Well. It's hard to find a dev who wouldn't said the same thing about their game. So I'm taking this with pretty huge pinch of salt. Especially if gameplay systems were taken from TLOU 2
I haven't seen articles like that when Sony is flip-floping with their approach to exclusivity lol.
Why they brought Helldivers 2 on Xbox, but they are not bringing Marvel Tokon? Why they started publishing games on PC and then decided to stop?
It's pretty easy. Don't expect Xbox games on PlayStation, but when they do come, you can buy them. Otherwise you can play them in any other way to access Xbox ecosystem - PC, console or cloud.
New Xbox CEO literally said. Plan is the plan until it isn't. It's the same for Xbox and same for PlayStation.
It's honestly hilarious to see fanboys (on both sides and even on PC) pretending like games on other platform are trash, but when there are chance of them become multiplat, suddenly those games are great and when they are available, they are buying them in droves (mainly Helldivers 2, FH 5 and Sea of Thieves).
And then when there is a chance of other company to return to exclusives, suddenly those games are trash again lol.
Like. I get personal preferences, but if someone wants to pretend with straight face that company owning The Elder Scrolls VI, Forza Horizon, Gears of War, Halo, Doom, Wolfenstein, Diablo etc. returning to exclusives is nothingburger, they are just lying.
Although, I don't expect Xbox to return to exclusives. Timed at best. But if they want to do that, they need to do that right now. Cancel PS5 ports of FH6, Fable and Halo: Campaign Evolved and release them Xbox/PC only and see how market reacts in terms of console sales.
@Fiendish-Beaver I mean...yes? Isn't that kinda obvious after Bloomberg reported that Microsoft wanted Xbox to hit 30% profit margins? Increasing the price of Game Pass wasn't about "service is not sustainable" but about "we need to hit this crazy margins that our CFO wants" Why do you think multiplatform push, price increase of consoles, subs and attempt to increase price of games happened around same time?
If Game Pass Ultimate had around 25 million subs, then by increasing a price from 19,99$ to 29,99$ you went from 500 million dollars per month to 750 million dollars. From 6 billion per year to 9 billion per year.
Eh no...
Because for "Sony to be right" Microsoft would need to pull all first-party games from day one, not just COD.
COD is that rare exception of game being so huge that it is making more harm than good inside subscription. That's why Microsoft was talking internally about putting COD there from the start. But it's also the only one. Even Sony doesn't have such a juggernaut.
Xbox's problem was never "day one" games. It was insane pressure for Microsoft's CFO after ABK merger for high margins. Do I need to remind people that Microsoft's CFO asked previous Xbox regime for 30% margins in industry, where Sony is popping champagne when they hit 20%? That's what prompted whole "multiplatform" shift. Not Game Pass lol.
If they want to move back to exclusives (which I doubt they will, but it's clear that they are evaluating) they need to do that right now.
Because this year IS the year to do it. It would be hilarious (and on brand for Xbox) to blow their biggest load of high-profile first-party (and potentially system sellers) games in years - Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Gears of War E-Day and Halo Remake and release them everywhere just to later switch back to exclusives lol.
@Angelus3K "Cat's out of bag" is stupidest argument ever. And even I don't think that Microsoft would make exclusives again.
But just because you made 20 ports of your games for PlayStation 5 doesn't mean in any shape or form that they are obliged to make more ports. They just can say "we are stopping this *****" and have balls to do that exactly like Sony is doing with their PC ports (but on bigger scale). There is no contract (outside of COD) in place that obliges Microsoft to make more ports.
Same person (Jez) also said that Microsoft lifted their profit margins mandate (which was 30%) from shoulders of Xbox division after Sharma was made CEO. So there is actually wiggle room to stop porting their games on PlayStation in terms of potential revenue hit.
@Netret0120 Of course it will be. You have more advanced process node with same or bigger chip than PS5 Pro (ie. more expensive to produce) You also supposed to have more RAM (24GB per leaks) - more expensive to produce.
PS5 Pro now cost 900$. If that doesn't tell people how much they should expect PS6 to cost, I don't know what will. We will be lucky if PS6 won't cross 900$ mark, unless Sony is willing to loose huge amount of money on every console sold. Which I doubt they are. Especially since Microsoft bowed out from "race".
"Funny" thing is that this is almost exclusively US/Canada dev problem, because salaries of devs there are so high.
Basically you can make AAA in Europe for fraction of the cost of making same game in USA. For example, Alan Wake 2 had 80 million budget and that was considered pretty steep. ARC Raiders also cost way less than Marathon, for example.
That's why Hulst and many people in higher-up positions were saying lately that outsourcing parts of development is a way to go.
And that's also why NetEase pulled so hard from western studios that they were building. Because they realised that they can secure similar level of talent in other parts of world for way cheaper.
Therefore I expect Sony to just milk their franchises as much as they can. Guerrilla will be "Horizon studio," Sucker Punch will be "Ghost of... studio", Insomniac will be Marvel factory and if Intergalactic won't bring as much money as ND and Sony are hoping for they will quickly pivot back to The Last of Us.
I guess people can calm themselves by PlayStation having "most profitable" generation in history and that they "won" console wars while having worst first-party output in history of PlayStation...
It's almost like what Spencer said about people being so entrenched in their ecosystem, they won't leave is true.
PlayStation users haven't bought Xbox consoles for Forza Horizon 5 and waited 5 years for it's arrival and then bought it in droves. They are doing same thing with Starfield and they would have done same thing with Fable, Gears of War E-Day etc.
