Disney and its partners like Ubisoft have ruined Star Wars. Star Wars is no longer about being cool, badass, and heroic. It is about promoting diversity, checking cismale privilege, and advancing "powerful" female characters. Disney has single-handedly destroyed the biggest and most iconic franchise in American culture and history. On topic, 1 million sales are nothing these days considering AAA videogame game budgets going over $200 million. A game needs to sell at least 3 to 5 million on launch and then sell steadily for the next couple of years to make the devs and publishers money.
Good show. Ghost of Yotei was amazing! That Nier track was so nostalgic and beautiful. MHW looks amazing. DINO CRISIS! Finally! But I was hoping to see Bluepoint's new IP but it's still missing. No Wolverine or Naughty Dog's new IP either. Maybe a little heavy on remakes and remasters. Great show.
These days every game takes too much time and it has gotten frustrating. A game should not take more than a whole console generation to finish! That is ridiculous. Most of the games that were announced at or around the launch of Xbox Series/PS5 consoles are still under development! Many Sony First Party studios are MIA and just won't announce what they are working on.
SE won't announce FF9 Remake even though it was leaked years ago and is consistently being worked upon. Dragon Quest XII was never heard from again after they revealed the logo years ago. Bethesda hasn't released an Elder Scrolls mainline game in 13 years! FF7 Trilogy is getting a single game for each console generation! It will likely take 12 to 15 years to finish the trilogy! Why are these devs wasting so much time and money on each game?? It only leads to ridiculous sales targets to cover the costs and makes it more likely for the game to fail commercially.
I am definitely going to buy this inshAllah! Love Sakaguchi era FF games and IMO FFX was the last true FF game. Played FF12, 13, and 15 but nothing hits the same as classic Sakaguchi FF games.
It was very disappointing. No PS5 Pro, no new AAA first-party exclusives, no fan-requested remakes like Legend of Dragoon, no surprises, and no bombshells. I miss the E3 days when Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo were constantly trying to outdo each other, steal the media spotlight, and woo us customers. These days everybody is just on cruise control and taking it easy.
This gen must play games has been few but prices have been high. Console prices are no longer falling even with the Slim version. Instead, Sony increased the price by $50. With the ever-increasing inflation, growing household expenses, higher prices for games, and personal financial instability I just haven't been able to afford a PS5. I am still on my PS4 even though I have bought a Playstation console each gen since the PS1.
They (SE) can try their multiplatform approach but the result will be the same. Their games can't run on Nintendo Switch and Xbox gamers don't even buy games anymore especially JRPGs. Just compare the sales of all the multiplatform SE games. In the end, the majority of their sales will come from PlayStation and PC just like now. And they will wonder why their sales didn't triple with two more platforms. The problem lies elsewhere.
The problem is that their games are often terrible, sometimes great, but mostly middling. They cannot seem to evolve their games in the right direction even though they want to. They have developed tunnel vision where they have become fixated/obsessed with cutting-edge visuals and action combat. Those are NOT the things that make a great RPG.
RPGs need great writing in terms of both story and characters. They need a great soundtrack to make them pleasant to play and remember even after you turn them off. They need character and gear customization with build potential so players can play how they want (stealth, magic, physical, ailments, etc). They need fun, engaging, and rewarding side quests and activities that people can lose themselves in for hours willingly. Finally, they need some kind of player agency and choices when it comes to moral/ethical choices, important plot points, and fates of characters. Why can't SE figure this out is beyond me.
They (SE) can try but the result will be the same. Their games cant run on Nintendo Switch and Xbox gamers don't even buy games anymore especially JRPGs. Just compare the sales of all the multiplatform SE games. In the end, the majority of their sales will come from PlayStation and PC just like now. And they will wonder why didn't their sales triple with two more platforms. The problem lies elsewhere.
The problem is that their games are often terrible, sometimes great, but mostly middling. They just cannot seem to evolve their games in the right direction even though they want to. They have developed tunnel vision where they have become fixated/obsessed with cutting-edge visuals and action combat. Those are NOT the things that make a great RPG.
RPGs need great writing in terms of both story and characters. They need a great soundtrack to make them pleasant to play and remember even after you turn them off. They need character and gear customization with build potential so players can play how they want (stealth, magic, physical, ailments, etc). They need fun, engaging, and rewarding side quests and activities that people can lose themselves in for hours willingly. Finally, they need some kind of player agency and choices when it comes to moral/ethical choices, important plot points, and fates of characters. Why cant SE figure this out is beyond me.
@Godot25 It is still in the ballpark of PS4. Half a million or a million more or less doesn't make a difference. Surpassing the PS4 would have been nice but no product or service can continue to grow eternally. As as long as it is successful business can go on happily. However, if the sales had crashed like Xbox One/Series X compared to 360 or Wii U compared to Wii then that would have been worrying.
@RobN
Well, you are definitely correct but ofcourse I didn't mean a couple of million literally. It was a figure of speech. I meant that if they were able to create good games with a limited budget in the past then they can do so today too. They don't need to spend $300 million per game. They can limit their budget to under $100 million or even $50 million and still make great games.
@Fuzzymonkeyfunk I see. I think the change in leadership to Jim Ryan disrupted Sony's game development pipeline. Ryan wanted his own liveservice money printing machine like Fortnite so he bought Bungie and put Naughty Dog on development of a live service Factions game for years. He also acquired and ordered several other studios to develop live-service games. However, most of Sony's first-party studios are single-player game developers and have little experience with live-service monetization, multiplayer balancing, or networking. They wasted years without producing anything until finally Jim Ryan's departure. Factions and several other live-service projects were canceled. Naughty Dog was freed and they immediately went back to developing their traditional single-player games. I believe that is why Naughty Dog hasn't been able to release anything this gen yet. I think they will be back on track soon now that Jim Ryan is gone.
@Fuzzymonkeyfunk
When you say "big-headed" what exactly are you referring to? Just curious about which actions, behaviors, or decisions are you talking about. Japanese culture is generally very humble and so are their business executives who constantly bow down and act reserved in public.
