Reaction: PS5 Livestreams Are No Longer Speaking to the Fans Who Built the Brand

Wasn't for me, but I largely put that down to being old now.

E3 2009 just hits different when you're 16 compared to State of Play 2024 when you're 31.

That being said, showing more or better games would help. When your lead title is a discount version of Guardians of The Galaxy meets Overwatch, you give yourself a mountain to climb.

I come on here and say give me the xbox360 days.
Now I’m saying give me the PS4 days instead of PS5.
It’s amazing how the consoles themselves are way more expensive. Same time line PS4 and Xbox one around £290 about now.
Games cheaper even digitally and lots more big AAA games around.
So it’s good old pay more get less syndrome.

The state of play was ok.

This ‘opinion’ is a massive over reaction.

It’s not Sonys (or MS or Nintendo) fault that gamers get hyped up.

There was nothing inherently terrible about any of the games (except the marvel one). It’s just because they didn’t get the game they wanted to see.

Most sensible posters didn’t expect anything huge anyway.

Only 1 game in this livestream I was interested in, that being Astro Bot.

I think we're really seeing the legacy of Jim Ryan taking effect. He took bets and shifted focus, and now the games that we all enjoy are less of a focus. I'm genuinely extremely worried about the future of the brand; I have no interest in live service or gatcha games.

Why tune into a PS livestream if I feel like I'm wasting my time?

Your link to „Resistance“ is funny. The game behind that link represents the PS games you don’t want to see.

It was very disappointing. No PS5 Pro, no new AAA first-party exclusives, no fan-requested remakes like Legend of Dragoon, no surprises, and no bombshells. I miss the E3 days when Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo were constantly trying to outdo each other, steal the media spotlight, and woo us customers. These days everybody is just on cruise control and taking it easy.

Astro Bot looks cool and I’m hoping that Aliens VR game turns out well. The rest wasn’t for me.

I was one of those that helped build the brand all the way back to the PS1 days.
I think the best for me so far was the PS3 once it got going to PS4 of course.
Being brought up on some totally amazing Sony studio AAA campaign games.

Even this PS5 generation has been a lot of cross generation as well and some remasters.

Seems my Sony glory days have passed for now, but hopefully they will be back one day.

@OneWingedAngel
Cruise control, if they get anymore calm and chilled they will all be moving backwards.

I think it is so much more about the money more than ever, I know they are all a business etc.
But I think nowadays every single penny is counted and analysis is undertaken prior to anything getting started.

@get2sammyb read the comments, look what people were expecting. It was never happening in a 30 minute show

Can't even vote. Couldn't even be bothered watching it.
I was always there for their E3 presentations.

Unique and daring games. Not some soulless, factory made, physicsless games that all have the absolute GARBAGE checklist Ubisoft gamedesign with horrendous characters and writing.

Why did they ruin Motorstorm? Why did all their gritty games become so shiny and clean? Games like Killzone and Infamous were dirty and grounded.
They became this clean nonsense, just like MCU movies. Where are they to begin with?
Where is PS4/5's next Shadow of the Colossus/ ICO game? SOCOM? Horror games? Anything that isn't underwhelming? Why is Sony's best multiplayer game a PS3 game (factions)!?

The flip to live service development under Jim Ryan and Herman Hulst has killed everything I've loved about PlayStation.

It's not Sony's fault though, they're looking at PlayStation gamers playtime on their systems and seeing it being nothing more than Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft, and far lower than expected sales of Rise of Ronin, FFXVI, FFVII Rebirth and other single player titles... And see that regardless of what people claim online, they don't want single player experiences and spend all their time in a handful of old service titles

@MeatyVeg
What live service games though?
They couldn't even do that. They failed making Factions 2, the absolute turds they are. They had live service gold in their hands ruined it while wasting so much time and resources

It was okay... To me it felt very slap dash, like it had been put together last minute. I'm of the opinion that a drastic change is needed to counter the longer dev cycles 1-2 games per generation doesn't cut it for a studio, it would be a risk for Sony but they need a staggered multi team approach in the big studios aiming for several projects on the go to hit one game every other year.

Comparatively smaller and easier to develop games like Sly, Parappa, Ape Escape and MediEvil would absolutely fill out the release schedules while the big AAA stuff cooks, pleasing the PlayStation faithful in the process. Astro getting the biggest response by far is indicative that the quirky side of PlayStation is sorely missed.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner
They showed 5 games that are Xbox games as well, same release date.
They could have given a couple of little teasers for say the new ND game or Ghost of T 2.

Sony used to whip me into and unbelievably excited frenzy in the PS4 days with their big studio AAA games. Now I’m like a limp lettuce leaf 🥬 🤣

30 minutes to show what was already announced and pc ports. If this is the future of ps i am a little worried. All in all happy about behemot and astrobot, with sh2 release date. But overall disappointing.

This is why I mostly play retro and indie games now, bought analogue pocket, a brand new nintendo 2ds xl, evercade exp, and switch online subs (family pack) to play nintendo 64 games on my switch, I rarely bothers with AAA gaming anymore 😕

Astrobot saved it for me.
This article is spot on - most of those games don't speak to me and the lack of showing anything from ND, SP or BP is disappointing if par for course from recent shows. I actually like the fact they aren't showing stuff too soon - but the length of time we're having to wait for any sort of reveal is incredibly long!
Not to say there won't be other games coming out which I will want to play, but very little in there got me excited.

I would chalk it up to the PlayStation audience not really knowing what they want these days. "We're fed up of the same third person story games. We want something different!"

Sony provides something different: "We want the old days of Sony back!"

I think it’s pretty obvious what the core audience wants… and hopefully we’ll be catered to it over the latter half of the PS5 life-span. Unfortunately though, we’re not necessarily the cash cows anymore… and the new cash cows need to be catered to too.

Aside from Astro Bot, Sony simply aren't making unique, interesting games anymore. They closed down all the studios that did that.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner
I agree with you mate, but Sammy is just writing to his audience who lap this stuff up like its meaningful - which it is to me, but more from a psychology point of view.
The issue now is that there is so much media trying to get a story and ruminating on rumours all day that people build unrealistic expectations of what they hope they will see to 'blow them away'.
Sony have done their best to stop this by simply not announcing stuff until its pretty close to being deliverable. This was not a show, it was a SOP which was announced less than 48 hours before being shown to try and stop the wild speculation, but with the gaming news sites being what they are, expectations and entitlement soon follow.

For what it was, the SOP last night was OK, at least 4 games there I would want to try. But it's not the big 'blowout' that everyone wants to see to replace E3, and was never going to be. I suspect something like that will be shown at the end of summer to align with the 'pro' launch.

Until then there is a large audience that simply wants to moan, and the site will no doubt give such an audience what they want. I've learnt to take it with a pinch of salt - the views of the Push audience are very far from that of the general gaming public

I knew it was happening again lol, these state of plays are just not good. Genuinely the only thing good to come out of it was Wilds gameplay and Astro Bot

@OldGamer999 recently they’ve shown GoW/SM2 and people on this very site complained.

They show a fun Astro bot game. They complain.

It’s clear with no leak/early shots of Astro Sony are trying to not show games years away. They are holding cards to their chest.

There were 14 games shown. It’s not like all 14 are meant to be for everyone. If people came away wanting one and being interested in 2 or 3 then that’s good.

Again it was a 30minute show, it was never going to be showing all huge gamed

I don't get why people only care about games that have a specific logo at the start.

Unless you're doing console list warring online somewhere, does it really matter who's making the great games as long as they exist and are playable?

Which is why I hardly spend any money on Playstation now, just PS+ Essential, I don't buy games on Playstation anymore and haven't for a couple of years now.

It's kind of funny to read all this after having spent the entire PS4 generation reading that Sony "should vary its portfolio", that "they should go back to making some multiplayer games like they did in the PS3 generation" and so on. Last two years, everyone was shouting that Sony needed to make more multiplayer to combat Microsoft's purchase of Activision at the time.

The problem isn't that Sony wants multiplayer games, the problem is that they don't have enough studios to make the number of single player games that everyone expects. If each studio is going to be able to make one or two games per generation from now on, they need to rush to have another 4 or 5 studios, but in the current scenario, we will probably see a Media Molecule or Firewalk being closed instead.

I think, that people still refuse to accept a reality. That AAA games are taking forever to make. When you have only six studios (SSM, Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, Bend and Guerrilla Games) who are capable of producing those types of games you are talking about 1-2 exclusives max per year. Since AAA games are taking 5-6 years to make nowadays.

People are just growing impatient. It's the reason why last year's showcase was percieved so badly. Because people wanted to see new stuff from Naughty Dog. They largely don't care about Concord or Fairgames.

One thing that was saving grace this year was that Sony labelled it as State of Play and not PlayStation Showcase. But that doesn't help much when we are mid poin this gen and we don't even know what Sucker Punch/Naughty Dog/Bend are working on. And god knows when they will actually release those games.

Hats off to Microsoft. After disastrous 2022 and mid 2023 they seems to finally picking up speed with their releases. But Microsoft, in their infinite stupidity (or greed) decided that the best time to go multiplatform is exactly the year when they have clear upper hand in terms of releases.

@RainbowGazelle - To be fair, Sony's own audience was responsible for the closure of these studios. If Gravity Rush, Concrete Genie, Everybody's Golf, WipeOut and so on had sold well, these types of games would still be being made. Everyone says they want more smaller games, more unique games, etc. but they complain when there's no new God Of War or Uncharted -esque games being announced.

So only one big single player game for PS5 this year then.

It’s little wonder my PS3, Vita and PS4 (I only play on original hardware) is getting so much more use than my PS5 lately.

@Shepherd_Tallon Absolutely mate - sony have always relied on 3rd parties like Square and Namco to provide many of their big exclusives. When consoles were launched with Ridge Racer we didnt have 'gloom bots' moaning it didnt open with a Sony logo!

I think Hermen will go down as the worst CEO of Sony, the company seems to lack direction and focus (except for that moolah). Hyperbole at the moment most definitely but time will tell.

@colonelkilgore It is interesting to me how many people including yourself are still playing PS3 games, it really was the best generation. Now we have the opposite, the best hardware but the worst games.
Sony gimme that PS3 emulator.

This site is getting more hyperbole by the day. It wasn’t great but wasn’t as bad as some are making out, we were told before hand what to expect. Yet people still thought we would see games by naughty dog, bend etc.

@CaptD I’m kinda with you on that… though I probably enjoyed the PS4 gen more tbh.

I’m just playing PS3 these days so that I can finally draw a line under it (once the back log is cleared)… having a ton of fun doing so though.

There's no getting around the fact that 1st party output has been very scarce this gen. However I don't necessarily agree that we haven't gotten the type of game that we all come to Playstation for. The generation has been carried by 2nd/3rd party deals similar to how it was on PS1/PS2.

