Stupid name, but looks awesome. It's sad that it looks better than any generation of the anime. Almost like they should just do a shot for shot remake using the games engine.
@Athrum why? So you can see her fail instead of a man?
Not entirely sure why this is important to you, unless you need a pretty face to screw people over in order to make yourself feel better.
Do you realize how sexist you sound saying something like that?
This person is just another executive, we will see if she is worth the money she's being paid or just another over paid executive bringing her own brand of toxic, disruptive, and company ruining behavior before she bails with her golden parachute.
If she can save ow2, great. I doubt anything will change. Something abk needs to understand is that their individual identity will be stripped from them as they become Microsoft studios. Hopefully this will fix things inside Activision. Where old feuds between treyarch and infinity ward still exists to this day. Pretty safe to say that those two constantly disrupt things for other studios and are partly responsible for sledgehammer problems over the last decade.
@McBurn not really. Same amount of work needs to be done. All the 2D work would have to be redone and re-imagined. All the animations would need to be redone. Cutscenes would likely be added. At best it would take 3/4 of the estimated time. Especially if they bring the endings in line with modern standards.
Tell you what, give me a US studio fluent in Unreal, we'll ahve the damn thing done in 5 years. Give me phone time with project heads once every 1 to 2 months as well. Oh and give me 200 artists and animators. 300 to 500 if you want me to realistically hit that target of 5 years.
This whole "oh its 2D it'll be hard" is nonsense. They basically had to remake everything in FF7 Remake. None of the areas are laid out the same. If anything the PS1 version was just concept art by comparison. Biggest change was combat, I'd ask to have FF7 Rebirths code to use as a pushing off point will help with some of the issues I'm expecting.
Back in 2018 or 2019, Yves and the company was looking at examples of games that have come back from being absolute disasters. Most notably No Man's Sky. They felt that they could release a dumpster fire and if they just kept supporting it with new content, features, and fixes, that it would result in word of mouth and an underdog story that would result in more bank for them.
Downside to that line of thinking is that if you do it enough times, people aren't going to assume you are CDPR, especially when you're a huge company like Ubisoft that releases games every year (most years). There is no reason for an Assassin's Creed game to have its boat sink at the dock when you have 2 other sea fairing AC games under your belt (ACR and AC3). There is no reason for you to be falling through the map of your pride and joy anvil engine (which is really scimitar) 5 to 10 entries into your franchise.
To add insult to injury their content never justifies that large of a return. It's not Phantom Liberty, it's not the Witcher 3 DLC, it's not even Shadow Broker or any of the fantastic ME2 DLC.
If you keep doing it every game, people are going to get sick of waiting an entire year+ just to have the experience they were promised launch day.
Just look at the amount of rage FF15 fans have towards not just the DLC, but the number of updates the game got over the course of the first year by time it got to the royale edition. The amount of doubt it cast on FF16. People finish the game in the first month don't want to come back a year later to get the experience they should have had a year ago.
So good luck supporting your game with new content Ubisoft. I hope it burns a hole in your pocket as you continue to pull this kind crap. Literally the worst company in the industry right now.
There is more to being "The best way to play" something. Your update delta is not strong enough to justify the remaster or the price tag being offered. This just reeks of deeper problems as Naughty Dog should be releasing a new game right now, instead they are rereleasing their old games, remaking their old games, not even their older more deserving games, because the Delta just isn't there (though TLoU's remake is pretty good and I can justify it over the PS4 remaster, the question of it being needed right now is certainly containing merit).
So that's why. If he can't grasp that fact, then he probably should stay way from Directing remasters and remakes.
granted upgrading is 10 bucks to a Digital copy that requires a disc, but fans of the franchise who aren't digital aren't paying 10 dollars. They are paying full price. There is no disc trade in program. They want a physical copy. The digital audience might see less of an issue, but you're asking 10 dollars that as far as they are concerned should be free, because the delta doesn't justify 10 bucks. Being definitive, doesn't make your newest version that much better.
Seriously, is someone messing with the water in California, why are all these people at Sony saying stupid nonsensical things like this.
These little tweaks are why I quit the game. It's been a mine cart rolling down hill towards the junk heap ever since OW2 released. Kiriko was the last good thing they did for the game. I honestly can't wait till they shut the survers down for this game. That way they can stop bastardizing a game I really loved playing.
@trev666 there are a few ways, including multiple battery packs placed around the controller, advances in material science, or they managed to optimize the controllers over all power consumption with better components. Could even be all of those factors.
@XenonKnight Technically yes. If you were one of the lucky few who caught the 250 window on Amazon and BestBuy, then no. 250 was the lowest. I happened to be up late on the 23rd... or 24th if you want to get technical. Best Buy dropped it off within a few hours.
I pressed my store for the reasoning for this. Inventory dump or a new model. I'm leaning towards the former. These things aren't selling and the fact that I could walk into a best buy and still see a mountain of the damned things is telling.
So for most people yes, it was 350 unless you were the lucky few. I will not be surprised if another one pops up for 250 in 6 to 12 mos. I'll be even less surprised if MS decides to shift its startegy to become more of a 3rd party developer with a SteamOS like Eco System for Xbox. Where you can build your own machine, install Xbox OS on it, and use it like an xbox complete with optical drive (that you'll need to buy from them). As it stands Xbox as a brand is dead, anyone hoping on that platform like they are making a grand statement is fooling themselves. We'll know console gaming is dead the minute sony starts doing the same thing.
Keep in mind my little prediction doesn't preclude the possibility of an Xbox prebuilt unit. Just like the Series X, but I think MS is moving away from the console being its star. I think Xbox the console will be a mid range PC shoved into a box with replaceable components, no more specialized anything. We will see a low end streaming box resurrected as well or continued Series S style devices.
Who knows maybe this was the plan from the start, but this whole generation from Xbox has been a cop out, right down to phill spencers self defeating statements about losing a critical point in the console race.
Bring me all of the gears games in either a collection or individually and I'll certainly snap them up. Hell even talk to whoever you need to about an HD Remaster of Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Infinite Undiscovery, and anything else locked to the x360 that microsoft has some control over to the platform and I'll be happy. I'll be equally happy to unload all of this xbox hardware I keep around for no other reason as well.
Seriously at this point, one has to ask why the Xbox even exists. At least in its current state. Just open the damned platform and allow people to build their own Xbox like Steam OS and allow for cloud saves to move between platforms, even the Steam Deck, better yet give us an Xbox OS that goes on the go. Keep disc's alive as well. Love to just go ahead and throw my own machine together and buy an xbox certified disc game that would allow me to ping my machine for the disc so I can play it on other devices. Also play my digital titles too.
Xbox as a leader on consoles is over, they are a third party now. I have a series X I just got for 250 new, I have no idea why I even have this thing as its been sitting inits box for 3 weeks now unopened. Open that OS up and let me do more iwth it. Xbox as a Service, that's all it is now.
@Martijn87 There is no fee for keeping your game on the store. As the data has to remain the servers no matter what, to allow gamers access to their libraries. So it changes nothing with regards to that status (though it exist at all costs sony money, i imagine less popular games get moved to older slower hardware over time). The bigger problem is the fact that games like Bill and Ted tend to be licensed properties and the publishers/developers do not own the games. For example once Ubisoft's license for south park expires, The Fractured But Whole and Stick of Truth will be removed from the stores for purchase. The same could also technically happen to a game like Final Fantasy XV, where they stupidly licensed Stand by Me for their opening track, which honestly hurt the game, did not improve it one bit, is a stupid song that doesn't fit the situation, and is licensed to them to use it. Which means Square has to renegotiate that garbage in the future to keep it on the store or remake the game, which may result in square just removing the track out right in favor of a new one. Which we've seen done in many other games.
Which is why at some point of the license deal is limited for something like Rock Band, Rock Smith, or Guitar Hero, those individual tracks or even the entire game it's self can be removed from the store front.
So this is likely a licensing issue with the IP holder of B&T, not becuase of any cost to keep it on the store. As sony and other companies don't stand to gain anything from removing old software they could be selling in the event that a popularity spike happens.
Lack of VR support? I need some clarity on how this article translates to the title.
Sounds like it's biggest issue was trying to be a live service vr game before learning how to make a vr game. I've played both, even push square found this wanting. If zero hour was a possible future, then why pioneer in a dying fad. No one's interested in live service games anymore, hard pressed to say they ever were. Its possible to make the formula work sure, but its gotta be something you stumble on, bot design from the ground up and force on the user. Prove your damn game concept first, get some free content out there before being like "here's a season bro, where's my 30 bucks?" People will just bail.
@Cloud7794 I don't think that's how that's going to unfold. I think what is coming is going to blind side a lot of these theories. Ya Zack is alive, but not in the universe our heroes are in. Willing to go as far as to say that wasn't our cloud and Zack walking past aerith and the party. Think about it, why would a bag of chips change for a product that is a part of a series of events unaffected by sephiroths changing of fate. There will be some interaction, but it'll be about screwing with clouds head.
I don't think anyone will die at the city of the ancients, but our Zack is dead. Aerith will die at a different point. It can't be Zack in exchange for aerith. It closes too many doors including the life stream intervention of holy amplifying the effects of meteor. That was aerith, not the will of the planet.
