Sounds Like Sony's Next State of Play Livestream Isn't Far Away

I don’t know what more they’ve got to announce as we know so many incoming PS studio games on the way.

/sarcasm

Sadly, I highly doubt that Sony announce any new PS Studio in this new State of Play. This silence from their part is so frustrating that I don't even have much hype from these events anymore. It's surreal that we still have no idea what Sony games will release at the second part of 2024.

Wonder if they'll show this one at the showcase: https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/project-2022a (check that list of platforms it'll be releasing on)

They 100% will do something for FF but i want rise of the ronin and helldivers. If it happens will be a SoP not a Showcase so I hope Sammy doesn't melt after watching it lol.

If we get one, I expect the usual announcements we already know about: FFVII: Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin — but I’m hoping for more solid information on Stellar Blade. That game would benefit for having a locked release date. Furthermore, a month back or so, the PlayStation Blog had a list of upcoming games that we know of for the first quarter of 2024. They were going in order, and between February, March and Summer Foam Stars and Stellar Blade was listed. A possible hint?

@AlexPorto Same. The last "Playstation" showcase killed my excitement for any future showcase. And I'm putting PlayStation in quotation marks because it barely featured any meaningful first-party titles.
Of course, I don't expect a major blowout from a State of Play but their silence and lack of transparency don't allow me to feel the tiniest bit of hype anymore.

People need to keep expectations in check as its a state of play not their showcase, meaning it will be primarily focussed on third party exclusives rather than first party ones and no first party reveals as with all state of plays. Although I suppose you will still get the usual suspects complaining.

Very much looking forward to it 😌 always enjoy seeing more of upcoming, smaller titles.

Cool.sony that would be amazing.word up son

I don't begrudge Sony or anybody else not promoting what they're working on when they're months or years away from completion. Aren't we tired of slipping delivery dates, yet? One way to fix that is to not announce something until it's close enough to complete that its release date has some relationship to reality.

I absolutely know it’s not going to happen but Helldivers 2 being announced day one on PS Plus Extra would be awesome….come on Sony make an old man (and his wallet) very happy.

Man i want to see Rise of The Ronin gameplay and a deep dive of Helldivers 2. I can't complain about exclusive games in this first half (FF7 Rebirth hype train) but i'd like too se more from First Party studios

I actually like the Sony's mystery thing about upcoming games. More space for surprises.

I think it's likely the next State of Play would be a deep dive into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. A dark horse possibility is Death Stranding 2.

@GeeEssEff I can definitely see HellDivers 2 being added to PS Plus by the end of the year, maybe even sooner depending how well the game does in the first 3 months.

They really need to a strong showing especially as MS are no doubt going to come out guns blazing in their next showcase. This year is looking barren for 1st party stuff and no the rubbish live service stuff doesn't count. Show Bluepoint's and ND's new games and that would go a long way in keeping the hype going.

I want to see a Pool minigame in the Costa Del Sol!

Final Fantasy 9 remake.

@UltimateOtaku91 When MS is no doubt showing off the first half of their year in their showcase soon then yeah i expect more then FF7R and 3rd party stuff from Sony.

@DennisReynolds Different style showcases for a start, and easier for Microsoft to do since they now have double the studios Sony has. No one can realistically expect Sony to keep up with Microsoft for first party releases quantity wise. Bethesda alone will release more games than Sony this gen, that's what spending unrivaled amounts of money gets you.

FF7 Rebirth launch trailer! Their lineup post FF7R is pretty much blank, expecting a very slow year because of the live service mess cleanup happening but still hoping they can sneak some unexpected remakes, remasters or something like that.

Slapped-together Tsushima 2 teaser with no release date seems within the realm of the possible

The event will be very predictable, both the content (Helldivers 2, Suicide Squad, Pacific Drive, FFVIIR, Rise Of The Ronin and more two or three indies) and the reactions ("that wasn't what I was expecting, where are the big games?!")

I've had trouble sleeping recently so a new State Of Play is just what the doctor ordered!

MORE PSVR2 GAMES SONY PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU.

@DonJorginho Seriously

Any PSVR2 games in development. Anything!

@hookedWORM17 @VaultGuy415 it's such an incredible bloody platform, I'm lucky I jumped on at Christmas as I got loads to get through but we need some big releases to look to from Sony!

@RobN I agree on your points but the fact Playstation thought the best thing they could do was put i on an actual showcase and literally show 0 first party studio games accept a couple of love service games which had 0 gameplay.

