Tag: Reaction - Page 2
Reaction Activision Blizzard Buyout Is Devastating for PS5, PS4
The end of an era
Is this the end of PlayStation? It’s always easy to get apocalyptic in situations like this, but it’s obviously not. Sony’s gaming division remains a wildly popular brand globally, and no single publisher can ever detract from that. Make no mistake, though, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $70 billion is a...
Reaction Can We Chill Out About Sony's Commitment to PS4, Please?
🙄
This week it was reported that Sony would produce a further one million PlayStation 4 consoles through 2022, and the Internet lost its mind. This agenda was partly pushed by an increasingly irritating media, with some of the headlines including Expect More Cross-Gen Games As Sony Orders 1 Million PS4s. There aren’t enough eye-rolling emojis...
Comparisons will be made
Such is the discourse among enthusiast gamers that Sony will either have to introduce an Xbox Game Pass competitor or Microsoft will have to pull the plug on its own before fans shut up about it. Despite breaking industry sales records, there’s a sentiment among the most engaged players on social media that PlayStation...
Reaction Sony Has Quietly But Confidently Grown Its First-Party Lineup
The company keeps it short but sweet
It's abundantly clear Sony isn't interested in making a big song and dance out of its business deals. Rather than saving acquisition announcements for the big stage at digital events, the company treats them more like "blink and you'll miss it" moments with a simple PlayStation Blog post and some comments from...
Reaction PlayStation Showcase 2021 Was Good, But Not Good Enough
Lopsided livestream leaves us wanting more and unsure when we'll get it
Prior to the PlayStation Showcase, we dropped a garbage time Soapbox, explaining that Sony couldn’t afford any dead air in its press conference today. But a bizarrely lopsided livestream had us sweating with ten minutes to go: the manufacturer had fallen into every single...
Reaction It's Time to Accept We Can't Predict PlayStation Anymore
The company's doing its own thing
We don’t have a clue what to expect from PlayStation anymore, and neither should you. A lot has changed over the course of the last generation, and Sony’s communication strategy – or, perhaps, lack thereof – is most prominent of all. The organisation was once talkative – chatty, even – during the early...
Reaction Messy Ghost of Tsushima Upgrade Makes PS5 for the Payers
Cough up
Sony may see itself as the premium platform in the marketplace these days, but it’s up for debate how long dedicated fans will continue to pay for the privilege of playing on the PlayStation 5. While the Japanese giant’s main competitor Microsoft continues to offer outrageous value through its Xbox Game Pass program, the PlayStation...
Reaction E3 Is a Relic Desperately Clinging to Relevancy
Let it go
E3 has been the event around which the video game industry revolves for nearly three decades now, but it’s time to admit it’s a relic that has long passed its sell-by date. There will be critics of this article that will point to the pandemic as justification for this year’s inept event, but such a response ignores the very real...
Reaction Xbox Game Pass Is the Thorn in PS5's Side
Jim Ryan, we have a problem
The curtain has closed on a very strong Xbox briefing, which saw its beefed up first-party roster – and a lot of timed exclusives – deliver the first real E3 2021 livestream of the year. The event has been on life support thus far, but with good pacing and plenty of content, Microsoft proved that there is still a...
Reaction Partnerships Show PlayStation Empowering Creators, And Avoiding an Acquisition War
Sony's direction
On the eve of a Microsoft press conference, it’s hard not to be wary of the dreaded ‘a’ word if you’re a PlayStation fan: acquisitions. Oh, the dreaded acquisitions. Xbox’s well-publicised buyout of Bethesda changed everything; all bets are off when it comes to the Redmond juggernaut now, and it has the luxury of deep...
Reaction Days Gone Was PS4's Black Sheep, But a Darn Good Open World Game
Freaker on a leash
A sequel to Days Gone, the Sony Bend survival horror open world, was pitched but never given the go-ahead. That’s according to a Bloomberg report, and it’s certainly corroborated by the departure of long-
Broken bat
“Putting into a subscription model on day one, for us, just doesn't make any sense,” Sony bigwig Jim Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz prior to the launch of the PlayStation 5, when asked about Xbox Game Pass. “For others in a different situation, it might well make sense, but for us it doesn't. We want to expand and
Reaction Sony's Storefront Closures Put PS5, PS4 Backwards Compatibility Efforts Back in Focus
It hurts to see PlayStation's history left behind
Alongside long overdue confirmation of the closure of its PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and PSP storefronts today, Sony noted that the changes will allow the organisation to “refocus our resources for PS Store on PS5 and PS4, which will enable us to enhance the customer experience even further”. It’s...