And there is so much to play that if those games didn't come to PlayStation, they would shrug it off and play something else. Something PC players will start doing when Sony will stop porting their games to PC.
Ehh. No. According to info currently "out there" Project Helix will support Windows. Meaning all Windows games. If Sony would be dumb enough to somehow block it (which I doubt, because it would set dangerous precedent and I doubt Valve would even allow it), there is still pirate hat to put on lol.
...said the "leaker" who also claimed that there will be a huge layoff wave in January in Xbox division? And that next Xbox console probably won't be a thing?
Yeah. That one.
I mean, I don't expect exclusives to come back, but I would take this guys "leaks" with biggest pinch of salt ever.
@StitchJones Yeah. But that was when development of AAA game didn't cost 300 million without marketing lol.
Not to mention fact that one studio was able to release AAA game every other year. Not like today, when you need to wait 5 years for one game.
Pretending that things are like in 2016 is laughable at best.
Novelty of PC releases of PS Studios games just worn off. Combine that with fact that releases were staggered. So Sony basically came to conclusion. Either we will release story-driven games day one on PC (to boost sales), or we will cancel them.
So either PS5 ports sold like dogshit on PC, so Sony is stopping porting because of that. In that case you can hardly expect PC users to buy PS5, because they clearly lost interest in your games. I mean, if you look and compare Steam CCU of God of War to God of War Ragnarok, you can see more than 50% drop-off.
Or PS5 ports were selling relatively good on PC, but Sony is feeling "cannibalisation." In which case they will hope that because 1-2 games per year PC users will buy 600€ console. Which is hardly a given. If they won't do that you are essentially giving up on "free" revenue.
There are two problems in my opinion. First is fact that people are so entrenched in their system of choice because of digital distribution that expecting them to buy second system is just really hard ask to do. Especially when you expect them to switch permanently. Which Sony obviously hopes for. But I doubt PC players have any reason to switch because PC ecosystem have way more games and exclusives. I would argue that prying PC user from his ecosystem is hardest thing to do because of free MP, cheaper games, more choice.
And second and biggest problem is quantity of games. Sony currently just doesn't have quantity of SP story-driven first-party games to justify switch for most of the people. You basically have Insomniac, Naughty Dog, SSM, Asobi, Sucker Punch, Guerrilla, Housemarque. Housemarque and Asobi are definition of niche and can't be considered system seller studios. Guerrilla is making MP game and their SP game won't be there until 2030 at the earliest.
So you are basically left out with studio that haven't released new game in this gen (Naughty Dog), Sony Santa Monica which is stuck with making games in God of War universe, Sucker Punch and Insomniac which has been hard-carrying PS5 gen.
I'm sorry, but 1-2 games per year is hardly a good reason to buy whole console for.
And most hilarious thing is that Sony just shut down studio that could increase their output in this regard (Bluepoint).
I'm disappointed tbh. When Cory said he is working on new thing, I have expected it to be new thing. Not another game in God of War universe lol. SSM is basically Insomniac, but instead of Marvel Games they are making their own "universe"
@dark_knightmare2 I said that I don't expect them to do anything. I was just reacting on fact that new boss could mean sweeping changes. So it isn't "you can't put genie back into the bottle."
All it would require is for Microsoft to start thinking long term instead of short term, like they are now. Asking for 30% margins when even PlayStation at their best is able to produce 14% margins is the primary reason why they went multiplatform. But I doubt they are able to do that.
What exactly is all over the place?
Xbox got a new boss. Nothing will obviously change short term because decisions made by new boss will take some time to implement.
But if she will find a vision that will satisfy demands from their superiors (Nadella and Amy Hood) and also results in some huge changes in terms of exclusivity of Xbox games, she can absolutely make some changes. That's what "The plan's the plan until it's not the plan," means.
But I doubt something will happen. I expect moving towards timed exclusivity at worst (or best, depends which side of console war you represent) or keeping things exactly like they are now.
I mean. If Sony got a new boss and that boss would present a strategy that would eliminate PC ports entirely and bosses would say "okay" than Sony would stop making PC ports. Let's stop pretending that this is some kind of "you can't put genie back to the bottle" situation lol.
And what exactly will PS fans do? PS5 is de-facto console. Sony won. Even if they would shut down majority of their first-party studios, people would still buy PS6 because they have all their games there and Xbox is publishing their games on PlayStation.
Sony is under no pressure to listen to feedback or even react to any kind of "boycott"
@theSpectre I haven't said that it was fault of studio itself. But it was understandable. Because they made commercial and critical failure, while loosing majority of devs who made previous game special (Prey).
This is just headscratcher. Especially since they are experts in remake/remaster work and you JUST announced GOW trilogy remake.
@Leinad7 If competition will release hybrid console/PC then it literally doesn't matter because Sony is already releasing their games on PC. So nothing would change. And it's pretty clear that Nintendo doesn't care about "visuals" arms race.
Sony murdered Bluepoint to increase it's operating margin. For same reason why Xbox canned multiple studios and projects last year. Not because they had to (they were not in red), but to please shareholders.
It's just. Studios like Bluepoint, Media Molecule or Firesprite just won't move a needle for Sony post "Xbox-capitulation" world. They need multi-million sellers like TLOU, God of War, Horizon or Ghost of Yotei. They can secure nich-er games through external partnerships (like Kena or NioH 3) while not having those studios on constant payrolls. Those studios were more necessary when Xbox actually cared about consoles, because PlayStation used them as differentiator alongside their huge IPs.
