Grumblevolcano

PS+ was at its best during the PS3 era, just an optional bonus on the side while online multiplayer was free.

I wonder if Elden Ring will be here considering the Switch 2 version hasn't gotten a release date yet and the extra content is coming to the other platforms.

That's disappointing on two levels:
1) It would've been really nice for there to have been a PS5/Switch 1 physical version
2) While the absence on newer Nintendo hardware could be resolved via Gamecube NSO (Switch 2), PS players are left out unless Sony finds some way to do native PS3 games on PS5

@OldGamer999 If you make physical games more expensive than digital, you're essentially trying to force people into the digital only future. Same thing about the existence of Key Cards/Discs instead of putting the game on the cart/disc.

How companies act if the digital only future arrives is a problem in itself but the focus should be on trying to prevent the digital only future from happening in the first place.

If they won this, wouldn't Sony just make physical more expensive than digital like what Nintendo's done with Switch 2 1st party exclusives outside NA (e.g. physical DK Bananza is £66.99 while digital is £58.99)?

@somnambulance @LofiPie27 I think release pacing will be a big challenge regarding sales of an individual title. Tactics in September, FF7 Remake in winter, Rebirth probably in 2026, the 3rd part could be early 2027 coinciding with the PS1 game’s anniversary. Add in the elusive FF9 Remake somewhere and you may end up with a FF release approximately every 3 months, for example:

• September 2025 - Tactics
• December 2025 - FF7 Remake (Switch 2/Series X|S)
• March 2026 - FF16 (Switch 2)
• June 2026 - Rebirth (Switch 2/Series X|S)
• September 2026 - FF9 Remake (PS5/PC/Switch 2/Series X|S)
• January 2027 - 3rd part of FF7 Remake trilogy (PS5/PC/Switch 2/Series X|S)

Sounds like an effective way to avoid GTA6. Let Switch 2 players catch up on recent releases like P3R and Metaphor before GTA6 followed by P4R releasing on all platforms coming out a sizeable gap after GTA6.

Makes me wonder if PS6 doesn’t support PSVR or PSVR2 much like how Series X|S doesn’t support Kinect.

I think PS6’s biggest challenge will be price, I don’t see either next gen device (PS6/next Xbox) being cheaper than PS5 Pro and considering crossgen has essentially been confirmed for similar length as PS4 during the PS5 generation I think the most common combo years into the PS6 generation will be PS5 + Switch 2.

@Scarface82G1 I think they will have an upgrade path because they increased the price of the PS4 version. Same tactic Sony used for Horizon Zero Dawn.

@Dman10 Considering the timeframe, I could see it being announced in a Direct and then the other versions being announced outside the Direct at the same time. Legends Z-A and Splatoon Raiders news does make general Direct seem less likely at this point but a Partner Showcase would still solve Switch 2’s upcoming 3rd party drought.

I don’t think they have learned from Concord because of Marathon and Fairgame$.

I also have a bad feeling that Nintendo will make Mario Kart World go full live service (battle passes + cosmetics store) at some point post-launch resulting in even more live service chasing from other companies much like how many companies went chasing open world as a result of BotW.

@AdamNovice Nintendo’s usually the source of the annual Just Dance reveal and considering Switch 2 was almost completely absent from both SGF + Xbox showcase, I think it’s a safe guess at this point that there’s a June Nintendo Direct.

That was a rough show, though what I was hoping for the most was a release date for Sonic Racing CrossWorlds which happened. September is very packed.

It was a very good SoP, both in terms of announcements themselves and the pacing. It also makes me wonder what Sony saved (if anything) for SGF, it’s not Ghost of Yotei because next info is July SoP and it’s probably not DS2 either because that game has its own event this month.

I think OD will be the Xbox exclusive coming to PS announced at SGF. DS2 has its own event which suggests Kojima’s presence at SGF is for a different reason.

@DonkeyFantasy I could see them releasing CoD 2025 as $80 DLC for Black Ops 6 as a way to get out of their commitment to releasing CoD day 1 on Game Pass. It would also explain the PS5 Black Ops 6 hardware bundle and the rumours of Black Ops 6 coming to Switch 2.

