@Robocod Good points about Hulst appointing and surrounding himself with former employees and thereby possibly creating a environment that might have difficulties pushing back on his decisions
Sometimes, the average person who wants more fun in their games definitely knows better and
You might be right. I, like many here, like to speculate and strategize what Sony needs to do. However, while i agree that they’ve made some stupid decisions, i think you might underestimate the complexity of making such big corporate decisions.
Sure, some of us might have good ideas, but which of those ideas would you follow?
Some of us want sequels, some only want new IPs. Some want IPs to be remade, some hate Remakes. Most only play live service, some of us despise live service. Some want them to focus on AAA exclusives, some want them to focus on indie and AA. There are so many conflicting opinions about everything here, how would you know which decisions to push for?
Even gamers on this site have wildly different expectstions of what they think Sony should do.
Not too mention having to grow financially and keep stockholders happy in an industry that is highly unpredictable. There’s a lot more to it than people clamoring for more “fun” games, especially if those “fun” games don’t sell well. Fun sadly, doesnt always correlate with succesfull. That’s why i referred to Astro Bot in my original post, an undeniably fun game, but it didnt exactly light the world on fire commercialy.
I think Sony is doing their best to diversify their content by focusing on single player, live service, indie (through their many hero projects) while also trying to create IP that they can utilize through the rest of their businesses like Sony Pictures and Music.
Don’t get me wrong, they’ve made some pretty stupid decisions, which i’m not a fan of. But the fact that so many studios everywhere are closing and games fail to deliver commercialy, tells us that its really not that easy to know what gamers want. It’s not only Sony who is struggling with finding the right answers
“They just need to understand gamers and bring the fun back in games!” - Average Push Square commenter
Meanwhile statistics show most gamers play everything from Fortnite, FIFA and CoD to other F2P crap. Deciphering what gamers want is so easy to do for us armchair anaylists, but hardly ever correlates with reality. Saying they need to just bring back the fun in games is so easy when you don’t have a clue which type of games will be succesful anymore nowadays.
Sony made arguably one of the funnest games in their repertoire, which was lauded by critics and users, and even won more than a hundred GOTY awards, but hardly moved the needle commercialy speaking.
But yeah, people here know all the answers 😎
Edit: Also, taking an intentional approach to IP creation doesnt mean it can’t be fun games, as always people here are taking a statement and use elaborate ways to make it mean anything their imagination wants it to mean
Adjusted my expectations accordingly, so it was just fine for me. These shows usually just focus on game updates and release dates anyway, rather than new announcements. I’ll give it an “Okay”
The games i liked: Ghost of Yotei (Legends!), Chronos, Silent Hill F, Onimusha, KCD2 Blacksmith expansion, Batman Lego, project Spectrum
Sony makes such dumb decisions sometimes, in stead of creating IP for themselves they only produce them for other companies.
But yeah Sony Animation was probably just payed to make a movie for Netflix in this case, so it’s only logical and fair that they own the IP.
All in all, it’s still good marketing for Sony Animation. I’ve been very impressed with their movies and the art styles used like Spiderman, Mitchell vs the machines and K-pop Demon Hunters.
Just a shame they don’t produce these kinds of IP for themselves (except for the Mitchell one i think).
But I think being easily pleased and accepting any old slop is the real problem
Sword of the Sea is a Day 1 game. And most of these games (besides Spiderman) are around 1 to 2 years old. How many Day 1 games should they add this month in your opinion, for you to not consider this “old slop”?
People expect so much from a service that costs as low as $13/month.
Personally, considering there’s even a Day 1 game on it, some of the best retro titles of the PS1 generation and 12 games with a msrp worth that far exceeds the $13/month the service asks for, i think this is great value. Sure, the titles offered will always be subjective. But where you might find people are “easily pleased and accepting”, i find people who think this month is crap a bit too negative.
I’m genuinely curious, if you were to be honest (and reasonable), what type of games do you expect for $13/month?
Who the f**k thought Blue Point making GoW live service was a good idea!?
I’m pretty sure Blue Point proposed this to Sony themselves, rather than it being assigned to them. So Blue Point also must have thought it was a good idea
Personally, while i agree their live service strategy isn't going smoothly (because of it being a stupid strategy to begin with), i think having 4 relatively succesful live service titles is a pretty solid outcome, at least if you think about it reasonably. It’s very hard to be the next Fortnite in this space, that’s just not gonna happen. But having a few titles that do reasonably well is a pretty good outcome.
Most people understood that the 12 live service titles they had in development weren’t all going to succeed. The live service space is just too risky and competitive. Even Sony themselves likely understood that the majority of those titles would either fail or get cancelled. They were just hoping that a few were gonna stick.
Thats just the reality of game development today, having 6 or so games get cancelled this gen sounds like a lot, but is actually pretty normal and happens pretty much all the time with every publisher behind the scenes.
By my count they have 4 relatively succesful live service titles, namely GT7, MLB, Destiny 2 and Helldivers 2.
I think Fairgames will get cancelled.
But they will still release Marvel Tokon, Marathon, Horizon Online, that TeamLFG game and that FPS from Dark Outlaw studios.
Honestly, if even 1 or 2 of those game is succesful, i’d say their live service effort has been pretty solid overall. Again, if we were to be reasonable, we can’t expect them all the be winners, but having 4 or 5 succesful live service titles seems pretty solid, at least to me
Sony would rather throw money at an extraction shooter based on a dead Mac fps...
They have no idea what currently works in the online space, and even less an idea of what the future holds. They just throw money out and pull the lever. It's maddening.
