No Man's Sky. Looked absolutely beautiful. Really impressed by the fact you could wander around on the planet and then just...boom...head off into space. Kind of what I'd expect a modern day Elite to look and play like, I think. Can't wait for it!
Absolutely not a chance of a price drop at E3. It would make no sense for Sony to cut the price at this point. There's far more likelihood of Sony announcing new game bundles, or even a bundle that includes a year's PS Plus or something.
@get2sammyb I'll be honest, I don't see how they've gotten it so wrong. More than that, the fact that I need to update the PS Store software every other time I want to buy something is the main thing that puts me off. But hey, the PS4 will undoubtedly improve things and if not, we can all just head to Amazon.
This is amazing. So many benefits to doing things like this. The main one being that I won't have to use the godawful PS Store! Plus Amazon running their own discounts will be sweet, as well as the fact that gamers will be able to use Amazon gift certificates
What would make it better for me? For Sony to stop thinking that the PS3's network is anything like "good." It'll improve with PS4 of course, but it'll absolutely have to now that people will be paying for it.
I think he means GTA III, if I'm honest. Big fan of the guy's work, and I'm glad he turned it down. Many actors would have seen dollar signs and gone for it, no matter what the part. Good on him.
Yup, got the email last night at about 7pm. Switched mine up to the £449 bundle with the camera, Killzone, and extra controller Takes a while for your order to update, though - mine still hasn't.
@charlesnarles "Also, do we know that there's no creepy recording feature like kinnect?" - Kinect doesn't have a "creepy recording feature." Also, it can be unplugged from the system without problems, if you are someone that believes that it does.
Sony's conference had some highlights, but they clearly hadn't paid the crowd enough. Every other thing someone said had a 5 second pause for applause, and got nothing. The showmanship isn't needed. Care about your own business, and maybe you won't have time to take shots at other companies. House's was a poorly thought-out move designed to spark an ovation, and it didn't work. After not cutting enough or adding enough for Vita to be a value proposition, they needed more than this cheapness to get the job done.
As for labelling people as "Microsheep" and "Xbots" and whatnot. Seriously, commenters? Is it 1998 again? Are we all 12? When you pay money for a console, you don't then owe the corporation that made it anything at all. I edit Nlife's Xbox site, and I've got a Vita, PS3, Wii U and 3DS sat in my lounge, and a PS4 on preorder. When I criticise something Sony has done, or praise something Microsoft has done, am I a Microsheep? An Xbot? Or just a gamer?
Some folks need to grow up and play games, not formats. They don't own you, lads and lasses.
No, it doesn't make the console cheaper, you're right. However, there's a fair few hundred thousand people who were planning on buying an Xbox One with FIFA 14 - myself included. That now means that I can buy the Xbox One, get FIFA 14 for nothing, and pick up another title for the same money. Instantly, Microsoft's effective attach rate goes up.
It also pushes FIFA into homes where it wouldn't necessarily have even been considered, so benefits EA as well.
To pick up a PS4 and FIFA will cost me £389.99-£404.99. So I'm getting the Kinect sensor for £25-40, effectively. At £100, I could see why people would baulk at the Kinect sensor being "forced" upon them. At £40? Not so much.
I can only sum it up with the phrase "it depends."
All I've seen of the camera is a couple of official hardware shots, which says to me that Sony will support it just as poorly as they did PlayStation Move. It doesn't appear to be any sort of priority for them, and just seems to have been put together so they can say "Yeah, we've got a camera TOO" - which is never the right attitude to take.
They might wow me at Gamescom or Eurogamer, but given that nobody anywhere has really even mentioned any games that are being developed to support the camera, I just don't see it.
@MaxaMod They won't switch back to DRM just for the family option. They're more likely to introduce a "premium" tier to Xbox Live (over and above the "Gold") that allows you to do it is all.
I've heard from several people that most of the publishers didn't know that you could share the game and have two people playing at the same time. I think that's why they've taken it out, more than anything.
@MaxaMod I know this isn't going to be popular, but Sony can do exactly the same thing. System update, all of a sudden your console has DRM. It was always the case. Hell, they could do it to the PS3 if they wanted, and Microsoft could do it to the Xbox 360 (not that either would ever happen.)