It's similar situation for Xbox. When engaged in "war" it made sense to purchase niche studios like Double Fine, Ninja Theory or Compulsion Games. But as a huge publisher, you need huge sellers. And in world where Xbox have Gears, Fable, Forza Horizon, Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, Halo etc. I just can't see place for games like Hellblade 3 or Kiln. So I'm preparing for worst.
Well. It make sense in some twisted way. Sony won console war. There is no incentive for them to keep running studios that are not producing multi-million sellers like Insomniac, SSM, Naughty Dog or Guerrilla Games. Why would they? They are default choice for console gamers regardless. And it won't change since Xbox next gen will be basically PC in console shell.
So why risking funding studios like that? Purchases like Firesprite, Bluepoint, Housemarque etc. were made in reaction to arms race from Microsoft who purchased Bethesda and several other studios (pre-ABK). With Microsoft bowing out from this race there is no point.
If I'm Bend, Firesprite, Housemarque or Media Molecule I would be pretty worried for my future.
Shutting studio down after acquisition when game bombed it kinda understandable (looking at you Microsoft).
But purchasing a studio, which made no game for you (after acquisition) and you still shut it down is hilariously inept.
@the_everything_gamer ?? If you count out Sons of Sparta (which was developed mainly by external studio), they released one game in 2022. Another is slated for 2027 (Cory's new game per reliable insiders). And then there is GoW trilogy which is in preproduction - meaning several years from release.
Is it really comparable with Insomniac which made Miles Morales, R&C Rift Apart, Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine in span of 6 years? (if Wolverine won't be delayed)
@BeenGamingSince_83 "The PS5 still has gargantuan potential imo." Where lol? People treat PS5 like some kind of exotic architecture (like PS3 was) where you can tap to some kind of unrealised potential, when in reality PS5 is just repackaged PC with custom OS and really really fast SSD.
I really don't understand it either.
It's almost a certainty that we will get 4-5 years cross-gen period. So it's not like people would need to buy PS6 at release lol. They can stay on PS5 and they will still receive games, including first-party stuff.
So I don't understand why people should "celebrate" delay of PS6 (and next-gen consoles in general). It's like celebrating that Nvidia delayed RTX 5060 because I "only" have RTX 2060. If you are okay with paying way higher price for console then usual, then just buy new console. If you don't see a value, stay with PS5 until price will drop to your desired amount after all RAM/SSD craze will end.
I would buy a console that will bring me better performance and not having a need to drop internal resolution to 576p while smudging screen with FSR. If someone isn't willing to do that, it's okay.
And let's be frank. Era of "generational" jumps is over. PS6 will bring at best more horsepower and better image reconstruction techniques and that's about it. There won't be another HDD - SSD jump and there certainly won't be any jump like from PS2 to PS3 or from PS1 to PS2. PS6 will be equivalent of PC GPU and CPU upgrade. And sooner will people come to terms with it, the better.
Didn't expect anything else from Naughty Dog. Studio this gen is huge ***** show. They haven't released any new game since start of this gen and still have to force employees to crunch, just to have something to release in 2027. Meanwhile they spent several years making live service game until they realised that they don't want to become live service studio.
I though that after Xbox "gave up" people will migrate to PS5.
But it increasingly more looks like either console segment is actually shrinking (PS5 is still lagging behind PS4 by few millions while Series X/S is also lagging behind XOne), or former Xbox users are moving more towards PC, not PS5.
@Ryoth If that was outlier, I would agree. But 31st Union and Cloud Chamber are a talking in same tune. It's all about perception.
Like...Xbox is seen as failure in terms of managing their studios (or that's the "reality" if you visit social networks) because of closures like The Initiative despite the fact that they have released more than 10 high rated games (75+ on OC) in just one year and many successfully supported live service games alongside that. But all you read on the internet is how badly Xbox is managing their studios...
@Toot1st Yup. That's why I don't understand why anger is aimed towards Perfect Dark and Everwild and not towards Blackbird (ZOS new game). Because unlike PD and Everwild, Blackbird wasn't in dev hell for almost a decade and was almost ready for full production.
lol at "ruthlesly"
Game was in development for 8 years with few vertical slices to show for it. Xbox gave Gallagher two additional studios to help with development with no results.
Cancelling of PD (alongside Everwild) was least surprising cut Xbox has ever made. Even while it was disappointing. Blackbird on the other hand...
Also, with Take-Two and their handling of studios (Cloud Chamber with BioShock, Ghost Story with Judas, 31st Union with their game) it would be like going from one "bad" place to another lol.
@Vaako007 If your theory was correct, than every Xbox game would launch at those prices lol.
Truth is simpler. This is the game for avid fans that tend to be willing to spend more, because they know they will be playing this game for years to come. So for them additional content is worth it.
For guy who just want to dab into this genre, there is still base edition with enough content.
@Dimey stop being delusional. Sony would not leave Steam even if they will try this cross-buy thing and their own Store.
Every publisher who tried to leave a Steam came back. Activision, Bethesda, Ubisoft, EA. Hell, even Blizzard started to release their games on Steam. Basically, only company big gaming that ignores Steam is Riot.
If next Xbox would be able to run full Windows (as an option to Xbox shell) and therefore run Steam, there isn't a way to prevent that device running .exe from PlayStation PC ports.
@Rich33 Well, according to data, COD currently is literally too big to fail. Only beaten by Fortnite in charts on console.
