End our suffering and make it one more season instead of two. Spoken as someone who is very critical of Last of Us Part 2, the poor writing in season 2 actually made me appreciate the game more.
Then again, after enduring season 2, I have no interest in continuing to watch the show. Doesn't matter if it's one more season or two, I'm out.
@awp69 Even if only 10% of the layoffs are related to the Xbox gaming division, we're still looking at 1000 developers without a job. I doubt the already mentioned cuts at Rare, King, and Zenimax account for all of it. Wouldn't be surprised if Ninja Theory and Compulsion are affected in a major way, too. The news is coming in hot and fast, so it won't be long until we find out.
Was Days Gone 2 truly such a bad idea, Sony? Even if the profit wouldn't have been mind-blowing, A PROFIT is still better than no profit at all and a wasted first-party studio.
A Days Gone 2 from Sony Bend and a Bloodborne Remake from Bluepoint would have added two desperately needed first-party exclusives, and dare I say, both of them would have made a lot of profit. Maybe not Fortnite-levels of profit, but a worthwhile investment nonetheless.
This is PS5-era Playstation. Of course there is nothing. Everyone hoping for a major showcase must have forgotten about the abysmal 2023 showcase and the total lack of one last year.
We can expect an old-school Playstation showcase whenever it's time to promote the PS6, no earlier.
@piratemajima
Whether or not you can play Nightreign / Duskbloods alone doesn't change the core of my argument. Even if you play Nightreign alone, the game design is still geared towards a multiplayer experience. No one can seriously argue that the experience of games like Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, etc. and Nightreign are even remotely the same.
Running away from a PUBG battle royale circle while speedrunning through bosses is not why I fell in love with FromSoftware, and it goes against the game design principles I once loved about their games. Whether or not I can do it alone or with other players doesn't change the fundamentally different experience games like Nightreign and Duskbloods are compared to the previous titles.
I don't begrudge anyone who enjoys Fromsoft's multiplayer-centric games, but it isn't my cup of tea. I'm still waiting for Miyazaki's next big Souls title. Duskbloods certainly doesn't scratch that itch.
@piratemajima There is a massive difference between a game with multiplayer components and a multiplayer-centric game. Elden Ring and Nightreign aren't even remotely the same regarding player experience. All FromSoftware Souls titles had multiplayer components, but if Duskbloods is more similar to Nightreign it will turn off a certain percentage of fans.
Mulitplayer-centric again? And it's only available on one platform? Not only that, but the trailer had a weak first showingânothing that made me particularly excited as a FromSoftware fan.
I sincerely hope Duskbloods isn't the "next big thing" after Elden Ring. Myazaki said directing responsibilities for future Souls-like games would be passed on to other studio members. So far, we have gotten a generic Elden Ring battle royale and now another multiplayer title in Duskbloods.
Ever since the release of Elden Ring, I have been worried about the future direction of my favorite game developer. Some of their game design decisions are questionable, to say the least.
@dskatter Lol, you're spot on. Just take this comment as an example:
"Iâll just say it - ranking it below an â8â means youâreâŚ
1) not a fan of the RPG AC formula (which is completely fair!)
Or
2) youâre faaaar too invested into the culture wars / faux outrage âwokeâ and all that static"
Sad and predictable. I'm not a fan of culture war nonsense on both sides of the political spectrum. Since I gave it a 5/10 I just have to be an anti-woke grifter or I was never invested in the AC formula. Apparently, there's no other way to evaluate a game.
This comments section is weird sometimes.
Most obvious 5 or 6 out of 10 I've played in a while.
It's just as far removed from "the worst game ever made" , as some people want to make you believe, as it is from an excellent game. It's woefully average in almost everything it does.
Doesn't make sense to give a game like AC Shadows a 9 or 10/10. That should only be reserved for some of the best games ever made.
I can see the score being higher if you're evaluating the game only in the context of other AC games though.
We all know the whole slate is coming to PS5 sooner or later. We went from "it's just four games" to Xbox becoming a full-fledged third-party publisher in less than a year.
