Ainu20

I'm with the commenters criticising the overly dramatic title. I still like this site but I wish they'd tone it down a bit.

Feels a bit silly to take the Switch 2 out of the equation. It might not be a "high-end next-gen" console, but it will still be a direct competitor of the PS6 when it launches.

@aj21009 Couldn't agree more.

I can't help but feel disappointed that Burnout Paradise has left a much greater mark on the arcade racing genre than the games that preceded it. If this was inspired by Burnout 3 and had dedicated layouts instead of another lifeless open world, I would be all over it. As it stands, I'm just not interested.

@Tatarimokke I don't know where you got the idea that Sony is going to force their studios to make anime games. Nothing like that was ever implied. Their interest in anime is purely in the movie and TV business.

Good. I don't really want to see Sony involved in these massive blockbuster acquisitions. Bungie aside, their acquisitions have typically been studios that they already had a very close partnership with, to the point that they almost felt like first party before being acquired. I'd prefer them sticking to that strategy.

@Max_the_German I assume by install base, he's referring to the amount of people that are buying into Xbox's ecosystem. If you own an Xbox or subscribe to Game Pass, you're part of Microsoft's install base. If you buy one of their games on PS5, you aren't.

But at the same time the term could also be used to describe how many people buy any of their products, so it's a bit ambiguous. In the console space it's typically used as described above though.

@Neither_scene Definitely not confirmed, anyone's guess at this point.

@bazchillin The drive can be an issue, that is true, but depends of course on how digital or not the user is. Beyond that though, the base PS5 is inaudibly quiet, as my unit still is (no longer at my house, but at a friend's as I moved to the Pro) under heavy load and after years of use. It's all anecdotal of course.

@MrStark You've used phrases like "worst mid gen refresh in gaming history", "their hardware leaves a lot to be desired", "PS6 is going to be YET ANOTHER case of inferior hardware", "they'll sell the most and it won't matter. Unbelievable." Yes, I'd call that comment a bit hysterical. That's not a personal insult, that's an observation about your comment.

Some of the advantages you've mentioned are related to software and are debatable anyway, like the OS. Xbox Series X is whisper quiet, but so is the base PS5. As I've said, they're neck and neck. I'm not here to state that the PS5 is definitively better, it's your insistence that there can be no debate about it which I take issue with. Once again you've stated that there can be no doubt about it. They are far too closely matched for that to be true.

@MrStark

Outside the first four years of the Xbox One era and the RROD fiasco, Microsoft have produced the better hardware. There can be no debate about that.

Of course there can be a debate about that. PS5's hardware is perfectly fine compared to Series X, with neither having a clear advantage over the other. PS5 Pro's issues, which are limited to a select number of titles, are related to software rather than hardware. Your comment comes across as a bit hysterical.

There's enough smoke by now to conclude that PSSR has serious issues with UE5, and it's mostly on Sony to do something about it. Until that happens though, developers should just not use it if they're running UE5, and that's on them.

However, none of that excuses the game's less-than-perfect performance on a base PS5. To be honest, on a technical level this game looks a bit dated compared to many of the games that run perfectly on a base PS5. There's nothing wrong with that in itself, and its artistic design is quite pleasing to make up for it, but you expect rock solid performance in that case. They need to do better.

Had no idea this was coming out already. I loved the first one, such a great throwback to classic late 90s survival horror, wonky voice acting and everything.

@MrStark Sammy specifically says he doesn't really disagree with Sarah Bond's words, and mentions Sony's own increasing multiplatform strategy. How is this hypocritical or baiting?

@RiverGenie Push Square comment sections are generally full of relentless negativity towards Sony and PlayStation, so your observation seems wildly far of the mark.

@Neither_scene Even that $700 dollar figure isn't going to cut it for a non-subsidsed machine. Unless the PC side of that hybrid is going to be severely underpowered, you're probably looking at a 4 figure machine.

As for the why studios wouldn't release optimised versions, well because it wouldn't be worth it. Why would they, if players can simply buy the PC version from another store, likely getting a better deal in the process, to play on the same platform? Some developers have already wondered aloud if creating current Xbox versions is worth it anymore, let alone on a next generation when Microsoft has eroded the Xbox hardware brand further.

