Topic: PlayStation 5 --OT--

@Kidfried Putting it all together like that with the 5-6 core studios that make AAA single player content, I realized they all released games within the final year of PS4 and first year of PS5. Bend is probably the only one without any output for a while. Next would probably be ND if you don’t count the Part I remake. Of course we know they were spending resources on Factions this whole time and probably set them back a couple years in the cycle.

But BluePoint, Housemarque, Guerrilla, Santa Monica all had releases in the first year or two of the PS5. Sucker Punch released the Iki Island and the PS5 version of GoT, which is a much smaller project, so I wouldn’t be surprised if GoT2 is pretty far along.

@KilloWertz That is my point. Even if they are choosing not to reveal things too soon and/or risk backlash from any potential delays too, then it still seems like they have nothing of their own in the 'near' future - as in the next 6-12 months - to release.

If you have a lot to release in the next year, I can understand not revealing projects beyond that as you have a lot to keep gamers positive for the immediate future and once they release, have the 'next' batch. However if you don't have a lot in the next year, then maybe its worth revealing projects a bit further away.

I appreciate that sometimes it can get frustrating waiting 'years' for updates and a release, but if you haven't got something coming up sooner, is that better than not knowing what they have in development and what seems like nothing coming 'soon'. Surprise announcements/reveals of course could still come and change that landscape.

All I am saying is that I would rather have 4 or 5 games I'm looking forward to regardless of whether they are expected in the next year or 3yrs+ than only have 1 game that doesn't seem to be releasing soon because they haven't got another 2 or 3 games coming in the next 'year' and therefore choose not to reveal. I'd love to see 4-5 games releasing every year and so they always have 4-5 games to look forward to and not wait 'years' for them, but I'd also rather know they have 4-5 games coming - even if they are years away than not know if they have any games coming. As I keep saying, Sony has a LOT of great IP's and Studios so I am 'optimistic' but until they officially reveal their plans, I have numerous concerns which have only been reinforced - not reduced by Sony.

I don't expect ND or Guerilla to make 'online' only games - even though they have both built Online modes before. So hearing that both were making 'online' games, like Arkane making Redfall or Bethesda making Fallout 76, are they being 'pushed' by Sony to capitalise on GaaS? They may have well paid employees all working on exclusives for Sony, but are they being 'pushed' into the GaaS model away from the one & done Narrative SP games as these can be more profitable? They own the Studios so will have the final say on what projects they choose to greenlight.

As we know, they chose not to Greenlight a sequel to Day's Gone and rumours say they cancelled Factions after 'years' of work. If Factions is 'cancelled', then that's a bunch of staff that's been developing 'something' for years that is now not coming and not 'working' on Games we as consumers would get to play. Hearing these things too doesn't help fill me with confidence.

I can't help feeling that Playstation is at its 'lowest' point for me in many years. Perhaps even lower than when the PS3 Online was hacked and was 'offline' for weeks preventing me from playing 'many' of the games I was playing and/or looking forward to playing, but still had more light at the end of the tunnel and things to look forward to. As I keep saying, things can change too and by the time my PS+ is coming up for renewal, the road map ahead is much more exciting for me but right now, I am questioning whether or not I will spend any time on my PS5 in the next year or so and/or whether I should buy any PS5 games with 'online' modes if I may not bother renewing PS+. Even if they don't have much in 2024, just seeing 3-5 games that I want to play being developed would help. It helped with Xbox despite 2022 looking 'bleak' and then got worse with delays - knowing that they were at least working on projects that appeal, that 'eventually' I'd get to play the types of Games I enjoy so can make do for now with 3rd Party and my backlog knowing that the Games will come.

I'd be surprised if Sony doesn't have those type of games in development - it just doesn't seem right to me after all these years. Maybe in a years time, I'll be at the other end of the spectrum and raving about all the 'exclusives' Sony has in their future that I'm excited and eager to play - such is the dynamic nature of this industry but at this point in time, Sony themselves haven't shown me enough to make me excited and that I will want to keep paying out for PS+ as I'll be spending a LOT of time/money on Playstation 5.

@Th3solution I'm sure the future will be bright but right now, that is based on history and not on any concrete evidence. As for expanding my horizons so to speak, I have Game Pass Ultimate so have access to MANY games I would never have bought at any price and can try at no extra cost and no obligation to ever spend money on. Therefore I see little reason to 'risk' spending money on Games that don't appeal when I can play games that 'do' for a lot less, if not 'free' on a sub service. I also don't see the point on buying a game to 'try' because its more 'westernised' or that 'Turn based Combat' isn't that bad and its Story is worth it (Midnight Son's, Baldurs Gate) when they appeal even less than games in my backlog I'd rather play, let alone 'free' games in Sub services I'd rather play/try before even considering spending 'money' on something.

