was making was someone was saying Sony’s only problem was they release games on PC when experts suggest a bigger problem is their lack of first party exclusives.
Sony has relied on its third party deals for far too long. They’ve only produced AAA first party titles and are only bringing 1-2 per year (not even that last year).
Sony doesn’t have to be Nintendo. They made over a billion in profits and aren’t going anywhere. But they could learn a thing or two from them.
Valve is a marketplace. A piece of software. They get return on every game, cosmetic and DLC sold in Steam.
Sony is a hardware maker and needs to shift physical units of hardware. Which requires a reason to buy the hardware (such ans exclusive content).
They are two completely different business models.
Funnily enough though, Sony’s revenue is up and their console sales are holding steady. It’s their profits that are struggling because the most profitable games they make are first party games because they reap 100% of the profits. They just aren’t releasing enough of them.
But it’s not dire. They are still making over a billion dollars in profit each year.
@TrickyDicky99 good Lord! I’m literally doing the opposite of burying my head in the sand by looking at multiple aspect.
You’re the one looking at one single issue and hitting that single point with a sledge hammer. Take the blinkers off your eyes and look at other aspects.
There is far more to Sony’s problems than PC releases. And I never said Sony wasn’t needing to change things.
One of the main problems for Sony is they are not releasing any first party games. It doesn’t matter if they are on PC or not - that’s the number one (but not only) problem. They have to make and release more games. Their strategy is fewer but bigger budget AAA games. It’s not sustainable.
Nintendo have an amazing profit margin because they produce tons of first party titles that sell well and are cheap to make and they are on a very closed system with a loyal fanbase.
So yes, Nintendo is doing far better than Sony. I never said otherwise. But Sony doesn’t have to be Nintendo to be successful.
All I am saying is that having first party games on PC that enter the market long after they are on PlayStation are not the big problem here.
Although, the Helldivers fiasco may have tanked their stock more than any other thing. And that wouldn’t have happened if they never released games on PC. But again, Helldivers is a third party exclusive, not first party.
@TrickyDicky99 there are multiple factors for that decline though. It’s not because Sony put games on PC.
The gaming world is vastly different.
Most kids only play Fortnite/Roblox/Minecraft and they have all become platforms for games which eats into the console market. The mobile market has also had a big effect on the industry. And PC gaming is now more popular than ever due to cheaper laptops and the fact that the older library of PC games is always available to everyone (unlike how PS3 games are locked away to PS5 users for example).
So it isn’t just things Sony is doing that are affecting Sony.
And it’s not burying our heads in the sand to think a few PC releases isn’t a bad thing.
Sorry to hear that it devalues the brand for you. I think it depends on money. For me, console gaming is the more affordable option and therefore the console reigns supreme and so it hasn’t changed the value the brand in my mind.
@Ralizah I don’t really see how it devalues the console.
Sony make 99% of their revenue on the PlayStation Store. And a majority of that comes from third party games, DLC, loot boxes etc.
I don’t think Sony is going to do anything to dramatically damage their console market. They haven’t released all games (like Xbox has) and they also have created a system that retains console exclusives from third party developers.
All it’s really doing is expanding some of its key franchises to a bigger audience. This turns people to game more on Sony games.
One of my brothers has no interest in consoles. But he now plays PlayStation games on PC.
Me personally, I went back to PlayStation after being PC / Xbox only for a while because I missed a lot of the games on PlayStation and their PC releases reminded me of that.
Sony’s brand has not been damaged by either of our very different viewpoints, in fact it’s been helped.
@get2sammyb to be fair Sammy, I don’t think any of us were expecting it to be THIS bad.
Most of us just thought it was bad for gaming that Microsoft owned too much, that games would be locked to Xbox and Xbox would mismanage it.
I don’t think any of us thought they’d buy everything only to then destroy the studios and kill off game franchises so none of us could play the games.
@ChrisDeku does Steam removing it suggest Sony broke a term of service or something?
They clearly sold the game to players in those countries but then took features away from them (or made it more difficult).
Steam could have even said to Sony that mandatory refunds for all those countries would have to happen.
We don’t know what happened behind closed doors. But I doubt Sony had the backing of Steam to make this decision. And it was likely this that ultimately forced Sony’s hand. But obviously the players will take credit (as they should).
The Devs showing they have a sense of humour and honouring the community.
They were likely helpless in all this. Their game got tanked by a vicious combination of corporate suits making bad business decisions and the outrage mob converging into a perfect storm.
I didn’t care about the requirement until Sony went authoritarian mode and blocked the sale of this game to 170 countries. Then I was pissed.
Yes, those crying about PSN alone are idiots. But when our fellow gamers were affected because of a bad corporate decision, I absolutely was on the side of the players and not the mega corp.
I love PlayStation, but we players have to look out for each other.
I think the culture is trying to out morality into everything when they don’t need to. The perception of the player in Helldivers is we are the good guys and we are blowing everything up, including ourselves, and it’s all for the greater good.
This also plays into why bad guys are also cool. Darth Vader, Bowser, Sephiroth, even Wreck it Ralf.
Each one is uniquely different example, but there is something about them that appeals to us. Even though they are “bad” (although not all the examples I gave are).
I’m probably not getting my point across properly in the comment sections. But there is more nuance to what I’m thinking than maybe I’m able to put down in words.
@naruball that’s not what I said. It’s not “simple”. And it’s not just about guns and sexy women.
It’s about making good games, adding elements to them that are appealing to core traits of men, but doing it without talking down and belittling us for liking those things.
It’s one of the few games that plays into dumbassery without preaching to you.
Guys like dumb fun. Guns, explosions, and, of course, democracy.
