LiamOliver

Well I've just got lvl 50/Plat in GT Sport so am wracking my brain trying to think what to jump into next... Although I have serious hand cramps after the past few hours of Blue Moon Bay so there's no rush. How on earth do people play racing games with just a controller???

As much as I despise *Christmas, things like this could soften my mood toward the season...
Honestly, the effort ShiftUp have put into throwing in the updates and extras is commendable, guess I should pony up for the NieR DLC to show my support and appreciation.

This weekend has followed the trend of the past week; tidying up some of my outstanding games/trophies. Finally got the 'What the...?' for Cities Skylines lunchtime, now I'm edging ever closer to lvl 50 in GT Sport. Because I will have that Platinum dammit! (only something like 350,000 XP to go... 🙄)

Probably not a popular opinion, but I thought the score for Rebirth was pretty meh, Stellar Blade's score and music was sublime though, plus ShiftUp deserved something for putting out a game that worked straight outta the box that has had a not insignificant amount of meaningful updates. Ah well, there's always SB2....

@SillyBoyJudas Personally I think it's well worth it, but Astro's Playroom was my first PS5 game and I'd played Rescue Mission a few years back, AstroBot is the better of the 3 though as it feels more like a game than a tech demo.
Seeing as it's PS5 only you can always give Playroom a go first as it ain't gonna cost you owt, plus you can get ahead on a couple of characters for AstroBot if you get into it. I'll admit I have a degree of bias as I'm old enough to have the nostalgia strings tugged mind.

Really? Wasn't expecting that... Definitely well deserved as it's a cracking game, but I thought it would stumble at the last hurdle for GOTY for a number of reasons. Need to pick it back up though as other games have got in the way recently (trying to put a dent in the backlog, finally).

My experience of Pro has been limited because I can't seem to catch disc drive stock. Although I'm itching to get into GT7 (with/without VR) because I hears only good things....

@PopSmoke79 I heard that too, but was busy and didn't get around to checking til the afternoon, by which time they were clearly gone. There's a part of me that hopes there's another stock drop soon, and a big one at that, just to stab all the scalpers in the eye. Not that I'm bitter or anything. (seriously, I'm not. Just don't like scalpers)

LTT did a thing recently(ish) about the cost of physical vs digital and they concluded that if you wait for PS/Xbox store sales it was about equal so going disc-less was the best option for cost conscious buyers, although my own scenario hasn't seen me pay a penny more for digital, even when the PS store has a sale (which, let's be honest, is a bit like DFS' perpetual sales cycle) typically I save 10-50% shopping around, even on pre-orders.

Gotta admit I've looked for one periodically on Argos/Currys/ShopTo and haven't seen stock. Although I don't really need one right now as I still have my original PS5. But it's mental that the base PS5 sales are 80/20 physical/digital yet no additional stock was made available for the Pro's launch, even if they'd shipped enough drives to cover 60% of the Pro pre-orders we'd be in a much better place than now (although, because my brain works like this, I'd have supplied 1 to 1 so as not to piss anyone off). I imagine it's one of those things that not very many were selling (because most people will go for the simpler in-box option) and suspect Sony hoped a lot of us would give up and start buying our games digitally, which is legally dubious.

I just wish M$ would pull their heads out of their a$$es and focus on making a decent console (be it portable or telly tied) and ecosystem so that Sony stop becoming complacent. I'm not interested in acquiring any kind of Xbox (although a portable would pique my interest), but Sony need strong competition to keep the buggers honest. Although I do feel the PS5 will have a strong back half of it's cycle, well developed PS5 games can sing on that thing, it just takes a bit of effort, and once some devs get their heads into it we could be in for some real treats. I don't see PS6 being fantastically better than PS5 Pro, I think we've reached a point of diminishing returns unless stupendous amounts of money are spent.

@andrewsqual Bear in mind that the EU/UK pricing should be inclusive of VAT/sales tax whereas those in the US have to do maths before they buy anything. Because... Complicated tax systems?

@lazarus11 That just amplifies how starved the market is, an issue that can only be resolved by Sony.

Although if a MASSIVE stock drop occurs soon that shafts the scalpers I'll be too busy laughing to snap one up...

I'm all for giving ShiftUp money, but if it's just for outfits they can whistle, they've done a bang up job so far and I will happily pay out for anything that expands gameplay, but I really don't care to play dress up.

@Horizon_Rover One must wonder if it's Sony trying to 'encourage' us to make the digital switch. Pretty sure if it doesn't resolve itself soon there could be consumer rights issues. I'm just glad I didn't have to flirt my original PS5, otherwise my options would be incredibly limited.

