Comments 369

Re: Soapbox: PS5 Pricing Is Setting Releases Like Returnal Up to Fail

koffing

yes AND ... after reading the article and scrolling through 100 comments one thing that has gone unsaid is the Returnal marketing is really lacking. Same for Destruction All Stars. If a publisher wants to ask for $70 that is their call, but they need to recognize they will have to justify the cost to consumers. I haven’t seen anyone put in the work there. Showing two teaser trailers with little gameplay isn’t going to cut it. Their marketing departments need to step up. Maybe the game is worth it but after watching the two trailers I know almost nothing about the game. Timeloop, surprise face, boom boom, repeat. Gotta distinguish yourself from the competition. I am more excited by Kena and Seasons imo.

Re: PS5 Coil Whine Complaints Intensify as System Launches in Europe

koffing

my system has it. I can hear my ps5 from 6-10 feet away. I would like to pretend I have superpower hearing abilities, but I don’t. I am disappointed that it’s not as quiet as reviewers led me to believe, but it’s still fairly quiet compared to many other things in my house. My fridge in the other room can drown it out.

Re: PS5 Coil Whine Becomes a Concern for Some Early Adopters

koffing

@God_of_Nowt Maybe? I think the genuine concern is someone bought a dud and it dies an early death or starts malfunctioning right after the warranty expires. It’s expensive. My Ps5 is much louder than I expected based on comments. I can easily hear mine from 5 feet away even while playing. It’s not a big deal. Speaking for myself I just want it to last because it’s going to get a ton of use.

Re: Sony Adds Game Names to New PlayStation Store on Web Browser

koffing

I think the missing context is I am speculating here they couldn’t integrate the existing store with the PS5. It’s good to see improvements though those need to be rolling out at a faster pace. At least this is a huge accessibility improvement. It’s crazy to rely on game art to figure out what you are clicking.

Re: Dragon Quest XI S Is Indeed 60FPS on PS4 Pro

koffing

@Jayofmaya Yes, original has better fidelity but new version has better music, extra story, and new modes that imo make it better to play. It’s unfortunate there isn’t a real definitive version with no compromises. If you are a couch gamer, this new version is probably the way to go.

Re: Dragon Quest XI S Is Indeed 60FPS on PS4 Pro

koffing

https://youtu.be/Qdm4pB-1Dlc is Digital Foundry’s video comparing original Ps4 version to the Switch version. Maybe they’ll do a followup, though I am sure they are very busy right now. I have the Switch version and it’s fantastic, but I wish it had the resolution, filtering, and materials of the Ps4 version. The portability is pretty nice though and it’s a fantastic game however you play it. As has been said the Switch version has crazy aliasing so even with the materials and detail downgrades this S version on the PS4 is going to look a lot cleaner. If you are at all on the fence get the demo. It’s the first 10 hours of the game which is the most generous demo I have seen in a long, long time.

Re: PS5 Exclusive Returnal Has a Simple But Effective Use for 3D Audio

koffing

@GamingFiend I agree. Sony marketing says “ The PULSE 3D wireless headset has been specifically tuned to deliver the 3D Audio made possible by the PlayStation®5 console.” but it’s not clear what that really means. People’s ears are different (hence PS5 maybe having custom HRTFs) so it’s not clear what Sony can really do on the hardware to make it “more 3d” except have decent sound reproduction... similar to any good headphones.

Re: Ubisoft Had to Rewrite PS5 Descriptions Due to Concern Trolls on Twitter

koffing

“Ubisoft Had to Rewrite PS5 Descriptions Due to Concern Trolls on Twitter” -> “Ubisoft Fixes Confusing Tweet on PS5 Game Performance”

I get the internet is terrible, but it probably wasn’t just malicious actors who got Ubi to fix their tweet. Like that’s the whole point of company comms: to clearly explain the company’s story and to sell product. Not confuse would-be buyers. Correlation is not causation.

Re: PS5 Upgrades God of War with Up to 60FPS Support

koffing

@God_of_Nowt Exactly. It’s a little disappointing to me seeing how well Series X is handling BC vs PS5. I kind of expected it given Microsoft has been doing backward compatibility on Windows for four decades, but these announcements which are supposed to excite me, instead confuse me. There’s so much potential to take these older titles and get them running rock solid on the new hardware. Very curious to see it all in practice.

Re: Take a Look at the New PS Store for Web Browsers, Slowly Rolling Out Globally

koffing

Wow. I am in the US and it just hit. It’s bad. Search for a game with a lot of expansions and add ons like Witcher. The results are baffling. You can’t tell what anything is — you just get an image and price. There is no rhyme or reason to the ordering — the original game shows up before the GOTY edition which shows up before the expansions, The product sub pages don’t link to each other so you can’t tell if you have found the newest or most complete version. It’s so information sparse it’s maddening.