Both companies are in a similar-looking boat now, and it would be foolish to think that Microsoft are the only ones that can make mistakes.
@Wesker Who says I have so much faith in Microsoft? You've just flat-out made an assumption there.
All I've said is that as a gamer, I'm excited to see where motion gaming will go now that there will be a definite installed base of devices. I'm a gamer. I play games. I don't play brands. If Kinect being bundled with the Xbox One makes motion-controlled games better as a whole...count me in.
Then again, they could remove it from the box and drop the price of the console by $100...
@Wesker I was partial to Kinect 1.0, until every game released for it was trash. "Are you really gonna walk around in your living room talking at your TV?" - No. But then again, Kinect offers more than that when it comes to GAMES.
The fact is that motion gaming won't move forward in any way while a motion control device doesn't come as standard. There were MANY attempts at motion controllers before the Wii came out - all of them failed. Wii hits the shelves, everyone loves it. Outsells HD machines by 20 million plus units.
That PS Eye is going to get as many games made for it as the current one has, meaning that it'll end up gathering dust. Unless you love Wonderbook. Xbox One developers can choose to support Kinect 2.0 or not, knowing that either way, they're not limiting their sales. With the PS4, supporting the PS Eye is less likely to happen as only a percentage of the user base will own the hardware required to play their game.
(Disclaimer: I own an Xbox 360. I own a PS3 with a PS Eye. I run Nlife's Xbox site. I've preordered an Xbox One. I've also preordered the PS4.)
@artemisthemp With respect...in response to your points.
Forcing Kinect on you - Yes. Now motion-controlled games will be better, as will integration. (For many reasons - mainly because the target audience for motion-controlled games will be much bigger. Like it or not, some people play them.)
Asking for €100 more than PS4 - Yes. Do bear in mind that if you want a PS Eye game down the line, expect to pay €30-€50 for the hardware so you can play it.
Rip you off with Xbox Live Gold - Sort of. PS4 also requires PlayStation Plus for online play. If you don't play online, then sure (but why would you buy Xbox Live if you don't play online?)
Using EXT PSU - Why does this matter? Not being rude. I just don't see what the problem is.
Not able to replace HDD - You can add multiple USB drives (from any manufacturer) of practically unlimited size, without needing to buy them from Microsoft.
It really is. I got through the prologue, and got the bug. None of my progress had been saved. Played through again, rebooted, game had saved an hour of play. Now I'm stuck because the autosave fails at the same point every time. Crying shame, as the game is brilliant.
Wow. Dead or Alive 5 on PS3 for $19.99, or Dead or Alive 5 "Ultimate" (which isn't all that different) for a total of $131 if you buy all the characters. And @ShogunRok is right - $15 for the story mode is absolute daylight robbery.
Not to play the fanboy card here, but I think the PS4 needs to work more towards the Xbox 360 model when it comes to the store. On the 360, the store isn't a separate app - it's part of the dashboard. You find what you want, click "Download now" and it heads right to your download queue. In the meantime, you carry on doing whatever you were doing. And it's quick. REAL quick. That's without the 360's arguably faster network performance in general, where a 1GB download takes half as long as it would on the PS3.
With the PS3, I fire up the store, if there's an update to the store software I have to download that (10 minutes) before I can do anything. Then I browse through the treacle-slow menu system, find what I want, hit the download button, wait for it to start downloading (which can take up to a minute), then press "Download in Background" - wait while the download is "prepared" (again, can take up to a minute) - and only THEN can I carry on browsing. If I want to nip in and grab something that's FREE on my PlayStation Plus account, it can realistically take 15 minutes from booting up the console, to being able to put the controller down and leave the item downloading. If I'm buying something and I need to add funds to my wallet, you can realistically add another 5 minutes to that. That's not how I want to spend my time, frankly.
I don't know what Sony thought they were doing when they initially assumed that users would just want to sit and watch a progress bar run across the screen for - potentially - hours at a time. Like I say, not playing the fanboy card here, but I think this is one area where the 360 got things really right. It always feels to me as if the PlayStation Store is a barrier to purchasing content, rather than the invisible facilitator that it should be.