@Triumph741 wedge died in rebirth. There is every indication that Jesse has too. Seems those that live past when they should become subject to the whims of the whispers. So not sure where you get off saying it has no balls. Even the whole Zack situation is far more than "oh he's alive now?!" Pretty in order to save the planet they are going to have to set a few things right first before the opportunity to change the planets fate with omega and mankind's fate 200 years later will get reversed. We still technically lose at the end of ff7, regardless of what dirge and advent say about the outcome... it's a slow death.
Sigh of relief. I don't care if they change the how or even the when, but I'm glad it still happens. It's what gave the original game weight, importance, a soul, and set the tone for a good chunk of the game. I'm hoping the new editions in rebirth also don't get into the way of the pacing. Ff7 remake was perfectly paced from start to finish. If I'm running around in a field doing minor quests for 3 hours for content that could have been just as easily woven into the main story, I'm going to be pissed. I miss the good old days were side quests were about finding the extra cool ***** that made you more powerful. Not some design philosophy about delusions of doing things when you want. Guess we'll see, but good news for ff7r trilogy. It's a relief that Nomura gets that importance. It seems like the who hasn't changed.
I'd say don't count your chickens just yet here. For one it doesn't make sense under the current model to launch what would basically be a completely new entry of CoD in 2025. You have to understand that part of the reason MW3 even exists as it is, was to provide Raven/Treyarch more time to work on 2024. So why would they walk that back for CoD 2026 which will most likely be MW4?
Don't get me wrong I think 2025 is currently trying to get all of its ducks in a row after 2023, but we're talking about creating a whole new game if we're going back to a future setting. That means all new assets. What made 2023 "work" as a plan was the recycling of assets from MW2. Given an extra year more set pieces could have been introduced, but a lot of time was spent trying to figure out what 2023 would be and really left Sledge Spinning to try to hit a target that kept changing.
No I think its far more likely that we'll see something in the early 2000's. There isn't much interest in returning to BloPs 2. Far more likely we'll see advanced or infinite warfare come back, but not in 2025 for a game set after 2025.
If you think about it dropping the player in 2030, 5 years after blops 2 and 35 years before blops 3 really makes no sense. Especially if you have all this time between 1994 and 2025 with untapped potential. It's been more than 20 years since 9-11, I think its time to revisit the second gulf war and the events surrounding and leading up to it.
@wildcat_kickz Treyarch isn't technically making either. Raven took over the campaign in Cold War. They are most likely handling 2024 with Treyarch handling the multiplayer component. 2025 if you follow the CoD model for MW2 (based on what I've heard), will be a direct sequel to 2024. A different studio handled MW3, not IW, that was Sledge.
You'll need to let go of this idea of a "mainline studio". At present as far as I know, there are no solid plans for 2025. However 2023's MW3 has pushed for more development time for 2025 to make sure the campaign is longer and gets more time in the oven. Whether or not Sledge gets another crack at a full release has yet to be seen.
@Netret0120 you shouldn't feel safe period. These types of attacks are not always reported. Even companies like McDonald's get infiltrated and you never hear about it at all. Mostly because it isn't worth the time to random, the information is worth more. So the random never happens. Only reason we know anything is because insomniac didn't capitulate to their demands.
As far as personal information goes, a big company like sony has identity theft packages at the ready for this sort of thing. I've been with at least one major publisher that didn't have their ransom publicly known and provided identity theft protection for everyone the minute they were aware for up to 5 years. Some publishers just out right give the protection packages out either as a benefit like insurance to just a free perk straight out as soon as you start. At this point it's expected to happen.
The employee information is also not even all that useful, social security numbers are not stored any where that can be gotten at easily. Phone numbers are already sniffed out with auto dialers and work history is plastered all over the internet. Which just leaves salary and work level. Talk to any software engineer worth their salt and they can tell you that your data is more easily scrapped off the internet than from your employer.
@AgentMantis lol never going to happen. No one asks for it, like with the trilogy. Andromeda is ignored in pretty much every way. On N7 day, you hear from the trilogy cast, get trilogy related art. The store carries only trilogy related merch. I imagine the n7 helmet of Andromeda just not selling and the clearance sale on the tempest pretty much put an end to Andromeda merch.
If they did anything with Andromeda, it would a reimagining that would rework the entire game from the ground up. That's how much the game needed fixes. The story is half assed and not well written, the characters are generally only liked by fans of the panderverse, the music outside of the title screen lacks any soul or presence, and combat and movement was greatly improved, the combat systems and growth systems were not finished. Exploration aspects returned ME to its original design document, but forgot what made mass effect the success that it was. Focusing less on strong branching story elements through carefully planned and crafted missing structures and more on dull empty poorly laid out locations on a map providing no sense of adventure. All to enforce a false sense of discovery that wasn't earned on an open map.
We will probably see a remake of the trilogy before we ever see a remaster of Andromeda.
@TrickyDicky99 8m loss is still an 8m loss. Given that most of Sony's other IPs have earned them a significant profitable return on PS5, you're not exactly singing a high praise here. The Developer is going to feel that pain when it comes time to dish out bonus'. Do you think the executives are going to care if the game served its purpose if they can keep churning out marvel games instead? There is a reason the next R&C game isn't releasing until 2029. To be quite honest with you, I don't think R&C pushed enough hardware to make such a claim that you're making here.
Don't get me wrong, I totally get what you're saying. It's a truth of the industry dating as far back as the 70's. Exclusives rule the roost, they get gamers on your platform. So does 3rd party titles that are better on your machine. Doesn't change the fact that money was lost, while other properties have earned money on top of that universally accepted belief that first party exclusives make secondary profit through licensing.... most of the time... (though we're not talking edge cases, like that 1 player who buys the console for 1 or 2 exclusives, then buys nothing else or worse buys those games used or deep discount, then you're just losing money. keep in mind that they need to sell 4 first party games to break even on 1 PS5).
Look don't get me wrong this wasn't a slant against R&C or why I think they should stop making them. I love those games, i was deeply upset to see those numbers. Then to see an additional 2.6m lost porting to the PC. which hopefully they'll make back pretty quickly and fill the difference on that 8m loss. Keep in mind that the data shows a clear decline in interest on first party titles on PC. In that space they are not 1st party titles. Which if I recall steam takes 30% cut of every sony game sold. They be fueling the Steam Deck at that point. That does drop down to like 25% after the first 2 or so million sold I think. 30% is the usual take across all store fronts too, PSN, XBGS, NeShop, Best Buy, Amazon, etc. If the game has to go on sale, well that share gets smaller for everyone.
I want to see more R&C games. I want to see more insomniac titles in general. I'd love to see older titles remade as much as new IP. Right now they are turning into a Marvel studio and this should be a huge eye opener that PushSquare should be reporting on. This leak outlines a nightmare.
@themightyant we've seen how well the court of public opinion turns out for even the innocent. Honestly public opinion barely knows this incident even exists. In fact I'd bet their target demographic isn't wholely aware of the problem. After all this article will come and go as fast as me hitting this reply button. The percentage of people reading this or even caring is going to be mitigated to a small subset of a subset of people (across all articles online).
@Tielo Sorry, but you're just talking nonsense. You're bit about country culture is a sideways rant into no where.
Coming back with nothing than an anecdote or proverb about your experience isn't really learning anything. Common complaint I hear out of developers is, no one takes the bad in with the good and really gets to the heart of the problem. Eventually just end up in this eco chamber of good vibes that distracts from the actual problem at hand. This is also not an American Culture idea (ND is an American Studio after all on the west coast, that idealogy belongs mostly to the Californians, not the rest of the United States).
Don't get me wrong, having strong conviction to push through and say "what have I learned from this" is a great attitude to have, but the stance in of its self can be just as negative if you can't identify or never take a moment to identify what went wrong. Believe me I've sat through enough cancelled game projects where a studio just moves onto the next just flapping their gums about what they learned. When in reality they actually learned nothing and the next project suffers a whole new set of mistakes, caused by the same old ones made on the last project. Worse an over compensation for a percieved mistake that spirals out of control. Such as keeping strong scope control in the first project, only letting it run wildely out of control on the next. Becuase a lack of features killed your last project and just ends up killing your current one. Meanwhile not listening to the people who are there shouting "Don't do this". It's infuriating.
I don't think this project was as good as they are selling it, I think we're just in another case of people just not being able to let go and thinking more of their project than it really was. Which is a problem XDefiant is suffering from right now.
@Ooccoo_Jr I no longer work for Ubisoft, I don't ever see myself working for them in the future in any capacity, even if they offered me a big bag of money and my own project. Immortals Fenyx Rising being one such reason, Beyond Good and Evil 2 is another, and the collection of dumpster fires like X Defiant that consumed them for a good number of years. They don't listen to their staff, aside from the yes men beneath them who thinks Ubisoft's excrement smells like roses.
I will say this much I believed in that project. I advocated for it hard. It hurt me every step of the way to see Ubisoft interfere with it and cut it off at the knees at every opportunity. At least it isn't as bad as all the cancelled splinter cell projects over the last decade.
@Fight_Teza_Fight If the money hasn't moved, then no foul. The money just needs to get to where it needs to go.
