Ainu20

Rhythm based gameplay built around the Dualsense definitely has potential. I'm keeping an eye on this.

The only thing that is a bit of a grey zone here is the text-to-speech. If the voice actors are compensated fairly for lending their voice to it, I don't necessarily see a problem with it. But that's an important caveat.

@ShieldHero Good lord, I don't even know where to start with this. That is a lot of mental gymnastics to justify a multi-billion dollar company providing a service that is basically a copyright violation generator. I feel like we are fundamentally so far apart that there is indeed no point in having this discussion.

@ShieldHero Whether or not people end up using Sora for private or non-private purposes doesn't matter. It's a service being provided by OpenAI using stolen art. That in itself is a blatant copyright violation.

I really don't know how we can put this AI genie back in the bottle. Copyright as a concept seems dead and buried.

@Dogbreath

the market could be damaged if firms were able to lockdown such basics as robotic animals with LED lights on them

The similarities went quite a bit further than that.

@Rhaoulos I've seen similar comments to yours but I always feel like they're talking about the wrong thing. Similarities between games are fine, and so is derivative games design. But the creature design in much of the promotional material almost looked like an exact copy.

It's one thing for two studios to design something general like a skeleton warrior and have them looking alike, that can happen. Horizon's creature design however is very intricately detailed and specific, for another game to come up with designs that look almost identical? Yeah I don't see how there's any defending that.

@themightyant It is indeed a far bigger issue than just gaming. As I said in a previous post, this is a societal issue more than anything. I don't even want to know where we'll be in 10 years time. But I don't really know what the gaming industry can do about it.

This is sort of selfish, but I honestly have no problem with the gaming industry shrinking. As long as "our" generation is still around, there will still be a demand for great single-player games, and still incentive for studios and publishers to create them. At the moment, there's such an over abundance of those that I will never be able to catch up. Perhaps we've simply already gone over the limit of what this market can support and it's time for a step back.

That's a painful process for the people working in the industry, but that's a harsh reality that can't really be avoided. It's also a painful process for the shareholders and capitalists running all of it, and I couldn't care less about them.

@themightyant You recognize it as a huge threat to the future of gaming, but what then? Do you want or expect gaming companies to start chasing the attention of young people on TikTok? I personally dread to see what that may look like, or what that may do to the future of gaming.

All forms of entertainment are competing for time and attention, but I don't find this a very compelling argument to support the idea that gaming platforms aren't competing against each other as much as against outside threats. If those kids prefer to spend their time on TikTok, you're not going to convince them to spend that time playing games anyway. There's already an endless supply of mobile games out there, and if they don't even have the attention spans for those, what are Sony or Microsoft going to do? This feels more like a societal issue than anything gaming companies are going to solve.

No, focus on the people who do want to play games first, despite what Microsoft's execs might be claiming.

@Questionable_Duck What I stated: "Three major releases, one of which as decorated as Astro Bot, is not a negligible fraction."
What you make of that: "You act as if these three games are a third of Sony's entire output this gen, when that isn't really true."
I'm being careful in my wording, so I would appreciate if you don't misrepresent them.

As for your other post, I don't see how one could possibly overstate how much Sony prioritizes the platform. That is their entire business model, the 30% cut they make on third-party sales and add-ons far outweighs anything else. They will be looking to diversify their revenue streams, because as you say this model is reaching its limits and might come under threat in the future. But for now, that remains their biggest source of revenue and thus their priority. Whatever decisions they make will be carefully evaluated to make sure they don't negatively impact that.

And to clear up any misunderstandings (your choice of the word pipe dream implies one), I'm not here to say which is better (as I said before). I don't need or want Sony to have exclusives, it doesn't affect me one way or the other as long as they continue to create platforms and games I personally enjoy.

@Questionable_Duck
I replied to HonestHick's post by stating it wasn't entirely correct, and then qualified that by giving examples. That's not a hill to die on. It was your choice to start picking apart that reply.

You keep referring to those examples as a few exceptions, but as we all know, Sony's output has not exactly been prolific this generation. Three major releases, one of which as decorated as Astro Bot, is not a negligible fraction.

The main reason I disagree with your notion that they'll bring everything to PC, is that Sony fundamentally still believes in their platform. They have no choice, as that is how they make their revenue; bringing people to their platform far outweighs selling a few more copies on other platforms. As such, I still feel that, if at any point they decide that bringing games to other platforms works against drawing people into their ecosystem, they will abandon the non-exclusive strategy in a heartbeat.

@Questionable_Duck I mean, you're not wrong, but this sounds suspiciously similar to me saying they decide this on a case by case basis, with most games getting a PC release. Why are you so intent on disagreeing with my comments, when you don't really have much reason to?

@Questionable_Duck

The facts indicate that Sony has brought nearly every single game it has released in the last 5 years to PC. That, to me, indicates that Sony's plan is to bring every single one of its games to PC. Exceptions may occur on rare occasions, but that doesn't mean it's not Sony's plan.

Close. The facts indicate it's Sony's plan to bring most of their games to PC. You may think I'm acting pedantic, but that was basically what I said in my original post.

@Questionable_Duck I don't have to act anything, because I'm sticking to the facts. Three major current-gen releases have not been brought to PC yet. Sony has never outright committed to releasing every game on PC going forward. There really isn't much more to say about that.

@Questionable_Duck No, you can't argue that. HonestHick was talking about Sony porting games to PC and thus having no exclusives, I countered by giving examples that are not on PC. All the Microsoft published games you mentioned, were released on PC from day 1. It's two completely different things.

I'm not here to say which is better, I'm here to refute his statement. Sony hasn't gone all-in on abolishing exclusives (yet). You claim there isn't anything to suggest they've suddenly changed their mind about bringing games to PC, while in my opinion, there isn't anything to suggest they've decided to bring ALL their games to PC going forward, rather than judge it on a case by case basis.

@HonestHick It's not entirely accurate to say Sony has no exclusives. Gran Turismo 7 has been out for 3.5 years and is only available on PlayStation. Astro Bot has been out for over a year and there isn't a lot of expectation of it releasing on PC. Demon's Souls has been out for nearly 5 years and it doesn't look like it's coming to PC.

These might only seem like a couple of exceptions, but they were all released after Sony started releasing games on PC. That means there is no guarantee of all Sony games eventually coming to PC, let alone in a timely fashion. We don't really know what Sony's future plans in that regard are, but as it stands, Sony has both timed exclusives (which have more value than you give credit for) and true exclusives.

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.