MB81

I think those sales figures are for physical copies only. Makes sense that in 2023 physical sales would be down.

Are BF2042 games populated by real players these days or are they filled out with bots? Really hate that feature. If not, I might go back to 5, which just plays great in its final form…

Can’t say the trailer did anything for me. The mechs looked too small and nimble and the environments were dull.

@Deadlyblack Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine in the UK!
It was a classic!

@GymratAmarillo To be fair if you watch the video, those two streamers had the survival game idea and a bunch of features they’d like to see, and approached studios to make it, not the other way round.
It works from a marketing perspective, sure, but these guys know their stuff. Randomly, I did work with Sacriel about 20 years ago and he was obsessed with FPS games back then, he’s been living and breathing them for 20+ years.

Pretty excited about this. Hope there’s a big graphical upgrade and full mod support. No issue with DLC, most of it is cosmetic and big ones are only once a year or so.
Some of the cities that people make on YouTube are incredible.

Man I remember when GTA3 came out, maybe first AAA 3D open world experience, my mind was blown.
Now I’m sick of open world and a map full of busywork is a major turnoff.

This looks good. Loved Transport Tycoon back in the 90s.

I too didn’t really buy Kathleen as the leader. I understand why, but she didn’t exude any authority or threat at all. Just really bad casting imo.
The rest of the cast were great.

Despite the weird numbers in this poll, there is for sure a significant number of people that almost exclusively play COD on PlayStation. I have a few friends that do. One guy plays Apex all the time. It’s an easy game to log in, play with friends and challenge yourself competitively. If it wasn’t available on PlayStation, most of these people would have no qualms about buying another system.
Sony must be worried, they have the data of how many users are playing COD.

@Dalejrfanfreak do you remember Transport Tycoon?
I never played Railroad Tycoon. Do you think this is complex to learn?

@Balosi yea man I work with kids and they all buy physical. They still want the physical product in their hands, they obviously don’t have a credit card so if they have money they buy it in a shop, and if their non-gamer parents are buying they are distrustful of spending so much on a purely digital product.
Japan is always behind the west as well for digital trends. DVD rental stores are still everywhere, streaming only became popular in the last 5 years and only recently can you watch terrestrial TV on demand.

@Sam_ATLUS I may be mistaken but don’t software sales only include physical? I remember reading somewhere that PlayStation sells a majority of its games digitally, whereas Switch users tend to buy physical - practically all elementary school kids own a switch buy physical.
By the way, I have also seen Wild Hearts well promoted over the few months here in Japan. It’s flying under the radar in the west but it’s going to be big here.

Will continue Elden Ring and may check out Judgement too. My first Yakuza game.

I’m surprised that Wild Hearts isn’t being hyped more. It’s really being pushed in Japan, I’ve seen a lot of marketing for it already over the last couple of months.
Looks a like a potentially great Monster Hunter clone, and if they can simplify the oblique Monster Hunter systems then I think it could be a big hit.

Really interesting to see Rainbow Six Extraction on there. I think I saw the PushSquare review score and immediately dismissed it, but now you have me intrigued. Always on the lookout for a good multiplayer co-op shooter.

Man each to their own, and it’s good to have diverse tastes on the site, but these are some niche picks! Only 2 are new releases!

Cool list man, and great writing.

I love that the staff’s lists are all so different from each other, and from other sites’ best of lists. Just goes to show how important personal taste is.
Can’t see many of these games being my cup of tea, but I enjoyed reading about them.

The situation in Japan is still one of demand outstripping supply. However many units Sony are able to supply, they’ll sell.

@GeneticMutation Christmas! Lots of parents are buying their kids a Switch for the first time this year as they get old enough.

Heard very good things about this. It made a few journalists end of year lists.

Did the whole thing and the submit survey button didn’t work 😠

Only MMO I’ve played is Star Wars Galaxies, but I was always intrigued by Archeage 1. This looks ridiculously good. I’ll be following this closely.

Ninja Gaiden, yes! First one on the Xbox absolutely blew me away and the sequel was really underrated.

Finally given Returnal a bash. Wow, feels SO good to play, and the mechanics of the game just feel perfectly crafted. Really enjoying it so far. I might dip in to God of War 2018 to make a little progress on the Platinum hunt.

