IntrepidWombat

I remember the first run of Final Fantasy Tactics Greatest Hits for the PS1 had a bad batch that wouldn't read. It was the first thing I ever ordered online, and we had to return it to an EB Games store in the mall. That's the only time I can recall having an issue with a disc.

@BigJoze Making it F2P immediately allows for a larger audience by virtue of being free. That compounds with the fact that Sony doesn't require PS+ to play F2P titles either. It was just an example though not saying they should do exactly that, just a vector they could take with some kind of game as a service.

A new GaaS in this day needs some kind of hook. Instead of whatever the heck Concord is, Sony could have tied it to an existing IP.

Example: Bring back Resistance as a fully-fleshed out single player game. Knock it out of the park. Put your best and brightest studio to work on it. Then release the multiplayer component as a free to play game with bonuses for progress in the campaign. Give it multiple modes like 4on4 or some PvE horde mode. Make an overarching goal like taking back parts of Europe. The primary development costs are recouped by sales of the single player title while the GaaS multiplayer element brings additional cash flow. If it doesn't support itself after a few months, pull the plug and call it a success since they released a strong single player game with a good campaign.

Not super excited for anything for the rest of the year. I played the Diofield Chronicle demo and fell in love with it, so I'll probably grab it - it's super cheap on eBay right now. Episode Aigis comes out this month, so I will look forward to the reviews of that. The physical release of Conscript comes out on Oct 1st, so I'll buy that day one only because physical copies of indie survival horror don't usually last long (Daymare titles excepted). I'm going to hold out for reviews on Metaphor and Silent Hill 2. That should about be my year.

I am not a fan of Ubisoft games at all. I am a fan of pre-Disney Star Wars - the EU is so very rich. Timothy Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy would have been a slam dunk for sequel films with a fresh new cast. The Knights of the Old Republic lore is some of my favorite too. The only bright spot for me in the last 10 years or so has been Jedi Fallen Order.

Absolutely a day 1 for me. You can tell these devs were fans of classic RPGs - the Legend of Dragoon influence is awesome. This is what I wanted from Final Fantasy XVI.

@Ralizah "Games starting at full price and dropping in sales is about adjusting prices to account for lessening demand, not milking your biggest fans for everything they're worth."

To continue playing the devil's advocate, I could argue that most games (barring exceptions for truly exceptional titles) are never more in demand than in their early release windows. What any commodity is worth is determined by the market - if the market is willing to pay $110 for a game, then that's that game's full price, and the $70 price point is the first price drop based on a projected fall-off of demand. I'd also argue that the publisher telling people up front, "Hey, the price is going to drop in three days" is a pretty stand-up thing to do. They could just say, "We're going to launch the game at $110. We will drop it eventually, but you're going to have to guess when. Either be patient or buy it now, but we're not telling." Given that people are willing to pay the price, I'd say that's between those people and the publisher.

Ubi's credibility went out the window ages ago. This doesn't hurt their brand image because it's already in the toilet, but that doesn't stop people from buying the corporatized garbage they continue to spew out. If Capcom announced a Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake and that I could play it a few days early for an extra $30, I'd do what I've done for the last 20 years any time a Resident Evil game comes out: take the day off work, ensure that I had it in hand as early as possible, and play the hell out of it with a smile on my face. Who am I to say that people who eant end to do the same thing with this game are wrong?

@Ralizah Is it really gross though? People want it, and they're willing to pay the price, so why not make a buck? When you think about it over the life cycle of the game, isn't that how it's always been? If you want to play it first, you're going to pay the most. The price will naturally drop due to decreased demand, so those who waited are rewarded with a discount. I dislike the Ubislop experience, but this to me is just downright clever. Monetize the FOMO.

I've been bouncing off of every turn-based game I've tried lately - SMT V Vengeance, Soul Hackers 2, Dragon Quest XI, Lost Odyssey... I really enjoyed Stellar Blade, so for giggles and grins, I booted up Final Fantasy XVI NG+ for some more action goodness and am enjoying it on Final Fantasy mode - more so than I did my first time around.

I was in from day one, but the trailers are having the opposite effect - I'm kind of in the 'wait and see' camp now. Conscript's physical release is my top October want.

My brother from another mother has a big Italian family on his mom's side. He's closing in on 50, but he still plays games. I'm thinking this will make a great gift for him.

I'm definitely interested in it once I can buy a disc. I haven't had a lot of time to play anything lately, maybe 10 hours total this month.