As for Sony not revealing games years in advance I think that issue falls squarely on the community more than Sony. People complained sooooo much about seeing the same games at multiple presentations so they changed to how they currently are. I never had a problem with early announcements personally but you reap what you sow as they say.

I'd love to see what some of the 1st party studios are up to as well but with stuff like Stellar Blade, FF7 Rebirth, Helldivers 2, and soon Concord and Astro Bot I would say Playstation has had a great year still.

@ED_209 Okay, fair. Sony simply aren't making games that interest me anymore, I guess. I loved those more experimental titles.

@Titntin @Shepherd_Tallon @themightyant

Fully agree here.

And I’m not saying it was fantastic or anything. There was a good mix of games, most with a release date.

Whatever Sony do currently ‘gamers’ say they want the opposite. (Or Xbox etc etc)

@BeerIsAwesome PREACH! People complain that sony only does MOVIE AAA GAMES, but then complain when they dont show those games??? They ***** on sony for closing japan studio, but are they goimg to buy astro bot? Mostly like not!

The combo of shorter showcases and splitting the first party studios between single player and live service essentially means you don't have a lot of time anymore if what you want to see is tentpole single player games

Concord is absolutely getting cooked online right now. That beta better be good or else lol.

Astro bot absolutely saved it for me, I can't wait to play it!

@Golem25 although I agree to an extent, the most excited Iver an E3 I got was E3 2015 when i was 25 and I actually thought the 2020 PS5 reveal event was great too. Its just that there's no big PS5 games coming out that I'm personally interested in, apart from Astro bot, which I got excited over like a kid at Christmas, because its a great game to play with my family. When the next round of big 1st party stuff is revealed I'm sure the excitement will come back to me

I actually fully agree with one of your articles for once. Their shows and showcases used to be the most exciting thing in gaming PERIOD.
But now it feels like they are either sandbagging until the real ***** is ready to be shown or they have messed up behind the scenes somehow and literally just have nothing to even tease.
E3 2016 was a masterpiece from Sony. I didn't even care that the games were years out from being released I just wanted to be excited for something in this god forsaken industry.

The old E3 shows will never be topped again, simply because everything gets leaked nowadays. Sony kept Astrobot hidden till like 3-4 months before release and we still all knew it was going to be revealed. The days of big surprises are no more sadly.

It was good to see Astrobot, but it wouldve been way better if we hadnt see it coming. Even though it wouldve been the exact same trailer.

By the way, this was the PS4 lineup of releases back in 2014:

• Deadnation (Remaster)
• Infamous Second Son/First Light
• MLB
• The Last of Us (Remaster)
• Hohokum (indie-esque)
• CounterSpy (indie-esque)
• Driveclub
• The Unfinished Swan (indie-esque)
• LittleBigPlanet 3.

I don't specifically remember anyone complaining that the generation was trash, that Sony didn't pay attention to its audience and so on at the time.

Unless they push a Microsoft and acquire a publisher or two, Sony will ever have a year or two in every generation where they won't have so many releases... It happened with the PS3, with the PS4 and now it's happening with the PS5. The big difference is that they are no longer selling the dream of playing a game 3 or 4 years before it is released.

It is exactly because of this that they are relying on third party exclusives and I think they should do that even more from now on. They need to stop being so protective of their IP and start reaching out to other external studios to produce more games. No one gives a ***** that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (just to use an example) is not developed by a Nintendo studio.

@ED_209 Surely you should be comparing 2024 to 2017, 4 years after console release

lol built the brand - those here in 1994 and the early 2000s say hi

But actually: that was a decent state of play - I liked Astro, Behemoth, Where Winds Meet, Dynasty Warriors and SH 2 are genuinely old school PlayStation games in spirit and looked decent. Concords gameplay looked good - and there are audiences out there who love that stuff.

Yes, I want more but it was decent all things considered.

I think it's a lack of showmanship and reading the room because there is a constant stream of great games, even if it's not a AAA Sony exclusive single player.
If Sony would give these MP games less time, keep the pc re-releases and remasters for separate trailers and their infamous psblog posts and give the stage to inventive indie, big 3rd party games and AA games that take some risks you'd have more of the experimental fun stuff ps1-4 stood for.

Also, FF7 remake, Shenmue 3 and the last guardian did deliver in the end! Best show ever!

@TrickyDicky99 - If it's to compare year by year, 2020, 2021 and 2022 were definitely better than the first three years of the PS4 for example.

PS4 started badly and got better, PS5 started well and has now stagnated. PS4's two or three bad years are happening in the middle of the PS5 generation.

The only thing that got me truly excited was the Astro Bot game, so I may be one of those fans that PlayStation doesn't cater as much towards anymore. That being said it wasn't a horrible event, there just wasn't a lot there that made me say wow.

Was a terrible show even with expectations low. Like last years show the only good game was shown at the end. That strange camera game was just pure cringe. Will be interesting to see how they market the PS5 Pro with no big games releasing. Could be 2 years in a row where the MS show is better. Which considering the state of Xbox is saying something.

@ED_209 I think its a combination of COVID, Dev cycles taking even longer and the GAAS pivot that's delaying game announcements. A bunch of worries PlayStation didn't have back then. In the 4th year of PS4 we had so many insane games to look forward. But for PS5 all we have are some simple teases for Wolverine and the knowledge that those studios still exist and are working on games. Its just not the same. I would rather have them announce the game early and then getting to at least enjoy the idea of what the future looks like. Instead of having no idea what the devs are even intending for the future.

People need to control their expectations tbh, its that simple really.

They have a new console to announced soon and have games to fill out the rest of the year (Concord, Astro, 3rd Parties).

Expect a showcase in November/February for a first party blowout.

Giving 30% of the show to an Overwatch clone is not enough, it should have been at least 90%.

@ED_209 The first 3 years on PS5 has been nearly all PS4 games, at least PS4 had PS4 games from the very beginning.

The only PS5 games made by Sony owned studios are Astro Playroom, Ratchet & Clank and Spiderman 2 (Returnal was released before Sony bought Housemarque)

This article feels like an exaggeration. I get it this SOP doesn't go the way the writer predicted, filled up with big games and surprised out of nowhere. But Sony never promoted it will be a big event either.

So the writer saying Sony no longer speak to the fans who built their brand is just weird, especially when Sony showed games like DW Origin, SH 2 remake, and MH Wild. DW, MH, and SH has a solid fanbase on PS and also big connection with PS brand since the three franchise was started on PS.

I personally think it's an okay SOP despite i only like Astro Bot. But i'm sure some people appreciates the variety and interested with Concord, DW Origin, Infinite Nikki, Marvel Rivals, VR games, MH Wild, or SH 2 remake.

Games take 30-50% longer to make now than they did in 2016. I don't expect any worthwhile Showcases from Sony until 2025. And I mean Showcases not their State of Plays like today. I also think the Showcases will happen in a 2-3 year cadence in the future unless they try to partner with a lot of third parties (but they all wanna have their own streams now).

It's kinda all about expectations. We have more than enough games to play in the meantime.

Well it was a 30 minute state of play so I never expected to see the big exclusive games or any brand new big third party reveals, those are saved for the proper 90 minute showcases. I think people's unrealistically high expectations always brings these state of plays down when in reality they're doing what they are meant to and updating people on what games are coming within the next 12 months and allowing third party developers to showcase their games.

@TrickyDicky99 - I'm pretty sure most of those games would end up being on PS3 if the hardware as similar enough like PS4 and PS5 are. Sony had games GOW Ascension, Puppeteer and Gran Turismo 6 which I'm sure would have been produced for the PS4 if it was something "easy" to do.

But I was also comparing about the quality of games. PS5 had Miles Morales, GT7, Demon's Souls, Rift Apart, Horizon FW, Ragnarok, etc. in the first years.

It was middling to me. Bargain Basement Guardians of the Galaxy made me cringe hard. I'm pretty surprised anyone is acting excited for it at all. Astrobot was all I cared for, personally.

Be and silent hill, the rest no thanks. For me it was poor, overall okay but not really worth watching the whole thing. Just dumping their own trailers would have been fine, it was hardly an event.

They definitely showed some good games. But obviously everyone wants the heavy hitters at this point—Wolverine, new Naughty Dog IP, whatever Sony Bend is cooking up. This stuff was all a no-show, which worries and irritates fans. It’s hard to focus on what good is there when we are constantly disappointed. But that’s our culture; we’re conditioned to focus in negativity these days.

I think you should ignore the majority of people on forums and social media. They always scream the opposite and feed of negativity. This has been going on for generations.

In the past it looked all better, but that's mainly because games got announced years before release. People complained and this is the result, Sony announces close to release these days. Maybe they could release a short compilation trailer with all the first party games coming, it only needs to be a couple of seconds of footage then for each game.

I would rename "Poor" rating as "Not enough interesting", then I would rate it like that. No hate in that, just bored veteran player opinion over all those FMV presentations.

@TrickyDicky99 that's because people wanted cross-gen games because they couldn't buy a PS5 and the PS4 players felt left out. I still think they shouldn't release cross-gen in the first place and release those games exclusive for PS5. But if they pulled a Nintendo and stopped support for PS4 immediately people would hated on them for that.

Oh. There was thingy? Must've missed it. I just want fun things to play, Stellar Blade took me back to the fun of the PS2 era but in recent years games have felt too serious. I drifted away from PC gaming because there was always something to update/upgrade/patch which sucked the soul out of it.

MSM2 was good, and there's been a few other games I've had fun playing, but nothing has had that element of joy, you know? The anticipation and excitement was part of the fun, now it seems you get game, wait for it's patch to download and it's all just fannying about really.

And I'm still grumpy about GT7 being online only when it was clearly put together with single player being an offline mode. <insert ranty swear words here>

Largely of the mind that if you have nothing worth showing then don't bother, this should have been a blog post. Leave live streams for real hype events.

Im already planning to migrate to nintendo's side once the switch 2 drops. I can no longer identify myself with Sony anymore. PS5 games barely look and play any different than PS4 titles. PS5 is basically PS4 pro 2.

Old man gamer here, in my opinion the PSOne marketing and lineup was the best. It was in your face, extreme and edgy, pushing the games. PlayStation was everywhere and there was playable PSOnes with wipeout, tekken, ridge racer in nightclubs. It was like an aggressive gaming counter culture and because 3D gaming was new and fresh as was the CD format it was like nothing before it. Most things seem tame, corporate and lame today by comparison lol

Regardless I didn’t really care for the state of play, with the exception of Astrobot. It looks epic, we’ll put together and pure fun. Can’t wait to September

I thought it was good. I like how the games looked but not sure if I'll play it.