Obviously COD needs a lot of people to sustain, but that's also true for BF6. Or have you missed fact that EA threw four studios to the "Battlefield mines?" with Ars Technica reporting 450 million $ budget just for development? So to me, BF6 should be worried about being able to keep healthy playerbase. Because there is no way they can add as much content as COD is adding without that many devs supporting the game.
Also, even if BO7 won't be as successful as BO6 (which it probably won't), Activision just needs to wait a year, kick up new marketing cycle with huge overhauls since it's Infinity Wards turn with MW4, supposedly with new engine...
BF6 will need a lot of work just to sustain itself, not to fight COD...
But this is why competition is important. Thanks to BF6 pressure, COD ditched stupid skins and SBMM and are really leaning into player feedback. So at the end of the day, both fanbases will benefit from this.
@MaccaMUFC It's probably "priority" reason. Xbox wants to have their big franchises (Gears, Fable, Forza Horizon 6) out next year. Which means that Playground will release 2 AAA games in one year. Which is a big ask. So I guess priority is Xbox and PC version for both games.
@Th3solution Well. Speak for yourself.
I'm constantly shuffling games I have installed because of pathetic 650GB that I have available.
Only Forza Horizon 5, Destiny 2 and God of War Ragnarok are taking almost 400GB of storage on my PS5.
@masofdas It will be obviously multiplat day one.
Sony would never allow mention of ports to other system if it was timed exclusive before time exclusivity period ends.
Rebirth wasn't announced on PC, despite fact that Remake was already released on PC. And everybody with few braincells knew that game is coming to PC. Regardless, Square could not announce a port. Only after timed exclusivity period ended.
Do I need to remind people, that Xbox couldn't mention Xbox ports of Deathloop and Ghostwire, because of timed exclusivity deal? Despite the fact that they owned studios and both games?
Comments 793
Re: The Last of Us Online Was 'the Best Multiplayer Game' Devs Ever Played
Well. It's hard to find a dev who wouldn't said the same thing about their game.
So I'm taking this with pretty huge pinch of salt. Especially if gameplay systems were taken from TLOU 2
Re: Xbox Is Flip-Flopping on PS5 Again, and It's Truly Getting Tiring
I haven't seen articles like that when Sony is flip-floping with their approach to exclusivity lol.
Why they brought Helldivers 2 on Xbox, but they are not bringing Marvel Tokon? Why they started publishing games on PC and then decided to stop?
It's pretty easy. Don't expect Xbox games on PlayStation, but when they do come, you can buy them. Otherwise you can play them in any other way to access Xbox ecosystem - PC, console or cloud.
New Xbox CEO literally said. Plan is the plan until it isn't. It's the same for Xbox and same for PlayStation.
Re: Xbox Will 'Reevaluate' Its Game Exclusivity, Throwing Potential Doubt Over PS5 Ports
It's honestly hilarious to see fanboys (on both sides and even on PC) pretending like games on other platform are trash, but when there are chance of them become multiplat, suddenly those games are great and when they are available, they are buying them in droves (mainly Helldivers 2, FH 5 and Sea of Thieves).
And then when there is a chance of other company to return to exclusives, suddenly those games are trash again lol.
Like. I get personal preferences, but if someone wants to pretend with straight face that company owning The Elder Scrolls VI, Forza Horizon, Gears of War, Halo, Doom, Wolfenstein, Diablo etc. returning to exclusives is nothingburger, they are just lying.
Although, I don't expect Xbox to return to exclusives. Timed at best. But if they want to do that, they need to do that right now. Cancel PS5 ports of FH6, Fable and Halo: Campaign Evolved and release them Xbox/PC only and see how market reacts in terms of console sales.
Re: Xbox Game Pass vs PS Plus: Was Sony Right All Along?
@Fiendish-Beaver I mean...yes?
Isn't that kinda obvious after Bloomberg reported that Microsoft wanted Xbox to hit 30% profit margins?
Increasing the price of Game Pass wasn't about "service is not sustainable" but about "we need to hit this crazy margins that our CFO wants"
Why do you think multiplatform push, price increase of consoles, subs and attempt to increase price of games happened around same time?
If Game Pass Ultimate had around 25 million subs, then by increasing a price from 19,99$ to 29,99$ you went from 500 million dollars per month to 750 million dollars. From 6 billion per year to 9 billion per year.
Re: Xbox Game Pass vs PS Plus: Was Sony Right All Along?
Eh no...
Because for "Sony to be right" Microsoft would need to pull all first-party games from day one, not just COD.
COD is that rare exception of game being so huge that it is making more harm than good inside subscription. That's why Microsoft was talking internally about putting COD there from the start. But it's also the only one. Even Sony doesn't have such a juggernaut.
Xbox's problem was never "day one" games. It was insane pressure for Microsoft's CFO after ABK merger for high margins. Do I need to remind people that Microsoft's CFO asked previous Xbox regime for 30% margins in industry, where Sony is popping champagne when they hit 20%? That's what prompted whole "multiplatform" shift. Not Game Pass lol.
Re: Pragmata Looks Best on PS5 Pro, Say Tech Experts
Game looks better on 900€ console than on 600€ console.
Truly revolutionary statement. Not like it's expected lol.
Re: Starfield PS5 Sales Estimates Leave Much to Be Desired
Well. More bad results on PlayStation for Xbox games, easier it will be for Microsoft to decide if they want to go back to exclusives.
