Shepherd_Tallon

I genuinely forgot people had said there were visual issues with the game. Been enjoying it too much.
I haven't noticed any so far. Have they patched them or something?
Maybe when I explore more of the world I'll notice it.

Was up all night after midnight with it, got about 6 hours sleep, and I've been playing it all day.
I've only stopped for tea and to walk the dog.

Feels like I've been waiting a quarter of a century for this one.

@rjejr You took me on quite the journey there!
That last sentence 😂😂

@twitchtvpat Indeed. We see a lot of that where I work too. Some contractors have worked all over by the time we meet them.

Presumably when people put the "wrong" disc in they will be prompted to put the other one in instead.

It could be a quirky collectable 🤔

@Jayslow Had a similar thought, then saw Nier for €15.99 🫠

@Fyz306903 I fully agree. My "unfortunately" is in relation to the jobs that are lost as a result, rather than games that are no longer needed being cancelled.
It was always going to go this way. Getting it right on the first attempt just let them pull the plug on the rest early so they can focus on the one that worked. (All speculation of course.)

@riceNpea
I'm in this boat too tbh.
I often talk about personally seeing the pain caused by the post covid readjustment the industry is going through, but at the same time sometimes you just have to cancel a project.

I was really looking forward to seeing more from the game, but better this outcome than something that underperforms and leaves us with a bad experience.

@SlothMachine It's true. The audience for console game has hardly grown since the 90s. We all just spend way more than we used to.

I was looking forward to this one.
I've been very disappointed by the news, although not entirely surprised.

As for Sony's Live Service plans, they unexpectedly got it right on the first try. They might have been struggling to get the GAAS train going, but they've gotten very lucky too - Helldivers is a massive hit. I don't see them producing anything else in the Live Service arena that will have a start as solid as Helldivers.

Unfortunately because of Helldivers I also won't be surprised to see Sony pull the funding for any other live service project that isn't looking like a sure bet.
It's a brutal reality.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Yeah, agreed.
I'm definitely not worried for the future of the brand.

It's a shame about the people who will lose their jobs, but having observed the post COVID adjustment wave where I work, it's clear to me that over hiring and knee jerk investments during the lockdown bubbles were some of the main causes of this, plus rising costs and budgets of course.
It's easy to perceive that the industry is in a freefall, but it's more of a brutal adjustment.
Whoever is making a profit now and able to adjust quickest will come out of it strong.

I'd say the higher ups are seriously relieved Helldivers is doing so well and they can pull the funding for some of the other live service projects. (If that is indeed what has been cancelled.)

I think AA projects are definitely looking more attractive atm, but they alone are not the solution. Far from it.

Third party exclusives and marketing deals must be a safer bet than a massive first party AAA project.
Stellar Blade, FF VII, Rise of the Ronin. Potential marketing for GTA V.
I'll be very eager to see how all of these do.
I bought my PS1 for FF VII and RE2. My PS2 was all about GTA III.
I can see a lot more of this happening.

But ultimately they need to get those first party budgets under control and figure out a way to reduce the hardware costs.
And double down on that Helldiver success.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I agree. Sony doesn't need to panic. They need to let things settle for a while and adjust to the new post COVID reality.
There are ways to make these projects more sustainable, it's just not pretty to watch (as we're seeing atm). AI for example will definitely play a part.

@redd214 The industry broke itself during the lockdowns.

Games looked like the safest bet so in some cases like Embracer there was a lot of investment from bodies that normally wouldn't invest in gaming, like the Saudi government.
Then they lost interest and halted additional investment once people went back outside again.
Combine scenarios like that with almost everyone overhiring, and all of these layoffs were inevitable.

All of this that we're seeing now is the reboot.
It's feckin brutal, but that's what it is.

@awaltzforvenus All good!
But yeah, it always felt a bit off to me. It never fit right in my mind with her character.

@awaltzforvenus Same. I had that exact thing in mind too.

I was just having this exact conversation with someone from work.
Given the success of AA Helldivers, Sony probably don't want to pour additional millions in to unproven AAA gaas titles that they don't need anymore. I'm betting some of these are the cancelled projects.

Helldivers is colossal, GT7 is still doing the business, and (whatever you feel about them) Bungie is in the stable now too. Sony got what they wanted from their gaas project, I guess.

It's a shame that there was always going to be a cost for the ones that didn't make it.