@trev666 Agreed. They really need to get their ambitions and costs under control. If they could make great games during the PS1 and PS2 era with barely a couple of million then they can do so today too. They just need to cut down their emphasis on cutting-edge graphics and multimillion marketing campaigns and focus more on passion and creativity.
Everybody knew this would happen except for Xbox fans. They argued that acquisition by MS would provide the studios with stability and abundant funding so they could make the best games possible. But this is the truth; MS is the destroyer of developers and console gaming. MS is killing the console gaming industry with their monopolistic and underhanded tactics. They can't win so they are burning everything down.
They buy up all the studios and then shutter them down. They try to change the tried and tested business model of producing and selling quality finished games to a subscription model filled with MTX-infested unfinished subpar live-service games. All the while they use the media to convince people that no matter what they do, it is always best for the industry, and if Sony does not follow then they are anticonsumer.
@ATaco @crashcontrol
They are issuing full refunds as mentioned in the article,
"There are reports of PC users getting full refunds for the game despite having played significantly longer than the two-hour grace period Steam offers."
I am looking forward to the Halo collection. Never played Halo before but I am a big Destiny fan. Would love to see what Bungie was like back in their prime.
The original fans of FF7 just wanted a graphical upgrade with QoL improvements and not this weird Kingdom Hearts-style fan fiction split into 3 parts and spread over a decade and 3 generations of consoles. That is why nobody is buying it. You need to make what your customers want if you want to sell it.
IMO SE needs to return to its roots in the Sakaguchi era of FF. They have been trying so hard to reinvent the wheel and attract new customers since FF13 that they have lost all the FF brand prestige and the majority of their fanbase who supported them while bringing in very few new customers. IMO they need to make a turn-based game in a fantasy setting with a great hero, badass villain, cool party members, hot/cute heroine, beautiful soundtrack, and a romantic but complex story.
Introduce choices and decisions for both the main story and side quests to give players some agency if they want to evolve the series instead of shoving in action combat and a grim depressing story like FF15 and FF16. Cut down the excessive focus on cutting-edge graphics, improve project management, and control their production budget. That is how they can succeed and not lose $140 million. Unfortunately, SE just can't figure out what they are doing wrong and keep spiraling down the drain. There was a time when Squaresoft was considered kings of JRPGS but they forgot their roots and now they have become a shell of their former selves.
@MrGilly69
Many games are better played at the time of their release to be truly appreciated. Playing old games for the first time today is always underwhelming because they are archaic in every way. However, if you played the game at the time of release and loved it then nostalgia will let you enjoy it even 20 years later. Personally, I have never played Fallout 3 but it does look quite ugly and bland. However, I have heard most fans say that the freedom of choice and role-playing potential make it better than FO4.
@Toot1st
The next-gen upgrade was released 3 and a half years into gen so some people are curious if they did a serious upgrade or just the bare minimum. What took them so long? etc. Just like it happened in the case of the Witcher 3 next-gen upgrade. Unfortunately, it seems Bethesda did the bare minimum with no improvement in textures, lighting/ray tracing, assets, draw distance, or foliage density. Just resolution and performance modes were added.
The really need to move on from Destiny 2 now. The game has become a jumbled mess with an incoherent nonsensical story, convoluted progression systems, and more content in the "Vault" than in the actual game itself. Destiny needs a fresh start and if it is going to be an online live service then it needs to be like FF14 RR where you can plan even 10-year-old campaigns and quests. Destiny 3 needs to be a coherent experience from start to finish even if they add new expansions to it just like FF14 RR. And please no more milking, nickel & diming, triple dipping, and egregious mtx.
"I'm glad this site doesn't bring out the incels screaming about this game elsewhere."
But it sure brings out the feminazis, soyboys, beta males, and white knights, doesn't it? On a side note do you even know what incel means? Appreciating and admiring female (or male) beauty in art and media does not make you an "incel". The term incel refers to a person who is unable to get a sexual partner and as a result, holds a grudge and resentment towards both women (for supposedly unjustly denying them sex) and sexually successful males (out of jealousy). They also often advocate celibacy and take pride in it. It is more of a "sour grapes" situation where if you can't have it you claim it sucks and you never wanted it in the first place. Fans of the fanservice games, Stellar Blade, and Shiftup's other games going crazy over Eve in no way fits the definition and characteristics of incels. They love beautiful women whether real or in art.
This was bound to happen. The only way to run your business sustainably is to serve your customers. Make games that people want and love and you will most likely make money and prosper. But all these gamedevs were after the Game pass, Epic, and ESG funds. They thought who cares if the game flopped commercially or gamers hated it. As long as we got bankrolled we are fine. But eventually those funds were going to dry up once the funders lost interest or motivation.
Xbox console is dying and Game pass has stagnated failing to bring in customers. It was a last ditch effort by MS to rejuvenate Xbox but instead they shot themselves in the foot and destroyed their console business by conditioning their customers to not to buy games. Now MS sees no point in throwing more money at Gamepass deals and gamedevs realise that they have neither funds nor customers to rely on. That is what you get for selling your passion and creative independence in return for funds.
I don't believe them. SegaAtlus is one of the greediest companies alongside TecmoKoei. They love to nickel and dime and double dip, triple dip, and quadruple dip their customers. Just look at Persona 5. They release it on PS3, then PS4, then a full priced PS4 Royal edition with no upgrade path, and then finally a full priced PS5 Royal edition with no upgrade path. They shamelessly milked that game dry. I fully expect them to do the same with P3R.
The underwhelming sales are not a result of PS5 exclusivity as some are claiming. These are purely Japanese physical sales and for first the first week only. Xbox is non-existent in Japan and releasing the game on it would have made no difference at all. The Switch is severely underpowered and cannot possibly run the game. Hell, even the PS5 can't run it at 1440p. The only other viable platform left is PC and the PC release is coming in just 3 months IIRC. PS5 exclusivity is a moot point when purely Japanese market is concerned. The actual reason lies elsewhere.