Re: PS5 UI Revealed in New State of Play Presentation

koffing

nice first look. I hope they can make temporary parties or something to shore that part up. it’s funny how Sony says things like “we are running out of time” when they could just livestream someone using a PS5 from now until launch and people would watch. There are no length limitations in digital media.

Re: Devil May Cry 5 Takes Four Seconds to Load on PS5, 22 Seconds on PS4

koffing

@Trajan it’s kinda ironic that Nintendo may soon have the slowest loading times AND the least capacity. Also, I think saying SSDs have been around for a decade is kinda misleading and unfair to our new consoles. Yes, there has been solid state storage but it wasn’t fast. Also, DLSS is amazing and I hope Nintendo adapts it for the inevitable New Nintendo Switch 4K or whatever they will call it and MS/Sony/AMD counter with something.

Re: Cross-Save Between PS4 and PS5 Games Is Up to Developers

koffing

kinda mentioned this in Ghosts discussion, but this is one big problem with remastered Ps5 games. If the saves don’t transfer, that is a big deal. I don’t subscribe to appointment gaming or games that demand I redo the title from scratch. Some games take a hundred hours to beat, it’s lame to be halfway there and be asked to start over. And it would be nice to see this as a nonissue for at minimum all first party titles.

Re: Ghost of Tsushima Supports 60 Frames-Per-Second on PS5, Better Load Times

koffing

@thefourfoldroot I am with @NEStalgia on this but a slightly different bent. I am new to Playstation and interested in many PS4 titles, and I want the best version and I will happily pay for it. But I don’t want to buy a Ps4 title (with or without boost mode) and later find that they are “remastering” it and my save files won’t transfer.

I don’t have that issue with Spiderman because I am new, but I would be pretty disappointed to be pay $70 and be forced to redo the game. I imagine that is not an issue for many people, but i think it’s crappy. I have limited time to game.

Re: Watch Lots of Brand New PS5 Gameplay with Japanese YouTube Videos

koffing

@God_of_Nowt Another thought. I used to play online in the late 90s and I remember all the modders and cheaters and threats and just people going on and incoherently cursing everyone out. At the time, I was befuddled like.. who are these people? That was my first real experience with the internet pre-social media. Then fastforwadd to the early 2000s where I ended up in an internet cage in a South American country. And I saw high schoolers and middle schoolers doing exactly what I observed those years ago and realized that I had only thought North Americans were playing (dumb me) and never imagined that foreign speakers learning english — who had no understanding of the seriousness of what they were or weren’t saying and struggled to speak english — were probably a large part of what I was experiencing online back in the 90s. Ahhhh the world is so big.

And yes I want more Bugsnax.

Re: Watch Lots of Brand New PS5 Gameplay with Japanese YouTube Videos

koffing

@SirAngry Microsoft is getting away with it because they have a good relationship with the press (Digital Foundry got to play Series X and S in March!) and imo the press is so enamored with GamePass that they lost their critical thinking skills. Also, Microsoft handled their failures well (Halo delay, leaks) and in some sense they are the gaming underdog after XBONE so they get a pass. They have done a very good job since Series S leak at sharing new info weekly (packaging, storage expansion prices, Dolby support, etc.).. heck I have even seen a “how XSX fits in Ikea furniture” article.

I get the sense that Sony is crashing right now and is behind on hardware and software just like Cyberpunk. There is some evidence for that. Airlifting hardware. The Spiderman Remastered ray tracing pics were old (devs said they had already improved the fidelity over what they shared).

Now, I am a Nintendo gamer so I am used to poor communication and higher prices. I think a lot of people here feel the way I do about Nintendo products. I would think “it has Zelda, what else do you need to know?” and I am sure some people here feel that way about Playstation. But I don’t feel that way. I am Playstation-curious, not committed. It would be nice if people opened their minds that we are all in different spaces and don’t think the same. The gaming world is big.

Re: Watch Lots of Brand New PS5 Gameplay with Japanese YouTube Videos

koffing

I was disappointed — but not surprised — by today’s non-event. I preordered a PS5 and I am wondering when I will actually find out more about what I paid for. I don’t think I have ever bought something this expensive with so little info. @SirAngry, I am totally with you on this. Launch in 39 days, wonder what I am going to know before it arrives. I get some people like surprises. I don’t when I pay $500. I like assurances and confidence. This is not pocket change to me. When I see no information, heavily controlled and staged events, and cryptic teasers ... that doesn’t work for me (or a lot of other people.). As Tom Warren said: they didn’t even remove the plastic protector on the front of the device and it’s like nails on a blackboard. Yeah, that old metaphor works for me.