@Americansamurai1 Someone told me recently that the reason Nintendo has avoided layoffs is because they rely heavily on outsourcing to contractors. I can't say if it's true or not, but it would make sense.

Gutted for London Studio though. I was looking forward to seeing what that fantasy game they were working on turned out like.

Regarding Arrowhead, I still think that will happen.
Give it a few months to see how the player count for Helldivers levels off, then we'll see.

@DrClayman Over hiring during covid is the main cause that I've witnessed. I've seen it happen first hand, like a car crash in slow motion.
The inevitable "course correction" was one of the worst things I've ever experienced. There's simply not enough work to justify maintaining teams at the sizes they were during the pandemic, but that doesn't make the experience any less painful.

I assume Arrowhead are expanding. Hopefully some of these folks can find positions there.

It always struck me as out of place (in spite of the context given in Crisis Core) that she would say she missed the steel sky, given that it's what was blocking the sunlight from reaching the people (and flowers) beneath.

I've had mine since launch and I regret nothing.
I was playing Blasphemous on it in bed this morning. It's absolutely perfect for 2D games like that.
I'll be playing Salt and Sacrifice on it tomorrow morning.

I'm having a great time with it lately. I definitely drifted away from it for a few months, but since Legendary Tales came out I've been using it a lot.
I think it needs another Astro game, but I have plenty to play on it for now too.

TLDR:

• Does it need first party support?
  Yes.
• Is there a lack of solid games to play on it?
  No.

Legendary Tales on VR2 and Helldivers II on PS5.

We're up to Dublin for the day first though. The Welsh are over for the weekend. Should be good craic in town.
🏉🏉🏉

@naruball Oh Sorcery! Yes good shout. That would be perfect for PSVR2.

I'm having a great time with Legendary Tales and I'm very eager to hear more about Behemoth.
I still need to give Arizona Sunshine 2 a go too.

On top of that, RE8, GT7 and Horizon have been excellent experiences.

And if they get the headset working with PC, that's a massive win for me.

@DrClayman Excellent. 😂 The world needs more dad jokes.

Oh very nice.
I'd probably use it more for some of the VR apps available on PC rather than the games.
Time to look in to the VR App library on Steam.

@Ravix Good points.
I only base that number on a google search. Apparently that 7mil+ number was only revealed because of the leaks too.
It's hard to know.

@CielloArc Yeah I fully agree.
Mario Kart for example, it feels like having a blast with toys to me. I love it.
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit even, I giggled the first time I played with that.

@DrClayman @get2sammyb The Bloodborne comic book line is ongoing. It's been around for years now.
They definitely have some kind of plan for this franchise. Either they're keeping it hush hush, or they don't quite know what to do with it yet.

It's sold over 7 million units on PlayStation, but it took 7 years to get there. I always had the impression that it was a slow but steady burn after the first few months.
A remaster on PC and PS5 would probably match those numbers now, in much quicker time too I'm sure.

Then give us a sequel...

For me this has been the noticeable difference between PlayStation and Xbox in the past eleven years - Sony is an entertainment company, Microsoft is a tech company.
(Nintendo threads the line between entertainment and toy company in my mind.)

I have a feeling history will be kinder to Ryan than the fanbase has been.
I'm really hoping his leaving won't be a case of being careful what you wish for where the enthusiasts are concerned.

Interesting to see the scalpers have the Collector's Edition up on ebay for twice the store price before it's even out of stock. 🙄

@RaZieLDaNtE @Olmaz 100% booking them off.

I make a point of taking at l east one two week block off each year. That's a rule. I'll try to time it for a big game release if possible, but otherwise I'll go on a small trip or something. (I have next week off and a hotel booked, and the following week off for FF VII, for example.)

But otherwise I save my time off for when I need it.
Dentist. Burning out after busy period. Things like that.
And occasionally I'll take a sneaky long weekend for another big game release like Elden Ring.

Looks as good as expected.
June 21st.
A Friday.
Going to book it and the Monday off now.

@LiamCroft Do you need to complete the demo to unlock the bonus items in the full game?
I could swear I read that all you need is a save file from the demo.

I'd get one definitely, but I won't be stressing at launch to grab one at all costs or anything.

@Robocod "Sony is walking away from the PS5"
I hadn't heard this speculation at all tbh. The internet ties itself in knots jumping to conclusions sometimes. In a lot of cases it's just someone projecting wishful thinking.

