zupertramp

@R1spam Or it's hard to sell a headset as cheap as they were without the data mining aspect to subsidize it. Also my take is they've probably been pouring money into their VR meta stuff with little return. This is one of the outcomes.

@dellyrascal In many respects, I feel similarly. I gamed on PC for years through my early teens and late 20s. And now I'm old(er) and just do not want to deal with the headache. So it's not something I stress over but yeah, if I were calling the shots console exclusives would remain on console - to further entice people into a proprietary ecosystem.

Yet despite me having it all figured out no one asks me to be in charge. 🤷 So it is what it is, yes.

@dellyrascal yeah it's just that no one is stopping people who can't play Returnal (and other exclusives) from ponying up the cash for a console like the rest of us. Like when I love an exclusive title sure I'd like everyone to play it meaning I think they should get a PlayStation, not get the game on PC with better specs and cheaper.

@Milktastrophe funny thing is you probably could replace it with a kart and it would be just as fun. Which kinda supports Liam's point.

@Jettstyles but you can also turn the TV off in most cases and still play whatever through the headset. that's sometimes handy.

@BritneyfR_ee in terms of specs the PSVR2 will be superior in pretty much every way (except for the wire) so I imagine it will be more expensive.

Sigh Like this comment from yet another article about TLoU Part I:

DualWielding2:26pm
"The problem is that they are thinking of two different things.. the Naughty Dog Developers are looking at how much work they put onto it and how technologically superior it is... But that's mot relevant to most consumers.. consumers don't care about real time vs pre rendered or any of that... Only how betters it looks, and to the untrained eye it doesn't look $70.00 better"

Like, it's so back and forth depending on who you ask as to whether the issue is mechanics or it just doesn't look good enough. The mechanics criticism is somewhat more fair, even if certain mechanics would have broken the game, but it doesn't look that much better?! No one being honest can sit down right now, boot up TLoU Remastered, and say it looks even close to as good as 2. Which is what this remake is doing. Feel like everyone agrees 2 looks amazing. Probably the best looking game on PS4 but then you tell people well hey let's make the first one look like that and then suddenly the difference isn't that drastic in their eyes. It's like, what?

No worries on the lengthy reply. It's crazy how long a reply can get when you feel you haven't even said that much. Not sure I catch the deleted content part but in any case I'm not too interested in getting mired in an overly complex economic discussion. I frankly hate talking economics. Could be that I'm a child of the 80s and all I've every known is the unfettered capitalism that you say is a broken free market. I see it as just where capitalism is and always will end up but we can agree to disagree on that.

Not sure endless inflation on discretionary items was where I was going with my comments but yeah they are always going to go up when other costs (and wages) go up. But with considerations like market size also dictating how much prices can rise, as you've mentioned. Interestingly I've bought textbooks that were a couple hundred. Another racket for another discussion though.

Also like, the bloated budgets... I'm bewildered because budgets for every artistic medium have that. And it's either your thing or it's not. But I don't know that the companies churning out any high budget content are forcing the costs onto consumers because that assumes consumers have to buy but they don't. Big budget stuff isn't for everyone and that's okay. That's why there usually exists room for indie stuff. Movies, music, literature... I'm happy there's a spectrum. Should there not be?

But anyway, to swing this back around, I still think the leak was essentially a low blow. Even more statements coming out now about how much of a misrepresentation it is of the final product.

I could be wrong and this could be a near identical replay of 2077 but I'm willing to give these guys the benefit of the doubt until they prove me wrong. And I stand by the notion that this is probably the best approach to this. If they've yet to screw over consumers thus far, is it not possible people are just jumping to conclusions? And that's rhetorical, I'm willing to agree to disagree on this as well lol.