If devs can't be arsed to ensure their game works as expected for an option they've chosen to support then they really should get a dictionary and look up 'redundancy'...

Damn. Forgot about this, I guess a delay can't be that much of an issue!

Still should be worth it. Hopefully. I've until March to recall where I stashed the bloody thing....

As much as I very much appreciate the updates ShiftUp keeping pumping out for this I'd rather have updates that expand on the gameplay, or they refocus their efforts towards SB2... Going to the effort of a new model for new suits shows they're putting in maximum effort, which I'd rather they redirect to something more meaningful.

Suits/skins/outfits are all well and good, but I really don't care for them so much. I'd have much more fun with a new area (or reuse of an old one) to expand the story, or at least blast through a new scenario leaving a trail of Naytiba carcasses in my wake.... Or even (as I've heard suggested a few times now) going through Raven's experience as a kind of prequel expansion. I'd pay good money for that, and there'd be no need for new environments.

@Oram77 Grab an oar buddy, we'll keep this boat afloat yet!

(yes, I also need a disc drive, held off because Sony being Sony the Pro might have had it's own one, like the plates)

I can see that gap slowly widening unless PS5 gets a (permanent) price slash, I'm sure the PS4 was cheaper than launch by this stage in it's cycle. The couple of people I know who haven't acquired a PS5 yet are in no rush as it's more than they're willing to spend, although a bidding war has broken out over my original PS5 between them... Not that that's ever gonna affect sales figures.

@get2sammyb I say this as someone who has every original UK launched PlayStation console and has had a large number of their A/V gear in the past; Sony have a track record of not learning lessons fast enough (if at all), or moving fast enough to ride a wave. They DO seem to like to flog a dead horse though, either that or take their ball home if things aren't working out as they'd hoped.
Personally I think they missed a trick and Concord should've been adapted to existing IP when they bought into the studio.

I didn't see one good opinion of Concord before it launched, the mood for it was definitely ice cold. A few defended it when it came out, some of them saying enough for me to briefly consider it at sale time, but Sony definitely shot themselves in both feet with this one.
It's okay saying they should have done this, that or the other, but maybe they should learn to read a room before they worry about anything else. At least then they could have dropped it as free to play which may have enhanced uptake a smidge. It certainly would've removed one of the biggest rods for it's back.

I'm glad the SSD swap is simple, the copying of data from original PS5 was a ballache for me though. First the Pro wouldn't let me log in (this was after it wouldn't put out a display, although audio was fine), and then it took an absolute age to find my OG, which I couldn't get my head around because both are wired into the same network, which is also gigabit so I found it weird that it took over 2 hours to copy everything left across. That bit should have been so much easier... Thankfully, one assumes, there shouldn't be any need to go through it again.

@somnambulance Have to hard disagree, AstroBot is nowt like Stellar Blade and Spidey 2, although I don't think I'd group those 2 together either.
I think all 3 are excellent in their own right, with MSM2 being the weaker of the bunch, and both SB and MSM2 both have story issues.

Agree unequivocally with your thoughts on how Sony should bear this in mind going forward though. Still know a couple of holdouts rocking a PS4 though, because whatever the smeg FIFA is called these days...

@LowDefAl I was about to say I'm sure I read somewhere that R&C smashed that number...

The game is fun but it's definitely a one and done for me. AstroBot on the other hand I'll probably pick up a few times before it sits on the shelf for the rest of eternity.

@Shepherd_Tallon A firm I worked at used them and it was really annoying when they did it way back then. We ended up getting so many refunds for delayed delivery I'm surprised they haven't given up on it.
Luckily my living room window looks out over the road so I can see the van coming and be downstairs before they get to the front door, although the app is pretty good for tracking the van, but bear in mind a lot of vans are intentionally set behind or ahead so 30 minutes until the driver is due could mean right now.

@Shepherd_Tallon They did that to a friend of mine yesterday, although we live in the same block and he's right next to the front door. *It was probably a coin toss, I'm glad I got mine over him...

Mine showed up a coupla hours ago. Unboxed it and plugged it in, fired it up and my TV decided to have a hissy fit and not display owt, after rebooting that cranky bugger I'm still waiting for my data to transfer (no games, they're on the SSD, which we'll worry about later).
Frustratingly I have gigabit LAN yet it's been at it for over an hour and a half. And jeez did the two consoles not wanna okay nice. You'd a thought it should be a simple process..!
I'm impressed with how much lighter and shallow it is though, it doesn't look quite so imposing sat underneath my TV between my PS3 and PS4.