I thought concord was a single player game from the cinematic trailer, then they said it's 5v5 and I was disappointed haha. I weren't going to play it tho, but thought it would have been a nice single player game.

A lot of games caught my interest, with how they look. But I have to like the gameplay too. N I'm not really into shooting all that much.

@ED_209 Yeah, those are some good PS4 games

@OneWingedAngel "No PS5 Pro". Was it shown in the Astro Bot trailer, starting at 1:50?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHMNQzLG_Jg&t=110s

@Martijn87 Did PS1 gamers feel left out when PS2 was released? Did PS2 games feel left out when PS3 released?

Nonsensical point.

Also the games don't go anywhere, people can play them when they buy a PS5. PS4 gamers have 7 years of games to play.

@get2sammyb and yet when games do go every where the story becomes that company is leaving the hardware business even tho they said more hardware is coming instead of celebrating more games coming to all platforms. If we as an industry asked for games to be on all screens and put some hype instead of doom and gloom behind it maybe more players would jump on board. Kind of hard to predict when a $3 trillion dollar company will say they aren’t making more hardware when they are telling the public they are making more.

Why in the article are the character designs of that concord game dubbed objectively good? They are the most generic Fortnite overwatch marvel modern day cartoon like characters who are subjectively awful and everything wrong with modern gaming

Astrobot was great, gave me Nintendo vibes.

Monster Hunter Wilds and Silent Hill 2 are both games I’ll pick up but by now they’re not really exciting new announcements…

Where Winds Meet could be good but it was another CG trailer with zero gameplay so I’ll have to reserve judgement.

The rest was a horrid mix of free-to-play, multiplayer shooters and bland titles.

Sony seems desperate to appeal to the live service crowd. This, combined with fewer games getting physical releases, paints a bleak future.

Personally, my backlog is huge, and the slow drip of RPGs and soulslikes keeps me sustained but there is no longer the breadth of titles available as there was during the PS4 era.

At least my wallet is happier (despite the price increases)

@Blaze215 I mean they just looked like Guardians of the Galaxy to me. Zero chance that wasn't the inspiration. Their quippy BS had me cringing, rolling my eyes, and wondering who still wants that...but those voices in the MH trailer mean I'm not buying that game unless I can full stop mute them.

I'm pretty certain Sony are saving a few bigger games for the rumoured ps5 pro reveal in September

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Not really. It's not so much the expectations of the SoP. I didn't expect much and felt like I wanted my 30 minutes back until Astro Bot finally came along. It's the fact that we are at this point in the PS5's life cycle and we have yet to have anything revealed from several 1st party developers that haven't released a new game in at least 3-5 years.

Whether I expected them there or not doesn't change the fact that with every livestream, the frustration continues to grow when the vast majority of titles shown are either 3rd party games or 1st party online games. Yes, games take longer to make now, but it should be impossible for most of these developers to have nothing to reveal still. Like I said, it's been 3-5 years for most of them. They are not just sitting there and twiddling their thumbs. Or at least they shouldn't be even though it seems like it by now.

@Oxy I've still got a few PS4 games on my wishlist and a few older PS4 games I want to replay. I'll probably get a ps5 late this year though

@Blaze215 This.

Those characters and their “banter” might appeal to a certain zoomer/influencer segment but to a more discerning crowd they really are horrible. It’s painful to watch, forced “humor” at its worst.

@LikelySatan 100000th hero shooter.
even overwatch is running on it's last steps.
feels like every game dev rather please themselves then the ones that need to buy the games.

@TrickyDicky99 that's the point I made, they should have released those exclusive on PS5. But they didn't because everyone was complaining on the socials.

@The_ghostmen There's a real air of lost time with Concord. Like it came from a decade ago somehow.

For me the proof is in the pudding when the game actually releases. Guarantee the comments on the Helldivers 2 and Stellsr Blade announcements were ridiculously negative and look at how they performed. Modern gamers love nothing more than complaining and it comes from a place of strange entitlement. It’s not like Hermes Hulst can just squat down and poop out a blockbuster. A game is an incredibly intricate piece of media which in many ways just feels like pure black magic to me. There is no other form of entertainment on earth that lets me interact with it the way games do and that can’t possibly be easy to create.

It’s not like we aren’t short of games to play at the moment anyway. There’s at least 3 AAA games on my backlog just from this year let alone the indies and the games I didn’t get to in 2023. With the way people go on with the negativity I wonder why they even bother to game at all as it just seems to be an endless source of dissapointment for them.

@Martijn87 From what I saw, most people were complaining that they were PS4 games

@Martijn87 It's probably more "we need to cater to our huge PS4 base" than "people are bitching on Twitter."

To give them credit, they stupidly put all their hope into live service and realised that was a disaster. It’ll take time for them to roll back and have single players ready to go but they need to just come out and say when they think these will be announced/showcased.

Give us a timeline and then the majority of fans will wait it out.

@Fyz306903 Even though the gaming landscape is different I think you’ll be happy with your PS5. I know I am. A lot of the great PS4 titles have received PS5 updates and it is a great machine. Plus, there is a bunch of great exclusives.

@Gamer_X because MS, Nintendo, Steam etc care?

If this is bad , then might aswell not do anymore shows cuz fans will never be satisfied .

@LikelySatan i was really hoping concord was some type of star wars dead space shooter mixed with uncharted.
but knowing the dev is a leftover from bungie destiny i see why almost no one likes it.

@Ultrasmiles the most liked game was astrobot.

Casuals are the ones who made PS4 and PS5 successful not the hardcore audience.

Definitely seem headed towards a gaming drought, if we aren’t already at the start of one now. I know last few years a recession was predicted but never really materialized but you do wonder if that impacted game studios and they started preparing for one, anyway. As it is right now, I’m putting more future gaming hope into a Switch 2 over a PS5 Pro, but neither will matter if the games aren’t there. Why would you need a souped up PS5 or Switch, if there’s relatively nothing to play on it?

I really think these huge dev cycles are killing first party releases for Sony. Naughty Dog released 4 major AAA games for PS3 over 7 years, (not including DLC) and released 2 in the PS4 era. At this rate we may not get 1 title this generation.

It is a similar story for all the major first party studios that work on traditionally single player games for Sony. So they either need to expand or shorten turnaround times to hit the same PS4 release cycle which I just see as being possible. Troubling times.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I'd ignore him, all his comments just seem to be baiting or trolling that I can't take what he says seriously.

@CaptD You'd be better off getting down to your local CEX and pick up a PS3 Slim with a 2 year warranty on it and pick up a handful of cheap game discs while you're there.
PS3 emulation isn't going to arrive anytime soon due to the innovative Cell & its SPUs vs ancient push/pop x86 architectures.
Look at the PC specs required to really get any kind of grunt into RPCS3 and we're looking at PS6 at the earliest.

I'd like to imagine if there is a Spider-man 2 expansion it's being saved for Summer Game Fest and a bigger Wolverine reveal is being saved for a bigger Showcase or another SoP later this year, would be nice. But yh Astro Bot saved that SoP last night from being marginally below ok. Aliens being PSVR2 only, this hurt me

@themightyant I love that quote. It should be framed on a wall!

I think it's more that people get themselves over excited for these live streams than anything and have expectations of thing being announced that are huge all the time and they after then go online and get upset it didn't go their way. Big games and other things like hardware aren't restricted to getting announced at certain times anymore and it can happen at any point of the year. When the industry heavily relied on trade shows to make these announcements like E3 then you could usually expect something big but they don't do that anymore. Maybe I am just getting too old to care but I don't have any expectations anymore with these things as it seems getting over hyped about something that probably won't happen is a waste of energy.

I thought it was a good show. Plenty of good looking games. Teared up a bit during the Astro Bot trailer because it was so fun and weird and full of life. It really reminded me of why I love video games. And I agree with the people saying it felt a bit rushed. It definitely felt like they padded out the presentation, I think they would've done better by showing off just the first party and exclusive games for extended segments. And by having actual people play them. There were plenty of games from eastern studios as well which is something the ps community has been asking for, yes? I had every expectation in check and walked away feeling good knowing what games are coming soon. I don't need an entire pipeline/timeline presentation of release schedules like Marvel does for their movies, and I think that's what lots of people expect.

They have stuff cooking but nothing is ready to show. I would rather studios be allowed to take their time and not crunch, because if you've watched any docs on game dev, you know these reveals often take a month to create. Hopefully, next year we'll see Wolverine and whatever the hell Cory Barlog has been working on. Also, Sucker Punch should be ready to show something.

Well said, what a sullen gen this has been. I think like many, I'm questioning am I just outgrowing this hobby due to my age. But this article artculates more clarity of thought, it is instead, emphatically Sony's problem not mine

@Jacko11 We've been hearing this for years though. "Console shortages, just wait for X" "Covid happened, just wait for X", "Games take a while, just wait for X"

Seems like we're constantly waiting for the big guns that still aren't coming.

As soon as I hear state of play and not showcase my expectations immediately drop to the floor. I wasnt disappointed but my expectations were very low going into it. Astro bot and silent hill are the only games I am interested in playing and even those are not games that I feel I must play, i probably grab them at sale prices a year or two down the road.

Concord looks like they made a guardians of the galaxy game but didn't get the license so they scrubbed it just enough to be its own IP. If it's F2P I might try it but i dont see myself buying that one. Dedicating 1/3 of the show to this game probably didn't help the shows reception.

A bit longer to make these huge triple AAA these days but I reckon the 2nd half of PS5 gen is gonna be a massive improvement over its 1st half. 2025, 26 and 27 are gonna be huge reveals wise for PS5 with improved SoP or Showcases, similar to or better than PS4s 2nd half?

@Ricky63 agree with you. There were zero announcements that interested me, but very few of my favourite games are Sony or MS exclusives anyway.

That’s why I just sold my XSX. I was playing AC Mirage and after being disappointed by Hellblade 2, questioned why I don’t just stop with Mirage, flog the console, minimise my subscriptions bill, cull the cable nest behind the TV, and just buy it on my PS5.

I don’t even own God of War 2 or Spider-Man 2, it’s just not relevant. Astrobot? Don’t care and won’t buy, still have a backlog I will never get through.

I’m all third party. Sony can do what they like, they are just supplemental titles.

Sony used to get dumped on that every new game was a 3rd person narrative "Walking sim", now it seems that they and third parties are all releasing team based shooters or Hack and Slash/Souls clones/action RPGs

Concord - team shooter
Marvel Rivals - team shooter
Ballad of Antara - Soulslike/Hack and slash
Where Winds Meet - Action RPG
Monster Hunter Wilds - Action RPG
Path of Exile - Action RPG
Skydance’s Behemoth - Action RPG

..and it's not like we're already short in these genres. Sure these games are not exactly all the same, but the broad genres and in many ways, the art style, are.