As far as how he affords things. No idea. An investigation will reveal laundering schemes, a trail of money in and out of the account, etc. Until that information is brought to light, we can only assume at worst he's an over privileged A.hole who hasn't had to worry about money and tracking the books. I'm guilty of that at least one point in my life (now every penny is tracked). If he himself has a lot of money to run his channel and its a passion project, then who knows maybe he's just a fool who has the funds to keep it going, even if he dreams of also making money from it. How many people have sunk their entire wealth into ventures that went no where. A lot, including currently millionare and billionares in the US who eventually figured it out and locked it down.
Point is we don't have all the facts. I'm not ready to run this guy down simply because he got wrapped up in something he may have just been oblivious too. Another stupid gamer in over their heads, not a new story. I don't think its right for Sabotage to be so proactive, at least at this juncture. I'm not sure anyone is served by removing a character from the game or renaming it. Especially when most of the people playing the game probably aren't even aware of this happening. If he's proven innocent as a back of Sea of Stars, that could lead to legal implications for Sabotage Studios. I'd rather Sabotage make it out unscathed.
@guntam True, it is a problem. Though I don't think it puts the legal system on a pedastal. The fact that you acknowledge its short comings kind of runs against your point. I certainly don't believe its perfect either, but it is the rules of our society by which we go by. If just ignore that same imperfect system and act on our own, then what is justice beyond what the mob decrees.
There are legal ramifications if he is found innocent of any malicious wrong doing, he could just as easily come back as a backer and endorser of Sea of Stars and sue Sabotage Studios. That isn't even getting into the other issue of Sabotage Studios erasing history simply so they can distance themselves from a man who you and I can't wholely judge or come to a concensus on. I don't think he's done anything wrong. So at what point does your imperfect social justice fall victim to the same failures of the imperfect legal justice system? Let's be fair here in the social domain in the United states Social Justice has been proven wrong more than 20 times in the last 5 years. There is even evidence about whether or not incidents around a certain drug addict man in Minneasota dying as part of police action has put an innocent a man in jail. That same imperfect system, infused with the morals of a social justice system you're advocating for as the voice of reason were in unison at the time.
So I don't buy your position. An innocent mans rights can be trampled on just as easily in the community view. I'll take the judge and jury over this nonsense any day.
@ChrisDeku "Losing privileges like an npc in a game, or even your job does not require a criminal conviction."
Actually if he's found innocent the blow back on sabotage studios can be just as severe. If I'm not mistaken he contributed to the kickstarter funded project and endorsed the game. At that point its a business transaction not a privilege by any definition.
Equally so you're advocating for the mob mentality and lynching someone when the law doesn't meet your requisits. This isn't a case of Epstein's list or OJ Simpson. Not to mention he's far less guilty of anything serious in this situation being nothing more than a useful idiot. Not someone beyond redemption.
If you need an understanding of this situation I'd suggest you look at the relationship between Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Warner brothers, and Disney at the moment.
The social lense is also no excuse to treat him this way. You're allowed to have your own beliefs and act on them, but you and I both know this was more about how Sabotage felt this would reflect on them, rather than about the completionist failing to be a paragon of worldly virtue and intelligence. A situation most of us probably would have been blissfully unaware of had pushsquare not posted an article on it.
@TheCollector316 He's not on Epsteins list. The allegations (which all they are at this point) aren't enough to condemn a man even socially. If anything distanching themselves from him, puts egg on their face. I backed this game. Now I'm being to question if I should have.
I can understand a certain point at which someone has been pretty much condemned and there isn't a doubt, but there is a fine line between when and when not that action should be followed. I'd say they are being incredibly premature. Not asking they stand by and support him, but I'd rather a statement stating they will wait and see. Even then I would not have them modify a game like a bunch of book burning fanatics just to make themselves look better in the eyes of history. This is a bad move and Sabotage studios should be shuned for taking such abbrassive action.
@PegasusActual93 There is holding people accountable, then there is just lynching someone because you don't like them or being afraid of a blow back if you don't participate in the lynching.
This guy has not been proven guilty of anything. The word "Allegations" is literally being thrown around.
Now if you'd like I can get your name and address and start throwing around some allegations about you that aren't true or remotely related to somehthing you're doing and we can see how worth while that is for you.
Point being. This is extreme. I don't see any body being served by this. If Jeffery Epstine was a character in Sea of Stars, knock yourself out, remove the character. Hell I'll even fly myself out on my own dime, to their studio, and do it for free. I get paid to do this work for a living mind you.
The rest of what you say on the subject is utter nonsense. They clearly had no issue with him prior to this issue, released a game with him in it, and then decided to act like a bunch of goose stepping leftist and rewrite history to make themselves look better after the fact. I don't see this reflecting on them or them being associated with the individual if they actively do so AFTER the project has shipped. A public statement was all that needed to be said if they felt that strongly about it. Jumping into the code and spending the money to remove or change a character after the fact does nothing for anyone involved. At best it just draws attention to the developer having the association in the first place. It's the same reason I won't buy from Voidpoint in the future after Ion Fury's controversial dialog.
Me personally, I feel like this reflects poorly on the developer for taking such extreme actions. I kind of now regret backing the project because they rashly turned on someone who may have made an honest mistake. I'm not ready to condemn him for this and neither should they. I'm going to be questioning future purchases from them going forward.
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart lost sony money. Insomniac has been turned into a marvel studio until 2029. We're getting a Venom game in 2025.
They also leaked the sales data of the PC releases seemingly declining with each release. Almost to say, that Horizon and God of War were merely a novelty to PC gamers who have now reverted to their "we'll wait for a steam sale" mentality, rendering the PC market as a moot point in exclusive sales. Thus relegating PC to a waste land of free games and cheap digital games. Given the slice of the pie that Valve gets, the only one winning here is Valve. Given that data R&C might have made back the remaking money it took to make the game so it can break even through PC sales, but nothing else really showed any kind of significant improvement outside of Days Gone.
Jaffe is right, had they pitched 2018 without Kratos, I'd have been less interested. Kratos' baggage is what makes Kratos interesting in 2018. We have this legacy of a character that screwed up hard because of his quest for vengence. That quest for Vengence was viseral, it was there, it was in your face every step of the way. If you really got into God of War you were there for that Vengence, that anger, that rage. I think Ascension strayed a bit trying to accomplish what 2018 did, but in the wrong direction, trying to build him out from the man before. It was a game that needed to be released before God of War 3, inspite of its questionable game play changes and other issues.
That being said I think these changes to Kratos were necessary. 6 Games (not including the cellphone game) of this greek kratos was starting to slow down. His reason for vengence became dulled with time and had to end with GoW3 and eventually lead into GoW2018. To breath new life into the franchise in several ways. So in that Jaffe is wrong, the arc was done, the story completed. To continued we needed change.
We have lost something though, the heart of the franchise that began it all. He has become soft. There was a time Kratos would not hesitate to kill his enemies or bother with life lessons. So the real question is, maybe its time GoW moved on from Kratos. Maybe it is time for Kratos to fullfill another roll with a new God of War taking his place. A new betrayal, and a new vengeance.
@Bionic-Spencer The Factions for TLoU2 and what was becoming its own standalone mode will not see life in TLoU3. I also wouldn't bet on a TLoU3 at this point. TLoU2 really did not gel well with people, part of the reason we're seeing this remake is to test the waters to see if the initial wave of detractors were right. The game isn't don't as well as TLoU1.
Back on my actual point here. If there is a TLoU3 it won't get this game given the size and scope of what they were producing. It would have taken them away from what they were good at and likely killed the prospect of a TLoU3. It's been almost 4 years since the last ND game. We don't even have an announcement for the next game. Uncharted 4 came out 4 years prior to TLoU2, if you count The Lost Legacy, 3 years. Before TLoU, they were banging out a new game every 2 to 3 years.
They've wasted enough time on this. That being said, we do need more of the kind of MP experiences we use to have on PS3. Including the stuff we got in TLoU1.
These people worked on the project, they have an unnatural favortism towards it and really should not be taken at face value. In a few years they may very well feel very differently about it. I know I have about one of the projects I worked on for Ubisoft. Seemed like it was going some where, ultimately it was a trash project and had no future. I feel differently about it years later. More than a handful of projects like that out there, even at ubisoft. I won't mention the title in question or if it ever made it past the finish line to release. So don't ask. It was just part of a popular franchise they do not technically own.
That being said, these three are too close to the project. Game Designers always think their project is the best thing ever as they steadily fly closer to the sun. Even if they don't believe it themselves. If you ever find an honest one, stick with them, because then you'll know your projects getting some real traction or needs to course correct. I've seen too many projects burn themselves alive trying to chase down something that didn't work because the designer didn't want to be "negative" about the prospects of the project. Which leads to another issue in west coast game development in the US, with everyone trying to be nice, what needs to be said, doesn't get said, mostly out of fear of being labeled as negative.
Dialog Director, basically falling from the same mold, just simply wanted to keep it positive for reputations sake. Don't even get me started on the technical designer.
Point being this game was likely doing very badly, they couldn't see it, and their team suffered for it.
Hopefully their negative personalities built on false ideals of positivity will not corrupt future projects or they leave for percieved greener pastures.
Everything I've heard from staff outside these 3 is that it was a fairly middling experience trying to make more out of the first games MP than it had any right to be. Wasn't a bad game/mode, but the changes just could fix the core issues with what they were working with. hey that's what i heard anyway.
