themightyant

Not really. They are both enjoyable games, but not really GOTY material? They may be some individual's GOTY but they only just scrape into the Top 100 best rated games of the year at 88 & 98 respectively on Metacritic.

But Black Myth: Wukong IS nominated for best visual design. Stellar Blade maybe missed out for best soundtrack, but there is stiff competition in that category.

Already played Dead Space Remake, and it’s brilliant, looking forward to Doki Doki LC+ though, that was on my wish list

One strategy to buy back your own company is to run it into the ground and then buy back when the shares are very low. Make it worse by delaying your most anticipated game after a string of financial duds. Can they make a comeback in the second half? Will they be sued for manipulating the markets? Watch this space.

@GamingFan4Lyf Completely agree with you on Microsoft's strategy. Less so on Sony's. As @REALAIS said Sony get 30% of each of those sales on their platform, but what you are ignoring when you say "Sony gets $21 and Microsoft gets $49" is that Sony's part won't have all the massive development costs.

Being a leading platform holder is definitely where Microsoft would LIKE to be, but as they aren't they are wisely shifting strategy for now and selling everywhere. It's the smart play, for where they are positioned, but make no mistake they would prefer to be in Sony or Nintendo's position of market dominance and just strengthening their grip on the market.

Meanwhile Sony has their own issues right now of spending too much for how much them make. While they are consistently setting record revenues, their profit margins are only 6-7% over the last few years.

I'd rather use it do dive down to the Titanic in a metal toilet roll.

@OldGamer999 The thing is it doesn't have to be either/or. They can BOTH sell Xboxes to people that want to be in that ecosystem, playing across a broader range of devices, getting games included on Game Pass AND sell on PlayStation, PC, Switch etc. They are playing by different rules, and will likely do far better financially doing this than trying to compete directly with entrenched brands like PS & Nintendo. "Consoles sold" is just one metric that they tried time and again to compete on and came up short, hence it's smart to switch strategies.

@OldGamer999 If I understand right they HAVE to have a PS5 Pro version if it's on PS5. How much effort they put in is another thing.

That said im not actually sure Microsoft will be so petty. They’ve already conceded the power advantage by not having a Pro model, and their service is more about breadth of places to play (console, pc, mobile, tablet etc) than it is pushing the top end.

I like the sound of that, not JUST getting them working on PC ports but also upgrading for PlayStation, in turn freeing up other devs to work on new games.

@OldGamer999 I believe Sony mandate that there must be a PS5 Pro version of all games releasing after it, though it's up to developers how much effort they put in, similar to Series S on Xbox.

This one is interesting because Blizzard is a Microsoft owned studio. It will be interesting to see how the Xbox studios treat PS5 Pro.

@dark_knightmare2 I’ve not played that one. Thanks for the heads up

@PuppetMaster I agree it’s fantastic, but has been done on many games here before. But I believe only when the stars align and a second reviewer has also played the game. They can’t do that for every release, too much manpower and too many games.

I didn’t expect that. Every other Bloober Team game I’ve played has been average at best. Well done Bloober.

Currently sitting at 87 - 89 on Meta / Open Critic.

@Oram77 I fully get it. In fact I've been in that situation, saying it sucks doesn't even begin to cover it, it's like the bottom of your world falls out, there goes all the plans you had and you have to scramble to try and fix it. I have a ridiculous amount of empathy for those in that position, it's truly awful. I'm not encouraging blackmail either.

To be clear i'm not talking about leaks of games, or future lineups or anything like that, I don't want or care about any of that. It's more about OLD business numbers and data that could be made available to us, but gaming companies are too over-protective. We often don't even see sales numbers, unlike virtually every other media industry.

E.g. Take the Insomniac leak for example and we saw that PlayStation Studios and first-party games sold 66% as PHYSICAL media as recently as 2022. That IS interesting, especially when Sony are cherry picking another statistic (67% digital in FY2022) to suggest to us that physical media is dying. They just want a bigger piece of the pie.