@NEStalgia one thing that sticks out for me here is the broader convo on price points. I can honestly say my perception of a reasonable price is detached from valued added at point of production. Because frankly I have no idea about the economics on their side and really never have -and don't care that much if I'm being honest. Like when I'd send off for my $30-$40 copy of Rise of the Triad or Sim Ant in PC Gamer or whatever (back in the 90s)... did those prices reflect production costs? I have no idea but I can't imagine these games cost anything more than the man hours it took the nerds from that era to program/render graphics and gameplay. We're probably talking really small teams with really low budgets. And the money they charged then has little of that buying power now in any market. Yet the budgets and employees on AAA titles have grown astronomically, further blurring the lines in my view of what a fair price is. So fair price for me usually just comes out to whatever I can reasonably afford. Feel like it's that way with most things. Believe that's called price elasticity.

And so then we get into a larger conversation about capitalism, which I'm absolutely not here to defend but rather acknowledge the reality of its existence and its impact on how companies decide on price. Which is to say, it's always been about "what's the most we can ask for this without having adverse impact on demand." That's the universal calculation. Maybe you're right that there was a symbiosis before but idk, I'm more cynical on that.

Anyway, definitely have no problem agreeing $39.99 or possibly $49.99 at worst would have been the sweet spot for a game like this.

I really thought I was the only one who felt this way, so I've mostly just been keeping that opinion to myself. But since you brought it up yeah, game's just okay.

Well, I don't know who the writer is and this artist is the reason I'm not really into the current Harley Quinn so idk. Also depends on if they bump these up a dollar each on account of the in-game item code, which they probably will. Plus Zdarsky just started his Batman run so might have to pass on this.

I find it hard to believe the skins won't pop up somewhere around the time of the show's release. That's just too much easy publicity/revenue to pass up.

@NEStalgia fwiw I don't like the price either. I've never defended the price other than to say everything is expensive at the moment so why not games. More resignation than a defense. But, even then this is the launch price which no one is required to pay if they don't want. That's why, in spite of really looking forward to this game, I still haven't pre-ordered. One, because pre-ordering is kinda dumb (unless it's a physical edition that could sell out) and two, I'm not sure if I want to pay $70 when I could probably just wait a few months and pay less. Much less I'm guessing.

But on the whole, the value added is greater imo than some people are giving it credit for. This is subjective though. I really love this game and maybe it's because I spent several months recently in a playthrough where my sole focus was capturing photos but this game really does look dated. There's this really large contingent of folks who won't even acknowledge that. Which I find odd. But for me, just the graphical upgrade means a lot. And in turn, is worth paying for.

And yes most of the disgruntled conversation is around mechanics, i.e. lack of prone and dodge. I almost took a screenshot of someone on Twitter saying they are going to sell their collectors edition when they get it because there's no prone. Lol. So yeah I get that's most of the criticism I'm just pointing out it's not the entirety of it.

Kinda like I'm not saying real time cutscenes is THE feature, anymore than cupholders are when you're picking a car, but it is something that's built in and maybe worth one's consideration. Just seems if some bit of work they've done, however small, benefits the seamlessness of your playthrough then credit where it's due.

I'm not entirely convinced this will sell all that well anyway. Or better yet, it will sell well but with all the negative press and people now having a more complete picture of what's on offer, it probably won't live up to whatever projections they may have had. Because I'll admit they botched this, much like Sony does, because this should have been a comfortable, right out of the park home run.

Still in a world where we have Nintendo, (or heck even Apple) it's hard for me to really grasp the fervent outrage toward ND/Sony here. They are certainly all guilty of shenanigans and if that's a bridge too far don't buy, or wait for a sale (at least in Sony's case because those other two companies wouldn't dare sully their reps pandering to broke plebs).

Wow that was longer than I intended.

@NEStalgia idk, feel like there are several things you can't truly discern from the leak. Expanded accessibility options? Nope. Haptic feedback? Nope. Improved enemy and buddy AI? Also no. Real time cutscenes? Didn't seem to show that either.

The leak shortchanged the amount of work that went into this and almost purposely downplayed the vast improvements made by virtue of it releasing with no explanation of anything else the game might have going for it that wouldn't be evidenced in some selective snippets of gameplay.

Now I was solidly one who thought "upgraded gameplay mechanics" meant Joel going prone and dodging and such. I was wrong and despite their somewhat leading phrasing I feel like that's more on me; I assumed. So I'm disappointed but was that the only selling point for me? Absolutely not. It was just one more cool thing in what I see as a really cool remaster/remake.