This game doesn’t make out those things are bad, it celebrates them. Usually games make out those guys to be the idiots or evil. In this game it makes them the heroes, while simultaneously being the literal cannon fodder. It’s genuinely clever.
I think this also goes into the reason Stellar Blade is popular with certain male audiences. Because there’s an attractive woman in front of your eyes.
Men are men. We like being men. So let us blow stuff up, laugh at crude humour, and admire attractive pixels. But also, don’t talk down to use while doing it and you will win us over.
What an amazing experience I am having in both. I expected to love FF7 and it has exceeded my expectations.
Helldivers on the other hand. I had no idea I would love this game. I didn’t expect it would unite me and my brothers to all game together again. And the developers not only priced it right, but they’ve outdone themselves for community support and respecting the players (except for killing them on repeat).
What a brilliant year I’m having with these two games.
I haven’t picked this up yet mainly because I was put off by the frame rate issues.
For me, I will always choose 60fps over graphics. I don’t even mind mediocre graphics if the frame rate is good (and I see no reason why this can’t be an option on all console games when PC has lots of scope for various graphics).
Hopefully they can fix that, but from the above comments it doesn’t look like a top priority.
Just to point out. This isn’t really a “thing” in game. It’s just a very tiny number of people being lame.
The example above is a comment with -2 score saying they’d do it. The other posts aren’t calling for team killing but are mocking people going for the wrong objective.
You can post something mundane on the Helldivers Reddit and get hundreds of upvotes. So these comments and attitudes are not mainstream.
This is the gaming media equivalent of taking two negative tweets out of thousands of positive ones and saying, “People are OUTRAGED at whatever the thing we want you to be outraged about.”
I’m assuming articles like this will actually spread the killing of people wearing these capes. And I don’t blame PushSquare for that. They’re reporting facts, after all and it will be interesting to see if articles like this make it a thing.
However, most comments here are a good example of how people nowadays only read the headline and then go straight to the comments without either reading the entire article or applying critical thinking.
The takeaways. This isn’t mainstream. Don’t believe everything you read. And take the media with a pinch of salt, even the gaming media. 😅
I have to hand it to Helldivers 2, it’s a fantastic game.
The best part? I get to play it with both my brothers.
We are all in our 30s now. Haven’t all played the same game for a long time. Now we are on voice chat in the madness of bugs and explosions, laughing and having fun. Wonderful stuff.
@Shepherd_Tallon well, I’m not sure if my kids experiences will be similar to others because they have access to all consoles and I encourage them to play a wide variety of games.
My son had the most obsession with Fortnite. I played it with him as did my daughter, but while he’d max out the Battle Pass every season we’d barely get halfway through it. And we only played with each other whereas my son would play solo or with us (but preferred with us). He got a little obsessed with it. Then gradually just moved away from it as his friends went to other games.
Nowadays the Fortnite style game is taken over by Roblox and to a lesser degree Minecraft. They have lasted a longer than Fortnite. Roblox especially is my son’s favourite game.
Despite them having access to everything we do have limits and rules. Roblox is only allowed two days a week. Mobile games only for travelling/long journeys (but they usually just use their Switches during that). No playing games while watching TV, etc. As I like them to focus on one thing at a time.
They have enjoy RPGs and action adventure games a lot. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are favourites, as are platformers like the 3D Mario’s (Galaxy/Odyssey etc) and Hat in Time. We all play Splatoon 3 together (we each have a Switch and a copy of the game so that’s our new Fortnite - but we mainly play the Splatfests so it’s no actually that common now).
Because I mainly play PS5 games they watch me play various RPGs, mainly the Final Fantasy games, and currently Helldivers 2. It meant my son wanted to now try some Final Fantasy games also. They usually stick to Switch and Xbox and Game Pass gives them access to a lot of games. They play a lot of indies on that rather than the mainstream titles.
So yeah, I’m not sure my kids are the average gamers. A lot of their friends still stick to the trinity of Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft with little deviation. My kids like the variety and there are dozens of games I haven’t mentioned that they have played and enjoyed.
How do I feel about video games having these cosmetics/costumes?
Well, we see famous singers twerking in thongs in songs and it’s totally acceptable. We see celebrities posting semi-nude selfies on Instagram and it is celebrated and called “empowering”. But developers make a woman that is attractive to the majority of gamers and suddenly it is grotesque and gives gamers a bad name.
Is it needed in this game? No.
It is acceptable? Yes.
Should it happen more? Absolutely!
Why? Because no one should ever stifle the creativity of developers to simply satisfy the whims and feelings of the minority. The majority of men like seeing the female form. The majority of people who aren’t so keen will accept it or avoid it without drama.
The few who actually have a problem with this will make a big deal out of it and ruin it for the rest of us because some feel they have a right to control everything people make and enjoy. And that’s not right.
Let developers make games according to their creative vision. Let gamers enjoy games regardless of what they like that you may not like. And everyone just calm down.
After all, just a bit of attractive looking pixels that don’t hurt anyone.
That totally sucks. Many of us grew up on his work.
Dragon Ball is so iconic in my mind that for Christmas this year I bought my son the complete box set of Dragon Ball as his first full set of Manga. I wanted him to experience it before all the others. And he loves it, he’s read through all the books multiple times already.
The fact Akira won’t get to finish some of his creations is a shame. And I hope they can either release them in part or have someone who worked with him finish them off in some way to continue his legacy.
@PinderSchloss it’s a big universe though and each game is different to the last, so keep an open mind and one of these Final Fantasy’s might excite you one day.
“Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth delivers on this vision and vastly expands upon the original [Tifa] not only in the size, but also in [realistic breast physics].”
