Another year has come to an end, so now it's time to look back and evaluate arguably the most important Push Square feature of the 12 months: the PS5, PS4 predictions we made back in January. The Push Square editorial team set three predictions in stone, and now we get to see if any of them came true. Last year's winner was assistant editor Robert Ramsey with two out of three correct guesses, but can he turn that winning feeling into a streak? Let's find out.
Sammy Barker, Editor
"I believe 2023 will be PS5's biggest year in terms of hardware sales by a comfortable margin."
Sony had a very, very successful year when it came to console sales, so Sammy takes a point here with ease. The firm has consistently topped the hardware charts in many major territories, putting it on course to beat the PS4's total sales come the end of the generation.
"For as undeniably excited as I am for the hardware, I think PSVR2's going to have a tough first year."
That's a second easy point for Mr. Barker. Calling PSVR2's first year on the market "tough" would actually probably be an understatement, as the headset hasn't sold much and noteworthy games are few and far between.
"Improvements will be made to PS Plus Premium."
Sammy is stopped short of having a full sweep by unsuccessfully pinning his hopes on PS Plus Premium getting much better. He expected a "competent selection of well-emulated PS1 and PSP games", and we don't think we're quite there yet. No points are awarded here.
2/3 points
Liam Croft, Assistant Editor
"Sony has a quiet 2023 in terms of game releases."
Besides Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Liam was right in thinking Sony would have little to shout about on the games front in 2023. The only other things PlayStation Studios could call its own were Horizon Call of the Mountain and new God of War Ragnarok DLC Valhalla. Compared to a normal year for first-party output, that's pretty poor. Liam earns his point here.
"The Last of Us Multiplayer doesn't release this year."
Not only did The Last of Us Multiplayer not release this year, but now it's not coming out at all. Naughty Dog has cancelled the project entirely as it doubles down on single player experiences. A sad point for Liam to earn as he was very excited for this online title.
"Resident Evil 4 wins Push Square Game of the Year for 2023."
He made it happen for Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Village, but unfortunately, Liam's powers couldn't get Resident Evil 4 over the line and win the site's Game of the Year award. It's been a very strong year for game releases, and you'll find out what our actual Game of the Year is on New Year's Day. No point here.
2/3 points
Robert Ramsey, Assistant Editor
"Capcom will announce a new Monster Hunter game for PS5."
The Japanese firm left it very late, but Capcom did indeed announce a new Monster Hunter game for PS5 at The Game Awards: Monster Hunter Wilds. It's not coming out until 2025, but Robert didn't mention a release date in his prediction. The point is awarded.
"Sony will host a colossal PS5 showcase about halfway through the year, essentially relaunching the console."
Oh Robert, if only you could have seen what this year's PlayStation Showcase actually turned out to be. Live streamed in May (so you at least got that bit right), Sony focused on the live-service games it has in development rather than single player projects. We suppose it was "colossal"... for all the wrong reasons. We're going to award half a point here; we're feeling kind.
"Persona 6 will be announced, but not revealed."
Unfortunately for Atlus fans, Persona 6 has still not been announced. Instead, you got Persona 5 Tactica, Persona 3 Reload, and a fresh look at Metaphor: ReFantazio. There's no number six there, so no point is awarded.
1.5/3 points
Stephen Tailby, Assistant Editor
"Sony's rumoured live service reboot of Twisted Metal is officially announced, and it'll launch close to its TV adaptation."
The TV adaptation of Twisted Metal came and went without any mention of the live-service game that was once heavily rumoured to be in development. In fact, a second season of the TV series has been announced since and we still don't know if this game is actually a thing or not. It seemed like a surefire thing a year ago, but after a year lacking any rumours or official news, can we confidently say a Twisted Metal game is in development anymore? No point.
"The Microsoft / Activision Blizzard saga will rage on for another year."
The storyline between the two companies most certainly did go on for another year, but the deal did eventually close and see Microsoft acquire Activision. We're awarding a point here because fanboys on both sides are still pretty annoying about it.
"Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will feature GTA 5-esque character swapping between Peter, Miles, and Venom."
So, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 did feature a seamless character-swapping mechanic, but it was only between Peter Parker and Miles Morales. You're not able to switch to playing as Venom whenever you like. Because of that, we're awarding half a point to Stephen.
1.5/3 points
Aaron Bayne, Video Producer
"Sony will announce the comeback of a beloved series."
Sony would need to announce new single player games in 2023 for this prediction to come true. Instead, you got Concord and Fairgame$. Unfortunately, no new beloved franchises made a comeback and so a point is not awarded here.
"The Last of Us Factions will be Sony's most exciting project in 2023."
Maybe if Aaron had put "to be cancelled" on the end of his prediction, he'd be getting a point here. The Last of Us Multiplayer is no more, so no point here.
"Developers are going to fully utilise the PS5 as they ditch PS4."
Of course Aaron ends us on a prediction that's difficult to judge. PS4 versions of PS5 games are still very much a thing — and will continue to be in 2024 — but with the likes of the Horizon Forbidden West DLC Burning Shores and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 showcasing incredibly swift fast travel, it does feel like the PS5 is being utilised a bit more than last year. PS4 still hasn't been ditched, though, so we can only half a point here.
0.5/3 points
That means we have a two-way tie between Sammy and Liam! Both earned two points out of a possible three for their PS5, PS4 predictions. Both will receive a round of applause in the next Huddle in our Slack channel.
Look out for our 2024 predictions in the new year, but until then, congratulate everyone on at least getting half a point in the comments below.
