Team Ninja is the prime example of a studio that puts all its eggs in one basket: combat because they absolutely suck at everything else.
Remember all the crying about Sony no longer concentrating on Japan-centric games? Well here is a full blown Japanese developed game focused on gameplay over visuals and presentation. Let's see just how well this game sells because it will finally expose all those whiners who claim that Sony needs to go back to its Japanese roots if they actually put their money where their mouth is.
I'm calling it now, Sony's next console will be their worst selling with only the casual sports/shooter bros buying it (which admittedly is a large percent of the market) but the hardcore and enthusiast gamers will move to PC. It's already happening right now and I can personally attest to that because I see no compelling reason to buy a PS5 other than early access to a very small number of first-party games, which I (and many others) can easily hold out 2-3 years for PC ports.
With Xbox already waving the white flag, the console market is entirely Nintendo's for the taking and all they had to do was maintain the status quo.
@get2sammyb If that's true then Sony 1st party is doomed.
Astro Bot would never cost as much as most of Sony's other 1st party offerings; it forgoes things like voice/performance capture, extensive writing for story, lore and characters, detailed real life models and simulations (Gran Turismo) or a constant drip feed for new content (live service).
How did Naughty Dog manage to release 4 high quality games in the span of 6 years during the PS3 gen (2007-2013) but Team Asobi aren't able to release a single game? Is the cost and scope of a new Astro Bot really more than a PS3 era Naughty Dog game that it requires over 4 years for release?
I don't understand how Team Asobi hasn't delivered a follow up to a tech demo from the PS5's launch. We still have no idea what they're even making 4 years on.
Astro Bot was universally loved and was exactly the kind of game that shut up all the whining about Sony's heavy focus on cinematic games. These kinds of games would be the perfect release between the heavy hitters; shorter, lower budget releases at a cheaper price point and would go a long way to satiate the increasingly starving 1st party landscape.
I think it's safe to say PS VR2 has been a complete dud. The sales must have been very weak to pull this desperate move. It's already been one year and a grand total of 1 first party game has been released, with no signs of anything else coming soon with regards to first party.
I also don't understand how they're going to recoup the costs of selling an already subsidised headset to an open platform where they can't take a cut from software sales.
@11001100110zero It's subjective but in general I'd say a combination of good critical reviews, positive playerbase reception and awards in recognition of its excellence.
Xbox fans aren't petitioning for Microsoft to deliver good games but to have the competition bring their games to Xbox. Just shows the state of the Xbox fanbase and where their priorities lie.
Some massive damage control from Phil here. First he tries to assure Xbox fans that only these 4 "smaller" and "old" games are being ported but later says that he envisions less exclusives being made in the future. That statement only makes sense if Xbox ceases production of games to halt exclusives altogether or they already plan on going multiplatform but are too afraid to outright say it right now.
@Godot25 "Why would be a development time longer? Like I get that optimising game for PC takes a time"
You just answered your own question. Even if the console release is ready, would you rather they hold off just to get the PC version up to snuff?
"Sony even has Nixxes (PC port studio) that can be thrown from project to project to optimise PC versions before release."
Nixxes is a small studio, it's simply unfeasible for them to work on every project. That's why other outside studios like Iron Galaxy were brought in to port Naughty Dog's games to middling/poor results and required multiple patches over time to get up to an acceptable standard.
"Same for "games will be worse." Spider-Man 2 was pretty buggy (for standard of PS Studios games) and it was PS5 release only."
And you think adding more platforms to the mix won't amplify this? If you thought SM2 was buggy on one platform it's only going to get worse with simultaneous PC releases.
"And that "build around PS5 SSD" argument is just laughable. You know that PC currently boasts way higher transfer speeds for SSD then PlayStation 5, right?"
I specifcially mentioned low-mid range PCs that don't use comparable SSD speeds. Even so the number of games on PC that require SSD for DirectStorage is a tiny handful and every Digital Foundry comparison has shown PS5 handily beating PC when it comes to loading speeds.
"And I mean, yeah. PC version will probably be cheaper and won't require PS Plus for online play. But I don't understand why it is a problem."
It's a problem because with simultaneous PC releases PS5 owners are no longer getting the 1st class treatment expected from a platform holder. They no longer get the games early and are being fleeced for more money for a lesser experience. You can ask Xbox owners how they feel about their games going multiplatform to gauge a similar response as Xbox console owners.