To be fair, I’m pretty sure Marathon was in development at Bungie years before Sony even acquired them. It’s not necessarily Sony pursuing this title, but Bungie.
Not too mention Sony acquired Bungie under the condition that Bungie would stay in control, so Sony probably didn't have much say in it until recently.
I do agree however, that they seem pretty clueless as to what works in the live service space. But to be fair again, most titles seem to fail anyway nowadays. It’s hard to tell what might work or what wouldn’t
I don’t think you can judge current Sony management by historic success. Just look at the live service dreck they’ve been cooking up this generation.
It’s not just historic succes though. Even this generation, Sony has had several critically acclaimed releases, one even winning GOTY. Just last month they released Death Stranding 2, which was also well received by critics.
Some people like to judge Sony based solely on their live service efforts (because of the catastrophic failure of Concord and the cancellations). But personally, i think having 4 successful live service titles so far (there are still a few live service titles coming) isn't necessarily that bad of a result.
The 12 live service titles Sony had in development weren’t all meant to be successful. I think most of the gaming public who know how risky and competitive the live service space is understood very well that most of those games would either fail or get cancelled. Having 4 or 5 relatively succesful live service titles out of 12 is actually a pretty solid outcome. They can’t all be winners.
I don’t think people realize how many games get cancelled all the time behind the scenes. Having 6 or so games cancelled is actually pretty normal, people just like to put extra heat on Sony because they’re one of the largest players in the game and expectations are higher.
So personally i wouldn’t judge current Sony management solely on their live service effort, because they also still make outstanding non live service games, and even some of their live service titles are pretty good like GT7, MLB, Destiny 2 and Helldivers 2. However, i will say that their approach to live service game was extremely bad
Sony should fix their pr and marketing department before releasing any live service game. I’m convinced public perception weighs heavier than most other variables when determining a live service title’s succes
Of course Microsoft making money on PS5, they’re one of the biggest publishers around. If not the biggest?
All i see is more games going to PS. And while we’re celebrating Microsofts financials, i guess. We can safely assume Playstation is making bank as well, seeing as they get a 30% cut as well on all those games, but without the investments.
Also curious to see what revenue Sony gets from PS+, since PS+ has more subscribers and active users that buy things through PS+ than Game Pass
People are right when they say Sony’s equivalent to GamePass is not Essential but Extra/Premium. But what they forget is that Extra/Premium is also way cheaper, so it’s not a 1 on 1 comparison to GamePass.
PS+ Extra&Premium costs $11.25 and $13.30/month respectively, compared to GamePass’s $20/month.
So when comparing the services the prices should be taken in to consideration.
Personally, i think every PS+ tier offers amazing value at each price point. Even Premium, what many consider to be the least worth it service, i’d argue offers great value.
And as a thought exercise, i’d like anyone to explain what they think the service(Premium) should offer more at it’s price point of $13.30/month (without being unreasonable like suggesting Day 1 games which would be impossible at this price point considering the competition asks $20/month for that service)
As a reminder what the service currently offers at $13.30/month:
Catalogue of 700+ PS4 and PS5 games (hundreds more than GamePass)
Including Ubisoft+ Classics
Monthly addition of 10-15 games usually worth in excess of $100+ msrp
Classic games going back through all Playstation generations including PS1, PS2, PS3 and PSP
Ocassional Day 1 games
Online Multiplayer
Exclusive discounts
Share Play
Sony Pictures catalogue (rotating selection of movies)
VR games catalogue
Cloud Streaming up to 4K (better video quality than Game Pass)
For $13.30/month i think thats amazing value objectively. And even when compared to GamePass it holds up when considering it’s much cheaper price point. Now what do people think they should offer more at this price point?
@TrollOfWar I don't think there’s anything wrong with a little bit of brand identity. That’s why some of us are here. We like Playstation. Not all people who prefer a brand are automatically fanboys. If people all over the world can go crazy over their favorite sports teams then i’m fine with a little bit of harmless brand support.
I agree though, some fanboys (from both sides) can be very immature and annoying. But i just tend to focus on the people here who do have well thought out opinions on the industry, in stead of focusing on fanboys’ biased takes and truncated views.
@lacerz I’m really weirded out by this narrative that Xbox is somehow “helping Sony out” by releasing these games on Playstation, when literally all of these games (except for Forza) would have released on Playstation anyway.
Edit: Never mind, i read it wrong, my bad. You were talking about former Xbox exclusives(Forza) and not these cross platform games
@Fartingale Exactly! The list would look exactly the same even if MS didn’t acquire Zenimax+Activision. Don’t quite understand why this chart is supposed to be so eye opening.
People act like Xbox are bringing these IPs over to Playstation for the first time or something, when all of these titles, except for Forza, have released on Playstation for decades lol
but a new table from Circana really puts into perspective why the Xbox titles are going multi-platform.
I don’t quite understand how this is supposed to be the “why” behind Microsoft multiplatform push. Why would this table put things in perspective all of a sudden? Only new perspective that could be derived from this chart are the Forza sales. Most of these titles have always been multiplatform. If anything, that perspective should have been obvious a long time ago.
Namely, if you want to maximize sales potential of your games, it would probably be ideal to publish it on a platform with the most users.
Only thing this table shows is that Microsoft bought two of the biggest third party publishers in the world and therefore own many of the game releases.
And that Sony hasn’t released much in the same Q2 period. Although Q3/Q4 will probably look different when they include the sales of Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei etc.
I think it’s time for Sony to buy some big publishers of its own, so it can boast about having a large output as well .
[i]not really a Sony game[i] given that MLB has always been cross platform.
All the Xbox games on that list have always been cross platform, except for Forza and Indiana Jones.