If the industry wasn't so closeted and two-faced about all their data, cherry picking it to spin it to their advantage, then we wouldn't have to be two-faced about where we get it.

That all said. I do sincerely hope the people at Red Barrels are OK.

I'm a bit two faced about things like this.

On the one hand I definitely think it's awful and I hope the leaker gets caught and severely punished.

But on the other, this industry is so closed-off and cloak and dagger that large leaks are often the only thing that confirms facts and figures without cherry picking to put a spin on it. It's the one time the industry is entirely truthful.

I'm sure that's not entirely helpful or just, but it IS honest.

This makes complete sense, as anyone who played MGS: Twin Snakes knows and how first person completely trivialised the game

I love a good print magazine and still subscribe to EDGE, there's something about the tangibility of it, I still get excited when a new issue drops. Though to be honest I thought Play/PSM finished years ago.

I put a longer post about this over on PureXbox but the YouTuber SkillUp did an investigative article on this earlier this year speaking to many developers annonymously, from solo devs to mid-sized studios. The main takeaway was:

"Developers are seeing very few people buy their games on Xbox consoles, that’s largely to blame because of a behavioral shift that Game Pass has caused, and it's created a vicious cycle."

But it's more nuanced. I recommend reading the whole article here.

Also Series S was also NOT the main problem as they were usually targeting Steam Deck or Switch with lower hardware minimums.

according to Tim Sweeney

Must be true then...

@Kidfunkadelic83 I agree to a point. But currently devs have to spend a long time pre-baking fake lighting into scenes, adding it to lighting maps and creating tools to allow it to cheat and change semi-dynamically. The sooner they can just place light sources and move on it will speed up development.

We aren't there yet as it is still expensive, PS5 is still a medium-high end bit of kit, and devs will most often have to build to the lowest common denominator, but this is a step in the right direction and will speed us up towards that.

Gotta say that is SUPER-impressive, and while it will take a while to come into games that fact it's ALREADY running on a PS5 again, not just a super-PC, is amazing and means it will come sooner than it used to. Great work Epic. As Cerny once said "now comes the fun part" seeing what devs can actually do with it.

Because it seems the first one didn't sell all that well. At the end of the day that is important, unless you want to satart laying off more staff.

But I agree, the art was fantastic, they seem to be taking the wrong learnings here imho. This is more likely to lead it to mediocrity and blending in with every other souls-like. Still I wish them well and hope they can execute their vision, while making it sell.

The fantastic art style was one of the main pulling points for this game. I didn't buy it as there were reportedly enough other problems with it, and there are just too many games.

@IntrepidWombat Many games need much better onboarding for RETURNING players. Maybe a "show gameplay hints again" option that you can toggle, or "repeat those tutorials" section... or something.

There are many complex games, I have dropped, tried to go back to and then dropped again. But I agree starting the game again, going through the tutorials and then reloading your original save is a good option. As is dropping the difficulty until you are familiar with it again... as long as they don't penalise you for this by locking trophies.

Good. I loved many things about this game, but having a completionist mindset made it a chore.

I saw the article and just KNEW there would be people not interested in this game coming in to moan. It's so weird. I don't like FIFA or COD or Fortnite but I don't go into articles on those games to complain.

Weird, I was playing Genshin and HSR late last night and again this morning with no problems. I can only assume this is an isolated problem. EDIT: It seems 12:30am and 9am were OK. Down in between.

Since that leak (most of the data was years old) we have been through a financial crisis and the Yen is SUPER weak. Almost every investors report in the last few years has said a variation of:

Decrease in hardware losses due to lower unit sales

Which strongly suggests they are still making a loss on console hardware, just less of a loss because console sales are past their peak now 4 years into the gen. There are valid reasons console prices have INCREASED not decreased as normally happens over time.

EDIT: I agree with your points on Xbox/Microsoft not being the beaten entity some here like to project. They are pretty well positioned to succeed in the coming years IMO. That success doesn't need to be directly measured against Sony, they are fighting different wars. But we are usually of a mind on this.