@Flaming_Kaiser I agree. I’m not even saying it’s the wrong decision, but it’s a decision I don’t like.
The guy above though literally said that not making profits for shareholders “is illegal” and that’s just garbage. It’s actually illegal to prioritise the profits of shareholders over the needs of the company.
Last week Xbox was called “lazy“ for calling their first Platinum Trophy on PlayStation, simply, ‘PlatinumTrophy.’
People said this would cause people to not put in effort when porting to PlayStation and treat Playstation fans without proper care. I didn’t take them seriously, but now we have this.
The directors of the company are legally bound by a fiduciary duty to only take actions that are to the benefit of the shareholders… So yes, they are taking actions to maximise the wealth of the owners. It would actually be illegal for them to do otherwise.
This is wrong. It’s actually illegal to put profits of shareholders above the good of the company.
In business, the fiduciary duty of directors is to the company and is based upon the company’s code of conduct. In fact is it “illegal” for them to put shareholder profits higher than the company’s interests. If Sony’s policy read, “our code of conduct is ONLY to maximise shareholders profits,” then you’d have a point.
They state that decisions must be made considering all stakeholders – this includes shareholders, but also customers, employees etc.
1.2 Relationship with Stakeholders
It is the core corporate responsibility of Sony to society to pursue its corporate value enhancement through innovation and sound business practices and contribute to developing a sustainable society. We will all give due consideration to the impact of our business activities on the interests of our stakeholders including shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, business partners, local communities and other organizations.
They also say:
6.1 Sound Decision Making
Business decisions must be made on an informed basis, in good faith, and in the honest belief that the action taken is in the best interest of Sony. We will check and ensure that the decision to be made will satisfy at least the following preconditions:
(i) It will not violate any applicable law, regulation or internal rule or policy;
(ii) No personal interest or self-dealing is involved;
(iii) It is made within individual authority levels given by the corporation;
(iv) It is made with due care following a reasonable effort to become familiar with the relevant and available facts; and
(v) It is made in good faith based upon a reasonable belief that the best interests of Sony are served by the decision.
As you see, they are required to serve the best interests of Sony, not the shareholders.
7.2 Personal Conflicts of Interest
We must always act in Sony’s best interests and avoid any situation where our loyalties may be divided between Sony’s interests and our own interests – such as a financial or other business relationships with a supplier, customer or competitor – that would impair our independent judgment. Even if nothing wrong is intended, the appearance of a conflict can cause others to doubt our fairness and have a negative effect on Sony’s business.
I’d advise not calling people “naïve” or “ignorant” if you haven’t got your facts straight.
It is some absurd ultra-capitalist propaganda to make out it is “illegal” to not maximise profits for shareholders. And it is sad so many have liked a comment out of ignorance. Every company has to work within the constraints of their own policy.
To be clear: Sony’s own policy shows the directors must work in Sony’s interests before the interests of the shareholders.
@ZhuckelDror two games I was looking forward to have been cancelled.
That’s me as a customer affected/undervalued by their decisions.
Does it mean it was the wrong decision? I’m not saying that. But it does make me question if they value profits over me. And it’s not wrong for customers to be thinking that way.
Cancelling an unknown title that no one had seen is less troubling than cancelling two well know franchises (Twisted Metal and Last of Us Multiplayer).
Last of Us Multiplayer was highly anticipated by the fans, could have been a stand alone game, and would have made money (and likely wasn’t that far off).
Twisted Metal had its own TV show. So it seems baffling these projects have gone.
Is Sony bowing to the shareholders rather than being “For the Players”?
@Jimmer-jammer thanks for the info. That helps to know.
I’m not really a trophy hunter, but I’m currently working on the Platinum for FF15. It wasn’t on my radar at first but as I’m really enjoying the game I wanted to get it. So the same might happen for FF16.
Anyone know how much DLC this game is getting in total?
I’ve got the game, will start soon, but wondering if best to wait for all DLC to drop first to get a complete package or is it best to play the DLC as and when it comes? Also, is there any content that can be missed if I don’t play now? No timed crossovers or anything?
It’s also interesting to see this list. Seeing that the original FF7 isn’t even on the list when it’s almost flawless in my mind because of the rose tinted glasses I wear while playing it.
It helps realise there is a lot of scope with review scores. Many people judge games based off a single review score, but these scores are from hundreds of reviews so it gives us general consensus.
It just goes to show if you limit yourself only to games that obtain a certain score, you may be limiting yourself and missing out on some great experiences. Maybe even your favourite.
It’s basic human decency to not want to spoil things for others. And most people like surprises in what they’re seeing.
As media is remade, like movies and games, new audiences see them. If those new audiences have the main parts ruined then they won’t get the full experience from them.
And no, it doesn’t matter how old something is. Most media is consumed after the first six months of release. With movies most people see those movies years after release.
So no, there is no time limit on spoilers. Never share them without warning or without first getting consent from the person you are talking to. It’s why movies aren’t described by their plot twists and it’s why most gaming forums have spoiler warnings and so forth.
People need to learn: Spoilers should never be publicised without warning.
This applies to books, movies, and games.
There will be tons of people who will be new to FF7 because of the remakes. Many will not know this info.
My son is about to start the original FF7. He’s 12, and has no idea what the story entails. And there are countless kids like him. But he has seen me play the remake and knows the characters. (He’s gonna be heartbroken when he gets to that point. Haha)
I was reading an article the other day and had parts of The Godfather ruined for me. The article had nothing to do with The Godfather, it was talking about war and politics. I had added the movies to my watch list just a few days prior. I’m now waiting until I forget what was written. Hehe
As a user, I don’t see much difference between PS+ and Game Pass.