I hope all the PS5 owners that are indifferent about the idea of day and date PC releases understand the consequences of what these actions will bring:
Development time will be further increased to ensure the game is up to standard on multiple platforms, so enjoy waiting even longer for 1st party games to come to PS5.
If dev time is not affected then game quality certainly will be, and expect games to ship with more bugs due to less time being devoted to polishing a single version.
Say goodbye to the idea of having games designed around the DualSense and PS5's SSD. Devs will be targeting the lowest common denominator from now on, which will be low-mid range PC owners who don't use DualSense or have comparable SSD speeds to PS5 owners. So essentially games will continue to be "held back" from their full potential just like that had been with the cross-gen releases.
Games will still be priced lower on PC storefronts than on the PS Store with even cheaper options available from cd key sellers. Now the premium £70/$70 price for the console release is even more laughable because there's no longer any justification for it. You no longer get the game years early, instead you pay more for a lesser, more restricted version than the PC version available at the same time.
PS+ will never be a requirement for online play on PC so in addition to paying more for the games alone you'll still need to be subscribed for online features on console.
A timeline and summary of everything Sony first party has released on PS5:
Astro's Playroom (2020) - Tech demo Demon's Souls (2020) - Remake of a PS3 game, still fully exclusive Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) - Cross-gen, released on PC Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered (2020) - Port of a PS4 game, released on PC Sackboy: A Big Adventure (2020) - Cross-gen, released on PC Destruction AllStars (2021) - Dead live service game, fully exclusive MLB The Show 21 (2021) - Cross-gen, day one on Xbox Game Pass Returnal (2021) - Released on PC Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021) - Released on PC Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut (2021) - Port of a PS4 game Death Stranding Director's Cut (2021) - Port of a PS4 game, released on PC Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (2022) - Ports of PS4 games, released on PC Horizon Forbidden West (2022) - Cross-gen, scheduled to release on PC soon Gran Turismo 7 (2022) - Cross-gen MLB The Show 22 (2022) - Cross-gen, day one on Xbox Game Pass, also on Switch The Last of Us Part I (2022) - Remake of a PS3 game, released on PC God of War Ragnarök (2022) - Cross-gen Horizon Call of the Mountain (2023) - PS VR2 exclusive MLB The Show 23 (2023) Cross-gen, day one on Xbox Game Pass, also on Switch Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023) - Currently exclusive; leak revealed PC port is in development The Last of Us Part II Remastered (2024) - Port of a PS4 game Helldivers 2 (2024) - Live service game, released day and date on PC with no PS+ requirement for PC
You can judge for yourself if this output makes a compelling case to own a PS5, which is already at the halfway stage of its lifespan.
I think it's fairly obvious that WB are to blame for Rocksteady being forced to create a game that they never believed in. It couldn't be more apparent when the 2 founders and main creative force behind the Batman Arkham games left mid-development.
Gran Turismo 7 will suffer this exact same fate a few years down the line. This is what you signed up for when you choose to accept always online games.
Anyone else remember when the UK OPM gave this trash a 9/10 and later it was discovered that the reviewer had been bribed with a trip to the Skywalker Ranch? It was one of the first cases that I remember of outright corruption in the industry.
I really hope Rockstar puts equal amounts of effort into gameplay as they do with the world, characters and presentation this time round, especially the gunplay and movement. It's been the biggest sore spot of this franchise.
@Martijn87 Mind if you name some of these titles? As far as I'm aware no previously purchased game has ever been removed from being downloadable except for P.T. on PS4, which was a free demo.
I think it's best to tread with caution when hyping this and that other game, Phantom Blade Zero. Both games are being developed by studios who've never made console games before and come from mobile game backgrounds.
I do have a little more faith in Stellar Blade than Phantom Blade Zero though, of which my suspicion is that the "combat" gameplay is nothing more than autoplaying scripted events unless proven otherwise.
This franchise reached its critical and cultural peak with the original Modern Warfare 2 in 2009. It's now almost 15 years later and has not even come close to regaining that status. Even though it continues to sell gangbusters it's been nothing but a downward spiral in every other aspect. And with Microsoft now at the helm you can definitely expect it to sink to even greater depths when they begin to enforce a "design for Gamepass" philosophy to future titles.
This studio had the potential of becoming Britain's answer to Nintendo, instead they chose to pursue becoming Britain's answer to Unity and completely misread what their customers wanted along the way.