All I gotta do now is find a frigging disc drive. 🤬

@RobN I get really frustrated when that happens. I picked Little Nightmares up cheap as chips, the next month it was on Essential, held off buying LN2 until I saw it at a generous price and 3 weeks later... Feckin' PS Plus!
Watch me absolutely refuse to pick up a copy of LN3 for it never to make it, then me not being able to find a physical copy....

Wasn't the first Hot Wheels Unleashed on essential as well some time back? I'm sure it's in my library, but pretty sure I wouldn't have paid for it...
I've come close to picking Ghostwire up a few times but didn't wanna add to the backlog, I guess it was gonna end up buried in it eventually!
As for the other one.... What was it called again?

I suspected as much because this is the kind of consumer friendly noises Sony make these days.

I'm still waiting to see a retail box for a disc drive that says "PS5 Pro compatible" as it wouldn't surprise me to find out that they've been 'revised' and early versions are incompatible for reasons unknown.

I appreciate that I'm not the target for this genre of gaming, but it's clearly very lucrative if the cards fall correctly so I can appreciate Sony wanting to pursue it.
But the way they're doing it smacks of desperation, they have more than enough existing IP to come up with a new game that caters to their wants and players demands, which is why I was very surprised they didn't step in over TLOU online and shunt that aspect of the IP to a dev more open to giving it a go. Still don't understand why they insisted GT7 be live service too, oddly previous iterations of the series had more compelling mtx than the one that can only be played connected to a server. (yeah, I'm still bitter about that)

I know people were complaining that the characters were ugly or this and that, but my first instinct was intrigue and I quickly concluded it looked pretty cool, then it dropped the kind of game it was and I lost interest straight away. It's just not for me. I still don't understand the hate the game got, from what I read of reviews and heard others say it wasn't a bad game.
It's weird that after so much investment Sony have completely binned it off though, unless it's become a tax right-off. It's a shame because it could have become interesting IP.

Oh boy....

Back before they became an Xbox thing I had a ton of fun with DOA, so much that I was seriously considering an Xbox. Then I think I forgot about it.
Although not surprised to hear about this, I could be tempted by a DOA whatever-they're-up-to-now (10?) release...?

Guess this geezer's a glass half full type of guy?

Back when you could get PS+ from other places and they announced a price rise I got 5yrs worth for 170 odd quid, I thought that was quite a significant show of commitment. Then I had to pay 'normal' prices once they ran out and I'm still in shock! SIXTY friggin' notes! The cheeky bstrds!

The Lego games are always fun (which, surely, is what it's all about?) I've picked up a few Lego games for less than a fiver and had way more than a fivers worth of fun out of them, the way things are going I'm likely to get around to this before I finally pull Horizon Zero Dawn back off the shelf.

I do feel some are in ire because they've been hoping for so long, but I never expected it. The game was what it is, no promises made so none broken.
I enjoyed the game, and apart from a few minor issues don't really need it expanded upon. Yes, extras are always nice and there are elements left unanswered, but post launch DLC isn't required to finish the game. I'm glad it's getting a Pro enhancement though, finally I might get around to NG+...

I much prefer insomniac moving on from this to focus on other projects, a smaller Venom game should be cool and I have high hopes for Wolverine.

DF's content on the Pro has been extensive and I've watched most of it. It seems PSSR is crucial to the upgrade, but I'm concerned that person's whom adopt the Pro are essentially beta testers for PS6, and if it doesn't work out as expected within a few months it'll be quietly forgotten, as Sony so often like to do with their hardware.

I think the main problem facing consoles (and to a similar extent, PC gaming) is we're way past the leaps we're used to seeing in fidelity so the focus is becoming more immersive which the little things become more important for, higher frame rates and consistent visual performance help as well, of course.

@Godot25 For over a year after launch I was sourcing PS5's for friends (not scalping) it was obvious then that the market had a preference for the disc model as they'd sell out in minutes whilst the disc-less models stayed available for 24hrs plus at many retailers, even though they were considerably cheaper.
I, nor any of my friends (I think I ended up buying 10 or so eventually), ever once considered the disc-less version.

Does anyone know if it's been confirmed by PlayStation that the current drive works with the Pro? Most (retail) listing's I've seen stipulate that it's for 'CFI-2000 model group - slim', with only HMV online declaring it's Pro compatible.