I get free games every month and can download from a huge catalog. I’m happy with both services.
But it’s clear they’ve gone for different strategies.
PlayStation has tied PS+ to the consoles. You need a PS4/PS5 to properly enjoy the games. You won’t get day one first party releases. But you will get decent games and most first parties will eventually get there.
Xbox is determined to have all their games on Game Pass. Day 1, big hitters. They’ve also opened Game Pass to a much wider audience and turned Xbox from Being a console to being a platform. People play Xbox and Game Pass on PC, console and through cloud. One day they may even play Xbox on other consoles. It’s a longer term and much wider scoped strategy that will likely pay off in the long run.
The difference in the effectiveness of the strategies right now is most gamers prefer to buy and own their games forever. And they want to play specific games rather than have a random selection they may not want to play. So for now, PlayStations strategy is working for console. But I think Xbox will start seeing a wider benefit when they attract new people who don’t own consoles into the platform they are building. And of course, when CoD drops day one on Game Pass.
@Nem thanks for noticing the facts based element of my comment. And hopefully this reply will give you some new insight and help you have a broader perspective.
First off, they didn’t say Xbox isn’t growing. They said “the industry” isn’t growing.
The gaming industry as a whole has slowed in growth in recent years. It only grew by around 2% last year. Far less than anticipated. However, this is one area where I don’t agree with Phil because he was basically using it as an excuse for laying people off. While growth has slowed, it hasn’t stopped, and they are still making profits. It’s a poor excuse in my opinion.
As for Xbox itself, we can look at Microsoft’s report on that. Xbox moved to being Microsoft’s third largest business in 2023, earning more money than Windows. Both of these businesses are profitable for Microsoft and helped it become a $3 trillion company last year.
Also, they revealed yesterday that Game Pass is now at 34 million subscribers. That’s a 36% increase from the 25 million they reported in 2022 (although there is a caveat to that with Game Pass Core skewing the numbers).
Overall though it’s fair to say Xbox is actually growing.
As for their strategy, they explained their desire to get more players, but that their focus for that strategy was only if it had cross play and cross progression. That can only be properly made available if they own the platform the games are on. So through the Game Pass and Xbox models. They don’t see Xbox as being consoles only, but the platform/app that is used. Xbox on PC for example and the mobile apps.
So yes, there might be more games moving over to other consoles and leaving Xbox exclusivity, but they will also achieve this naturally now that Microsoft owns Activision-Blizzard as their 3rd party games will help fulfil the requirement of being available to more people. When Call of Duty is selling on all consoles, they will class that as being Xbox reaching more people. And for sure, Game Pass will get Call of Duty at some point and that alone will draw in new players to the Xbox platform. And this is their main strategy. They said last night that Xbox games on other console will help draw people in to Xbox. They will see Game Pass subscriptions sky rocket when Call of Duty and other heavy hitters come day 1 to the platform. This will be a combination of Xbox console sales, Game Pass subscribers on PC, and people who previously had no access to CoD trying the cloud and mobile options.
There is a lot more to say, but the general thing to remember is that Xbox isn’t going anywhere. Everything points to them growing in strength.
Comments 946
Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?
@tomic20
Nintendo still entices third party exclusives and a lot of third parties that are not exclusive or indies. But you are correct that it is not the same as Sony. And to be honest, third party exclusives like FF16 and FF7 Remake/Rebirth have been system sellers for Sony. I’m not sure Nintendo has a 3rd party exclusive franchise that is on that level by any stretch of the imagination.
But the point I was making was someone was saying Sony’s only problem was they release games on PC when experts suggest a bigger problem is their lack of first party exclusives.
Sony has relied on its third party deals for far too long. They’ve only produced AAA first party titles and are only bringing 1-2 per year (not even that last year).
Sony doesn’t have to be Nintendo. They made over a billion in profits and aren’t going anywhere. But they could learn a thing or two from them.
Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?
@TrickyDicky99 not at all.
Valve is a marketplace. A piece of software. They get return on every game, cosmetic and DLC sold in Steam.
Sony is a hardware maker and needs to shift physical units of hardware. Which requires a reason to buy the hardware (such ans exclusive content).
They are two completely different business models.
Funnily enough though, Sony’s revenue is up and their console sales are holding steady. It’s their profits that are struggling because the most profitable games they make are first party games because they reap 100% of the profits. They just aren’t releasing enough of them.
But it’s not dire. They are still making over a billion dollars in profit each year.
So I don’t even know why we are debating.
Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?
@TrickyDicky99
By the way, it’s industry experts (not just me) saying Sony’s first party releases are the problem. And you’ll see clearly why with this.
Nintendo
In 2023, Nintendo almost had a first party game every month:
In 2024, Nintendo has a first party for each month.
Sony
In contrast, Sony has released hardly anything.
In 2023, Sony released:
In 2024, Sony has released:
Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?
@TrickyDicky99 good Lord! I’m literally doing the opposite of burying my head in the sand by looking at multiple aspect.
You’re the one looking at one single issue and hitting that single point with a sledge hammer. Take the blinkers off your eyes and look at other aspects.
There is far more to Sony’s problems than PC releases. And I never said Sony wasn’t needing to change things.
One of the main problems for Sony is they are not releasing any first party games. It doesn’t matter if they are on PC or not - that’s the number one (but not only) problem. They have to make and release more games. Their strategy is fewer but bigger budget AAA games. It’s not sustainable.
Nintendo have an amazing profit margin because they produce tons of first party titles that sell well and are cheap to make and they are on a very closed system with a loyal fanbase.
So yes, Nintendo is doing far better than Sony. I never said otherwise. But Sony doesn’t have to be Nintendo to be successful.