@NEStalgia You mention PlayStation is gaining Xbox customers, is there much evidence of this? Series S|X sales are only around 2 million behind Xbox One launch aligned. Not a huge deal all things considered.

Much more relevant the Switch is 100 million ahead of Wii U in total sales or 70+ million ahead launch aligned. Which do you think has had more of an impact?

The reason PS4 sold so well is that BOTH main competitors failed in the all important first half of the gen when the bulk of the sales are made. The fact PS5 is only just behind PS4, their fastest selling console, when they virtually had the market to themselves for the first 4 years is frankly superb numbers for them. That's even before we factor in PC/Steam gaining share.

You say sales have slumped... yet they have just had their most successful year of consoles sales EVER at 21.8 million. Yes going into year 5 sales will start to decline YoY, that is expected behaviour, which is also likely part of the reason for PS5 Pro.

Sony have some issues, but console sales is NOT one of them.

@HonestHick I believe legislators might intervene on the 30%, I just don’t think it will be forced by 2027. These things tend to get dragged out for MUCH longer. Even if it went to court then and they lost, there are appeals and other delaying tactics. More importantly consoles are luxury items not like phones or computers that are seen as everyday items needed to work and run life. The same rules may not apply. I think it’s a harder sell and there are some mitigating factors e.g. consoles sold at a loss. I’m not sure legislators will win.

@NEStalgia Re: digital PSN games. I see this stated a lot but it’s just factually untrue. You CAN buy digital keys for games on PlayStation on third party stores. Go to CD Keys or other stores and look yourself.

2. I didn’t say PlayStstion REVENUE is bad, it isn’t, I said their PROFIT MARGIN is bad. Very different things

3. What makes you say PS5 is selling badly? It’s just behind PS4 launch aligned, their fastest ever selling console, and is trending ahead of it recently. If it wasn’t for stock shortages early on it would likely be ahead. It’s selling amazingly well.

4. I agree consoles can’t keep chasing doubly better hardware tech alone, hence why I said PSSR / AI / ML is the future to temper this somewhat. The tech equivalent of “Working smarter not harder”. But right now inflation is rampant, Yen is weak, cost of everything is through the roof hence PS6 will be more expensive than PS5, unless a lot changes in next 4 years, but hopefully that won’t be the case every time, but it is NOW.

I agree with you that it might price out some consumers, but that has ALWAYS been the case, these are luxuries, but I suspect there will be others to fill that void. That isn’t consolation to those who will miss out, but that’s life.

@HonestHick Good points well made. I'd also add that in terms of Profit Margins Sony are almost certainly in the WORST position of the three with a very low 6-7% for the last 2 years. They really need to increase this, as it's not good at all.

And you are right about regulators looking at those 30% percentages, though I don't think consoles will be in the firing line as soon as 2027, but if they do they will probably making a loss their margins are so small. So while they crow about record REVENUES their financial position is much more precarious than they let on. They are putting on a brave face but really need to fix their finances.

EDIT: for reference they were at a much healthier 12.4% - 14% for the 4 financial years from 2018 - 2021.

@NEStalgia So you are saying consoles should be cheaper simply because people's buying power is less? That's a nice pipe dream, but just not realistic.

The cost of meaningful technological improvements are higher than ever, Moore's Law is deader than the Dodo. The cost of labour, manufacture and distribution are higher than ever. Sony simply cannot put out a technologically improved console at the same, or lower, cost without seriously scrimping on specs. See Switch or Series S as prime examples.

You are living in a dream world... though one I wished we all lived in

@Medic_alert Over last gen yes... at least from what we can glean. Microsoft don't usually publish specific Xbox/Microsoft gaming numbers unlike Sony. But industry financial analysts all say yes.

For reference the estimated numbers for all Microsoft's gaming revenue are usually around $7bn - $10bn annually last gen and then around $14bn - $15bn annually this gen BEFORE ABK (2021- 2023) and estimated at around $18bn - $21bn since ABK.

That's not to be confused with being around 4% down YoY recently if you discount ABK. This often happens, it often depends what games are released, the same happened for Sony in Q1 2022 (revenue down 1.9%) and Q3 2021 (revenue down 7.9%) you can't usually read too much into it, unless it's sustained.

