KleebanKliban

@naruball If PS were the weakest console people would also only buy it for exclusives and the attach rate would be the same for exclusives. There is no point to buy Nintendo unless you want exclusives, so the attach rate has to be high for the major exclusives. Anyone that isn't concerned with exclusives gets PS, XB or PC which brings down the attach rate. It's just a sign that PS has a more diverse fan base than Nintendo.

Another note, a big reason Nintendo's games continue to sell well is because their audience is much younger. This isn't the umpteenth Zelda or Mario Party/Kart/Tennis/Golf/Soccer/Baseball for a lot of their players. For many of them it's only the first or second. I have a Switch but I'm 28 so I've been around long enough to be dead tired of most Nintendo sequels and I only have 3 games for my Switch, and the only one I'll be playing much of is Let's Go Pikachu, because I can play it while watching TV. I've hardly touched Zelda and Smash Bros because the games still feel far too similar to their predecessors, which I burnt out on already.

@DominatorV93 Yeah, there will still be superficial differences

@ShaiHulud usually when people are talking about "consoles", it's implied they only mean home consoles even though handheld consoles are consoles too. If people are including handhelds, it's common to state early on that handhelds will be part of "consoles" for the discussion.

As for Switch, I count it when I say consoles, even though I know it's not technically a home console but just a handheld with a docking station, and I'm basically calling a docked iPod a Boom Box haha. I play it as a console and that's enough to satisfy me

I just thought there was a small chance he classifies Switch from a more strict, technically accurate standpoint because Switch has some decent exclusives and he was suggesting once PS and XB games were on PC, consoles wouldn't have exclusives he cared about. Seems he was counting Switch though and he just doesn't want it or the next gen version.

I think GamingFan4Lyf has a good point that ND could just want devs experienced with Ray Tracing. A more unlikely but awesome explanation would be PS Now overhaul next gen, becoming some sort of hybrid with elements of both native and streaming gaming. I'm thinking something along the lines of an emulator that does part of the work natively but streams other aspects.

I'm in the getting-PS5-regardless boat, and I hope PS exclusives go to PC. PC appeals to separate people than consoles and there is zero benefit to making PC gamers buy a PS5 to play PS5 games. Fans are too locked into comparing consoles sold that they don't properly consider the big picture.

Console gamers that buy all 3rd party games on PS instead of PC will still get a PS5. On the other hand only a portion of PC gamers buy a PS console for exclusives, and I imagine most of them ONLY buy the exclusives, saving multi plat for their higher end PC. Those same people would still buy the exclusives on PC so PS still gets the same software revenue, and the minor profits from hardware sales would be vastly overshadowed by the new software sales to the masses of PC gamers that weren't buying PS consoles just for exclusives.

PC launches will not threaten the PS console community. They will only give PS more money to reinvest in the ecosystem, and give MP games larger communities to fend off that inevitable day when lobbies are empty. Imagine how much Last of Us 1 would be helped by added MP gamers. Last of Us 2 will have an MP mode or spinoff next gen, so extra gamers from PC would help.

This also means people don't need to go XB if they want to play as many games as they can with a buddy who games PC, so PS is taking away a reason for buying XB over PS. XB is the only platform PS needs to compete with at the moment. Just don't put exclusives on XB, Nintendo, Google Stadia, etc.

@Hylian-Likely Haha well with a baby I def see next gen Nintendo in ur future

@SirRealDeal would be awesome if GT Sport got a VR patch on PS5, and let you play full game. I bought GT Sport for VR and have barely touched it. I'm just not big enough into racing games to play outside VR.

@DominatorV93 With PS Now it doesn't even matter if the games go to PC natively. You still have Nintendo though.. if you are counting handheld (or hybrid) consoles as consoles.

@Hylian-Likely I've got a 4K HDR TV and PSVR.. 2 reasons PS5 is a day one must. You are gona get a ton of value out of your upgrade if you can manage to wait til PS5 Pro.. but I'm betting there will be a game or two before that, for which you just can't reconcile the wait

@get2sammyb It takes years to make AAA games and milking is by nature a long term strategy, so I wouldnt say that in any way contradicts milking. A simpler way to think about it is.. Uncharted has practically never not been in development since Uncharted 1 development began around 2004 or 2005. It's been 15 years with the same core gameplay.

