Sony Insists Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales PS5 Reveal Was Not Misleading

@swagbag713 unfortunately some people need the obvious spelled out for them. Others just need to try to complain and try to find faults for their own purposes.

“I can safely say that we would not effectively lead the next-gen portion of the show with something that was either trivial or misleading.”, exactly; as odd as communications about the ps5 has been the idea of our first glimpse at the games is just DLC for an existing game is absurd.
On the other hand; Sony should be worried that for a while we all believed it, it speaks volumes on how they have been communicating

Unfounded Spider-Man accusations you say?

I'm sure they weren't intending to mislead people, but they needed to be a lot more clear in that trailer. A simple "a new standalone title in the Spider-Man universe" would have sufficed at the end.

I can live with a standalone, enhanced remaster game.

My understanding is everything was fine until somebody at Sony - Sony Europe boss Simon Rutter - answered a question by saying the "enhanced" part and everything in the reveal was accurate. So maybe it's not the reveals fault, maybe it's that persons fault, whoever they were.

I don't see that "misleading" part in this article but it was covered in depth last week for anyone who may have missed this one and is wondering what all the hubub is about.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/06/correction_spider-man_miles_morales_is_a_brand_new_standalone_ps5_game_similar_to_uncharted_lost_legacy

Personally I don't recall any confusion at all when Lost Legacy was announced. Naughty Dog said it started as DLC, but was too big, so they expanded it into it's own game, but it wasn't big enough to be a full game, so it was priced lower. That's all they had to say from the start, it's an expansion.

Of course, I think - and wow anyone who has read this far - that Sony's REAL problem is, yes, this is an expansion of Spiderman, maybe, just maybe, it even began as DLC, but the real problem is, it's a DLC game like Lost Legacy, but it's on another console. So all the people who already played Spider-man on PS4 may not be able to simply play this DLC but need to buy a new console first. So that's what Sony is tripping over themselves trying to explain, that's it's DLC for a game you need to buy a new console to play. Lost Legacy didn't have that issue, both it and U4 were on PS4.

If Insomniac says Miles Morales started as DLC for a PS4 game people are going to wonder why they can't play it on PS4. Unless they can, then I don't see why they are having so much trouble explaining what this is. Somebody needs to ask Insomniac pronto if we can play this on PS4, and if not, why not.

Jim kind of admitting there that the opening of the show with that gta reveal was pretty trivial 😉

"We wouldn't lead with something trivial"

GTA V

@rjejr I’m sure I saw somebody has asked and they clarified it is ps5 only.

Edit I can’t find it but it was on Twitter.

Also they redesigned it around ps5 so it won’t work on PS4. The if not why not would be because they redesigned it to take full advantage of the ps5 meaning, like I said, it won’t work on the PS4.

Edit: I think if you were to think about it logically it might shift your thinking... you’re thinking they just repurposed a dlc into a launch day game. I think it might have been more like:

Big wig at Sony: “why don’t we leverage Spider-Man to help showcase the power of our SSD”

Insomniac games: “we can definitely do that we’ve got some ideas already”.

In other words; how in the hell are we supposed to know the how or why? What we do know is this resulted in a new ps5 Spider-Man adventure that’s been redesigned to take advantage of the ps5’s hardware. Can’t we just be happy about getting a new PS5 spider-man game?

Not only spider-man, but miles morales is a menace too? Jameson is right, you just can't trust this spiders man menace..

@wiiware with the multiverse shouldn’t it be spider-men?

My stance: I don’t need a new map, Spider-Man operates in Manhattan anyways.

But I expect a game they opened up the presentation with, and the only [apparent] launch title, to be a 16+ hour campaign (collectibles and side activities aside.)

If this ends up being a 7-8 hour adventure: then it was a damned misleading intro to the show.

Only reason 8 hour campaigns are justified is if the game comes with a VERY deep multiplayer mode (that I still would not care for but at least it would justify things.) So most FPS get a pass on campaign length due to that. But this game... I’m still expecting 16+hours

@Star-Lord it is PlayStation 5 exclusive.

@rjejr I don’t think the PS4/PS5 thing is a big deal if it’s stand alone. If this was some entire repackaging of the previous spider man, and required you to play the game again to get to the new content, that would be an issue.

Think the issue [now] is that a half-game like Lost Legacy was not expected to carry a console launch, and was not even expected to have a full price. It launched at $20 USD in October and I got it for $10 in November.