That was my main issue with the last game, if I'm honest - the dialogue. After loading the game up, I was pressing "X" every few seconds to scroll through waves and waves of absolute drivel. After 15 minutes, I still hadn't actually done anything other than that.
It didn't take long for me to give up on it after that, I have to say.
I think what people are forgetting, is that this is currently ALL hyperbole. Nothing is confirmed. Nothing is fact. The perception is kicking Microsoft in the backside, and that's not a good thing.
Plus, they can all say "We're buying PS4" as much as they want. Fact is, PS4 could very will still be a console that requires an always-on internet connection as well. Again, nothing confirmed. Hyperbole.
The ironic thing about this, is that this week's MCV (a UK "trade only" magazine) is complaining about the lack of titles on the horizon again and again and again. Their double-page article entitled "New IP Headlines Quiet Q2" goes on to list Defiance, Dead Island: Riptide, Star Trek, Injustice, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3DS, Metro: Last Light, GRID 2, Company of Heroes 2, The Last of Us, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Remember Me, and Lost Planet 3.
Apparently, 11 "must play" games in three months is "quiet" and something to complain about across multiple articles. They haven't even considered the high-quality XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare titles that are launching during that period, or anything that hits Steam that isn't also released at retail, or mobile titles of any fashion. The industry is expecting gamers to spend hundreds of pounds per quarter on gaming, not to mention thousands on hardware, peripherals, and accessories every time we reach the next generation, then wonders why a high percentage of "big-name" titles "flop" at retail.
We're heading for a crash if it goes on like this, in my opinion. We've never had it so good, but the industry can only support so many games before it becomes flooded - much like it did back in 1983.
People don't want it, and never really did - so it isn't surprising that it didn't sell.
In this space, it isn't just down to the quality of the product, and I think Sony discounted that fact. Their method seemed to be:-
1. Sign up J.K. Rowling.
2. ????.
3. Profit!
I think consumers were confused. There were three different versions on sale, two of which came with accessories, and it was dealing with the fact that parents who bought uDraw for their kids the year before were still feeling the burn of spending £79.99 on an expansion for their console, that was now for sale at £4.99 everywhere. The product didn't feature any recognisable characters, so Sony didn't have that going for them. On top of that, if you asked a child at random whether they wanted Wonderbook or Skylanders Giants, you have a 1 in 100,000 chance of them opting for Sony's product. Finally, it was being marketed heavily in the UK - but to parents. It was showing up on daytime shows on TV, which is useless as the kids are at school, then! If you're trying to sell a toy to kids at Christmas, you market it to the kids - THEY convince the parents to buy. That's advertising 101, right there. Sony tried to take it down the "lifestyle" route and tried to market it in the same way that Wii Fit was, to an extent. Wrong move.
Too many missed steps, and that horrendous E3 demo didn't help, either.
"PlayStation Vita Sales 'Absolutely Exploded' Over Christmas" - Not according to the retailers I've spoken to, they didn't! And if they did, the charts don't seem to indicate that many games were sold alongside them.
The most common complaint is the lack of any titles that are genuine system-sellers. They need to drop the price, drop the price of the memory cards, and get decent software on the shelves - and quick.
I will buy a PS4 on launch day, and I'm definitely in for Driveclub and Killzone. However, I don't think Sony should be getting credit for fixing the "problems" from the PS3, because those problems should not have existed in the first place. Creating a patching engine where people sometimes have to download entire 900mb texture sets in order to replace a single 20kb graphic was rank idiocy on Sony's part. Especially when the network that supplies those files is so tragically slow. And it isn't like they're new to software development - they could have seen that coming.
As I say, I want a PS4, but for my money, the presentation was poor. Too much talk about things that gamers - the people who will buy it on day one no matter what - don't really care about, and not enough about the things that they do care about. "You can share videos of your games!" shouldn't take 15 minutes to say, unless you're padding the time.