@Specky There have been some token attempts at this - Skyrim for example has an in-game mod manager and browser, but it's not as extensive as PC. The developer has to be in on it, and I imagine most would opt out - whatever mods could be introduced by the community are features that they themselves could sell for a profit.

Boy that was rough.

Come on Tokyo Game Show!

@QiaraIris Or you just have that kind of disposable income?

Expedition 33 and Metaphor are at the top.

I also want to see Resident Evil Anything-at-all and some more HD2D of Squaresoft classics - Xenogears and Final Fantasy Tactics.

A Gears of War trilogy for PS5 is somewhere on my wish list, but I'm not holding my breath.

@MasterVGuides I'm as 'murican as it gets, he's just a popular VA.

@MasterVGuides The Discworld question was the easiest of the bunch...it's always Eric Idle. Dude is in everything.

8/10, and I guessed for most of them. BRB, getting a scratch-off.

A much better trailer than the first, but the art style makes it look last gen. The Fortnight vibe is cool for a F2P or budget title, but I expected more from a AAAA EA Bioware game that's been in development for as long as it has. I haven't liked a DA since Origins, so I'll likely skip this one.

Nothing is washing the taste of that first trailer out of my mouth. It was horrendous. If that's the tone they wanted to set in introducing the game, then the rest of the game being just like that is a pretty safe bet. I'm so tired of the smarmy Marvel-esque writing. Maybe the gameplay will be fine, but if the writing surrounding it in a story-heavy RPG is that bad, it's just a non-starter for me. If that's what people truly want, then I'm happy for them.

This weekend will be BUSY. We're catching up on yard work today, and tomorrow is our annual back-to-school shopping extravaganza. My son enjoys it since there's an arcade and a restaurant visit in it for him.

If I get some time, gaming will be Trails into Reverie. I want to love this game, but holy smokes, it's 20 minutes of talking and cut scenes to every 5 minutes of gameplay. Hopefully there's a big meaty gameplay section coming up.

I get that it's 6 games. But $75. Yeesh.

Great write-up. The attempted humor of this series hits the same as an awkward teenager trying to tell jokes he doesn't quite understand.

The casting choices are weird. I don't like when actors get loud in politics. I can only ever see them as who they are rather than their characters from that point on. Call it a personal failing on my part for being unable to suspend disbelief.

They got the whole thing backwards - for a film like this, spend heavy in the writing room and in production. Use nobodies and up-and-comers in the cast. An ensemble of recognizable B-listers probably bloated the cost to make this film when it was the most unnecessary expenditure and probably detracts from the experience overall.

Yeah, I'll probably grab it straight away. I've been holding off on a second run of Reload for this to come out.

With the current economic climate, continued support of the PS4, and PlayStation franchises going to PC, it's kind of impressive that the sales have continued. I believe those factors have kept it from staying on pace with PS4, not the price.

$499 USD in 2020 had the same buying power as $605.74 today. Staying the same price might as well be a price drop with this inflation.

The combat in these games has way too much jank for them to be stressing about a card game. Maybe they could do something about that first?

3 out of 10 for me. I haven't played most of the games on this list, and I could have sworn that Tomb Raider II came out in '98, but no, that's just the year that I bought it. Oh well!

I updated my Eve client and undocked for the first time in ages. My main turned 17 this past June - time flies. I couldn't be bothered to build an alpha-friendly fit to get in some trouble with, and I didn't feel much like slapping down for Omega, so I did some ship spinning in Amarr and logged off. The temptation was there as I was longing to poke my head in to a wormhole, but alas.

I've been playing Clash Royale lately - fun little game, especially challenging if you commit to not spending any money.

I went back to Stellar Blade and am working through the Normal boss challenges. It only took me 5 tries to beat Raven this time.

I bounced off SMTV. I thought for sure it would grab me. The desert setting is so bland. I'll try again another time.

Not terribly excited to play anything else right now.

Ghost was really good, but the fox hunts, haikus, and other 'do the same thing in two dozen locations' was repetitive. I hope that's not what other studios are taking away from it. Skipping all of that made it an excellent experience for me.

I'm not about strapping a thing to my head to play games. I'll stick with a television and a regular controller. And get off my lawn.

@get2sammyb Ah, I forgot about the VR, thanks. I'll have to take your word for it.

"is this just par for the course for one of PlayStation’s best franchises these days?"