Reaction Why Did PlayStation Buy Evo?
Kings of competition
In single player focused communities like Push Square, esports get overlooked. But make no mistake, this sector of the market is enormous: BBC regularly hosts Rocket League and League of Legends tournaments live on its website now, while UKIE pegs the sector’s overall global revenue at $1.1 billion as of 2020 – and that...
Reaction What Next for PlayStation?
The state of play
It’s been a strange year for PlayStation, hasn’t it? Objectively, the organisation is arguably at the peak of its power right now: revenue is ridiculous, it’s raking in more award nominations than the rest of the industry combined, and
Reaction Japan Studio's Disbandment Is Disappointing, But Not Surprising
Sammy argues the writing was on the wall
Back in 2013, when Allan Becker – the former head of Sony Santa Monica – was convinced by then-Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida to run Japan Studio, he told Kotaku his ultimate ambition: “For Japan Studio to be relevant globally in two and a half years.” In the seven plus years since that...
Reaction Sony's New PS Store Is Actively Preventing Fans from Spending Money
Cash saver
Goodness gracious, the new PS Store is an absolutely flabbergasting heap of horse doo, isn’t it? Look, we understand: coronavirus, new consoles, complicated – we recognise that rolling out a new iteration of the PlayStation Store can’t be easy. But after the previous versions – which were also rubbish, for the record – we liked...
Reaction How Does It Keep Going Wrong for Big Game Launches?
Beware the hype train
Well. This is a fine mess CD Projekt RED has found itself in over Cyberpunk 2077. We went from enormous levels of hype to outright damage control in just over a week. After that initial announcement 8 years ago and many delays, the long-awaited RPG finally arrived on 10th December but, put bluntly, the PS4 version has been...
Reaction Cyberpunk 2077 Debacle Proves Sony Needs a Better PS Store Refund Policy
Inconsistency causing confusion
The debacle surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 has, not for the first time, highlighted a gaping flaw in the PlayStation Store. We’ve talked about refunds before – amusingly, when No Man’s Sky was underfire for failing to deliver on its promises – but another anticipated title has fallen short of expectations, and so...
Reaction PS5's User Experience Is Made for Modern Games
The way we play
Sony occasionally gets criticised for being a bit out of touch with the wants and needs of gamers, but we don’t think you could lobby that criticism at the company when it comes to the PlayStation 5’s user experience. Announced today after months of enthusiastic speculation, it’s alarming that we’re still learning new things...
Reaction Spider-Man PS5 Debacle Shows Sony Is Out of Touch
Read the room
You know you’ve done goofed when you’d get a better response by not doing anything at all. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, the PlayStation 5 re-release of 2018’s open world smash hit, has been handled atrociously by Sony – and it’s emblematic of a disastrous week for the Japanese giant, that’s seen it scramble from one...
Reaction Bethesda Acquisition Is a Kick in the Balls for PS5, But Sony's Goals Won't Change
Content is king
Xbox has acquired Bethesda for a frightening sum of money, putting that oft-referenced Microsoft warchest to use at last. The purchase price, an eye-watering $7.5 billion, eclipses the sum Disney spent on Marvel and Star Wars combined – it’s a frankly flabbergasting figure. It’s also potentially a giant blow for the PlayStation...
Reaction The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Today's PS5 News
What Sony's doing right and wrong
Sony peeled back the PlayStation 5 curtain a fraction more today, confirming the PS5 price and PS5 release date, as well as its selection of launch games and more. It was a strong showcase overall,
Reaction Why Hasn't PS5's Price and Release Date Been Revealed Yet?
What are we waiting for?
Why hasn’t the PS5 price and PS5 release date been announced yet? We’ve been talking about the same topic for the best part of the year now, and we’re still none the wiser really. Sony had an excellent PlayStation 5 unveiling, but outside of some minor driblets of information, it’s failed to really follow up on the...
Reaction PS5 Price Under Scrutiny After Disruptive Xbox Series S Reveal
A new challenger approaches
Sony’s yet to announce the PlayStation 5’s price, but it’s going to have to execute whatever it’s been planning flawlessly after overnight revelations. If you’ve been living under the sea, then you may not be aware that the oft-rumoured Xbox Series S leaked overnight. Regardless of whether the Redmond firm...
Reaction The Spotlight Is Now on PS5's Launch Lineup
As main competitor Microsoft goes commando
Wow! We would have given our last Pringle to have been in the boardroom when Microsoft made the decision to delay Xbox Series X launch title Halo Infinite, because that can’t have been an easy call to make. Judging by its gameplay reveal earlier in the year, it’s probably for the best, but the Redmond...