Confirmed releases:
Indiana Jones & the Great Circle Forza Horizon 5 Doom the Dark Ages Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Age of Mythology: Retold Outer Worlds 2
There's a good chance Master Chief Collection, Fable, Hellblade 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and the rumored Gears trilogy will also be included in this list. The floodgates are wide open.
@MrMagic I wouldn't be surprised if Astro continues to have decent sales for many more years. Veilguard is as good as dead. I'm not sure how much longer Bioware can survive.
After three months, 1.5 million "engaged" players are a pathetic number for a franchise as popular as Dragon Age. Astrobot sold 1.5 million copies in a shorter period and significantly less development costs. If I remember correctly, Team Asobi has around 60 employees. The studio behind DAV is a team of 250-300 people and the budget must've been at least four times higher than the development costs of a game like Astrobot.
@LogicStrikesAgain And how are they supposed to match the first-party output of the PS4 generation when two of their most important studios are already out of the race completely? We won't get anything from Bend or Bluepoint.
Naughty Dog will develop half the amount of games they released last generation, Sucker Punch releases one game instead of 2, Haven Studios is almost guaranteed to join the ranks of Firewalk, and Media Molecule will release one game before the generation ends if we're lucky.
The math just doesn't add up. The second half of the PS5 generation won't match the PS4. That doesn't mean I'm not excited for the few first-party games yet to come. For all their mismanagement, at least the exclusives they do release still maintain a high-quality bar.
As far as second-party is concerned, they've been doing a great job. That's the one department they didn't mess up. In fact, 2024 has been carried by second-party exclusives:
FF7 Rebirth
Helldivers 2
Rise of the Ronin
Stellar Blade
@LogicStrikesAgain Ok, how about this then: Sony's first-party management this generation is utter trash. They wasted half of their studios, burned ungodly amounts of financial resources for limited to no returns, and consistently ignored the wishes of fans.
Maybe they released fewer exclusives during the PS1 and PS2 era, I have no idea. But compared to PS3 and PS4 this is a dumpster fire. Concord was the most embarrassing and expensive mistake PlayStation has ever made in terms of game development. They have wasted decades-worth of development time and billions of dollars.
No matter how you look at it, this is really really bad. And we're not even out of the woods yet. Haven Studios is next on the chopping block and Media Molecule would be lucky to survive this generation.
@LogicStrikesAgain I never said they didn't release any first-party games this generation. Compared to the last two console generations the PS5 is an absolute disaster in terms of first-party output. Why would you go back all the way to the PS2 and PS1? Why not measure their success on the previous console generation?
And Helldivers is not a first-party title. If we include second-party output the PS5 looks even worse compared to PS4 and PS3.
This has to be the worst Playstation console generation in terms of first-party output.
Naughty Dog: Ramake + New IP (2 games) Media Molecule: One game if we're lucky Bend: Nothing Bluepoint: Demon's Souls Remake (1 game) Firewalk: Biggest joke in gaming history Haven Studious: Soon to join Firewalk
Yes, games have longer development cycles nowadays but this abysmal output is clearly the result of mismanagement on a scale we haven't seen from Sony in a long while. And what makes all of this even worse is that I'm not even sure Sony will learn anything from this disaster.
For the love of God, tell Bluepoint to work on a Bloodborne Remake and allow Bend to work on a single-player IP. We're approaching Xbox-level mismanagement.
Genuine question: Did Sony's first-party cancel more games than they developed this gen? I can't keep track anymore.
@DennisReynolds If you are referring to the original meaning of the term "woke" as it existed in the 1930s, yes. Nowadays woke means something different for most people due to the insane political discourse on social media. I think both sides of the political spectrum have made the word utterly meaningless.
Unless I'm missing something this article is disingenuous. Naughty Dog turned off the comments preemptively. They didn't turn off the comments section in response to nasty discourse since no one even knew what Intergalactic was when they uploaded the trailer. Doesn't change the fact that discourse surrounding this game is toxic though. Still, one would think fact-based reporting is important regardless.
So what happened to the supposed "Xbox tax"? I was told no Xbox first-party game would ever get high review scores because of a worldwide conspiracy against the Xbox brand.