Was I dont even think words can describe it, disgraceful maybe?

If they didn't have anything to show then
1 - dont make and have a showcase
2 - all the stuff shown would of done fine mixed in with state of plays.

There literally was no reason apart from get people hyped and then just destroy those people because the content shown was quite frankly rubbish.

If their are no first party games to show then don't show me a showcase.

God of war and horizon literally had a state of play they deserved a showcase in my eyes

State Of Plays are pretty much always s*** so I'm not expecting anything they're welcome to surprise me

A shadowdrop for once would be nice.

It's just going to be hyping up ff big time which is fair. It's a big launch and sony needs to promote it. Wish they did a big conference last year though but it all makes sense now why they didn't.

I have a feeling this State of Play will have a sizeable live service segment and air before Suicide Squad releases:

• Suicide Squad - February 2nd (Sony has the marketing)
• Helldivers 2 - February 8th (PS Studios)
• Skull & Bones - February 16th (Ubisoft seem to commonly appear in these PS events)
• Foamstars - Early 2024 (Appeared in both May PS Showcase and September SoP)
• Concord - 2024 (PS Studios and the only game in Sony's PS5 2024 hype video which doesn't have gameplay)
• Destiny 2 Final Shape DLC - June 4th 2024 (PS Studios)

While there will no doubt be single player games like FFVII Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin, it feels like Sony may use this State of Play while Jim Ryan is still there to get the live service stuff out of the way. Then do a showcase in Spring/Summer that's single player focused when Jim Ryan has been replaced.

Shadow of the Erdtree or Bloodborne please! Failing that anything from Bluepoint or Nixxes would be swell.

Sony are slowly losing it for me and I’ve been with them since day one but more so since the PS3 in a main way.
My game time for 2023 on all consoles shows this
Switch 402 hours
Series x 200 hours
PS5 35 hours

Now my third parties in fairness are played on series x so that helps Xbox.

But in the early PS5 days PS5 was top in years one and two.

Now this year so far there is nothing exclusive that interests me at all, maybe Rise of Ronni but not sure, then again that’s a bought third party exclusive.

So there you go, first two years my play time PS5 on top, third year at the bottom and this year 2024 not looking great.
Additionally I can’t remember any year the PS4 was not my top played console. Or at least joint top.

Sony bring backs the days when you went on stage and announced GOW, HZD and Last of us 2 and uncharted 4 etc etc.

It’s to quiet for me on the Sony front in 2023 and 2024 not looking any better.
So a dam good showcase would be very much appreciated.
But then again why try hard now when you sell so many consoles just for Sony smiling at people.

Anyone could have predicted this with FF7 Rebirth, Rise of Ronin around the corner.

@OldGamer999 the same can be said about the Xbox. Where is the quality exclusives. Starfield was so lacking and empty. I am just using it to play older titles through backward compatibility but might end up selling it.

@Grumblevolcano none of these live service titles look appealing to me

@KillerBoy
I’m not console wars. I was just saying that PS5 for 2023 and so far 2024 not doing it for me.
2023 going by my playtime numbers and what Sony have not mentioned so far for 2024.
I come from the PS4 which seemed loaded with games etc and the ones I mentioned they revealed on stage etc at the old shows.
I play PlayStation for those games the big single player Sony home made studios games.
Not Final fantasy or probably even not rise of ronni or maybe rise of ronni, we shall see.

We shouldn’t be concerned with what Xbox or Nintendo are doing or not doing but with where’s my big Sony home studio single play games. And not the ones I played in year one and two of the PS5 or HFW DLC I’ve played them already.

Knack 3 reveal, obviously

@OldGamer999 Out of interest you say the series x is your 3rd party machine, was that also the case in the preceding years when you spent more time with the PS5. If so that's mighty impressive the playstation was used more despite not using it for 3rd party. Also (again out of interest) why do you choose the series X over PS5 for 3rd party?

@Bez87 You seem to be drawing a distinction between a "Showcase" and a "State of Play" which seems common around here. I'm not sure Sony (currently?) draws the same distinction between them that people around here do. Maybe they used to, but not lately.

I'm not sure how hyped Sony is trying to get you - any hype you feel today isn't from them, at least not directly, since this is still just rumor. They've been announcing these things as little as a day in advance, usually less than a week in advance, and often with tips to manage expectations.