I expected this to happen years ago; that each successive part would sell less than the previous ones because people who did not like the previous one would not buy the next one. The developers first pissed off people by splitting the game into 3 parts releasing over 10 YEARS. Many swore off the game at that very moment. Then FF7 Remake arrived and pissed off a lot of the remaining fans with its alternate timelines, dimensions, whispers, darkness, padding, linearity, and generally Kingdom Hearts-style mumbo jumbo. Many older fans just wanted a graphical update, a refined turn-based battle system, and a more expanded richer world. Not all this alternate timelines clashing BS. No wonder the majority of FF7 Remake players didn't return. Now Square-Enix is left with only a small portion of the fanbase who are willing to wait 10 years for the complete story and like the alternate timeline and time travel nonsense.
@Enuo
I guess the bar has been raised over the past 20 years. We are not comparing the game to the 1997 original or PS2-era games. We are comparing it to modern games like Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, and Spiderman 2. Even the last gen RDR2 looks better than Rebirth which is mind-boggling. The game may be great but the visuals are disappointing. Blurry textures, low unstable (dynamic) resolution, bad lighting, poor shadows, and low geometrical details are all disappointing for a 2024 game running on the latest console hardware. Especially when other games look better on the same hardware. They couldn't even hit a stable 1440p on PS5. How much power do these devs need?
Sony needs to cut down production and marketing costs. We do not need cutting-edge graphics and 5 years of development time for each game. Learn from Nintendo how they invest minimally and reap the maximum rewards. Their games look like PS3 games but they are selling ganbusters. Even their hardware is profitable.
Microsoft is releasing more games on Playstation, especially Bethesda titles but they won't say it yet. They were very afraid of the backlash so they kept beating about the bush and didn't give a straight answer. I am 90% sure that Starfield, Indiana Jones, and other AAA games are coming to PS5 for multiple reasons.
1) First of all, these AAA games take a lot of time and money to make and Gamepass is not enough to recover the costs or make a profit on those games. As MS stated an average Gamepass customer pays only $9.26 per month which is not enough to pay for all the development costs, employee salaries, equipment & infrastructure costs, and marketing costs.
2) Secondly, they spent over $70 billion on acquisitions and they need to recover that $70 billion and also make enough money on top of it for long enough to justify the purchase. They cannot recover their $70 billion by releasing Day 1 and keeping their games exclusive to Game Pass even in the next 50 years if an average Xbox user is paying just $9.26 per month.
3) Third, their hardware business is failing with Series consoles selling worse than last-gen One consoles. They are not making money on consoles and they are not making enough money on software sales with that low installed base, platform exclusivity, and GamePass conditioning Xbox fans to not buy games.
4) The purpose of starting and running a business is to make money. There is no point in keeping games exclusive to Xbox or staying in the home console industry if they cannot make more money than they are spending without siphoning money from other divisions.
In the end, they have no other choice but to release their games on rival platforms IF they want to make money and remain in the gaming industry. However, they cannot say it outright due to fear of backlash from the small but dedicated fanbase. It is clear they are proverbially slowly boiling the frog, getting a foot in the door, or easing it in before shoving it all the way.
Looks kind of rough with the molasses-running animation and PS4-level graphics while running on PS5. But I will keep my fingers crossed. There is a real dearth of space RPGs so I am desperate.
The frame rate still looks bad on next-gen hardware. What is wrong with SE? No amount of console power is ever enough for them. FF7Remake struggling on the PS4 and FF7Reunion is still struggling on the PS5 with five times the power of PS4. The game should be running at 4K and perfectly locked 30 fps at least. Performance mode should be at least 2K at 60fps.
@EchoRange The problem is your definition of "respect" is the only right definition according to you. We too respect women but the definition is different. Things that you may consider disrespectful over there, nobody considers serious over here. Similarly, things that may be considered disrespectful towards women over here may be considered fine over there. Again you are looking at things from across the borders based on how you were raised or your cultural values. You are not familiar with the cultural context and acceptable norms over here. If Muslim women don't mind wearing a Hijab then who are the Western people to tell to them take it off? Similarly, if Japanese women don't mind working as gravure idols or hostesses to serve male customers then who are the Western people to tell them to stop??
@EchoRange
Dude, come on. Not everybody lives according to the Western culture. Why do Western people especially Americans want every country and culture to live by their cultural values and morality? For Western people Japanese are wrong because they depict sexy and beautiful women or depict them as weak and innocent. On the other hand, Muslims are also wrong because they cover up their women too much and don't let them wear bikinis. BUT the current Western values and trends are ALWAYS supposed to be just the right ones for some reason and others should follow them. That is ethnocentrism and cultural imperialism.
Yakuza games are Japanese games and they are based on Japanese culture and that is why people love them. That is what attracted the fanbase since the beginning. The day Yakuza stops being Japanese is the day it will die. Stop shoving your values on every other country and culture.
@Pimpernel
Microsoft is like the Majin Buu from Dragon Ball Z of the gaming world. They are absorbing every other competent fighter (company) just to beat Super Saiyan Goku (Playstation). However, they fail to realize that Majin Buu lost even after absorbing every other good fighter (company). The difference in power (quality) was just so big between them. Just look at the quality of games released by studious bought by MS.
I have hated Microsoft ever since they tried to kill Netscape Communicator. The company has been an anti-competitive bully since the 90s. They have been poisoning the gaming industry ever since they entered it. Now they are going for the kill by buying up publishers like Bethesda/Activision and even looking to buy the legendary Nintendo. All just to kill Playstation and establish a monopoly in the gaming industry and leaving gamers no other choice to play the games they want.
@Kevw2006
You are right. I stand corrected. I forgot $15 was per month price and not annual. 2.9 billion revenue would require around 16.1 million subs as you pointed out. HOWEVER, that is the best-case scenario considering all the $1 subs, upgrades, and conversion shenanigans going on at the time. Very few were actually paying the full $15 for the whole year. Even the articles citing the $2.9 billion number don't know how MS calculated that number and what is included in it. Finally, it is just revenue and without knowing what is cost of operating gamepass, it is meaningless.
@cragis0001
Yes, I found the related articles. Thanks. My math was wrong as well since I think assuming $15 as annual gamepass price instead of monthly.