Personally as middling experiences go, not all are bad. I still hope for a day that sony spins up a second and third ND studio and has one of them work on an Uncharted Multiplayer only game. Uncharted 2 and 3 were great mp modes, I was really hoping they'd build on that for the 4th. Then some idiot came a long and injected those new systems, added a grappling hook, then took grenade toss backs away. Map designs were so much better too.
This type of Knee jerk reaction should be criticised and demonized for what it is by PushSquare and other outlets.
Not only are the going the Guilty until Proven innocent route, but they've engaged in the kind of 1984 censorship BS that has people in an uproar right now. This is not a positive action, even the rename of McCree in OW was a bit of a step too far. Basically erasing history because it makes someone uncomfortable.
In this case, this just sounds like sheer stupidity from someone who genuinely intended no harm. Ion Fury was also particularly brain damaged and is the kind of brain damaged move that leads to issues being experienced at US universities. We really need to stop this madness.
@Casco you're right that is all sony showed. That's all they needed too. The content is king and third party releases have a hard time justifying coming to the Xbox platform. At least one of those releases is platform locked to sony, same deal as heavenly sword and the order 1886. More interested in rise of the ronin than another crappy ninja theory game. Sony carried that title as far as they could. Anything else Xbox related was not that interesting and was advertising magic where the title was cross platform anyway. Like that atlus title, metaphor? Turns out that is listed as a ps4 and ps5 title everywhere except the trailer lol. I can't even remember anything else ms had beyond that. A game with no hype isn't turning anyone's heads, hellblade looks as generic and pointless as ever. OD we know nothing other than it's a horror game in an industry suddenly flooded with them. As much as I liked death stranding, Kojima hasn't done anything in a while that justifies buying a system for. Finding out this title is clown gaming supported just killed any interest I had. Have fun with that visual novel, I'd rather hunt down a copy of snatcher for an obscure dead platform.
As far as death stranding goes. It still exists in the Xbox eco system even if locked to pc. You get Xbox achievements for playing the game pass version. It maybe pc, that's still an Xbox platform. Which is why any steam user will likely thumb their nose at it.
@Robocod honestly Microsoft has to be the most clueless first party in the games industry. Any promises they made were pretty hollow. The CoD studios will continue to ship CoD titles unless they screw up enough for someone to notice. We are talking Redfall bad. All this posturing over Bobby is completely irrelevant to MS and they were never concerned about that situation. The acquisition was all about King and only King. I'm more surprised Microsoft didn't attempt to sell off Activision and blizzard after buying them once they had what they wanted. Lol that could still happen, but don't put money on that bet.
You won't see studios like Raven return to franchises like HeXeN. I'm sure there has been some discussion with studio heads on what they want to do. I'm sure HeXeN has come up. I think ultimately if HeXeN remakes or sequels are done, it won't be by raven, but someone like iron galaxy. Which will pass a lot of people off. As I understand from my time talking to people from that studio they have 20+ year industry veterans who have been working there since Id helped spin them up. Which is just insane. Those people will not be happy. You won't see any more crash games IMHO. I hope I'm wrong, but MS is trying to play nice in the same way emperor gestalh did with the returners in ff6. I don't see a return to titles like singularity or a return of advanced warfare or infinite warfare. Which in all honesty should be brought back. CoD audience was brain damaged for thumbing their nose at both of those games.
As far as adding another platform for parity. Activision is always looking for places to stick their games. Adding Nintendo back into the cycle is not a huge deal. There is already a lot of tech in CoD for scaling to the platform. Just look at ps4, xb1, and mobile versions. They'll get a level of quality out of Nintendo's next platform. So I doubt it'll hold them back. I'm betting the parity was more for features and campaign, than for visuals anyway. Nintendo probably doesn't care one way or the other. The agreement as far as they are concerned is just another revenue stream for royalties. I would not expect CoD on switch. Ever. In fact I'm willing to bet the agreement has some loop hole that has a technical requirement threshold Nintendo has to reach for Activision to follow through. So launch title on a switch 2 maybe? I would not be surprised if CoD central technologies is already setting up build servers for prototype switch 2 hardware that they'll spring on everyone next year. Assuming they don't already have them for 2024 release. Let's not forget CoD barely fits on a stock ps5 launch model.
As a developer myself, and having been on the receiving end of this more than once, not to mention having call of duty on my resume as a dev at some point in my career, knowing the people behind it. I can only say the following.
They deserved it. Every bit of it. That being said, they should do as I do and other members of the team and look at this as an opportunity to do better. It is highly likely those at the top have this same short, grueling, tacked on, and bolted together premium release planned for 2025 after 2024 releases. Which means they need to get in front of it. Members of the Team that contested mw3 and its issues now have ammo to fire back with when producers, directors, studio heads, share holders, and ceo's start breathing down their necks to deliver a premium product out of dlc. Use it. Remind them of their bad decisions and give them solutions on how to do it better. For those at the top crying about how hard it is. Learn from it. It wasn't how difficult it is or the "human cost". We all know what we signed up for after 5yrs+. It sucks sure, but these things are always a dice roll. Though there are a few people at the top who could produce a better warchest for when the funds get low instead axing that which gives you success, but in this case it's neither here nor there.
Fans, including Chris Judge (assuming he plays cod) have every right to poke fun at our games (generally speaking). That comes from a place of caring and tough love. We can't afford to be soft, just stronger, so we can do better. No matter who we are in the industry.
Basically all these people did was try to slap Chris Rock with a tweet and they should be embarrassed.
@Casco Little late to responding to this, but ya Sony, if we had to say someone came out on top, it very much was sony:
Hellblade 2: Is anyone really all that interested in this game, let alone the first one? Sony carried the water for this game with minimal return on it. Those that played it weren't exactly enthusiastic about it. That isn't even getting into Ninja Theory's games, which are middling at best. DmC was get, but hated by the fans, mostly not their fault. Enslaved's claim to fame was its cutscenes, the game play, ending, and overall journey was pretty basic. Heavenly Sword had some great concepts, but I'd have preferred them remake that or made a sequel over Hellblade, which was just a nonsensical journey.
Blade 2 from Arkane Lyon: You mean blade right? not Blade 2? I can't say I'm super excited over it, but I enjoy Arkane games. However inspite of the Microsoft Acquisition of Bethesda, Disney isn't allowing for any more franchises to be exclusive to a specific platform. Kind of a raw deal for Microsoft, as its just one more IP they have to pretend to be a 3rd party for on Sony's machine. Like everything advertised on Xbox at the show, it seemed to have a PlayStation Logo on their page before the nights ends. Much to Atlus fans' relief. Though Blade isn't being as public about it for obvious reasons and likely won't say anything until launch approaches.
OD: Love a good Kojima game as much as the next guy. Enjoyed Death Stranding. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that had to be the least interesting thing I've seen announced in some time. Seeing as Death Stranding is on Xbox, I think anyone with a PlayStation will be content to just wait for it to come to PlayStation or PC. Assuming it isn't a complete dud.
Everything else at the show is on PlayStation aside from the obvious. Even things absent of the PlayStation logo. Meanwhile it sounds like Rise of the Ronin is a sony funded title. We got things we can play this month, not some far flung promise of releases that will likely get delayed.
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Re: Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Is Ridiculously Good Looking In First Real Trailer
Stupid name, but looks awesome. It's sad that it looks better than any generation of the anime. Almost like they should just do a shot for shot remake using the games engine.
Re: Call of Duty Boss Takes the Top Job at Blizzard
@Athrum why? So you can see her fail instead of a man?
Not entirely sure why this is important to you, unless you need a pretty face to screw people over in order to make yourself feel better.
Do you realize how sexist you sound saying something like that?
This person is just another executive, we will see if she is worth the money she's being paid or just another over paid executive bringing her own brand of toxic, disruptive, and company ruining behavior before she bails with her golden parachute.
Re: Call of Duty Boss Takes the Top Job at Blizzard
If she can save ow2, great. I doubt anything will change. Something abk needs to understand is that their individual identity will be stripped from them as they become Microsoft studios. Hopefully this will fix things inside Activision. Where old feuds between treyarch and infinity ward still exists to this day. Pretty safe to say that those two constantly disrupt things for other studios and are partly responsible for sledgehammer problems over the last decade.
Re: A Final Fantasy 6 Remake Would Take 20 Years to Make, Says Square Enix Producer
@McBurn not really. Same amount of work needs to be done. All the 2D work would have to be redone and re-imagined. All the animations would need to be redone. Cutscenes would likely be added. At best it would take 3/4 of the estimated time. Especially if they bring the endings in line with modern standards.
Re: A Final Fantasy 6 Remake Would Take 20 Years to Make, Says Square Enix Producer
Tell you what, give me a US studio fluent in Unreal, we'll ahve the damn thing done in 5 years. Give me phone time with project heads once every 1 to 2 months as well. Oh and give me 200 artists and animators. 300 to 500 if you want me to realistically hit that target of 5 years.
This whole "oh its 2D it'll be hard" is nonsense. They basically had to remake everything in FF7 Remake. None of the areas are laid out the same. If anything the PS1 version was just concept art by comparison. Biggest change was combat, I'd ask to have FF7 Rebirths code to use as a pushing off point will help with some of the issues I'm expecting.
Re: Ubisoft Is Committing to a Full Year of Skull and Bones Content
That sounds like their old strategies kicking in.