I feel an 8/10 score for a collection of games 3 generations and older is way too generous; is the score really a good reflection of the standards of games expected today? Especially in the medium of video games where the standards and expectations are raised with every generation, because I'm certain newcomers will be put off from the archaic control scheme and lack of camera control and be left wondering how it received the same score as Spider-Man 2 for example.
In my opinion, when it comes to releases of old games the score should reflect the value of collection rather than the games itself; does it do enough to polish and modernise the games? Because from what I've seen it seems like a bare-bones port job with minor bug fixes. The quality of the games have been well documented for over 20 years; we all know they're all-time classics but that's not what this review should be about imo.
Not interested in a PS5 of any kind until I see a roadmap of games in development. It's been 3 years and the only worthwhile first-party game that isn't a remake/remaster/cross-gen/ported to PC is Spider-Man 2. I need concrete information on what first-party games are in development. If the majority are GaaS titles and the gap for PC ports doesn't increase to at least 3 years then I won't be buying a PS5 at all unless it's severely discounted.
3rd party exclusives are a complete waste of money this day and age. I can't think of a single 3rd party game that was billed as exclusive that actually remained exclusive to a single platform. Nobody's falling for that anymore, like how the GTA IV DLC was supposed to be permanently Xbox exclusive and we saw how that turned out.
Even when the exclusivity deal ends, other platform owners will not be inclined to support "sloppy seconds" thus ultimately harm the full sale potential of a game and continue holding resentment toward the company. Just look at the sales of Square Enix games on Xbox as an example.
I'd much rather Sony give up all 3rd party exclusivity deals and instead leverage their 1st party studios as full platform exclusives. They've already set a bad precedent with the accelerated PC ports, many will now choose to wait for the PC release instead and Sony will certainly lose out on maximising console sales and locking players to their ecosystem.
Can't wait to see what's going to happen when their GaaS games start releasing and requiring PS+ on console and not on PC. Helldivers 2 will be the first real test to see whether the PS fanbase actually has a backbone.
I'm cautiously pessimistic about this. I've always found Remedy games to have a great premise behind them but they always drop the ball when it comes to gameplay execution. This video does nothing to alleviate my concerns and the shockingly poor frame rate for a game so close to release doesn't help either.
Anybody remember the dark ages of Internet Explorer 6?
Well that's exactly what would happen if there was only one gaming platform; massive hardware stagnation with no motivation for innovation. Of course devs would love this because then they could maximise sales by targeting the lowest common denominator and put the least amount of effort into development. It makes no business sense for them to push for high spec requirements because they'll never make their money back if only tiny segment of the market has the means to play the game at all, and we'll all suffer from shoddy looking games.
That's why consoles specifically are crucial for video game advancement. Without a base console to target we would just be getting mobile phone tier games from most devs.
And you can't conflate music and movies to video games because unlike music and movies, games require a minimum base spec of hardware and software to run, hardware that's continually evolving, which isn't the case for movies and music.
@Shinnok789 Unfortunately I don't think unlockable fighters will ever be a thing in fighting games anymore due to the shift in focus to online multiplayer, where every in-game character needs to be immediately accessible for matchups.
@naruball You're the one being disingenous with your comparison, "It's gone as low as 29.39 USD" but your own link shows the game is currently $69.99
And the irony of saying I'm cherry picking when you're listing Amazon prices for physical copies when I clearly stated I made a like-for-like digital retail store comparison. The Amazon prices are worthless to a Digital PS5 owner.
If I wanted to cherry pick I would have just listed any number of legitimate cd-key sellers for PC that price games even lower than on Steam.
I mentioned piracy because everyone that has a PC has that option available to them. It's entirely up to them whether their conscience allows them to make use of this. Consoles will never have PC beat when it comes to digital game pricing unless they incorporate DRM that prevents piracy.
I'm not including temporary discounted prices or subscription addons here. If you want to use these as a price win over PC just remember PC owners can just as easily pull out the piracy card and end the comparison right there.
Anyone still buying these games on console at £70 really ought to re-evaluate their spending habits because you're straight up getting fleeced by Sony.
Again Valve are the real winners of this generation. Both PlayStation and Xbox have succumbed to Steam yet Valve gets to keep an iron grip on Half-Life Alyx, it's as if they understand the importance of exclusives to attract and lock down customers.
The majority of games showcased here were of the quality you'd expect from a Game Awards/Summer Game Fest/PC Gaming show. A bunch of no-name indie devs should not be the main attraction to any console maker's big showcase event, especially when they're not even exclusive in the first place.
