KippDynamite

@Grindagger
It makes a difference because every time people buy this, publishers then demand games be designed the be flawed so that they can sell customers a solution. Single player games are deliberately broken.

Think of Ghost of Tsushima. ALL games used to be like Ghost of Tsushima - now many are full of this microtransaction nonsense.

@Hopewell
Counterargument: make a game without boring grind that players want to skip.

@Loftimus
Only in video games do customers buy products, and then buy the ability to not play them. It boggles the mind.

Duplicitous B*stards!!!

Happy Birthday Koj squad! Konami done did you wrong!

Tech companies have worked hard to limit your ownership rights on digital goods. Until this changes - until we actually own and can do whatever we like with digital media - you can expect this kind of behavior from corporations. This is what the digital-only future looks like unless laws change.

Ah, a glimpse at the glorious digital-only future!

Big tech companies have been profiting off of their lack of accountability for decades. They don't want to lose money from bigots so they allow their crap on their privately-owned forums. If you own an online space and you hesitate to ban hate speech then this is simply evidence of greed and cowardice.

I haven't read the comments section because, based on the number of comments and the subject matter, I can only assume it's filled with hyper-drama that my life could do without.

Codies is a solid studio, but those prices are insane. Am I missing something? They're a studio that seem to make a profit, but not a huge one, and they've been that way for ages. Suddenly they're worth over a billion dollars?! I would have thought one-tenth of that price was more appropriate. Insomniac - a very successful studio that made over a billion dollars on their Spiderman game - recently sold for about 300 million. Does EA need a tax deduction or something?

I look forward to the inevitable expose on whatever is going on. Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that the director was asked if the game was still coming out in December and he replied with something like "Yup. I guess so."? There must be a lot of friction between CDPR management right now.

Sony should remember that it's main business tactic is getting as many PS5s sold as they can, and then they make money on all game sales - not just their own. If anything they should offer their exclusives at a discount just to entice more customers. Maybe with PS5 demand so high they feel they can get away with this, and maybe they can. Maybe when there are PS5s sitting on store shelves they'll settle down.

It seems like a bit of a gamble and I don't like that they are taking the chance on Returnal, which is made by a solid studio known for having underappreciated games.

Whoever is pushing this at Sony is off the mark. We've seen Horizon for sale for $9.99 for two years now - we know that game prices will go down over time. They can get away with pushing the envelope a bit on really big hitters, but asking that price for Returnal will turn away many people - even if the game is ultimately worth it. Before it launches no one knows if it's worth that price or not.

A bit embarrassing for Microsoft. And Nintendo.

I think most people simply do not care about these types of issues. Skyrim was a technical mess on PS3. Bayonetta was super blurry and I can only assume it dipped below 720p. Fallout 4 was at least as bad as this video. Blighttown in Dark Souls is a blurry, stuttering mess but it's still a masterpiece of a game. Even The Witcher 3 released in a pretty bad state and still has technical issues. I don't think it's acceptable, but it's absolutely common industry practice to release a game in this technical state.

I myself am waiting for the PS5 version because I'm extremely interested in this game and want to play a proper version of it, but the masses generally won't care.

I am definitely going to get this but they are taking the piss if that price point is accurate. It's so high it's going to deter sales. I'll just wait until it's cheaper.

This game has always sounded interesting to me but I just don't want to deal with an abusive, toxic community.

It seems like PlayStation IS giving us answers. It is anticipating that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be on PS5.

I think I would have turned out a bit different if I had a dad like that. My dad was always against video games and constantly shamed me for liking them. Hopefully a lot of kids these days have the experience of the kid in this video.

I love Astro Bot but I think if they want a legit, full-game sequel to Astro's Playroom they need to make some changes.

For starters, the motion control stuff is cool to show off the controller but I think it would be really gimicky if it was in a full game. Astro's Playroom already reached what I think is an acceptable limit of motion control activities. I thought the DualSense sensations of the frog suit was amazing, but the gameplay in that section got dull very quickly. I was disappointed when the second frog section started. Same with the monkey parts - interesting, but making a game with that rock climbing as a primary mechanic would be a big mistake. It gave me flashbacks of Wii shovelware.

I also think if Astro is going to be in a game the size of Mario Odyssey he needs a few more moves. He can punch, charge punch for a spin attack, and hover after a double jump. If he is going to star in a longer game then I think his move set needs to have a bit more variety - not much, but a bit. Mario can do a few extra things and it makes gameplay more engaging for longer periods of time.

The bow and machine gun were cool, but he'd need more stuff like that in a long game. The suits have a lot of potential and I think if they come up with some that don't rely on motion control then they'll really be on to something.

Pulling off such a game would require a lot of talent and creativity, but amazingly I think Team Asobi could do it. In 20 years they are the only team outside of Nintendo that seems to really understand how to make this type of game, and who can execute it.

The features look impressive but that video almost gave me a seizure.

@Rudy_Manchego
Additionally, Sony get 30% of all the money made by Fortnite, GTA Online, Warzone, and so on. They have no need to take a risk on the shaky live service business model when they make a lot of money from their partners. They themselves make stellar exclusives to differentiate themselves from the competition - all successful products need to differentiate themselves somehow in order to succeed, and Sony's current path is high-quality exclusives.

@God_of_Nowt
How complicated is it to make an emulator? It seems like random people online do it for free in their spare time - couldn't Sony get a few people to do the same? The demand is low but vocal, and it seems like Sony could add it with relatively little cost.