If JoeBlogs is right and a studio came to Sony with ideas to completely change what Uncharted is on a similar level to God of War I'd agree it's not milking, and I would be super excited. God of War was similar to Uncharted now, using gameplay from a previous gen. Then it went to an amazing revamp that demands sequels. However if Uncharted games continue with minor tweaks to core gameplay like whip mechanics from Uncharted 4, it will be clear that Sony wasnt approached with inspiration, but simply found devs that like Uncharted and are willing to make more of the same games built for PS3.

Also just want to clarify my tone isnt spiteful or anything. I enjoy your articles, Sammy, and I love PS, Uncharted and Naughty Dog. Just leaving my honest concerns that a franchise I love is about to get devalued. It's happened to me before. Halo and Donkey Kong were my favorite games growing up.. and both have changed for the worse since original devs finished and Nintendo/Xbox pushed for more games with new devs. Anyone remember Donky Konga and Jungle Beats? Lol. Makes the new DK Countries seem like progression.

@JoeBlogs Nintendo is probly the best example of fatigue for me. Mario and zelda were revamped this time around which was nice, but up til then zelda hadnt changed formula since ocarina, and mario had to go back to doing 2d side scrollers on Wii U. Dk country had two new 2d side scrollers as well, smash bros hasnt changed much entry to entry, and nether has mario kart. I stopped playing mario party after 3 but there r like 11 of em. There r plenty other games they've pushed out over and over, even just in mario sports.

Nintendo doesnt get by because of revamps so much as because they target children who havent lived long enough for fatique. There is always a new crop of kids each gen.

@get2sammyb franchise fatigue. Naughty Dog recognized it was time to put Uncharted to bed. Seems Sony is dismissing Naughty Dog's instinct and milking the brand, maybe because they are afraid the Uncharted brand is too important for early PS5 adoption. That could be true and it could be good for PS5 sales, but it will be bad for Uncharted.

Now when fans say goodbye to Uncharted it will be when they are inevitably sick of the games, as opposed to that sweet spot where you want another game but realize it had to end.

Mark my words, in the future you can expect a passionate fanbase insisting Uncharted ended after Lost Legacy.

New studio making Uncharted? I was relieved to hear Naughty Dog would be moving on instead of killing the franchise the long way, but Uncharted getting killed by another studio is even worse. It should have ended on a high note. Oh well.

@Rick_Deckard where have u been haha? So many people said Pro wouldnt run native 4K. It was super annoying. Then Sony released games in native 4K (no checkerboard rendering) so people started shutting up.

At this point I only remember a few native 4K games.. Last of Us, Skyrim, Elder Scrolls Online.. but there were plenty when I was following it a year or 2 ago. You wouldnt know the difference between checkerboard/native unless u you look it up tho so I have no idea which of my games are running natively.. Shadow of Mordor may be native

@purpaturta brings up an interesting point. Obsidian have enough trouble with performance. They arent Naughty Dog. They dont know how to effectively develope for hardware. I have enough doubts in Obsidian's performance without them trying to hang with the big dogs. It's for the best that they dont strain themselves.

All that matters is if the game is good. 4K wont make the game less fun, but freezing/crashing will. New Vegas was plagued by game wide performance problems that the devs were incapable of fixing. Will be pretty damn embarassing if this game doesnt run smoothly with PS4 Pro's extra power fully freed up.

@PhantomXIII I think there will be a PS5 disc because out of all the people that haven't bought yet, there are always those people that want all (or as much as possible) of the download to be on disc, so they dont need internet for the patch. Some dont have internet and some hate slow non-disc speeds. Surprisingly that is still a thing, even in the US.

I absolutely would just get the patch since I own the game, but if there is a major overhaul to graphics and you dont yet own the game, and you can get it all quickly on disc, I see the appeal. I dont think it should be more expensive though, unless there is DLC and they make it game of the year. The timeline would add up with PS5's suspected launch. Not saying Sony might not just charge full price regardless though haha. It really wont be all that long after launch of game.. 8 months or so.. not that that is an excuse.

@PhantomXIII Naughty Dog actually did do the same, long before Borderlands. All of their PS4 games got free enhancements on Pro, so I think ur right and it's safe to expect a PS5 patch. Though PS5 discs will be sold with the patches for those that dont own on PS4.

Safe to assume this for several other first party games as well. God of War could seriously use a draw distance increase, a major shortcoming in an otherwise beautiful game.