Reaction Sony Wants PS5 to Be the Best Place to Play, And It'll Open Its Wallet to Achieve It
Maybe get used to it
There have been rumours for over a year now that PlayStation has been particularly aggressive behind closed doors as it transitions to a new generation. Timed exclusives are part and parcel of platform launches, and while Microsoft has spoken out against them, its Japanese rival has never exactly hidden t
Reaction PS5 Reveal Event Plays to Sony's Strengths
First-party fire
As far as introductions go, it’s hard to imagine one much stronger than PlayStation 5’s long-anticipated reveal presentation. Where the PlayStation 4 was introduced to the world with, well, Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack, Sony really went to town with its first slate of next-gen releases: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales,...
Reaction State of Play's Ghost of Tsushima Deep Dive Feels Like the Future of the Format
An entertaining and informative broadcast
Sony’s State of Play livestreams have largely divided opinion over the past year – well, up until yesterday. Whatever your thoughts on Ghost of Tsushima – and, according to our poll, the vast majority of you plan to buy it – last night’s 18-minute broadcast was excellently executed, with a deep...
Reaction Sony Needs to Show Us a True, Next-Gen PS5 Exclusive After Lukewarm Inside Xbox
It's getting tiresome now
Today’s hotly anticipated Inside Xbox broadcast was supposed to be our first taste of next-gen gameplay, but it proved to be anything but. Microsoft, to its credit, had attempted to calibrate expectations prior to the show airing, but even as PlayStation fans we were desperate to get a glimpse of what the Xbox Series X...
Reaction DualSense Reveals Sony's Unrivalled Ambition for PS5
Going further
You could forgive Sony for offering more of the same with the PlayStation 5 – after all, its current generation console is one of the most successful platforms of all time. While the PlayStation 4 will be hard pushed to match the PlayStation 2’s astronomical install base, it will end the generation much more profitable, thanks to...
Reaction PS5 Will Solve All Your PS4 Pet Peeves Once and for All
Fixing the future
Isn’t it funny how fast we forget? The PlayStation 4 felt like a revolution after almost a decade of PlayStation 3’s unwieldy game installs and barely functional PlayStation Store, but Sony’s current-gen console is considered tedious by contemporary standards. Huge patches, update copying, and a flaky operating system have...
Reaction PS5 Deep Dive Was As Expected, But Was Shockingly Misjudged
Are you Cerny?
Even if Sony’s big PlayStation 5 deep dive was exactly what the platform holder said it would be, it was not what rabid fans wanted to see. The manufacturer has been blue-balling gamers for months now, keeping the most intimate details of its next-gen device underwraps. It’s now pulled back the curtain
Reaction Coronavirus Could Very Well Have Saved E3
Or killed it, we'll see
E3 has been cancelled, and no one reading the news is surprised. It may be the most noteworthy convention in the gaming calendar, but with famous festivals like Coachella postponed and the Olympics under serious jeopardy, it’s hardly surprising that coronavirus has claimed another victim. Of course, in this
Reaction PlayStation's Most Ardent Fans Are Feeling Frustrated and Insecure
The current state of play
There are PlayStation fans, and then there are PlayStation fans. If you’re reading this, you probably fall somewhere in the middle; we’re guessing your interest in games expands beyond the next Call of Duty release date, but hopefully you’re not one of these social media nutters who attacks developers for including a...
Reaction Unrealistic Expectations Mar Sony's Best State of Play So Far
It was good
We all liked it. There’s a temptation to for us to drop a big fat shrugging emoji at the end of that opening sentence, but a far cry from the frustrated murmurs you’ll find on popular forums, we thought the latest State of Play was solid. It wasn’t mind-blowing; it didn’t leave us gasping for air like E3 2015. But as a 20 minute...
Reaction Gamescom 2019 Reminds Us That Studios Are Focused on PS5 Right Now
Calm before the storm
It was fitting for the PlayStation 5 devkit to leak this week, as Gamescom 2019 served as an extension of E3 2019 in so many ways. Geoff Keighley huffed and puffed during his Opening Night Live presentation, but once the curtain came down, it was clear that the two-hour stage show was mostly conceived as a screen to get auteur...
Reaction Sony Swagger on Display with Insomniac Games Acquisition
Just like that
Sony working the hype cycle would seriously benefit us at Push Square, but we can’t help but appreciate the organisation’s swagger these days. Case in point: it announced its acquisition of Insomniac Games during Geoff Keighley’s prominently promoted Opening Night Live press conference. Alas, it didn’t confirm the news live on...