Back in 2018 or 2019, Yves and the company was looking at examples of games that have come back from being absolute disasters. Most notably No Man's Sky. They felt that they could release a dumpster fire and if they just kept supporting it with new content, features, and fixes, that it would result in word of mouth and an underdog story that would result in more bank for them.
Downside to that line of thinking is that if you do it enough times, people aren't going to assume you are CDPR, especially when you're a huge company like Ubisoft that releases games every year (most years). There is no reason for an Assassin's Creed game to have its boat sink at the dock when you have 2 other sea fairing AC games under your belt (ACR and AC3). There is no reason for you to be falling through the map of your pride and joy anvil engine (which is really scimitar) 5 to 10 entries into your franchise.
To add insult to injury their content never justifies that large of a return. It's not Phantom Liberty, it's not the Witcher 3 DLC, it's not even Shadow Broker or any of the fantastic ME2 DLC.
If you keep doing it every game, people are going to get sick of waiting an entire year+ just to have the experience they were promised launch day.
Just look at the amount of rage FF15 fans have towards not just the DLC, but the number of updates the game got over the course of the first year by time it got to the royale edition. The amount of doubt it cast on FF16. People finish the game in the first month don't want to come back a year later to get the experience they should have had a year ago.
So good luck supporting your game with new content Ubisoft. I hope it burns a hole in your pocket as you continue to pull this kind crap. Literally the worst company in the industry right now.
Re: The Latest PS5 Firmware Update Is Available to Download Now
What's firmware? You've dated yourself son.
Re: Poll: Are You Playing Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown?
I don't buy games from companies who think I should just get use to not owning the games I play.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Fans' Overt Sexualisation Can 'Ruin Great Story Development', Says Cloud Actor
THE WORLD IS SQUARE
Re: The Last of Us 2 Remastered Director Doesn't Get Fan 'Consternation' Surrounding Re-Release
There is more to being "The best way to play" something. Your update delta is not strong enough to justify the remaster or the price tag being offered. This just reeks of deeper problems as Naughty Dog should be releasing a new game right now, instead they are rereleasing their old games, remaking their old games, not even their older more deserving games, because the Delta just isn't there (though TLoU's remake is pretty good and I can justify it over the PS4 remaster, the question of it being needed right now is certainly containing merit).
So that's why. If he can't grasp that fact, then he probably should stay way from Directing remasters and remakes.
granted upgrading is 10 bucks to a Digital copy that requires a disc, but fans of the franchise who aren't digital aren't paying 10 dollars. They are paying full price. There is no disc trade in program. They want a physical copy. The digital audience might see less of an issue, but you're asking 10 dollars that as far as they are concerned should be free, because the delta doesn't justify 10 bucks. Being definitive, doesn't make your newest version that much better.
Seriously, is someone messing with the water in California, why are all these people at Sony saying stupid nonsensical things like this.
Re: God of War Creator Says Kratos Has Lost His Way
@gnomedeplume speaking of unoriginal.
Re: Overwatch 2 Dev Admits 'Mistake' in Talking Spicy Self-Healing Changes 'Out of Context'
Still haven't found a place to burry the body of overwatch have you? Let me get you another stick.
Passive healing. idiot.
Re: More Overwatch 2 Controversy Over Passive Healing for More Heroes
These little tweaks are why I quit the game. It's been a mine cart rolling down hill towards the junk heap ever since OW2 released. Kiriko was the last good thing they did for the game. I honestly can't wait till they shut the survers down for this game. That way they can stop bastardizing a game I really loved playing.
Re: Upgraded PS5 Controller with Hugely Improved Battery Life Spotted
@trev666 there are a few ways, including multiple battery packs placed around the controller, advances in material science, or they managed to optimize the controllers over all power consumption with better components. Could even be all of those factors.
Re: Upgraded PS5 Controller with Hugely Improved Battery Life Spotted
3 to 6 hours? My black controller and spider man 2 controller both last twice that on ratchet and clank and other titles.
Re: Rumour: Sea of Thieves Might Be One More Xbox Game Coming to PS5
@XenonKnight Technically yes. If you were one of the lucky few who caught the 250 window on Amazon and BestBuy, then no. 250 was the lowest. I happened to be up late on the 23rd... or 24th if you want to get technical. Best Buy dropped it off within a few hours.
I pressed my store for the reasoning for this. Inventory dump or a new model. I'm leaning towards the former. These things aren't selling and the fact that I could walk into a best buy and still see a mountain of the damned things is telling.
So for most people yes, it was 350 unless you were the lucky few. I will not be surprised if another one pops up for 250 in 6 to 12 mos. I'll be even less surprised if MS decides to shift its startegy to become more of a 3rd party developer with a SteamOS like Eco System for Xbox. Where you can build your own machine, install Xbox OS on it, and use it like an xbox complete with optical drive (that you'll need to buy from them). As it stands Xbox as a brand is dead, anyone hoping on that platform like they are making a grand statement is fooling themselves. We'll know console gaming is dead the minute sony starts doing the same thing.
Keep in mind my little prediction doesn't preclude the possibility of an Xbox prebuilt unit. Just like the Series X, but I think MS is moving away from the console being its star. I think Xbox the console will be a mid range PC shoved into a box with replaceable components, no more specialized anything. We will see a low end streaming box resurrected as well or continued Series S style devices.
Who knows maybe this was the plan from the start, but this whole generation from Xbox has been a cop out, right down to phill spencers self defeating statements about losing a critical point in the console race.
Re: Rumour: Sea of Thieves Might Be One More Xbox Game Coming to PS5
Bring me all of the gears games in either a collection or individually and I'll certainly snap them up. Hell even talk to whoever you need to about an HD Remaster of Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Infinite Undiscovery, and anything else locked to the x360 that microsoft has some control over to the platform and I'll be happy. I'll be equally happy to unload all of this xbox hardware I keep around for no other reason as well.
Seriously at this point, one has to ask why the Xbox even exists. At least in its current state. Just open the damned platform and allow people to build their own Xbox like Steam OS and allow for cloud saves to move between platforms, even the Steam Deck, better yet give us an Xbox OS that goes on the go. Keep disc's alive as well. Love to just go ahead and throw my own machine together and buy an xbox certified disc game that would allow me to ping my machine for the disc so I can play it on other devices. Also play my digital titles too.
Xbox as a leader on consoles is over, they are a third party now. I have a series X I just got for 250 new, I have no idea why I even have this thing as its been sitting inits box for 3 weeks now unopened. Open that OS up and let me do more iwth it. Xbox as a Service, that's all it is now.
Re: Metal Gear Solid Remake Hopes Kept Alive by New Report
So eventually we'll have Metal Gear Solid Alpha?
Re: Bill & Ted's Excellent Retro Collection Will Be Removed from PS5, PS4 Very Soon
@Martijn87 There is no fee for keeping your game on the store. As the data has to remain the servers no matter what, to allow gamers access to their libraries. So it changes nothing with regards to that status (though it exist at all costs sony money, i imagine less popular games get moved to older slower hardware over time). The bigger problem is the fact that games like Bill and Ted tend to be licensed properties and the publishers/developers do not own the games. For example once Ubisoft's license for south park expires, The Fractured But Whole and Stick of Truth will be removed from the stores for purchase. The same could also technically happen to a game like Final Fantasy XV, where they stupidly licensed Stand by Me for their opening track, which honestly hurt the game, did not improve it one bit, is a stupid song that doesn't fit the situation, and is licensed to them to use it. Which means Square has to renegotiate that garbage in the future to keep it on the store or remake the game, which may result in square just removing the track out right in favor of a new one. Which we've seen done in many other games.
Which is why at some point of the license deal is limited for something like Rock Band, Rock Smith, or Guitar Hero, those individual tracks or even the entire game it's self can be removed from the store front.
So this is likely a licensing issue with the IP holder of B&T, not becuase of any cost to keep it on the store. As sony and other companies don't stand to gain anything from removing old software they could be selling in the event that a popularity spike happens.
Re: Dev Behind PSVR2's Firewall Ultra Blames the Lack of Virtual Reality Support for Closure
Lack of VR support? I need some clarity on how this article translates to the title.
Sounds like it's biggest issue was trying to be a live service vr game before learning how to make a vr game. I've played both, even push square found this wanting. If zero hour was a possible future, then why pioneer in a dying fad. No one's interested in live service games anymore, hard pressed to say they ever were. Its possible to make the formula work sure, but its gotta be something you stumble on, bot design from the ground up and force on the user. Prove your damn game concept first, get some free content out there before being like "here's a season bro, where's my 30 bucks?" People will just bail.
Re: Nomura Promises Death Won't be Cheated in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
@Cloud7794 I don't think that's how that's going to unfold. I think what is coming is going to blind side a lot of these theories. Ya Zack is alive, but not in the universe our heroes are in. Willing to go as far as to say that wasn't our cloud and Zack walking past aerith and the party. Think about it, why would a bag of chips change for a product that is a part of a series of events unaffected by sephiroths changing of fate. There will be some interaction, but it'll be about screwing with clouds head.
I don't think anyone will die at the city of the ancients, but our Zack is dead. Aerith will die at a different point. It can't be Zack in exchange for aerith. It closes too many doors including the life stream intervention of holy amplifying the effects of meteor. That was aerith, not the will of the planet.