@Llamageddon
Yes series x has been my third party machine but in years one and two of the PS5 they had a great release year and year two for games for me.
It’s was probably close but the PS5 won years one and two.

I choose series x as I prefer the thumb stick layout and the Xbox controller triggers. Also I played third parties on my Xbox one x more than PS4 so those games came over for me.
PS4 was for those top AAA Sony studio games mainly and I was so spoiled.
The PS5 controller is good and I really like the speaker in the controller, the haptics and trigger tensions seems to lose its appeal after a while but it’s still a nice to have.

"It also sounds like the usual Nintendo Direct in February will also be a thing." Way to be low-key derogatory of Nintendo there, Liam 😛

If the article is anything to go by, it makes me wonder if we're going to be seeing another empty-handed Sony with very few finished first party titles to show, including for the already wilting on the vine PSVR2 which is plagued by a dearth of games. Who knows, maybe they'll surprise us.

What I'm most intrigued about seeing is if the State of Play will give us a different attitude and tone from the Ryan year ones. Are we going to see a direction that makes Sony a bit more gamer friendly again, listening and responding to the fanbase and acting on it rather than telling them what they're getting being the only setting? Criticise the Layden and Ken/Kaz years all you like but at least there was a bit more harmony between platform provider and console gamer. Never too late to get it back and make that Xbox gap even wider...

I’m sure it will be a good show but no one looking for fanboy fuel will be anything other than angry.

@Llamageddon
The Switch of course is for those Nintendo exclusives and Nintendo had an amazing 2023 for me and being honest took 2023 for me easy.

@Llamageddon "why do you choose the series X over PS5 for 3rd party?"

I'm sure they can answer themselves, but in my case the answer for that is some third party exclusives are quite a lot better on the Series X than the PS5.

For the longest time the Series X had an improved version of The Witcher 3 which was the One X version except it was solid/stable 60FPS everywhere (One X dipped), true 4K output, and it was only when CDPR dropped Complete Edition that the crappy, locked to 30FPS, massive input latency PS4 version running on the PS5 was finally banished and there was a decent 4K60 version with tight feeling controls. Cross-play saving works amazingly well; I can move between the Switch/PS5/Series X versions without issues, other than the Switch version looking very blurry. Not a slight on Saber Interactive's work; they did an amazing job getting this game to a mostly 30FPS solid on the Switch, just the way it is.

Same currently applies to Red Dead Redemption 2 - the visual quality is quite noticeably worse on the PS4 on PS5 version (even on a 1080p SDR display the PS5 is notably less crisp especially in motion), yet the One X on Series X version looks sharp and clean, and that gulf widens when you go up to a 4K HDR display. Still only 30FPS though, and knowing Rockstar there shall be no free upgrade, it'll be a paid option like GTA V was and even then, it won't be a massive improvement. That's just how they do - same applies to Definitive Edition and Red Dead Redemption 1.

In other cases it's just price - I managed to get Control: Ultimate Edition at a stupidly cheap price on Series X which also gives you crossgen One version too, and it took a long time for the PS5 version to get close to what I paid - £10.49 in 2021 apparently. There's not as much in Control: UE between the two consoles and in fact I think the Series X suffers a bit in places where the PS5 doesn't, but money talks eh?

@Kraven Seriously we need more info on Stellar Blade.

@Lyedecker we can only dream.

@OldGamer999 "Sony are slowly losing it for me and I’ve been with them since day one but more so since the PS3 in a main way."

Yeah I totally agree with that statement even though I wasn't majorly impressed with the PS3 at launch, not because of the price or the hubris around the company about it but the lack of games I liked! Resistence didn't do anything for me, although the visuals have mostly held up well.

However in retrospect, a fully backwards compatible PS3 that can run 99.5% of PS2 games perfectly is a formidable machine, even now, and it has just a stunning library. Even Ridge Racer 7 which I turned my nose up at the time, I've revisited and been super impressed with. Wish we'd gotten an 8 to be honest, but at least the series had a super impressive peak right there.

"But then again why try hard now when you sell so many consoles just for Sony smiling at people."

Yeah that's the problem isn't it; they're totally coasting on hubris and brand recognition. They can't be doing that when the PS5 at this point in it's life - over the 3 year mark - does not have what PS1-PS4 had by this point, where it should be solid gold, ten great games to own regardless of what styles you prefer (as in, not everyone's 10 would be the same, but everyone would have at least 10) and more on the horizon. Looks a bit bare.