@JRRR92
Even one of the guys who left says "Just to clarify, I made the decision to move on due to my own personal circumstances. AFAIK the studio is still there and the project is still ongoing." Why this site thinks the studio closed is the real mystery. Perhaps to drum up controversy before another article assuring us all is well?

I often see people say that magic is overpowered and to play as a magician if it's your first time playing. I strongly disagree. You'll run out of mana and die in just a few hits.

If you're new I recommend being a knight and pumping stats into vitality, endurance, and strength. You'll have more life, more stamina, better armor, and hit harder. In order words, all of the things that will help you if you are new to games like this.

By the way, the levels are designed to be played 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, etc. The farther into each level you go, the harder it is.

I'm sure it doesn't help that devs have to target the Series S.

When I had a PS3 I didn't really care that it played Bayonetta slightly worse then the 360 - I cared that it played Uncharted 2 and Xbox didn't. Exclusive games and features is always why I've bought one console in favor of another.

I almost always buy physical and if anything this has increased lately. I've gone out of my way to get disc versions of indie games like Moonlighter and Thimbleweed Park. To me my collection just feels more real when, well, it is.

Hopefully this is one of those instances that helps people see that regulation can be a good thing that helps ordinary people.

In many jurisdictions this type of thing is already illegal. It wouldn't be too hard to track them down if they are selling online and shipping from an address. Whether or not law enforcement can be bothered is a different matter.

@NEStalgia I'm not saying Microsoft couldn't or shouldn't have bought Zenimax (though I personally don't like it), just that equating Zenimax with Bend Studio is a rediculous comparison not even worthy of discussion. It's like buying Wal-Mart versus them buying the corner store in a rural farming community.

Microsoft used to have the same philosophy as Sony and Nintendo (i.e., exclusive games are the heart of the business), but for about ten years they haven't done much to reinforce that they believe in this. Buying Zenimax was the strongest indication, though they may have the games go multiplatform because that's what's most cost effective. As you say, they've developed and nurtured great series, but now they're to the point where they just released a new console with literally no exclusive games.

So what can we learn from this? That the launch in Japan was a dismal failure.
/s

@TheFrenchiestFry
"Naughty Dog, which they bought
Like Insomniac, which they bought
Like Guerrilla Games, which they bought
Like Bend Studio, which they bought
Like Sucker Punch, which they bought
Like Media Molecule, which they also bought. "

I think this argument is misleading. Buying a giant company for $7,500,000,000 is very different than buying a small startup that had only ever made exclusive games that you have funded. Media Molecule had made one game prior to being bought by Sony, which Sony funded. The same is essentially true for Bend. Most of the others you listed had only previously made one or a few games that nobody has ever heard of. And these studios were tiny at the time - it does not even come close to Microsoft buying Zenimax. The closest comparison is Sony buying Insomniac, but Microsoft's deal was 3,200% bigger than that.

@naruball
Reports vary, but about 4-5 million for launch day and another 4-5 million by the end of the year.

This should have been a screening criteria to see who could get one on release day.

@Atreus97 I think Sony said they were preparing something like 4 million for release day, which is more than they've ever prepared before.

@Gmork___
My theory is that they perpetuate these reports because they have something to gain. This site often reminds me of Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter - they themselves generate controversy (to get clicks) and then they report on/resolve the false controversy that they created.

Example: for weeks there were articles going "What's the PS5 UI look like? Crazy we don't know about the UI. Why haven't we seen the UI?" etc. All of this despite no one else caring much, and Sony focusing on showing actual games. My guess is that they got a tip that the UI would be shown in a couple of weeks, so they generated the controversy that we haven't seen the UI so they can have a series of articles about the UI when it is eventually released. Otherwise it would be one fairly straightforward article. One article isn't enough, so they generate the controversy for us.

I don't think it makes the whole website bad, but at times it is pretty transparent and annoying.

@TheIdleCritic Games Radar employs actual journalists with ethics and standards. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to post a comment on their articles.

If these streams have loads of viewers then I officially don't understand the internet.

All I see is a PS5 with a disc slot, a box for the digital version, and a lack of journalistic investigation.

Prey crossover?

BluePoint deserve big accolades but I just want to shout out to the original developers - the 2009 From Software team and Miyazaki. The game is excellent largely because the game design is well thought-out and the gameplay is endlessly engaging.

My brother has been out of gaming for years and he's probably getting a ps5 whenever they're available. With PS Plus he'll have a couple of years worth of top-tier games. I think the value for money - for him - is much better than Game Pass.

Isn't Ubisoft the company that is actively embroiled in several scandals where high-ranking employees - including the director of this game - have been implicated in sexual assaults?

@nessisonett
Actually many reviewers described Fallout 3 as "Oblivion with guns." Which is something I personally liked!

@Anti-Matter
To each their own, but just so you know you might be the only person in the entire world with rules this strict about video game costumes. I wouldn't plan on any gaming studio catering to these specific needs.

I can really relate to being overexposed to adult media at a young age. If you were traumatized by something I hope you can get help. Whatever traumatized you doesn't need to dominate your life and you can find healing and live without fear.

By the way, the linked FAQ also lists Housemarque as a first party developer.

If the drop rate for pure bladestone is increased the platinum will be much easier than before.

@get2sammyb Not to get pedantic over review scores, but you're review reads like a 10/10 and I was surprised to see an 8 at the end. What would have made it a 10 for you? More mission variety? Less complicated control scheme?

@Killerlightning Okay, I'll test your theory.

You are making this comment section worse.

@RaZieLDaNtE I'd give you the Welcoming accolade!