Using the same logic, would you say that Doom, CoD and ES are also not really Xbox games?
PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are hardware-wise pretty much the same, probably 90% of the games released are on both systems. Having to buy an Xbox if you already have a PlayStation, which does basically the same, just to play a few "exclusive games" is very inconvenient.
The fact that the Xbox and the PS5 have basically the same hardware makes it even more understandable that they need to differentiate in other ways, to make their products stand out.
What i was explaining is the strategy of product differentiation. It’s a smart and legitimate strategy to drive costumers to buy a product. It doesnt mean every business and or product uses that strategy.
Something may make sense for lets say selling consoles, streaming services, the whole fashion industry, pc hardware like nvidia/amd, apple, samsung, fast food chains like BK, MC, KFC etc, like every new startup that creates a new perfume line or whatever. But it might not make much sense for BD players or TV’s to create exclusive software for example as you’ve pointed out, so the comparison to consoles isnt that relevant.
Not every product uses or needs differentiation or “exclusives” to sell their products. It’s just a strategy you can use thats all. My point is that there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, and it’s a valid strategy for some products or businessess.
In the case of consoles i think it makes sense. These two consoles play like 97% of the same games anyway. It’s just a small percentage of games that’s used to create brand recognition. I think there’s nothing wrong with that model.
The concern some people have here is that by foregoing that exclusivity, it might dilute the brand, and therefore might make their consoles less interesting. Just look at whats happening to Xbox and the diminishing interest people have in their console. There’s a bit more nuance to it than just fanboyism
@SMJ I agree that the future of gaming is probably digital and streaming. But even then for Sony to compete, it will need exclusives. Until that digital future though, the more immediate future will still be hardware based.
And i think you might be right with your prediction of how many hardware based console generations there are left
They don't want gaming to change and will find all sorts of justifications why they think that exclusive games are better, hoping to relive those past memories. They feel somehow special if something releases "exclusively" to them rather than for everyone. They treat the current 1st party releases of once exclusive games like hostage exchanges.
Having exclusives on your platform or service is a legitimate way to make it attractive for people to buy your console.
There’s a reason people subscribe to Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple+ etc.
They all offer exclusive content that people want to see. Heck, exclusivity is why you go to Burger King. Exclusivity has become a bad word in the gaming industry, but i see it as a valid way to distinguish yourself. It’s what many companies do, offering things that are found nowhere else to attract people. A pretty common practice in business actually.
Up until a few years ago, Xbox fans had no problem with this logic, but now it seems it’s something completely incomprehensible. (wonder why?👀)
Look at what going full multiplat is doing to the Xbox brand. Yes, software sales are better now, but the hype for their console brand has shot down globally.
If you know that Sony’s biggest revenue comes from their 30% cut from games sold through their stores and not the revenue from their first party titles, you could understand how important it might be for Sony to keep their ecosystem valuable and keep selling consoles.
That said, i do think there’s room for more inclusivity in gaming as well, these things arent mutually exclusive
So many of the comments here are very strange to me. It seems they love other people not having things rather than actually having those things themselves. Or they love the console itself rather than the games.
There’s a bit more nuance to it than that, and of course i can only speak for myself.
It’s because some people here are simply Playstation enthousiasts (shocker, i know) and they want the brand and company to do well long term.
It’s not about not wanting other people to play their games, for some here the concern is that the choice to go full multiplat (if that even happens) might be very detrimental to their brand.
If Xbox can fail, despite backed by the wealthiest company in the world, then you can imagine how vulnerable a brand like Playstation is, considering Sony is roughly 20x smaller.
Things change and nothing is certain. Even large brands have disappeared over time in the past. Sometimes a company is just a few big mistakes away from failure and becoming obsolete. And Sony doesn't have the wealth to back up too many big mistakes like MS does.
What i think happening is that you might be focusing too much on less nuanced posts, and filter out the many people here that tend to have well thoughtful and balances takes on the industry
You really think the Last of us or God of War wouldn’t sell 3 million copies to the 35 million Xbox fan base?
Have you considered long term implications though? Sony biggest income isn’t the sales of first party titles, it’s the 30% cut they get from (mostly third party) games sold in their store. And the reason they make money is because they sell so many consoles. I don't think focusing on God of War selling 35 instead of 25 million would really be a smart focus for their brand overall.
But heck what do i know, I’ve given up on speculating what these companies will do nowadays. I just sit back, grab some popcorn and watch how things unfold lol
Sony can do whatever they want, i don't own any stock in them.
However, if i extrapolate the scenario in my head of Sony porting their games to all other consoles, perhaps even Day 1, i can’t see them keeping their dominance in the console space anymore.
So, very curious to see what Sony’s game plan is here.
I’m assuming they won’t be porting key IP’s as to maintain the brand recognition, because that’s one of their biggest selling point. But i don’t assume anything anymore in today’s gaming industry lol.
But hey, this might just be the beginning of an inevitable shift in gaming. That’s why i always said Sony should buy some key IP’s if they want to compete in the future game streaming wars
The market is saturated. Too many games releasing. Not too mention the ever rising costs of development. Studios are having a hard time brraking even (let alone make profit) unless you’re a massively popular (oftentimes lacking innovation) IP like FIFA or CoD.
So studios/publishers come up with all sorts of ways to continue to be viable in this market. Like raising game prices, live service models, agrssive microtransactions or consolidating the market by buying publishers. But most people (often rightfully so) bemoan or reject these options.