Everyone who believes making Concord free-to-play will turn this IP profitable is beyond hope. This is not any failure, it's one of the most spectacular failures in gaming history. The data is crystal-clear: No one wants this.
@danzoEX Inaccurate. We played the game because it has a great combat system, fantastic boss design and a killer soundtrack. The arse shots are just an added bonus. And you do not need to play the game since it's already a huge financial hit for the developer with or without your purchase.
I'm not expecting much from PlayStation these days. The worst E3 conference during the PS4 era was still better than the May 2023 "showcase", if you can call it that. At least they're labelling it as a State of Play to keep expectations in check.
This is terrifying information. You can't expect a publisher operating on PlayStation's scale to ensure that every single first- and second-party project will be a financial and critical hit. That's simply unrealistic. But PlayStation came pretty damn close to it during the PS4 era. Major economic and critical failures were rare.
But ever since Jim Ryan's misguided gaas initiative PlayStation has been getting close to Xbox-level mismanagement.
Last of Us Multiplayer - cancelled
London Studio - project cancelled and studio shut-down
Twisted Metal - cancelled
Bungie - 3.6 billion to buy a severely mismanaged studio
Concord - 400 million down the drain, studio closure likely
I sincerely hope they learned from this. Fingers crossed.
"is barely hitting 20,000 concurrent players across all platforms"
Concord would be begging for these numbers despite being released little more than a week ago. It truly puts into perspective just how dramatically this game bombed.
@Northern_munkey I specifically stated that this issue has nothing to do with politics. I was referring to naruball's comment:
"For some people, being upset over things is a way of life"
This sentence summarizes the mindset of culture warriors. That's all I was pointing out. I'm perfectly aware that the Helldivers situation has nothing to do with culture wars.
@naruball Woke and anti-woke culture warriors in a nutshell. I'm almost happy whenever I see people freaking out over PSN account requirements. It's just as petty, but at least politics aren't involved.
@itsfoz Never say never but I highly doubt that'll be the case. PlayStation makes most of its revenue from a la carte game sales, be it physical or digital. Most of Xbox's current troubles stem from a customer base hooked on Game Pass. Since the subscription numbers have completely flatlined and Microsoft is nowhere near their intended target for Game Pass subscribers, it doesn't exactly feel like you're doing yourself any favors by allowing the service on your platform.
@MrMagic I'd argue this is still the best approach when it comes to acquisitions. Sony have always tried to grow their first-party network organically by acquiring long-standing second-party studios with a great track record (e. g. Insomniac, Bluepoint, Housemarque, etc.). Bungie is a major pivot from their tried and true strategy and it's already causing them a ton of trouble.
@UltimateOtaku91 That line threw me off as well. Arrowhead is not a PlayStation first-party studio but if the early success of Helldivers 2 is any indication, they must be high on Sony's list of potential acquisitions.
@Ultrasmiles I highly doubt it. Where there's smoke there's fire. Around two dozen reliable industry insiders have pretty much confirmed major Xbox exclusives are coming to PlayStation.
@LtSarge I've had the exact same thought. I wholeheartedly believe the gaming market will turn into a quasi-monopoly under Microsoft, not as a console manufacturer but as a third-party publisher. Dropping out of the console race entirely would pretty much ensure that they can buy another slew of publishers to unite the vast majority of IP under their banner.
@DennisReynolds Prove to me right now in what way Critical Drinker is a confirmed FAR-RIGHT INCEL. I'm sure your definition of these terms is perfectly reasonable and not viewed through an extremely biased, radical political lens. cough sarcasm cough
@UltimateOtaku91 This argument would carry more weight if Sony still delivered satisfying showcases with a focus on first-party titles but they don't even do that. Their last showcase featured two meaningless CGI trailers from studios without a proven track record after 18 months of radio silence. Even their worst E3 conferences featured more first-party content than the last showcase.
I don't think fans had unreasonable expectations. We wanted to get excited about the future of PlayStation first-party titles, yet all we hear about are cancelations, development issues, etc.