We need some big PSVR2 releases that aren’t multiplayer or zombie shooters.
Socom VR would be nice!
Also some news from their first parties as well.
Maybe PS5 Pro unveiling although I doubt that’ll be until the end of the year

@OldGamer999

"The PS5 controller is good and I really like the speaker in the controller, the haptics and trigger tensions seems to lose its appeal after a while but it’s still a nice to have."

The DualSense has good features but the battery life is awful, really even worse than the DualShock 4, don't you find? And even if you're careful it seems they develop the dreaded drift a lot earlier than the DS4 too.

I agree the clever rumble is a great feature... in theory. However due to cross platform game development, it's already gone the way of HD Rumble in the Switch, which was the same basic thing, a more involved approach that could have been great but isn't used for much that I can remember outside of Astro's Playroom and Returnal, maybe some slight uses of it in Spider-Man titles but nothing as grand as the other two. So for me I wouldn't say it loses appeal, more it's lost support among developers who just aren't bothering to code for the advanced haptics, meaning they're a bit of a waste, perhaps a feature that Sony thought justified the poor battery life but without it, poor battery life is the only result.

I find with regular Series and also Elite I/II Xbox controllers, eventually the top bumpers on the shoulders go especially among CoD players and they can develop drift too. Bit disappointing that older controllers form 15-20 years ago often work perfectly today, yet well treated ones from PS5/Series can break even with careful use after a couple of years due to being made poorly as compared to the old stuff.

@AlexPorto i disagree the fact we don't know isn't frustrating , but exciting to me. i can't wait to see what they are working on. i get it we all want to see those games. but they'll be announced at some point and it will be worth it. the fact that a lot of stuff hasn't been leaked in 2024 is just crazy. we have no idea what asobi , bluepoint , firesprite , san monica, among other developers are currently working on.

@OldGamer999 the thing is we know a bunch of these studios have 1 or 2 games in the works that they've been working on. if you look at the last 2-3 years of the ps4 i'd say those are their best years. and i feel like those games will be coming sooner then you think .

Yah these have been largely disappointing for over 2 years now, amounting to Glorified marketing contract fulfillments. Sony needs a big change in PR on the software front. Hardware sales will only remain strong for so long with a growing concern with their software strategy.

Sony could really drop the ball this year if they maintain the same ghosting policy. Xbox has a showcase coming up with three hotly anticipated games that were at least friggin announced years ago now....... (hell blade, Indiana Jones, and avowed).

I just straight up do not agree with the idea that it's better for a platform and its developers to just not say anything about their games up until a year or less before release. It's never really been like that and I actually like the little hyped up teaser trailers that progress into a bigger trailer that then progress into gameplay clips and then onto a hyped and informed release. it builds excitement for sure, but it also creates a knowledge base of what's to come. you would not have all of these people bashing Sony if we knew games were on the horizon that weren't just live service trash. Hell, most of those aren't even named.

I'd much rather have announcements that were still years away from release rather than nearly 3 years of nothing. zero announcements, zero PR, for anything other than third party releases.

As always I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for more Stellar Blade info.

I don't really care that much about State of Plays as they are primarily standard game marketing.

I have seen them, but everyone gets disappointed and the conversation is always negative with only a few sun rays among it.
.
As per new announcements from 1st parties, that is not the goal of SoPs. Most people realize now that most of the studios has been mishandled to a degree and as an example NOBODY cares about Failgame$ except for me who just want to get rid of the sham studio Haven. If there ever was a studio worth downsizing to zero, this'd be it. If the next State of Play simply announced that Uncle Phil would throw Jade Raymond out of the mansion, I'd rate it highly. Also, if that Dutch crook who swindled himself to funding and exposure with 'game demos' was publicly indicted that'd be a real hootenanny. Last but not least, Neil Druckmann changing jobs to TV would be a triple whammy of good news for the future.

The only real news coming from Sony is data leaks which are a bitter fruit indeed. I didn't want to hear what would invariably be said (from all manners of media dripfeeding a ravenous audience).

@Llamageddon @KillerBoy I'd take everything oldgamer says with a pinch of salt. He regularly rants over on PX about how The Series X is the best console ever and not just for the controller like he claims, he also got noticeably irritated a couple of times when articles about how PlayStation was outselling Xbox came out.

All I'm curious about is new PS5 pro. This year could be weaker so i can catch up on last one

@KillerBoy @Llamageddon Here's a comment from him over on PX.