@MarcG420 Man, men, woman, all spiders is a menace lol.

@wiiware 👍😂

Truth is Sony's communication with consumers has so far been poor. Take the utter shambles over backwards compatibility with PS4 games as a prime example. Or the lack of messaging about Corss-buy or what Microsoft term smart delivery. We haven't even got a spec sheet for the two versions of the PS5 to see if the only way they differ is the UHD Blu-ray drive. Their marketing team is top notch as always, but the corporate team are shambolic. Every time one of their execs open their mouths it's to contradict another Sony exec. There is no way that Insomniac should have had to clear any of this up, either execs aren't getting concise briefing docs on products, or they're just not reading them. Either way Sony really do need to stop putting their collective feet in their mouths.

@Star-Lord yes I’m sure. Insomniac say it’s been redesigned completely for the ps5 themselves.

Or maybe, you know, all the press jumping the gun was what mislead people?
Instead of waiting for confirmation.....as they should.
No, they would never admit that.

@Star-Lord sony confirmed all future games will be ps5 only

@Gilvin
Or maybe we should be worried that we tend to believe whatever is reported by the press without confirmation from the developers?

@Tharsman "Think the issue [now] is that a half-game like Lost Legacy was not expected to carry a console launch"

That's another issue. If Miles is a shorter game that seems like DLC, that's a let down. Some of the other games in the reveal also seemed limited - Sackboy w/o level editing, Astrobot w/o VR. It was a great reveal, but upon closer inspection there are always issues.

Lost Legacy was $39.99, so $40 US not $20.

"Side-story Uncharted: The Lost Legacy will release on 22nd August for $39.99 in North America and 23rd August for £34.99 in the UK, developer Naughty Dog has announced."

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2017/04/uncharted_the_lost_legacy_starts_a_new_ps4_story_on_22nd_august

Wait and see. But SONY had a hand with this mess. If you not clear, people will fill in the blank on their own.

On another note, @Octane beat me to it. But basically this.

"We wouldn't lead with something trivial"
GTA V

@JJ2 the issue is without clarity from Sony themselves there is a void where misinformation can spread not maliciously, but because people genuinely think the information they are spreading is true. Cerny's 100 games gaff was a prime example. He didn't have to say that, it wasn't important, the goal is important, say they're working to ensure all PS4 games work in boosted modes at launch, and those that don't will go through trouble shooting to fix them. The Spider-Man issue is totally Sony's fault too, some plonker didn't read the memo in Europe and opened his mouth without knowing the facts. I hope he got a serious dressing down over it at the very least. Other issues are to do with the vacuum they've left where no information is forthcoming. I know that if I buy an Xbox One game, I get the XSX version for free at this point, Microsoft have been clear and on message. What do we get from Sony? Silence, and third party Devs like CD Projekt Red saying we don't know what's going on, talk to Sony... who say nothing. Jim Ryan needs to get a grip on so many strands of the message that are flapping in the wind right now. The reveal event was good, there's a momentum there, they just need to clarify more of their strategy going forward. I'm refusing to buy PS4 games until I know what the cross-buy situation is. I don't have that issue with Xbox.

@MarcG420 "Can’t we just be happy"

This is the internet, the internet can't do happy.

And it may matter to some of the 13m PS4 owners who purchased Spider-Man if this was presented like a shorter DLC. Guess the price and content will be the determining factor to what this is, or was. Really seems like a lot for confusion if it's just simply Spider-Man 2 starring Miles Morales, so I feel like something is up. Shouldn't be so hard to release a new game.

@rjejr it was never presented as a shorter experience though, that’s the point.watch the trailer again if you want and tell me what made you think it was a short experience.

@SirAngry
'Cerny's 100 games gaff "
You are wrong I m sorry. Watch Road to ps5 , it's all very clear. The issue was the poor reporting on it.
This Spider-Man MM misinformation is also a misreporting and in addition the rush to the scoop without checking the info with the developers. The quote never mention 'remaster' at all..
The rest I dont want to go into console war comparison about something I found so futile as promotion and marketing.