Sony came to conclusion that porting their games to PC with middling results is not worth it. Maybe Xbox will come to same conclusion.
I would honestly laugh my ass of if new Xbox CEO will look at Starfield numbers and say "it's not worth porting The Elder Scrolls VI there."
Re: Inevitable PS5 Sequel Marvel's Spider-Man 3 Teased in a Quickly Deleted Social Post
yay...another Spider-Man
I'm so happy. Can't wait
/s
(I know I'm in minority)
Re: Rumour: Xbox Debating Whether to Make Its Games Exclusive Again
If they want to move back to exclusives (which I doubt they will, but it's clear that they are evaluating) they need to do that right now.
Because this year IS the year to do it. It would be hilarious (and on brand for Xbox) to blow their biggest load of high-profile first-party (and potentially system sellers) games in years - Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Gears of War E-Day and Halo Remake and release them everywhere just to later switch back to exclusives lol.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Debating Whether to Make Its Games Exclusive Again
@Angelus3K "Cat's out of bag" is stupidest argument ever. And even I don't think that Microsoft would make exclusives again.
But just because you made 20 ports of your games for PlayStation 5 doesn't mean in any shape or form that they are obliged to make more ports. They just can say "we are stopping this *****" and have balls to do that exactly like Sony is doing with their PC ports (but on bigger scale). There is no contract (outside of COD) in place that obliges Microsoft to make more ports.
Same person (Jez) also said that Microsoft lifted their profit margins mandate (which was 30%) from shoulders of Xbox division after Sharma was made CEO. So there is actually wiggle room to stop porting their games on PlayStation in terms of potential revenue hit.
Re: Rumour: Naughty Dog 'Floated' the Idea of Uncharted 5 Before COVID
Gotta love fact that ND was "floating idea of U5" in 2020 while also having one game 80% complete in 2024.
All while we are still waiting for their first game in this generation. 6 years after console was released lol..
I'm sorry, but decisionmakers in that studio need hard look into the mirror.
Re: Sony Announces Gigantic PS5 Price Increases, Effective from April 2026
@Netret0120 Of course it will be.
You have more advanced process node with same or bigger chip than PS5 Pro (ie. more expensive to produce)
You also supposed to have more RAM (24GB per leaks) - more expensive to produce.
PS5 Pro now cost 900$.
If that doesn't tell people how much they should expect PS6 to cost, I don't know what will. We will be lucky if PS6 won't cross 900$ mark, unless Sony is willing to loose huge amount of money on every console sold. Which I doubt they are. Especially since Microsoft bowed out from "race".
Re: Sony Announces Gigantic PS5 Price Increases, Effective from April 2026
@FingerShot So it's race to the bottom lol.
Thank god they have such a formidable opponent that is challenging them to do better and not to do dumb *****...
Re: Sony Announces Gigantic PS5 Price Increases, Effective from April 2026
So, to sum up this gen
But at least, Sony "won" console war. Although I'm not sure what exactly they won.
I hope nobody is expecting PS6 for anything less than 999,99$. You would be fool to do so...
Re: 'This Is Unsustainable Madness': Modern Video Game Budgets Are Out of Control
"Funny" thing is that this is almost exclusively US/Canada dev problem, because salaries of devs there are so high.
Basically you can make AAA in Europe for fraction of the cost of making same game in USA. For example, Alan Wake 2 had 80 million budget and that was considered pretty steep. ARC Raiders also cost way less than Marathon, for example.
That's why Hulst and many people in higher-up positions were saying lately that outsourcing parts of development is a way to go.
And that's also why NetEase pulled so hard from western studios that they were building. Because they realised that they can secure similar level of talent in other parts of world for way cheaper.
Therefore I expect Sony to just milk their franchises as much as they can. Guerrilla will be "Horizon studio," Sucker Punch will be "Ghost of... studio", Insomniac will be Marvel factory and if Intergalactic won't bring as much money as ND and Sony are hoping for they will quickly pivot back to The Last of Us.
Re: PlayStation's Disastrous First-Party Leadership Culminates in Yet Another Studio Closure
I guess people can calm themselves by PlayStation having "most profitable" generation in history and that they "won" console wars while having worst first-party output in history of PlayStation...
Seems like a hollow win
Re: We Didn't Expect This Minecraft Spin-Off to Get a PS5 Sequel
"We Didn't Expect This Minecraft Spin-Off to Get a PS5 Sequel"
Ehh. first game was played by 25 million players in 2023.
And while, yes it was in Game Pass, that number is huge even when factoring in Game Pass. Especially when comparing to Minecraft Legends.
So this getting sequel is kinda no-brainer. Especially since I doubt budget for project of this type is insane.
Re: Intergalactic PS5 Seemingly Adds The Last of Us Star to Its Cast
@Boxmonkey According to Jason Schreier 2027 at the earliest.
Re: Xbox's Starfield Rockets to the Top of the PS5's Pre-Order Charts
It's almost like what Spencer said about people being so entrenched in their ecosystem, they won't leave is true.
PlayStation users haven't bought Xbox consoles for Forza Horizon 5 and waited 5 years for it's arrival and then bought it in droves. They are doing same thing with Starfield and they would have done same thing with Fable, Gears of War E-Day etc.
And there is so much to play that if those games didn't come to PlayStation, they would shrug it off and play something else. Something PC players will start doing when Sony will stop porting their games to PC.
