MB81

I wonder what the data logger is like. I really liked the way things worked in Forza 5 (I think). You could see world leaderboards for the car class you have, see friends’ times, and even race their ghosts.

@lazymike yea this is precisely it. The price rise last year was huge at a time when Japanese wages are stagnant and food prices are steadily rising. I can only imagine that sales have been very low this year.
It’s sucks for us foreign gamers who live in Japan and want an English language version, but it is what it is.

So glad qualifying will be there. Should have been in from the start. I’ll gladly pay with all the enjoyment I’ve had over the years.

BF4 never needed boys, and still doesn’t. Maybe use the server browser?

Awesome game.

Definitely one of the most fun multiplayer games I’ve ever played. Every round is great!

Amazing game, every single round of cash out is fun.
But nobody cares about the in-game sponsorships etc. Just skip past them when you get a cutscene for a new season.

Sweet! Literally drove that road on Monday, the town is called Kawaguchiko.
Can’t wait for this!

This looks like it scratches a real Battlefield itch. For free I’m down to try it.

D4 that’s awesome! Always wanted to try one. Do you have to follow a build guide for your first character or can a noob just fumble their way through?

This actually brings the PS5 in-line with Japanese prices, where it had a big price increase last year.

A lot of commenters on this site don’t really play shooters so it’s not really the target audience, BUT Marathon will have to compete against a lot of free to play options. It’ll be interesting for sure.

Fingers crossed! You’d be forgiven for thinking it was BF3/4 footage.

3, 4 were fantastic, wasn’t so into 1, 5 turned out great in the end and still holds up.
2042 was a head scratcher as they changed what made the series great trying to chase the live service bucks.
I hope this is a return to form.

@Ralizah yes! It was definitely ground-breaking at the time too. A big leap forward in graphics and the third-person cover-to-cover movement.

@JB_Whiting This! Great game and I really enjoyed it, but I got to a maze-like dungeon late on and the random battles were so slow to load and carry out. Meant I never actually finished the game.

As an adult male I can’t understand the appeal of dressing up a young female character. Game itself looks fairly fun though.

@Saucymonk I’m not totally sure either but I’ve seen in EA FC an option to join a PlayStation tournament in-game, which is like a 16 player knockout that starts at regular intervals throughout the day. It might be connected to that.

@LavenderShroud competition for the best players has always been a part of gaming. Look at the pac-man or Tetris championships in the 80s. As soon as online games appeared we competed against other players. It’s a bit like saying, why do people watch Premier League football? I just enjoy playing with my friends.
If you play Pokémon, JRPGs and mobile games, then it sounds like you’re not the target audience. For some gaming and competition is exciting.
I’m an older gamer myself, and can’t understand the appeal of mobile games or Pokémon.
A lot of people on this site play single player games and look down on competition.

Honestly this game is the most fun I’ve had with a shooter in years. Every session is fun playing quick cash, whether with randoms or friends. By 15 hours or so I’d unlocked pretty much every weapon I’m ever likely to use, so there’s zero reason for me to grind. XP only brings cosmetics which I don’t care about. I almost always use the same loadout that I started using from a couple of hours in.
Live service game done right.

I really like the player roles, along with playstyles, it adds a lot of depth. Not played career mode yet, but if you can somehow guide your youth players towards certain playstyle badges or roles, then it would be approaching my beloved The Master League levels of RPG-ness.

Really feel like Japan is in trouble. I’ve been living here for 14 years, and the prices increases of everyday items of the past 2 years are first I’ve seen, and they are HUGE. Meanwhile, wages are barely rising.
PS5 disc version released at ¥55,000 (including tax) so to see its price rise 50% is absolutely unprecedented.
Very unusual times which don’t bode well for the future.

Changing Civs? I’m not too sure how I feel about that. A lot of the other changes seem cool though. I’ll get it eventually.

@Godot25 I agree to some extent. Sadly that is the way things are at the moment. Gone are the days of releasing a few map packs for a fee. The incentive for live service is too big. Get it right and it’s a billion plus dollars.

I’ve always been interested in trying FF14.
Is there much to do outside of the main story? If there is so much story and you don’t have a friend to play with, how does it work?

I had this preordered and they delayed it by 6 months a week before release, and now again.
I really don’t think we’ll see it running smoothly on PS5, they overextended themselves.

Hexic HD please!