I wanna see Xbox fight for every console sale and game pass. The activision deal is done and the supposed reason for Xbox being quiet. So let’s see the action now Microsoft let’s see the console and gamepass deals beating the competition, let’s see the advertising, let’s see the series x get some limelight, let’s go kick some competition arse, let’s see if Microsoft really want to sell consoles and gain Xbox brand momentum and inject some team green in the general publics veins.

There needs to be one (and I mean I good one) because Xbox is already doing a Developer Direct next week and it looks like it's going to be showing alot of interesting stuff. I swear MS is really firing on all cylinders rn with the game announcements.

There's only one game I'm looking forward to this month and that's Tekken 8

@zekepliskin

In other cases it's just price - I managed to get Control: Ultimate Edition at a stupidly cheap price on Series X which also gives you crossgen One version too, and it took a long time for the PS5 version to get close to what I paid - £10.49 in 2021 apparently. There's not as much in Control: UE between the two consoles and in fact I think the Series X suffers a bit in places where the PS5 doesn't, but money talks eh?

This is a pretty terrible example as Control Ultimate Edition launched day one as a PS Plus(old PS plus basic, keep forever) game.

Also I just checked the price tracking websites and Control Ultimate edition on PS5 was £9.84 on PSN at the end of 2021 at the same time it was £10.49 on Xbox. Also, it’s been as low as £8.24 on psn but never below £10.49 on Xbox.

You also can buy discounted credit for PSN and save another ~14% very easily whereas credit for Xbox is never discounted(you can buy game keys from key websites instead though).

More VR support? It's not all horror. Racing games make a perfect choice but EA refuses with F1 on PS5 but PC straight out of box.

Didnt expect anything else than the usual moaners in here, and I wasnt wrong!
Personally, Im always excited to see games coming my way, and as a player I couldnt1 care less if they are 3rd or 1st party. What difference does an opening logo make if its a great fully featured game? Many of my favourite games over the years have been 3rd party, they are not second class releases.
It already appears that the first half of this year is packed with titles I want to play on PS, and thas good for me as ive let game pass expire and not switched on my series x in over 3 months.
I only intend to return if MS release anything actually good (Starfield and Motorsport were hugely dissapointing to me), so Im hoping thats Avowed.
Looking forward to seeing whatever is presented in all the shows, and hoping this year will be as packed as the last!

Is It a Sony state of play when all the games shown will be third party

@UltimateOtaku91 This argument would carry more weight if Sony still delivered satisfying showcases with a focus on first-party titles but they don't even do that.
Their last showcase featured two meaningless CGI trailers from studios without a proven track record after 18 months of radio silence. Even their worst E3 conferences featured more first-party content than the last showcase.

I don't think fans had unreasonable expectations. We wanted to get excited about the future of PlayStation first-party titles, yet all we hear about are cancelations, development issues, etc.

Not every showcase can be as impressive as the E3 2016 conference and sometimes you have to skip a year because you don't have enough material to justify a showcase.
Perfectly understandable.
But if you're announcing the first major showcase after 18 months of silence you better make sure it hits the mark.

I'm pretty confident it will be either all or mostly Rise of The Ronin as a SIE published game that they really need to spotlight. Little of it is known. The GOT one back in the earlier part of 2020 did wonders for sales.

@MrMagic yeah I gathered he was an Xbox fanboy 😂 but thanks for confirming it 👍🏻

@zekepliskin Appreciate the detailed response and that all seems reasonable enough. For me the constant switching back and forth to different controller layouts would drive me crazy, maybe I'm just a bit simple though😃. Personally I have a PS5/steam deck setup so I have a portable option and don't miss out on pc/Xbox only. Happy gaming for 2024

@OldGamer999 For me it's the opposite, I've always preferred symmetrical thumbsticks and have become a creature of habit since the PS3/360 days. I always get confused on my steam deck whenever a game has an Xbox controller layout, X isn't where it should be for me!
I mainly asked as my 3rd party machine would always be my main console, can't remember the last year that a 3rd party game wasn't either my favourite or the one I spent the most time playing (maybe ghost of Tsushima)
Anyway here's hoping all the consoles have a great 2024 and long live a competitive market!

@MrMagic I see passionate people on every gaming website comment section I visit tbh. For me life is too short to be mudslinging on behalf of mega corporations so I largely don't engage but am always interested in different people's perspectives. Let's be honest there's nobody on push/pure even half as toxic as a number of trolls on ign! Happy gaming for 2024, Q1 looks pretty stacked already.