Meanwhile studios are closing left and right and people are being layed off at an unprecedented scale. Now i see a lot of people here seeing it from the pov of the consumer (again, rightly so). But i wonder if anyone has an answer for this problem if they honestly take a comprehensive look at the industry? Something a bit more substantial than “studios should just focus on AA games”, which might help, but is hardly a solution
Now that doesnt mean i’m in favour of $80 games, per se. But i just think game prices should reflect the amount of money and time it takes to develop these games. Honestly, it’s a complex problem to fix. I’m curious to see where the industry will be in 5 years, as in my opinion this industry is way too bloated
Playstation’s user base is so large, they constantly ask for contrasting things. When Sony does single player games, there’s too much cutscenes or people demand more innovative AA games. When they do something else like Astro Bot, people hardly buy it. When they do multiplayer some people want them to stick to single player narratives, as long as it’s not a sad dad sim. Some want new IP, but not if it’s too diverse. Some hate remakes, some want old IP’s to be revived. Sony just can’t win with such a diverse and large user base
As far as i understand they’re working on 2 games. I’d like to see a GoW set in ancient Egyptian mythology, but with some fresh gameplay, and perhaps mixing the styles of the og trilogy and the Norse saga games.
And preferably a new IP. But since rumours are saying it’s probably not a new IP, maybe a reboot of the inFamous series. Open world game with awesome superpowers by Santa Monica? Sounds good to me, would love to see their take on it
Bummer, would’ve loved a Sci-fi game. Maybe a reboot of Infamous? Damn, that would be nice as well.
Btw, am i correct that there are currently 2 games in development at Santa Monica? So probably at least one is GoW. Hoping they go with Egyptian Gods and mythology next
Why is it so outrageous though? Isn’t this like the highest rated xbox game of this generation? Is it really that crazy that it’s selling well? It’s also the kind of game that tends to click with both the large casual crowd and the hardcore crowd.
Edit: Just did a little research on metacritic, and i’m a bit surprised honestly, apparently FH5 (together with FH4) is the highest scoring xbox game not just of this gen, but of the last 17 years! The last time an xbox game scored higher was with Gears 3 in 2008, which scored a 93
I love the western vibes with eastern sounds. I’m not particularly sold on the main theme though. The standout for me here is the “The Yotei 6” track. Starts off as if made for a stand off scene in a Tarantino film (0-0:45). Then shifts to perfectly dark menacing sounds (0:45-1:24), and ends up as a beautiful score for the main enemies
I do think the art style still looks amazing though.
I will say, while i agree graphically i was expecting a bit more, it does seem to be 60fps, where Ghost of Tsushima was a 30fps game even on the PS4 Pro.
Also it stated that this footage was specifically from the base version. So i’m curious to see what improvements the PS5 Pro might bring.
Gameplay wise, at least what i inferred from it, it looks like you’re totally free how to go about taking your revenge on the Yotei 6. Seems like a good open world approach on paper, so i’m curious to see how that’ll play out
Funny how some people complain about console upgrades, saying we don’t need better hardware. But at the same time expect every new game to look significantly better. Can’t have it both ways.
I agree though, it expected a bit more graphically. But i’m sure when DF puts this game and it’s predecessor side by side, the difference will be much more noticeable then we think.
At least for me, i always seem to remember PS4 games being way prettier than they actually do when i look back on them or when compared to current gen games
Comments 1,570
Re: 'The Number of Live Service Games Is Not Important': PS5 Boss Gives Rare Insight into Strategy
@Robocod Good points about Hulst appointing and surrounding himself with former employees and thereby possibly creating a environment that might have difficulties pushing back on his decisions
Re: 'The Number of Live Service Games Is Not Important': PS5 Boss Gives Rare Insight into Strategy
@RBMango
You might be right. I, like many here, like to speculate and strategize what Sony needs to do. However, while i agree that they’ve made some stupid decisions, i think you might underestimate the complexity of making such big corporate decisions.
Sure, some of us might have good ideas, but which of those ideas would you follow?
Some of us want sequels, some only want new IPs. Some want IPs to be remade, some hate Remakes. Most only play live service, some of us despise live service. Some want them to focus on AAA exclusives, some want them to focus on indie and AA. There are so many conflicting opinions about everything here, how would you know which decisions to push for?
Even gamers on this site have wildly different expectstions of what they think Sony should do.
Not too mention having to grow financially and keep stockholders happy in an industry that is highly unpredictable. There’s a lot more to it than people clamoring for more “fun” games, especially if those “fun” games don’t sell well. Fun sadly, doesnt always correlate with succesfull. That’s why i referred to Astro Bot in my original post, an undeniably fun game, but it didnt exactly light the world on fire commercialy.
I think Sony is doing their best to diversify their content by focusing on single player, live service, indie (through their many hero projects) while also trying to create IP that they can utilize through the rest of their businesses like Sony Pictures and Music.
Don’t get me wrong, they’ve made some pretty stupid decisions, which i’m not a fan of. But the fact that so many studios everywhere are closing and games fail to deliver commercialy, tells us that its really not that easy to know what gamers want. It’s not only Sony who is struggling with finding the right answers
Edit: live service 😇
Re: 'The Number of Live Service Games Is Not Important': PS5 Boss Gives Rare Insight into Strategy
@Intr1n5ic Haha, Love this! 😂👍🏼
Re: 'The Number of Live Service Games Is Not Important': PS5 Boss Gives Rare Insight into Strategy
“They just need to understand gamers and bring the fun back in games!” - Average Push Square commenter
Meanwhile statistics show most gamers play everything from Fortnite, FIFA and CoD to other F2P crap. Deciphering what gamers want is so easy to do for us armchair anaylists, but hardly ever correlates with reality. Saying they need to just bring back the fun in games is so easy when you don’t have a clue which type of games will be succesful anymore nowadays.