Re: Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered Has Been in Development for a Year on PS5

koffing

It looks good and they should have shown more and more. Show the ray tracing in motion. This game obviously needs a new tech trailer with side-by-sides highlighting each feature cause otherwise people don’t get it. It took me a minute to realize why distant shadow detail was missing (dynamic system vs baked). Show don’t tell.

Re: Spider-Man PS5 vs PS4 Comparison Shows Off a Generational Leap

koffing

I think it looks nice. I am very confused why Sony doesn’t release HDR YouTube videos. I am really looking forward to some potential future Digital Foundry comparison between PS4 Pro original, vs PS5 BC Boost Mode, vs Remaster with Ray Tracing vs 60fps version. I never played this game and have no allegiance to either character model. Happy to pay $20 for whichever is the better version. I will likely wait until the price drops though.. $50 for MM seems steep. Maybe once reviews come in and I have more confidence.

Re: Soapbox: The Week After PS5's Showcase, Sony Told Us Nothing About Its Next-Gen Console

koffing

YES. The pandemic is not a valid reason. Microsoft is killing it this week. Everyday I see something new about Series X. Storage. Dolby support. Developer comments. Influencer and gaming sites powering it on. But Sony is silent. It does not build confidence or excitement. The best I got was a Spiderman remaster mess that was so convoluted that everyone made fun of Sony (But of course no footage of the game Or even a screenshot). Maybe this strategy works for some people but not for me. I am new to Playstation and I preordered and I am wondering if it was a mistake. Most of the games I want to play right now are Ps4 games and I am wondering will I have to buy them twice? I want to use the UHD blu ray and I am wondering what HDR formats it supports? I’d like to better understand how long the controller battery is going to last to figure out if I should buy a second one. I would like to hear more and instead Sony is doubling down on PS4 news. I get that. It’s just... not what I want.

Re: Reaction: Spider-Man PS5 Debacle Shows Sony Is Out of Touch

koffing

mistakes:
-not showing it
-not having answers from day 1 announcement for basic questions
-save files not transferring
-no standalone purchase or paid upgrade option

charging is fine for most people, yes it “looks cheap” next to MS’s choices but clarity could have made up for it. Keep it simple Sony.

Re: Your Marvel's Spider-Man Saves Can't Be Carried Over to the PS5 Remaster

koffing

really they and every other PS5 dev needs to be sharing like crazy. every day should provide more info. wrap up vids every Friday. It’s weird how little we know about the games and the platform. Microsoft is doing a much better job on this. Maybe because Halo broke, but it’s helping them focus. Jim Ryan’s secrecy approach isn’t working for me. Let me hear from the devs! Free the devs!

Re: Horizon Forbidden West Built from the 'Ground Up' for PS5

koffing

Yes, this is a PR problem. PR is taking advantage of the confusion around their own wording by “assuring” people that the graphics will be better. But this is not about graphics. It’s about the core game design which in 2020 is limited by CPU, memory, and disk — not the GPU. I am upset that Horizon FW is on PS4 because it means the level design, physics, AI, and gameplay mechanics are limited to what also works on a 2013 design. It was .. less surprising for Spiderman MM, but the June messaging on Horizon was that it was PS5 only and people started imagining flying through the levels, better physics, etc. Now that seems unlikely. It’s weird cause Sony can read gamer concerns — all they have to do is send out a tweet or a blog post to clarify — but instead we get silence. Their current PR strategy is eroding trust. Silence might work when they have an E3 blowout, it is not working during a global pandemic.

Re: PS5 Game Install Sizes Revealed, And They're Enormous

koffing

Is the math for Spiderman: Remastered just taking the Ultimate: MM edition and subtracting Standard:MM? If so, that assumes they don’t share any art assets and that’s a really shaky assumption. I am guessing that’s what you did because we don’t have any info on Remastered as a separate thing. I would guess Remastered is 60-76GB standalone.

Re: Sony Considered Xbox Series S-Style PS5, Doesn't Think Lower Spec Models Have Had Success

koffing

How many people had sub 4k tvs? Or can’t tell the difference? Lots. Series S is for them. As several people have pointed out the past three years has been developers making two different versions of the game just for one platform (one s and one x, ps4 and ps4 pro). And most games are cross platform (ios, android, switch, pc, etc.) so developers are used to scaling effects to match gpu power. This is an interesting experiment. In 4 years when Microsoft wants to release a pro series x model, how will series s owners fare? Will Series S be limited by its reduced system RAM? Will Series S limitations inhibit Series X development and, if so, would those developers choose to only release on Series X? So many questions..