Re: 'No One Is Buying This on PS5': PC Port Begging Already Unbearable as Sony Switches Strategy
tbf. not many people bought Returnal on both platforms lol. And I don't expect Saros being insanely popular.
Re: Hypothetically, Could Sony Stop Its PS5 Ports from Running on Xbox Helix?
Ehh. No.
According to info currently "out there" Project Helix will support Windows. Meaning all Windows games. If Sony would be dumb enough to somehow block it (which I doubt, because it would set dangerous precedent and I doubt Valve would even allow it), there is still pirate hat to put on lol.
Re: 'Exclusives Are Absolutely Not Happening': Xbox Helix Will Share Library with PS6
...said the "leaker" who also claimed that there will be a huge layoff wave in January in Xbox division? And that next Xbox console probably won't be a thing?
Yeah. That one.
I mean, I don't expect exclusives to come back, but I would take this guys "leaks" with biggest pinch of salt ever.
Re: Study Claims Sony's PS5 Games Are Leaving Big PC Sales on the Table
@StitchJones Yeah. But that was when development of AAA game didn't cost 300 million without marketing lol.
Not to mention fact that one studio was able to release AAA game every other year. Not like today, when you need to wait 5 years for one game.
Pretending that things are like in 2016 is laughable at best.
Novelty of PC releases of PS Studios games just worn off. Combine that with fact that releases were staggered. So Sony basically came to conclusion. Either we will release story-driven games day one on PC (to boost sales), or we will cancel them.
Re: Opinion: Sony's PC Pullback Is the Right Move for PS5
So either PS5 ports sold like dogshit on PC, so Sony is stopping porting because of that. In that case you can hardly expect PC users to buy PS5, because they clearly lost interest in your games. I mean, if you look and compare Steam CCU of God of War to God of War Ragnarok, you can see more than 50% drop-off.
Or PS5 ports were selling relatively good on PC, but Sony is feeling "cannibalisation." In which case they will hope that because 1-2 games per year PC users will buy 600€ console. Which is hardly a given. If they won't do that you are essentially giving up on "free" revenue.
There are two problems in my opinion. First is fact that people are so entrenched in their system of choice because of digital distribution that expecting them to buy second system is just really hard ask to do. Especially when you expect them to switch permanently. Which Sony obviously hopes for. But I doubt PC players have any reason to switch because PC ecosystem have way more games and exclusives. I would argue that prying PC user from his ecosystem is hardest thing to do because of free MP, cheaper games, more choice.
And second and biggest problem is quantity of games. Sony currently just doesn't have quantity of SP story-driven first-party games to justify switch for most of the people. You basically have Insomniac, Naughty Dog, SSM, Asobi, Sucker Punch, Guerrilla, Housemarque. Housemarque and Asobi are definition of niche and can't be considered system seller studios. Guerrilla is making MP game and their SP game won't be there until 2030 at the earliest.
So you are basically left out with studio that haven't released new game in this gen (Naughty Dog), Sony Santa Monica which is stuck with making games in God of War universe, Sucker Punch and Insomniac which has been hard-carrying PS5 gen.
I'm sorry, but 1-2 games per year is hardly a good reason to buy whole console for.
And most hilarious thing is that Sony just shut down studio that could increase their output in this regard (Bluepoint).
Re: Rumour: God of War Dev Working on 'A New Franchise Within the God of War Universe'
I'm disappointed tbh.
When Cory said he is working on new thing, I have expected it to be new thing. Not another game in God of War universe lol.
SSM is basically Insomniac, but instead of Marvel Games they are making their own "universe"
Re: 'The Plan's the Plan Until It's Not the Plan': Xbox All Over the Place on Future PS5 Ports
@dark_knightmare2 I said that I don't expect them to do anything. I was just reacting on fact that new boss could mean sweeping changes. So it isn't "you can't put genie back into the bottle."
All it would require is for Microsoft to start thinking long term instead of short term, like they are now. Asking for 30% margins when even PlayStation at their best is able to produce 14% margins is the primary reason why they went multiplatform. But I doubt they are able to do that.
Re: 'The Plan's the Plan Until It's Not the Plan': Xbox All Over the Place on Future PS5 Ports
What exactly is all over the place?
Xbox got a new boss. Nothing will obviously change short term because decisions made by new boss will take some time to implement.
But if she will find a vision that will satisfy demands from their superiors (Nadella and Amy Hood) and also results in some huge changes in terms of exclusivity of Xbox games, she can absolutely make some changes. That's what "The plan's the plan until it's not the plan," means.
But I doubt something will happen. I expect moving towards timed exclusivity at worst (or best, depends which side of console war you represent) or keeping things exactly like they are now.
I mean. If Sony got a new boss and that boss would present a strategy that would eliminate PC ports entirely and bosses would say "okay" than Sony would stop making PC ports. Let's stop pretending that this is some kind of "you can't put genie back to the bottle" situation lol.
Re: Sony Returns to Social Media After 72 Hour Hiatus But Fans Still Aren't Happy Following Bluepoint Closure
And what exactly will PS fans do? PS5 is de-facto console. Sony won. Even if they would shut down majority of their first-party studios, people would still buy PS6 because they have all their games there and Xbox is publishing their games on PlayStation.
Sony is under no pressure to listen to feedback or even react to any kind of "boycott"
Re: Sony Makes Shocking Decision to Shut Down Bluepoint Games
@theSpectre I haven't said that it was fault of studio itself.
But it was understandable. Because they made commercial and critical failure, while loosing majority of devs who made previous game special (Prey).
