Rob_230

By the sounds of things, they will be very disapointed with their purchase

Id probably get one, but most of the times when my kids are hogging the tv....they are on the playstation meaning i couldnt remote play from it.

I do think i will pick one up at some point though. I can see some uses - but still frustrating it cant be used if commuting - say on a train (i never get any network coverage to hotspot it, or when in the air)

My hype levels for this are tempered because Rockstar is clearly not the company it once was. With that said, the launch of a new GTA is exciting and i am excited to learn more.

If Jason is saying the reveal is happening, then i think this is very likely true

'revealed by director Masayoshi Yokoyama that Kiryu's latest story began life as DLC, but since the team thought it was "engaging enough" to get a physical version, more content was added so it could be spun out into its own standalone game.'

.......so i do have to ask where the physical version is then.

Yes i will be getting this, although given xmas and backlog, i probably will play this as originally intended (aka as dlc for infinite wealth) as i doubt i will get to this any sooner unfortunately

@themightyant Yep Egypt would make a lot of sense. Or even Japan - that could be epic - though i guess Sony wouldn't want to cross the streams in terms of setting with Ghost of Tsushima.

I agree, something new should come next and i think thats what Cory Barlog's team at Santa Monica is working on at the moment 👍 hopefully we get a reveal next year

@Kidfunkadelic83 lol great comparison, i'd even go as far as suggesting it would be like replacing Mario with Waluigi 🤣

@Uromastryx whilst i can see this being a standalone Atreus game, imo Kratos won't be going anywhere as main character of this series. More likely he gets pulled into a new setting for the next game(s)

@Smackadack have you tried taking off the console covers and trying to remove dust from the vents and fan. I found it makes a huge difference and worth doing if you havent done it for a year

Tsushima was amazing - cant wait for this. No doubt there will be some Kurosawa style black and white scenes included for like a beach set sword fight

Yeah think im done too at this point. As someone that used to love playing the campaigns, MW2 was very underwhelming and I dont see this one being helped by a 1 year dev cycle

Dead Space 3 was not good and was so far removed from what made the first two great unfortunately. A full reworking from the ground up would absolutely be required - but at that point they may as well make a completely new title

@themightyant Yep sadly thats how i feel about the franchise now too.

Wow wasnt expecting such a high score. 2023 continues to deliver.

I really enjoy Remedy games - i loved Max Payne and Control, but i didnt really get the hype when i played alan wake remastered - i think possibly a product of its time. I thought the story was quite clunky and the gameplay loop got old about half way through.

It sounds like Remedy has smoothed out a lot of the bits i didnt like, and i like what ive heard about Saga's mind palace etc. So i definitely will keep an eye on this one and get on sale down the road (or pick up if they ever do release a physical edition).

Pleased for their critical success with this game. It really will be interesting to see the stats on how much of an impact releasing this as a digital only title has on commercial sales

Game of the Year. Bloomin' love Yakuza / Like a Dragon

@BAMozzy They already market their Bravia range as best for PS5. I saw it emblazoned on the wall in John Lewis last year.

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/tvs-made-for-gaming

It makes sense for them to use that as a marketing technique of course. I certainly would if i ran in both markets

During a random city event the villains getaway vehicle was two cars merged into one, but other than that graphical glitch it's all worked perfectly so far (touch wood). I am playing a UK retail copy

Its mental even questioning this. I've only played for about 3 hours but its worth every penny so far.

I'd take a 20-30 hour game over a hundred hour game any day of the week

Didn't xbox do the same on the sphere this week? Seemingly the week for marketing pushes

This does look awesome mind. Great effort Sony

That Naughty Dog one is great. That was one of my favourote scenes in TLOU2

Yeah sure if its a small spin off like miles morales, but please dont just become a marvel factory insomniac

Under pressure from who? These analysts never say where this comes from. The only pressure Sony will care about will be from their investers, shareholders, and Board of Directors.

They certainly won't rush into a risky acquisition war they cannot hope to win with Microsoft just to satisfy a console war that is being fanned by media outlets, and online commentators on Twitter/X.