@Oram77 They are allowing you to avoid the news if you want to go in blind, it’s not like “surprise, here’s a 10 minute trailer at SGF or the next SoP”. Reminds me of how Nintendo promoted Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in 2022.

@get2sammyb I think Sony’s problem is that the good is close to the bad. For example we see the console price drops and the positivity surrounding DS2 + GoY but close by there’s the mess surrounding Marathon and Fairgame$.

I could see it being OD shown off as DS2 has been getting its own events more recently like the TGS and SXSW presentations.

@Vivisapprentice I don’t see DQ12 news until 2026 to be honest. Square Enix are making a big effort to get Nintendo players into their newer FF releases, DQ12 would probably overshadow that effort.

Meanwhile if Geoff got the opportunity to showcase a Square Enix game at the Game Awards this year it would be more likely to be KH4.

Seeing Sony's live service strategy fall apart very fast, I think what they'll do is give Geoff a Ghost of Yotei trailer (perhaps also the next PS Studios PC port) and then coast off the Xbox showcase effectively being a 3rd party SoP.

Maybe they do a showcase in September.

@S1ayeR74 Mario Kart World is £75 physically and in general for most of the world physical is more expensive than digital with Switch 2 (US is an exception but in the bad sense of $80 being both). PS5 has the better deal as most 3rd party games have the full game on the disc and physical is usually cheaper than digital.

@Th3solution True, an example that would've made my point clearer is remastering Killzone over Horizon Zero Dawn.

When mentioning Jak & Daxter, I was treating the PS2 classics emulation as separate. The Wind Waker situation on Switch 2 came to mind, GCN original is emulated for NSO but plenty of people would want a native port of the Wii U remaster.

@Th3solution I'm certain people would be praising Sony about remasters if they were picking games that didn't already have native PS4 versions. Like if instead of TLoU 1 and 2 for PS5, they remastered the Jak & Daxter games.

Key Cards/Discs is a lose-lose situation for physical. If they are successful then that'll tell publishers to not bother with real physical versions meanwhile if they flop then publishers will get the impression that there's no need for any sort of physical release.

@stu123 @rjejr When faced with the choice of Key Card or digital, I think more people will go towards digital as most of the benefits of physical are erased with Key Cards.

I think 2025 will be even worse for physical because of most Switch 2 games being Key Cards and Nintendo's 1st party Switch 2 games being cheaper digitally (e.g. Mario Kart World £35 digital via the bundle meanwhile it's £75 physically).

It's really disappointing how Nintendo changed from being the champion of physical media to actively wanting to destroy it.

@Dimey Gears of War 2 was the game that introduced horde mode and they didn't add it into the 2015 remaster of the first game so I don't think it's in the new remaster of the first game either. By mutliplayer they're talking about PvP.

Considering how they started with just the first Gears of War game and those rumours about a Halo 1 remake, I think MCC for PS5 would start with just Reach (not a remake) and then remake the original trilogy before adding in ODST + 4 (not remakes).

@AverageGamer It's in other countries as well. For example in the UK, Series S 512GB increased from £249.99 to £299.99.

It's a relief that this event is happening in April because it increases the chance of Sony having a more general SoP/showcase in May/June. Maybe Rockstar announces the GTA6 release date on the week beginning May 12th and then the floodgates open for gaming news in general?

@Chimmy1024 I'm cautious because of those other things. You know something's very wrong when the platform that has a disc drive as an optional extra (PS5) is more physical-friendly than the newest Nintendo console.

@Chimmy1024 @Cutmastavictory The vast majority of Nintendo's use of microtransactions were in mobile games. However, I don't think it's wise to assume that the Switch 2 era stays the same in that regard.

I think 2027 for the 30th anniversary of the original, it would also fit the pacing of Switch 2 catching up (Remake is 2025 so perhaps Rebirth in 2026 and part 3 in 2027).

I'd guess KH4 is the big 2026 game considering how long ago it was announced. One of Geoff's 2025 events being the source for next news.

@Dodoo Playstation Blog says there's a physical standard edition so it seems they're going with the same approach they used for Spider-Man 2:

• Physical standard edition
• Digital standard edition
• Digital deluxe edition
• Digital collector's edition

Really surprised they chose to do this now instead of waiting for a May/June PS event. Maybe the May/June event is just the Borderlands 4 State of Play that was announced in February then?