@Shigurui
"MS are pulling in $3+ billion yearly from Game Pass."
Sure they may have pulled in $2.9 billion REVENUE by January 2021 but as I pointed out you need to subtract the costs to determine the actual profit. Revenue by itself means nothing. What if the cost of running Gamepass is $4 billion per year? They would lose $1 billion annually. Even if the cost is 2.8 billion, they would be making barely $200 million annually which is barely enough to fund one AAA game.
Gaming subscriptions especially with Day 1 releases are just not feasible. Microsoft's peak revenue for Gamepass was just $400 million per month and it has been going down since then. That is just revenue and not profit. You get profit after subtracting all the costs from the revenue. When you subtract all the costs from that $400 million including servers, money paid to developers for putting their games on the service, electricity, employee salaries, rent, interest, marketing, etc., you will most likely be left with nothing.
You just cannot fund AAA gaming with subscription services where a single game can cost up to $200 million. As a result, everything on subscriptions like Gamepass is either old, indies, or mtx-infested live service games. It goes without saying that Starfield is an exception since it was in development long before being bought by MS. Eventually, the customers get tired of the shovelware and start quitting.
@Neptunes
Once again, the year of release is just a number and has got nothing to do with the quality or enjoyment of a game. I just finished Legend of Dragoon a few days ago, a game from 1999 so I have no problem playing old games. It is just a hobby and my life does not revolves around the latest games.
Oh, and how much money we make is not up to us my young friend, or all of us would be billionaires. You still have a lot to learn about life. You will find out one day that no matter how hard you try you will never earn beyond a certain level and you will have to make do with what you have. Anyway, thanks for your good wishes, and good luck to you too on your path to becoming a billionaire and enjoying all the new games on deep discounts.
@Neptunes
Well, a good game is good regardless of the year you buy or play it. I had other games to play in the meantime so I saved a lot of money compared to buying them on Day 1 and putting them in the backlog. And I used the saved money on more important things in life like bills, kids' school books/fees, birthdays, etc. That is called being smart with your money. I don't know at what stage of life you are on but when you have a family to feed and a limited income, you need to be smart with your money especially when it comes to spending on hobbies.
@Neptunes
Which game are you referring to? Just curious. I think there were some pretty good discounts. I bought Fallout 4 GOTY for under 8 GBP, Titanfall 2 Ultimate Edition for 3.5 GBP, Wolfenstein Alt History Collection (4 games in 1) for 12 GBP, and Metro Saga Collection (3 games in 1 with all DLC) for just 7.5 GBP.
Besides, it is up to the publishers/developers how much they want to discount their games; Sony has no say in it. Sony has control over only the first-party games and I agree the discounts have been pretty poor for first-party games. I think the reason for that is they want to push PS Plus Extra. I have been looking to buy Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut for years but it is still so expensive! Makes me want to just upgrade to Extra from Essential.
@KaijuKaiser
The launch sales are great for both games (3.5 mil for FF7R and 3 mil for FF16) but both fell of the cliff once the dedicated fanbase had already purchased the game. I think that is the problem here. The dedicated fanbase is often more forgiving of a game's faults but others are not. Dropping out of Top 10 just after a couple of weeks of launch is not a good sign for FF16, especially considering the amount of time and money spent on its development. It shows that the word of mouth is not very good and the game is failing to attract people other than the hardcore Day 1 fans. On the other GoW Ragnarok is once again back on the charts. FF games need to be good enough to have those kind of legs. Currently they have a narrow appeal and are extremely front loaded in terms of sales.
@Neverwild Different strokes for different folks I guess. I like action combat but not in my FF. I just play DMC or Tales series for action. I can still enjoy turn based. Just finished playing and platinuming the whole Cold Steel series. Playing Legend of Dragoon right now.
Comments 219
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
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Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
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Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
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Re: Report Finds Lack of Star Wars Outlaws Sales Disturbing
Disney and its partners like Ubisoft have ruined Star Wars. Star Wars is no longer about being cool, badass, and heroic. It is about promoting diversity, checking cismale privilege, and advancing "powerful" female characters. Disney has single-handedly destroyed the biggest and most iconic franchise in American culture and history.
On topic, 1 million sales are nothing these days considering AAA videogame game budgets going over $200 million. A game needs to sell at least 3 to 5 million on launch and then sell steadily for the next couple of years to make the devs and publishers money.
Re: Just Three Decisions from Dragon Age: Inquisition Will Carry Over to The Veilguard
This whole game is nothing but watered down, dumbed down, simplified lazy slop designed for the imaginary "modern audience" and the Fortnite crowd.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think of Sony's State of Play for September 2024?
Good show. Ghost of Yotei was amazing! That Nier track was so nostalgic and beautiful. MHW looks amazing. DINO CRISIS! Finally! But I was hoping to see Bluepoint's new IP but it's still missing. No Wolverine or Naughty Dog's new IP either. Maybe a little heavy on remakes and remasters. Great show.
Re: PlayStation Studios' Bluepoint Games Still Working on Its Mysterious 'Original Title'
"Everything takes time."
These days every game takes too much time and it has gotten frustrating. A game should not take more than a whole console generation to finish! That is ridiculous. Most of the games that were announced at or around the launch of Xbox Series/PS5 consoles are still under development! Many Sony First Party studios are MIA and just won't announce what they are working on.
SE won't announce FF9 Remake even though it was leaked years ago and is consistently being worked upon. Dragon Quest XII was never heard from again after they revealed the logo years ago. Bethesda hasn't released an Elder Scrolls mainline game in 13 years! FF7 Trilogy is getting a single game for each console generation! It will likely take 12 to 15 years to finish the trilogy! Why are these devs wasting so much time and money on each game?? It only leads to ridiculous sales targets to cover the costs and makes it more likely for the game to fail commercially.
Re: Final Fantasy Creator's Mobile RPG Fantasian Is Journeying to PS5, PS4 This Year
I am definitely going to buy this inshAllah! Love Sakaguchi era FF games and IMO FFX was the last true FF game. Played FF12, 13, and 15 but nothing hits the same as classic Sakaguchi FF games.
