EvenStephen7

It’s a shame, as physical movies blow digital/streaming out of the water in both looks and sound.

The article is a fascinating read, but it's pretty apparent from its context that an EA acquisition isn't very serious and was just suggested as a possibility from another exec. This also comes on the heels of months and months of rumors that Disney will sell to Apple, so it's more about Disney's uncertain future than anything else.

Still, it wouldn't shock me if they try and get more into gaming in some capacity.

Uncomfortable and coincidental timing for launch.

"Now that's more like it, Mr. Wayne."

I probably won't have time for these at the moment, but it's great to see PS+ essentials back in form after last month.

Really dug this article. It’s also fun to get to know the person/see the face behind the author (I always assumed you weren’t a murderous Martian, but I didn’t know for sure…)

Very excited to give my powerful in-ceiling speakers a workout with Atmos. It’s going to be make PS5 game audio even more immersive.

I could see why essential and even extra tier members might stay put.

A more interesting poll would be how many of us premium subscribers plan to stay at this tier. I know I won’t.

@ArmoredMore No doubt — I actually work in streaming TV. So I agree — it’s about building a user base early on and then recouping costs down the line. Typically there’s a user threshold they have to clear first though. So for instance, Disney took a loss for a while on D+ until they hit a certain market penetration rate and steadied their platform with exclusive content before doing multiple price hikes a year.

The difference here is that the revamped service is still in its infancy — and hasn’t met on all of its initial promises. In many ways it feels like a WiP still. We know the hyper growth stage is over since the user base has plateaued, but I question what the market penetration rate is for premium. And then audiences are always more like to accept multiple, smaller increases over time over giant lump-sum ones.

I wanted to play SR, so I'm interested --- but no doubt about it, this has to be the worst month. At least the worth month in recent memory.

This and the price hike — what are you thinking, Sony?

The new PS+ tiers still don't feel fully realized (not that many classics, no PS5 streaming, not many day-and-date deals). Now they're raising prices by a significant margin.

This kind of feels like it might kill off the service. Or bring everything crashing back down to Essentials.

I can't express how disappointed I am.

I already found less and less value in Gamepass and plan to drop it when my sub is up. My PS+ Premium got a little more play, though not tons either — and this seals it. I'm either dropping down to Extra or Essentials, but probably just going back to Essentials. I'll miss the classics and cloud streaming, but not enough for $40 more a year.

This seems like it's just going to cause everyone to downgrade and Sony will lose even more money.

@Darude84 It's wild. The Quake 2 review was nonstop praise, but ended up with just a "Good" 7. This RDR review is significantly more critical, but gives it a "Not bad" 6.

There seems to be a big disconnect between the review body and the pros/cons and score.

I understand everyone has differing opinions, but the final score doesn’t seem to match the effusive praise of the review text. I can’t quite understand the disconnect.

That said I think this was a must-buy upgrade for one of the most iconic FPS games in history. I got it on PS5 and Switch — and then learned my Steam automatically upgradeded it for free too. I now have it in on three platforms and I’m not upset. Can’t get enough.

Great news; I loved the show and am hoping this will help green light a season 2.

ESPECIALLY with what season 1’s finale sets up for the next season.

They're the world's most fearsome corporate team
(Greedy Mutant Gaming Executives)
They charge $15 for costumes and they see green
(Greedy Mutant Gaming Executives)
Waiting for the right time to attack
These greedy execs won't cut you no slack!

@Cashews Wow, I stand corrected. That's wild; the industry has gotten to microtransaction-crazy that $2.99 for a cosmetic doesn't sound absurd at all anymore.

Premium seems to be on a roll for the last few months. Really enjoying the classics that I've seen added recently.

@Kanji-Tatsumi we’ve come a long way from the $4.99 “horse armor” controversy.

@Shepherd_Tallon I’m a mild fan of the franchise but only played Black. I had the same reaction — wasn’t sure what to expect, ended up just loving the show. Finished it the other night and almost tempted to go back and rewatch again soon, which I never do with TV shows.