Sony made arguably one of the funnest games in their repertoire, which was lauded by critics and users, and even won more than a hundred GOTY awards, but hardly moved the needle commercialy speaking.
But yeah, people here know all the answers 😎
Edit: Also, taking an intentional approach to IP creation doesnt mean it can’t be fun games, as always people here are taking a statement and use elaborate ways to make it mean anything their imagination wants it to mean
Re: Ghost of Yotei Legends Multiplayer Drops as Free DLC in 2026, New Story Trailer Is a Stunner
Legends!!! Awesome trailer, best game of the show, for me
Re: Poll: How Would You Rate Gamescom Opening Night Live 2025?
Adjusted my expectations accordingly, so it was just fine for me. These shows usually just focus on game updates and release dates anyway, rather than new announcements. I’ll give it an “Okay”
The games i liked: Ghost of Yotei (Legends!), Chronos, Silent Hill F, Onimusha, KCD2 Blacksmith expansion, Batman Lego, project Spectrum
Re: Halo: ODST Content Officially on PS5 in Next Week's Helldivers 2 Update
What a time to be alive
Re: Konami 'Forgiven' for Dropping Metal Gear Solid Voice Lead in Fifth Game
Took him 10 years to get over that? 🥲
Re: PS5 Stunner Phantom Blade Zero Looks Out of This World in New Gameplay Trailer
@tselliot This game looks more Devil May Cry/Ninja Gaiden than a souls like. Definitely more action hack n slash than souls combat mechanics
Re: PS5 Stunner Phantom Blade Zero Looks Out of This World in New Gameplay Trailer
Yes, they are kidding. This looks too sick. Hope we get a release date soon
Re: Sword of the Sea (PS5) - Stunning Journey-Like Is a PS Plus Extra Hall of Famer
This looks great! 👍🏼 Time to sub PS+ again
Re: 'Maybe a PS Showcase, Probably a State of Play': Sony Plotting PS5 Livestream for Late September
Looks at sub title 👀
Couldnt have said it better myself
Re: Meltdowns on Social Media As Sony Markets Its Upcoming Xbox Port
Somehow the twitter comment sounds like something a console warrior himself would say.
Looks at username: Ah yeah, that makes sense 🤓
Re: Sony Made a Massive Mistake with Movie Sensation K-Pop Demon Hunters
Sony makes such dumb decisions sometimes, in stead of creating IP for themselves they only produce them for other companies.
But yeah Sony Animation was probably just payed to make a movie for Netflix in this case, so it’s only logical and fair that they own the IP.
All in all, it’s still good marketing for Sony Animation. I’ve been very impressed with their movies and the art styles used like Spiderman, Mitchell vs the machines and K-pop Demon Hunters.
Just a shame they don’t produce these kinds of IP for themselves (except for the Mitchell one i think).
Re: 12 PS Plus Extra, Premium Games for August 2025 Announced
@CaptainWow
Sword of the Sea is a Day 1 game. And most of these games (besides Spiderman) are around 1 to 2 years old. How many Day 1 games should they add this month in your opinion, for you to not consider this “old slop”?
People expect so much from a service that costs as low as $13/month.
Personally, considering there’s even a Day 1 game on it, some of the best retro titles of the PS1 generation and 12 games with a msrp worth that far exceeds the $13/month the service asks for, i think this is great value. Sure, the titles offered will always be subjective. But where you might find people are “easily pleased and accepting”, i find people who think this month is crap a bit too negative.
I’m genuinely curious, if you were to be honest (and reasonable), what type of games do you expect for $13/month?
Re: 12 PS Plus Extra, Premium Games for August 2025 Announced
23 comments and just one mention of Sword of the Sea?! This month is a banger!
Re: A Quote from a Sony Exec Is Causing a Hubbub Among PS5 Fans Again
@PuppetMaster At least someone here gets it! 👍🏼
Re: Sony Admits PS5 Live Service Push Is Not Going Smoothly
I’m pretty sure Blue Point proposed this to Sony themselves, rather than it being assigned to them. So Blue Point also must have thought it was a good idea
Re: Sony Admits PS5 Live Service Push Is Not Going Smoothly
Personally, while i agree their live service strategy isn't going smoothly (because of it being a stupid strategy to begin with), i think having 4 relatively succesful live service titles is a pretty solid outcome, at least if you think about it reasonably. It’s very hard to be the next Fortnite in this space, that’s just not gonna happen. But having a few titles that do reasonably well is a pretty good outcome.
Most people understood that the 12 live service titles they had in development weren’t all going to succeed. The live service space is just too risky and competitive. Even Sony themselves likely understood that the majority of those titles would either fail or get cancelled. They were just hoping that a few were gonna stick.
Thats just the reality of game development today, having 6 or so games get cancelled this gen sounds like a lot, but is actually pretty normal and happens pretty much all the time with every publisher behind the scenes.
By my count they have 4 relatively succesful live service titles, namely GT7, MLB, Destiny 2 and Helldivers 2.
I think Fairgames will get cancelled.
But they will still release Marvel Tokon, Marathon, Horizon Online, that TeamLFG game and that FPS from Dark Outlaw studios.
Honestly, if even 1 or 2 of those game is succesful, i’d say their live service effort has been pretty solid overall. Again, if we were to be reasonable, we can’t expect them all the be winners, but having 4 or 5 succesful live service titles seems pretty solid, at least to me
Re: Sony Admits PS5 Live Service Push Is Not Going Smoothly
@LikelySatan
To be fair, I’m pretty sure Marathon was in development at Bungie years before Sony even acquired them. It’s not necessarily Sony pursuing this title, but Bungie.