Re: Poll: So, What Are Your Thoughts on Dragon Age: The Veilguard?
Looks watered down, repetitive, shallow, and woke. I wish they would remaster Dragon Age Origins and maybe Dragon Age II too.
Re: Reaction: PS5 Livestreams Are No Longer Speaking to the Fans Who Built the Brand
It was very disappointing. No PS5 Pro, no new AAA first-party exclusives, no fan-requested remakes like Legend of Dragoon, no surprises, and no bombshells. I miss the E3 days when Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo were constantly trying to outdo each other, steal the media spotlight, and woo us customers. These days everybody is just on cruise control and taking it easy.
Re: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Swings 11 Million Sales as Sony Calls PS5 Exclusive a 'Great Success'
Dont like the second game but congrats to Sony on reaching the milestone.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 529
SMT3 Nocturne
Re: A Lot of PS4 Owners Have Yet to Upgrade to PS5
This gen must play games has been few but prices have been high. Console prices are no longer falling even with the Slim version. Instead, Sony increased the price by $50. With the ever-increasing inflation, growing household expenses, higher prices for games, and personal financial instability I just haven't been able to afford a PS5. I am still on my PS4 even though I have bought a Playstation console each gen since the PS1.
Re: Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Fail to Meet Expectations on PS5
They (SE) can try their multiplatform approach but the result will be the same. Their games can't run on Nintendo Switch and Xbox gamers don't even buy games anymore especially JRPGs. Just compare the sales of all the multiplatform SE games. In the end, the majority of their sales will come from PlayStation and PC just like now. And they will wonder why their sales didn't triple with two more platforms. The problem lies elsewhere.
The problem is that their games are often terrible, sometimes great, but mostly middling. They cannot seem to evolve their games in the right direction even though they want to. They have developed tunnel vision where they have become fixated/obsessed with cutting-edge visuals and action combat. Those are NOT the things that make a great RPG.
RPGs need great writing in terms of both story and characters. They need a great soundtrack to make them pleasant to play and remember even after you turn them off. They need character and gear customization with build potential so players can play how they want (stealth, magic, physical, ailments, etc). They need fun, engaging, and rewarding side quests and activities that people can lose themselves in for hours willingly. Finally, they need some kind of player agency and choices when it comes to moral/ethical choices, important plot points, and fates of characters. Why can't SE figure this out is beyond me.
Re: Square Enix to 'Aggressively' Pursue Multiplatform Strategy from Now On
They (SE) can try but the result will be the same. Their games cant run on Nintendo Switch and Xbox gamers don't even buy games anymore especially JRPGs. Just compare the sales of all the multiplatform SE games. In the end, the majority of their sales will come from PlayStation and PC just like now. And they will wonder why didn't their sales triple with two more platforms. The problem lies elsewhere.
The problem is that their games are often terrible, sometimes great, but mostly middling. They just cannot seem to evolve their games in the right direction even though they want to. They have developed tunnel vision where they have become fixated/obsessed with cutting-edge visuals and action combat. Those are NOT the things that make a great RPG.
RPGs need great writing in terms of both story and characters. They need a great soundtrack to make them pleasant to play and remember even after you turn them off. They need character and gear customization with build potential so players can play how they want (stealth, magic, physical, ailments, etc). They need fun, engaging, and rewarding side quests and activities that people can lose themselves in for hours willingly. Finally, they need some kind of player agency and choices when it comes to moral/ethical choices, important plot points, and fates of characters. Why cant SE figure this out is beyond me.
Re: PS5 Sales Reach 59.3 Million as Sony Falls Just Short of Fiscal Year Forecast
@Godot25
It is still in the ballpark of PS4. Half a million or a million more or less doesn't make a difference. Surpassing the PS4 would have been nice but no product or service can continue to grow eternally. As as long as it is successful business can go on happily. However, if the sales had crashed like Xbox One/Series X compared to 360 or Wii U compared to Wii then that would have been worrying.
Re: More Xbox Layoffs Reportedly Inbound as Company Attempts to Cut Costs
@RobN
Well, you are definitely correct but ofcourse I didn't mean a couple of million literally. It was a figure of speech. I meant that if they were able to create good games with a limited budget in the past then they can do so today too. They don't need to spend $300 million per game. They can limit their budget to under $100 million or even $50 million and still make great games.
Re: Founders, Long-Time Employees Reportedly Say Xbox Now Effectively Microsoft Gaming
@Fuzzymonkeyfunk
I see. I think the change in leadership to Jim Ryan disrupted Sony's game development pipeline. Ryan wanted his own liveservice money printing machine like Fortnite so he bought Bungie and put Naughty Dog on development of a live service Factions game for years. He also acquired and ordered several other studios to develop live-service games. However, most of Sony's first-party studios are single-player game developers and have little experience with live-service monetization, multiplayer balancing, or networking. They wasted years without producing anything until finally Jim Ryan's departure. Factions and several other live-service projects were canceled. Naughty Dog was freed and they immediately went back to developing their traditional single-player games. I believe that is why Naughty Dog hasn't been able to release anything this gen yet. I think they will be back on track soon now that Jim Ryan is gone.
Re: Founders, Long-Time Employees Reportedly Say Xbox Now Effectively Microsoft Gaming
@Fuzzymonkeyfunk
When you say "big-headed" what exactly are you referring to? Just curious about which actions, behaviors, or decisions are you talking about. Japanese culture is generally very humble and so are their business executives who constantly bow down and act reserved in public.
Re: More Xbox Layoffs Reportedly Inbound as Company Attempts to Cut Costs
@trev666
Agreed. They really need to get their ambitions and costs under control. If they could make great games during the PS1 and PS2 era with barely a couple of million then they can do so today too. They just need to cut down their emphasis on cutting-edge graphics and multimillion marketing campaigns and focus more on passion and creativity.