I do think Sony will buy more development studios up in due course, but i'm not sure it will be any of the traditional large publishers at this point. More likely they will buy into those companies like they have with Epic and Kadokawa to give them a level of protection

He's right. Exclusive beta's make no sense to me. The purpose of a beta was always meant to be an online stress test ahead of launch to iron out issues, so exclusivity arrangements don't help the wider community

Will only get this if mine breaks, but tbh i am unwilling to give Sony more money after having to buy a second system when my launch console stopped working just outside of warranty.

I do like the look of this, but again it looks a bit odd if its displayed horizontally when the disc drive is attached, which i guess is why much of the marketing material shows it standing vertically

@get2sammyb sooo who on the push square team will have the honour of reviewing this one

I'll be getting both. Setting and theme are right up my alley so it will be a great year for me. Presumably Tsushima 2 could be teased next year too (for a release in 2025/6)

@Kraven totally agree re isolation. It was a phenomenal game that dragged on waaaay too long to the point i was getting cross by the end as it felt like the stakes kept getting raised for the sake of padding out a few extra hours.

Up to that point however, the game was absolutely stellar

Just cracked the Professor case in Lost Judgment and am also on the final chapter of the DLC (Kaito files) so am hoping to get that all wrapped up ahead of Spiderman next week

@BacklogBrad Well if you want Brad Smith's view at the time its here:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/business-65407005.amp

Mr Smith said Microsoft was "very disappointed" with the CMA's decision, "but more than that, unfortunately, I think it's bad for Britain".It does more than shake our confidence in the future of the opportunity to grow a technology business in Britain than we've ever confronted before," he said. People are shocked, people are disappointed, and people's confidence in technology in the UK has been severely shaken. There's a clear message here - the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the United Kingdom.

Microsoft's CEO, Brad Smith, took to X to deliver a statement on the CMA's decision. "We’re grateful for the CMA’s thorough review and decision today,"

Can't take Microsoft seriously here. They might try to brush it under the carpet, but i wont forget Lulu Cheng Meservey saying:

'The CMA’s report today is a major setback for the UK’s ambitions to be a tech hub, and we will work with Microsoft to reverse it on appeal. This report is also a disservice to UK citizens, who face increasingly dire economic prospects, and we will need to reassess our growth strategy in the UK. Global innovators large and small will take note that - despite all its rhetoric - the UK is closed for business'

Microsoft cannot simply come out now and welcome the CMA's scrutiny. Absolutely ridiculous after all the rhetoric against the UK and the UK job market over the last year. Nasty company.

Anyway, glad this is over. Worried it opens Microsoft to now go after other acquisition targets, but we'll see what happens.

Hopefully drives renewed effort from Sony on its community engagement, games development and so on

Before i get angry at Sony about this i need to learn more about the console. If its engineered to sit flat like in previous generations - and assuming the reduction in volume includes shrinking the length of the console so it fits into most media centres then i guess it makes sense.

Sony charged more for stands in previous generations (defo remember these being an optional extra for PS2 and PS4 for those that wanted to stand their console vertically) as they were not necessary.

However with the launch PS5, the stand was a critical feature, so if the same applies to the new model then this is clear price gouging.

I really do hope its the former and not the latter

@UltimateOtaku91 dont those things have a reputation for blocking the air outflow / blowing hot air back into the console vents and risk damaging /overheating the console? Have to be careful with them

Is the base version adorably all digital?

Seems a good move to me giving consumers the option for a disc drive. Sony do love their glossy finishes on things mind. Wonder how the new model will play out with console covers etc

Given the base model is digital only i guess that suggests PS6 will be a digital only console

So when do the big deals start 🤔

Oh my goodness. Never thought i'd hear about this again. What a game!

I mean, when Sony has wasted the past 3 years or so focussing on live service titles and is now realising its been a mistake, releases like this to pad the first party line up are hardly a surprise. Will also be to appeal to PC market, although it will be interesting to see their reaction after the disaster that was part 1.

Other than a release on PC,there is little sense here for PS5 owners. Part 1 benefitted from the upgrade, but LOU2 plays absolutely fine on PS5, particularly with the upgrade patch. Just feels like Sony are in danger of milking this franchise dry now. Shame.