Xbox manages to get away with these kinds of game reveals because they at least advertise that all the games on their show will appear on GamePass from day one, so at the very least subscribers will check out games that interests them. Sony on the other hand actually believes their audience will go out and buy most of these games. They're completely out of touch if they sincerely believe the average PlayStation fan/owner cares about 90% of the titles they showcased, which were nothing but CG trailers, live service games and low budget indie titles that don't even justify the need for PS5 hardware.
@TrickyDicky99 It's already happening: the fine print during the Helldivers 2 trailer says "PS Plus membership required for online multiplayer", though it's not clear if that also means for PC but I very much doubt it if they have any hope of actually selling the game there.
I've always maintained that Sony should either drop the paywall when cross-play is involved or charge PC players to access PSN players while still allowing them to play with other PC players for free. Those are the only equitable solutions.
This honestly was pretty disappointing from a visual standpoint. I was hoping to be blown away after all the hype about how Insomniac will fully utilise the PS5's capabilities, but other than the instant loading there's nothing about this that screams current gen only. The textures in particular are still too blurry, like they were on PS4. It also doesn't help that the gameplay isn't shown in 60 fps.
When Jim Ryan said 2-3 years for games to go to PC I hope he meant the big tentpole single player titles will take at least 3 years and not 2. A 3 year gap is just inconvenient enough to make a PS5 purchase worth it but 2 years absolutely isn't. I don't mind if the less successful and more niche titles go to PC within 2 years though like Returnal since they clearly aren't system sellers.
Ideally would have preferred a 4-5 year gap since that's the typical time it takes for a studio to release their next game, so while the old game is releasing on PC the new one is about to come out on PS5.
How many of these titles do we realistically expect to be free-to-play? I can't imagine all of them will be, and will console players accept the PS+ requirement for online when PC players can play for free and cross-platform no less? These are the questions I need answered.
It's one thing to take inspiration from another game but replicating both the gameplay and visual style just comes across as shameless. Even the animations look like they were lifted straight from Jet Set Radio.
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Re: Preview: Rise of the Ronin Shows Promise, But It's No Showstopper Yet
Team Ninja is the prime example of a studio that puts all its eggs in one basket: combat because they absolutely suck at everything else.
Remember all the crying about Sony no longer concentrating on Japan-centric games? Well here is a full blown Japanese developed game focused on gameplay over visuals and presentation. Let's see just how well this game sells because it will finally expose all those whiners who claim that Sony needs to go back to its Japanese roots if they actually put their money where their mouth is.
Re: Exclusivity Is the Achilles' Heel of Huge Blockbusters, Says Former PlayStation Exec
I'm calling it now, Sony's next console will be their worst selling with only the casual sports/shooter bros buying it (which admittedly is a large percent of the market) but the hardcore and enthusiast gamers will move to PC. It's already happening right now and I can personally attest to that because I see no compelling reason to buy a PS5 other than early access to a very small number of first-party games, which I (and many others) can easily hold out 2-3 years for PC ports.
With Xbox already waving the white flag, the console market is entirely Nintendo's for the taking and all they had to do was maintain the status quo.
Re: Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut Finally Confirmed for PC, Launches This May
PS Store price for PS5: £69.99
PS Store price for PS4: £59.99
Steam/EGS price for PC: £49.99
Make it make sense.
Re: Capcom's PS5 Action Game Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Continues to Show Promise
Capcom launching this game on GamePass day 1 tells you everything you need to know about this game.
Re: Reaction: The Problem with PlayStation Right Now
@get2sammyb If that's true then Sony 1st party is doomed.
Astro Bot would never cost as much as most of Sony's other 1st party offerings; it forgoes things like voice/performance capture, extensive writing for story, lore and characters, detailed real life models and simulations (Gran Turismo) or a constant drip feed for new content (live service).
How did Naughty Dog manage to release 4 high quality games in the span of 6 years during the PS3 gen (2007-2013) but Team Asobi aren't able to release a single game? Is the cost and scope of a new Astro Bot really more than a PS3 era Naughty Dog game that it requires over 4 years for release?
Re: Reaction: The Problem with PlayStation Right Now
I don't understand how Team Asobi hasn't delivered a follow up to a tech demo from the PS5's launch. We still have no idea what they're even making 4 years on.
Astro Bot was universally loved and was exactly the kind of game that shut up all the whining about Sony's heavy focus on cinematic games. These kinds of games would be the perfect release between the heavy hitters; shorter, lower budget releases at a cheaper price point and would go a long way to satiate the increasingly starving 1st party landscape.