@JJ2 I disagree, when he said it I turned to a colleague and said that's a mistake. Sure enough I was right. It's like the UK and Swedish Governments messaging on social distancing. The more waffle you add the less clear the message is. You open up possibility for confusion and misunderstanding. Just simply say we're working on making all PS4 games work in boosted modes on PS5 at launch, and those that don't we'll be working to fix as soon as possible after launch. No confusion, the aim is clear. Journalists can then ask how that is going, but knowing full well what the stated target is. It might be bad journalism, but it's also needlessly bad messaging on Sony's part. I knew what they were planning, but Cerny didn't make it clear in my opinion.

@SirAngry
It was a very technical talk and ps5 architecture. I think you know that. It's the press job to report and translate for the public. I recommend to watch again. It's very clear when he start s talking about boost BC.
'Just simply say we're working on making all PS4 games work in boosted modes on PS5 at launch,'
He did not mean all games will work on boost mode at launch. I dont know where you get that from. That would be a lie.

I thought the whole spin-off thing was obvious when insomniac themselves stated it?. It's clear that this is miles' game and further builds upon his character. The true spider-man 2 will probably come out in 2022/2023.

@rjejr I guess you are right about the price, I did get it for $10 very shortly after it launch but the $20 price I mentioned came from Camel Camel Camel and I guess the entry was just tracking the greatest hits edition.

That said I don’t think the Sackboy game is all that bad of a value, if it has as many levels (or more) as Mario 3D World had. But I do also think Sackboy is nowhere near as appealing as Mario, and the physics of the game have always felt floaty to me. Great for a physics based level builder, but never for a solid dedicated platformer.

I see Astro’s playground as an attempt at a Wii Sport, a Demo to showcase the new controller gimmicks (and I still am worried games will start wanting to make me talk to the mic or sense my heart rate for some mandatory mechanic.)

@JJ2 it’s the job of the press to report what official representatives from Sony state. The press didn’t jump the gun, the Sony exec messed up by going off-script.

@JJ2 actually boosted mode is the phrase Sony are using. But OK, if you like, say we working on making all PS4 games work on PS5 at launch. You can split hairs if you like, that's fine. The 100 games comment was still unnecessary. Who was it for? Developers? No. They know what the process is, and will be getting feedback from Sony on any patch updates required to make PS4 games work on PS5. Was it a technical statement in a technical presentation? No. Again it just wasn't needed. So what proportion of it is bad journalism, and what proportion of it is bad messaging is kind of moot I think, it all stemmed from that statement. The rest of the presentation was quite illuminating for tech nerds. However, the broader point about Sony not really getting the messaging right and leaving voids I think is a fair criticism. Do you know their policy on cross-buy?

@MarcG420 What makes me think it is a shorter experience?

They just finished Spiderman 1 and several DLC a couple of years ago, I don't think they've had the time to make an entire new game.

It isn't called Spiderman 2: Mile's Morales.

They were promoting Spiderman for I think 3 years before it was released, they're promoting this one for 6 months.

I'd be happy to be wrong, but those are my reasons. And not just b/c of anything I've read, that's what I was thinking watching it live.

@SirAngry “I know that if I buy an Xbox One game, I get the XSX version for free at this point, Microsoft have been clear and on message.”

This needs a bit of clarification: MS said their first party games will support Smart Delivery. Third party games are not forced to do so, although Cyperpunk, Valhalla and Destiny 2 already announced they will use it. They also already showed us that games that do support smart delivery will be marked with “Optimized for Series X” and “Smart Delivery” badges.

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/optimized

@rjejr so your assumptions and nothing more really. With much or the assets done the second game becomes much easier to build.

@MarcG420 it was not presented as a shorter experience, but to be honest all we got presented was a teaser.

Insomniac themselves compared it to Lost Legacy, though, a lower priced entry with a campaign that was less than half the length of Uncharted 4. So, now wanting clarification on it being a shorter experience or not is to be expected, and without clarification, the safest thing is to err on the side that they told us all we needed to know, and indeed it will be as much new game as Lost Legacy was to U4.

@Tharsman yeah you're right. But it's clear. So far EA, Ubisoft and I think 2K have confirmed support for it as have CD Projekt Red right? So it's a far clearer situation.

I do think Sony need to make a policy statement on this. I'd imagine some people will be pissed if they have to buy TLoU2 and Ghosts again for PS5. Although they might not bother with cross gen development at all this time. But we do know for instance that Cyberpunk and other games are cross generational, and it'd be nice to hear Sony's stance on it.