I must have missed several games, because I thought the only thing released with this character was a brief little play room game that was a tutorial on how to use the PS5. How does that and an unreleased title (assuming In haven't missed anything) make a franchise?

I think I'd have to put it down pretty quick - 2 or 3 minutes of the constant little yips and yahs were enough to get on my nerves. I might have bought this for my son a few years ago, but I think he's outgrown it? Really, really, really don't get all of the hype for this title.

I'm there day one. Let's get it!

Summer is better for handling things outside the house. Maintaining engines, maintaining my property, other outdoor type projects...I've only completed 4 games this year so far, but once winter hits and my son is in school, I'll be gaming a lot more.

Ghost of Tsushima proved that a western developer could make a Japanese game high in quality with respect to the history and culture. I wonder if the backlash would be less harsh if Ghost hadn't set the bar so high.

Took the family out today to see Twisters. It was a fun popcorn flick. Lunch at Waffle House, and now I have a bit of free time. I beat Stellar Blade earlier this week. I tried to get back in to Scarlett Nexus, but it's not holding me. Gave the Rebirth demo a third try, and I just need to come to terms that it's not for me. I'm burnt out on Falcom for now, so those games will have to wait (Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ and Trails into Reverie on the shelf).

I'm studying my backlog now trying to figure out what to play next. I could go back to SB for NG+, though I also have SMTV and Octopath Traveler II in plastic on the shelf. I'm 14 hours into DQ XI, so I may pick that back up too. We'll see!

@Deoxyr1bose The execution and the polish on Stellar Blade is what did it for me. You look at a similar game when it comes to mechanics and game loop like Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor, and you can immediately see the difference. The Jedi games were both buggy with some serious performance issues, especially at launch. They also had the benefit of the most well-established science fiction franchise in any form of media to back up the lore and act as a backdrop. Stellar Blade had none of these things. Good performance, lack of serious bugs, and a brand new IP that needed to be established. It hit the ball out of the park as far as I'm concerned.

@Dalamar I'm with you. I don't understand the love that Rebirth gets - the combat felt so broken to me in the demo. I didn't like it at all. Stellar Blade is incredible though.

I love No Man's Sky and have mad respect for the devs continuing to grind out content for it. Looking forward to seeing more information on this.

Pre-order is a big no from me, but I'm definitely intrigued. I hope we get the demo in the US.

Still have a ton of work to do on the house. I don't know if I'll get any opportunities to play. If I do, it'll be Stellar Blade and the demo for Dragon's Dogma II.

@Dunkin You can't have humanity without greed. Why single out capitalism? Any and every economic system is vulnerable to corruption and greed.

@JackMiller43 Indeed. He just wanted gray eyes.

This was the game I got with my PS2!

The thing I remember best about it is the easter egg in the credits - they animated an audio skit from the Dead Ale Wives of the characters playing a D&D game, and it's hilarious in that late 90's kind of way.

Resident Evil 2 (1998) on the PS3

It's a dead tie for me between Stellar Blade and Persona 3 Reload. I ended up picking P3R in the poll only because I knew it would get fewer votes, but they're 1a and 1b. I have very little interest in Rebirth. I have hundreds of hours in the original Final Fantasy VII on PS1, and I just don't like what they did to my baby. I will play Infinite Wealth eventually, I just need to finish Like a Dragon first. SMTV Vengeance is still in plastic wrap, and I plan on buying Daybreak and Metaphor to wrap up the year.

I completely forgot about this game. It amazes me that they went through all of the effort to make a dinosaur game in RE Engine and didn't make the game that their fans wanted, instead going with the live service slop. At least they can maybe recycle some assets if they do remake Dino Crisis.

Trails through Daybreak and Conscript definitely have my attention. Trails I'll buy right away (just to add it to my backlog - physical copies of these games don't last long), Conscript I'll need to see reviews. If it's anything like Signalis, it'll be an immediate buy as well. American Football is one of my other obsessions, but the games have never really done it for me (except for NFL Blitz!).

Tried spinning up Inquisition last night - just didn't enjoy it at all. It just felt so... Corporatized? I don't know how to explain it other than it just wasn't for me. I'll be skipping this one altogether, but I'm glad anyone who picks it up will be able to enjoy it. I bounced off Bloodbourne and Demon Souls, but games with similar mechanics and easier combat like Jedi Fallen Order and Stellar Blade have been very enjoyable on the standard difficulty. I couldn't see myself turning off death, but people play games for different reasons, and even then, to varying degrees - challenge, story, whatever.