And that Media Molecule demo just made me angry. The whole "look at how we're making this band play with Move" thing was a ludicrous waste of time. If it ends up in a game, it'll either be so complicated that people can't use it, or it simply won't do what the demo suggested it will and be so limited that people WON'T use it.
Don't even get me started on the controller and PS Eye 4. The controller isn't the right shape for Move-style games. The lightbar can be obscured if you turn too far. There's no reason for a touchpad, other than as a gimmick. It has matt and gloss parts which just don't gel properly. It looks ugly. They've left the triggers so that your hands will slip off the back of the pad as they do with the DS3. I could go on.
As a gamer, I'll be there on day one with my preorder in hand. But I don't think Sony have put themselves in the untouchable position that they were hoping for. E3 is going to be interesting this year, that's for sure!
I really don't see the need for a touchpad. The current controller layout is more than powerful enough to control any game you could think of, and I think the usefulness of the Vita's touchpad is overblown to say the least. And god only knows I absolutely HATE using the touchpad on my laptop.
Why not just provide a mouse and have done with it, Sony?
The only one I ever bought was for the original BioShock, because it had a cool Big Daddy statue with it.
Generally though, yes, they are a waste of money. The game is the thing. I don't need a book showing me art from a game that I can view perfectly well on my TV screen. Generally, I don't want the soundtrack either.
Comments 111
Re: Poll: What Was Your Favourite PlayStation Game of E3 2014?
No Man's Sky. Looked absolutely beautiful. Really impressed by the fact you could wander around on the planet and then just...boom...head off into space. Kind of what I'd expect a modern day Elite to look and play like, I think. Can't wait for it!
Re: E3 2014: PlayStation and Xbox Executives Slay the Web with a Simple Embrace
"This isn't how it's supposed to be" - Disagree. This is exactly how it's supposed to be.
Re: Talking Point: Will the PS4 Get a Price Drop at E3 2014?
Absolutely not a chance of a price drop at E3. It would make no sense for Sony to cut the price at this point. There's far more likelihood of Sony announcing new game bundles, or even a bundle that includes a year's PS Plus or something.
Re: Who Would Win Wednesdays: Morrigan vs. Bayonetta
@get2sammyb Me either!
Even still, Bayonetta wins this at a canter, every single time.
Re: You'll Now Be Able to Buy PSN Content Directly from Amazon
@get2sammyb I'll be honest, I don't see how they've gotten it so wrong. More than that, the fact that I need to update the PS Store software every other time I want to buy something is the main thing that puts me off. But hey, the PS4 will undoubtedly improve things and if not, we can all just head to Amazon.
Re: You'll Now Be Able to Buy PSN Content Directly from Amazon
This is amazing. So many benefits to doing things like this. The main one being that I won't have to use the godawful PS Store! Plus Amazon running their own discounts will be sweet, as well as the fact that gamers will be able to use Amazon gift certificates
Re: PS4 Will Make PS3's 'Good' Online Experience 'Excellent'
What would make it better for me? For Sony to stop thinking that the PS3's network is anything like "good." It'll improve with PS4 of course, but it'll absolutely have to now that people will be paying for it.
Re: Alec Baldwin Rejected 'Cop Killer' Voice Role in Grand Theft Auto 2
I think he means GTA III, if I'm honest. Big fan of the guy's work, and I'm glad he turned it down. Many actors would have seen dollar signs and gone for it, no matter what the part. Good on him.
Re: Feature: Five Frightfully Bad PlayStation 3 Games
WET was a fantastic game. But there you go.
Re: DriveClub Parks Up in Early 2014, Contrast Joins Instant Game Collection
Massive overreaction from all, especially when Contrast looks absolutely fantastic....AND you'll still get DriveClub when it comes out.
Re: Feature: Five PS3 Exclusives Likely to be Ported to PS4
If they announced PS4 ports of Beyond, Ni No Kuni, and The Last of Us, my PS3 would be on eBay within seconds - no joke.
Re: Can't Wait for PS4? Ogle This Packaging to Pass the Time
Has to be the black controller. The coloured ones look really cheap to my eye, like something Mad Catz would have released for the PS2 for £10 a pop.