Re: Nomura Promises Death Won't be Cheated in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
@Triumph741 wedge died in rebirth. There is every indication that Jesse has too. Seems those that live past when they should become subject to the whims of the whispers. So not sure where you get off saying it has no balls. Even the whole Zack situation is far more than "oh he's alive now?!" Pretty in order to save the planet they are going to have to set a few things right first before the opportunity to change the planets fate with omega and mankind's fate 200 years later will get reversed. We still technically lose at the end of ff7, regardless of what dirge and advent say about the outcome... it's a slow death.
Re: Nomura Promises Death Won't be Cheated in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Sigh of relief. I don't care if they change the how or even the when, but I'm glad it still happens. It's what gave the original game weight, importance, a soul, and set the tone for a good chunk of the game. I'm hoping the new editions in rebirth also don't get into the way of the pacing. Ff7 remake was perfectly paced from start to finish. If I'm running around in a field doing minor quests for 3 hours for content that could have been just as easily woven into the main story, I'm going to be pissed. I miss the good old days were side quests were about finding the extra cool ***** that made you more powerful. Not some design philosophy about delusions of doing things when you want. Guess we'll see, but good news for ff7r trilogy. It's a relief that Nomura gets that importance. It seems like the who hasn't changed.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is Huge, May Take 100 Hours to Do Everything
@The_Pixel_King it doesn't. It has seemless connected world, with wide open spaces. These reporters don't know what open world means.
Re: Rumour: Call of Duty 2025 Will Return to a Near-Future Setting in Sequel to Black Ops 2
I'd say don't count your chickens just yet here. For one it doesn't make sense under the current model to launch what would basically be a completely new entry of CoD in 2025. You have to understand that part of the reason MW3 even exists as it is, was to provide Raven/Treyarch more time to work on 2024. So why would they walk that back for CoD 2026 which will most likely be MW4?
Don't get me wrong I think 2025 is currently trying to get all of its ducks in a row after 2023, but we're talking about creating a whole new game if we're going back to a future setting. That means all new assets. What made 2023 "work" as a plan was the recycling of assets from MW2. Given an extra year more set pieces could have been introduced, but a lot of time was spent trying to figure out what 2023 would be and really left Sledge Spinning to try to hit a target that kept changing.
No I think its far more likely that we'll see something in the early 2000's. There isn't much interest in returning to BloPs 2. Far more likely we'll see advanced or infinite warfare come back, but not in 2025 for a game set after 2025.
If you think about it dropping the player in 2030, 5 years after blops 2 and 35 years before blops 3 really makes no sense. Especially if you have all this time between 1994 and 2025 with untapped potential. It's been more than 20 years since 9-11, I think its time to revisit the second gulf war and the events surrounding and leading up to it.
Re: Rumour: Call of Duty 2025 Will Return to a Near-Future Setting in Sequel to Black Ops 2
@wildcat_kickz Treyarch isn't technically making either. Raven took over the campaign in Cold War. They are most likely handling 2024 with Treyarch handling the multiplayer component. 2025 if you follow the CoD model for MW2 (based on what I've heard), will be a direct sequel to 2024. A different studio handled MW3, not IW, that was Sledge.
You'll need to let go of this idea of a "mainline studio". At present as far as I know, there are no solid plans for 2025. However 2023's MW3 has pushed for more development time for 2025 to make sure the campaign is longer and gets more time in the oven. Whether or not Sledge gets another crack at a full release has yet to be seen.
Re: Devs Weigh in on 'Disgraceful' Insomniac Games Data Breach
@Netret0120 you shouldn't feel safe period. These types of attacks are not always reported. Even companies like McDonald's get infiltrated and you never hear about it at all. Mostly because it isn't worth the time to random, the information is worth more. So the random never happens. Only reason we know anything is because insomniac didn't capitulate to their demands.
As far as personal information goes, a big company like sony has identity theft packages at the ready for this sort of thing. I've been with at least one major publisher that didn't have their ransom publicly known and provided identity theft protection for everyone the minute they were aware for up to 5 years. Some publishers just out right give the protection packages out either as a benefit like insurance to just a free perk straight out as soon as you start. At this point it's expected to happen.
The employee information is also not even all that useful, social security numbers are not stored any where that can be gotten at easily. Phone numbers are already sniffed out with auto dialers and work history is plastered all over the internet. Which just leaves salary and work level. Talk to any software engineer worth their salt and they can tell you that your data is more easily scrapped off the internet than from your employer.
Re: Success of Legendary Edition Convinced Mass Effect Lead Writer to Leave BioWare
@AgentMantis lol never going to happen. No one asks for it, like with the trilogy. Andromeda is ignored in pretty much every way. On N7 day, you hear from the trilogy cast, get trilogy related art. The store carries only trilogy related merch. I imagine the n7 helmet of Andromeda just not selling and the clearance sale on the tempest pretty much put an end to Andromeda merch.
If they did anything with Andromeda, it would a reimagining that would rework the entire game from the ground up. That's how much the game needed fixes. The story is half assed and not well written, the characters are generally only liked by fans of the panderverse, the music outside of the title screen lacks any soul or presence, and combat and movement was greatly improved, the combat systems and growth systems were not finished. Exploration aspects returned ME to its original design document, but forgot what made mass effect the success that it was. Focusing less on strong branching story elements through carefully planned and crafted missing structures and more on dull empty poorly laid out locations on a map providing no sense of adventure. All to enforce a false sense of discovery that wasn't earned on an open map.
We will probably see a remake of the trilogy before we ever see a remaster of Andromeda.
Re: Insomniac Hackers Allegedly Leak Terabytes of Internal Information
@TrickyDicky99 8m loss is still an 8m loss. Given that most of Sony's other IPs have earned them a significant profitable return on PS5, you're not exactly singing a high praise here. The Developer is going to feel that pain when it comes time to dish out bonus'. Do you think the executives are going to care if the game served its purpose if they can keep churning out marvel games instead? There is a reason the next R&C game isn't releasing until 2029. To be quite honest with you, I don't think R&C pushed enough hardware to make such a claim that you're making here.
Don't get me wrong, I totally get what you're saying. It's a truth of the industry dating as far back as the 70's. Exclusives rule the roost, they get gamers on your platform. So does 3rd party titles that are better on your machine. Doesn't change the fact that money was lost, while other properties have earned money on top of that universally accepted belief that first party exclusives make secondary profit through licensing.... most of the time... (though we're not talking edge cases, like that 1 player who buys the console for 1 or 2 exclusives, then buys nothing else or worse buys those games used or deep discount, then you're just losing money. keep in mind that they need to sell 4 first party games to break even on 1 PS5).
Look don't get me wrong this wasn't a slant against R&C or why I think they should stop making them. I love those games, i was deeply upset to see those numbers. Then to see an additional 2.6m lost porting to the PC. which hopefully they'll make back pretty quickly and fill the difference on that 8m loss. Keep in mind that the data shows a clear decline in interest on first party titles on PC. In that space they are not 1st party titles. Which if I recall steam takes 30% cut of every sony game sold. They be fueling the Steam Deck at that point. That does drop down to like 25% after the first 2 or so million sold I think. 30% is the usual take across all store fronts too, PSN, XBGS, NeShop, Best Buy, Amazon, etc. If the game has to go on sale, well that share gets smaller for everyone.
I want to see more R&C games. I want to see more insomniac titles in general. I'd love to see older titles remade as much as new IP. Right now they are turning into a Marvel studio and this should be a huge eye opener that PushSquare should be reporting on. This leak outlines a nightmare.
Re: PS Plus Indie Hit Sea of Stars Surpasses 4 Million Players
So how much money did they make off those 4m?
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
@mrraditch How do you decide which comments to reply too?
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
@themightyant we've seen how well the court of public opinion turns out for even the innocent. Honestly public opinion barely knows this incident even exists. In fact I'd bet their target demographic isn't wholely aware of the problem. After all this article will come and go as fast as me hitting this reply button. The percentage of people reading this or even caring is going to be mitigated to a small subset of a subset of people (across all articles online).
Re: The Last of Us' Cancelled PS5 Multiplayer Was 'More Fun' Than Any Other Online Game
@Tielo Sorry, but you're just talking nonsense. You're bit about country culture is a sideways rant into no where.
Coming back with nothing than an anecdote or proverb about your experience isn't really learning anything. Common complaint I hear out of developers is, no one takes the bad in with the good and really gets to the heart of the problem. Eventually just end up in this eco chamber of good vibes that distracts from the actual problem at hand. This is also not an American Culture idea (ND is an American Studio after all on the west coast, that idealogy belongs mostly to the Californians, not the rest of the United States).
Don't get me wrong, having strong conviction to push through and say "what have I learned from this" is a great attitude to have, but the stance in of its self can be just as negative if you can't identify or never take a moment to identify what went wrong. Believe me I've sat through enough cancelled game projects where a studio just moves onto the next just flapping their gums about what they learned. When in reality they actually learned nothing and the next project suffers a whole new set of mistakes, caused by the same old ones made on the last project. Worse an over compensation for a percieved mistake that spirals out of control. Such as keeping strong scope control in the first project, only letting it run wildely out of control on the next. Becuase a lack of features killed your last project and just ends up killing your current one. Meanwhile not listening to the people who are there shouting "Don't do this". It's infuriating.
I don't think this project was as good as they are selling it, I think we're just in another case of people just not being able to let go and thinking more of their project than it really was. Which is a problem XDefiant is suffering from right now.