It's ultimately all speculation of course, but if they truly release a hybrid machine, I can't see it being any less niche than, say, a Steam Deck. It will effectively be that, just targeted at the big screen.

@Neither_scene Those two points are naive at best though. In all likelihood it would be significantly more expensive than a traditional console, and running some sort of preset PC versions (which is a far cry from bespoke console versions). Outside of Microsoft themselves, I don't see why studios would bother with truly native, optimised versions.

@boarderbro88 That is on the game developers to implement, and they generally don't seem interested. There's been virtually no meaningful development in that area since Half-Life 2 in 2004. Perhaps the most impressive simulation in video games is Tears of the Kingdom, and that runs on a Switch 1, so it's not the hardware holding studios back. Devs aren't interested, and I'm not convinced the wider gaming audience is either.

@Neither_scene You've just described a PC. Literally.

It sounds nice on paper and in the current gaming climate, you'll probably find a lot of people that agree, but... what exactly is the alternative? In the end, there's still going to be demand for games that look better, run better or ideally both. Sure, there's still plenty of juice in the current generation and letting it run a few years longer than the norm might not be a bad idea, but eventually people will start wanting more.

Tencent's admissions of guilt are pretty obvious to me: changing promotional material and delaying the release from late 2025 all the way to late 2027, all after Sony's lawsuit. They knew what they were doing and overplayed their hand.

@Jammer Wait what censorship? I meant more like, one or two basic questions on what was actually in the article, so they actually read it. Not that it was a serious suggestion, but your reaction is a bit out of the blue.

@ShadowRJ It's just a date announcement, not that different from a music festival announcing its dates for next year when the current year's edition has just finished. I'm sure a lot of people involved in games coverage appreciate it.

@ShogunRok Sometimes I feel like this site (or the internet in general) needs some sort of exam at the end of an article before people are allowed to comment.

@Frmknst The sad reality is most people get a PS5 to play the latest Call of Duty, EA Sports FC etc, not for Astro Bot or Ghost of Yotei.

@Northern_munkey Assuming your figures are corect, Tsushima released about half a year after the start of COVID lockdowns in the West, that's a factor that can't be ignored.

Feels like they're missing a great opportunity by not having PSVR support. With normal controls, I just don't see the point, but in VR this could've been pretty awesome. Oh well.

@Futureshark Totally not what was said or implied.

@BrotherFilmriss Since some of the assets were plagiarised, better not!

Sony’s got a lot riding on Marathon. It needs the game to be a success.

I wouldn't necessarily say Sony needs it to be a success... but Bungie certainly does, and probably Haven as well. If this game fails, I can see Sony basically giving up on this particular brand of live-service game, and then Fairgames will almost inevitably get the chop as well.

Sony itself can weather that storm, albeit not without a certain level of fall-out, but the two studios involved will be in serious trouble.

@RiverGenie You came in by implying they were "copying" a mode from a game that isn't even in the same genre, so I'm not sure what sort of replies you were expecting. @PuppetMaster's first reply was clear enough, and not in any way aggressive.

@PuppetMaster

Yeah his comments always negatives for PS games. Not sure why he's here if he doesn't like PS.

Easily one of the most relentlessly negative commenters when it comes to PlayStation stuff. Whenever I see the name and avatar I know I'm going to roll my eyes.

Nothing wrong with cheat codes in single player games. They weren't sacrilege in legendary games like Doom, Half-Life or any game that had the infamous Konami code, so they aren't here either. The only difference is games didn't expose them in menus back in the day.

@Coffeeglitch It's fairly obvious @DennisReynolds was talking about first-party titles or at least Sony publishes games. This back and forth has no point if we're ignoring that.

@Ricky-Spanish The "but" wasn't directed at you, assuming that's what you're referring to.

@Ricky-Spanish All good then!

But...

@SMJ Seriously, another one? It can't be that hard to look at the top of the article before accusing Push Square of not updating it.

@Ricky-Spanish Not sure why you're saying the story hasn't been updated. It's right there at the top of the article and has been for hours.

You could make an argument that the majority of PlayStation Studios games are too serious, but having such a ridiculously hyperbolic and reductive article header can never lead to any sort of productive discussion. It's clickbait nonsense.