Not every showcase can be as impressive as the E3 2016 conference and sometimes you have to skip a year because you don't have enough material to justify a showcase. Perfectly understandable. But if you're announcing the first major showcase after 18 months of silence you better make sure it hits the mark.
@AlexPorto Same. The last "Playstation" showcase killed my excitement for any future showcase. And I'm putting PlayStation in quotation marks because it barely featured any meaningful first-party titles. Of course, I don't expect a major blowout from a State of Play but their silence and lack of transparency don't allow me to feel the tiniest bit of hype anymore.
@LifeGirl Couldn't agree more. This comments section is already filled with one-sided viewpoints. Not everyone who disliked Mary Jane's design in Spider-Man 2 is a die-hard misogynist.
If anything, seeing the real-life model behind the video game character makes unmistakably clear that something about Mary Jane's face looks off. The final result is too far removed from the real face and Spider-Man 2 had weird animation issues only tied to certain characters. Miles looked like Miles, Peter looked like Peter, etc. but Mary Jane looked nothing like you remembered her from the previous game. Disliking that doesn't make you a misogynist.
It's ridiculous to deny that misogyny exists among certain circles in the video game community.
But it's equally ridiculous to deny that a very blatant political agenda has influenced the design choices of female video game characters throughout the last couple of years, often resulting in inconsistent and odd-looking character models.
Wanting more variety among female video game characters is perfectly reasonable. That being said, the drastic changes some developers make to previously established character designs can be jarring and take you out of the experience.
Comments 47
Re: Sony Remembers PS4 Classic The Last Guardian, Supported Work on $1,500 Statue
The one PS4 classic Sony most certainly won't remember is Bloodborne đ
Re: The Last of Us TV Show Team Split on One More Season or Two
End our suffering and make it one more season instead of two. Spoken as someone who is very critical of Last of Us Part 2, the poor writing in season 2 actually made me appreciate the game more.
Then again, after enduring season 2, I have no interest in continuing to watch the show. Doesn't matter if it's one more season or two, I'm out.
Re: Mass Xbox Layoffs Begin, Rare Game Everwild Reportedly Cancelled
@awp69 Even if only 10% of the layoffs are related to the Xbox gaming division, we're still looking at 1000 developers without a job. I doubt the already mentioned cuts at Rare, King, and Zenimax account for all of it. Wouldn't be surprised if Ninja Theory and Compulsion are affected in a major way, too.
The news is coming in hot and fast, so it won't be long until we find out.
Re: Random: Stellar Blade Dev Gives Insane Anatomically Accurate Explanation of Why Butts Are Beautiful
@KidRisky But how else would people on here proclaim their moral superiority?
Re: Days Gone Dev Reportedly Hit with Layoffs, Loses 30% of Staff
Was Days Gone 2 truly such a bad idea, Sony? Even if the profit wouldn't have been mind-blowing, A PROFIT is still better than no profit at all and a wasted first-party studio.
A Days Gone 2 from Sony Bend and a Bloodborne Remake from Bluepoint would have added two desperately needed first-party exclusives, and dare I say, both of them would have made a lot of profit. Maybe not Fortnite-levels of profit, but a worthwhile investment nonetheless.
Re: PlayStation Showcase, State of Play Event for May Appears Increasingly Unlikely
This is PS5-era Playstation. Of course there is nothing.
Everyone hoping for a major showcase must have forgotten about the abysmal 2023 showcase and the total lack of one last year.
We can expect an old-school Playstation showcase whenever it's time to promote the PS6, no earlier.
Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Playable in September, But Only in Australia
It would be funny if Team Cherry released Silksong on the same day GTA 6 launches as one last troll move.
Re: Round Up: The Last of Us 2's TV Show Reviews Aren't Quite a Hole in One for Sony, HBO
@Zombie9ers Already dropped down to 82. Reviews seem good overall, but the score and viewer reception will be lower than season 1.
Re: Bloodborne, Elden Ring Dev Won't Be Releasing Its Next Big Game on PS5
@piratemajima
Whether or not you can play Nightreign / Duskbloods alone doesn't change the core of my argument. Even if you play Nightreign alone, the game design is still geared towards a multiplayer experience. No one can seriously argue that the experience of games like Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, etc. and Nightreign are even remotely the same.