@Tharsman I think they only did so to illustrate its status as a stand alone. Only time will tell but we should not be assuming anything. They had plenty of time to build a fully fledged game if they’ve been working on t for a couple of years (it’s not unreasonable that a PlayStation first party studio had rough estimate of the specs long before any third party).

@SirAngry EA actually indirectly said they would not support Smart Delivery. By indirectly I mean they just said they are doing their own thing: buy madden for XBO and you get to play the XSX for free only until [jan?] 2022.

But that’s EA and it’s hard to expect pro-consumer behavior out of them.

@Tharsman if I understood correctly you have until the date they give to upgrade your copy. Not play.

@MarcG420 your thought is also an assumption.

There are two paths we can take:
•Assume shorter game and be pleasantly surprised when it’s a longer game.
•Assume it’s a longer game and be angry when they deliver half a game.

It would be best, of course, if they just clarify ASAP.

@Tharsman EA suck ass. They're not bad to work for (apparently) but their consumer relations are dire. Should have read the fine print in their statement. Still want to know Sony's stance, especially with PS4 heavy hitters on the way in the shape of TLoU2 and Ghost of Tsushima (really hope Sucker Punch knock it out the park as I think they're criminally underrated as a team).

@MarcG420 EA message has also, IMO, been confusing. For one, they calling it (the only time they named it) “Dual Entitlement.”

But they are also calling it “an upgrade.”

As someone that played Final Fantasy XIV on a PS3, I remember when they did the same “upgrade” thing and it revoked access to the PS3 version.

Either way it’s not smart delivery. Can’t buy a 2 year old copy of their games (used or new from Amazon because it didn’t sell) and expect it to deliver you an XSX version.

I don’t play sports games at all, only reason I might care about this is if EA releases any non-sport title before I get a XSX. Maybe Star Wars Squadrons (unless it’s just a multiplayer game.)

@Tharsman oh I definitely think it’ll be a lose access to PS4/Xbox one copy once you upgrade because it’s EA 🤣. I never took it to mean anything else.

I’m not assuming it’ll be a fully fledged game btw I’m simply saying there has been nothing that has confirmed it. Right now it’s in a schrodinger’esq type state where it’s both a small and large game. But, it IS a new spider-man game regardless of its length. Whether people are happy with that length is up to them individually.

@SirAngry
He was just saying they were getting very good results with boosted mode on their test. The bad reporting was about BC in general.

@Tharsman
The press was saying the game is a remaster. I'll be happy to see the original quote where he says that word. And even so, they still should ask for confirmation from the devs.

@JJ2 oh I know, but it was a bad presentation of information. I went in knowing about their legacy modes for base PS4 and PS4 Pro. That was why I was able to say at the time it was a mistake. We can blame bad journalism, and that seems like a very popular thing to do nowadays, and I'm not trying to say there isn't bad games journalism, there is. I just think part of this is on Sony. They didn't exactly move quickly to clarify the situation did they post Cerny's presentation? Jim Ryan seems like a straight up guy to me, but I have my doubts right now because of the way some of these stories are getting away from them. That PS5 reveal event was slick as hell. Very impressively produced, but the muddled messaging afterwards was all Sony's doing as well. Jim Ryan needs to ensure his execs know what the message is, and that they stay on it. Honestly, do you think Sony have no part in some of these stories existing?

@JJ2 the quote that got to “remaster” was this:

“I guess you could call it an expansion and an enhancement to the previous game,” he explained. “There’s a substantial Miles Morales component - which is the expansion element - but also within the game as well there’s been major enhancements to the game and the game engine, obviously deploying some of the major PlayStation 5 technology and features.”

What is a remaster? An enhanced game. In retrospect you can go back and see what he might had wanted to say, but he did say it was an expansion within the existing game + “enhancements”. Even in retrospect, it still sounds like the person talking actually thought the full previous game was included.

Also, confirmations were requested, that’s how we got the quick turnaround.

@Octane you missed a lot of words in that quote

Sony has stated that they believe in generations and that the overwhelming majority of ps4 games will work on PS5. So, until there is confirmation, cross buy should work the same way it does now for Playstation users, on a title by title basis, and while a ps4 version may not receive any enhancements on PS5, be assured your ps4 version will work on PS5, especially games released here on out which are more likely to be compatible with the PS5's boost mode.