Finally Astro Bot saves things with with a bright action platformer.

No racing games. No puzzle games. No simulations. No, ironically, third person narrative adventure "walking sims". No 2D Metroidvania or Platform games. No Fighting game. No traditional fantasy RPG. No stealth action games. No Sports.

It's said that people only complain because they didn't show games they wanted, but is it any wonder when it's so limited in scope?

@get2sammyb but it's not indicative of the average gamer who enjoys games instead of constantly complaining online. Even Spider-man 2, the game that got the game of the year award here last year is constantly bashed for being from mediocre to terrible.

Let's be real for a second.

@CrashBandicoat there is Ghost of Tsushima and its sequel to look forward to or are those of no interest either?. For me personally when PS 1st party is firing on all cylinders they do it better than the many 3rd party releases. We all need the 3rd party releases tho

Just made an account so that's the reason for lack of profile pic, I did notice that during the stream people were liking concord giving a guardian of the galaxy vibe and then they lost care for it when it gave out it was a 5pvp and not a story game and instead like an overwatch. Tbh I was just finished work threw it on and wanted to go back to work cause I wasn't expecting legendary content but it makes me rethink my ps plus subscription.

"PlayStation is no longer speaking to the fans that built its brand with these broadcasts"

Yeah it's all very insular these days.

Sony aren't the only ones with this problem - the discontinuation of E3 and other events that video game publishers and hardware makers use to frequent may be saving them money in the short term, but what they don't yet see is in the long term it's also hurting the buzz around their brands, and in time sales.

The last few State of Plays have been like commercial after commercial with very little personality. The sort of commercials people buy TiVo boxes to skip, in my opinion. I don't see anything exciting, I see increasingly homogeneous games that are inferior to what has gone before, just a few generations ago. It's all very safe and risk averse, which is the complete opposite of how PS1 and PS2 era Sony were when they still had something to prove, and extended to the PS3 era.

Tim Rogers (formerly of Kotaku) has spoken and written a lot about this over the years, most notably in his Boku No Natsuyasumi review. I recommend it because he's worked for SCE and has stories.

The point is, if you fail to innovate, you stagnate. If you play it too safe, it'll work in the short term but eventually people will get bored. It's the hubris of boardroom thinking, sadly, that slow growth will continue forever, but it doesn't always.

That's where Sony are now. As a gamer it's boring to me. I fire up my PS5, I'm bored quickly. I fire up my PS3, I play happily for hours, spoilt for choice. That console was peak Sony (it represents all their best and worst traits) and I love it. I mean, the damn PS3 had a full matching Bluetooth keyboard and a digital TV tuner box, that's how ambitious and multimedia-centric Sony were back then. What does the PS5 have? Oh, the world's blandest Blu-ray player and a crappy white peanut remote that needs multiple taps to do anything if it hasn't been used in 30 seconds.

The State of Play was ok, had some absolutely fantastic reveals like Astro Bot and more MH Wilds news meanwhile also had rough parts like the decision to spend a third of the show on Concord.

Playstation is a partner for Summer Game Fest so we know that there's more announcements to come. Regarding the big PS Studios heavy showcase people are hoping for, I feel that will happen whenever Sony chooses to reveal the PS5 Pro.

Also, considering the big Xbox multiplatform strategy I think Sony knows what's being announced at the Xbox showcase. If stuff like Gears 6 are coming to PS5 day 1, that will create more big buzz about PS5.

@weeniebeenie I find the communities lack of patience and faith disturbing

@Thumper that’s just a PS5 with the face plates off I think.

For me, It wasn't as negative as this article shares. Not every state of play is going to be amazing. This was a solid state of play. A few games coming soon and and a few coming next year. Astrobot was my favorite (secretly hoping for a free plus drop) with the 2025 titles a wait and see more gameplay. The format was fantastic as it went from game to game with little chatting in between. This is where it felt like they were listening to fans. Looking forward to more States of Play in the future, no expectations, just show me new games with gameplay and I'll enjoy it.

@OldGamer999 I am the opposite in that I am glad they are no longer showing us teasers or trailers for games that have no set date. The biggest failing of the industry in recent years imo was getting shown games like Cyberpunk so early that the hype died off and turned into negativity because its became just more talk for a game that was still 3 - 4 years out.

For me 12 months for teasers and 6 months for trailers is what they should be aiming for.

Couldn’t agree more with the article. It’s not about specifically this state of play, it’s just that ever since the PS5 released I can’t remember even one Showcase or SoP which made me really hyped. I really do enjoy my PS5, it’s a great piece of hardware, but all I play on it are 3rd party titles or (remasters of) PS4 games. For the first time since owning a PlayStation I’m starting to feel I’m just not part of the audience they want to target anymore

@weeniebeenie I get what your saying about a limited selection of categories, but at the same time I suppose its just a refelection of what sells and what needs the push.

I bet plenty of sports games sell, but do they really need the focus when people who like FIFA will buy the latest iteration regardless.

The brand has been running on fumes for years and the PS5 is still selling faster than the PS4 in their biggest market. Microsoft is also doing everything possible to push people away from investing in their console hardware. Most of the PS fanbase is mindlessly loyal and has already invested in their ecosystem for this generation. And the hardware will enjoy a titanic bump in sales for years once GTA VI releases.

So, respectfully, Sony has no incentive to woo people to its ecosystem. These broadcasts are just a formality. They could go radio silent for years and it wouldn't really matter to their bottom line at all.

Well stated article. Couldn't really have summed it up better.

This has been a really bizarre generation. It was just so jarring how quickly Sony went from the highs of the ps2, 3 and some of the ps4 generation, to this tone deaf greed driven anti consumer model they have adopted for like 5 years straight now.

They are, as other have said, coasting on fumes. Sure it may not have affected their hardware sales just yet this generation, however it will eventually catch up to them if there isn't a significant realignment to a more diverse portfolio and actual fan service.

It hasn't been a good generation so far and nobody is immune from it.

I hope this is all just a bit of a realignment as developers get back to what they are good at and stop chasing this 'unicorn' of a game that prints money forever.

But I suspect that may not be what happens.

Excellent article that articulates my feelings on the matter. Sony has shifted into what it stood against and my console is used to stream movies now and not play video games. I became a PC gamer with the launch of Baldur’s Gate 3 and haven’t had a reason to return. Does Sony not have people monitoring the feedback from this ? Does no one over there even care about the lukewarm/cold response from the viewers (excluding the love towards Astro Bot)? Sad days for the big S. Not so big anymore.

@themightyant agreed.

You are giving Concord more praise than the rest of the world are giving it 😂 It’s an overwatch copy with forced inclusion yet again. I was not impressed at all. Only Astro Bot made me feel that Sony actually cared.

Concord hate is so insane it’s fine if the game isn’t your cup of tea. But I’m seeing people go to firewall and Concord twitter pages and tell the developers their game sucks and they hope the devs lose their jobs is so uncalled for.

The premise of loudly voicing discontent at a lack of new games every six months is absurd. Just enjoy the stuff that is coming out.

If the new great games are made by Sony, great, if not, I will enjoy the new great stuff made by others.

@Ilyn
I would have thought they would have something ready for 12 months time. So that takes us into May ish 2025 before we get anything from Sony Studios AAA. If we go by what you say.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner
Taking out multi platform games and online only games.
For me it was just Astro bots 🤖
So that’s since HFW DLC and then spider man 2 for me nothing from Sony Studios AAA.
So 2023 was quiet for me and 2024 even more so from Sony Studios big AAA campaign games.

It will be really interesting to see if development cycles can be massively reduced by AI assistance. The current turnaround time, cost and pressure involved aren't sustainable.

Honestly? I think I'm just old. Outside of one or two games, the whole thing was bland and uninteresting. And that's been a recurring trend for me. The PS1 Sony felt cool and new and delivered droves of interesting titles, in nearly every conceivable genre. People forget this but PS1 games were janky and experimental, but they had soul and the fun factor in droves. Feels like the games out Sony these days - when they come out at all - are these made-by-committee, by-the-numbers situations.

But the PS1 days are well behind us now. I really can't complain too much. While I've never felt more alienated from and disappointed with Sony in roughly 25 years of being a frequent customer, third party games still have the magic. We are still spoilt for choice, you just have to move away from Sony first party stuff. The indie scene is on fire and scratches that PS1 itch.

I'd sure like to continue being a customer of Sony games and products, but they seemed to be eyeing greener pastures. And... that's probably smart business.

@Martijn87 I know it's near impossible nowadays but I greatly prefer game announcements that are followed by a closer release date. Nintendo does this sometimes as well. Finding out a game is 2+ years away does nothing for me.

@Oxy For sure. I've got a list of about 30 ps5 games I'm pretty sure I'd really like so I will get it. Just need to see if the pro is worth the extra money, first.

I have more games to play in my library still than I have time for, so not worried about the state of things just yet. The resources being put into getting the next big live service game are really what's killing things for new releases. Plus we're still seeing the after effects of the pandemic so I'm happy to wait a bit and see how things shape up.

If you own a shoe shop and you notice you’re selling far more wellingtons than anything else, you don’t stop selling trainers and sandals because they only sell 20% of what the wellingtons do. You offer as many different designs so you can attract the most customers.

Sony have convinced themselves big open world action games with deep narratives are the only games anyone cares about (like Microsoft thinks about fps), and have forgotten you need a mix to build a customer base. If you can get someone to buy a PS5 to play an obscure JRPG or weird racing game, they may also buy God Of War or Spider-Man to try them out.

I've been an early adopter since the PS1. Spent megatons of money on Playstation in the intervening years. I've looked at the last 4 years of releases and services like a job interview, with Sony as the candidate. Will I buy the PS6 day one? Is the PS5 Pro worth it?

Based on their new direction and performance, it's an absolute, resounding 'No' from me on all fronts. That's a first for me.

Time moves on, priorities change. The same for companies and people. I guess all I can say is I hope the Fortnite money was worth it. Probably in 10 to 20 years they'll pivot again and desperately try to claw their hardcore market back after realizing what they've done. It's the endless cycle of things.

@OldGamer999 Its also possible that they are holding something back for summer games fest next week. I could maybe see them announcing something new for Spiderman 2 then. Also likely they are holding something back as a PS5 Pro game which is also something we know exists but have not heard much about officially.

But May '25 would not surprise me

@MrGawain If you own a shoe shop and you notice you’re selling far more wellingtons than anything else, you don’t stop selling trainers and sandals because they only sell 20% of what the wellingtons do. You offer as many different designs so you can attract the most customers.

Actually, no - no you don't. Not if you want to stay in business.