Running away from a PUBG battle royale circle while speedrunning through bosses is not why I fell in love with FromSoftware, and it goes against the game design principles I once loved about their games. Whether or not I can do it alone or with other players doesn't change the fundamentally different experience games like Nightreign and Duskbloods are compared to the previous titles.
I don't begrudge anyone who enjoys Fromsoft's multiplayer-centric games, but it isn't my cup of tea. I'm still waiting for Miyazaki's next big Souls title. Duskbloods certainly doesn't scratch that itch.
Re: Bloodborne, Elden Ring Dev Won't Be Releasing Its Next Big Game on PS5
@piratemajima There is a massive difference between a game with multiplayer components and a multiplayer-centric game.
Elden Ring and Nightreign aren't even remotely the same regarding player experience.
All FromSoftware Souls titles had multiplayer components, but if Duskbloods is more similar to Nightreign it will turn off a certain percentage of fans.
Re: Bloodborne, Elden Ring Dev Won't Be Releasing Its Next Big Game on PS5
Mulitplayer-centric again? And it's only available on one platform? Not only that, but the trailer had a weak first showingânothing that made me particularly excited as a FromSoftware fan.
I sincerely hope Duskbloods isn't the "next big thing" after Elden Ring. Myazaki said directing responsibilities for future Souls-like games would be passed on to other studio members. So far, we have gotten a generic Elden Ring battle royale and now another multiplayer title in Duskbloods.
Ever since the release of Elden Ring, I have been worried about the future direction of my favorite game developer. Some of their game design decisions are questionable, to say the least.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Assassin's Creed Shadows?
@dskatter Lol, you're spot on. Just take this comment as an example:
"Iâll just say it - ranking it below an â8â means youâreâŚ
1) not a fan of the RPG AC formula (which is completely fair!)
Or
2) youâre faaaar too invested into the culture wars / faux outrage âwokeâ and all that static"
Sad and predictable. I'm not a fan of culture war nonsense on both sides of the political spectrum. Since I gave it a 5/10 I just have to be an anti-woke grifter or I was never invested in the AC formula. Apparently, there's no other way to evaluate a game.
This comments section is weird sometimes.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Assassin's Creed Shadows?
Most obvious 5 or 6 out of 10 I've played in a while.
It's just as far removed from "the worst game ever made" , as some people want to make you believe, as it is from an excellent game. It's woefully average in almost everything it does.
Doesn't make sense to give a game like AC Shadows a 9 or 10/10. That should only be reserved for some of the best games ever made.
I can see the score being higher if you're evaluating the game only in the context of other AC games though.
Re: Next Metro PS5 Game Reworked to Tell Darker Story as Series Turns 15
@StandardMario You joined 19 minutes ago and are already competing for the dumbest, most inappropriate comment. Congratulations.
Re: GTA 5 Sells an Utterly Ludicrous 210 Million Copies
To quote Shawn Layden:
"There are some titles that can actually change weather patterns - GTA is a franchise that can change weather patterns"
Re: Microsoft Confirms PS5 Ports for Age of Empires 2, Age of Mythology
We all know the whole slate is coming to PS5 sooner or later.
We went from "it's just four games" to Xbox becoming a full-fledged third-party publisher in less than a year.
Confirmed releases:
Indiana Jones & the Great Circle
Forza Horizon 5
Doom the Dark Ages
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Age of Mythology: Retold
Outer Worlds 2
There's a good chance Master Chief Collection, Fable, Hellblade 2, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and the rumored Gears trilogy will also be included in this list.
The floodgates are wide open.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Support Could Be Over Already as Patch 5 Drops on PS5
@N7Vakarian I'm already dreading the next Mass Effect
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Support Could Be Over Already as Patch 5 Drops on PS5
@MrMagic I wouldn't be surprised if Astro continues to have decent sales for many more years. Veilguard is as good as dead. I'm not sure how much longer Bioware can survive.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Support Could Be Over Already as Patch 5 Drops on PS5
@Americansamurai1 Given the game's lengthy development time, it's probably well above 200 million.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Support Could Be Over Already as Patch 5 Drops on PS5
After three months, 1.5 million "engaged" players are a pathetic number for a franchise as popular as Dragon Age. Astrobot sold 1.5 million copies in a shorter period and significantly less development costs.