Re: The Last of Us' Cancelled PS5 Multiplayer Was 'More Fun' Than Any Other Online Game
@Ooccoo_Jr I no longer work for Ubisoft, I don't ever see myself working for them in the future in any capacity, even if they offered me a big bag of money and my own project. Immortals Fenyx Rising being one such reason, Beyond Good and Evil 2 is another, and the collection of dumpster fires like X Defiant that consumed them for a good number of years. They don't listen to their staff, aside from the yes men beneath them who thinks Ubisoft's excrement smells like roses.
I will say this much I believed in that project. I advocated for it hard. It hurt me every step of the way to see Ubisoft interfere with it and cut it off at the knees at every opportunity. At least it isn't as bad as all the cancelled splinter cell projects over the last decade.
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
@Fight_Teza_Fight If the money hasn't moved, then no foul. The money just needs to get to where it needs to go.
As far as how he affords things. No idea. An investigation will reveal laundering schemes, a trail of money in and out of the account, etc. Until that information is brought to light, we can only assume at worst he's an over privileged A.hole who hasn't had to worry about money and tracking the books. I'm guilty of that at least one point in my life (now every penny is tracked). If he himself has a lot of money to run his channel and its a passion project, then who knows maybe he's just a fool who has the funds to keep it going, even if he dreams of also making money from it. How many people have sunk their entire wealth into ventures that went no where. A lot, including currently millionare and billionares in the US who eventually figured it out and locked it down.
Point is we don't have all the facts. I'm not ready to run this guy down simply because he got wrapped up in something he may have just been oblivious too. Another stupid gamer in over their heads, not a new story. I don't think its right for Sabotage to be so proactive, at least at this juncture. I'm not sure anyone is served by removing a character from the game or renaming it. Especially when most of the people playing the game probably aren't even aware of this happening. If he's proven innocent as a back of Sea of Stars, that could lead to legal implications for Sabotage Studios. I'd rather Sabotage make it out unscathed.
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
@Titntin Nothing to wise up to until a jury comes into play. I'm not interested in your BS Social Justice positions.
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
@guntam True, it is a problem. Though I don't think it puts the legal system on a pedastal. The fact that you acknowledge its short comings kind of runs against your point. I certainly don't believe its perfect either, but it is the rules of our society by which we go by. If just ignore that same imperfect system and act on our own, then what is justice beyond what the mob decrees.
There are legal ramifications if he is found innocent of any malicious wrong doing, he could just as easily come back as a backer and endorser of Sea of Stars and sue Sabotage Studios. That isn't even getting into the other issue of Sabotage Studios erasing history simply so they can distance themselves from a man who you and I can't wholely judge or come to a concensus on. I don't think he's done anything wrong. So at what point does your imperfect social justice fall victim to the same failures of the imperfect legal justice system? Let's be fair here in the social domain in the United states Social Justice has been proven wrong more than 20 times in the last 5 years. There is even evidence about whether or not incidents around a certain drug addict man in Minneasota dying as part of police action has put an innocent a man in jail. That same imperfect system, infused with the morals of a social justice system you're advocating for as the voice of reason were in unison at the time.
So I don't buy your position. An innocent mans rights can be trampled on just as easily in the community view. I'll take the judge and jury over this nonsense any day.
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
@ChrisDeku "Losing privileges like an npc in a game, or even your job does not require a criminal conviction."
Actually if he's found innocent the blow back on sabotage studios can be just as severe. If I'm not mistaken he contributed to the kickstarter funded project and endorsed the game. At that point its a business transaction not a privilege by any definition.
Equally so you're advocating for the mob mentality and lynching someone when the law doesn't meet your requisits. This isn't a case of Epstein's list or OJ Simpson. Not to mention he's far less guilty of anything serious in this situation being nothing more than a useful idiot. Not someone beyond redemption.
If you need an understanding of this situation I'd suggest you look at the relationship between Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Warner brothers, and Disney at the moment.
The social lense is also no excuse to treat him this way. You're allowed to have your own beliefs and act on them, but you and I both know this was more about how Sabotage felt this would reflect on them, rather than about the completionist failing to be a paragon of worldly virtue and intelligence. A situation most of us probably would have been blissfully unaware of had pushsquare not posted an article on it.
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
@TheCollector316 He's not on Epsteins list. The allegations (which all they are at this point) aren't enough to condemn a man even socially. If anything distanching themselves from him, puts egg on their face. I backed this game. Now I'm being to question if I should have.
I can understand a certain point at which someone has been pretty much condemned and there isn't a doubt, but there is a fine line between when and when not that action should be followed. I'd say they are being incredibly premature. Not asking they stand by and support him, but I'd rather a statement stating they will wait and see. Even then I would not have them modify a game like a bunch of book burning fanatics just to make themselves look better in the eyes of history. This is a bad move and Sabotage studios should be shuned for taking such abbrassive action.
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
@PegasusActual93 There is holding people accountable, then there is just lynching someone because you don't like them or being afraid of a blow back if you don't participate in the lynching.
This guy has not been proven guilty of anything. The word "Allegations" is literally being thrown around.
Now if you'd like I can get your name and address and start throwing around some allegations about you that aren't true or remotely related to somehthing you're doing and we can see how worth while that is for you.
Point being. This is extreme. I don't see any body being served by this. If Jeffery Epstine was a character in Sea of Stars, knock yourself out, remove the character. Hell I'll even fly myself out on my own dime, to their studio, and do it for free. I get paid to do this work for a living mind you.
The rest of what you say on the subject is utter nonsense. They clearly had no issue with him prior to this issue, released a game with him in it, and then decided to act like a bunch of goose stepping leftist and rewrite history to make themselves look better after the fact. I don't see this reflecting on them or them being associated with the individual if they actively do so AFTER the project has shipped. A public statement was all that needed to be said if they felt that strongly about it. Jumping into the code and spending the money to remove or change a character after the fact does nothing for anyone involved. At best it just draws attention to the developer having the association in the first place. It's the same reason I won't buy from Voidpoint in the future after Ion Fury's controversial dialog.
Me personally, I feel like this reflects poorly on the developer for taking such extreme actions. I kind of now regret backing the project because they rashly turned on someone who may have made an honest mistake. I'm not ready to condemn him for this and neither should they. I'm going to be questioning future purchases from them going forward.
Re: Insomniac Hackers Allegedly Leak Terabytes of Internal Information
@naruball HEre's what you missesd
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart lost sony money. Insomniac has been turned into a marvel studio until 2029. We're getting a Venom game in 2025.
They also leaked the sales data of the PC releases seemingly declining with each release. Almost to say, that Horizon and God of War were merely a novelty to PC gamers who have now reverted to their "we'll wait for a steam sale" mentality, rendering the PC market as a moot point in exclusive sales. Thus relegating PC to a waste land of free games and cheap digital games. Given the slice of the pie that Valve gets, the only one winning here is Valve. Given that data R&C might have made back the remaking money it took to make the game so it can break even through PC sales, but nothing else really showed any kind of significant improvement outside of Days Gone.
Re: Sony Wants PS5 Games to Automatically Adjust the Difficulty While You Play
And I want them to get the hell out of the way and stop dictating the degree by which I should be challenged.
Re: God of War Creator Says Kratos Has Lost His Way
How do I put this. I agree with neither.
Jaffe is right, had they pitched 2018 without Kratos, I'd have been less interested. Kratos' baggage is what makes Kratos interesting in 2018. We have this legacy of a character that screwed up hard because of his quest for vengence. That quest for Vengence was viseral, it was there, it was in your face every step of the way. If you really got into God of War you were there for that Vengence, that anger, that rage. I think Ascension strayed a bit trying to accomplish what 2018 did, but in the wrong direction, trying to build him out from the man before. It was a game that needed to be released before God of War 3, inspite of its questionable game play changes and other issues.
That being said I think these changes to Kratos were necessary. 6 Games (not including the cellphone game) of this greek kratos was starting to slow down. His reason for vengence became dulled with time and had to end with GoW3 and eventually lead into GoW2018. To breath new life into the franchise in several ways. So in that Jaffe is wrong, the arc was done, the story completed. To continued we needed change.
We have lost something though, the heart of the franchise that began it all. He has become soft. There was a time Kratos would not hesitate to kill his enemies or bother with life lessons. So the real question is, maybe its time GoW moved on from Kratos. Maybe it is time for Kratos to fullfill another roll with a new God of War taking his place. A new betrayal, and a new vengeance.
Re: The Last of Us' Cancelled PS5 Multiplayer Was 'More Fun' Than Any Other Online Game
@Bionic-Spencer The Factions for TLoU2 and what was becoming its own standalone mode will not see life in TLoU3. I also wouldn't bet on a TLoU3 at this point. TLoU2 really did not gel well with people, part of the reason we're seeing this remake is to test the waters to see if the initial wave of detractors were right. The game isn't don't as well as TLoU1.
Back on my actual point here. If there is a TLoU3 it won't get this game given the size and scope of what they were producing. It would have taken them away from what they were good at and likely killed the prospect of a TLoU3. It's been almost 4 years since the last ND game. We don't even have an announcement for the next game. Uncharted 4 came out 4 years prior to TLoU2, if you count The Lost Legacy, 3 years. Before TLoU, they were banging out a new game every 2 to 3 years.