Re: Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, More Closed in Brutal Bethesda Restructure
Everybody knew this would happen except for Xbox fans. They argued that acquisition by MS would provide the studios with stability and abundant funding so they could make the best games possible. But this is the truth; MS is the destroyer of developers and console gaming. MS is killing the console gaming industry with their monopolistic and underhanded tactics. They can't win so they are burning everything down.
They buy up all the studios and then shutter them down. They try to change the tried and tested business model of producing and selling quality finished games to a subscription model filled with MTX-infested unfinished subpar live-service games. All the while they use the media to convince people that no matter what they do, it is always best for the industry, and if Sony does not follow then they are anticonsumer.
Re: Sony Doubles Down on Helldivers 2 PSN Requirement by Taking It Off Sale for PC in Numerous Countries
@ATaco @crashcontrol
They are issuing full refunds as mentioned in the article,
"There are reports of PC users getting full refunds for the game despite having played significantly longer than the two-hour grace period Steam offers."
Re: Many, Many More Xbox Ports Plotted for PS5, New Speculation Suggests
I am looking forward to the Halo collection. Never played Halo before but I am a big Destiny fan. Would love to see what Bungie was like back in their prime.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Sales Remain Muted in the USA, Compared to Past Games
The original fans of FF7 just wanted a graphical upgrade with QoL improvements and not this weird Kingdom Hearts-style fan fiction split into 3 parts and spread over a decade and 3 generations of consoles. That is why nobody is buying it. You need to make what your customers want if you want to sell it.
IMO SE needs to return to its roots in the Sakaguchi era of FF. They have been trying so hard to reinvent the wheel and attract new customers since FF13 that they have lost all the FF brand prestige and the majority of their fanbase who supported them while bringing in very few new customers. IMO they need to make a turn-based game in a fantasy setting with a great hero, badass villain, cool party members, hot/cute heroine, beautiful soundtrack, and a romantic but complex story.
Introduce choices and decisions for both the main story and side quests to give players some agency if they want to evolve the series instead of shoving in action combat and a grim depressing story like FF15 and FF16. Cut down the excessive focus on cutting-edge graphics, improve project management, and control their production budget. That is how they can succeed and not lose $140 million. Unfortunately, SE just can't figure out what they are doing wrong and keep spiraling down the drain. There was a time when Squaresoft was considered kings of JRPGS but they forgot their roots and now they have become a shell of their former selves.
Re: Fallout 4 (PS5) - Timeless Gameplay Loop Stuck in an Outdated RPG
@MrGilly69
Many games are better played at the time of their release to be truly appreciated. Playing old games for the first time today is always underwhelming because they are archaic in every way. However, if you played the game at the time of release and loved it then nostalgia will let you enjoy it even 20 years later. Personally, I have never played Fallout 3 but it does look quite ugly and bland. However, I have heard most fans say that the freedom of choice and role-playing potential make it better than FO4.
@Toot1st
The next-gen upgrade was released 3 and a half years into gen so some people are curious if they did a serious upgrade or just the bare minimum. What took them so long? etc. Just like it happened in the case of the Witcher 3 next-gen upgrade. Unfortunately, it seems Bethesda did the bare minimum with no improvement in textures, lighting/ray tracing, assets, draw distance, or foliage density. Just resolution and performance modes were added.
Re: Bungie Might Be Making Destiny 3, Its Fanbase Speculates
The really need to move on from Destiny 2 now. The game has become a jumbled mess with an incoherent nonsensical story, convoluted progression systems, and more content in the "Vault" than in the actual game itself. Destiny needs a fresh start and if it is going to be an online live service then it needs to be like FF14 RR where you can plan even 10-year-old campaigns and quests. Destiny 3 needs to be a coherent experience from start to finish even if they add new expansions to it just like FF14 RR. And please no more milking, nickel & diming, triple dipping, and egregious mtx.
Re: Sony Hires Superstar Korean Cheerleader to Cosplay as Stellar Blade's Eve
Removed
Re: Sony Hires Superstar Korean Cheerleader to Cosplay as Stellar Blade's Eve
@LikelySatan
"I'm glad this site doesn't bring out the incels screaming about this game elsewhere."
But it sure brings out the feminazis, soyboys, beta males, and white knights, doesn't it? On a side note do you even know what incel means? Appreciating and admiring female (or male) beauty in art and media does not make you an "incel". The term incel refers to a person who is unable to get a sexual partner and as a result, holds a grudge and resentment towards both women (for supposedly unjustly denying them sex) and sexually successful males (out of jealousy). They also often advocate celibacy and take pride in it. It is more of a "sour grapes" situation where if you can't have it you claim it sucks and you never wanted it in the first place. Fans of the fanservice games, Stellar Blade, and Shiftup's other games going crazy over Eve in no way fits the definition and characteristics of incels. They love beautiful women whether real or in art.
Re: Game Pass Woes for Indie Devs as Microsoft, Epic Funding Reportedly Drying Up
This was bound to happen. The only way to run your business sustainably is to serve your customers. Make games that people want and love and you will most likely make money and prosper. But all these gamedevs were after the Game pass, Epic, and ESG funds. They thought who cares if the game flopped commercially or gamers hated it. As long as we got bankrolled we are fine. But eventually those funds were going to dry up once the funders lost interest or motivation.
Xbox console is dying and Game pass has stagnated failing to bring in customers. It was a last ditch effort by MS to rejuvenate Xbox but instead they shot themselves in the foot and destroyed their console business by conditioning their customers to not to buy games. Now MS sees no point in throwing more money at Gamepass deals and gamedevs realise that they have neither funds nor customers to rely on. That is what you get for selling your passion and creative independence in return for funds.
Re: Persona 3 Reload's Episode Aigis DLC Was Dropped from the Base Game Due to Development Difficulties
I don't believe them. SegaAtlus is one of the greediest companies alongside TecmoKoei. They love to nickel and dime and double dip, triple dip, and quadruple dip their customers. Just look at Persona 5. They release it on PS3, then PS4, then a full priced PS4 Royal edition with no upgrade path, and then finally a full priced PS5 Royal edition with no upgrade path. They shamelessly milked that game dry. I fully expect them to do the same with P3R.