Not too mention Sony acquired Bungie under the condition that Bungie would stay in control, so Sony probably didn't have much say in it until recently.
I do agree however, that they seem pretty clueless as to what works in the live service space. But to be fair again, most titles seem to fail anyway nowadays. It’s hard to tell what might work or what wouldn’t
Re: Sony Controlling More of Marathon Dev Bungie, Will Be Integrated into PS Studios
@nessisonett
It’s not just historic succes though. Even this generation, Sony has had several critically acclaimed releases, one even winning GOTY. Just last month they released Death Stranding 2, which was also well received by critics.
Some people like to judge Sony based solely on their live service efforts (because of the catastrophic failure of Concord and the cancellations). But personally, i think having 4 successful live service titles so far (there are still a few live service titles coming) isn't necessarily that bad of a result.
The 12 live service titles Sony had in development weren’t all meant to be successful. I think most of the gaming public who know how risky and competitive the live service space is understood very well that most of those games would either fail or get cancelled. Having 4 or 5 relatively succesful live service titles out of 12 is actually a pretty solid outcome. They can’t all be winners.
I don’t think people realize how many games get cancelled all the time behind the scenes. Having 6 or so games cancelled is actually pretty normal, people just like to put extra heat on Sony because they’re one of the largest players in the game and expectations are higher.
So personally i wouldn’t judge current Sony management solely on their live service effort, because they also still make outstanding non live service games, and even some of their live service titles are pretty good like GT7, MLB, Destiny 2 and Helldivers 2. However, i will say that their approach to live service game was extremely bad
Re: Sony Controlling More of Marathon Dev Bungie, Will Be Integrated into PS Studios
Sony should fix their pr and marketing department before releasing any live service game. I’m convinced public perception weighs heavier than most other variables when determining a live service title’s succes
Re: We're Not Entirely Sold on Sony Funded PS5 Shooter EXILEDGE Yet
Having read the article first, and the emphasis of the title, i was expecting something way worse. I think it actually looks kinda cool! 😄
Re: Watch Pro Players Get to Grips with Marvel Tokon in Unedited PS5 Gameplay
Looks like it has the potential to become the go to fighting game
Re: Microsoft Reiterates It's the Top Publisher on PS5 in Earnings Call
Of course Microsoft making money on PS5, they’re one of the biggest publishers around. If not the biggest?
All i see is more games going to PS. And while we’re celebrating Microsofts financials, i guess. We can safely assume Playstation is making bank as well, seeing as they get a 30% cut as well on all those games, but without the investments.
Also curious to see what revenue Sony gets from PS+, since PS+ has more subscribers and active users that buy things through PS+ than Game Pass
Re: Reaction: PS Plus Essential Deserves Much More Credit for Its Free PS5, PS4 Games in 2025
People are right when they say Sony’s equivalent to GamePass is not Essential but Extra/Premium. But what they forget is that Extra/Premium is also way cheaper, so it’s not a 1 on 1 comparison to GamePass.
PS+ Extra&Premium costs $11.25 and $13.30/month respectively, compared to GamePass’s $20/month.
So when comparing the services the prices should be taken in to consideration.
Personally, i think every PS+ tier offers amazing value at each price point. Even Premium, what many consider to be the least worth it service, i’d argue offers great value.
And as a thought exercise, i’d like anyone to explain what they think the service(Premium) should offer more at it’s price point of $13.30/month (without being unreasonable like suggesting Day 1 games which would be impossible at this price point considering the competition asks $20/month for that service)
As a reminder what the service currently offers at $13.30/month:
For $13.30/month i think thats amazing value objectively. And even when compared to GamePass it holds up when considering it’s much cheaper price point. Now what do people think they should offer more at this price point?
Re: Eye-Opening PS5 Sales Data Reveals Why Microsoft Is Porting Xbox Games
@TrollOfWar I don't think there’s anything wrong with a little bit of brand identity. That’s why some of us are here. We like Playstation. Not all people who prefer a brand are automatically fanboys. If people all over the world can go crazy over their favorite sports teams then i’m fine with a little bit of harmless brand support.
I agree though, some fanboys (from both sides) can be very immature and annoying. But i just tend to focus on the people here who do have well thought out opinions on the industry, in stead of focusing on fanboys’ biased takes and truncated views.
Re: Eye-Opening PS5 Sales Data Reveals Why Microsoft Is Porting Xbox Games
@lacerz I’m really weirded out by this narrative that Xbox is somehow “helping Sony out” by releasing these games on Playstation, when literally all of these games (except for Forza) would have released on Playstation anyway.
Edit: Never mind, i read it wrong, my bad. You were talking about former Xbox exclusives(Forza) and not these cross platform games
@Fartingale Exactly! The list would look exactly the same even if MS didn’t acquire Zenimax+Activision. Don’t quite understand why this chart is supposed to be so eye opening.
People act like Xbox are bringing these IPs over to Playstation for the first time or something, when all of these titles, except for Forza, have released on Playstation for decades lol
Re: Eye-Opening PS5 Sales Data Reveals Why Microsoft Is Porting Xbox Games
I don’t quite understand how this is supposed to be the “why” behind Microsoft multiplatform push. Why would this table put things in perspective all of a sudden? Only new perspective that could be derived from this chart are the Forza sales. Most of these titles have always been multiplatform. If anything, that perspective should have been obvious a long time ago.
Namely, if you want to maximize sales potential of your games, it would probably be ideal to publish it on a platform with the most users.
Only thing this table shows is that Microsoft bought two of the biggest third party publishers in the world and therefore own many of the game releases.