All I am saying is that having first party games on PC that enter the market long after they are on PlayStation are not the big problem here.
Although, the Helldivers fiasco may have tanked their stock more than any other thing. And that wouldn’t have happened if they never released games on PC. But again, Helldivers is a third party exclusive, not first party.
Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?
@TrickyDicky99 there are multiple factors for that decline though. It’s not because Sony put games on PC.
The gaming world is vastly different.
Most kids only play Fortnite/Roblox/Minecraft and they have all become platforms for games which eats into the console market. The mobile market has also had a big effect on the industry. And PC gaming is now more popular than ever due to cheaper laptops and the fact that the older library of PC games is always available to everyone (unlike how PS3 games are locked away to PS5 users for example).
So it isn’t just things Sony is doing that are affecting Sony.
And it’s not burying our heads in the sand to think a few PC releases isn’t a bad thing.
Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?
@Ralizah got it.
Sorry to hear that it devalues the brand for you. I think it depends on money. For me, console gaming is the more affordable option and therefore the console reigns supreme and so it hasn’t changed the value the brand in my mind.
I get your point though.
Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?
@Ralizah I don’t really see how it devalues the console.
Sony make 99% of their revenue on the PlayStation Store. And a majority of that comes from third party games, DLC, loot boxes etc.
I don’t think Sony is going to do anything to dramatically damage their console market. They haven’t released all games (like Xbox has) and they also have created a system that retains console exclusives from third party developers.
All it’s really doing is expanding some of its key franchises to a bigger audience. This turns people to game more on Sony games.
One of my brothers has no interest in consoles. But he now plays PlayStation games on PC.
Me personally, I went back to PlayStation after being PC / Xbox only for a while because I missed a lot of the games on PlayStation and their PC releases reminded me of that.
Sony’s brand has not been damaged by either of our very different viewpoints, in fact it’s been helped.
Re: Poll: Years Later, How Do You Feel About PlayStation's PC Strategy?
I think Sony’s strategy was quite good until about a week ago…
Re: More Xbox Layoffs Reportedly Inbound as Company Attempts to Cut Costs
@get2sammyb to be fair Sammy, I don’t think any of us were expecting it to be THIS bad.
Most of us just thought it was bad for gaming that Microsoft owned too much, that games would be locked to Xbox and Xbox would mismanage it.
I don’t think any of us thought they’d buy everything only to then destroy the studios and kill off game franchises so none of us could play the games.
Re: Gaming Subs Like PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Aren't Growing At All
Yes, because many of us console owners are paying the subscription so we can access online multiplayer, not for the games.
Re: Helldivers 2 PSN Requirement Backtracked on PC After Brutal Review Bombing Campaign
@ChrisDeku does Steam removing it suggest Sony broke a term of service or something?
They clearly sold the game to players in those countries but then took features away from them (or made it more difficult).
Steam could have even said to Sony that mandatory refunds for all those countries would have to happen.
We don’t know what happened behind closed doors. But I doubt Sony had the backing of Steam to make this decision. And it was likely this that ultimately forced Sony’s hand. But obviously the players will take credit (as they should).
Re: Helldivers 2 May Turn Negative Steam Reviews into a Fashionable In-Game Cape
The Devs showing they have a sense of humour and honouring the community.
They were likely helpless in all this. Their game got tanked by a vicious combination of corporate suits making bad business decisions and the outrage mob converging into a perfect storm.
Let’s hope the game recovers from all this.
Re: Helldivers 2 PSN Requirement Backtracked on PC After Brutal Review Bombing Campaign
It’s a good thing they backtracked.
I didn’t care about the requirement until Sony went authoritarian mode and blocked the sale of this game to 170 countries. Then I was pissed.
Yes, those crying about PSN alone are idiots. But when our fellow gamers were affected because of a bad corporate decision, I absolutely was on the side of the players and not the mega corp.
I love PlayStation, but we players have to look out for each other.
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Already One of Sony's Best-Ever Sellers in the US
@Deityjester that’s also missing my point a bit.
I think the culture is trying to out morality into everything when they don’t need to. The perception of the player in Helldivers is we are the good guys and we are blowing everything up, including ourselves, and it’s all for the greater good.
This also plays into why bad guys are also cool. Darth Vader, Bowser, Sephiroth, even Wreck it Ralf.
Each one is uniquely different example, but there is something about them that appeals to us. Even though they are “bad” (although not all the examples I gave are).
I’m probably not getting my point across properly in the comment sections. But there is more nuance to what I’m thinking than maybe I’m able to put down in words.
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Already One of Sony's Best-Ever Sellers in the US
@naruball that’s not what I said. It’s not “simple”. And it’s not just about guns and sexy women.
It’s about making good games, adding elements to them that are appealing to core traits of men, but doing it without talking down and belittling us for liking those things.
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Already One of Sony's Best-Ever Sellers in the US
It’s one of the few games that plays into dumbassery without preaching to you.
Guys like dumb fun. Guns, explosions, and, of course, democracy.
This game doesn’t make out those things are bad, it celebrates them. Usually games make out those guys to be the idiots or evil. In this game it makes them the heroes, while simultaneously being the literal cannon fodder. It’s genuinely clever.
I think this also goes into the reason Stellar Blade is popular with certain male audiences. Because there’s an attractive woman in front of your eyes.
Men are men. We like being men. So let us blow stuff up, laugh at crude humour, and admire attractive pixels. But also, don’t talk down to use while doing it and you will win us over.
Re: Funko Fusion Is Either Your Dream or Nightmare, Out This September
Not a fan of Funko Pops. Very few characters actually look any good.
HOWEVER, the animation on this actually looks good. The game looks semi descent.