@AverageGamer Game Pass got a price increase in both 2023 and 2024, it's a safe assumption that Microsoft will continue doing annual price increases.

I think if it's announced next week, it's not a shadow drop but rather like a June release. Shadow drops can be effective when they're part of events but I don't see anymore upcoming April events happening outside of the already announced Mario Kart World Direct and Borderlands 4 State of Play.

Nowadays it seems like companies are always using other companies' anti-consumer practices as cover to push through their own anti-consumer practices.

The focus is all on Nintendo charging $80 for Mario Kart World so Sony secretly pushes through a PS+ price increase.

@ShogunRok I think it may have been to try and convince people that Sony weren't abandoning single player games.

Jim Ryan talked a lot in 2022 about there being a huge quantity of live service games incoming so if Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine weren't announced in 2021, people would've put the pieces together and came to the conclusion that GoW Ragnarok was the end of single player games and Sony sent all their studios to the live service mines.

@somnambulance I think the comments would be "why is Sony involved with yet another live service game instead of doing Bloodborne".

With Sony appearing twice in last week's Direct (Patapon and Everybody's Golf), I could maybe see this being about Switch 2. Sony's trying to make TLoU be the next Skyrim and Skyrim played a very important role in the early Switch 1 era.

@Lowdefal To be fair, the dynamic between Sony and Microsoft is what kept PS4 and base PS5 launch prices reasonable.

After the PS3 era, Sony couldn't afford another "599 US Dollars" incident with PS4. They really went all-out with the PS4, taking full advantage of the damage Don Mattrick's vision of XB1 did to the Xbox brand.

Meanwhile with the PS5 era, Sony and Microsoft were very much playing chicken over pricing. Series X|S pricing was leaked and that meant Sony couldn't charge more than $499 for the PS5 disc model.

I think the situation next time will be something like:

• PS6 handheld - Somewhere in the realm of $399 - 499 (depends on Switch 2 pricing)
• PS6 home console - Somewhere in the realm of $699 - 799

It's an exciting concept, Wipeout would be my most wanted dormant Sony IP to return.

The multiplatform side of things? I think it's a risky choice by Sony considering what happened to Xbox but in the end I think Switch 2 and PS6 will coexist. Pick up Switch 2 if you want to play anywhere or experience Nintendo's exclusives, pick up PS6 if you want to play the 3rd party games Switch 2 can't run.

September or delayed to 2026 would be my guess. March onwards (including the Sony IP published by Bandai Namco) for 2025 is:

• March - Midnight Murder Club
• April - Days Gone Remastered
• May - Lost Soul Aside
• June - Death Stranding 2
• July - Patapon 1+2 Replay
• TBA - Ghost of Yotei and Everybody's Golf Hot Shots

Golf is more of a Spring/Summer game release so I think Everybody's Golf Hot Shots is August. Then you have the situation regarding GTA6, the only Sony game I could see releasing in October - December is Horizon Online.

Being disappointed that old games aren't playable on modern hardware is understandable and Sony choosing to remaster or remake games like TLoU/TLoU2/Uncharted 4/Lost Legacy/Until Dawn/HZD/Days Gone that already had a native PS4 version adds to that disappointment.

However, expecting Greek saga remasters just because Grubb says it's apparently happening is not the way to go.

@LiamCroft I'd say 15th anniversary of Xenoblade Chronicles this year. The anniversary itself is on June 10th but Nintendo celebrated it big as with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition next week, the entire franchise is now on Switch.

Oh, I get it now. If Outer Worlds 2, Oblivion, Starfield and Avowed are all coming to PS5 by the end of September to avoid GTA6 then there has to be compromises on timings. For example a 1.5 month gap between each of the 4 RPGs would mean somerhing like:

• Late April - Oblivion
• Mid June - Avowed
• Late July/Early August - Outer Worlds 2
• Mid/Late September - Starfield

Getting announced around the anniversary (March 20th) would feel realistic but April release sounds really odd considering what's already coming that month from Microsoft, both on the Xbox side and the PS side so I don't believe April release.