They've wasted enough time on this. That being said, we do need more of the kind of MP experiences we use to have on PS3. Including the stuff we got in TLoU1.
Re: The Last of Us' Cancelled PS5 Multiplayer Was 'More Fun' Than Any Other Online Game
These people worked on the project, they have an unnatural favortism towards it and really should not be taken at face value. In a few years they may very well feel very differently about it. I know I have about one of the projects I worked on for Ubisoft. Seemed like it was going some where, ultimately it was a trash project and had no future. I feel differently about it years later. More than a handful of projects like that out there, even at ubisoft. I won't mention the title in question or if it ever made it past the finish line to release. So don't ask. It was just part of a popular franchise they do not technically own.
That being said, these three are too close to the project. Game Designers always think their project is the best thing ever as they steadily fly closer to the sun. Even if they don't believe it themselves. If you ever find an honest one, stick with them, because then you'll know your projects getting some real traction or needs to course correct. I've seen too many projects burn themselves alive trying to chase down something that didn't work because the designer didn't want to be "negative" about the prospects of the project. Which leads to another issue in west coast game development in the US, with everyone trying to be nice, what needs to be said, doesn't get said, mostly out of fear of being labeled as negative.
Dialog Director, basically falling from the same mold, just simply wanted to keep it positive for reputations sake. Don't even get me started on the technical designer.
Point being this game was likely doing very badly, they couldn't see it, and their team suffered for it.
Hopefully their negative personalities built on false ideals of positivity will not corrupt future projects or they leave for percieved greener pastures.
Everything I've heard from staff outside these 3 is that it was a fairly middling experience trying to make more out of the first games MP than it had any right to be. Wasn't a bad game/mode, but the changes just could fix the core issues with what they were working with. hey that's what i heard anyway.
Personally as middling experiences go, not all are bad. I still hope for a day that sony spins up a second and third ND studio and has one of them work on an Uncharted Multiplayer only game. Uncharted 2 and 3 were great mp modes, I was really hoping they'd build on that for the 4th. Then some idiot came a long and injected those new systems, added a grappling hook, then took grenade toss backs away. Map designs were so much better too.
Re: Sea of Stars Replaces 'The Completionist' NPC Following Fraud Allegations
If he is exonerated of these allegations?
This type of Knee jerk reaction should be criticised and demonized for what it is by PushSquare and other outlets.
Not only are the going the Guilty until Proven innocent route, but they've engaged in the kind of 1984 censorship BS that has people in an uproar right now. This is not a positive action, even the rename of McCree in OW was a bit of a step too far. Basically erasing history because it makes someone uncomfortable.
In this case, this just sounds like sheer stupidity from someone who genuinely intended no harm. Ion Fury was also particularly brain damaged and is the kind of brain damaged move that leads to issues being experienced at US universities. We really need to stop this madness.
Re: What Was Announced at The Game Awards 2023?
@Casco you're right that is all sony showed. That's all they needed too. The content is king and third party releases have a hard time justifying coming to the Xbox platform. At least one of those releases is platform locked to sony, same deal as heavenly sword and the order 1886. More interested in rise of the ronin than another crappy ninja theory game. Sony carried that title as far as they could. Anything else Xbox related was not that interesting and was advertising magic where the title was cross platform anyway. Like that atlus title, metaphor? Turns out that is listed as a ps4 and ps5 title everywhere except the trailer lol. I can't even remember anything else ms had beyond that. A game with no hype isn't turning anyone's heads, hellblade looks as generic and pointless as ever. OD we know nothing other than it's a horror game in an industry suddenly flooded with them. As much as I liked death stranding, Kojima hasn't done anything in a while that justifies buying a system for. Finding out this title is clown gaming supported just killed any interest I had. Have fun with that visual novel, I'd rather hunt down a copy of snatcher for an obscure dead platform.
As far as death stranding goes. It still exists in the Xbox eco system even if locked to pc. You get Xbox achievements for playing the game pass version. It maybe pc, that's still an Xbox platform. Which is why any steam user will likely thumb their nose at it.
Re: Call of Duty Devs Walk Back Kratos Voice Actor Criticisms, 'It's Not About the Joke'
@Robocod honestly Microsoft has to be the most clueless first party in the games industry. Any promises they made were pretty hollow. The CoD studios will continue to ship CoD titles unless they screw up enough for someone to notice. We are talking Redfall bad. All this posturing over Bobby is completely irrelevant to MS and they were never concerned about that situation. The acquisition was all about King and only King. I'm more surprised Microsoft didn't attempt to sell off Activision and blizzard after buying them once they had what they wanted. Lol that could still happen, but don't put money on that bet.
You won't see studios like Raven return to franchises like HeXeN. I'm sure there has been some discussion with studio heads on what they want to do. I'm sure HeXeN has come up. I think ultimately if HeXeN remakes or sequels are done, it won't be by raven, but someone like iron galaxy. Which will pass a lot of people off. As I understand from my time talking to people from that studio they have 20+ year industry veterans who have been working there since Id helped spin them up. Which is just insane. Those people will not be happy. You won't see any more crash games IMHO. I hope I'm wrong, but MS is trying to play nice in the same way emperor gestalh did with the returners in ff6. I don't see a return to titles like singularity or a return of advanced warfare or infinite warfare. Which in all honesty should be brought back. CoD audience was brain damaged for thumbing their nose at both of those games.
As far as adding another platform for parity. Activision is always looking for places to stick their games. Adding Nintendo back into the cycle is not a huge deal. There is already a lot of tech in CoD for scaling to the platform. Just look at ps4, xb1, and mobile versions. They'll get a level of quality out of Nintendo's next platform. So I doubt it'll hold them back. I'm betting the parity was more for features and campaign, than for visuals anyway. Nintendo probably doesn't care one way or the other. The agreement as far as they are concerned is just another revenue stream for royalties. I would not expect CoD on switch. Ever. In fact I'm willing to bet the agreement has some loop hole that has a technical requirement threshold Nintendo has to reach for Activision to follow through. So launch title on a switch 2 maybe? I would not be surprised if CoD central technologies is already setting up build servers for prototype switch 2 hardware that they'll spring on everyone next year. Assuming they don't already have them for 2024 release. Let's not forget CoD barely fits on a stock ps5 launch model.
Re: Call of Duty Devs Walk Back Kratos Voice Actor Criticisms, 'It's Not About the Joke'
As a developer myself, and having been on the receiving end of this more than once, not to mention having call of duty on my resume as a dev at some point in my career, knowing the people behind it. I can only say the following.
They deserved it. Every bit of it. That being said, they should do as I do and other members of the team and look at this as an opportunity to do better. It is highly likely those at the top have this same short, grueling, tacked on, and bolted together premium release planned for 2025 after 2024 releases. Which means they need to get in front of it. Members of the Team that contested mw3 and its issues now have ammo to fire back with when producers, directors, studio heads, share holders, and ceo's start breathing down their necks to deliver a premium product out of dlc. Use it. Remind them of their bad decisions and give them solutions on how to do it better. For those at the top crying about how hard it is. Learn from it. It wasn't how difficult it is or the "human cost". We all know what we signed up for after 5yrs+. It sucks sure, but these things are always a dice roll. Though there are a few people at the top who could produce a better warchest for when the funds get low instead axing that which gives you success, but in this case it's neither here nor there.
Fans, including Chris Judge (assuming he plays cod) have every right to poke fun at our games (generally speaking). That comes from a place of caring and tough love. We can't afford to be soft, just stronger, so we can do better. No matter who we are in the industry.
Basically all these people did was try to slap Chris Rock with a tweet and they should be embarrassed.
Re: What Was Announced at The Game Awards 2023?
@Casco Little late to responding to this, but ya Sony, if we had to say someone came out on top, it very much was sony:
Hellblade 2: Is anyone really all that interested in this game, let alone the first one? Sony carried the water for this game with minimal return on it. Those that played it weren't exactly enthusiastic about it. That isn't even getting into Ninja Theory's games, which are middling at best. DmC was get, but hated by the fans, mostly not their fault. Enslaved's claim to fame was its cutscenes, the game play, ending, and overall journey was pretty basic. Heavenly Sword had some great concepts, but I'd have preferred them remake that or made a sequel over Hellblade, which was just a nonsensical journey.
Blade 2 from Arkane Lyon: You mean blade right? not Blade 2? I can't say I'm super excited over it, but I enjoy Arkane games. However inspite of the Microsoft Acquisition of Bethesda, Disney isn't allowing for any more franchises to be exclusive to a specific platform. Kind of a raw deal for Microsoft, as its just one more IP they have to pretend to be a 3rd party for on Sony's machine. Like everything advertised on Xbox at the show, it seemed to have a PlayStation Logo on their page before the nights ends. Much to Atlus fans' relief. Though Blade isn't being as public about it for obvious reasons and likely won't say anything until launch approaches.
OD: Love a good Kojima game as much as the next guy. Enjoyed Death Stranding. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that had to be the least interesting thing I've seen announced in some time. Seeing as Death Stranding is on Xbox, I think anyone with a PlayStation will be content to just wait for it to come to PlayStation or PC. Assuming it isn't a complete dud.
Everything else at the show is on PlayStation aside from the obvious. Even things absent of the PlayStation logo. Meanwhile it sounds like Rise of the Ronin is a sony funded title. We got things we can play this month, not some far flung promise of releases that will likely get delayed.