You don't EXPAND the selection of the stuff that isn't selling to try to bring in the customers that aren't there any more, not unless you have some solid proof those customers are coming to your store and leaving without buying because they can only find wellingtons. If only wellingtons are selling, then you get a bigger selection of wellingtons, not a bigger selection of trainers and sandals - because you only have so much store space, and you don't want to take up space with things that won't sell at the expense of space for what DOES sell. You may not like it if you want sandals or trainers, but that's reality, and it repeats across industries.

Sony may not have the inventory and shelf space management issues a shoe store does, as PSN can hold a nearly infinite number of games, but they do have a finite number of developers which limits how many first-party games they can produce. Meanwhile, all the independent developers are reading the same tea leaves and trying to make games they think will sell. Sony can't run a 24-hour State of Play to highlight every single game that might come out in the next six months (though that would be a cool thing to try, wouldn't it?).

So they make what they think will sell. And some of that will miss the mark.

It was an out of date GaaS misrepresented as a narrative graphically advanced adventure, followed by a bunch of F2P multipformat games followed by a bunch of not F2P multiformat games, followed by Astrobot, with 2 nods to "oh, our VR platform still exists, if you were wondering."

It's really hard to call that anything but a poor PS show. And the bland AI-generated connection of trailers with no presentation at all would make this a poor Future Games Show let alone Playstation show. This show is the pre-show trailer that runs for an hour before the real show starts on a Ubisoft Forward event, Plus Astrobot.

The reality though is what changed since then is on their financial charts from yesterday. Basically all their profit comes from ultra-casuals buying skin packs for the top 10 PS3 games forever and ever. Virtually none of their profit comes from selling exciting games that used to be showcased. Bottom line is: We're not their customer anymore. We're basically not even marginally relevant to them anymore. We don't matter. Their customer is someone else. A casual consumer that otherwise plays Candy Crush. PlayStation is a brand for them now. Not a brand for us.

Remember in 2020 when everyone was defending Jim and some of us were saying that you weren't seeing Jim's PS, that you wouldn't see Jim's PS until 2024 at the earliest, PS6 at the latest, and by then it'll be too late? And we were bashed for it? Yes, he's finally out, but it's going to take the rest of the generation to dig out from his rubble.

@BeerIsAwesome People know what they want. The problem is the "core" gamer market is pretty small, and is made of of many sub groups that all want different things. Meanwhile there's a billion people that want to just swipe mindlessly and link their credit card to their impulses, so they're being prioritized. Why make products for small groups who are discerning, when you can make pink slime burgers and sell them to endless masses that don't really think about what they put in their mouth as long as it's an approximation of a familiar texture?

@Thumper That's not a PS5 Pro, that's just a stock launch PS5 with the side panels off.

@tseliot I think the "experts" keep missing the script with the "recession" and it's that in our new (bifurcated) economy, there are two economies, and "recession" doesn't have the same indicators it did in 2008 which started the bifurcation. They keep pointing out spending is high, but it's basically the wealthy third that keep spending, and have grown so much than can easily spend 2x-3x more than before, replacing lost sales from the unwealthy 2/3. A third of the population is now so loaded they're recession-proof and forever will be. Two thirds have been in a recession for years and probably will be for the rest of their lives. But the extreme spend from the top third makes the old school indicators make everything look healthy. The Fed finally is catching onto that in their last report, at least slightly, but I don't think they have a clue what to do with what is essentially a second Gilded Age which functionally can't exist with a free market model without collapsing.

But discretionary gaming? There's only so many game hours that top third can spend for. Gaming is screwed without the other 2/3 spending.That's a big part of why $5 skin packs for free games make up > 50% of PS's revenue now.

Yea this will 100% be the last Playstation I buy early on. I'll be waiting five to six years into the PS6 before I even think about purchasing one. The Sony I knew is dead and gone.

@johncalmc I agree, but this site is obsessed with Japanese titles. That's why they favored the 2015 one.

@Ilyn
Hope you are right, as I have all 3 consoles and Mr PS5 isn’t looking the most played again for a second year running.

I see we are in OVEREACTION FRIDAY! Rich Elsen would be proud.

Who exactly build the brand tho? The old guys who played crash and spiro? The old guys who played ratchet and gow? The old guys who played uncharted and infamous? Or the soon to be old guys who played Horizon and Ghost of Tsushima?

We knew for more than 3 years they were making services, we know they cancelled half those services, were they supposed to not release the other half? People expect for Capcom to present a Resident Evil on sony shows every year?

Nah the show was bad but let's don't get it wrong. This isn't a shift, they just don't have anything to show yet and when they finally do either later this year or next year (because their goal is to increase first party revenue for 2025) people will forget about this and will celebrate and act like everything is perfect.

@Ken_Kaniff
I feel your pain as been with Sony since ps1 as well as the other consoles.
So far my worst PS generation thus far.
PS5 last year was my least played console out of all three and it’s heading that way again in 2024.

@OldGamer999 but that's because you bought a ps5 only no b*tch about it we all know that LOL.

@OldGamer999 I unfortunately don't own all three, but like you I've been around since the PS1 days. If I didn't get roped into trophy hunting eons ago and Xbox didn't look like it was turning into a third party publisher, I'd probably jump ship at this point.

@UnlimitedSevens It's not a matter of being "old", if being "old" were the problem the industry wouldn't be putting most of it's production behind just re-making old things endlessly. It's the same wall Hollywood hit. Back in the day it was experimental because production costs were low, and they could make a ton of things, put them all out there, and turn a profit overall. And most of the companies were privately owned.

Now, much like hollywood, the budgets are so high money must be borrowed in large amounts, and most of the companies are now public, so there are now financiers and investors to answer to as to how that borrowed money will be returned, and profited upon. And the way to do that reliably is have focus-tested checklists by which you factory make products with guaranteed likely, proven targets based on certain marketable attributes. Thus the games no longer are experimental or try to appeal to different groups. The games are formulaically made to meet measurable, evidence based projection goals. Like most of Hollywood it makes for bland content that for some reason a predictable number of people consume anyway.

I didn't really have any expectations for this, but I was hoping to be proven wrong. That they might have pulled something exciting out of the air. I can't say that I'm convinced they did that. We're roughly halfway through this generation. There's really not a lot to show for it.

@Golem25 31 isn't old!

@Jay767 Jesus gamers are embarrassing

@GymratAmarillo
I liked spending money on things then moaning about it. 🤣

@Ken_Kaniff
Series x is ok at the minute. I have game pass and lords of the fallen has just landed so trying that and Jedi survivor.
Will come in handy for Avowed and Indy this year and will play the COD campaign. First one in years.

I get the sentiment. Complaining or not, it doesn’t seem to hurt the brand very much, looking at the consoles sales.

I’m one that likes the first party games from ND & SP very much but the fact we see so many Remasters/Remakes, means they need the money to make them (and people seem to like that strategy). Is it even realistic to expect AAA blockbusters from those studios every 5 years?
Mostly they bet on sequels too because that’s less risk taken, so new IP’s aren’t always in the cards.

The SOP wasn’t for me except Astro Bot tbh but on the other hand I can’t believe Sony PS hasn’t got a clue what they are doing either. There isn’t a golden formula anymore and they need to be able to change strategies almost on the go.

In hindsight, maybe we were blessed having all those games where PS is known for, and that golden era is gone? Delivering awesome games is one thing, but keeping that same level/amount of hits year after year?
And if we can believe Sony, the loss of former income from COD does matter, and one of the reasons they are trying to create a Fortnite-esque moneymaker?

And is it greed or is it starting to be a necessity at this point? I thought Factions 2 would be a no brainer to be successful but apparently they can’t afford to have a team that would support that title for an amount of time?

@OldGamer999 Yea its really what they have coming in the pipeline that gets me excited. Plus I believe there showcase in June is gonna be a grand slam.

@Specky bro i miss the gritty era so much , naysayers call it the “gray/brown era” when that couldn’t be further from the truth - it was an aesthetic choice that added to the tone and look of what the games were supposed to be, and they literally had more color than just brown , it’s just hyberbole BS. look at gears of war 1-3 for example , and look at it now; what they did to that series is sad. if history actually does repeat itself then let’s hope it comes back around one day. & i feel you on the writing and characters now too , hipsters galore .

@Ken_Kaniff
You could always get a series s as a second console with GP.

@Toot1st also this is very true , i’m tired of hearing people say 30+ is old all of a sudden . it makes me dread hitting my 30s as if im about to be in my elderly years or something !

@OldGamer999 Man at 37 with two kids. I barely have time to play what I've got on Playstation, lol. It would honestly sit there and collect dust.

@Ken_Kaniff
Fair enough you sound a very busy man as it is.

Fortnite only works because, much like Netflix it met players where they are.

If Sony wants its piece of the Live Service pie it needs to think of those titles as revenue drivers rather than console sellers and bring them to Xbox, PC, Mac, iPad and Switch (2).

@Toot1st @nomither6 It's the modern media/consumer/hyper-speed technology turnover era. Human relevance is basically like pro baseball, once you hit 30 you're an obsolete relic waiting to be forgotten, there's fresh 18 year olds to replace you every year! Then the 18 year olds get to ride the high of being relevant while the old obsolete farts are in the way, and then a decade later they're replaced and the cycle repeats. Progress!

Just wait until the pace of AI technology takes over. By 24 you'll be like decades behind the new 18 year olds. Soon high school will just graduate everyone into an incinerator. They've outlived their usefulness and the 5 year olds will be on a whole other level of technological evolution.

@Beerheadgamer82 definitely interested in Ghost 2, but it’s not something where I’d be upset if there isn’t an announcement. Plenty of great titles from third party developers, so when such exclusives come, it’s just a bonus.

For me at least, there are too many games and not enough time. I have the money but can’t play them if I buy them. So I’m not fussed about announcements at these events.

@RadioHedgeFund Helldivers 2 is a good example of this. So much of its success comes from Steam users. Any live service game needs to be PC/PS5 on day one at absolute minimum. If they're serious about aiming for the king they have to expand that even further to phones and Switch as you noted.

This article hit the nail on the head. There needs to be more AA games that take less time to make, and cater to the fans' wants. More variety, more games, less waiting. Also, let's see a new Wipeout game.

@nomither6
It's crazy. I don't understand it.

Games like God of War or Horizon are pretty, but it doesn't make any sense with the tone of these games. They look SO clean! Look at the characters of Horizon for instance. They look like they're from some sitcom lol. They're supposed to be in an apocalypse!

Also why don't the monsters/ machines or Kratos/ Aloy themselves have any dirt on them?
They're walking on dirt for miles on end! They run on it, jump on it, roll through it, but they're always clean!

It's a weird thing these days where they're afraid to give the main characters bad traits or something

This is the result of things becoming more multiplatform.
The only things were Astrobot and Where Winds Meet PS5 version that interested me. State of Plays are a mixed bag and I think deep down Sony wanted to set the expectations down after the hype of reveals like Shenmue 3 and FF7 Remake.

