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I feel like I've been here before

Comments 111

Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Sales Keep Pace with Dragon's Dogma 2, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth in UK

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There is only so much room for games that require 50+ hours of people's time.

If a game doesn't catch the zeitgeist and simply reviews well it won't make huge numbers any more because the week after the next big game is out.

Next year will be worse. GTA VI - if it releases in 2025 will crush the chances of any other big game making decent sales as people put hundreds of hours into RockStar's latest game.

Re: PS5 Pro Makes Unpatched PS4 Software 'More Palatable' on High-Res Displays

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@jerrylongbones I'm aware that this is very much a case by case basis. And of course if you can get rid of artefacts like shimmer etc then that helps the overall picture and the immersion.

For the record, I'm not saying it doesn't do its job, just that I feel it is pretty hard to tell without either specific examples like you just stated or side by side comparisons.

Re: Hands On: The Crew Motorfest has Never Looked Better Thanks to the PS5 Pro

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@Matroska PC sites are literally full of articles that talk about bench marks and settings every time a new release comes out. DF do videos about optimum pc settings and new GPU and CPU are benchmarked across the Web on games ranging from the shiny new ones back to games a decade or more old.

New hardware is also a bigger deal in the console space because it happens far less frequently.

What else would you like them to write about this week?

Maybe some click bait opinion piece? It isn't like they have skipped any big news to cover the Pro.

Re: PS5 Pro Pre-Orders Are Stronger Than PS4 Pro, But Scalpers Are Losing Money

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@Balosi nothing wrong with it if you are in the business of niche products. Sony aren't. They will do it for as long as it benefits them.

But you, just by virtue of being someone who comes on a website like this to discuss gaming very likely makes you an outlier. The enthusiasts probably make up less than 1% of the total market, they just happen to be the most vocal.

I would put money on the fact that technical ability and cost factor far higher than physical games in not going to pc. Especially seeing as 75% of all games sold are digital now anyway.

Re: PS5 Pro Makes Unpatched PS4 Software 'More Palatable' on High-Res Displays

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@DennisReynolds I put Horizon Forbidden West on and if I'm honest I think it looked better but I wouldn't have been able to tell you how.

I tried No Man's Sky in VR and to be honest I can't really remember what it looked like on the regular PS5 - which is an issue.

I guess the thing is that we have reached a point where seeing the graphics in abstract without a reference point just doesn't impress like it used to.

Re: PS5 Pro Pre-Orders Are Stronger Than PS4 Pro, But Scalpers Are Losing Money

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@LogicStrikesAgain well that's kind of how I feel to be honest and I think that if you look at this gen as a whole and not just first party there have already been some bangers!

But my main feeling is that the extended cross-gen period has somehow devalued the games we are playing in people's minds and so in some weird sense they don't count.

And the reality is that we have probably seen the back of huge generational leaps in graphics and the potential size of games and the experiences that are possible.

It is incremental upgrades all the way.

Re: PS5 Pro Makes Unpatched PS4 Software 'More Palatable' on High-Res Displays

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That result sort of sums up how I feel about the console as a whole really.

There's this feeling of it does something but it doesn't do enough to really be of note.

I love the build of the machine and how sleek the design is but I know I'm not getting a great deal out of it because I keep checking to see if there is an update I have missed for the games I'm playing.

It all look wonderful, but I feel like it did before and without the side by side comparison I'm struggling to really tell where the differences are.

That said I started Lies of P today and that is now 4k in performance mode and the game looks and feels wonderful, I have no comparison point for that though having only played the demo before.

Re: PS5 Pro Pre-Orders Are Stronger Than PS4 Pro, But Scalpers Are Losing Money

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@Balosi the problem is the numbers don't support you on that.

With physical movies, there are a small dedicated group of people who are buying more than ever but most people aren't. The same is true of games.

I don't believe it has anything to do with people's choice not to play on PC.

The only reason I think it sticks around is because the first company to out and out come out and say 'no more discs' is going to incur the ire of the enthusiast gamer gang and ultimately they are the ones that buy early and kick start a generation. From that point of view you don't want to be the one to tear off that band aid first.

Re: Hands On: Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy 16, and Metaphor: ReFantazio All Get a Boost on PS5 Pro

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@Orochilocka can I ask how old you are?

The link you posted previously about this with the video that supposedly amplified the sound, well I watched it and couldn't hear anything other than the fans.

My hypothesis is that because the sound is high pitched people over a certain age won't be able to hear(you lose the ability to hear high frequencies as you age) it and so mine could be doing it and I'd never know.

Re: PS5 Pro Pre-Orders Are Stronger Than PS4 Pro, But Scalpers Are Losing Money

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@Luna-Harmony that's a recipe for having a tonne of stock left over that you can't shift.

Sony clearly haven't got the numbers right here but they would rather be a bit short and make more than make a load they can't shift.

It is important to consider the context of this as people move further from physical media year on year and that it benefits Sony to have more people buying digital, it is entirely understandable that they wouldn't want to make loads of the drives.

Re: PS5 Pro Pre-Orders Are Stronger Than PS4 Pro, But Scalpers Are Losing Money

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@Boxmonkey was the library much stronger?