@Frmknst Why do you like it so much? Do you play with friends?
I loved BF 4, 1, and 5. Just can’t seem to get into 2042.

@SgtTruth same here! Bought a CD-ROM drive for this game as it was the first Star Wars game that had the actual music the same quality as the film!

I remember pre-ordering the sequel, playing it after school the day it came out and finishing it in a few hours. It was fun but disappointing.

Owen and Mel were pretty big characters in the Abby storyline.
I agree, I think it’ll follow Abby and Ellie concurrently and end S2 in the Theater.

Very similar to the Remake trophies. I’ll be going for it.
I personally loved hard mode during the battles. It was a different game. On normal I just button mashed my way through most of it. On hard I had to relearn the game and think strategically.
Some of the bosses were Dark Souls like in their difficulty - you had to time everything right otherwise you’d be toast.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s INTERmission DLC. Got the platinum for the main game so now seems like as good a time as any to play the DLC.
It’s so lovely being back in that world and seeing the crew around.

Remember also that the top ten games for Switch are mostly games that can be enjoyed by all ages. 5 year olds up can play most of these (my daughter buying a few of them. Kids will almost always get bought physical (in Japan anyway). PlayStation games are targeted at an older demographic, who buy more digital.
Also adults in Japan don’t play console games as much as adults in the UK or US. Many Japanese households have only one TV in the house. People work longer hours. If they do play games, more likely to be mobile.
My point is that a lot of Switch physical software sales are by kids - there may be more PlayStation software sales than these statistics show but I don’t think PlayStation can ever compete with Switch.

Thing to remember about software sales is that it is physical copies. Kids always buy/get bought physical copies here in Japan. PlayStation is popular with an older demographic (high school upwards) and much more likely to buy digital.

Got Baldurs Gate 3 a few days ago so I’ll be playing that. Might bang out a few matches on PES2021 Master League. And play a few levels of Super Mario Wonder with my daughter.

I’m sure it’ll be sorted in due course. I think I’m due for £5 credit when my points come through, only reason I noticed!

@TheOldHunter4K yep, I didn’t get my points for a purchase made yesterday.

I love that the staff lists are so diverse. You’re staff writers for a PlayStation blog, cover all the major releases, but if a grindy mobile/console game is what you enjoy, then that is your number 1 game!
It’s not an award for best game, just a nice little insight into the varied tastes of gamers. I know some true gamers who have played hundreds and maybe thousands of varied titles in their lives but have spent all year playing Call of Duty with their friends. Its all good!

Always enjoy this feature! Keep it up guys!

@JamieO love this comment about your stepdad. I hope I’m gaming so well at 81!
What did you think of Event Horizon? I watched it for the first time last year, thought it was truly awful. Enjoyed Dead Space though.

The worst band. Can’t understand why they are popular.

I don’t know as I haven’t played this or MW2, but the Guardian gave it a fantastic review. Points knocked off for the campaign (but do people really play it?) but they said the multiplayer was a excellent and the new DMZ-like zombies mode was superb too.

One thing AI has to do is make mistakes, otherwise you’ll never have a truly great offline racing experience. I like what I’m seeing with the AI having ‘emotions’. If you close the gap on a driver they should feel pressure and make errors. The same goes for when they are pushing to catch up. It even happens at the pinnacle of the sport in F1.

Outstanding stuff, can’t wait to see it. Really looking forward to racing Sophy, hopefully it’s a grid full of them.

Just got the platinum in this a couple of days ago!

I think there must be more than the 7 cars, saying major update indicates new modes and/or track.

Just wondering, does AI have anything to do with the recent layoffs across the industry?

How much is it? Kind of cool for train nerds.

I live 30m from Shinjuku and Kabukicho. It’s a pretty sleazy place, usually there are hostess bar staff trying to get you in. Annoying more than anything. As for gangsters etc, I’ve never seen anything. It’s too much of a tourist spot now.

Picked it up today, £5, an extra £18 for all the DLC including this leaders pass.
Enjoying it so far, controls seem fine but obviously a little slower than on PC.
I have a question, with regard to the multiplatform save files, does this mean I can continue a game on Steam on my Mac?

@get2sammyb is that the one that had the studio introduction to games and a weekly highlights reel showing the best plays from CPU vs CPU games from the game week? It was so immersive, and I can’t believe all these years later it hasn’t been repeated.