Re: Can't Wait for PS4? Ogle This Packaging to Pass the Time
Shiny!
Re: Weirdness: Someone's Already Removed Jodie Holmes' Virtual Clothes
Absolutely tragic, if I'm honest. Some people have way too much time on their hands.
Re: Did You Pre-Order Your PS4 from Amazon UK? Check Your Emails
@get2sammyb Awesome deal when you consider the price of the extra stuff if sold separately. Puts Microsoft to absolute shame.
Re: Did You Pre-Order Your PS4 from Amazon UK? Check Your Emails
Yup, got the email last night at about 7pm. Switched mine up to the £449 bundle with the camera, Killzone, and extra controller Takes a while for your order to update, though - mine still hasn't.
Re: Sony Confirms That You Will Be Able to Talk to Your PS4
@charlesnarles "Also, do we know that there's no creepy recording feature like kinnect?" - Kinect doesn't have a "creepy recording feature." Also, it can be unplugged from the system without problems, if you are someone that believes that it does.
Re: GamesCom 2013: Relive PlayStation President Andrew House's Xbox One Jab
@Gamer83 This. All day, this.
Sony's conference had some highlights, but they clearly hadn't paid the crowd enough. Every other thing someone said had a 5 second pause for applause, and got nothing. The showmanship isn't needed. Care about your own business, and maybe you won't have time to take shots at other companies. House's was a poorly thought-out move designed to spark an ovation, and it didn't work. After not cutting enough or adding enough for Vita to be a value proposition, they needed more than this cheapness to get the job done.
As for labelling people as "Microsheep" and "Xbots" and whatnot. Seriously, commenters? Is it 1998 again? Are we all 12? When you pay money for a console, you don't then owe the corporation that made it anything at all. I edit Nlife's Xbox site, and I've got a Vita, PS3, Wii U and 3DS sat in my lounge, and a PS4 on preorder. When I criticise something Sony has done, or praise something Microsoft has done, am I a Microsheep? An Xbot? Or just a gamer?
Some folks need to grow up and play games, not formats. They don't own you, lads and lasses.
Re: Reaction: Xbox One's FIFA 14 Giveaway Is Smart, But Sony Should Stick to Its Game Plan
@ShogunRok Good point - I didn't make the jump to that, if I'm honest, but you're right, the comparison is most definitely there.
Re: Reaction: Xbox One's FIFA 14 Giveaway Is Smart, But Sony Should Stick to Its Game Plan
No, it doesn't make the console cheaper, you're right. However, there's a fair few hundred thousand people who were planning on buying an Xbox One with FIFA 14 - myself included. That now means that I can buy the Xbox One, get FIFA 14 for nothing, and pick up another title for the same money. Instantly, Microsoft's effective attach rate goes up.
It also pushes FIFA into homes where it wouldn't necessarily have even been considered, so benefits EA as well.
To pick up a PS4 and FIFA will cost me £389.99-£404.99. So I'm getting the Kinect sensor for £25-40, effectively. At £100, I could see why people would baulk at the Kinect sensor being "forced" upon them. At £40? Not so much.
Of course, if you've no interest in FIFA, then...
Re: Talking Point: Do You Intend to Buy the PS4's Camera?
I can only sum it up with the phrase "it depends."
All I've seen of the camera is a couple of official hardware shots, which says to me that Sony will support it just as poorly as they did PlayStation Move. It doesn't appear to be any sort of priority for them, and just seems to have been put together so they can say "Yeah, we've got a camera TOO" - which is never the right attitude to take.
They might wow me at Gamescom or Eurogamer, but given that nobody anywhere has really even mentioned any games that are being developed to support the camera, I just don't see it.
Re: PlayStation's Bid for Greatness Campaign Tarnished by Cheaters
Wow. Who would have thought that this would happen? rolls eyes
Re: EDGE Magazine Backs PS4 in Next Generation Special
@get2sammyb Indeed. Their track record isn't all that great, to be honest.
Re: EDGE Magazine Backs PS4 in Next Generation Special
Previous issues of Edge are also available, including the "Nintendo's Resurrection" Gamecube issue, and the "Sega is dead. Long live Dreamcast" issue.