This is the list of Xbox releases this year that was circulating the other day, @KillerBoy;

CONFIRMED:

Indiana Jones
Avowed
Senua's Sage: Hellblade 2
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 DLC
Call of Duty; Black Ops Gulf War
S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2
Towerborne
ARA History Untold
Starfield: Shattered Space DLC
Ark 2

RUMOURED:

KILN
South of Midnight
Forza Horizon 6
Halo: Battle Royale
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster
Age of Mythology

I've not heard that Indiana Jones is being released this year, however, Bethedsa have said they will be at next weeks Xbox Showcase with extended gameplay, so it's not beyond the realms of possibilities that it will release late this year.

If 50% of those titles release this year, it will probably be a good year for Xbox, truth be told...

@Titntin Thank you for such a reasonable and balanced comment in a sea of entitled nonsense. I agree that an exclusive is an exclusive regardless of 1st/3rd and quality is all that matters. Q1 looks great and I'm sure if nothing else 3rd party will make this another great year for gamers everywhere.
I currently have more Xbox games on my wishlist (towerborne, south of midnight, dungeons of hinterberg) but that's mostly because they've announce more games.
Nice to see a positive perspective and I wish you happy gaming for 2024

@Fiendish-Beaver why does everyone forget dungeons of hinterberg, I think it looks like a great slice of AA fun

@ChrisDeku "This is a pretty terrible example as Control Ultimate Edition launched day one as a PS Plus(old PS plus basic, keep forever) game."

You had no problems with the other examples eh, just this one? 😂

No Chris, in my case it's not a terrible example because I don't use or want PS Plus. I'm sure online gaming is important to some players, but not to me, so an outright purchase was the way forward, and Series X was the right platform in more ways than one; it also made sense because at the time I had both a One X and a Series X, so the crossgen was useful although sadly the saves weren't transferrable between versions. But hey, free cloud storage saves across Xbox platforms, no Game Pass subscription required! On Sony's consoles cloud saves are a paid for extra, right? If you don't want to pay, Sony deliberately makes it difficult to keep/transfer saves. On the PS5 you have to make a full system backup including your PS5 saves and restoring a backup with only saves means you lose any games on internal storage (definitely pays to have an M.2 SSD installed). With PS4 saves you need to manually transfer to USB stick. My, that's convenient. Meanwhile on the Series X I still have a save I made for Red Dead Redemption on my long-sold Xbox 360 Halo Slim that dates back to 2013. Not being a fanboy here as I own consoles from Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft but that kind of user friendly design is a) super surprising from the same company that makes the often user-hostile Windows and b) very convenient when moving between consoles.

"Also I just checked the price tracking websites and Control Ultimate edition on PS5 was £9.84 on PSN at the end of 2021 at the same time it was £10.49 on Xbox. Also, it’s been as low as £8.24 on psn but never below £10.49 on Xbox."

Good for you for having the time on your hands to pull those stats, I guess, so eager were you to prove me wrong (or should I say wrong in your opinion)? I just did an email inbox search that took 5 seconds.

"You also can buy discounted credit for PSN and save another ~14% very easily whereas credit for Xbox is never discounted(you can buy game keys from key websites instead though)."

Are you not aware of the rewards scheme Microsoft do then? It's pointless busywork which I refuse to waste time on now (I tried it before years ago when I had more time to spare), but you can get Xbox points that lead to discount vouchers on digital games, stuff like that. Even buying a game now accrues points which can take money off the next one, and so forth.

@Llamageddon "Appreciate the detailed response and that all seems reasonable enough"

Same goes! I like a polite discussion rather than picking holes in other people's opinions, as a lot of narrow-minded gamers seem to do these days. Much more fun rather than the pointless bickering some people turn up to Push◻️ for.

"For me the constant switching back and forth to different controller layouts would drive me crazy, maybe I'm just a bit simple though😃"

Yeah I guess, but it's not the moving between PS5 and Series X that does me in for layouts. It's moving between Switch and Series X because the damn face button letters are reversed - X/Y and A/B. Trips me up a lot when going from RDR1 on Switch to RDR2 on Series X because I'm often pressing B rather than A based on the game prompts. 🤯 Often means I end up kicking someone in the head on my horse, rather than getting off the horse, and then sheriffs come 🔫🤠

"Personally I have a PS5/steam deck setup so I have a portable option and don't miss out on pc/Xbox only. Happy gaming for 2024"

The Steam Deck is great but like the Switch it owes it's existence to, it's already starting to struggle with graphically innovative games, sadly.