It's not smart delivery, but i think Sony's comments about believing in generations of hardware is meant to cover questions like "will my ps4 game purchase = ps5 version of same game. Short answer is no. But that doesn't necessarily mean it won't work or have compatibility with boost mode. Basically Microsoft are trying something new, and Sony is doing the same old thing. I don't need confirmation about cross buy. I got it from "here at Sony we believe in generations" comment.

@Tharsman
Thank you for the quote.
It's exactly what I was saying ; the press jumped the gun calling it a remaster. I saw many headlines about it.
He isnt the Insomniac devs and just making general statement. You could say that's exactly how an uneducated casual gamer would describe it. (Considering the city, the engine, the characters etc)
Saying the game is a remaster without further info isnt right.
The point is that it was not called a remaster when you know they are very careful even calling a game a remaster or a remake.

Also : 'an enhancement to the previous game,” I feel has a different meaning than if he said 'an enhancement of the previous game,”

He could have phrased if better it was awkward. But the main mistake was the press speculating and misreporting it as a remaster.

@JJ2 2 things:
First, remaster and enhanced game are pretty much interchangeable terms.

Second, no reporter should be expected to go to a developer when they just got the info from the company spokesperson before reporting on it. That is an absurd expectation. You are trying way too hard on defending a Sony spoke person for [bleep]ing up their job.

There is only one to blame here and it’s Sony’s spokesperson on that interview.

@Tharsman
Oh well. Sorry for offending you. I'm not defending anyone. I'm looking for the truth.
I always get annoyed by the misleading information. It happens all the time.

@Agramonte @Octane but that’s not the full quote now is it?

“we would not effectively lead THE NEXT-GEN PORTION of the show”

The GTA V announcement was first, but after that was out of the way, Jim Ryan was clear that the following games after GTA V were all footage running on PS5, hence the “next-gen portion” of the show.

C’mon we don’t have to change Ryan’s quote to make a point now do we? The GTA V opener clearly had the PS4 logo on screen to show it was not next-gen footage.

@JJ2 you are not offending me, but you are really going out there trying to insult the press, this site included, for doing their jobs and reporting what Sony spokespersons said.

If the information annoyed you, then you should be angry at Simon Rutter.

PS: if you were looking for the truth you could have googled up the statement yourself.

@Tharsman
I could not read the quote BC it was behind a paywall.
Again thank you for giving it.
What do you want from me?
Insulting the press? That's sad
Whatever.

@JJ2 fair enough, that applies to everything these days. People will always tend to believe those whos say what they want to hear.
In this case though to be fair to the press the whole thing was not that clear

Sigh. People found something to moan about. Again.

AWW POOR Haters are really trying hard to find any fault with last week's show God they must feel down

It’s amusing how people are getting ***** these days!

@Gilvin Our first glimpse at PS5 games... was GTA5. I'm still surprised Miles Morales was a full game, I can't stand the character.

@Facelord our first news yes; but I'm not sure we saw "footage"; maybe because I didn't care about it too much but I think it was stated that it was PS4, althought technically I cannot disagree with you.
I have never been a fan of any "replacement" heroes; Batman is Bruce Wayne; Spider-Man is Peter Parker; etc: I think Miles was introduced nicely on the first game; is clear that he's happening for the next game and in my opinion he was not dislikeable

Remaster is what though? The first Spider-Man: Miles Morales game?

im disappointed slightly that it's not peter parker. The voice acting of peter was excellent; i was hoping a sequel would follow up with that

@MarcG420 "With much or the assets done the second game becomes much easier to build."

And it looks like they ARE building that second game, Spider-man 2, but Miles Morales isn't Spider-man 2 w/ Peter Parker, so I'll continue to think Miles Morales will be a smaller game than Spider-man 1 or 2, more akin to Uncharted: Lost Legacy, the DLC that got spun-off into a game of it's own, though a bit shorter.

Now if it turns out they call the next Peter Parker based game Spider-man 3, well then I was wrong.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/06/insomniac_has_much_of_peterrs_story_left_to_tell_for_marvels_spider-man_2_on_ps5

Yeah, I know this is a reply to a 2 week old comment, my son has been distance learning and I can't get onto the PC - where I read all my email - unless he's sleeping.

@rjejr shorter or not it’s still a new game.

@MarcG420 I guess that was a lie my man :/ (Response to post #24)