Re: Sony Testing PSVR2 Compatibility on PC, Aiming for This Year
I think it's safe to say PS VR2 has been a complete dud. The sales must have been very weak to pull this desperate move. It's already been one year and a grand total of 1 first party game has been released, with no signs of anything else coming soon with regards to first party.
I also don't understand how they're going to recoup the costs of selling an already subsidised headset to an open platform where they can't take a cut from software sales.
Re: Xbox Fans Petitioning for Helldivers 2 to Launch on Xbox
@11001100110zero It's subjective but in general I'd say a combination of good critical reviews, positive playerbase reception and awards in recognition of its excellence.
Re: Xbox Fans Petitioning for Helldivers 2 to Launch on Xbox
Xbox fans aren't petitioning for Microsoft to deliver good games but to have the competition bring their games to Xbox. Just shows the state of the Xbox fanbase and where their priorities lie.
Re: Xbox Is Bringing Four Exclusives to PS5, But It Won't Say Which
Some massive damage control from Phil here. First he tries to assure Xbox fans that only these 4 "smaller" and "old" games are being ported but later says that he envisions less exclusives being made in the future. That statement only makes sense if Xbox ceases production of games to halt exclusives altogether or they already plan on going multiplatform but are too afraid to outright say it right now.
Re: Sony Plans to Improve Profit Margins with 'Aggressive' PC Release Strategy
@Godot25 "Why would be a development time longer? Like I get that optimising game for PC takes a time"
You just answered your own question. Even if the console release is ready, would you rather they hold off just to get the PC version up to snuff?
"Sony even has Nixxes (PC port studio) that can be thrown from project to project to optimise PC versions before release."
Nixxes is a small studio, it's simply unfeasible for them to work on every project. That's why other outside studios like Iron Galaxy were brought in to port Naughty Dog's games to middling/poor results and required multiple patches over time to get up to an acceptable standard.
"Same for "games will be worse." Spider-Man 2 was pretty buggy (for standard of PS Studios games) and it was PS5 release only."
And you think adding more platforms to the mix won't amplify this? If you thought SM2 was buggy on one platform it's only going to get worse with simultaneous PC releases.
"And that "build around PS5 SSD" argument is just laughable. You know that PC currently boasts way higher transfer speeds for SSD then PlayStation 5, right?"
I specifcially mentioned low-mid range PCs that don't use comparable SSD speeds. Even so the number of games on PC that require SSD for DirectStorage is a tiny handful and every Digital Foundry comparison has shown PS5 handily beating PC when it comes to loading speeds.
"And I mean, yeah. PC version will probably be cheaper and won't require PS Plus for online play. But I don't understand why it is a problem."
It's a problem because with simultaneous PC releases PS5 owners are no longer getting the 1st class treatment expected from a platform holder. They no longer get the games early and are being fleeced for more money for a lesser experience. You can ask Xbox owners how they feel about their games going multiplatform to gauge a similar response as Xbox console owners.
Re: Sony Plans to Improve Profit Margins with 'Aggressive' PC Release Strategy
I hope all the PS5 owners that are indifferent about the idea of day and date PC releases understand the consequences of what these actions will bring:
Re: Sony Predicts Slide in PS5 Sales with No Major Existing IPs Planned Before March 2025
A timeline and summary of everything Sony first party has released on PS5:
Astro's Playroom (2020) - Tech demo
Demon's Souls (2020) - Remake of a PS3 game, still fully exclusive
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) - Cross-gen, released on PC
Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered (2020) - Port of a PS4 game, released on PC
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (2020) - Cross-gen, released on PC
Destruction AllStars (2021) - Dead live service game, fully exclusive
MLB The Show 21 (2021) - Cross-gen, day one on Xbox Game Pass
Returnal (2021) - Released on PC
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021) - Released on PC
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut (2021) - Port of a PS4 game
Death Stranding Director's Cut (2021) - Port of a PS4 game, released on PC
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (2022) - Ports of PS4 games, released on PC
Horizon Forbidden West (2022) - Cross-gen, scheduled to release on PC soon
Gran Turismo 7 (2022) - Cross-gen
MLB The Show 22 (2022) - Cross-gen, day one on Xbox Game Pass, also on Switch
The Last of Us Part I (2022) - Remake of a PS3 game, released on PC
God of War Ragnarök (2022) - Cross-gen
Horizon Call of the Mountain (2023) - PS VR2 exclusive
MLB The Show 23 (2023) Cross-gen, day one on Xbox Game Pass, also on Switch
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023) - Currently exclusive; leak revealed PC port is in development
The Last of Us Part II Remastered (2024) - Port of a PS4 game
Helldivers 2 (2024) - Live service game, released day and date on PC with no PS+ requirement for PC
You can judge for yourself if this output makes a compelling case to own a PS5, which is already at the halfway stage of its lifespan.