You are absolutely right, @Llamageddon. Dungeons of Hinterberg does look like it will be a very good game. Not sure why it wasn't on the list that's been doing the rounds lately...

@zekepliskin ''🤯 Often means I end up kicking someone in the head on my horse, rather than getting off the horse, and then sheriffs come 🔫🤠'' - that did make me chuckle and sounds like an absolute nightmare!

''The Steam Deck is great but like the Switch it owes it's existence to, it's already starting to struggle with graphically innovative games, sadly'' - totally agree which is why I use it almost exclusively for Indies or Xboxs future AA offerings like towerborne, dungeons of hinterberg, south of midnight.
Will possibly pick up a series console at the end of the gen if they have some AAA's I really want to play (hasn't happened yet). I'm thinking fable, clockwork revolution, everwild, blade all have real potential.
Having recently moved to Malta and living in a reasonably small flat I think my other half would kill me if I bought another console now though!

@zekepliskin Actually if you compare the prices of some of the games in the sales they are regularly cheaper on PlayStation.
I guess it's because Xbox just doesn't sell even half as many copies, also sure a couple of old last generation games do look better because of the Xbox One X version but PS5 actually wins the majority of digital foundry current gen game comparisons and has for a long time now.

@Llamageddon "that did make me chuckle and sounds like an absolute nightmare!"

It can lead to some pretty hilarious moments though; shooting a sheriff at the police desk in Saint Denis (aka "Sann Denny") in the elbow from an accidental quick draw because you can't remember the layout and watching as Arthur gets shot by 20 police rushing towards him from the back, for example 😂

"totally agree which is why I use it almost exclusively for Indies or Xboxs future AA offerings like towerborne, dungeons of hinterberg, south of midnight. " You know, I have two friends with the Deck and although I don't think they play those specific games, it seems to be the case they use it for older triple A stuff that's less demanding and newer mid-tier double A/indies as well.

"Will possibly pick up a series console at the end of the gen if they have some AAA's I really want to play"

Well now might be a good time to buy. With some digging you can get a Series S around the £100 mark and I recently got a Series X unboxed with controller, excellent condition for £180 so the deals are out there - not sure if this applies to Malta though, just UK private used seller market.

Series X with Dev Mode enabled does a wickedly good job of GameCube emulation, and alright at PS2 if that's your thing (personally my Wii U can do GameCube fine via Nintendont and I have a 🇯🇵 PS3 CECHA00 with the PS2 hardware inside so I don't need it now, but it was useful in the past) so there's some added value to make up for the admittedly pretty poor current gen library the Series consoles have, as do performance improved versions of older games like Dishonored and Fallout: New Vegas with their 60FPS boost and Auto HDR.

@MrMagic "Actually if you compare the prices of some of the games in the sales they are regularly cheaper on PlayStation."

Never said they weren't! Just that when I've been looking at specific times for specific games, in a lot of cases I've bought the Series version as the price was more competitive. I wasn't nor have I ever made a blanket statement saying Xbox is always cheaper than PlayStation for online digital; it's not, sometimes PS edges out over Xbox, like in the January Sale (which has been running since mid-December 🤷🏻‍♂️ yeah makes sense) there's a few that are cheaper to buy on PS than Xbox stores.

In some cases both are cheap enough at various times that I eventually end up owning a title on both the PS5 and Series X (or PS4|PS5 and Series X|One X if there are crossgen bundle deals) which means I can compare performance, graphics etc on the same displays as I have my consoles running through a HDMI splitter to a 4K SDR Samsung gaming monitor, a 1080p SDR Sony Bravia TV and a 4K HDR 120Hz Sony X Series Google powered TV.

"I guess it's because Xbox just doesn't sell half as many copies, also sure some last generation games do look better because of the Xbox One X version"

Yep, Xbox Series consoles have been distant third to Switch and PlayStation 5 for quite some time now. This can work in your favour due to how desperate they seem to make sales and if you're tenacious can end up spending £50 and getting a lot of triple or double A games that were expensive only a year or three ago for your money.

"also sure some last generation games do look better because of the Xbox One X version"

They definitely do. I was A/B looking at PS5/Series X for Red Dead Redemption II last night, both games using Arthur and the white Arabian horse in similar areas of the map, and there are some very weird dithering and LoD popping issues with the "PS4 on PS5" version as compared to the "One X on Series X" version. Mostly I noticed this on foliage and horse hair (the mane looks like crap on the PS5, on a 1080p SDR display) and the game in general looks worse in motion to the point where it's distracting.