Many VR games will get same treatment. Skyrim VR will probly get enhanced again. It launched with Pro support, and both base and Pro versions got enhanced well after launch. Considering Bethesda's heavy commitment to VR, Im sure they will enhance Skyrim for PS5, and again for PSVR2, and will account for new controllers. I also expect Fallout 4 VR on PS5.

@carlos82 I think Dina is deceiving Elie and her group, and betrays them, kills Joel in that recent teaser, and possibly Elie's whole group, and Elie having fallen in love and then getting betrayed sets out to kill Dina's group, which may be the cult, maybe that is another develooment.

Neil asked how far we would go for revenge. If they want us to feel that desire, the only motivation is Joel's death. No one gives 2 f**ks about Dina.

Also remember revenge is just the early motivation. Its like saying last of us 1 was just a story about getting a girl to a hospital so u get ur weapons back. Obviously there was way more to the first game that the protagonist didnt plan, so i dont think we have anything to worry about as far as story depth.

Yess! NG tried mp over and over and it was always B grade. It has no business stealing attention and funding from the single player Naughty Dog does amazingly. Even mp fans cant compare the mp quality to single player. So the question is, is it better to have more modes, or better to have more quality in less modes.

Remember when Treyarch did this with BO4? There were single player gamers that didnt understand why removing campaign was the right move then. They didnt think Treyarch should focus more on what most fans liked and the gamers thought they were part of some movement of people that would stop buying lol. Flash forward, BO4 is the best selling current gen CoD, because it took the game's strengths and strengthened them more.

Treyarch is my favorite MP dev, and Naughty Dog/Bethesda are my favorite single player devs. Treyarch made a better game when they stopped focussing on single player, and Naughty Dog will make a better game when it stops focusing on mp. I think most Bethesda fans are glad Starfield and ES6 will be single player only again, and wont call it "a step back" from Fallout 76 lol.

Single player gamers just need to look for a game orher than BO4, and mp gamers just need to look for a game other than Last of Us 2. Meanwhile both single playeg and mp gamers have better games in BO4 and Last of Us 2. Every dev in the world should look at their offerings and consider what they are focussing on that lowers the average game quality. I wish this was done with the batmobile for Arkham Knight.. batmobile was an additional gameplay feature that added up to a worse game.

For those who will miss mp in Last of Us, try to understand that single player will absolutely be better.. not the same game minus mp.. BETTER!!! I have faith that Naughty Dog can add more value to single player than they subtract from mp just like Treyarch did with BO4.

@Th3Dud3Abid3s creates as many problems as it solves, if not more

Last of Us 3 release date

I'm a bit burnt on the franchise. Still have 2 or 3 games I bought and need to play properly. Though one thing that would get me to buy the game is if it added full PSVR support. Evading cops in VR would be epic!

@Porco Yea, adding to what Kienda said, most of the children of people I know (even remotely) weren't exactly planned. I bet there are far fewer planned pregnancies than unplanned, especially if we count abortions, which I'm not

I'm def getting PS5 first, but XB has been doing some interesting things with XB1 and Play Anywhere/Cross Play so I'm pretty interested to see what they do. That was all just with an existing console that wasn't made with those features in mind. I'm curious to see what they can accomplish now that they get a fresh chance to create hardware for these features and whatever future features they have in mind. They have a much more appealing vision for their platform now than they did at launch of XB1. Let's hope that reflects in their hardware design.

Hopefully next gen they have something to show on the console VR side as well. I would love for more creative minds to contribute to the think tank, and XB fans really should be able to play VR. If XB doesn't get VR next gen, it will become a huge reason for many to get PS5. I just hope VR and streaming aren't the only focuses of PS5, and that there are some interesting considerations for Cross Play or something entirely new.

@Shepherd_Tallon just saw you had trouble with Skyrim. I should add, the best thing to do is avoid smooth turning. Use 30 degree angle snap turning. It's weird at first but you get used to it. Smooth turning will SMACK you in the face haha.

Also turn on the FOV filter as high as possible. It limits your peripheral view so things aren't flying past you. You only see what you are walking toward. Along with some anti nausea, you shouldn't need the teleportation movement. Direct movement should be fine.

Also good to use Move controllers. They will slow you down compared to the DS4, so you won't be moving full speed right away. You will have to stop and think about how to do actions, which helps pace you.