Colour me surprised.
Re: PS5, PS4 RPG Visions of Mana Aims Straight for Your Nostalgia in Touching Japanese Trailer
Top tier advertising.
Thanks for the nostalgia hit.
Re: Talking Point: What's Your Favourite PS5 Game of 2024 So Far?
There are two:
What an amazing experience I am having in both. I expected to love FF7 and it has exceeded my expectations.
Helldivers on the other hand. I had no idea I would love this game. I didn’t expect it would unite me and my brothers to all game together again. And the developers not only priced it right, but they’ve outdone themselves for community support and respecting the players (except for killing them on repeat).
What a brilliant year I’m having with these two games.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 PS5 Patch 1.060 Isn't the Update You're Waiting For
I haven’t picked this up yet mainly because I was put off by the frame rate issues.
For me, I will always choose 60fps over graphics. I don’t even mind mediocre graphics if the frame rate is good (and I see no reason why this can’t be an option on all console games when PC has lots of scope for various graphics).
Hopefully they can fix that, but from the above comments it doesn’t look like a top priority.
Re: Cowardly Helldivers Turn on Malevelon Creek Veterans, Targeting Noble Cape Wearers
Just to point out. This isn’t really a “thing” in game. It’s just a very tiny number of people being lame.
The example above is a comment with -2 score saying they’d do it. The other posts aren’t calling for team killing but are mocking people going for the wrong objective.
You can post something mundane on the Helldivers Reddit and get hundreds of upvotes. So these comments and attitudes are not mainstream.
This is the gaming media equivalent of taking two negative tweets out of thousands of positive ones and saying, “People are OUTRAGED at whatever the thing we want you to be outraged about.”
I’m assuming articles like this will actually spread the killing of people wearing these capes. And I don’t blame PushSquare for that. They’re reporting facts, after all and it will be interesting to see if articles like this make it a thing.
However, most comments here are a good example of how people nowadays only read the headline and then go straight to the comments without either reading the entire article or applying critical thinking.
The takeaways. This isn’t mainstream. Don’t believe everything you read. And take the media with a pinch of salt, even the gaming media. 😅
Re: Helldivers 2 Named February's Best-Selling Game in Europe
I have to hand it to Helldivers 2, it’s a fantastic game.
The best part? I get to play it with both my brothers.
We are all in our 30s now. Haven’t all played the same game for a long time. Now we are on voice chat in the madness of bugs and explosions, laughing and having fun. Wonderful stuff.
Re: Fortnite Fans Can't Believe the Price of the New LEGO Buildings in the PS5, PS4 Item Shop
@Shepherd_Tallon well, I’m not sure if my kids experiences will be similar to others because they have access to all consoles and I encourage them to play a wide variety of games.
My son had the most obsession with Fortnite. I played it with him as did my daughter, but while he’d max out the Battle Pass every season we’d barely get halfway through it. And we only played with each other whereas my son would play solo or with us (but preferred with us). He got a little obsessed with it. Then gradually just moved away from it as his friends went to other games.
Nowadays the Fortnite style game is taken over by Roblox and to a lesser degree Minecraft. They have lasted a longer than Fortnite. Roblox especially is my son’s favourite game.
Despite them having access to everything we do have limits and rules. Roblox is only allowed two days a week. Mobile games only for travelling/long journeys (but they usually just use their Switches during that). No playing games while watching TV, etc. As I like them to focus on one thing at a time.
They have enjoy RPGs and action adventure games a lot. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are favourites, as are platformers like the 3D Mario’s (Galaxy/Odyssey etc) and Hat in Time. We all play Splatoon 3 together (we each have a Switch and a copy of the game so that’s our new Fortnite - but we mainly play the Splatfests so it’s no actually that common now).
Because I mainly play PS5 games they watch me play various RPGs, mainly the Final Fantasy games, and currently Helldivers 2. It meant my son wanted to now try some Final Fantasy games also. They usually stick to Switch and Xbox and Game Pass gives them access to a lot of games. They play a lot of indies on that rather than the mainstream titles.
So yeah, I’m not sure my kids are the average gamers. A lot of their friends still stick to the trinity of Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft with little deviation. My kids like the variety and there are dozens of games I haven’t mentioned that they have played and enjoyed.
Re: Fortnite Fans Can't Believe the Price of the New LEGO Buildings in the PS5, PS4 Item Shop
My wallet is sure glad my kids are over their Fortnite phase.
Re: Everyone's Talking About Eve's Outfits in PS5 Exclusive Stellar Blade
How do I feel about video games having these cosmetics/costumes?
Well, we see famous singers twerking in thongs in songs and it’s totally acceptable. We see celebrities posting semi-nude selfies on Instagram and it is celebrated and called “empowering”. But developers make a woman that is attractive to the majority of gamers and suddenly it is grotesque and gives gamers a bad name.
Is it needed in this game? No.
It is acceptable? Yes.
Should it happen more? Absolutely!
Why? Because no one should ever stifle the creativity of developers to simply satisfy the whims and feelings of the minority. The majority of men like seeing the female form. The majority of people who aren’t so keen will accept it or avoid it without drama.
The few who actually have a problem with this will make a big deal out of it and ruin it for the rest of us because some feel they have a right to control everything people make and enjoy. And that’s not right.
Let developers make games according to their creative vision. Let gamers enjoy games regardless of what they like that you may not like. And everyone just calm down.
After all, just a bit of attractive looking pixels that don’t hurt anyone.
Re: Dragon Ball Manga Icon Akira Toriyama Passes Aged 68
That totally sucks. Many of us grew up on his work.