It took until 2015 to get the first killer PS4 game in bloodborne and the pro launched in 2016 with showing off Uncharted 4.

It wasn't until 2017 that the first party stuff really got going with Horizon, GT Sport, then 2018 for God of War. Spider-man, the last of us 2, Uncharted Lost legacy, Dreams, Death stranding all launched after the Pro had released.

We have already had Demon's Souls, 2 spider-man games, Horizon FW, God of War Ragnarök, GT 7, Ratchet and Clank, Sack boy, Astrobot, Returnal all before the launch of the Pro supported by the usual third party stuff.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 554

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I played around with a few games last night on the new Pro before settling in to Lies of P this morning. Right at the start so we will see if it clicks.

Very much standard Souls stuff so far.

Will likely VR a bit on Pistol Whip and Drums Rock plus I'm considering a new run on Stardew valley with the latest update.

Balatro and Vampire survivors are always a possibility too.

Re: Hands On: Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy 16, and Metaphor: ReFantazio All Get a Boost on PS5 Pro

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Had my first night with the console trying out games and well....

I'm pretty underwhelmed if i'm honest.

I know there are good things going on under the hood and my games ultimately look and run better but if I'm honest without the side by side it is pretty hard to tell.

I can say every game looks great, how much better than my base model? Not a clue.

My feeling is that right now we have reached the bleeding edge. Yeah you can keep pushing but in reality it isn't going to get much better than this in any meaningful way. Everything else is a nice to have.

Utility is the next frontier with machines like the steamdeck and the Nintendo switch carrying that torch right now.

Younger gamers want to play without the restrictions of needing a tv or being tied to a location.

Re: Nintendo and The Pokémon Company Want to Stop the Sale of Palworld

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@LavenderShroud being done before doesn't necessarily stop someone patenting something though - especially as a lot of IP law ends up being pretty random when it comes to practice.

But it isn't about 1 game. If Nintendo win then every creature capturing mechanic that looks vaguely similar is potentially on the block. Every game where you 'ride a creature' the same.

As I said it is the principle. It stifles creativity and creates fear that if your game strays too close to a game that may influence it, you could lose it all.

Re: Sony Promises It'll Launch Major PS5 Single Player Games Every Year Moving Forwards

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@themightyant it's funny that your list of first party games in any other gen would be seen as a real winner but I think the perception is that it somehow doesn't count because those games came on to PS4 too.

I took a bit of a step back and thought through everything I played on my PS5 and in all honesty while I think a few of the IP need a bit of freshening up, I have had a great time this gen and the best of it usually comes in the back half of a consoles life.

Re: Nintendo and The Pokémon Company Want to Stop the Sale of Palworld

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@LavenderShroud the reason people are siding with Pocket pal is more to do with the principle of trying to lock down particular game mechanics.

Forever, games have learned from and built off of ideas from other games and often great things have sprouted from that.

What if Nintendo had successfully patented power ups items? Or platforming itself?

What about characters with swords? Or just all elven characters?

Ultimately, it stops anyone else using similar ideas and stops progression and innovation in the industry. Something which already feels at a bit of a low ebb.

Re: Nintendo and The Pokémon Company Want to Stop the Sale of Palworld

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@Jacko11 I did some UK patent law for my degree and would agree that some of this on its face appears to struggle legally.

Interestingly though I'm not sure they'd even get the patents for those in the UK. A patent has to be innovative, I.e. something new or an improvement on something old.

I don't think some of this meets that criteria, it is also all a bit general and non-specific, albeit that the actual documents may give more detail.

I does feel like Nintendo throwing their weight around a bit because of the obvious influence pokemon has had on Palworld.

Re: Poll: Did You Buy a PS5 Pro?

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I'm getting through the setup phase bit by bit.

I transferred as much data as I could earlier today. Installed a shiny new 2tb ssd and attached an internal sata ssd via a sata/usb bridge to give me almost 6tb to play with.

Now just redownloading the games that weren't in the transfer.

I'm sure I'll get to play sometime this weekend...

Re: PS5 Pro Has a Remarkable Impact on Unpatched Games Too

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This is ultimately why I bought in.

Yes it is compensating for some poor development practices and optimisation but ultimately I feel like we are never going to see the end of 'developer ambitions too much for the hardware.'

And so there will always be a reason to have the better piece of kit.

Re: PS5 Pro Actually Gives You Almost All Its 2TB of Storage to use

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@Titntin memory doesn't store anything while it is not in use. If the OS was stored in the memory the minute you turned the power off it would vanish from your console.

The suspicion is that the new slower ddr 5 memory is allocated to run the os so the full 16gb ddr 6 is available for running games but this is not the same as storing the OS.

It would be interesting to see if they have just made the os smaller or compressed it better to allow for more of the ssd to be used. A new clean PS5 with the latest OS would tell us.

Re: Round Up: PS5 Pro Reviews Love New Tech and a Glimpse of PS6 Potential

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For me it was a simple equation. I had the money I wanted to have the best experience.

I love the visual fidelity of the base PS5 but have become accustomed to playing games at 60fps. If we get the best of both and possibly a bit more as the cherry on top I'm happy.

As for any comparison to PC, I explored my options there and ultimately came back to the same conclusion, that for now I just want to play games on console and the Pro is the best place to do that.