@Shepherd_Tallon VR sickness tip, buy a bunch of anti nausea and pop a pill 15 min before hopping in. Then why your are getting used to the motion, you aren't really even feeling the motion sickness. I also recommend starting with Skyrim since it is slow and very time consuming. The idea is to play a game you will spend a lot of time in without going too fast, so you can adjust before you play faster games. Might be other good games to do that but Skyrim is the first that comes to mind. RE7 might be another good one but I think the sickness prevention in that game is nowhere near as good as Skyrim.

Really glad there is a demo. Been curious to check this out. Will try to get my brother to check it out too.

@ROTTIEMAN I've noticed that with games that have technical limitations, the communities are much more positive. They largely consist of the types of people that are open to enjoying an imperfect experience, and are optimistic about the future of the product. Fallout 76 community is the same way. Being a positive person is practically a prerequisite to appreciate that game in its current state. I bet many online VR games are like this, due to the type of personality attracted to the VR market in its early state.

@DualWielding Move controllers arent required for most games. However you definitely want to get them later on when you have other games, especially shooters or Skyrim. It would be a waste not to have them after your library is built up.

I would say get the Astro Bot and Moss bundle now because those are solid games and it is a relatively cheap start. Kind if a waste getting games you dont want. You can worry about Move/Aim controllers when you are ready to spend more money, which you have to do for the games that use them anyway.

@roe I kind of wonder if Pro sales would be higher than 20% if 4K/HDR monitors were already standard. I bought a 4K TV just because Pro came out. Had to pay $1700 for the TV. Next gen when 4K/HDR is more common, maybe more will be willing to pay solely for the upgraded console.. as long as there isn't some other new TV tech like 8K or UHDR haha. Still Im sure it won't even be half of people upgrading.

@Ralizah Thumper is a lot of fun. I bought that myself. RE7 obviously is good, and the Astro Bot demo sold me on buying it later. I don't even need to wonder, I will want Tetris.

Though FYI you don't need PS Move (Wii Motes) for Rush of Blood. They do allow you to aim your weapons in different directions, but the PS4 controller has a light and is tracked. You can just hold that up and shoot, but your hands always aim together. It actually still works really well and you won't be disappointed. The fear factor is all there. Move's are just even better.

@Hengist true. It's easy to get excited and get a bunch of cheap games that kind of suck haha.

@Rawzuka and Borderland 2 VR comes out in three days

@AdamNovice it is probably because the new CEO's previous job had him working on their subscription services abd he was heavily involved in PS Now. Soon as I read Kodera was taking charge I figured we would see PS Plus, PS Now and PS Vue improvements. We have seen improvements for all already. PS Now added downloads and PS2, PS Vue got a whoollleee bunch of stuff but I dont use that so cant remember, and PS Plus started throwing in occasional VR games and has better games on average.. even had Destiny 2 and Black Ops 3.. crazy! Im sure Im forgetting things but Ive been noticing it as its been happening since September last year

@roe I like that they added. Super Star Wars. They basically stream SNES now too haha.

@jdv95 I think it should at least be cheaper for PS Plus Subscribers. Though maybe like everyone that uses it is a PS Plus subscriber and that's the demographic.

@BambooBushido Hopefully for PS5's hardware they are taking this into account. If they could somehow solve the problem of PS3 BC then we could even download all the PS1 and PS2 games that were ported to PS3. Though obviously they cant do games that werent ported. Game needs to have a digital version.

There were so many PS1 games on PS3 though. Im surprised we dont have things like Twisted Metal 1 and 2. Those were Sony owned games I believe, unlike Crash and Spyro which are Activision. Im sure Capcom would throw in the original Resident Evil games as well.

@Razza for what its worth, pretty sure the reason PS Now is more expensive than Netflix is partially due to the increased expenses making it stream reliably 100% of the time. Netflix and other video services can start streaming in advance because the video is predetermined, and they can afford to slack because, over the course of a single stream there is room for streaming to be weak now and then as long as it is strong and prepares the next few minutes in advance to cover its ass during hiccups. It just needs to pick up streaming again before you fet to the end of what it has loaded. With PS Now, they dont know what buttons you will press. It has to stream unforgivingly well which I imagine is not cheap in this day and age. Though I think that tech is about to get more affordable because now others are joining in the streaming games market, which could suggest they see the market as becoming more viable.