It was more fun (and more full of heart) than I expected.

Super, super excited for Twisted Metal 1 and 2. Between these and the show, this is unexpectedly turning into the summer of TM.

TWISTED METAL!

I guess if you’re just Extra then it’s not a great month, but Twisted Metal 1 and 2?!? Hot damn. That makes it one of the more exciting Premium months for me (and I’ve been pretty happy with Premium already).

Fitting day (in the States at least) for this announcement.

I’m honestly not sure if it will come back.

I got in - so excited as an obsessive MK fan for years. I honestly didn’t think I would. Even better, I have a newborn right now so there are plenty of long nights ahead this weekend comforting him and playing MK1.

@kyleforrester87 It’s 100% happened to me with games and movies (I had a huge TLoU2 death spoiled this way before it even came out). It’s happened to a few friends, too. And so many of these videos put a spoilery image or text front and center for attention.

Weird hack but if there’s something I’m interested in coming soon, I stop watching any and all YT videos on the topic like two months in advance. That seems to help.

@MFTWrecks MKX and MK11 had around 4-6 intro dialogue variations that were all character-specific, and they kept adding more over time with DLC characters.

I’d bet my bottom dollar MK1 will do the same (if not more).

Snark is a poor man’s wit.

@NinjaNicky Agreed. This feels like one of those quota fillers for the site. The PSVR2 and Apple Vision Pro are apples and oranges; the article even essentially says as much. This feels like a weird and very defensive stretch to defend the PSVR2 price.

@Tharsman the modern control option (think Smash Bros) in SF6 are a dream for newcomers or people who claim to be terrible at them. Capcom did an incredible job balancing a game for hardcore fans while making the most accessible fighter yet. Might be worth a look!

@Trousersnake They were clearly being sarcastic.

The hit detection issues are downright shocking — and very disappointing. Beat Saber was one of the top 3 VR experiences I've ever had, and when you hit that zen-like state where you're slicing boxes in the right order without even thinking you need that tactile feedback to let you know. Taking your eyes off the path for even a split second to see if you missed a note can derail EVERYTHING.

@RobN Yea, this jumped out to me too. As you said, the data can go either way but these trend lines are potentially not promising. It’s all in how you slice up the data.

I mean, what else is he going to say? The thing just launched; they're not going to pull the plug this fast.

In some ways it's an optimistic answer; in others, it's a defensive one. But corporate speak is cheap. If Sony really sees a big future for this, they need to launch a killer app and have to step up advertising. Right now their promotion of it feels like Microsoft with the Xbox: nearly non-existent.

The Playstation 3 was such a classy, refined startup. It was fitting for a high-end, luxury device — and made gaming feel less like a child's toy and more of a respectable entertainment medium. The PS5's startup feels like a more subdued take on the PS3's aesthetic, shortened significantly to reinforce the value of the SSD's speed.

It’s also worth noting that this $3B payout happens if the deal doesn’t close by July 18 — a little over two months away. That’s a tight ticking clock for both parties. I believe Activision can choose to punt on the deadline if they want, but their board may also elect to take the money and run if they think this this deal is doomed — despite what Bobby Kotick may want. The shareholders might start pressuring for this, and I have to imagine some are starting to discuss the possibility.

Similarly, Spencer and the Xbox division may be ready for the long haul but their board may choose to cut their losses before wasting more time and money. Basically with these giant companies there are more players involved than just one or two people, and keeping so many page could be difficult — especially if they’re feeling the crunch from shareholders. I have no doubt Bobby Kotick wants that golden parachute and Phil Spencer wants Activision-Blizzard though.

Not my most exciting month but it’s hard to complain when the last several have been so good; I’m still making my way through many of them, so a so-so month kind of comes as a relief. That said, I know I don’t have nearly as much time to play as I used to/as others might.