This is just headscratcher. Especially since they are experts in remake/remaster work and you JUST announced GOW trilogy remake.
Re: Opinion: Sony's Disgraceful Bluepoint Closure Should Concern Every PS Studios Fan
@Leinad7 If competition will release hybrid console/PC then it literally doesn't matter because Sony is already releasing their games on PC. So nothing would change. And it's pretty clear that Nintendo doesn't care about "visuals" arms race.
Sony murdered Bluepoint to increase it's operating margin. For same reason why Xbox canned multiple studios and projects last year. Not because they had to (they were not in red), but to please shareholders.
It's just. Studios like Bluepoint, Media Molecule or Firesprite just won't move a needle for Sony post "Xbox-capitulation" world. They need multi-million sellers like TLOU, God of War, Horizon or Ghost of Yotei. They can secure nich-er games through external partnerships (like Kena or NioH 3) while not having those studios on constant payrolls. Those studios were more necessary when Xbox actually cared about consoles, because PlayStation used them as differentiator alongside their huge IPs.
It's similar situation for Xbox. When engaged in "war" it made sense to purchase niche studios like Double Fine, Ninja Theory or Compulsion Games. But as a huge publisher, you need huge sellers. And in world where Xbox have Gears, Fable, Forza Horizon, Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, Halo etc. I just can't see place for games like Hellblade 3 or Kiln. So I'm preparing for worst.
Re: Opinion: Sony's Disgraceful Bluepoint Closure Should Concern Every PS Studios Fan
Well. It make sense in some twisted way.
Sony won console war. There is no incentive for them to keep running studios that are not producing multi-million sellers like Insomniac, SSM, Naughty Dog or Guerrilla Games. Why would they? They are default choice for console gamers regardless. And it won't change since Xbox next gen will be basically PC in console shell.
So why risking funding studios like that?
Purchases like Firesprite, Bluepoint, Housemarque etc. were made in reaction to arms race from Microsoft who purchased Bethesda and several other studios (pre-ABK). With Microsoft bowing out from this race there is no point.
If I'm Bend, Firesprite, Housemarque or Media Molecule I would be pretty worried for my future.
Re: Sony Makes Shocking Decision to Shut Down Bluepoint Games
Shutting studio down after acquisition when game bombed it kinda understandable (looking at you Microsoft).
But purchasing a studio, which made no game for you (after acquisition) and you still shut it down is hilariously inept.
Re: 'You'll Hear About What We're Doing in Late Summer': Kratos Actor Spills Next PS5 God of War's Reveal Plans
@the_everything_gamer ??
If you count out Sons of Sparta (which was developed mainly by external studio), they released one game in 2022. Another is slated for 2027 (Cory's new game per reliable insiders). And then there is GoW trilogy which is in preproduction - meaning several years from release.
Is it really comparable with Insomniac which made Miles Morales, R&C Rift Apart, Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine in span of 6 years? (if Wolverine won't be delayed)
Re: Opinion: The Euphoric Reaction to PS6's Rumoured Delay Really Confuses Me
@BeenGamingSince_83 "The PS5 still has gargantuan potential imo."
Where lol? People treat PS5 like some kind of exotic architecture (like PS3 was) where you can tap to some kind of unrealised potential, when in reality PS5 is just repackaged PC with custom OS and really really fast SSD.
Re: Opinion: The Euphoric Reaction to PS6's Rumoured Delay Really Confuses Me
I really don't understand it either.
It's almost a certainty that we will get 4-5 years cross-gen period. So it's not like people would need to buy PS6 at release lol. They can stay on PS5 and they will still receive games, including first-party stuff.
So I don't understand why people should "celebrate" delay of PS6 (and next-gen consoles in general). It's like celebrating that Nvidia delayed RTX 5060 because I "only" have RTX 2060. If you are okay with paying way higher price for console then usual, then just buy new console. If you don't see a value, stay with PS5 until price will drop to your desired amount after all RAM/SSD craze will end.
I would buy a console that will bring me better performance and not having a need to drop internal resolution to 576p while smudging screen with FSR. If someone isn't willing to do that, it's okay.
And let's be frank. Era of "generational" jumps is over. PS6 will bring at best more horsepower and better image reconstruction techniques and that's about it. There won't be another HDD - SSD jump and there certainly won't be any jump like from PS2 to PS3 or from PS1 to PS2. PS6 will be equivalent of PC GPU and CPU upgrade. And sooner will people come to terms with it, the better.
Re: PS5 Reportedly Hands Forza Horizon 5 an Additional 5 Million Sales
And some people were laughing at Microsoft trying to sell 4 years old game at full price lol...
Re: Naughty Dog Forces Crunch to Get PS5 Exclusive Intergalactic 'Back on Track' for Mid 2027 Release
Didn't expect anything else from Naughty Dog.
Studio this gen is huge ***** show. They haven't released any new game since start of this gen and still have to force employees to crunch, just to have something to release in 2027.
Meanwhile they spent several years making live service game until they realised that they don't want to become live service studio.
It's just hilarious and pathetic.
Re: PS5 Wins a Nightmarish November for All Console Hardware in the US
I though that after Xbox "gave up" people will migrate to PS5.
But it increasingly more looks like either console segment is actually shrinking (PS5 is still lagging behind PS4 by few millions while Series X/S is also lagging behind XOne), or former Xbox users are moving more towards PC, not PS5.