Then those expectations keep going up so in the long term you can't keep up. I thought the State of Play earlier this year was decent. Big problems are development time and cost thats for most developers now.
Despite that I do think it should of been a lot better.

“ PlayStation no longer seems interested in announcing projects years in advance…”

This is exactly right. I think they took the feedback and uproar over past delays the wrong way. It’s one thing to give release windows and consistently fail to meet them. It’s another to tease without providing a release timeline but at least give people something to be intrigued by.

It’s impossible to please everybody, but the art of teasing and building genuine hype seems to be mostly lost. The silence is deafening. But hey… I’m sure we’ll hear plenty about additional layoffs in the coming months. 🥺

I can only wonder, what were people expecting from this SOP?

We knew there will be no big games from Sony til next year, plus the timeframe. 30 minutes, would be insane to show a PS5PRO. Summer Games Fest around the corner.

Show was ok, a tad long to introduce their Service game, but I bet they have high hopes for it.

Looking forward to the VR games, some others sparked my interest and then there was Astro. Good stuff.

More gameplay less CGI would be my preference.

Sorry to say this but the PlayStation we all grew up on is dead.

@NEStalgia Perhaps a more appropriate question in that case would be to ask who made us the judges of what the people want? If more people are gaming than ever, would it not be better to cater to the biggest group rather than the vocal minority? We might have had overlapping tastes when every game was a third person adventure game, but we became the sticks in the mud, and not the people who moved on.

I could be wrong of course, but I guess I know what I likes, and I'm not going to be changing that any time soon.

@BeerIsAwesome I think where it becomes a problem is when it's not merely different tastes but really completely separate markets and the companies abandon one to chase another. Statistics like "more people gaming than ever" get nebulous if we do as the executives tend to do and view mobile/service and console as one big market. When in reality it's completely different markets with different needs, different acceptable standards in payment models, etc. As one huge market maybe they're the majority, but of the traditional gaming market as it's own market we're the whole market for a company making that kind of product. It would be like a truck manufacturer just ignoring trucks and just focusing on cars because it's a much bigger market without identifying it as a separate market and that they're the biggest player in that market.

Even astrobot just looked like another playstation advertisement packaged in a level based platformer. May be fun but it's still just a gimmicky simple platformer. Missing genuine story in favor of cheering on Playstation, looking at you dual sense ship. Like wtf is that nonsense. Give me Jak and Daxter or sly!

Ok rant aside, Yah not much. Where are the big studios Sony. Hell just an announcement of what is to come, a friggin title screen of something big would have sent the ponies into fervor.

This was just a bland and tone deaf misstep..... Again.

Clearly they are just waiting to try and peddle justification for the pro to come.

The problem is the complete lack of care in paying mind to fan service. They have grown so silent and sterile, completely ignoring the discourse and eroding perception they are accumulating when just a few bones thrown, tidbits of hype and teasers here and there would go so far in repairing it.

@Specky yup , god of war as well! can’t speak for horizon because i don’t care about that franchise , but ive been playing a lot of 7th gen lately and one thing i always painfully notice is that games back then were highly detailed and atmospheric; games had so much attention to detail , with very detailed textures and grit, and the graphics looked sharp. there was no over reliance on oversatured vibrant colors (with playdoh looking textures) in crystal clear HD for people to think a game looks good , because games actually had an artstyle to it . Look at the texas chainsaw game for example , even for a horror game it looks too clean and fake! hell, look at the original COD modern warfare 1/2/3 , black ops and then look at COD now if you want to see another example of too clean and plain

also yes they are afraid to give characters bad traits nowadays . i think the last time they had a game where a character was more grounded in their own personality and not a lovey dovey saint that’s superficially supposed to be a role model to be likeable is delsin from infamous second son …10 years ago . we need more characters in gaming where their charm isn’t merely based on how subjectively likeable they are rather than how well they fit their archetype and carry the story

If I weren't a gaming enthusiast that liked to watch pretty much all of these kinds of shows then I wouldn't bother tuning into Sony's presentations anymore. Everything is either a souls like, Chinese lore inspired, gritty "realistic" narratives... there's just no point to these anymore.

Sony has a well-documented history of making the exact same mistake they're making with PlayStation. They create an incredibly successful brand and product, and then they flush it down the toilet due to horrible self-serving executive decisions.

Their board and upper management tie big multi-million dollar bonuses to revenue and profit growth. The "arrow pointing up" becomes the motivation, and the motivation to create quality products (i.e., make quality products and get long-term customers) gets thrown out the window. That's how you end up with by-the-numbers products that lack any and all innovation.

They did this with Trinitron and Wega, the Discman, the Handycam, the Vaio, Sony Ericsson, the list goes on and on and on and on. And now they're doing it with PlayStation. They're repeating a terrible business move that's going to cost them extremely valuable long-term market share. The plot twist is it won't be Xbox or PC that gobbles up PlayStation users who want quality content. It's going to be Nintendo. There's a reason the most celebrated game in the horrible State of Play is a Japanese made "trad" game. I don't think PlayStation fully understands that the millions of PS4 users who have yet to buy a PS5 won't think twice about buying a Switch 2. They just don't understand how much of a threat Nintendo is to their entire business.

Many people always say that aaa games need a lot of money to produce and it doesn't bring much profit so sony doesn't make them. They don't understand that those games are not produced to bring direct profit to Sony, but indirectly.
remember sony's main profit comes from the % commission they make from 3rd party games and microtransactions. there are thousands of games there compared to a few dozen from 1st party studios Surname.
But the reason why fans are here is to spend money on the company's store, not on steam, on epic or other stores. is because they know staying here will have the best games they can expect compared to xbox, steam etc. and many people are willing to play games with lower graphics, higher prices, spending money to go online or save saves because of that.
But if within a few years Sony cannot provide them with decent games. and also fails to provide them with at least exactly when those amazing games will be available. then users will question whether I should continue to sit here and bear the double cost of buying the game with this trash fps or should I move to the PC. and when users leave for another platform, where they can even play the same Sony exclusive game with crack and without spending a dime. then who will pay for the 3rd game purchases to bring profit to sony.
jim ryan's policy was to burn the best of sony to save profits in the few years he sat there to keep his seat and send sony to the grave after 5 years by chasing away its users.
The entire gaming group of nearly 20 people was always fully online during my PS4 days, but now there are only a few people left. The rest of them were all sitting at the computer and I thought I'd go up there and sit with them too. because at least until now I haven't seen anything I can't play on pc from sony if not now then at least within the next few years

Last stream convinced me to buy PC next timd. Playstation has nothing at the moment

It proves to me Sony don't give a ***** anymore about what gamers want. They have got complacent, obviously the lack of competition has made then arrogant. I'm more pissed off I bought VR2, no real support & commitment for the hardware, especially now with Astrobot!! They obviously don't care about there fanbase. Let's just say I won't be buying VR3 & PS6 for that matter.

As someone who works full time and is a bit more casual on gaming theses days, I thought the branding and stream presentation was fine. I'm already aware that Sony's portfolio is pretty light until well into 2025 so I was expecting only Astro Bot and that is what I got. The days of PS4 development cycles are over.

It kinda makes sense to me that they are holding back, I'm guessing it's out of fear of over hyping something for it then to be a disaster, or pulling focus away from games they want to sell now. We still have a steady stream of games available, and coming out soon, filled in with exclusive 3rd party games, and then next year there should be some big hitters like Wolverine. It is a shame they can't stagger there big releases a bit more though, so we have at least 2 a year during the console cycle, instead of all at the start and then the end.

@OldGamer999 couldn't agree more 👏

I cannot even rate the SOP. And I agree with the sentiment that the SOP did not speak to its fans. It felt very uninspiring.

It is always difficult to judge whether oneself is so over saturated with great games that it is difficult to be blown away once again or whether the presentations lack the necessary sparkle. I cannot say that any of the games looked bad. Presumably many of them are much higher quality in terms of visuals and maybe also game mechanics, but everything looked so similar, there was nothing that made me want to play any of the games.

I was very curious about concord, the cinematics kept my attention but the gameplay looked very generic and aimless. All the other games looked like games we already have seen a million times without any interesting evolution. Even the astro bot title did not bring anything new to the table in the trailer, to me it looked like a DLC for Astro's playroom.

Somehow it feels that the entire industry is just chasing the money and forgot to sell dreams.

Then concerning VR: it is hard to believe that sony developed this VR tech which is in my understanding partially in the PS5 itself, and the headset, which is available for a steep but compared to pcvr affordable price, without having any long term plan. The first year was fantastic with call of the mountain, gt7, re village, re4. And now all that is announced are some cross-platform titles limited by the capabilities of a mobile cpu/gpu, which we knew about for a year. It is so hard to believe that there is absolutely nothing else. Why put all that money into the technology ? Also it cannot be that difficult to add a little VR camera into astro bot, can it ? The game does not look so much better than rescue mission on psvr1, or does it ? Dreams has shown that platforms actually can work really well in VR in third person and that was on a ps4. Now with all that extra tech what is holding back a little investment into a similar mode for some flat titles? Sure VR will never sell as well as flat, but I am pretty sure that a small investment in a VR mode can be recovered. I am pretty sure such a mode could even be sold as a dlc. Why does nobody want to do that ? There are certainly many fans who are waiting for that.

All in all very puzzling to me but maybe I fell out of the core audience?

@nomither6
Very well said. High res playdoh is the perfect description lol.
I might add games like RDR2 and Cyberpunk to that list. Not afraid of dirty characters, physically and mentally. TLOU2 did the physical part very well in terms of it being post apocalyptic.
Sadly it's only a handful.

So I appreciated them showing all new stuff and games we can expect to see in the near future at the State of Play.
I understand the sentiment but Sony are in a no win situation there. The big games that made the brand need so much time to develop now especially as the quality expectations from the audience are sky high. They also get ripped if they announce something and have to change or push it back so I understand the need for not announcing things super early.
I think the games we want are coming, it's just Sony are being more organised in how it's all scheduled. They said at the start of this year not to expect anything from an established IP which is what we got.
When GTA takes over a decade, we need to be patient if we want the high quality first party games we got during PS4, which all were in development for a very long time before they came out too.

@KundaliniRising333 "May be fun but it's still just a gimmicky simple platformer. Missing genuine story in favor of cheering on Playstation, looking at you dual sense ship. Like wtf is that nonsense. Give me Jak and Daxter or sly!"

I don't see anything wrong with a Sony game cheering on PS with reference on their hardware or software lol. You're complaining Astro Bot doesn't have "genuine story" when it's never been the focus of the franchise compare to J&D or Sly which offered that experiences from the very first game.