And that Sony hasn’t released much in the same Q2 period. Although Q3/Q4 will probably look different when they include the sales of Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei etc.
I think it’s time for Sony to buy some big publishers of its own, so it can boast about having a large output as well .
All the Xbox games on that list have always been cross platform, except for Forza and Indiana Jones.
Using the same logic, would you say that Doom, CoD and ES are also not really Xbox games?
Re: Sony Job Listing Implies More PS5 Exclusives Will Be Ported to Xbox, Switch
@TrollOfWar
The fact that the Xbox and the PS5 have basically the same hardware makes it even more understandable that they need to differentiate in other ways, to make their products stand out.
What i was explaining is the strategy of product differentiation. It’s a smart and legitimate strategy to drive costumers to buy a product. It doesnt mean every business and or product uses that strategy.
Something may make sense for lets say selling consoles, streaming services, the whole fashion industry, pc hardware like nvidia/amd, apple, samsung, fast food chains like BK, MC, KFC etc, like every new startup that creates a new perfume line or whatever. But it might not make much sense for BD players or TV’s to create exclusive software for example as you’ve pointed out, so the comparison to consoles isnt that relevant.
Not every product uses or needs differentiation or “exclusives” to sell their products. It’s just a strategy you can use thats all. My point is that there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, and it’s a valid strategy for some products or businessess.
In the case of consoles i think it makes sense. These two consoles play like 97% of the same games anyway. It’s just a small percentage of games that’s used to create brand recognition. I think there’s nothing wrong with that model.
The concern some people have here is that by foregoing that exclusivity, it might dilute the brand, and therefore might make their consoles less interesting. Just look at whats happening to Xbox and the diminishing interest people have in their console. There’s a bit more nuance to it than just fanboyism
Re: Sony Job Listing Implies More PS5 Exclusives Will Be Ported to Xbox, Switch
@SMJ I agree that the future of gaming is probably digital and streaming. But even then for Sony to compete, it will need exclusives. Until that digital future though, the more immediate future will still be hardware based.
And i think you might be right with your prediction of how many hardware based console generations there are left
Re: Sony Job Listing Implies More PS5 Exclusives Will Be Ported to Xbox, Switch
@TrollOfWar
Having exclusives on your platform or service is a legitimate way to make it attractive for people to buy your console.
There’s a reason people subscribe to Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple+ etc.
They all offer exclusive content that people want to see. Heck, exclusivity is why you go to Burger King. Exclusivity has become a bad word in the gaming industry, but i see it as a valid way to distinguish yourself. It’s what many companies do, offering things that are found nowhere else to attract people. A pretty common practice in business actually.
Up until a few years ago, Xbox fans had no problem with this logic, but now it seems it’s something completely incomprehensible. (wonder why?👀)
Look at what going full multiplat is doing to the Xbox brand. Yes, software sales are better now, but the hype for their console brand has shot down globally.
If you know that Sony’s biggest revenue comes from their 30% cut from games sold through their stores and not the revenue from their first party titles, you could understand how important it might be for Sony to keep their ecosystem valuable and keep selling consoles.
That said, i do think there’s room for more inclusivity in gaming as well, these things arent mutually exclusive
Re: Sony Job Listing Implies More PS5 Exclusives Will Be Ported to Xbox, Switch
@SMJ
There’s a bit more nuance to it than that, and of course i can only speak for myself.
It’s because some people here are simply Playstation enthousiasts (shocker, i know) and they want the brand and company to do well long term.
It’s not about not wanting other people to play their games, for some here the concern is that the choice to go full multiplat (if that even happens) might be very detrimental to their brand.
If Xbox can fail, despite backed by the wealthiest company in the world, then you can imagine how vulnerable a brand like Playstation is, considering Sony is roughly 20x smaller.
Things change and nothing is certain. Even large brands have disappeared over time in the past. Sometimes a company is just a few big mistakes away from failure and becoming obsolete. And Sony doesn't have the wealth to back up too many big mistakes like MS does.
What i think happening is that you might be focusing too much on less nuanced posts, and filter out the many people here that tend to have well thoughtful and balances takes on the industry
Re: Sony Job Listing Implies More PS5 Exclusives Will Be Ported to Xbox, Nintendo
@HonestHick
Have you considered long term implications though? Sony biggest income isn’t the sales of first party titles, it’s the 30% cut they get from (mostly third party) games sold in their store. And the reason they make money is because they sell so many consoles. I don't think focusing on God of War selling 35 instead of 25 million would really be a smart focus for their brand overall.
But heck what do i know, I’ve given up on speculating what these companies will do nowadays. I just sit back, grab some popcorn and watch how things unfold lol
Re: Sony Job Listing Implies More PS5 Exclusives Will Be Ported to Xbox, Nintendo
Sony can do whatever they want, i don't own any stock in them.
However, if i extrapolate the scenario in my head of Sony porting their games to all other consoles, perhaps even Day 1, i can’t see them keeping their dominance in the console space anymore.
So, very curious to see what Sony’s game plan is here.
I’m assuming they won’t be porting key IP’s as to maintain the brand recognition, because that’s one of their biggest selling point. But i don’t assume anything anymore in today’s gaming industry lol.
But hey, this might just be the beginning of an inevitable shift in gaming. That’s why i always said Sony should buy some key IP’s if they want to compete in the future game streaming wars
Re: Xbox U-Turn the First Step Towards Gamers Rejecting $80 Games
The market is saturated. Too many games releasing. Not too mention the ever rising costs of development. Studios are having a hard time brraking even (let alone make profit) unless you’re a massively popular (oftentimes lacking innovation) IP like FIFA or CoD.
