Shepherd_Tallon

That last one gave me a good chuckle 😂

@thefourfoldroot1 Too true.
eg: Most people are happy to listen to spotify on their phone with their earbuds or headset or whatever.
A year or two back Sony released a range of high quality MP3 players. They put "Walkman" on the back and charged €400.00 for the cheapest version.
It sold. The audio quality was crazy good so the audiophiles flocked to it.

The fact that the detachable disc drive for PS5 Slim has been selling like hotcakes since last night suggests the same will happen here. The enthusiasts want the best stuff.

@Angelus3K Yeah there's definitely a market.
The Push Square poll on YouTube currently shows that 17% will buy it, and another 19% will buy it but not at launch.
If that's a reflection of the core market then this thing will do what Sony want it to do.

I was always all in on getting a pro, and the more Cerny talked the more I wanted one, but I'm still absolutely gobsmacked by that price.

I think if you like your current ps5 and you're happy with it, then don't worry about the pro. This simply isn't for you and it's not needed. This is solely for the hardware enthusiast crowd.

Part of me also feels like this thing is just for Rockstar to show GTA6 off on.

(All of that said, I'm still not sure if I'll get one at launch or not. I probably will if we get a nice Christmas bonus in work 🤷)

I definitely want it, but €800.00 is a lot. I was bracing myself for €700.00.

I'll see what the bank looks like by November and make a decision then.

€800.00 🫠
I love me some new PlayStation hardware, but that's a lot more than I was expecting. On a bad day I thought €700.00.

I'll definitely still get it, but holy hell, not at that price.

Operation Wolf? Haven't played it in 30+ years. I'd nearly try it just for that.

@aj102404 Right?
I'm having so many flashbacks to the 90s as I play this. It's been so long since a cute platformer blew my mind.

@riceNpea "I was playing this but now I know it's live service I want it banned!" 😂

I stayed up much too late drinking with some family tonight. And this is exactly the kind of sarcasm that makes me chuckle when I've been up too late drinking.

@get2sammyb "Then the issue people have is not live service, but game monetisation."
Exactly this. Couldn't have put it better.

How long were you waiting to write this article btw? 😂
I'm surprised by the negative reaction though. I think you've hit a lot of nails on a lot of heads with a lot of hammers here.

It's pure gaming bliss.
I didn't realise it, but I think the last time I felt this much joy playing a game was either Mario 64 or og Spyro.

@Kidfunkadelic83 Same here. It's leaning against my monitor since this morning.
I need this day to be over.

3 more hours...

SIE are lacking an online juggernaut, otherwise they're rock solid in the games department. But this statement is more about movies and anime.
A few years back they said this specifically about their movie IP.
In that regard, when it comes to franchises with long term mass appeal only Spidey and Ghostbusters come to mind, so I can see where they're coming from.

Well written, Sammy. Agreed on all points.

That's what I love about PlayStation - The scenery changes. They don't keep flogging the same franchises for decades.
The studios tell their story, then they move on to something new.
If they feel they have an idea for another entry they explore it, but they don't force it.

@Czar_Khastik This x 100!

Smyths just sent me the pre-order bonus code.
The order for the game and controller just updated to Preparing for Dispatch.
Feck me I'm excited! Feels like Christmas Eve.

@Ainu20 Yeah, at the risk of sounding biased it reads like Tassi trying his hardest to not be seen as having jumped the gun.

If it's not platform limitations then the dev prioritised the version that would get them the most sales.
I wouldn't be surprised if Sony had paid for timed exclusivity, I just don't believe it in this case because they would have bragged about it for months.

Wow.
That's like saying you're more popular than Jesus... No?... I'll get me coat.

A big dungeon delve would do me.
Or anything at all actually. That game has some crazy fun combat.

I'm rooting for them to make one of these gaas games work, and in the past I would have said they don't need to communicate much to me other than the next two or three games, but in this case clearly community feedback was needed.
I don't believe they should be restricted to making single player games, but something has gone seriously wrong here.

That said, I still love Helldivers and I'm eager to see the Horizon online game too.

@Americansamurai1 Exactly. Get the timing right and the streamers would be all over it.

@Americansamurai1 The gameplay in that game is so smooth and polished. I'd love to see more of it. Even that free challenge mode they added was great.
Give me that in a smaller version of The Division and I'd play it for years.

Put them to work on Factions, ffs.
If ND couldn't do it because they'd have to transition into a fulltime live service studio just to run it, put Firewalk to work on it instead.

I'm sure it's not as simple as just "putting them to work on it", but I can dream.

@jrt87 When we were in college studying game design this is exactly what we were told to expect.
Never have long term employment, work from one project to the next, most of the time you'll be freelance instead of an employee.
It sounded hellish to me so I switched in my final year to focus on consumer behaviour, marketing and localisation instead.
I've worked for the same company since I finished college.

It's still project based though. If this project ever ends and they don't have another one for me, who knows what happens 🤷

Reading and catching up on anime this weekend. Just waiting for Astro Bot at this point.

Games releasing unfinished and stories published with facts unconfirmed.
That tracks I guess.