And I don't think Team Asobi have any experiences with writing story for platformer either. So i prefer they keep Astro Bot clean from story and focus on gameplay rather than forced to add story and ruined the game with bad writing.

Beside. Many platformers doesn't have "genuine story" either.

Mario for example, the story is still the same old save Princess Peach and beat Bowser for decades. Nintendo never bother to make the story more engaging like J&D or Sly because they understand they don't have a lot of experiences on writing story. But tons of people are still buying Mario because what they want and love is the fun and unique gameplay either with gimmicks or not.

Or Sonic which again the story is still the same old stop Robotnic from getting Chaos Emerald and destroying the world. But people bought Sonic not because they like the story but because they love the fast gameplay. The time SEGA tried to inject more story plot and what we got was the abysmal Sonic 06. Heck, i don't think anyone gives a **** about the story in Sonic Frontier lol.

Sony peaked during the ps4 era, next gen (ps6) will further get lacklustre going forward.

When I see some (keyword; some) PlayStation fans arguing that Sony should abandon their old IPs, just by virtue that they're old...you know, the brands that BUILT the platform in the first place, be it Twisted Metal, Uncharted or Killzone, I can't help but argue that if one truly wants that, those gamers can't get angry at the lackluster state of PS5s first party output.
Personally, PS5 has been Sony's worst generation by far, for internal output.

The things that looked awsome where free to play or better said free to waste your time. There were a few good ones so its ok for me.

It's wasn't good, but it's wasn't terrible either. Astro Bot saved it honestly. But yeah, I've come to the conclusion that most first-party Sony games have simply left me behind. They aren't for me anymore. Nearly all of my PS5 games are multiplatform games that I buy on PS5 just because I don't want the Switch versions that run like butt. The only "PC" hardware I own is my Steam Deck, which is also nowhere near as powerful as my PS5, so the PS5 has become my default multiplatform system.

@NEStalgia What you mean to say is that this truck company has a CEO who is frequently taken out of context whenever he talks, and people went on the assumption that meant they were going all-in on cars, when in reality they had a couple of companies brought into the fold to make cars. Meanwhile the rest of the company continued to make trucks, and the one part of the company that was confirmed to be making a car (in spite of having brought out a mini-truck before the rest of the company even got going) couldn't make the car work, so they've gone back to the trucks. And that massively successful car they brought out was subcontracted by the truck company to a company that finds it easy enough to make cars. And as of recently, one part of the company that allegedly "dropped everything to make a car" turned out to be making a truck all along.

Seems simple enough to me! 🫠

For what it's worth, more Sony departments than just PlayStation are involved with games. Sony Music/Aniplex have one of the highest grossing mobile games of all time in Fate/Grand Order. And Sony Pictures/Crunchyroll publish games on mobile. I believe they recently published a Street Fighter game on mobile.

@PuppetMaster well sonic frontiers is overrated trash imo , & sonic actually did have a genuine good story at one point - sonic adventure 2 ain’t the GOAT for no reason . the two adventure games are great , sonic unleashed has a great story, the two sonic rider games have a decent story , not bad , and so does heroes. tbh it’s not many sonic games known for a bad story

@BeerIsAwesome lol I see your point, but the real point is they are essentially shifting markets to a different market, not because their market changed but because their old market isn't as big as the new market they found. Especially with those few and far between "trucks" being mostly guaranteed to be on PC, and better on PC, and the unique feature of cheap VR being much ignored (and also on PC) there just seems less and less of a reason for players in our market to still play on PS. The consoles are increasingly about a different market that isn't us.

I've been kicking around replacing Xbox with PC since their console future is so uncertain all the time and PC is basically Xbox Pro anyway. Planned on keeping Nintendo and PS if I do. But IDK I keep watching this stuff thinking it's definitely not the PS I know... So... Why? And fwiw I'm not the PS4 era ps fan that just wants over the shoulder movie game walking simulators. I hated that "everything must be naughty dog" obsession as much as the live service obsession. To me PlayStations identity was it's very unique mix of unique experiences nobody else has. They shed that last Gen to chase Hollywood and shed it more this gen to chase fortnite.

Little disappointed PushSquare, which has to have SOME industry insight, is fanning the “let's hate this fan” against a perfectly fine State of Play. We know how hard and difficult development is, we know ND canceled a big game, we know how unreasonable most fans online are, and we know if whatever Sony’s WWS shows does not look as good as GTA6/DS2, it’s gonna get ridiculed.

The games we fell in love with all just had sequels in 2021-2022.

Astrobot was cool, Sillent Hill was somewhat disappointing, and I don't care for the rest. Overall, not much for me, but that doesn't mean it was bad.

Sometimes gamers complain just to complain, this is one if those times. I play games, these events aren't me playing games. But there was still stuff for me to be happy about, so it was va very good event to me

I wish they would bring more legacy titles to the Premier tier as I think I am going to cancel. They added movies but I am a gamer and have streaming services for movies already. I want more polished-up ports of the classics. I want Bloodborne ps5 already and I want more than an everlasting diet of Spiderman. Time to take some challenges and excite your audience as playing it safe will not satisfy anyone.

@nomither6 I only played a bit of Adventure 1 but i never played Adventure 2, Unleashed, or Riders. So i don't know if their story really good or not. Heck, this is the first time i see someone praised the story in Sonic games. But if they're really good then they're the exception compare to other Sonic games.

I think we all miss the days of E3 personally with Jack Tretton at the helm, Andrew House and Shawn Layden I personally do miss E3. It was my go to for the years gaming info and to see YouTube blow up with it all and this site etc it reminded me as a kid growing up buying my monthly edition of GamesMaster to see what was coming.

Yes we get leaks now which spoils it but the E3 stage watching Ubisoft show it's fake gameplay and end off with Just Dance. EA and it's continued obsession with sports titles and the same game with a higher number at the end.

Microsoft hype up hardly nothing back then and it's still stuck in that same place even with all it's studios it owns.

Back then though games were a little less in the oven as we know hardware gets better players want more life like looking games. Fact is they don't us anything even if your loyal and stick with them we are going to have a year or 2 with hardly nothing once they've fired off the biggest ammo they have Spiderman 2 etc.

Costs are getting cut, staff are getting laid off the industry is trying to avoid a crash and this could set back it all another year to 3 years before we see anything else. And then it could be PS6 time and I still believe Microsofts last console before they go software/publisher only

One would think Sony would be pushing for it's PS2 emulation to be it's priority now to fill that gap

@Golem25 We old b*stards have to catch up too much on the pile of shame haha!
Still I rated it poor because there wasn't really any banger that actually tickled me. And being a father, I have a lot to spend, but no time to play. Just not spending on coming titles, but gone ones that complete my historical PS collection.

@Specky seconded

@RainbowGazelle This!

Everyone online body made fun of Sony for announcing things years in advance, and more snippets each year until release. So yeah, Sony took it to heart and are only announcing things once they are about ready and once they are certain.

Shawn Layden was the last PlayStation CEO that actually cared for the gamers....No wonder PlayStation has lost that especial flare it had years ago.

Absolutely it no longer speaks to me but maybe it's not meant to.

Its been 30 odd years since I abandoned my Sega mega drive, 3sx and mega cd for a ps1 and since there I've been there for everything Sony has done including the PSP, vita, VR 1 and 2.

But this is the first generation in 30 years that I feel abandoning PlayStation my investment in psVR2 isn't being respected by Sony and the games we see coming are all the same online hero looter shooter cash cows that I don't want.

This is the first generation since the NES that I've found myself playing more Nintendo via the switch than PlayStation or on my ps5.

Every other gen I might dabble in a side console if it interests me like a Wii or switch but 90 percent of my playtime was in Sony's sandbox.

I just feel aged out of the console with most of the games targeting teens but not in a edgy way more in a hey everyone's special we should hold hands and play co op games together now buy these fluro gun skins please kind of way.

I feel like Sony needs to remember the old-school fans who are still there and I know many may not be there anymore but I feel the majority are I know a lot of gamers who played PS 30 years ago still buy their systems so we are not gone yet but this keeps up we might be as the common sentiment is one of meh and this isn't that exciting afterall

I'm personally sticking with my ps3/ps4 for the immediate future with no plans to upgrade to the ps5 or ps6 anytime in the future. Then again I didn't plan to get a ps4 but I did anyways. I think the problem with Playstation is the focus on VR2 which nobody wants or has any interest in.

Yep. I've been saying it on the PS Blog for 3 years now since the disastrous Hermen Hults "Update on PS Studios" post in June 2021.

A lot of us were saying it back then in the comments. And a lot of people defended PlayStation. Well who looks stupid now? 3 years later and there are still hardly any new 1st party games, that got PlayStation where they are today, even announced.

@Rodimusprime1313 The focus on PSVR2???? Care to name a single game? Any FLAT SCREEN 1st party Playststion Studio games for PS5 announced since Spiderman 2 or Wolverine you would like to reveal even?

@CKFilms No, they didn't. Or, sorry, they did but they hadn't a clue what they were talking about.
God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn were announced and released in less than 2 years back in the middle of last gen. Those are 2 perfect examples of massive games that dont fit that narrative.

You are thinking of Xbox where in 2017 Phil Spencer, lied yet again, and said "We won't announce games early going forward". Hellblade 2 finally came out with more 2019 and 2020 annpinced games without even a single ingame screenshot to this day.

@andrewsqual I have watched previous State of Plays and for both first and third party titles over half of the shows show off various VR2 games for the ps5. Numerous shows have had half the focus on VR2 games time and again.

@andrewsqual no, I was speaking about Sony showing The Last of Us Part 2, Ghosts of Tsushima, and Death Stranding on repeat for years. Last of Us being the particular culprit that was shown since 2016. Sony was criticised for showing those three too many times before release. So yeah, they have taken it on board to show things when games are closer to being ready.

@NEStalgia thanks now I feel old

@NEStalgia I was closing tabs and forgot I hadn't replied to this, so apologies for the late response. I don't believe that Sony has quite abandoned their original market, as rather they have brought in additional resources to scale these new markets. After all, every year since the start of the PS5, Sony has published at least 5 games, if not necessarily created them themselves (Rise Of The Ronin and Sackboy come to mind). So I don't believe they've gone all in on live service either.

Regardless, the point of any company is to make money, so their PC strategy is common sense really. It's also not the first time Sony have directly developed for PC either. Back in t'olden days, Sony Computer Entertainment used to be known as Sony Imagesoft, and they originally started out making games for the consoles of the day (technically Sony's first foray into gaming was as a hardware partner to Microsoft for the MSX), but when they acquired Psygnosis and changed Imagesoft to 989 studios, they continued to develop for other hardware, including the PC until approximately 1999. They also had Sony Online Entertainment, which has since been sold to Daybreak. So I don't think they have ever "refused" to release to other hardware, but rather they could never make a success of it. Perhaps this time it may stick.