Re: Japan Sales Charts: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Tops, But Doesn't Even Come Close to Remake
The underwhelming sales are not a result of PS5 exclusivity as some are claiming. These are purely Japanese physical sales and for first the first week only. Xbox is non-existent in Japan and releasing the game on it would have made no difference at all. The Switch is severely underpowered and cannot possibly run the game. Hell, even the PS5 can't run it at 1440p. The only other viable platform left is PC and the PC release is coming in just 3 months IIRC. PS5 exclusivity is a moot point when purely Japanese market is concerned. The actual reason lies elsewhere.
I expected this to happen years ago; that each successive part would sell less than the previous ones because people who did not like the previous one would not buy the next one. The developers first pissed off people by splitting the game into 3 parts releasing over 10 YEARS. Many swore off the game at that very moment. Then FF7 Remake arrived and pissed off a lot of the remaining fans with its alternate timelines, dimensions, whispers, darkness, padding, linearity, and generally Kingdom Hearts-style mumbo jumbo. Many older fans just wanted a graphical update, a refined turn-based battle system, and a more expanded richer world. Not all this alternate timelines clashing BS. No wonder the majority of FF7 Remake players didn't return. Now Square-Enix is left with only a small portion of the fanbase who are willing to wait 10 years for the complete story and like the alternate timeline and time travel nonsense.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Graphical Problems Are Clear in Digital Foundry Report
@Enuo
I guess the bar has been raised over the past 20 years. We are not comparing the game to the 1997 original or PS2-era games. We are comparing it to modern games like Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, and Spiderman 2. Even the last gen RDR2 looks better than Rebirth which is mind-boggling. The game may be great but the visuals are disappointing. Blurry textures, low unstable (dynamic) resolution, bad lighting, poor shadows, and low geometrical details are all disappointing for a 2024 game running on the latest console hardware. Especially when other games look better on the same hardware. They couldn't even hit a stable 1440p on PS5. How much power do these devs need?
Re: Reaction: The Problem with PlayStation Right Now
Sony needs to cut down production and marketing costs. We do not need cutting-edge graphics and 5 years of development time for each game. Learn from Nintendo how they invest minimally and reap the maximum rewards. Their games look like PS3 games but they are selling ganbusters. Even their hardware is profitable.
Re: Reaction: Xbox Is Bringing Some Great Games to PS5, But Rumours Will Remain Rampant About What's Next
Microsoft is releasing more games on Playstation, especially Bethesda titles but they won't say it yet. They were very afraid of the backlash so they kept beating about the bush and didn't give a straight answer. I am 90% sure that Starfield, Indiana Jones, and other AAA games are coming to PS5 for multiple reasons.
1) First of all, these AAA games take a lot of time and money to make and Gamepass is not enough to recover the costs or make a profit on those games. As MS stated an average Gamepass customer pays only $9.26 per month which is not enough to pay for all the development costs, employee salaries, equipment & infrastructure costs, and marketing costs.
2) Secondly, they spent over $70 billion on acquisitions and they need to recover that $70 billion and also make enough money on top of it for long enough to justify the purchase. They cannot recover their $70 billion by releasing Day 1 and keeping their games exclusive to Game Pass even in the next 50 years if an average Xbox user is paying just $9.26 per month.
3) Third, their hardware business is failing with Series consoles selling worse than last-gen One consoles. They are not making money on consoles and they are not making enough money on software sales with that low installed base, platform exclusivity, and GamePass conditioning Xbox fans to not buy games.
4) The purpose of starting and running a business is to make money. There is no point in keeping games exclusive to Xbox or staying in the home console industry if they cannot make more money than they are spending without siphoning money from other divisions.
In the end, they have no other choice but to release their games on rival platforms IF they want to make money and remain in the gaming industry. However, they cannot say it outright due to fear of backlash from the small but dedicated fanbase. It is clear they are proverbially slowly boiling the frog, getting a foot in the door, or easing it in before shoving it all the way.
Re: Sci-fi RPG Exodus Looks Alright, Alright, Alright on PS5
Looks kind of rough with the molasses-running animation and PS4-level graphics while running on PS5. But I will keep my fingers crossed. There is a real dearth of space RPGs so I am desperate.
Re: UK Sales Charts: Hogwarts Legacy Apparates Back to the Top Spot
This game is unstoppable. It just keeps selling.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Gets Over 30 Minutes of Open Area PS5 Gameplay
The frame rate still looks bad on next-gen hardware. What is wrong with SE? No amount of console power is ever enough for them. FF7Remake struggling on the PS4 and FF7Reunion is still struggling on the PS5 with five times the power of PS4. The game should be running at 4K and perfectly locked 30 fps at least. Performance mode should be at least 2K at 60fps.
Re: Preview: Like a Dragon, SEGA's Once Embattled Yakuza Series, Has Never Been Better
@EchoRange The problem is your definition of "respect" is the only right definition according to you. We too respect women but the definition is different. Things that you may consider disrespectful over there, nobody considers serious over here. Similarly, things that may be considered disrespectful towards women over here may be considered fine over there. Again you are looking at things from across the borders based on how you were raised or your cultural values. You are not familiar with the cultural context and acceptable norms over here. If Muslim women don't mind wearing a Hijab then who are the Western people to tell to them take it off? Similarly, if Japanese women don't mind working as gravure idols or hostesses to serve male customers then who are the Western people to tell them to stop??
Re: Preview: Like a Dragon, SEGA's Once Embattled Yakuza Series, Has Never Been Better
@EchoRange
Dude, come on. Not everybody lives according to the Western culture. Why do Western people especially Americans want every country and culture to live by their cultural values and morality? For Western people Japanese are wrong because they depict sexy and beautiful women or depict them as weak and innocent. On the other hand, Muslims are also wrong because they cover up their women too much and don't let them wear bikinis. BUT the current Western values and trends are ALWAYS supposed to be just the right ones for some reason and others should follow them. That is ethnocentrism and cultural imperialism.
Yakuza games are Japanese games and they are based on Japanese culture and that is why people love them. That is what attracted the fanbase since the beginning. The day Yakuza stops being Japanese is the day it will die. Stop shoving your values on every other country and culture.
