Sony's New State of Play Proves the Value of Deep Dives, Trends on YouTube

ngl I never liked borderlands so this was definitely not a SOP for me. But at the same time the way people are complaining about not getting exactly what they want every damn time there is a state of play feels extremely forced, but maybe thats because I optimistically portray people as being reasonable people. I don't really know anymore.

This is a great format to showcase games and has made me more interested in this game than just a trailer did.

My own history with Borderlands is enjoying the 1st, getting the platinum on the 2nd and being my most played game on PS3, to bouncing off the 3rd as I hated most of the characters and the writing. Because of that, I was happy to largely ignore number 4 but having watched that, I'm actually quite interested in it. The new Siren is looking like great fun to play as too, so I'll now be keeping an eye on this

This state of play didn't exactly what it was supposed to do, drum up views, gain attention and more potential sales to the game shown. I can see more third party developers wanting Sony to showcase their games this way going forward.

Borderlands as a franchise is well loved (& probably equally hated) by many. I expect regardless of where the Borderlands 4 deep dive was shown it would have attracted this attention.

It was a good marketing move for Sony to get the deep dive front & centre with their branding

A game might always be for me but I respect the hustle. They didn't just showcase a game last night they showed the power of the console/platform too. Regardless of the game and how well it sells it does give the console/brand even more visibility and that means more potential sales for Sony. There's always more than one way to look at it.

Had I not watched it I'd have had no interest in BL4. Their initial reveal trailer didn't sell it to me, the characters looked too trimmed down. They didn't in the showcase. I love the first two BL games. One day a message arrived from some LittleBigPlanet friends to check out a new game and the next day we were all on there shootin' and lootin', just brilliant memories. And one of my earliest platinums, it made me want to try every class from start to finish. Few games do that, so did BL2.

I never had that with BL3. Too many people were experiencing a kind of franchise fatigue, especially with so many DLCs. We never had a dedicated group of friends playing at once even when it was on Plus. I've got a lot more optimism for this new one. It looked a lot more like BL2 than I expected and it definitely made me consider a buy.

I think Sony are onto something here, and I don't think the game has to appeal to me to work. It will appeal to someone and that's all they have to do. Of course I'd like to see a State of Play for something like Death Stranding 2 but I don't need to see it to know I'm going to buy it. If I did see more footage of the game it would only spoil something I'd rather discover by playing it. BL4 needed that stream, Death Stranding 2 didn't, it'll sell gangbusters.

But does the Playstation version support gyro aiming? Probably not. Looks like I'll wait a few years when it's dirt cheap to play it on Steam Deck 2 with mouse like gyro support. Or mabey even Switch 2, who knows...

I can definately see Death Stranding 2 & Ghost of Yotei getting one of these.

Edit: adding Phantom Blade 0 and Saros that list too

@KeanuReaves to be fair to you, most people are rational.

People that cry on the internet about Youtube videos are not normal people though.

@carlos82 This exactly how I felt! Loved 1 & 2, hated 3 and had very low expectations for 4, but theres been enough change to well.. everything! that im debating Day 1 for it.

"In particular, fans are quite taken with the slightly more grounded tone, slick traversal, and new loot possibilities."

I don't mean to sound accusatory, but can someone confirm that this isn't AI written? I'm sure I've seen wording like this in AI summaries before ("in particular," followed by three items).

It looks fun, but I haven't even gotten around to Borderlands 3 yet.

This is a win for everyone. Not interested in the game, you're not forced to watch hoping to see a game that isn't shown. Gives insight on an anticipated game to help people decide. And it broadcast the main focus. No fluff to buy time. If you complain about this, you need therapy.

I really like me some Borderlands (I fell out of love due to 3 - but Tiny Tina's was solid af). It's always bothered me that the entire storyline is based around a group of vault hunters - Tiny Tina's even had 2 allies talking to you the whole game as if they were there with you - and yet they've never explored the idea of making it a true squad-based game.

Why have they not crafted a story (and gameplay systems) that fleshed out all the 4 main vault hunters by having them in-game with you at all times? Build out some crew management controls a la Mass Effect or Dragonage and let me move allies around the battlefield and utilize everyone's skills and whatnot. That would be such an incredible change of pace and allow for a much deeper characterization of the player characters.

PLUS, the game is "built for co-op." Okay, that's cool, but not everyone can play with 3 friends at all times. Why not bring that zaniness to all players who want it? (I think retaining the option to play in a "classic" solo mode would be needed.)

THAT'S the biggest change I want to see them bring to the series. It'd completely shake things up for solo players but deliver the experience they're designing the whole game for, anyhow.

Besides that, I think what they showed looks reeeal good. Definitely more interested in this than I thought I'd be.

I haven't got the patience for 20 mins on 1 game. I am done after about 5 mins per game max. I just want bullet points. Give me the info quick.

@Mythologue It's written by Sam Winkler. The same lead writer for Bl2, BL3 and Wonderlands. The guy is on Linkedin and all of the other places you'd expect to find someone in the industry.

I've learned that if people here moan about something, I'll usually like it. So while it is annoying to see the same group of people posting the same things every announcement just to make themselves upset, it also acts as a reliable guide!

I’m a fan of the series, but it does need freshening up, and that state of play made it look like Gearbox are doing exactly that with Borderlands 4. Love the new traversal, the overhaul to the loot system, and the summonable vehicle. Yes, some of the tweaks look like they ripped of Destiny, but that’s not a bad thing, based on how that game plays. Now, let’s see if they’ve improved fast travel, saves, and the clunky inventory system…

@DonkeyFantasy That's not a common phrase as far as I can tell. It's only a structure I've noticed recently, specifically in AI summaries.

SOP should be a preview showcase only, no deep dives. Those can be left to the studios itself. Seriously, too much coverage makes me loose my appetite for a game, even if it's something I look forward to. Gameplay trailers, short and sweet.

Deep dives are fair, for those wanting more out of certain games no doubt.

But the variety ones barely impress either. But I don't like current game design priorities/trends, I hate them, so dumbed down, less modes, boring level design, boring movesets, abilities and RPG system slop (boring quests, boring leveling systems, boring dialogue and world building).

Wasn't one for me, so I didn't even bother watching. Enjoyed the first game, got bored with the second and didn't finish it, didn't bother with the third, and have no interest in the fourth.

Still feeling like this gen has mostly been a waste of time, at least for me, with very few games of interest and the continued dearth of first-party stuff. I wouldn't sell my PS5 now, but had I known a few years ago what I know now, I wouldn't have bothered getting one, and the Pro continues to seem like the ultimate exercise in gaming urine extraction.