@cuttlefishjones I agree with most of your post, but Xbox is only doing poorly if you look at console sales. In terms of revenue, players, engagement they are massively up on last gen. Considering they spread themselves across console, PC, cloud, etc. console sales aren't as relevant as they once were for them.

@AccessibleDaydream @Neither_scene @Blofse I don't buy this at all. If PS5 sells to 10% or 15% of the PlayStation fan base what does that prove? Nothing except a small proportion of the fanbase will pay more for high end tech, but more importantly it shows that 85% - 90% WON'T, Sony isn't going to give up on all those users.

Now don't mistake me. I don't think PS6 is going to be £449 like PS5. Unless financial markets crash and cost of tech materials plummets we will definitely see a more expensive PS6, times have changed, EVERYTHING is more expensive. But it isn't going to be £700 (or £700 plus inflation) unless Sony want to ruin their brand.

This is all very obvious. PSSR will not be a PS5 Pro exclusive feature it is the future for PlayStation, and similar tech will be in other consoles.

The fact is we can no longer expect huge gains in hardware alone, the costs are just too high, smart software like AI/ML algorithms for improved resolutions and more used in conjunction with better tech is how we will see generational gains.

@1UP-HUSKY And yet most people do this EVERY DAY with a mobile phone.

Personally I only see this as a good thing. If anyone decides they want one they may actually have a chance, unlike with the PS5 for about a year after launch.

As for whether it's been a success... until Sony provides actual sales numbers vs units made AND what their expectation were NOBODY else knows. Topics like this are just a mirror for people projecting their own views.

I still don't think Sony have done a good job of demonstrating it's worth. They made a mistake concentrating on first party games which almost always run well on their own hardware. But I do believe it will show it's worth over the next 3-4 years especially on third party titles.

But I also think they missed a trick by not having a 1TB model with a disc drive for the same price, £699. It would have been at the top end of my budget but I would have been in. But not at £825 with a stand.

Noted: IF I want to play this play it later NEXT year when they have patched it, release the complete edition and it is lower in price.

You are slightly missing the point. America - and the West in general - has no problem with showing flesh but the age rating needs to be not for all children. Similarly America and the West requires a higher age rating for violence. Again not for all children. Both of these seem fair.

Square Enix COULD have have kept the designs in the West but they wanted to have it be rated for kids. That's on them, not America/West.

@Medic_alert Physical copies can already be had for around £20

@NEStalgia Black Myth Wukong is a bit of a freak anomaly though. I don’t think it can be used as much as a representative example other than to say embracing the Chinese player base can have massive benefits to your bottom line. But most commenters here are usually anti this.

@NEStalgia you’re right about Sony having a lot of studios in expensive places, but you’re missing the order and context of that. They didn’t put them there because they are expensive places, they put them there because that’s where a lot of the top talent already was. It’s like when Microsoft created The Initiative and put them in Santa Monica to attract staff from SMS and other top studios. There are certain hubs that you want to be in if you want to attract top talent.

Obviously this is changing somewhat with WFH and more/ global destinations but a lot of the top AAA work is still located in these hubs. They have tried to mitigate these costs somewhat by having support studios located globally, especially for more widespread skills like art assets.

But as places like China, India, Indonesia, start to pull together to create their own games they are going to be able to undercut budgets, but what they don’t yet have is the experience. That will come.

@Frobe Likely they are reallocating stock from places that were not sold out.

@RagnarLothbrok Rubbish. I just tried mine and have full access.

@RagnarLothbrok It's not just inflation, the Yen is REALLY weak at the moment. They had a decade long low earlier this year and it has lost more than a third of its value since the start of 2021. The Japanese government has had to intervene several times to prop it up.

There's a few hundred PS5 Pro's on eBay, hardly a large amount.

And the 30th Anniversary PS5 Pro is less than 100 units globally. That's less than 1% of the total allocation. It's not scalpers it's just popular.