Re: Xbox Almost Flashed Its Cash At Warner Bros, Sees Nintendo As the Holy Grail
@Pimpernel
Microsoft is like the Majin Buu from Dragon Ball Z of the gaming world. They are absorbing every other competent fighter (company) just to beat Super Saiyan Goku (Playstation). However, they fail to realize that Majin Buu lost even after absorbing every other good fighter (company). The difference in power (quality) was just so big between them. Just look at the quality of games released by studious bought by MS.
Re: Xbox Almost Flashed Its Cash At Warner Bros, Sees Nintendo As the Holy Grail
I have hated Microsoft ever since they tried to kill Netscape Communicator. The company has been an anti-competitive bully since the 90s. They have been poisoning the gaming industry ever since they entered it. Now they are going for the kill by buying up publishers like Bethesda/Activision and even looking to buy the legendary Nintendo. All just to kill Playstation and establish a monopoly in the gaming industry and leaving gamers no other choice to play the games they want.
Re: PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Spending Has Completely Plateaued in USA
@Kevw2006
You are right. I stand corrected. I forgot $15 was per month price and not annual. 2.9 billion revenue would require around 16.1 million subs as you pointed out. HOWEVER, that is the best-case scenario considering all the $1 subs, upgrades, and conversion shenanigans going on at the time. Very few were actually paying the full $15 for the whole year. Even the articles citing the $2.9 billion number don't know how MS calculated that number and what is included in it. Finally, it is just revenue and without knowing what is cost of operating gamepass, it is meaningless.
Re: PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Spending Has Completely Plateaued in USA
@cragis0001
Yes, I found the related articles. Thanks. My math was wrong as well since I think assuming $15 as annual gamepass price instead of monthly.
Re: PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Spending Has Completely Plateaued in USA
@Shigurui
"MS are pulling in $3+ billion yearly from Game Pass."
Sure they may have pulled in $2.9 billion REVENUE by January 2021 but as I pointed out you need to subtract the costs to determine the actual profit. Revenue by itself means nothing. What if the cost of running Gamepass is $4 billion per year? They would lose $1 billion annually. Even if the cost is 2.8 billion, they would be making barely $200 million annually which is barely enough to fund one AAA game.
Re: PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Spending Has Completely Plateaued in USA
Gaming subscriptions especially with Day 1 releases are just not feasible. Microsoft's peak revenue for Gamepass was just $400 million per month and it has been going down since then. That is just revenue and not profit. You get profit after subtracting all the costs from the revenue. When you subtract all the costs from that $400 million including servers, money paid to developers for putting their games on the service, electricity, employee salaries, rent, interest, marketing, etc., you will most likely be left with nothing.
You just cannot fund AAA gaming with subscription services where a single game can cost up to $200 million. As a result, everything on subscriptions like Gamepass is either old, indies, or mtx-infested live service games. It goes without saying that Starfield is an exception since it was in development long before being bought by MS. Eventually, the customers get tired of the shovelware and start quitting.
Re: PS5, PS4's Sizzling Summer Sale Adds Over 2,000 Discounts
@Neptunes
Once again, the year of release is just a number and has got nothing to do with the quality or enjoyment of a game. I just finished Legend of Dragoon a few days ago, a game from 1999 so I have no problem playing old games. It is just a hobby and my life does not revolves around the latest games.
Oh, and how much money we make is not up to us my young friend, or all of us would be billionaires. You still have a lot to learn about life. You will find out one day that no matter how hard you try you will never earn beyond a certain level and you will have to make do with what you have. Anyway, thanks for your good wishes, and good luck to you too on your path to becoming a billionaire and enjoying all the new games on deep discounts.
Re: PS5, PS4's Sizzling Summer Sale Adds Over 2,000 Discounts
@Neptunes
Well, a good game is good regardless of the year you buy or play it. I had other games to play in the meantime so I saved a lot of money compared to buying them on Day 1 and putting them in the backlog. And I used the saved money on more important things in life like bills, kids' school books/fees, birthdays, etc. That is called being smart with your money. I don't know at what stage of life you are on but when you have a family to feed and a limited income, you need to be smart with your money especially when it comes to spending on hobbies.
Re: PS5, PS4's Sizzling Summer Sale Adds Over 2,000 Discounts
@Neptunes
Which game are you referring to? Just curious. I think there were some pretty good discounts. I bought Fallout 4 GOTY for under 8 GBP, Titanfall 2 Ultimate Edition for 3.5 GBP, Wolfenstein Alt History Collection (4 games in 1) for 12 GBP, and Metro Saga Collection (3 games in 1 with all DLC) for just 7.5 GBP.
Besides, it is up to the publishers/developers how much they want to discount their games; Sony has no say in it. Sony has control over only the first-party games and I agree the discounts have been pretty poor for first-party games. I think the reason for that is they want to push PS Plus Extra. I have been looking to buy Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut for years but it is still so expensive! Makes me want to just upgrade to Extra from Essential.
Re: UK Sales Charts: Final Fantasy 16 Sales Way Down, Out of the Top 10
@KaijuKaiser
The launch sales are great for both games (3.5 mil for FF7R and 3 mil for FF16) but both fell of the cliff once the dedicated fanbase had already purchased the game. I think that is the problem here. The dedicated fanbase is often more forgiving of a game's faults but others are not. Dropping out of Top 10 just after a couple of weeks of launch is not a good sign for FF16, especially considering the amount of time and money spent on its development. It shows that the word of mouth is not very good and the game is failing to attract people other than the hardcore Day 1 fans. On the other GoW Ragnarok is once again back on the charts. FF games need to be good enough to have those kind of legs. Currently they have a narrow appeal and are extremely front loaded in terms of sales.
Re: Even with Final Fantasy 16, PS5 Can't Outsell Switch in Japan
@Neverwild
Different strokes for different folks I guess. I like action combat but not in my FF. I just play DMC or Tales series for action. I can still enjoy turn based. Just finished playing and platinuming the whole Cold Steel series. Playing Legend of Dragoon right now.