Re: Microsoft's Recent Layoffs Contradict Activision Blizzard Buyout Pledges, Says FTC
@Splat Shinji Mikami and the co-founder/studio director of Playground games, Gavin Raeburn also bailed.
Re: Evidence of Rockin' Xbox Exclusive Hi-Fi Rush Coming to PS5 Continues to Mount
Removed
Re: Sony Partners with Hideo Kojima on Physint, Basically Sounds Like a Metal Gear Successor
See you in about 5 years when we'll probably see the first glimpse of this game.
Re: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Previews Are Far from Positive
I think it's fairly obvious that WB are to blame for Rocksteady being forced to create a game that they never believed in. It couldn't be more apparent when the 2 founders and main creative force behind the Batman Arkham games left mid-development.
Re: Pour One Out for Gran Turismo Sport, Now Delisted from PS Store
Gran Turismo 7 will suffer this exact same fate a few years down the line. This is what you signed up for when you choose to accept always online games.
Re: PlayStation Blog Wants Your PS5, PS4 Game of the Year Votes
The only place on the internet where Spider-Man 2 will actually win awards.
Re: PS Plus Premium Will Add PS1's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Next
Anyone else remember when the UK OPM gave this trash a 9/10 and later it was discovered that the reviewer had been bribed with a trip to the Skywalker Ranch? It was one of the first cases that I remember of outright corruption in the industry.
Re: GTA 6 Trailer Out Now, 2025 Release Window Revealed
I really hope Rockstar puts equal amounts of effort into gameplay as they do with the world, characters and presentation this time round, especially the gunplay and movement. It's been the biggest sore spot of this franchise.
Re: PlayStation Users Set to Lose Hundreds of TV Shows They Paid For
@Martijn87 Mind if you name some of these titles? As far as I'm aware no previously purchased game has ever been removed from being downloadable except for P.T. on PS4, which was a free demo.
Re: Stellar Blade PS5 Dev Shift Up Allegedly Signs on As Sony Second-Party
I think it's best to tread with caution when hyping this and that other game, Phantom Blade Zero. Both games are being developed by studios who've never made console games before and come from mobile game backgrounds.
I do have a little more faith in Stellar Blade than Phantom Blade Zero though, of which my suspicion is that the "combat" gameplay is nothing more than autoplaying scripted events unless proven otherwise.
Re: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's First PS5, PS4 Campaign Review Is a Massacre
This franchise reached its critical and cultural peak with the original Modern Warfare 2 in 2009. It's now almost 15 years later and has not even come close to regaining that status. Even though it continues to sell gangbusters it's been nothing but a downward spiral in every other aspect. And with Microsoft now at the helm you can definitely expect it to sink to even greater depths when they begin to enforce a "design for Gamepass" philosophy to future titles.
Re: Interest in Destiny 2 Reportedly at an All-Time Low
@Bamila They've got some stiff competition amongst Haven, Firewalk and Media Molecule as the worst purchase.
Re: Media Molecule Confirms Report of Layoffs, Has Begun Consultation Process
This studio had the potential of becoming Britain's answer to Nintendo, instead they chose to pursue becoming Britain's answer to Unity and completely misread what their customers wanted along the way.
Re: Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection (PS5) - Three Classics in One Messy Bundle
I feel an 8/10 score for a collection of games 3 generations and older is way too generous; is the score really a good reflection of the standards of games expected today? Especially in the medium of video games where the standards and expectations are raised with every generation, because I'm certain newcomers will be put off from the archaic control scheme and lack of camera control and be left wondering how it received the same score as Spider-Man 2 for example.
In my opinion, when it comes to releases of old games the score should reflect the value of collection rather than the games itself; does it do enough to polish and modernise the games? Because from what I've seen it seems like a bare-bones port job with minor bug fixes. The quality of the games have been well documented for over 20 years; we all know they're all-time classics but that's not what this review should be about imo.
Re: Poll: Will You Be Buying a PS5 'Slim'?