Gotta love 'em.
Re: Naughty Dog Apologises For Using Subway Map In The Last Of Us Without Permission
I get the feeling this is a guy that plays games and just wanders around looking for maps. "Has that game got a subway in it? BUY IT."
Re: Talking Point: What Does Microsoft's Massive Xbox One-Eighty Mean for PS4?
@MaxaMod They won't switch back to DRM just for the family option. They're more likely to introduce a "premium" tier to Xbox Live (over and above the "Gold") that allows you to do it is all.
I've heard from several people that most of the publishers didn't know that you could share the game and have two people playing at the same time. I think that's why they've taken it out, more than anything.
Re: Talking Point: What Does Microsoft's Massive Xbox One-Eighty Mean for PS4?
@Gamer83 Just a little bit, yeah! Still...worth it
Re: Talking Point: What Does Microsoft's Massive Xbox One-Eighty Mean for PS4?
@MaxaMod I know this isn't going to be popular, but Sony can do exactly the same thing. System update, all of a sudden your console has DRM. It was always the case. Hell, they could do it to the PS3 if they wanted, and Microsoft could do it to the Xbox 360 (not that either would ever happen.)
Both companies are in a similar-looking boat now, and it would be foolish to think that Microsoft are the only ones that can make mistakes.
Re: Talking Point: What Does Microsoft's Massive Xbox One-Eighty Mean for PS4?
@Wesker Who says I have so much faith in Microsoft? You've just flat-out made an assumption there.
All I've said is that as a gamer, I'm excited to see where motion gaming will go now that there will be a definite installed base of devices. I'm a gamer. I play games. I don't play brands. If Kinect being bundled with the Xbox One makes motion-controlled games better as a whole...count me in.
Then again, they could remove it from the box and drop the price of the console by $100...
Re: Talking Point: What Does Microsoft's Massive Xbox One-Eighty Mean for PS4?
@Wesker Same place all the great PS Eye games were, I'd imagine.
Nobody said developing games for it was easy. What's being said is that one of the main barriers to developing for it has been removed.
Re: Talking Point: What Does Microsoft's Massive Xbox One-Eighty Mean for PS4?
@Wesker I was partial to Kinect 1.0, until every game released for it was trash. "Are you really gonna walk around in your living room talking at your TV?" - No. But then again, Kinect offers more than that when it comes to GAMES.
The fact is that motion gaming won't move forward in any way while a motion control device doesn't come as standard. There were MANY attempts at motion controllers before the Wii came out - all of them failed. Wii hits the shelves, everyone loves it. Outsells HD machines by 20 million plus units.
That PS Eye is going to get as many games made for it as the current one has, meaning that it'll end up gathering dust. Unless you love Wonderbook. Xbox One developers can choose to support Kinect 2.0 or not, knowing that either way, they're not limiting their sales. With the PS4, supporting the PS Eye is less likely to happen as only a percentage of the user base will own the hardware required to play their game.
(Disclaimer: I own an Xbox 360. I own a PS3 with a PS Eye. I run Nlife's Xbox site. I've preordered an Xbox One. I've also preordered the PS4.)
Re: Talking Point: What Does Microsoft's Massive Xbox One-Eighty Mean for PS4?
@artemisthemp With respect...in response to your points.
Y'know. Just saying.
Re: The Last of Us' Autosave Bug Is Worse Than the Infected
It really is. I got through the prologue, and got the bug. None of my progress had been saved. Played through again, rebooted, game had saved an hour of play. Now I'm stuck because the autosave fails at the same point every time. Crying shame, as the game is brilliant.
Re: Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Adopts a Freemium Model on PS3
Wow. Dead or Alive 5 on PS3 for $19.99, or Dead or Alive 5 "Ultimate" (which isn't all that different) for a total of $131 if you buy all the characters. And @ShogunRok is right - $15 for the story mode is absolute daylight robbery.