Reaction Sony Bailed on E3 2019, And Took Gameplay Demos with It
Show surprisingly light on in-game footage
At the time, Sony’s unconventional E3 2018 press conference was dubbed a disaster due to a lack of surprises and an awkward intermission. On the strength of this year’s show so far, though, it would have honestly been refreshing. We’ve sat through close to six hours of media briefings over the past...
Reaction Sony's Decision to Skip E3 2019 Is Starting to Look Really Smart
Was the platform holder right all along?
When will we learn not to criticise Sony too hastily? Our first reaction to the Japanese giant’s decision to skip E3 2019 was one of horror, but we later took a step back and pointed out that the platform holder couldn’t (and probably shouldn’t) be judged until we see how everything transpires. On the...
Reaction Bloated Xbox E3 2019 Press Conference Fails to Capitalise on Sony No-Show
Keanu Reeves was cool
Sony left Microsoft with an open goal by deciding to skip E3 2019, but after that bloated Xbox showing it’s pretty obvious why the Japanese giant decided to wash its hair. As expected, the team in green brought absolutely everything under its umbrella, but this was a press conference lacking in real surprises – or gameplay,...
Reaction Sony Won't Be Scared of Google Stadia in the Slightest
A wet fart
The punchline of today’s Stadia Connect stream is that Google tried to sell us on its vision of a game streaming future with a pre-recorded YouTube broadcast that had more macroblocking than a Minecraft map. The broadcast – fronted by former PlayStation executive Phil Harrison in a shirt and sneakers – failed to cash in on
Reaction State of Play Satisfies, But Can Sony Manage Expectations?
The big question
We’re in the minority, but we liked the inaugural State of Play, which emphasised PlayStation VR as well as other parts of the PlayStation portfolio. The livestream was lambasted by viewers, and y
Reaction State of Play Can and Will Be Great Assuming Sony Sticks with It
And you keep your expectations in check
Sony’s State of Play livestream is currently being bombarded with dislikes, which is just about as predictable as the sun rising tomorrow. In this instance, however, it feels just a teensy bit unfair, because the platform holder put together a broadcast that actually exceeded my admittedly low expectations...
Reaction How Will Google's Stadia Affect PlayStation?
Cloud strife
Google announced its ambitious game streaming platform Stadia this week, and it’s a hot point of conversation for the entire industry. But does it represent a paradigm shift in terms of game delivery, and what does it all mean for PlayStation moving forward? Our esteemed editors weigh in. Sammy Barker, Editor: Even a root canal...
Reaction Sony's Decision to Skip E3 2019 Is Confounding, But One We Can't Judge Yet
We hope it knows what it's doing
Once upon a time we wrote articles rubbishing rumours about the imminent announcements of Shenmue III and Final Fantasy VII Remake – only for them to be revealed hours later. Our story about Sony skipping E3 2019, preposterous as it seemed while we were penning it, has culminated in a familiar feeling. After an...
Reaction Sony Has Been Very Busy Behind the Scenes
Pro-active PlayStation
It’s been a quiet year for Sony with regards to its communication with consumers, something that we’ve criticised quite heavily in the past – but it clearly hasn’t been twiddling its thumbs. Whether the company is clearing the deck ahead of the PlayStation 5 or just working to ensure it retains its position of...
Reaction Great Games Rule Supreme at E3 2018
Content is king
The story of this E3 2018, as far as we’re concerned, has been great games. We all have lapses in our excitement for the medium – it’s natural. But if you went into this year’s event feeling a little fatigued, then no doubt you’ll have found something somewhere to rekindle your enthusiasm. Whether it’s the hushed whispers...
Reaction Sony's Strong E3 2018 Show Almost Ruined by Rubbish Format
Dangerous territory
Sony’s E3 2018 press conference was unlike any we’ve seen before – and, if we’re brutally honest, any we’ll ever see again. The platform holder mixed things up heavily for its showcase, but one thing remained predictably consistent: industry-leading first-party games. We’ve pulled together our trio of editors to share...
Reaction Microsoft's E3 2018 Press Conference Was Killer for PS4 Owners
A great show for Sony fans
We’ve always said that you can’t truly judge an E3 press conference until you work it; the sheer number of news articles in the aftermath is the real test of how many games were on display. And let us tell you, Microsoft just sent us into overdrive in a way that not even some Sony briefings have: there were an insane...