Dragon Ball is so iconic in my mind that for Christmas this year I bought my son the complete box set of Dragon Ball as his first full set of Manga. I wanted him to experience it before all the others. And he loves it, he’s read through all the books multiple times already.
The fact Akira won’t get to finish some of his creations is a shame. And I hope they can either release them in part or have someone who worked with him finish them off in some way to continue his legacy.
What a great loss. RIP Goku’s Dad.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Gets Mature Rating, Mentions Blood, Gore, Surprisingly Sexual Content
From the tagline I was hoping the game had some “surprisingly sexual content.”
Now I realise it’s just regular “sexual content” that was surprising to the author.
It’s not 2024’s version of BG3’s bear sex news story then.
Re: Poll: Are You Playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?
@PinderSchloss it’s a big universe though and each game is different to the last, so keep an open mind and one of these Final Fantasy’s might excite you one day.
Re: You've Made It This Far, You Don't Need to Watch Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's PS5 Launch Trailer
“Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth delivers on this vision and vastly expands upon the original [Tifa] not only in the size, but also in [realistic breast physics].”
I fixed his quote.
Re: EA Cuts Roughly 700 Jobs in Another Round of Industry Layoffs
Respawn gave EA a massive win with Apex Legends.
They’re rewarded with layoffs and cancelled projects.
Star Wars is a massive brand and this is an in form studio. I guess they have their reasons but all this news just doesn’t seem good for the industry.
Especially when this sort of game was likely to make bank in the long run.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's PS5 Disc Labels Are Wrong in Japan, Asia
@DeathlySW haha. Yeah, that’s what I thought as well.
My comment above was an attempt at making fun of those who went crazy over what I saw as a very simple thing.
Re: London Studio's PS5 Live Service Fantasy Co-Op Game Will Never See the Light of Day
@Flaming_Kaiser I agree. I’m not even saying it’s the wrong decision, but it’s a decision I don’t like.
The guy above though literally said that not making profits for shareholders “is illegal” and that’s just garbage. It’s actually illegal to prioritise the profits of shareholders over the needs of the company.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's PS5 Disc Labels Are Wrong in Japan, Asia
Last week Xbox was called “lazy“ for calling their first Platinum Trophy on PlayStation, simply, ‘PlatinumTrophy.’
People said this would cause people to not put in effort when porting to PlayStation and treat Playstation fans without proper care. I didn’t take them seriously, but now we have this.
Look what Xbox made Square Enix do!
Re: London Studio's PS5 Live Service Fantasy Co-Op Game Will Never See the Light of Day
@ChrisDeku
I’m sorry, but you have shared false information.
You state:
This is wrong. It’s actually illegal to put profits of shareholders above the good of the company.
In business, the fiduciary duty of directors is to the company and is based upon the company’s code of conduct. In fact is it “illegal” for them to put shareholder profits higher than the company’s interests. If Sony’s policy read, “our code of conduct is ONLY to maximise shareholders profits,” then you’d have a point.
But we can read Sony’s own ‘Code of Conduct’ here: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/csr_report/compliance/code_of_conduct_En.pdf
They state that decisions must be made considering all stakeholders – this includes shareholders, but also customers, employees etc.
They also say:
As you see, they are required to serve the best interests of Sony, not the shareholders.
I’d advise not calling people “naïve” or “ignorant” if you haven’t got your facts straight.
It is some absurd ultra-capitalist propaganda to make out it is “illegal” to not maximise profits for shareholders. And it is sad so many have liked a comment out of ignorance. Every company has to work within the constraints of their own policy.
To be clear: Sony’s own policy shows the directors must work in Sony’s interests before the interests of the shareholders.
Re: London Studio's PS5 Live Service Fantasy Co-Op Game Will Never See the Light of Day
@ZhuckelDror two games I was looking forward to have been cancelled.
That’s me as a customer affected/undervalued by their decisions.
Does it mean it was the wrong decision? I’m not saying that. But it does make me question if they value profits over me. And it’s not wrong for customers to be thinking that way.
Re: London Studio's PS5 Live Service Fantasy Co-Op Game Will Never See the Light of Day
Cancelling an unknown title that no one had seen is less troubling than cancelling two well know franchises (Twisted Metal and Last of Us Multiplayer).
Last of Us Multiplayer was highly anticipated by the fans, could have been a stand alone game, and would have made money (and likely wasn’t that far off).
Twisted Metal had its own TV show. So it seems baffling these projects have gone.
Is Sony bowing to the shareholders rather than being “For the Players”?
Re: Mini Review: Penny's Big Breakaway (PS5) - Unique Yo-Yo Platformer Has Its Ups and Downs
My kids are big Hat in Time fans and liked the look of this from the direct.
By the look of things, I will wait for a few patches before I get it for them.
Re: Second Final Fantasy 16 DLC Set to Be Revealed Next Month
@Jimmer-jammer thanks for the info. That helps to know.
I’m not really a trophy hunter, but I’m currently working on the Platinum for FF15. It wasn’t on my radar at first but as I’m really enjoying the game I wanted to get it. So the same might happen for FF16.
Re: Second Final Fantasy 16 DLC Set to Be Revealed Next Month
Anyone know how much DLC this game is getting in total?
I’ve got the game, will start soon, but wondering if best to wait for all DLC to drop first to get a complete package or is it best to play the DLC as and when it comes? Also, is there any content that can be missed if I don’t play now? No timed crossovers or anything?
Re: Random: Our Twitter Timeline Is All Tifa from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PS5 Right Now
God bless Square Enix.