Comments 21
Nah id award Sammy 3/3, playstation plus premiums offerings have got better compared to last year and most recently premium members get access to the Sony Pictures Catalogue which also includes Crunchyroll content, but that's not all as Premium members also got an exclusive feature that allows cloud streaming of games you own.
So I'd say PlayStation plus Premium has definitely improved hence crowning Sammy the winner 😜
I got to the part where the objectively incorrect PSVR2 comments were made. Didn’t get beyond that. I really need to train my eyes not to skip over the bit between the headline and article, would have saved me the trouble of reading as far as I did.
Last year I predicted (hoped) I would be able to afford a PS5 in 2023.
We had some family health issues that needed financing, so instead of upgrading having both an Xbox Series X and a PS5 (which was the plan) I ended up selling all of my old consoles and games, including my Series X. Raised a few thousand from old figurines, consoles, games etc to afford the equipment for my son.
Despite all this, remarkably, I managed to get a PS5 in the Black Friday sales after my wife gave me the approval.
I now only have a shiny new PS5 (which is honestly the best gaming experience and all I need in a console) but best of all, a healthy son. I feel I won this year.
@Kienda I am sorry to hear of the stress of your year, but so, so happy to hear your son is healthy and well (having a PS5 is nice but a far distant second). I’m a father of three and can’t imagine the year you must have had — here’s to a healthy, happy 2024 for you and your family. You guys deserve it, and you’re absolutely right: you won.
"no new beloved franchises made a comeback." How can a new beloved franchise make a comeback if its new? 🤔
Man I'm getting really tired of journalist dropping comments about PSVR 2 like 'hasn't sold much and noteworthy games are few and far between' with nothing to back it up. The last part of this year has been stacked and to date, the tech has outsold the last gen in parallel already. Can they acknowledge that it has recieved more exclusives releases this year then the PS5 console itself? VR is niche, I get it, but there are substantial facts that contradict both those points if they actually bothered.
Cancelling the last of us factions is still the worst decision, even if it was a 6 or 7 they could build on that with updates. Look at final fantasy online. To just drop it seems ridiculous with all the hype that franchise has right now.
@ThorsHammer
It’s always the same with this guy, but he doesn’t broach disagreements. I actually got temporarily banned this year for pointing out his repeatedly factually incorrect statements against PSVR2. I doubt this comment will be up long.
@ThorsHammer Tbf theres no way to tell if the PSVR2 has been a success yet or not, during the first 6 weeks of being on sale it sold 600k, that was 1.4 million shy of Sony's original target. But since then they haven't shared any sales figures at all so there's no way of knowing if it's gone on to sell a lot more. If it has reached impressive milestones then surely Sony would like to show that off but at the same time if it was failing then we would have seen a price reduction especially around black friday but there was nothing. So maybe it's not failing or doing really well but instead just selling at the same rate the first VR was, which I wouldn't deem a failure/unimpressive.
@thefourfoldroot1 I agree they don't like it when they get questioned on here.
@thefourfoldroot1 The points were agreed upon collectively by the editorial team, just because I wrote it doesn’t mean it was just me 🙄
@LiamCroft
Fair enough. Then my opinion of the editorial team’s basic fact checking skills is not high, lol, happy new year.
@UltimateOtaku91 we're on the same page though. I'm not saying it's a roaring success, however, the constant notion it's a stonking failure is not a fact either, or to quote the article 'to say its had a tough year is an understatement'. VR is a niche market, small victories like outpacing its last gen version (which was proven in their Q1 results), and putting out more exclusive yearly content then the console itself, should be celebrated, not criticised. Sales stats aside, I think I'm really more salty about the constant notion it has no games, or noteworthy ones, when it definetly does.
@Kienda So sorry to hear about the health issues your family went through, but it sounds like you’ve come through the other side with a son who is healthy. And that’s far better and more important than all the consoles and games in the world. Wishing you and your entire family a much better year ahead my friend. You’re in my thoughts and prayers.
Always enjoy this feature! Keep it up guys!
@UltimateOtaku91 honestly, hard disagree on PS Plus Premium being better.
The Sony Pictures Core application was a waste of time. The free movies are old. A missed opportunity to improve the offering would've been to make Core fully free to Premium subscribers. Much the same way Amazon bundles Prime Video with a Prime subscription.
Cloud Streaming is very niche and not something I've found myself needing. It's cool, but just one of those things few people will really get the most out of.
Game trials shouldn't be locked to Premium subscribers. They're great, and something everyone should have access to for free. I actually don't see the point in having them as Premium features because such trials have been shown to increase sales.
Definitely not worth the extra cost that they've added.
@Kienda I hope you have a fantastic 2024 and things are on the up for you. Enjoy your PS5 and more importantly your son’s health!
Nice article apart from the PSVR2 comments. This is the attack on psvita from video game "journalists" all over again.
"Sony will announce the comeback of a beloved series."
Marathon IS a beloved series from Bungie and it's coming back, he deserves at LEAST half a point even if the game is very different and a live service.
Interesting article always like a bit of retrospection
Having only had my PSVR2 for a week now I am amazed by how many games I have already got in my backlog, as others have said it is niche but a worthy investment for those that do!
@GeeEssEff @The_Pixel_King @EvenStephen7
Thanks for the messages, I was going to just write something simple like, “I predicted I’d own a PS5 and now I do.” But I ended up typing a lot more. Obviously had stuff to get off my chest.
Thanks for the encouragement. Despite the struggles, last year was still good for us as a family. These things always draw us closer together and help us see what’s important in life. But I’m quite confident 2024 will be better.
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