And I'm gonna disagree that some aren't displeased because of what's being perceived as a lack of visual improvement. I can cite both comments from this site and Twitter saying there's no difference in visual quality (or so little a difference that it's negligible) and that's including the first video ND released of mostly cutscenes. And the leak just went on to confirm what some already wanted to believe.

And that's some of the issue I'm having here, if you could even call it that. I just think this leak served as confirmation bias to those who already wanted to hate this.

@Grumblevolcano Right? I was thinking this seemed more likely. Like I'd hope motion capture for an expansion would already be done. Can't even be that far out from now before its release. But Idk.

@NEStalgia and I gotta be honest, I don't know what the propose of the leak was. am I supposed to believe ND were never going to show anything until release?

Sorry about double post btw. Afterthought.

@NEStalgia it's an incomplete picture of the final product. to dismiss that as nothing seems a bit bizarre. the leaked vids reflect very little of the actual final game. they are a couple minute vids of shoddily captured gameplay footage with absolutely no context. I don't understand how that isn't relevant. Simply put: no one is doing themselves any favors, in regards to making an informed decision, by judging a game off a few minutes of quality-compromised, compressed YouTube footage on a 5"-6" screen with no info.

And yet you literally had people in the comments of the leaks saying it doesn't even look that good or it was barely any different. Like bro, I watched Captain Marvel off a cam rip and it looked atrocious but I'm guessing in all actuality it looks pretty much the same as every Marvel movie.

Not saying to put blind trust in all promotional material either but to write a game off on the leaked footage alone is straight silly.

@NEStalgia this isn't the same as the leaked footage though. Even the person who leaked admitted that it wasn't at the quality of final product due to their capture method. Yes, gameplay elements that many assumed would be added are absent from both, as they simply aren't in the game unfortunately, but it seems like people are just as critical of that as they were prior. We're just seeing a more complete picture of the other improvements with this promotional release.

But yeah the leaked footage did not represent the game in terms of visual fidelity, nor did it give a complete picture of all the additions. Surely you can concede that it's fairer to judge a game on official footage, rather than a few short, fuzzy videos.

Also don't see the harm in the redirect, but that's just me. I feel like you and I have been having an extension of the same conversation over like 5 articles. Discourse doesn't end because an article becomes inaccessible. And the leaked footage wasn't really genuine. This is. It really should take priority. Still plenty to criticize even watching official videos.

@NEStalgia definitely won't argue with you that they could cost less. although albums are the price they are because bands/artists/record companies have the benefit of also touring. And my God are they proud of the couple hours entertainment they provide these days. Then with movies you have theatrical releases. That is much of the revenue stream right there.

Games simply don't have those luxuries. So I don't think they'll ever be able to compete price wise.

Some kind of meeting in the middle would be nice though.

I don't really understand the complaints about the missing multiplayer. Most seem to be coming from the "cash grab" camp who've made fairly clear the PS4 remaster plays fine. And if that's the case why would its multiplayer need to be included here?

Also why would you remake Factions with Factions 2 soon to follow?

@LiamCroft I wish articles about videos would have a summation of what's in the video because I'm just not much of a video watcher. I prefer to read. Much of this just has to do with where I'm physically at while accessing the site. Anyway just a thought.

Really want this but still waiting for a sale. It's looking like it could be a while. I'd settle for just about any amount off at this point.

While I appreciate companies giving upgrade paths, I am struck by the way this is handled in other forms of media. When Counting Crows releases a remastered anniversary edition of August and Everything After I don't get a discount just because I previously owned the cassette and CD. Same with movies.

And I suspect more work goes into remastering games. Or it seems a more labor intensive creation to begin with. So Idk, how reasonable are we being here when we expect free upgrades?

@ApostateMage that's fair.

@ApostateMage you've been very outspoken about this for someone with a Cyberpunk profile pic.

Just reading the description of improvements because I personally would like to re-experience this going in as blind as one can but, yeah, I'm pretty excited for this.

A little bummed it's not Tlou2 mechanics but as others have pointed out, that makes sense given the work it would have taken to redesign levels.