If I remember correctly, Team Asobi has around 60 employees.
The studio behind DAV is a team of 250-300 people and the budget must've been at least four times higher than the development costs of a game like Astrobot.
No matter how you look at it, this ain't good.
Re: Sony Cancels Bluepoint, Bend Studio PS5 Games, One Being a Live-Service God of War Title
@LogicStrikesAgain And how are they supposed to match the first-party output of the PS4 generation when two of their most important studios are already out of the race completely? We won't get anything from Bend or Bluepoint.
Naughty Dog will develop half the amount of games they released last generation, Sucker Punch releases one game instead of 2, Haven Studios is almost guaranteed to join the ranks of Firewalk, and Media Molecule will release one game before the generation ends if we're lucky.
The math just doesn't add up. The second half of the PS5 generation won't match the PS4. That doesn't mean I'm not excited for the few first-party games yet to come. For all their mismanagement, at least the exclusives they do release still maintain a high-quality bar.
As far as second-party is concerned, they've been doing a great job. That's the one department they didn't mess up. In fact, 2024 has been carried by second-party exclusives:
FF7 Rebirth
Helldivers 2
Rise of the Ronin
Stellar Blade
Re: Sony Cancels Bluepoint, Bend Studio PS5 Games, One Being a Live-Service God of War Title
@LogicStrikesAgain Ok, how about this then: Sony's first-party management this generation is utter trash. They wasted half of their studios, burned ungodly amounts of financial resources for limited to no returns, and consistently ignored the wishes of fans.
Maybe they released fewer exclusives during the PS1 and PS2 era, I have no idea. But compared to PS3 and PS4 this is a dumpster fire. Concord was the most embarrassing and expensive mistake PlayStation has ever made in terms of game development. They have wasted decades-worth of development time and billions of dollars.
No matter how you look at it, this is really really bad. And we're not even out of the woods yet. Haven Studios is next on the chopping block and Media Molecule would be lucky to survive this generation.
Re: Sony Cancels Bluepoint, Bend Studio PS5 Games, One Being a Live-Service God of War Title
@LogicStrikesAgain I never said they didn't release any first-party games this generation. Compared to the last two console generations the PS5 is an absolute disaster in terms of first-party output. Why would you go back all the way to the PS2 and PS1? Why not measure their success on the previous console generation?
And Helldivers is not a first-party title. If we include second-party output the PS5 looks even worse compared to PS4 and PS3.
Re: Sony Cancels Bluepoint, Bend Studio PS5 Games, One Being a Live-Service God of War Title
@RBMango They skipped a Bloodborne remake from Bluepoint for this? Being a Bloodborne fan nowadays is pure agonyđ¤Ś
Re: Sony Cancels Bluepoint, Bend Studio PS5 Games, One Being a Live-Service God of War Title
This has to be the worst Playstation console generation in terms of first-party output.
Naughty Dog: Ramake + New IP (2 games)
Media Molecule: One game if we're lucky
Bend: Nothing
Bluepoint: Demon's Souls Remake (1 game)
Firewalk: Biggest joke in gaming history
Haven Studious: Soon to join Firewalk
Yes, games have longer development cycles nowadays but this abysmal output is clearly the result of mismanagement on a scale we haven't seen from Sony in a long while.
And what makes all of this even worse is that I'm not even sure Sony will learn anything from this disaster.
For the love of God, tell Bluepoint to work on a Bloodborne Remake and allow Bend to work on a single-player IP. We're approaching Xbox-level mismanagement.
Genuine question: Did Sony's first-party cancel more games than they developed this gen? I can't keep track anymore.
Re: Naughty Dog Turns Off Intergalactic PS5 Trailer's Comments As Discourse Turns Nasty
@DennisReynolds If you are referring to the original meaning of the term "woke" as it existed in the 1930s, yes. Nowadays woke means something different for most people due to the insane political discourse on social media. I think both sides of the political spectrum have made the word utterly meaningless.