Just an FYI in case the logic helps with frustration Either way the price is the same and hopefully gets lower very soon.

@Ralizah There is also Jak X Racing from the Jak and Daxter franchise. That was Naughty Dog's next franchise after Crash Bandicoot. Just like Crash, three mainline games and a racer. All the games are on PS4, but they are ports, not remakes. Though Jak wasn't as loved a mascot as Crash.

Seems pretty straight forward. Very cool. I never did play this game. Would like it to be an add on to the N Sane Trilogy so all the games are in one app, but the physics are so different and they will probably just make it its own game.. that's cool too I guess because then my Naughty Dog folder will get a little bigger and I can admire it more haha.

@Rudy_Manchego Haha niceee! I read that the other day.. last thing Bethesda needs right now haha.

@WillMerfi That was my experience before I got the version 2 headset. Now that I don't have to unplug it for HDR it's easier, I don't have that problem. Too bad they didn't think of HDR pass through initially. I bet that affects a lot of people.

I still barely touched DLC1. With BO4 releasing with 4 Zombies maps and some really enjoyable MP, I haven't been able to play Spiderman again, and Fallout 76 is out tonight. With any luck, I won't itch to play Spiderman until the final DLC is out and I can get the whole story at once, unless I get to eager to see the new suits.. oh god the new suits haha. Doubt I will make it to DLC3.

Just saw a GamingBolt article from Oct 10 saying Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered will support HDR. Not sure what the rules of posting URL's is but the article title is "Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered Improvements Detailed- 4K, HDR, Revamped Mechanics, and More".... I'm not sure about the other Assassin's Creed remasters. Last I checked, Ezio Collection did not support HDR.

@get2sammyb Cool that you are putting a list together. The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane trilogy was updated with HDR support. Will let you know if I think of any others.

@Anguspuss Yea, def not 100's but hell of a lot more than a few that are a hell of a lot better than half decent. Problem is, like the upcoming Borderlands 2 VR, I think like every single top tier game can be played out of VR, so less motivation to buy PSVR for it. Even Doom VFR isn't all that different from Doom.

VR is still just too small a market for high end games to alienate non-VR gamers. As for the lower end games, for every Astro Bot, Moss and Rush of Blood.. there are like four dozen Dying Reborn's haha

@hulkie I imagine you have to at least beat the Black Cat portion of the main game before it would make sense to let you play the DLC. The main game portion leaves no wiggle room for her to have more of a story. (Super minor spoiler) You learn she is in town, try to find her but never once see her, and she leaves. It has been a while since u saw her so DLC likely wont be before. You never see her so it cant be during. She must be returning after she leaves the city. So beat that part to be safe. Just skip side stuff and u can get there tonight. Story goes fast if you dont get distracted in the world.

Called it right after reading about cross play (and keeping in mind the recent PS Now downloads). John Kodera really is our Phil Spencer, with some good ol' Japanese modesty keeping him behind the scenes, or maybe he's just shy.

@clvr Some of the DLC content created at launch is actually understandable. When a budget is given for a game and an employee is given a window of time to create content, their pay is part of the budget for the game. When an employee finishes work on the main game and the labor has been paid, they then need something to do or else they have no income. They can then begin working on DLC which brings in more revenue and therefore has a new budget. If the content was not going to be paid for separately, and did not bring revenue, the content would never exist at all, so in that case just because it is available at launch does not mean it should be part of the main game. In cases like this, DLC at launch is not just fine, but even awesome to have more optional content right off the bat.

Problem is we can't know when it is done right and some people tend to assume the worst habitually. Call of Duty tends to have season pass content at launch like the Classified Zombies map in Black Ops 4, but who's to say how budget factored in? Not like skeptics would take Activision at their word. I consider myself open minded and even I wouldn't trust Activision lol. I'd trust Treyarch though. They always do their fans right.

I think a good example will be Fallout 76's microtransactions at launch. I'm sure a team was given a budget for microtransaction cosmetics and whatnot. That budget was issued based on the expectation for additional revenue. Those cosmetics will be in the game at launch, but very likely would not have been if no additional budget was granted.

@AlexSora89 Speaking of giving Sony credit when it's due, they are the only ones making any real immediate sacrifice to keep gamers happy with cross play. Good on them!