All games are competing for my 'time' first and foremost - some may have a large pay wall to access, others maybe in my backlog or 'free' on a service so no cost. Therefore Games must appeal more than what I already have access to if I am going to spend money upfront to play them and if I'd rather play some old game in my backlog (or on a Sub service) than Final Fantasy, Helldivers, Marathon, Foamstars, FairGame$, Forspoken, BG3 or whatever else is releasing, then I'm not going to spend money to 'try' them. Its not as if I don't have access to hundreds of games that appeal more in my backlog that may not be a visually impressive or 'new' but they are not exactly things to look forward to, to be excited for etc...

@BAMozzy I don’t see any point in staying subscribed to a subscription service if I don’t want to play anything on it immediately. You can join the things as frictionlessly as buying a game.

Knowing a game that I would want to play is in development and will be on the service day one won’t change that to decision.

Given the amount of games to my taste at the moment, I doubt I’m going to be in the situation of randomly trying games. I’m unsure of on spec for awhile. If I did want to try a large number of games. A subscription service would certainly be the way to go about it.

I'm in the situation where I'm interested in PS5 but there's a few things that are stopping me from actually purchasing:

• The whole thing Phil Spencer brought up about Xbox exclusion deals rather than Playstation exclusivity deals. It gives me the impression that if he's telling the truth, a lot of the PS 3rd party exclusives I'm interested in like the FFVII Remake trilogy will come to Switch 2 if it's powerful enough. Switch is my primary console so will always prioritize native Switch versions and while I do have a Series X, my interest in Xbox has been generally decreasing since Infinite's launch (at current my interest in Xbox is lower than it was in 2013 which is really sad)
• The strong rumours about PS5 Pro in 2024
• Sony's large focus on live service makes me very uneasy about the future of PS

So I find myself best off waiting until answers are found which I'd imagine at least some would happen during the 1st half of 2024.

@colonelkilgore Their lack of showing anything from them can give people that impression, but anybody willing to put much thought into what they type will realize that is obviously not the case. 3rd party titles have been doing the heavy lifting overall so far, but they need their own studios more than Xbox, so there's no way they don't have things in the pipeline. So, in the end, you're right.

@KilloWertz I most certainly was begging in the beginning 👍 auto correct has a lot to answer for I bet!

I mean I did state that it appealed to me and not that it was a great show for everyone, which is always going to be the case. I already knew about Spiderman 2 but seeing alot more about how the switching between characters works and the new map size has added further to my excitement and I imagine it was added in to serve a purpose as to anyone sitting on the fence look what we've got.

Phantom Liberty is another I was already looking forward to and was nothing new but still glad to see more of it and its coming this month so again another advert.

Helldivers 2, this one was a surprise to me, again I know not to everyone and not everyone is into MP or Co op games but I don't mind them so I like the look of this game, might be as bad as all their other live service games but who knows.

I'd love to hear from Sony on their next year or 2 of projected Single-player ips but I feel in my humble opinion that Sony know very well that their single player ips are going to sell so their never really in a rush to advertise them, look at the drama Cyberpunk caused and to a certain degree Starfield, the majority of people don't like waiting too long for games and the earlier their announced the more scrutiny they come under.

I think whether people like it or not Sony will continue to operate in this way, it doesn't make me feel like their not making any great single player games but I do see why people would start to get a little frustrated.

The biggest Win for Sony in the last year is probably Starfield, I know that's going to sound controversial but the so called "system killer" seems to have hit with a relative meh some people love it, some hate it and most think it's alright. This is where Sony will probably feel they still hold the ace cards in terms of qaulity of SP experiences.

Of course I could be clearly wrong and Sony could be sat there with their fingers up their nose don't absolutely nothing and have no clue what their going to do next but from a company that's delivered on the SP front for the last 15 years I just don't see it.

So while Sony first party games are and have been very important, as others have mentioned third party exclusives have been huge of Sony of late. So while 2024 looks a little light on first party output (thus far)… and hopefully this changes if not during 2024 but thereafter, 2024 still looks decent when you consider big single player games such as Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Rise of the Ronin will be released during the first half of the year… and I reckon we might well get Death Stranding 2 during the back half.

@colonelkilgore Stellar Blade and Granblue Fantasy as well in 2024. And the backend of 2023 is also kept afloat with third party console exclusive/early access — FF16, Baldur’s Gate 3, Honkai Star Rail…, along with smaller 3rd party console exclusives like Star Ocean coming. And if you want to count earlier this year Forspoken. Other indie and AA 3rd party exclusives exist too (although likely Xbox has its share of these too) like Humanity, Tchia, etc. There’s probably others that didn’t come to my mind.