In the name of ending the console wars?

We do everything in the name of managed democracy.
Anything else is treason.

The community narratives on social media about the imbalance in troop deployment are hilarious too. "Malevelon Creek is f****d! Release it on XBOX! We need reinforcements!" sent tea out of my nostrils.

I tried to log on last night but kept getting the servers at capacity message. All I could think was, I'm not even mad. That's amazing.

@NieR_Dark It's definitely going to be a workout! 😂I had this thought too.

@NieR_Dark I played it very briefly just to get a feel for it, but I loved what little I tried.
I fought the first few enemies and left it at that because I could feel the game pulling me in, but the combat was as close to real frantic hack n slash as I've experienced in vr.

The only criticism I've heard is that there isn't much enemy variety, but apparently the weapon variety makes up for that.

If you want a proper look to make your mind up PSVR Underground has been playing it. The only thing I'll note is, like with most vr games, watching him fight is nowhere near the same as experiencing it for yourself.

I have a few endgame missions left to do in Relink, then I'm jumping back into Helldivers for the double xp weekend.

Also, LEGENDARY TALES!
An ARPG on PSVR2 with King's Field vibes. If you've got PSVR2 check it out.
It's a little bit more expensive than I was expecting (55 euro) but it's the VR game I didn't realise I was waiting for.
It also has 4 player coop.

The more things change the more they stay the same. Instead of multiple platforms we would just have multiple subscription tiers from multiple publishers.
One way or another content will always be locked behind something.

We work around suits in the industry quite a bit. I don't believe anything any of them say.
And in spite of his tshirts, this guy is a suit.

@Enuo I was just going to say the same thing. The community here shreds what PlayStation execs have to say.
So far the comments are mild compared to what they would have been if Ryan or Hulst had pulled the same thing.

Pre-ordered it a while back.
Mainly because Vanillaware is one of the few developers that I'll buy every game from. But the more I see of this one the more it looks like it's shaping up to be a classic.

@Monstermash40 During the week I dabble in solo missions on Easy, or more lately Normal mode as I've unlocked more useful ship add-ons. It's still a lot of fun, but I only do it to keep myself ticking over until Friday.
It's definitely more enjoyable in co-op, and I say that as someone who vastly prefers playing solo. This game is just too much chaotic fun when you play with people. Even two player is a lot of fun.
I only play in a party on the weekends, but I'm sure myself or anyone here would be happy to jump in if you need an assist.

Excellent. This is great news. The game is so much fun already. We're getting one or two more people in work to play it every few days.

@Rob_230 That's who it was!
And your absolutely right too I feel.
Sony bought Housemarque in a similar scenario too - Returnal was just out a few months but someone was looking to buy the studio, so Sony pulled the trigger.
They were probably going to do it anyway.

Fully expecting Arrowhead to happen by the end of the year.

@atthegates No not a downer at all. I chuckled 😂
I enjoy the Extra service myself and Premium can be hit or miss, but I get that it's not for everyone tbf.
If it's not for you don't waste your money on it.

@atthegates My friend, I say this in jest, with absolute respect and in the hopes that you'll take it as banter - When I read your comments I hear every unhappy Dublin taxi driver I've ever met 😂

Resistance and Need For Speed for me at a glance anyway.
I could definitely give The Outer Worlds a go too.

@Max_the_German I wouldn't say it was a bad idea, but they definitely need some smaller budget titles.
Then again they manage to fill in the spaces with titles like Stellar Blade too.
A mix of all of this wouldn't do any harm.

@ChrisDeku I often wonder about that too.
A lot of the studios Nintendo works with are third parties who develop first party IP.
I can't remember who they bought in the last few years, but I remember one studio was the developer of one of their major IPs, the same dev who had worked on that ip for years.
It's been a little refreshing to see Sony go back to third party in a big way with Stellar Blade and Ronin. Stellar Blade especially is a little different than their usual output.
I bought a PS1 for FF VII and RE2 after all.
Wasn't Ratchet and Clank a "third party" franchise for years too?

That said I do love the big launches from SIE studios, but Helldivers and FF VII are all I can think about atm.

@Martijn87 Yeah. The usual doom mongering and knee jerk reactions are kicking off online. Lots of people reading the headlines and going straight to the comments. FF VII, Ronin and Stellar Blade are right around the corner. Helldivers is not even with us a week yet.