Paul Tassi really has a bea in his bonnet about PlayStation though doesn't he?

@ED_209 Had the same thought.
I've been assuming that all new PlayStations going forward would be sold this way.

• Reduce the cost of the system by removing the drive.
• Leave the option to buy the drive separately.

win/win

Agreed with all points, Sammy.

It's a decent game that many people didn't want.
I enjoyed what I played of it. Some of the characters were likeable, but most are forgettable. The universe itself I thought was very interesting though. I loved hovering around the galaxy map reading the lore. I'd definitely enjoy spending more time there.
I can't help but think how a campaign at launch along with the hero shooter mode, while a big ask, might have pulled in more people.

I was thinking that at this point it needs a big reset along the lines of A Realm Reborn.
Something drastic like killing off the crew members nobody is playing as and then a fun 10 hour revenge campaign with a new crew.
It would take years to do it though, so it's not likely to happen.

At this point if you're Sony it's probably better to push an epic showcase with some big reveals in September. Generate some goodwill, then put Concord on Plus and go from there.

@UltimateOtaku91 I was looking forward to having the Pro for Christmas. That was assuming it wouldn't cost too much more than the PS4 Pro. I've seen 700 floated around since the weekend though.

I'll pick one up for sure.
I'm a fan of console hardware in general so I'm an easy sell for an upgrade like this.

@UltimateOtaku91 My PS4 Pro did that exact same thing a few times. I never figured out what caused it.

@Malaise tbh that's the main reason I wanted to play it - Japanese settings and folklore. I can't get enough of either.

When I type "Metaphor" into the search bar of the Amazon app the first prompt that comes up is "Metaphor: ReFantazio PS5".
There are zero prompts with "XBox" In the name 🤷

@Malaise Someone else was telling me this just the other day on this site.
I got it thinking it was an easy platinum... 🫠

Playing a little bit of Concord and I've drifted back to Diablo, but I'll mostly be focusing on Ghostwire Tokyo. Hoping to finish it before Astro Bot comes.

The beta gave me old school LAN party vibes so I'm giving it a shot.
It's well put together and the gunplay is very nice. The galaxy map has so much lore too. I'd love a full campaign set in this universe.
Hopefully it has a chance to grow when word spreads that it's actually a good game.

“It’s definitely true inside of Microsoft that the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery that we have to give back to the company,” he admitted. “We get a level of support from the company that’s just amazing in what we’re able to go and do.”

👇

"Yeah, no, they gave us a tonne of money and now we have got to get our sh*t together."

@get2sammyb
1. "Spencer continues to talk" 😂
2. "Xbox and Phil Spencer are really good at making their own problems seem universal." 💯

Probably the two most accurate sentences on the internet today.

@riceNpea PS5/VR2 is turning into an amazing combo.
The base console is solid on its own, but the experiences on VR2 are so wild. With the exception of Astro Bot, Behemoth is the most hyped I've been for a game all year.

That "there are no games on VR2" line never carried much weight for me, but the last few weeks have seen so many announcements.

@Intr1n5ic I had this exact thought. I had to stop playing Isolation after I did a 180 turn and walked straight into an android. Biggest jump scare I've ever experienced. I had a pain in my chest after that one and muscle spasms in my neck the next day 😂

@AK4tywill @Golem25
Ugh. Sounds like a bit of a chore. Thanks for the tips though!
I'll queue up my lore podcasts for the endgame then.

@AK4tywill Ah don't say that. I had heard Ghostwire was a relatively handy plat. Is it not?

Sounds like the kind of plat I enjoy - Long term but chill.
I have three days off this weekend so I'll be playing this in between bouts of Ghostwire.

I had serious hype for this game when it was first revealed, but it's fallen off my radar lately. No reason. It's just been a while since we've had news.
Would love to see it without the screenshake too tbh. Hopefully there's an option.

Wasn't there a rumour a while back that Sony were having meetings with Pearl Abyss, potentially about this game?

It's not a Day 1 buy for me anyway. Will pick it up when the price drops. Was always curious about this one though. I never played the original.

Edit: Going by some of the comments below it seems there's a lot more to this game than just a 1 to 1 remake.

Currently pretending to work, but my PSVR2 PC adapter just arrived so I'll probably faff about with that for a bit.

After that I'm going to give Ghostwire Tokyo a go finally. I've been meaning to play it since launch and it seems like the perfect time seeing as how Tango are back from the dead.

Enjoy the weekend! ✌️

@ThaBEN I don't see an option where I am either. I was assuming it would be available at launch maybe.

Nice. The one PSVR game that I've been missing on PSVR2.
Loving the upgrade path option too.

@thefourfoldroot1 I've been in the same boat. I couldn't make time to play the sequel because there were too many other games. This is perfect timing.

Yassss! Can't wait. My most hyped VR title so far.

I'll give it a go.

• Ghost of Tsushima Legends
• TLoU Part I Factions
• Helldivers II
• Returnal coop mode
  It's been a while since I played an online game or online mode put out by Sony that I didn't enjoy.

@DarkTron Indeed. It might be useful to someone, but fair point.
I'll update the post to make that clear.