With that in mind, a PC and a Switch is probably the best combination of gaming systems to get. Then you'll have the best of all three worlds, and the benefits of PC gaming like mods, backwards compatibility for everything in existence (but you'll have to work for it) and fan patches.

Ninja edit: as much as we hate to admit it, mobile games are still games. Some of them can actually be quite good! I guess with a decent mobile phone, that makes the best of all worlds in combination with a PC and a Switch.

@BeerIsAwesome Ahh, no problem, it's nice when people continue old conversations rather than moving on with the day's refuse!

I have a more cynical view of Sony's handling of games this gen, I suppose. Well, specifically Jim's handling. We talk about "Playstation" but what we're really living is Jim's perversion of PS, and even though hes' gone we'll be stuck with the wheels he set in motion for some time. Kind of like Matrick's effect on Xbox, it may never really dig out of the problems induced because of the way the gaming industry works on a lag time, and Sony's never really been a company to pivot quickly. Sackboy I don't include with the rest because it was a contracted studio to make a game specifically in their IP series, but others, RoR, Stellar, etc, I don't see them so much as making games for a specific market so much as shopping what's coming and just buying out product for their own use to fill market games. I.E. if Sony didn't buy up Stellar Blade to fill that market gap, it was originally to be a $50 multiplat game. Sony bought it out, jacked up the price, promoted it as premium (the faithful ate up the marketing like candy) RoR would have been a multiplat GoT rival. I see them just shopping 3rd parties like an import market for USB adapters and buying up things they can plug into their catalog holes, while they focus their efforts on that new market.

It's not a totally bad strategy, business wise, mind you. But I think people view the reality of it from a favored angle.

Oh yeah, I have fond memories of Sony the publisher. Rose tinted memories, but still. One thing people tend to not realize also was that originally the Sony brass intended to publish on Xbox when it launched. They didn't see it as a competitor, so ironically the original Playstation vision of Xbox was the same as Xbox's vision of Playstation right now. It was Ken Kutaragi and his very, very, very Nintendo-obsessed mindset that shut that down and he flipped out on them for planning that. I miss Ken's PS compared to modern, but, he also did a lot of harm, I think (PS3 launch being the obvious one.) If he hadn't shut that down, PS games may have been multiplat all along, and MS never wanted to do the whole exclusives thing to begin with. We'd be in a very different gaming world today. For better or worse.

But, yeah, right now, I'm sort of on a precipice deciding if I just blow the cash and go headlong back into PC, not really wanting to part with the massive cash, or just ride the console duo out into the sunset, save cash, but probably regret the digital library loss in the end. I was mostly PC-only + PS exclusives from 1997-2010 or so. The money on hardware, constant blue screens, constant troubleshooting, constant failing hardware, etc etc eventually pushed me to ditch the gaming PC get a PS3 and be done with it forever. Then PS3 ran third parties horribly so I got a 360 too. And loved Iwata-era Nintendo after having skipped N64 and GCN. I vowed I'd never again go back to PC. Yet....here I am. Xbox is kind of uncertain and may just become PC anyway, PSVR1 got me into VR and PSVR2 gave me the finger....so now I care about VR and Sony's not going to really sustain it. Going back to PC seems like a plan with both PS and MS seeming like you get better versions of the same games on PC anyway if you just wait. I bought a Legion Go to get a feel for modern PC gaming (back in my last build era I still bought physical PC games....no Steam. I have an ancient steam account with nothing but Half life 2 and Portal on it, plus 2 Steam Controllers lol) If I didn't already have a save file 2/3 through the game I'd have bought GoT on it just for the giggles. Almost bought HZD for $12 on GoG just to test, but I already have a platinum on it, don't really need to do it again. I'm getting very tempted to splash the cash at this point and get back to a big build. Feels defeatist going back to PCMR after "cord cutting" back to console

I have such mixed feelings about mobile. On one level I recognize there are good games. On another level mobile is less about the content and more about the monetization model. At one point on my "I'm so sick of PC" adventure before going back to console, early in the iPhone era I really thought I'd convert to playing all games on pohones. Had an iPod Touch that was basically my only gaming system. Seemed like the future. I was mobile gaming before everyone else was. But that was before it went into the "f2p gambling" thing, and I'd bought a 3DS and Vita and somehow phone gaming just seemed passe. Today, it's just its own thing really. I know there's good stuff there but it's such a radically different market, and swipe to play is so limiting. And if you have to pull out a controller...when then you're back to Portal, Legion, etc type form factors and can just do that. Heck even a Legion, pricy as it is costs less than high end phone and is better for the task. Little tricky to stick in your pocket though!

@NEStalgia Yeah, and I was continuing to interact on this site as well, without giving you a proper response. 😅

Personally, I don't share the world's fatalistic opinion of Jim Ryan, given that if he truly was incompetent, he wouldn't have lasted 30 years in a company that basically has zero tolerance for unprofitable or underperforming departments. Either way, he steered PlayStation to it's longest sustained period of growth, though I can't tell you by what metrics. Ultimately, whatever we think of him, or Sony in general, is just the cost of business, for better or for worse. See it that way without the rose-tinted glasses and you'd be fine.

History has this weird knack of showing us things we didn't know at the time. I did actually recently chance upon an old "reviews" page from the early 90s, and it was absolutely wild seeing games for the Mega Drive being released by Sony and Activision. Pfft, what effect on the gaming industry will they have 30 years down the line? 😅

It depends where your threshold for having fun is. If you find swiping left or right in order to complete a very simple objective more fun than, say grinding for character enhancement materials, then who's to argue the difference between a mobile phone and a Steam Deck? If you want to spend your cash on something regardless of platform, spend it where you know you'll have the most fun. For me, I dug out my PS2 so I could play certain games in my Sonic marathon, and I loved every second of them. Which is why Sega's obtuse release policy means I can't play Sonic Dream Team without buying an Apple device first. Probably best you don't do that. 😛

Also, for what it's worth, PCs are far more stable and well supported than they were when I was an active PC gamer, if you decide to go that route.

@BeerIsAwesome Haha, I do that same thing all the time with long replies, so I totally get you!

Well, most of those years, Jim was in marketing. He's good at promoting products, and I think that was always visible, but that doesn't mean he has any skill at all at planning products 10 years into the future. Like most marketing-turned-executive guys, it seems like he chased trends, appearances, optics, and numbers/quotas like a marketing mind, but wasn't much of a leader as a "product guy." But their cruise control from their high highs in the PS4 generation hid that behind automated success for years, until finally his spending without real product vision caught up to him and spent them under the table despite record revenue, especially where most of that revenue comes from simply being a distributor or things that have high mtx rates, and not really through product sales at all. When we look at current earnings, we see hardware is down, software is down, network services (which includes advertising?!?!) is up but that was boosted YoY by a massive price hike. Nearly all their growth is just selling "add-on content" (mtx/dlc/battle passes.) I.E. Jim didn't do much that spurred growth, simply being Playstation, the default console people buy to play F2P games on spurred most of that growth. Sure, his marketing skill helped keep it the default, but I thin he could have done that as the chief marketing exectuive while someone more on the pulse actually ran the company and product.

Gaming always lags, so you see the mistakes years after they're made, and the corrections years after they're made. So we won't really see corrections from his mistakes for some years still. Assuming the new management is better. I somehow suspect pulling management from japan this time will lead to a better overall program. (Never worked for Squeenix though lol)

Yeah, I do suppose it's a matter of thresholds for mobile, but IMO, it's just a completely different market. We can say "they're all games" in the same way that a bike and a lamborghini are both "vehicles" but in reality they're completely different products for completely different people used for completely different purposes. I think the industry has spent itself in knots assuming those two are related in ways they absolutely aren't.

IDK about supported. Read enough motherboard reviews and it seems like the same old same old to me. But....my Legion experience is great. But I'm certainly hoping its all better than it was a decade and a half ago. It was SUCH A mess. I think out of about 6 builds in 15 years, only 1 was ever truly stable. And I'd spend more on more workstation grade stuff each time.

In my honest opinion as someone who has been gaming since the 2600, this is the worse console
Generation we have ever had. It’s the first time in history there wasn’t a major leap in graphics, it’s basically the ps4 with fast loading era. And they barely have enough games to warrant buying a ps5 what on earth could we possibly need a ps5 pro. It would be released and you would have to be a total sucker to buy it.

@NEStalgia I do like a good essay, though I find myself rereading it as I reply, having already forgotten it. Helps when for the most part we agree on things, but with differences.

For example, my point still stands about Jim Ryan - he was a part of PlayStation for 30 years, and seemingly well-liked by the people who worked under him. Though management and being the face are as you say two different things. He was often quoted wildly out of context, and none of his pressers ever seemed to have the energy of his predecessors, so it seems he was probably promoted based on his performance enacting other people's edicts, and not so great coming up with his own.

Regardless of how well Sony has planned over 10 year periods, they can't account for their biggest money maker, Call Of Duty being pulled from under their noses by their biggest rival in the sector in what people are starting to consider a desperate move. I can't speak for what goes on behind the scenes, but when news came out that PlayStation had a sizeable transfer kitty, and then only came back with 3 or so acquisitions, it would stand to reason that they would be using the rest of it to make deals, to increase their stakes within other companies (FromSoft and Epic are the two I know off the top of my head, the latter of which has resulted in an expanded partnership outside of games). Either way, I refuse to believe that a company as big as Sony doesn't prepare for most eventualities, even if they are not obligated to tell us what their plans may be.

That wasn't supposed to say one game is more suited to your purpose than another, but rather that if you have more fun riding the bike than driving the Lambo, why should you be urged to drive the Lambo by society? If you ever see my trophy list, it's...unique. And a good 90% of those games I've genuinely enjoyed, all the way from visual novel to the greatest of AAA games out there. And yes, I have grinded (ground?) a lot in some games just to get certain trophies. I am by no means any more or less of a bike or Lambo driver than you. I just prefer to play games I feel are fun or appeal to me.

What I mean is that PC is now a lot more supported by the developers than before. You can probably credit Valve with the turnaround there, but before they came along, having PC ports of games was generally niche genres like RTS and point and click, and studios with big enough budgets to do porting jobs. Now everything comes to it, and that includes formerly exclusive games to a platform. Often a lot of Nintendo Switch exclusives find themselves on PC, as did a lot of Vita exclusives, though neither were first party games. I'd probably say get the PC for everything, but keep the Switch for the times you want to play Mario and Pokémon.

Edit: regarding mobile, I've spent a fair while on a tablet on this holiday playing simple cryptogram and sudoku games, as well as more well-known stuff like Professor Layton. Can't say I haven't had fun doing them.