At the end of the day, each game needs to be judged on its own merit and in that sense, I find very little reason to complain about the quality of Sony's first party output. That's the main thing. And of course, they famously release so infrequently these days that there should be plenty of time to cleanse your palette with dozens of more lighthearted games in between!

@B_Lindz

As a publisher? Boy-howdy, this generation has been rough. Maybe one to two original games a year... maybe? It's been slow at best, dead at worst.

Since you said "as a publisher", well, here's some of the games they've published in the last 24 months: Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Astro Bot, Helldivers 2, Rise of the Ronin, Stellar Blade, Death Stranding 2 and in a couple of days, Ghost of Yotei. Terrible publisher.

@kmtrain83 It's not really about making a point, it's more about what I personally feel comfortable with.

@kmtrain83 I'm not going to elaborate, as I don't feel like this comment section is the place for that. As others have pointed out, PIF is not just a Saudi company, it is quite literally the same as the Saudi government. That should be information enough, and if not, their "issues" (this feels too trivial a word for it but anyway) are widely documented.

@Kingy More or less, yeah. It needs to be clear that it's its own thing, even if it wears its inspirations on its sleeve. This is more of a personal thing, I have no insight into the legality of it all. I personally feel no game should be presented as a spiritual successor if none of the original creators are involved.

Having said that, in the context of this one, I actually have to correct myself since I completely ignored that Parasite Eve the video game was not an original work in itself, being based on a book of the same name. Then again, the main character of the game, Aya Brea, whom the main character of this new game is based on, is an original creation by SquareSoft.

The nicest thing I could've said about the EA of the last 10-15 years is that I didn't really care about them, as opposed to actively detest them. However, this investment is about as grotesque and repulsive as any I could've ever imagined. I know people might argue there's questionable money in many companies, but we all have to decide for ourselves where we draw the line. Let's just say this acquisition is so far beyond mine that even the memory of a line has faded.

@Kingy Since you were quoting me alongside others, I feel I should answer, but I can only answer for myself, not for the others.

Anyway, in my post, I referred to the name of the game (I mean, it has Parasite in the title), the style and the look of the main character. It's sometimes a fine line between hommage (which is something I fully support) and plagiarism. In this case, the combination of those factors takes it to the wrong side of that line in my opinion, in a way that Expedition 33 and Silksong obviously don't do. Someone could see this game and its title and genuinely believe it's the next game in the Parasite Eve IP. That's a problem.

Compare this to Axiom Verge, for example, which is probably the closest to Metroid you could find. At first glance you'd be like, that looks like Metroid, but it has a completely different title and different character and from there becomes its own game, though clearly a tribute to its inspiration. If that was titled something ending in "roid" and had a main character looking like Samus' suit, I'd feel the same as in this case.

Considering the name, the style of the game and the look of the main character, you can't really call this anything other than blatant plagiarism from developers that have zero connection to the original games. And people are cheering for this?

Sitting at 89 on Opencritic at the moment, all looking very promising! With this releasing next week, Saros in around 6 months and Wolverine about a year away, things are cautiously starting to pick up again for PlayStation Studios I feel. Let's hope we're set for a strong couple of years.

The article mentions it's about profit, but what is this based on exactly? Using Google Translate the chart says "Sales", which is also mentioned in the English text at the bottom. Sales is a vague term but to me that would indicate revenue rather than profit. The figure in USD also shows $136B for the PS5 generation, which would be crazy profit for a subsidiary whose parent company has a market cap of around $180B.

It's becoming something of a tradition that February is a stacked month, and this is another one.

My prediction: people in the comments will complain.

Yup I'm definitely playing this. Yakuza 3 had a lot of flaws, but there was so much to love. The vibe in Okinawa, the orphanage, Kiryu being a dad to all of the kids there, loved all of it. If they improve the combat and side activities, this could be something special. The Mine side campaign has potential as well.

@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare To me the fact that they've already confirmed Saros gameplay indicates the opposite, i.e. that they have something else lined up as the show closer. Wolverine seems like the most likely candidate, but could be something completely different of course. We'll find out soon enough.