Re: Talking Point: PS4 Must Provide a More Palatable Shopping Experience
Not to play the fanboy card here, but I think the PS4 needs to work more towards the Xbox 360 model when it comes to the store. On the 360, the store isn't a separate app - it's part of the dashboard. You find what you want, click "Download now" and it heads right to your download queue. In the meantime, you carry on doing whatever you were doing. And it's quick. REAL quick. That's without the 360's arguably faster network performance in general, where a 1GB download takes half as long as it would on the PS3.
With the PS3, I fire up the store, if there's an update to the store software I have to download that (10 minutes) before I can do anything. Then I browse through the treacle-slow menu system, find what I want, hit the download button, wait for it to start downloading (which can take up to a minute), then press "Download in Background" - wait while the download is "prepared" (again, can take up to a minute) - and only THEN can I carry on browsing. If I want to nip in and grab something that's FREE on my PlayStation Plus account, it can realistically take 15 minutes from booting up the console, to being able to put the controller down and leave the item downloading. If I'm buying something and I need to add funds to my wallet, you can realistically add another 5 minutes to that. That's not how I want to spend my time, frankly.
I don't know what Sony thought they were doing when they initially assumed that users would just want to sit and watch a progress bar run across the screen for - potentially - hours at a time. Like I say, not playing the fanboy card here, but I think this is one area where the 360 got things really right. It always feels to me as if the PlayStation Store is a barrier to purchasing content, rather than the invisible facilitator that it should be.
Re: Review: Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (PlayStation 3)
That was my main issue with the last game, if I'm honest - the dialogue. After loading the game up, I was pressing "X" every few seconds to scroll through waves and waves of absolute drivel. After 15 minutes, I still hadn't actually done anything other than that.
It didn't take long for me to give up on it after that, I have to say.
Re: Let the Battle Begin: Next Xbox Locks Horns with PS4 in May
We will fiiiiiiight!
Re: Opinion: Microsoft's Always-Online Debacle Is Playing into the PS4's Hands
I think what people are forgetting, is that this is currently ALL hyperbole. Nothing is confirmed. Nothing is fact. The perception is kicking Microsoft in the backside, and that's not a good thing.
Plus, they can all say "We're buying PS4" as much as they want. Fact is, PS4 could very will still be a console that requires an always-on internet connection as well. Again, nothing confirmed. Hyperbole.
Re: Farming Simulator 2013 Ploughs PlayStation 3 on 6th September
I avoided puns for mine...mainly because I couldn't think of any.
"Corn blimey" is the greatest thing I've ever read, though. Kudos.
Re: Rumour: Sony Planning Second PS4 Unveiling Before E3
I just don't see it happening. They'll save all their bullets for E3.
Re: Talking Point: Is Time Gaming's Greatest Handicap?
The ironic thing about this, is that this week's MCV (a UK "trade only" magazine) is complaining about the lack of titles on the horizon again and again and again. Their double-page article entitled "New IP Headlines Quiet Q2" goes on to list Defiance, Dead Island: Riptide, Star Trek, Injustice, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3DS, Metro: Last Light, GRID 2, Company of Heroes 2, The Last of Us, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Remember Me, and Lost Planet 3.
Apparently, 11 "must play" games in three months is "quiet" and something to complain about across multiple articles. They haven't even considered the high-quality XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare titles that are launching during that period, or anything that hits Steam that isn't also released at retail, or mobile titles of any fashion. The industry is expecting gamers to spend hundreds of pounds per quarter on gaming, not to mention thousands on hardware, peripherals, and accessories every time we reach the next generation, then wonders why a high percentage of "big-name" titles "flop" at retail.
We're heading for a crash if it goes on like this, in my opinion. We've never had it so good, but the industry can only support so many games before it becomes flooded - much like it did back in 1983.
Re: SEGA Counting Down to New PlayStation 3 and Vita Announcement
Bayonetta font. Say no more.
Re: Controversial God of War: Ascension Trophy Name Squashed
This is pathetic beyond all reason. Unbelievable.
Re: Wonderbook: Book of Spells Failed to Enchant Store Shelves
People don't want it, and never really did - so it isn't surprising that it didn't sell.