Not interested in a PS5 of any kind until I see a roadmap of games in development. It's been 3 years and the only worthwhile first-party game that isn't a remake/remaster/cross-gen/ported to PC is Spider-Man 2. I need concrete information on what first-party games are in development. If the majority are GaaS titles and the gap for PC ports doesn't increase to at least 3 years then I won't be buying a PS5 at all unless it's severely discounted.
Re: Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition Officially Announced for PS5, PC
For those of us keeping score:
Games released by Sony for PS5 in 2023:
Games released/announced by Sony for PC in 2023:
And of course Helldivers 2, Fairgame$ and Concord will launch on both platforms simultaneously.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is a PS5 Exclusive for 'At Least' Three Months
3rd party exclusives are a complete waste of money this day and age. I can't think of a single 3rd party game that was billed as exclusive that actually remained exclusive to a single platform. Nobody's falling for that anymore, like how the GTA IV DLC was supposed to be permanently Xbox exclusive and we saw how that turned out.
Even when the exclusivity deal ends, other platform owners will not be inclined to support "sloppy seconds" thus ultimately harm the full sale potential of a game and continue holding resentment toward the company. Just look at the sales of Square Enix games on Xbox as an example.
I'd much rather Sony give up all 3rd party exclusivity deals and instead leverage their 1st party studios as full platform exclusives. They've already set a bad precedent with the accelerated PC ports, many will now choose to wait for the PC release instead and Sony will certainly lose out on maximising console sales and locking players to their ecosystem.
Re: State of Play Livestream Revealed for Thursday, a Focus on Indie and Third-Party Games
Tremendous use of resources to promote games that will launch multiplatform instead of showcasing why people should own a PlayStation 5.
Re: PS Plus Essential, Extra, Premium Price Increases Announced by Sony
Can't wait to see what's going to happen when their GaaS games start releasing and requiring PS+ on console and not on PC. Helldivers 2 will be the first real test to see whether the PS fanbase actually has a backbone.
Re: God Damn! Alan Wake 2 Just Looks Incredible on PS5
I'm cautiously pessimistic about this. I've always found Remedy games to have a great premise behind them but they always drop the ball when it comes to gameplay execution. This video does nothing to alleviate my concerns and the shockingly poor frame rate for a game so close to release doesn't help either.
Re: Final Fantasy 16 Producer Reckons One Gaming Platform Would Be Better for Everyone
Anybody remember the dark ages of Internet Explorer 6?
Well that's exactly what would happen if there was only one gaming platform; massive hardware stagnation with no motivation for innovation. Of course devs would love this because then they could maximise sales by targeting the lowest common denominator and put the least amount of effort into development. It makes no business sense for them to push for high spec requirements because they'll never make their money back if only tiny segment of the market has the means to play the game at all, and we'll all suffer from shoddy looking games.
That's why consoles specifically are crucial for video game advancement. Without a base console to target we would just be getting mobile phone tier games from most devs.
And you can't conflate music and movies to video games because unlike music and movies, games require a minimum base spec of hardware and software to run, hardware that's continually evolving, which isn't the case for movies and music.
Re: CD Projekt Exec Suggests Cyberpunk 2077 Launch Not That Bad, Actually, Dunking 'Became a Cool Thing'
The nerve of these guys to now start gaslighting what actually happened.
Re: Sony's PC Port Dev Nixxes Under the Microscope in Studio Profile Video
Imagine having a dedicated studio whose sole purpose is to kneecap your own flagship product.
Re: Mortal Kombat 1 Will Bury Krypt System for Unlocks, Replacement Teased for PS5 Release
@Shinnok789 Unfortunately I don't think unlockable fighters will ever be a thing in fighting games anymore due to the shift in focus to online multiplayer, where every in-game character needs to be immediately accessible for matchups.
Re: PS5 Showpiece Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Jumps to the PC Dimension in July
@naruball You're the one being disingenous with your comparison, "It's gone as low as 29.39 USD" but your own link shows the game is currently $69.99
And the irony of saying I'm cherry picking when you're listing Amazon prices for physical copies when I clearly stated I made a like-for-like digital retail store comparison. The Amazon prices are worthless to a Digital PS5 owner.
If I wanted to cherry pick I would have just listed any number of legitimate cd-key sellers for PC that price games even lower than on Steam.
I mentioned piracy because everyone that has a PC has that option available to them. It's entirely up to them whether their conscience allows them to make use of this. Consoles will never have PC beat when it comes to digital game pricing unless they incorporate DRM that prevents piracy.