So studios/publishers come up with all sorts of ways to continue to be viable in this market. Like raising game prices, live service models, agrssive microtransactions or consolidating the market by buying publishers. But most people (often rightfully so) bemoan or reject these options.
Meanwhile studios are closing left and right and people are being layed off at an unprecedented scale. Now i see a lot of people here seeing it from the pov of the consumer (again, rightly so). But i wonder if anyone has an answer for this problem if they honestly take a comprehensive look at the industry? Something a bit more substantial than “studios should just focus on AA games”, which might help, but is hardly a solution
Now that doesnt mean i’m in favour of $80 games, per se. But i just think game prices should reflect the amount of money and time it takes to develop these games. Honestly, it’s a complex problem to fix. I’m curious to see where the industry will be in 5 years, as in my opinion this industry is way too bloated
Re: Official Ghost of Yotei Popcorn Bucket Triggers Tedious Takes on PS5 Exclusives
Playstation’s user base is so large, they constantly ask for contrasting things. When Sony does single player games, there’s too much cutscenes or people demand more innovative AA games. When they do something else like Astro Bot, people hardly buy it. When they do multiplayer some people want them to stick to single player narratives, as long as it’s not a sad dad sim. Some want new IP, but not if it’s too diverse. Some hate remakes, some want old IP’s to be revived. Sony just can’t win with such a diverse and large user base
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Want from God of War Maker Sony Santa Monica Next?
As far as i understand they’re working on 2 games. I’d like to see a GoW set in ancient Egyptian mythology, but with some fresh gameplay, and perhaps mixing the styles of the og trilogy and the Norse saga games.
And preferably a new IP. But since rumours are saying it’s probably not a new IP, maybe a reboot of the inFamous series. Open world game with awesome superpowers by Santa Monica? Sounds good to me, would love to see their take on it
Re: Sony Santa Monica's Next Big Thing Not a New IP But May 'Feel Like One'
Bummer, would’ve loved a Sci-fi game. Maybe a reboot of Infamous? Damn, that would be nice as well.
Btw, am i correct that there are currently 2 games in development at Santa Monica? So probably at least one is GoW. Hoping they go with Egyptian Gods and mythology next
Re: Sony Says PS5 Is the Best Place to Watch in TV Centric Ad
Why no mention(b-roll) of Crunchyroll? Seems like an excellent opportunity for some cross marketing there
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Is the First Game Set for Gamescom Showcase
I’m sure there are people out there excited about this, i’m not one of them
Re: Cory Barlog Busy on Sony Santa Monica's 'Next Big Thing'
A Sci-fi game from Santa Monica would definitely push all my hype buttons, can’t wait to hear more soon!
Re: Xbox's Forza Horizon 5 Sold an Outrageous 2 Million Copies on PS5 in a Month
Why is it so outrageous though? Isn’t this like the highest rated xbox game of this generation? Is it really that crazy that it’s selling well? It’s also the kind of game that tends to click with both the large casual crowd and the hardcore crowd.
Edit: Just did a little research on metacritic, and i’m a bit surprised honestly, apparently FH5 (together with FH4) is the highest scoring xbox game not just of this gen, but of the last 17 years! The last time an xbox game scored higher was with Gears 3 in 2008, which scored a 93
Re: Xbox's Forza Horizon 5 Sold an Outrageous 2 Million Copies on PS5 in a Month
@Exerion76
Maybe they still aren’t 🤷🏻♂️
Re: Xbox's Forza Horizon 5 Sold an Outrageous 2 Million Copies on PS5 in a Month
Maybe they should buy 2 publishers of their own so they can boast about having a large output as well 😇
Re: Two Amazing Ghost of Yotei Music Tracks Out Now on Music Streaming Services
I love the western vibes with eastern sounds. I’m not particularly sold on the main theme though. The standout for me here is the “The Yotei 6” track. Starts off as if made for a stand off scene in a Tarantino film (0-0:45). Then shifts to perfectly dark menacing sounds (0:45-1:24), and ends up as a beautiful score for the main enemies
Re: 'It's Not About Checking Off a Map, It's About Engaging with What Excites You': Ghost of Yotei PS5 Gameplay Stuns
Their approach to the open world seems promising, less hand holding and checkbox style design and more exploration, which is good to hear.
Also the storytelling through perspective changes from the past and present seems like a cool feature, curious to see how it’ll all play out
Re: Two Jaw-Dropping Limited Edition Ghost of Yotei PS5 Consoles Announced
Sony’s limited edition designs for their controller and consoles tend to be a miss for me. This finally looks a lot better!
Re: Poll: Are You Sold on Ghost of Yotei?
@Coffeeglitch @Sanquine Both fair points!
I do think the art style still looks amazing though.
I will say, while i agree graphically i was expecting a bit more, it does seem to be 60fps, where Ghost of Tsushima was a 30fps game even on the PS4 Pro.
Also it stated that this footage was specifically from the base version. So i’m curious to see what improvements the PS5 Pro might bring.
Gameplay wise, at least what i inferred from it, it looks like you’re totally free how to go about taking your revenge on the Yotei 6. Seems like a good open world approach on paper, so i’m curious to see how that’ll play out
Re: Poll: Are You Sold on Ghost of Yotei?
Funny how some people complain about console upgrades, saying we don’t need better hardware. But at the same time expect every new game to look significantly better. Can’t have it both ways.
I agree though, it expected a bit more graphically. But i’m sure when DF puts this game and it’s predecessor side by side, the difference will be much more noticeable then we think.
At least for me, i always seem to remember PS4 games being way prettier than they actually do when i look back on them or when compared to current gen games