Re: Naughty Dog Turns Off Intergalactic PS5 Trailer's Comments As Discourse Turns Nasty
Unless I'm missing something this article is disingenuous. Naughty Dog turned off the comments preemptively. They didn't turn off the comments section in response to nasty discourse since no one even knew what Intergalactic was when they uploaded the trailer.
Doesn't change the fact that discourse surrounding this game is toxic though. Still, one would think fact-based reporting is important regardless.
Re: Round Up: Indiana Jones Reviews Are Live, Mostly Very Strong
So what happened to the supposed "Xbox tax"? I was told no Xbox first-party game would ever get high review scores because of a worldwide conspiracy against the Xbox brand.
Re: Concord Devs Tinker with PC Files, Spurring Free-to-Play Speculation
Everyone who believes making Concord free-to-play will turn this IP profitable is beyond hope. This is not any failure, it's one of the most spectacular failures in gaming history. The data is crystal-clear: No one wants this.
Re: Eve's Body Physics Get a Boost in Surprise Stellar Blade PS5 Patch
@danzoEX Inaccurate. We played the game because it has a great combat system, fantastic boss design and a killer soundtrack. The arse shots are just an added bonus.
And you do not need to play the game since it's already a huge financial hit for the developer with or without your purchase.
Re: State of Play Confirmed for Tomorrow, 20+ PS5, PSVR2 Games Included
I'm not expecting much from PlayStation these days. The worst E3 conference during the PS4 era was still better than the May 2023 "showcase", if you can call it that.
At least they're labelling it as a State of Play to keep expectations in check.
Re: Rumour: Concord Cost $400 Million, Sony Believed It Was the 'Future of PlayStation'
This is terrifying information. You can't expect a publisher operating on PlayStation's scale to ensure that every single first- and second-party project will be a financial and critical hit. That's simply unrealistic. But PlayStation came pretty damn close to it during the PS4 era. Major economic and critical failures were rare.
But ever since Jim Ryan's misguided gaas initiative PlayStation has been getting close to Xbox-level mismanagement.
Last of Us Multiplayer - cancelled
London Studio - project cancelled and studio shut-down
Twisted Metal - cancelled
Bungie - 3.6 billion to buy a severely mismanaged studio
Concord - 400 million down the drain, studio closure likely
I sincerely hope they learned from this. Fingers crossed.
Re: Rumour: Ubisoft Live Service Shooter XDefiant on Brink of Being Shut Down
"is barely hitting 20,000 concurrent players across all platforms"
Concord would be begging for these numbers despite being released little more than a week ago. It truly puts into perspective just how dramatically this game bombed.
Re: Helldivers 2 PC Players Blindsided by Seemingly Sudden PSN Account Requirement
@Northern_munkey I specifically stated that this issue has nothing to do with politics. I was referring to naruball's comment:
"For some people, being upset over things is a way of life"
This sentence summarizes the mindset of culture warriors. That's all I was pointing out. I'm perfectly aware that the Helldivers situation has nothing to do with culture wars.
Re: Helldivers 2 PC Players Blindsided by Seemingly Sudden PSN Account Requirement
@naruball Woke and anti-woke culture warriors in a nutshell. I'm almost happy whenever I see people freaking out over PSN account requirements. It's just as petty, but at least politics aren't involved.
Re: Xbox Confirms June Showcase, Bound to Feature Some PS5 Games
@itsfoz Never say never but I highly doubt that'll be the case. PlayStation makes most of its revenue from a la carte game sales, be it physical or digital.
Most of Xbox's current troubles stem from a customer base hooked on Game Pass. Since the subscription numbers have completely flatlined and Microsoft is nowhere near their intended target for Game Pass subscribers, it doesn't exactly feel like you're doing yourself any favors by allowing the service on your platform.
Re: It Looks Like Kena: Bridge of Spirits Is Heading to New Platforms
Does anyone know if Ember Lab's is working on a new game?
I haven't found any substantial information regarding a new title.