Still don't love the $70 price tag but what isn't overpriced right now?

@wiiware the leaks aren't about revealing aspects of the plot in this case. they are first looks at how the game will look. so yeah, fairly meaningful, especially if the devs feel like the leaks are a misrepresentation.

@BartoxTharglod Fair question. I think many of us assumed (I did anyway) that rebuilt meant "on par with Part 2." This could be wrong. Still, if the mechanics didn't get rebuilt to mirror those in part 2 (or at least be closer) then what was the point?

@Goober1 you misunderstand. I'm saying surely they aren't lying cuz that would be crazy. surely there is something unfinished or off with these leaks because to claim rebuilt mechanics but then release a game without rebuilt mechanics is well, bonkers.

So unless the Abandoned guy is running PR on this, I'm assuming these leaks don't reflect final product.

@nessisonett yeah, that lol

@nessisonett maybe it's a legit different build. that seems the most obvious answer. or they really are gonna gamble their reputation on no one noticing the gameplay isn't any different.

I just can't imagine a company of this caliber just straight lying about gameplay mechanics. So idk, apt to believe them over random leaks personally. They said they had more to show so no reason to sharpen the pitchforks just yet.

@get2sammyb From another website (I swear it was just this once and it meant nothing! ) and I thought it might be worth relaying:

"If you’re looking at the footage and you think it looks washed out, well that’s because it does – but that’s not an issue with the game. Baker* credits the issue with his source’s capture setup, so it isn’t how the game will actually look."

*Nick Baker of XboxEra

@get2sammyb Hard to believe they'd shoot themselves in the foot like this. Why risk consumer goodwill over a remake/remaster?

Still, kinda glad I hadn't pre-ordered.

This announcement has the feel of something... familiar. Can't put my finger on it.

@Richnj lol. While "beaten to the punch" is quite familiar to me, "pipped to the post" is definitely a new one. It seems I needed knowledge of both lol. I do love this site for that.

I need a translator for this headline.

Having this issue as well. I really had no intentions of playing this so no huge deal I guess but definitely a bummer for those looking forward to snagging the PS5 version. And kind of a principle thing really.

@Matej you too? It doesn't normally do this but I've been getting notifications over and over throughout the day today. I've gotten about 5 and it's not even quite noon for me. Really getting old.

@Germs73 those studios pour their heart and soul into those full price annual upgrades.

Nah, I'll wait until I play it again. Still looking forward to it.

@BartoxTharglod what region are you in that it's $55, if you don't mind my asking?

@Tsushima played for about half an hour and it seems perfectly enjoyable but I think I'd have waited for a sale if it hadn't come with PS Extra. Then again it's only 25 bucks so how much of a discount will it ever get really?

Still, seems more of an "occasionally play when I don't feel like getting invested in a major title" type game. Imo.

@pumpkin_head sounds like the guy who sued a landscaper and homeowner after a tree limb fell on him while out for a jog on a windy day.

@Futureshark so we know all these failing PS5s were under warranty?

I mean, I just don't understand what's wrong with holding a company accountable anyway. That's why class action lawsuits exist. Exactly for this reason.

@CapGod oh lol, probably should have provided more context. Whoops. I was just riffing off your "So now people think they're smarter for playing souls games?" comment. That was a joke for awhile, or maybe still is, that people who watch Rick and Morty have a higher IQ, or that one needs a high IQ to "get" the show.

@CapGod it's the new Rick and Morty.

With the exception of Stray, I have zero interest in any of these games. Having said that, still a decent offering for me even if that's all I play. Still enjoying Guardians of the Galaxy at the moment. Hoping to give Valhalla another go after less than stellar first impression.

Extra clearly seems like the tier with most value.

Worth it just for Severance alone.

Well deserved win for True Colors on best narrative. I was skeptical of the emotions schtick in this one but, idk, the story really hit for me. Kinda wanted to spend more time with those characters in a way that I didn't with the first.

As for HFW, really enjoyed the game but it was also so marred by technical issues that I definitely wouldn't make it my GoTY. Wanted to, but just way too many glitches. And the story was honestly only so so if I'm being honest.