In a world where the vocal minority is telling us what to think and forcing their views on everyone. This is a breath of fresh air.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Becomes the Second Highest-Rated Final Fantasy Game of All Time
@RicebinBernacky oh, the reason I suggested it is the link goes to Crystal Chronicles Remastered. 😅
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Becomes the Second Highest-Rated Final Fantasy Game of All Time
I’m really glad it’s scoring well.
It’s also interesting to see this list. Seeing that the original FF7 isn’t even on the list when it’s almost flawless in my mind because of the rose tinted glasses I wear while playing it.
It helps realise there is a lot of scope with review scores. Many people judge games based off a single review score, but these scores are from hundreds of reviews so it gives us general consensus.
It just goes to show if you limit yourself only to games that obtain a certain score, you may be limiting yourself and missing out on some great experiences. Maybe even your favourite.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Becomes the Second Highest-Rated Final Fantasy Game of All Time
@LiamCroft I think ‘Final Fantasy Chronicles’ should be ‘Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles’.
Re: Random: New York Times Posts Decades-Old Final Fantasy 7 Spoilers on Front Page
@Boucho11 calm down with the ffsing. Lol
It’s basic human decency to not want to spoil things for others. And most people like surprises in what they’re seeing.
As media is remade, like movies and games, new audiences see them. If those new audiences have the main parts ruined then they won’t get the full experience from them.
And no, it doesn’t matter how old something is. Most media is consumed after the first six months of release. With movies most people see those movies years after release.
So no, there is no time limit on spoilers. Never share them without warning or without first getting consent from the person you are talking to. It’s why movies aren’t described by their plot twists and it’s why most gaming forums have spoiler warnings and so forth.
I don’t know why you have a problem with this.
Re: Random: New York Times Posts Decades-Old Final Fantasy 7 Spoilers on Front Page
@LimitedPower don’t post spoilers. It really isn’t cool.
Also, it’s breaking the rules on this website…
Re: Random: New York Times Posts Decades-Old Final Fantasy 7 Spoilers on Front Page
People need to learn: Spoilers should never be publicised without warning.
This applies to books, movies, and games.
There will be tons of people who will be new to FF7 because of the remakes. Many will not know this info.
My son is about to start the original FF7. He’s 12, and has no idea what the story entails. And there are countless kids like him. But he has seen me play the remake and knows the characters. (He’s gonna be heartbroken when he gets to that point. Haha)
I was reading an article the other day and had parts of The Godfather ruined for me. The article had nothing to do with The Godfather, it was talking about war and politics. I had added the movies to my watch list just a few days prior. I’m now waiting until I forget what was written. Hehe
Re: Gallery: Our Favourite Cosplay at MCM Birmingham
A lot of effort has gone into these outfits.
I wish I had that Buster Sword.
Re: Sony May Have Made the Right Call Not Copying Xbox Game Pass with PS Plus
@dark_knightmare2 I’m not sure how long Xbox consoles will be around, but the Xbox platform will be around for many years to come.
Re: Sony May Have Made the Right Call Not Copying Xbox Game Pass with PS Plus
As a user, I don’t see much difference between PS+ and Game Pass.
I get free games every month and can download from a huge catalog. I’m happy with both services.
But it’s clear they’ve gone for different strategies.
The difference in the effectiveness of the strategies right now is most gamers prefer to buy and own their games forever. And they want to play specific games rather than have a random selection they may not want to play. So for now, PlayStations strategy is working for console. But I think Xbox will start seeing a wider benefit when they attract new people who don’t own consoles into the platform they are building. And of course, when CoD drops day one on Game Pass.
Hopefully both can be successful.
Re: Xbox Is Bringing Four Exclusives to PS5, But It Won't Say Which
@Nem thanks for noticing the facts based element of my comment. And hopefully this reply will give you some new insight and help you have a broader perspective.
First off, they didn’t say Xbox isn’t growing. They said “the industry” isn’t growing.
The gaming industry as a whole has slowed in growth in recent years. It only grew by around 2% last year. Far less than anticipated. However, this is one area where I don’t agree with Phil because he was basically using it as an excuse for laying people off. While growth has slowed, it hasn’t stopped, and they are still making profits. It’s a poor excuse in my opinion.
As for Xbox itself, we can look at Microsoft’s report on that. Xbox moved to being Microsoft’s third largest business in 2023, earning more money than Windows. Both of these businesses are profitable for Microsoft and helped it become a $3 trillion company last year.
Also, they revealed yesterday that Game Pass is now at 34 million subscribers. That’s a 36% increase from the 25 million they reported in 2022 (although there is a caveat to that with Game Pass Core skewing the numbers).
Overall though it’s fair to say Xbox is actually growing.
As for their strategy, they explained their desire to get more players, but that their focus for that strategy was only if it had cross play and cross progression. That can only be properly made available if they own the platform the games are on. So through the Game Pass and Xbox models. They don’t see Xbox as being consoles only, but the platform/app that is used. Xbox on PC for example and the mobile apps.
So yes, there might be more games moving over to other consoles and leaving Xbox exclusivity, but they will also achieve this naturally now that Microsoft owns Activision-Blizzard as their 3rd party games will help fulfil the requirement of being available to more people. When Call of Duty is selling on all consoles, they will class that as being Xbox reaching more people. And for sure, Game Pass will get Call of Duty at some point and that alone will draw in new players to the Xbox platform. And this is their main strategy. They said last night that Xbox games on other console will help draw people in to Xbox. They will see Game Pass subscriptions sky rocket when Call of Duty and other heavy hitters come day 1 to the platform. This will be a combination of Xbox console sales, Game Pass subscribers on PC, and people who previously had no access to CoD trying the cloud and mobile options.
There is a lot more to say, but the general thing to remember is that Xbox isn’t going anywhere. Everything points to them growing in strength.