For the avoidance of doubt, TLOU2 is one of my favourite games of all time, but i won't be picking this up

I think my mindset with gaming has changed a bit. Do i have it preordered? Yes. Do i love Spiderman? Absolutely? Am i counting down the seconds and minutes? No not really. Im so busy at the moment that i dont really have time to get overly impatient for its arrival. Im sure it will be great when it arrives though!

Missed opportunity to call it the Dualsense corner

No chance im starting an assassins creed (even a shorter one) 15 days out from Spiderman 2. But i'll definitely pick this up in due course

Will be interested to see how this game reviews given EA was indicating last year that the Fifa licence stopped them innovating in the ways they wanted.

@get2sammyb Just started reading this as i love the travelogues, but i had to stop - you live in Taiwan now? When did that happen? That sounds like a fascinating experience. Hope you are enjoying it.

It explains how you are posting at mad hours (UK time) i guess 😅 one mystery solved!

The damage this experiment has caused will last years. Pivoting studios to focus on live service will have resulted in attention having been diverted away from those titles that appeal to Playstation's core audience. And it will take a long time to reverse course.

They should have focussed on 1 or 2 live service titles to complement their core strengths (story focussed single player AAA titles that drove their success and identity over the past decade) rather than betting the farm on chasing trends and the dream of one of this GAAS titles hitting big.

It's not a surprise that Sony first party output has been quieter over the past few years with very little updates being provided on progress - and i wouldn't be shocked if this news contributed to Jim's departure

Finished the main story on Lost Judgment last night so probably finishing off some of the side content and starting the Kaito files dlc for me

The fact i can't pull this out on a plane or on the train and play natively means i don't see myself getting much use of of this sadly. Gutting as id be all over a Vita follow up

Funily enough i just bought this today. But i dont care about this 🤷

@riceNpea This is true, even Phil Spencer gave jim his flowers on X this morning. Some will say its PR speak, but i actually think there will be some deep respect between them. Jim has been a fierce leader for sony in the face of agressive industry consolidation over the last few years

In every metric, excluding customer engagement, its hard to argue that Jim's tenure has been anything other than a success (of course aided by direction set and relationships created by his predecessors). Anyone arguing differently misunderstands the role of a CEO for a private corporation like Sony. Across the board sales are up, profits are up, Playstation is smashing sales targets each quarter. He bought Sony additional time over the activision blizzard fiasco (which i do think will have contributed to his decision to step down - must have been exhausting), he launched PS5 successfully during a global pandemic. So from a purely business standpoint, Jim has been a wild success. You dont go 30 years in a company and work your way to the top without being successful in the eyes of your peers.

With that said Playstation is on a dangerous path right now and i do fear it has lost some of its brand identity. The shift away from the Japanese market, the lack of community engagement, and this push for live service is not the Sony i recognise and i really hope that the successor can reinvigorate the brand which as at risk of losing real ground to its competitors (again though, people will dunk on Jim, but Sony does have to diversify to survive and it will rely on games that can drive sustained profit given the unwieldy price of game development these days). In particular, i'd like the new boss to spend more time speaking to consumers and less speaking to gamesindustry.biz and publishing key information on the PS blog (like VR2)

With that said, i do wish Jim well for the future and hope that his successor can not only fill his shoes but grow beyond them and exceed in all metrics that matter

Big shake up and interesting times ahead. Like him or not, i think a Jim Ryan type was actually pretty important for Sony in facing down microsoft over the past few years. I also think he had a tremendously difficult job launching a console during a global pandemic. Good luck to him in pastures new.

In truth Playstation hasn't felt the same since Shawn Layden stepped down. I really do hope the next boss is someone that truly understands the importance of connecting the brand to its audience and reinvigorates the relationship between playstation and Japan

Will be VERY happy with Callisto Protocol

Absolute tools. I really dont want my data compromised again. Happened to me at work only last month. Getting sick and tired of this nonsense. What even is this world.

The worst thing about this nearly being over is it will give Microsoft license to start sniffing around their next acquisition targets again