Not that I think Sony would go through the effort of making a drive specific for the Pro, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did something shonky. I mean, we all know how consumer friendly Sony have been, historically. Yes, I'm still irked that GT7 turned out to be online always, even though it relied heavily on being a return to the origins. (insert swear word that rhymes with 'bankers' here)

It would be interesting to know what sales count, are PS Plus Essential games counted (for example).
Although I have paid for a Pro it still irks that the UK price is so high, enough for Sony to have added a disc drive and it still make more than a US version. Although this isn't Sony's fault, sterling has been on a steady decline for decades now (thanks Tories).
Personally I prefer physical media, I have a higher than average collection of games, CD's, and BluRay, whilst also subscribing to streaming services. Games that I've got through PS Plus and thoroughly enjoyed I will purchase a physical copy of (ideally new) but with supermarkets no longer stocking physical media, game being whatever the smeg that's become and HMV throwing in the towel eons ago it's harder to find games to browse and buy which means since the PS5 came out I've had to buy every game online. But at least I haven't paid MSRP for most, I've found the occasional game I've bought digitally ends up on Essential within 6 months which I see as a waste of money, at least if I have a disc in my hand it's just been made easier to play the game.
Also, I borrow games from (and lend to) friends, which Sony were so proud of supporting at one stage. *****.

@LavenderShroud Must admit I enjoyed playing the game, but the story coulda been filled out better and the ending was kinda... Wait, how did it end again? I (genuinely) can't remember. Can't have been very good at all then!
In contrast, I remember all 3 endings to Stellar Blade, and the variations in which I played them...
I had a couple of issues, suits turning into squares/cubes and getting stuck inside a building or two on occasion, but it was nothing major, more likely than not because I have this awful habit of leaving my PS5 running between sessions.

Eh. I enjoyed playing the game, and probably would've paid a coupla quid for DLC but I think I'd rather their focus be on Wolverine and I'm beginning to become optimistic about a Venom game (I'd prefer a smaller game than DLC for MSM2) There could be a lot of fun in that, especially if it carries the air of the films.
Before all that though, I'll NG+ it once the Pro enhancements kick in. Gimme summink to do over Christmas I guess....

The main benefit I saw with my PS4 Pro was it was quieter and didn't struggle in longer gaming sessions, it was also better with PSVR, although it was definitely more of a want than a need, ultimately I was very happy with it and encouraged all my friends to make the switch. None of whom had an issues whatsoever (although all have been stripped, cleaned, repasted and repadded at some point).
Although I don't think the base PS5 is being taken full advantage of, I want games to look as pretty and run as smooth as possible so I've pre-ordered a Pro (and because Nectar points I haven't had to shell out £700) because I'm able to, and have a display that will benefit from it. Is it the wisest thing to have done? No. But neither was £1500 on a TV last year or nearly 3 grand on HiFi recently.
Although I still need to find a disc drive in the next 3 weeks.

What's bad about this is Argos take payment for pre-orders straight away, so if you've had it cancelled you've to wait a week until you get your money back.

Fingers crossed my 30th DualSense and Pro from them will have no issues. Although I still need to find a disc drive...

Well. That was worse than expected. The only thing I wanted was a regular 30th DualSense, ah well, in 6 months they'll be on ebay as spares/repairs due to stick drift!
After that utter shambles I shall ensure anything PlayStation I buy in the future is from a (respectable) 3rd party retailer, because Sony can jog-the-feck-on if they think I'm gonna pad their coffers anymore than is absolutely necessary.

And at least at Argos I get nectar points....

Where's the 'I'm interested but still haven't got around to the first one yet!' option? Can't even remember when I bought my copy, may have been over 2 years ago... 🙄

One day. Surely one day....

I'm pretty sure most people won't even notice the difference of Pro over boggo. Half the people I know don't even have a telly that'll show the benefits either, but this whole "may as well get a PC" thing is getting boring now. I say this as someone who'd run a pretty decent gaming rig for nearly 2 decades up until about 5 years ago, preferring the convenience of console because it's just so much less bugger-arsing about.

@Lexluther23 When you break it down I don't think the Pro is that overpriced. What irks me most is that because I'm in the UK I have to pay a premium over USD/EUR that, when compared to USD, allows for the missing disc drive.

@The_Wailing_Doom But the DualSense designs in AstroBot would sell like hotcakes, some of them are really cool!

I've considered getting one of my boggo DualSense's refinished in something similar to the Indigo one a few times now. That and the Teal remind me of the chameleon colours TVR were so fond of...

This one (weirdly) piqued my interest. And not just because I feel that the PSVR2 was a waste of money at this point.

I didn't fully understand the whole legal thing until I saw this pop up. Then it made perfect sense, just surprised it took Nintendo this long.