Gonna continue playing Telling Lies on PS Plus. Interesting experience so far. I hope the plot holds up to the end.
Also gonna play some Yoku’s Island Express with my daughter. Great recommendation from someone on this site.

@TheArt do you play MHW solo or with friends? I was played with a friend who kind of stopped, and I haven’t been back since. Is it any good solo?

For some reason I haven’t played any since the first one, which I absolutely loved at the time. Keeping my eye on this.

Not really aiming at Gotham Knights, but ‘needless crafting and customisation’ is for me an issue with SO many games. They often don’t add anything and either mindless or completely unnecessary or often both. Playing games for over 30 years there’s nothing remotely interesting about picking up materials from the corner of rooms or in fields, to thoughtlessly press a button to craft a necessary item.
Either crafting needs to be revolutionised or just got rid of, too much busywork.

It’s strange I can’t notice the difference between 30/60fps. I know tons of people do and they can’t even play 30fps, but I can’t see it. Lighting, environments, art style make much of a difference for immersion to me.

I’d be well up for playing this with friends!

Ghost Recon Wildlands. Been playing whenever our schedules align with a friend the last few months.
Really underrated co-op game! Lots to do, and if you enjoy the terrorist hunts of old, you’ll love this!

@stvevan that option is greyed out on the beta, but I’ll definitely be doing it if I get the full version.

@StylesT sounds seem louder in this. Playing with a headset, footsteps are deafening, so I think if you use your ears more, then going loud with a weapon may be a dead giveaway.

Feels just like Modern Warfare 1. Which is just fine for me. Maps are OK so far, hopefully there are some more interesting ones in the pipeline. Some real locations would be nice too, like Piccadilly from MW.

@get2sammyb this article has a mistake - the price has not increased by ¥10,498.
The price including tax has risen from ¥54,978 to ¥60,478.
Sometimes it’s confusing in Japan because some stores and outlets show the price including tax, some don’t.
I know this for a fact because I live in Japan and spent almost a year trying to buy a PS5 and was looking every day!

@rjejr actually it’s ¥60k including tax, the previous price was ¥55k. Sometimes it gets confusing in Japan as some stores show the pre-tax price, some with price included.
It was definitely ¥55k including tax on release.

@Ristar24 you remember correctly man, Virtua Racing was indeed £70! Games truly were expensive back then, when you think of the price inflation of everything else. Pretty much all games were £40, which has been the standard price for over 25 years until this generation really.

@Kelrics90 Exactly, played all kinds of games on my PS5 and have never seen this feature presented to me or have any idea how to access it.

The bundles that the major retailers in the UK are selling are an absolute disgrace - just a way to squeeze even more money from customers. £600+ for a PS5? Get out.
I bought mine about a year ago for ¥55000 which was about £350 at the time - I’ve been playing stuff constantly for a year and have spent about £550 including games and peripherals.

@Blofse have you tried circuit challenges yet? For me they were really addictive and very challenging!

Anyone know if it’s possible to upgrade tier for a single month? I will always get the PS Plus basic so I can play online. It’s be nice to occasionally upgrade tier to play the odd game.

@RudeAnimat0r 100% this. It’s an entirely plot free car driving game.

Not really plausible for a game, but it is amazing. Feels so real. Quite an achievement in itself, to reproduce a real setting to such a realistic degree.

I’m very sceptical of this kind of thing. PS5 can’t really even handle 4K 60fps in most games. Very disappointing to choose one or the other.

@Art_Vandelay is it easy to get into for beginners?
It always seems to be on sale for a few quid.

Nice user name by the way 👊

Shrewd move releasing FIFA to steal some of PES’ thunder.
I know most people who like football games have already got it, but I haven’t, and neither have a few mates. Perfect to play a few games online together.

@Reeneman I agree, these options don’t make headline news but they are quite big additions to the game!

@UltimateOtaku91 same. Personally I cannot stand ads, it’s one of the reason why I never watch TV, only stream.

@ShogunRok I totally agree with you about levelling being redundant. I never even looked once at what level I was. Difficulty was just about right at all times.