Re: Xbox Ruthlessly Cancelled Perfect Dark, But Take-Two Just Hired Its Directors
@Ryoth If that was outlier, I would agree. But 31st Union and Cloud Chamber are a talking in same tune. It's all about perception.
Like...Xbox is seen as failure in terms of managing their studios (or that's the "reality" if you visit social networks) because of closures like The Initiative despite the fact that they have released more than 10 high rated games (75+ on OC) in just one year and many successfully supported live service games alongside that. But all you read on the internet is how badly Xbox is managing their studios...
Re: Xbox Ruthlessly Cancelled Perfect Dark, But Take-Two Just Hired Its Directors
@Toot1st Yup. That's why I don't understand why anger is aimed towards Perfect Dark and Everwild and not towards Blackbird (ZOS new game). Because unlike PD and Everwild, Blackbird wasn't in dev hell for almost a decade and was almost ready for full production.
Re: Xbox Ruthlessly Cancelled Perfect Dark, But Take-Two Just Hired Its Directors
lol at "ruthlesly"
Game was in development for 8 years with few vertical slices to show for it. Xbox gave Gallagher two additional studios to help with development with no results.
Cancelling of PD (alongside Everwild) was least surprising cut Xbox has ever made. Even while it was disappointing. Blackbird on the other hand...
Also, with Take-Two and their handling of studios (Cloud Chamber with BioShock, Ghost Story with Judas, 31st Union with their game) it would be like going from one "bad" place to another lol.
Re: Not Even Hideo Kojima Is Sure if Xbox Game OD Will Be Any Good
@Acquiescence So will Xbox get Physint, since it will be able to run every game that is on PC
Re: Suddenly the PS5 Pro Doesn't Look That Expensive Anymore
Thanks god that PS5 and upcoming PS6 is not using and will not use RAM...
...right?
Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 May Be the Most Expensive PS5 Game to Date
@Vaako007 If your theory was correct, than every Xbox game would launch at those prices lol.
Truth is simpler. This is the game for avid fans that tend to be willing to spend more, because they know they will be playing this game for years to come. So for them additional content is worth it.
For guy who just want to dab into this genre, there is still base edition with enough content.
Also, this approach seems to be working fine.
https://i.ibb.co/xthTBx7t/Scherm-afbeelding-2025-11-04-om-08-58-24.png
Re: Leaked Cross-Buy Icon on PS5 Hints at Mysterious Pro-Consumer Move from Sony
@Dimey stop being delusional. Sony would not leave Steam even if they will try this cross-buy thing and their own Store.
Every publisher who tried to leave a Steam came back. Activision, Bethesda, Ubisoft, EA. Hell, even Blizzard started to release their games on Steam. Basically, only company big gaming that ignores Steam is Riot.
If next Xbox would be able to run full Windows (as an option to Xbox shell) and therefore run Steam, there isn't a way to prevent that device running .exe from PlayStation PC ports.
Re: Black Ops 6 Conveniently Free Again as Battlefield 6 Battle Royale Launches
@Rich33 Well, according to data, COD currently is literally too big to fail. Only beaten by Fortnite in charts on console.
Obviously COD needs a lot of people to sustain, but that's also true for BF6. Or have you missed fact that EA threw four studios to the "Battlefield mines?" with Ars Technica reporting 450 million $ budget just for development? So to me, BF6 should be worried about being able to keep healthy playerbase. Because there is no way they can add as much content as COD is adding without that many devs supporting the game.
Also, even if BO7 won't be as successful as BO6 (which it probably won't), Activision just needs to wait a year, kick up new marketing cycle with huge overhauls since it's Infinity Wards turn with MW4, supposedly with new engine...
BF6 will need a lot of work just to sustain itself, not to fight COD...
Re: Black Ops 6 Conveniently Free Again as Battlefield 6 Battle Royale Launches
@Rich33 I would say first option is correct.
Let's face it, COD is not going anywhere. BF6 maybe had huge launch, but that's still mainly on PC.
On consoles it couldn't beat year old COD game (+ Warzone) in terms of engagement
https://bsky.app/profile/matpiscatella.bsky.social/post/3m46ngmpcuk2b
But this is why competition is important. Thanks to BF6 pressure, COD ditched stupid skins and SBMM and are really leaning into player feedback. So at the end of the day, both fanbases will benefit from this.
Re: Forza Horizon 6 Announced, But Not on PS5 at Launch
@MaccaMUFC It's probably "priority" reason.
Xbox wants to have their big franchises (Gears, Fable, Forza Horizon 6) out next year. Which means that Playground will release 2 AAA games in one year. Which is a big ask. So I guess priority is Xbox and PC version for both games.
Re: Nerfed PS5 Console Silently Releases with Less Storage Space
@Th3solution Well. Speak for yourself.
I'm constantly shuffling games I have installed because of pathetic 650GB that I have available.
Only Forza Horizon 5, Destiny 2 and God of War Ragnarok are taking almost 400GB of storage on my PS5.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Trilogy's Conclusion Will Not Be PS5 Exclusive
@masofdas It will be obviously multiplat day one.
Sony would never allow mention of ports to other system if it was timed exclusive before time exclusivity period ends.
Rebirth wasn't announced on PC, despite fact that Remake was already released on PC. And everybody with few braincells knew that game is coming to PC. Regardless, Square could not announce a port. Only after timed exclusivity period ended.
Do I need to remind people, that Xbox couldn't mention Xbox ports of Deathloop and Ghostwire, because of timed exclusivity deal? Despite the fact that they owned studios and both games?