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Now Comfortably Sony's Biggest Ever PC Launch
@MrMagic I'd argue this is still the best approach when it comes to acquisitions. Sony have always tried to grow their first-party network organically by acquiring long-standing second-party studios with a great track record (e. g. Insomniac, Bluepoint, Housemarque, etc.).
Bungie is a major pivot from their tried and true strategy and it's already causing them a ton of trouble.
Re: Helldivers 2 Is Now Comfortably Sony's Biggest Ever PC Launch
@UltimateOtaku91 That line threw me off as well. Arrowhead is not a PlayStation first-party studio but if the early success of Helldivers 2 is any indication, they must be high on Sony's list of potential acquisitions.
Re: Xbox Set to Announce Multi-Platform Plans Next Week
@Ultrasmiles I highly doubt it. Where there's smoke there's fire. Around two dozen reliable industry insiders have pretty much confirmed major Xbox exclusives are coming to PlayStation.
Re: Xbox Set to Announce Multi-Platform Plans Next Week
@LtSarge I've had the exact same thought. I wholeheartedly believe the gaming market will turn into a quasi-monopoly under Microsoft, not as a console manufacturer but as a third-party publisher.
Dropping out of the console race entirely would pretty much ensure that they can buy another slew of publishers to unite the vast majority of IP under their banner.
Re: Sony Partners with Hideo Kojima on Physint, Basically Sounds Like a Metal Gear Successor
@Splat No it's not just you. I had the exact same thoughtđ
Re: Grounded II Documentary Will Spill the Beans on The Making of The Last of Us 2
@DennisReynolds Prove to me right now in what way Critical Drinker is a confirmed FAR-RIGHT INCEL.
I'm sure your definition of these terms is perfectly reasonable and not viewed through an extremely biased, radical political lens.
cough sarcasm cough
Re: Sounds Like Sony's Next State of Play Livestream Isn't Far Away
@UltimateOtaku91 This argument would carry more weight if Sony still delivered satisfying showcases with a focus on first-party titles but they don't even do that.
Their last showcase featured two meaningless CGI trailers from studios without a proven track record after 18 months of radio silence. Even their worst E3 conferences featured more first-party content than the last showcase.
I don't think fans had unreasonable expectations. We wanted to get excited about the future of PlayStation first-party titles, yet all we hear about are cancelations, development issues, etc.
Not every showcase can be as impressive as the E3 2016 conference and sometimes you have to skip a year because you don't have enough material to justify a showcase.
Perfectly understandable.
But if you're announcing the first major showcase after 18 months of silence you better make sure it hits the mark.
Re: Sounds Like Sony's Next State of Play Livestream Isn't Far Away
@AlexPorto Same. The last "Playstation" showcase killed my excitement for any future showcase. And I'm putting PlayStation in quotation marks because it barely featured any meaningful first-party titles.
Of course, I don't expect a major blowout from a State of Play but their silence and lack of transparency don't allow me to feel the tiniest bit of hype anymore.
Re: Marvel's Spider-Man's Mary-Jane Face Model Calls for an End to Unacceptable Behaviour
@LifeGirl Couldn't agree more. This comments section is already filled with one-sided viewpoints. Not everyone who disliked Mary Jane's design in Spider-Man 2 is a die-hard misogynist.
If anything, seeing the real-life model behind the video game character makes unmistakably clear that something about Mary Jane's face looks off. The final result is too far removed from the real face and Spider-Man 2 had weird animation issues only tied to certain characters. Miles looked like Miles, Peter looked like Peter, etc. but Mary Jane looked nothing like you remembered her from the previous game. Disliking that doesn't make you a misogynist.
It's ridiculous to deny that misogyny exists among certain circles in the video game community.
But it's equally ridiculous to deny that a very blatant political agenda has influenced the design choices of female video game characters throughout the last couple of years, often resulting in inconsistent and odd-looking character models.
Wanting more variety among female video game characters is perfectly reasonable. That being said, the drastic changes some developers make to previously established character designs can be jarring and take you out of the experience.
Re: Hogwarts Legacy Conjures a Staggering 22 Million Sales
Removed