It’s possible that with all the 3rd and 2nd party console exclusives that Sony is biting their tongue on the 1st party games so as not to cannibalize their outside partnerships. If they announced Bloodborne 2 or Ghost of Tsushima 2 for 2024 then would Rise of the Ronin be getting as much anticipation? Probably not. If Bend has a hypothetical open world action Sci Fi game, then they probably want to wait until Stellar Blade gets out there and shines for a couple months first. Etc, etc…

@Th3solution

This is probably a good explanation business wise, I imagine especially with their 3rd party exclusives they have to market them in a way that keeps the developers happy.

@Th3solution good shout, I completely forgot about Stellar Blade and Granblue Fantasy Relink… I also reckon we will see Silent Hill 2 Remake in 2024 also… and maybe even Lost Soul Aside. And I’m inclined to agree that Sony are actively remaining schtum about their first party slate, be it for the reason you’ve stated or otherwise.

Some folk seem to be misunderstanding (or just plain misrepresenting for their own agendas which we’re all aware of 😎) Sony’s statements since GaaS has become a priority but they have actively and categorically stated that regardless of their intention to produce a number of GaaS moving forwards, that this in no way will negatively impact the number of single player first party blockbusters to be released. Essentially the GaaS will be in addition to their usual first party out put not instead of.

@MaulTsir If I didn't make it a point a while back to not watch anything else for Spider-Man 2, I would have probably had a similar reaction as you about the new trailer. It was good to read about the character switching and the map after the show though.

I am 99% sure that their developers haven't actually just sat there doing nothing. In the end, I'm not actually concerned about the future like some people are. I know their usual 1st party single player masters will still put out the usual greatness. Like I said already, it's just frustration aimed at Sony themselves. I know the PS3 days of PlayStation are long dead unless something catastrophic happens and sales tank, but they were better about things even last gen with the PS4. This will likely all be moot looking back at this several years later, but I can still vent from time to time in the meantime.

@Grumblevolcano To be honest, if you're still got a PS4 (Pro even better) and you don't need to play Baldur's Gate 3 on a console, I'd hang fire for now.

While the 4 is still being supported by most devs, the PS5 has barely anything truly next gen on it, even after 3 years. I assumed 2023 would be the year to make the leap but I'm still not seeing much in the way of benefits.
Yes, the load times are shorter (though Pro + SSD isn't as far behind as many may think!) and the PS5's UI is the most depressing and confusing cock up Sony has ever inflicted on it's loyal customers.

Like you, I find myself similarly unsure of where Sony are going with this generation and so far, I'm not impressed.

Pertinent to the front page article about the DualSense — Do you all like the new feature added on this last update where you can enable haptic feedback whilst navigating the menus?

I’ve enabled the feature and can’t decide if I like it. In general, I’m a fan of DualSense’s haptics and have its features fully activated to the max — strong haptics and strong adaptive triggers. I enjoy the nuanced feeling that many games include. And navigating the menus and feeling a different rumble depending what you click is also a cool sensation, but it does seem a little over-the-top. It probably shortens the time between charges too by using more power. Wondering what others think. Have you enabled the feature?

@Th3solution I never turned on the new feature as I don't see the point in having haptic feedback while using the UI, but to each their own of course. I have the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on (I believe "medium") for games though. I love the haptic feedback, but there have been several games I've turned the triggers off for. A neat feature for some games, but I think the triggers can make certain games more difficult to play than they need to be with them on. Using Control as an example, I shouldn't have to struggle to press down the trigger in the middle of an extremely hectic battle with several enemies coming from all around.

I veered off a bit, but anyways, I doubt I'll ever try the new feature. The DualSense's battery life is already short enough.

@KilloWertz I suspect a lot of people will choose not to use the haptics for navigating the UI. And I might turn it off after the novelty wears off.
I do seem to recall that the Switch has haptics when clicking around the UI. Maybe I’m imagining that since my use of the Switch is very limited.

@Th3solution It's fine that they added it, but if I ever used it, it would be just to try it once and then turn it back off. Nothing wrong with using it though. It's just something I don't need.

Yes, the Switch has rumble when using the UI at times, like when you use the controller to turn on the system. I haven't used mine in a long time, and honestly would have probably sold it by now if Amazon bought them or it wasn't out of my way to go to Gamestop, but I do remember rumble at certain times.

I have discovered that muting the beep is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because, well, there's no beep. A curse because every time I turn on the PS5 via the controller (which is 99% of the time), I do a double take to see if the console actually turned on. I guess that's why the light is there.

@KAIRU I chose to go ahead and leave the beep but turned it down to the lowest volume. I think it’s a nice compromise, because like you say, it’s good to have confirmation that your machine is booting, but then it also doesn’t alert the whole neighborhood.

Can't say the beep from the console has ever bothered me, and did wonder what all fuss and nonsense was about when it was first announced. 🤷‍♂️