@Sakai I’ve heard commentators weigh in and give differing opinions as well, though it sounds like even by most generous predictions it’ll be one uphill battle for MS (which also begs the question whether they’ll continue to sandbag themselves for another year to get this done; and if so, will this really be worth the price they’re paying?).

That Michael Pachter quote makes me wince though. I don’t know how anyone can say an appeal will happen with 100% certainty any more than someone say this will happen with 0% certainty. It just undermines credibility. Only a Sith deals in absolutes and all that.

@GRQuake084 Agreed. “It’ll be the next Minions” is a cliched elevator pitch, but I can see it hitting those same notes. The characters are cute and there’s a lot they can do — besides video game references the new format means they could even mimic Sony movie and tv shows (Ghostbusters, Men in Black, the Karate Kid, etc.).

“Snake, try to remember the basics of CQC.”

As others have noted, the PS4 Pro was built to solve for a specific need — the rise of consumer-grade 4K TVs that released after the base model.

A PS5 Pro doesn't just have a "need" to solve. Prettier graphics? Alright, but many people are just NOW getting their hands on a console, and those of us that have been around since launch day haven't had enough "next-gen" experiences to notice the need for an upgrade. Right now everything still looks great because we haven't been flooded with games yet, and many people aren't seeing the need for a performance boost.

I understand giving options to your product line, but it's mildly annoying that this is what Sony is going to invest resources and time in over other, more mass-appeal endeavors.

If this was a controller that somehow had a screen inside it (so it doubled as a Dualsense and a portable device) I'd be more interested. In fact that's what I was always hoping the PS5 controller would be — something you could take with you to cloud stream.

As it is, I don't see why I'd take this over the little attachment that lets me clip my phone to my controller and play on the go...for like $15.

Meet Your Maker gives me major Tecmo's Deception vibes from the PS1 days. In a good way.

Finally, Sackboy. Was always waiting for this to finally hit.

Looks like a spiritual successor to/influenced by Tecmo's classic PS1 franchise, Deception.

I'm for it! It's a fun gameplay idea that hasn't been around for a while.

I think a lot of people forget the big reason behind both Xbox and PS4 putting out mid-gen upgrades: the rise of 4K and HDR TVs. When the ps4 launched they weren’t as ubiquitous; the PS4 Pro was mainly built to capitalize on the new tech that a lot of devs were excited for (it didn’t hurt that Sony also made TVs).

There simply isn’t something similar right now in TV or tech, and I don’t know if “slightly more powerful” would be enough — especially when this gen still hasn’t felt like it’s “taken off.”

It’s hard to get people to upgrade to more powerful hardware when the base system hasn’t even come close to its capabilities yet.

I remember where I was and what I felt the first time I finished the game in 2013. I remember sitting through the entire credits, mouth agape, feeling emotionally gut-punched. I don’t think I slept much that night.

I’ve replayed it many times since then, including after becoming a father, but tonight’s finale of the show finally brought back those initial emotions I had that first night. In some ways the game was stronger, in others the show was, but that might be one of the best adaptations I have ever seen. It’s interesting watching a wider audience ask the same questions from a decade ago — did Joel do the right thing?

I’m not ready for what’s coming in season 2.

I would love to be proven wrong, but I don’t expect anything big from this. I also don’t care about PSVR2 or Suicide Squad, so it’s hard for me to get excited for the stuff that we know will take center stage.

@helloim_anthony I was having the same feeling reading this. Been going back and forth lately but almost everything here I can play on my PSVR1. Was hoping for more exclusives that I was unaware of. Time will tell I guess.

This all seems pretty subdued. A few PSVR games and Suicide Squad don't sound worthy of a State of Play on its own; hopefully, there's still a surprise or something exciting. But I'm keeping my expectations firmly in check.

After the flak she got for the Netflix Resident Evil show, nothing probably fazes her anymore. Good for her. Too many people forget that the actor isn’t the writer anyway; they make the best with what they’re given.