Both run at a steady 30FPS though, I'll give them that. Really would be nice if they both had 60FPS modes; I'd be a lot quicker to tolerate LoD popping and dithering (I assume the latter is due to the legacy checkerboarding introduced for the PS4 Pro) on either version to double the framerate and make gun fights that much smoother.

"PS5 wins the majority of the digital foundry current gen game comparisons and has for a long time now."

As a regular viewer of DF for the past three years especially, you and I both know the answer is more complex than that. It never comes down to "the PS5 is flat out better across the board and always wins" - if that's what you're taking away from their tech breakdown comparisons, it sounds like you're going in with a massive confirmation bias that is allowing you to hear what you wanna hear.

It's often the case it's a very close run thing, or the PS5 does certain things better yet the Series X does other things better, and one or the other clinches it by a nose but there's not a huge amount in it. One I remember semi-recently was Resident Evil 4 remake where the graphics were a shade better on the Series X especially for stuff like foliage, however there were some control issues due to the way the analogue sticks worked on the Series X, stuff like that.

For me, all this stuff is essentially statistical and interesting because I'm platform agnostic; I own a PS5, Series X and Switch plus a bunch of retro consoles so the element of "my console is better than your console" kiddy table nonsense doesn't exist.

@zekepliskin Thanks for the advice, will have to look into deals in the UK market as I can always pick it up next time I visit family.
Perhaps I might have to convince my other half of how good the deal is especially as she is the bread winner ATM 😃

@Fiendish-Beaver if Xbox can deliver alot of these game than they will be in a much better position. Although the only game I’m looking forward to would be hellblade, elder scrolls / fallout remakes, forza horizon. Stalker and avowed don’t look great so would have to see more. I’m guessing Indiana jones will be like the uncharted series which I wasn’t really a fan of.

I think Sony wasted time on TLOU2 remaster. Something new soon would have been more welcome. Hope some crackers are announced soon but I wont hold my breath.

@zekepliskin So you're saying I shouldn't pick a winner? Except that's exactly what digital foundry did when cross gen GT7 humiliated current gen Forza, and yeah I said humiliated because it became a laughing stock across the internet.

Edit: I suppose I can't say I'm platform agnostic because I still haven't upgraded to an X this gen. Last gen though I bought all 3 the only problem is I wasn't impressed with what Xbox offered so I barely touched it. Gears 5 was the last game I tried playing on Xbox but I gave up after an hour. Maybe after I've seen more of south of midnight & clockwork revolution but they'll have to be something special for me to take the plunge. I actually own 6 consoles and I really should get rid of the old ones but they just get thrown in a cupboard and forgotten about.

@Fiendish-Beaver So if I ignore the rumours and the DLC it's 8 games to Sony's 10. That's a decent list though but personally I still prefer PlayStation's offering.

Well presuming there some logic at Sony, a state of play at the end of February would match 2023. Given they got some big games coming it make sense.

@Slippship I wouldn't be surprised if EA wants Sony to pay for it

@CharlieChooChoo I can't stand twitter either but that did make for an interesting read, thanks for that.
Had no idea the China hero project was so expansive and interested in hearing more about the India hero project

@RobN I don't think agree with you on that.

We have had many state of plays, with God of war, horizon, indies, 2nd parties, 3rd parties.

All stated and announced as State Of Play.

We've only had a few Playstation Showcases. There is a distinct difference on which they knew.

So looking back we had many a state of play.

But showcases were 2023 and 2021.

2021 gave us
God Of War Ragnarok first look
Gran turismo 7
Uncharted Legacy Of Thieves
Ghost Wire Tokyo
Deathloop
Forespoken
Alan Wake remaster

And reveal of knights of the old Republic

So thats 2 huge games for first party being shown off and many exclusives even if timed. This was called a showcase.

We had state of plays in between aswel.

Even the major websites and youtubers class them as different.

So to say that its a few of us on here referring to them as different is an understatement.

Showcase 2023.

The only first party shown were 2 cgi trailers, q of which was a cheeseburger.
Both live service.

Both no real gameplay or release date.

Helldivers 2 was the main showing.

The reality is that Playstation do class it as a different event otherwise they wouldn't use a different name.