Re: PS5 Showpiece Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Jumps to the PC Dimension in July
@naruball I'm comparing like-for-like digital retail stores at their normal selling price.
Steam has it at £49.99: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1895880/Ratchet__Clank_Rift_Apart/
PS Store has it at £69.99: https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP9000-PPSA01474_00-RATCHETCLANKRIFT
I'm not including temporary discounted prices or subscription addons here. If you want to use these as a price win over PC just remember PC owners can just as easily pull out the piracy card and end the comparison right there.
Re: PS5 Showpiece Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Jumps to the PC Dimension in July
£49.99 on Steam and still £69.99 on PS Store.
Anyone still buying these games on console at £70 really ought to re-evaluate their spending habits because you're straight up getting fleeced by Sony.
Re: PS5 Showpiece Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Jumps to the PC Dimension in July
Again Valve are the real winners of this generation. Both PlayStation and Xbox have succumbed to Steam yet Valve gets to keep an iron grip on Half-Life Alyx, it's as if they understand the importance of exclusives to attract and lock down customers.
Re: PlayStation Showcase Completely Divided Fan Opinion
The majority of games showcased here were of the quality you'd expect from a Game Awards/Summer Game Fest/PC Gaming show. A bunch of no-name indie devs should not be the main attraction to any console maker's big showcase event, especially when they're not even exclusive in the first place.
Xbox manages to get away with these kinds of game reveals because they at least advertise that all the games on their show will appear on GamePass from day one, so at the very least subscribers will check out games that interests them. Sony on the other hand actually believes their audience will go out and buy most of these games. They're completely out of touch if they sincerely believe the average PlayStation fan/owner cares about 90% of the titles they showcased, which were nothing but CG trailers, live service games and low budget indie titles that don't even justify the need for PS5 hardware.
Re: Reaction: Sony's PS5, PC Live Service Strategy Won't Work If It's All Samey Shooters
@TrickyDicky99 It's already happening: the fine print during the Helldivers 2 trailer says "PS Plus membership required for online multiplayer", though it's not clear if that also means for PC but I very much doubt it if they have any hope of actually selling the game there.
I've always maintained that Sony should either drop the paywall when cross-play is involved or charge PC players to access PSN players while still allowing them to play with other PC players for free. Those are the only equitable solutions.
Re: Foamstars Is Square Enix's Answer to Splatoon on PS5, PS4
This is Square Enix's response to Splatoon as Balan Wonderworld was to Super Mario Odyssey.
Re: Fairgame$ May Be Sony's Most Tone Deaf PS5, PC Title to Date
You can feel the stench of Ubisoft from this game. This studio does not fit in with Sony's first-party stable at all.
Re: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Swings Back with Stunning PS5 Gameplay Trailer
This honestly was pretty disappointing from a visual standpoint. I was hoping to be blown away after all the hype about how Insomniac will fully utilise the PS5's capabilities, but other than the instant loading there's nothing about this that screams current gen only. The textures in particular are still too blurry, like they were on PS4. It also doesn't help that the gameplay isn't shown in 60 fps.
Re: Poll: Was This Sony's Best PlayStation Showcase Yet?
This was utterly dreadful and my faith in Sony is now at an all time low.
Re: Sony Won't Back Down on PC Ports, But PS5 Is the Priority
When Jim Ryan said 2-3 years for games to go to PC I hope he meant the big tentpole single player titles will take at least 3 years and not 2. A 3 year gap is just inconvenient enough to make a PS5 purchase worth it but 2 years absolutely isn't. I don't mind if the less successful and more niche titles go to PC within 2 years though like Returnal since they clearly aren't system sellers.
Ideally would have preferred a 4-5 year gap since that's the typical time it takes for a studio to release their next game, so while the old game is releasing on PC the new one is about to come out on PS5.
Re: Sony: We're Not Just Creating 10 Live Service Destiny or Fortnite Games
How many of these titles do we realistically expect to be free-to-play? I can't imagine all of them will be, and will console players accept the PS+ requirement for online when PC players can play for free and cross-platform no less? These are the questions I need answered.
Re: Slick Jet Set Radio Successor Bomb Rush Cyberfunk Should Paint PS5, PS4 After Timed Switch Exclusivity
It's one thing to take inspiration from another game but replicating both the gameplay and visual style just comes across as shameless. Even the animations look like they were lifted straight from Jet Set Radio.