In this space, it isn't just down to the quality of the product, and I think Sony discounted that fact. Their method seemed to be:-
1. Sign up J.K. Rowling.
2. ????.
3. Profit!
I think consumers were confused. There were three different versions on sale, two of which came with accessories, and it was dealing with the fact that parents who bought uDraw for their kids the year before were still feeling the burn of spending £79.99 on an expansion for their console, that was now for sale at £4.99 everywhere. The product didn't feature any recognisable characters, so Sony didn't have that going for them. On top of that, if you asked a child at random whether they wanted Wonderbook or Skylanders Giants, you have a 1 in 100,000 chance of them opting for Sony's product. Finally, it was being marketed heavily in the UK - but to parents. It was showing up on daytime shows on TV, which is useless as the kids are at school, then! If you're trying to sell a toy to kids at Christmas, you market it to the kids - THEY convince the parents to buy. That's advertising 101, right there. Sony tried to take it down the "lifestyle" route and tried to market it in the same way that Wii Fit was, to an extent. Wrong move.
Too many missed steps, and that horrendous E3 demo didn't help, either.
Re: Sony: PlayStation Vita Sales 'Absolutely Exploded' Over Christmas
"PlayStation Vita Sales 'Absolutely Exploded' Over Christmas" - Not according to the retailers I've spoken to, they didn't! And if they did, the charts don't seem to indicate that many games were sold alongside them.
The most common complaint is the lack of any titles that are genuine system-sellers. They need to drop the price, drop the price of the memory cards, and get decent software on the shelves - and quick.
Re: Feature: Sony's PlayStation 4 Reveal - Did It Meet Our Expectations?
I will buy a PS4 on launch day, and I'm definitely in for Driveclub and Killzone. However, I don't think Sony should be getting credit for fixing the "problems" from the PS3, because those problems should not have existed in the first place. Creating a patching engine where people sometimes have to download entire 900mb texture sets in order to replace a single 20kb graphic was rank idiocy on Sony's part. Especially when the network that supplies those files is so tragically slow. And it isn't like they're new to software development - they could have seen that coming.
As I say, I want a PS4, but for my money, the presentation was poor. Too much talk about things that gamers - the people who will buy it on day one no matter what - don't really care about, and not enough about the things that they do care about. "You can share videos of your games!" shouldn't take 15 minutes to say, unless you're padding the time.
And that Media Molecule demo just made me angry. The whole "look at how we're making this band play with Move" thing was a ludicrous waste of time. If it ends up in a game, it'll either be so complicated that people can't use it, or it simply won't do what the demo suggested it will and be so limited that people WON'T use it.
Don't even get me started on the controller and PS Eye 4. The controller isn't the right shape for Move-style games. The lightbar can be obscured if you turn too far. There's no reason for a touchpad, other than as a gimmick. It has matt and gloss parts which just don't gel properly. It looks ugly. They've left the triggers so that your hands will slip off the back of the pad as they do with the DS3. I could go on.
As a gamer, I'll be there on day one with my preorder in hand. But I don't think Sony have put themselves in the untouchable position that they were hoping for. E3 is going to be interesting this year, that's for sure!
Re: Live: Watch The PlayStation 2013 Meeting Right Here
Have a good liveblog, lads and lasses. I'll be here watching with you tonight.
Re: UK Sales Charts: Ni No Kuni Summons a Spot at the Top
And well deserved, says I. Superb game, and I'm having great fun with it.
Re: Rumour: You'll Be Able to Link PS4 Controllers with Your PSN Account
I really don't see the need for a touchpad. The current controller layout is more than powerful enough to control any game you could think of, and I think the usefulness of the Vita's touchpad is overblown to say the least. And god only knows I absolutely HATE using the touchpad on my laptop.
Why not just provide a mouse and have done with it, Sony?
Re: Talking Point: Are Collector's Editions a Waste of Money?
The only one I ever bought was for the original BioShock, because it had a cool Big Daddy statue with it.
Generally though, yes, they are a waste of money. The game is the thing. I don't need a book showing me art from a game that I can view perfectly well on my TV screen. Generally, I don't want the soundtrack either.