@PuppetMaster not likely as you would be playing with fire in allowing employees to express themselves without a filter (everything is perceived as political these days), which in turn could have a negative repurcussions to the business side of sony as a company. yes, i did say this PR stunt backfired for them.
@PuppetMaster if you work for sony or ND, there is a very high chance that it requires approval from the PR department, fan art or not. it wouldn't surprise me if this was an intentional move to calm the storm at ND and generate some "good will".
this actually comes across as a PR move by ND to show the world that they can in fact create a "normal" looking anime inspired female character and that they have no issue with it, despite how they have gone about it in their latest works. but that appears to have backfired on them. until ND releases a game of their own which adheres to the more traditional interpretation of video game protagonist, they are going to have a rough time with that 10% of the gaming community i mean, this might get to a breaking point where sony has to intervene and have a heart to hear with druckman. at the end of the day, this is about money and if druckman's vision is going to put a damper on the profitablilty of the product, people at sony are inevitably going to pull the chord. if not now, down the line. its just a matter of how long they are going to allow this to continue. it's no secret that the last of us part 2 underpeformed for a myriad of reasons...
@PuppetMaster no doubt, he had high standards. he moved up the ranks of squaresoft incredibly quickly by the looks of things. it's just that nomura wouldn't have the final call for anything related to ff7 (1997) as he had his own superiors to adhere to at that time.
strange, since nomura was primarily the character artist at that time. kitase directed ff7 (1997). if anything, it would be kitase and sakaguchi who were perfectionists and worked the team hard to achieve the finished results... far more so than nomura at any rate.
@Koren616 their mini consoles have done well for them. in the case of the dreamcast and saturn, they are probably waiting for an adequate board to be available that is financially feasible and able to run the games optimally. i doubt they will want to sell a mini console that exceeds $150USD so its just a matter of sourcing the necessary compnents and/or waiting until they are cheap enough. i'd expect the saturn (and possibly the dreamcast) mini's to be limited to japan, though, due to their failure in the west upon their original release.
i find it very odd that sega, after selling the bulk of its legacy titles via compilations and digital releases, suddenly felt it was necessary to pull the plug and delist them... in the hopes that people will PANIC and subscribe to their new service. would it be too "honest" of sega to offer an option to its loyal fans instead of forcing this initiative down their throat? of course it would. i hope you guys were able to snatch up that sega genesis classics disc (ps4) before sega pulled the digital listing (that release is surely to go up in value now so that's good!) or picked up a genesis mini when they were available... or one of the many other classic compilations (too many to list here) over the past several decades, dating back to the ps2? the point is, there is no reason to subscribe to a service if you already own the majority of sega's legacy catalogue. probably better off emulating them anyways for optimal performance. and surely, this is not the way to go about it if you don't want to piss off or alienate your fans.
one year later and the ps4 is STILL the gift that keeps on giving! the only thing the ps5 has on it is the possibility of gta vi releasing in 2025! but imagine a cruel twist of fate where gta vi released on the ps5 AND ps4 haha... that would be something to see
this analyst just woke up after a long slumber i assume. xbox has gotten trounced by its competition for 3 of its 4 console cycles and yet here they are, doing their thing. nintendo got trounced 2 of its last 4 console cycles (not including its dedicated handhelds) and surprise, surprise, they are still around and perfoming amazingly well with the switch. would it surprise me if microsoft didn't make a console next gen and focused entirely on software? of course not. that seems like the right decision. but after more than 20 years of 3 direct competitors fluctuating all over the place in the console space, it is absurd to say that there was only room for two players. if that was the case, nintendo would have exited the console space after the gamecube or wii u, right? or microsoft would have dropped out after the x1 generation. sony has been the only console maker with consistent hardware sales 4 console cycles in a row... but even if you are a distant third in sales, you can still carve out a niche and be successful enough to keep things going. if we ever get to a point where nintendo is in a distant 3rd place and only selling 20m units of its latest console, i have no doubt that would be more than enough for nintendo to continue its venture.
sorry to break it to y'all, but akira actually relied on sponsors to FUND the production, hence why the branding was featured in the film. it was purposeful. comparing a film that REQUIRED sponsors for its existence to a $500m ND game makes no sense whatsoever. it sounds like sony has decided to experiment with a new revenue stream for the sake of making more money, at the expense of the "art". it is immersion breaking and i know i'm not alone with those sentiments. attempts to defend something as jarring as a porsche spaceship as well thought out and meaningful is frankly, embarassing. ND and sony should be ashamed.
this is a very surprising announcement because capcom couldn't even be bothered to port the remaining onimusha games to modern platforms. after they released the remaster to the first game, there wasn't even a whisper. people speculated that meant it sold poorly and the franchise was officially dead. what strange behaviour then to secretly be working on a new entry without porting the other 3 games? huh... let's see how closely capcom goes back to onimusha's survival horror roots vs the more action based sequels... this will be interesting.
@ApostateMage i'm ashamed to admit that i never played okami all the way through... been on the backlog forever, but this announcement will certainly give me the push to finally correct this shameful behaviour
absolutely insane! kamiya departing the sinking ship that is platinum games makes a lot more sense now. have to give it to capcom for venturing back into the realm of "experimental" and "artistic" games again they have been playing to safe with sequels for a while now, but THIS sequel is something to gasp at.
a bit underwhelming to be honest. been waiting 10 years for a new IP from ND and this didn't make the best first impression. it's likely going to turn out fine based on their track record, of course, but have to be honest... it was all a bit...trite... also, as @nessisonett mentioned, the product placement was a reach...is sony relying on some new revenue streams to pay the bills? that was uncalled for. as for the lead character, i got lev vibes all over again... this is certainly a ND game huh?
sounds like the devs are less interested in the ps5 pro than the consumers themselves haha. what a shameless display of faux hype and misleasding marketing from sony. this on top of the previous 4 years of dropping the ball is nothing less than a disaster of epic proportions. the clock is ticking and sony will need a miracle to redeem itself before the ps6 is announced. still waiting for a reason to own a ps5 some 4 years later...then again, might as well save the investment and put it towards the ps6 at this point — if it fares any better that is :S
we are at the point now where it would be beneficial if the big 3 joined forces to establish a standard console and thereby host their library on a single platform. imagine a console where you could play nintendo, playstation and xbox games? it would be a win/win for everyone involved and they could split the hardware sales 33.33% each. if anything, this would likely improve software sales for each competitior as people who otherwise wouldn't give a platform holder a chance will be more willing to experience their content. as for the ecosystem of each platform holder, there could be 3 seperate store apps built into the OS and allow nintendo, sony and microsoft to each operate independently of one another for the sake of privacy and security. this would essentially be a steam-like platform but for the console space.
and yes, nintendo and sony could still go ahead and release their own specific hardware over and above this (i.e. handheld hardware). if nintendo was concerned about losing its creative juice and innovation, there would be absolutely nothing stopping it from continuing to develop its hybrid consoles which would appeal to a seperate demographic in addition to the "partnership" console. why this has yet to happen is beyond me. but yes, a single console to rule them all is exactly what this dire gaming industry needs right now.
it's not that sony was unprepared... the shortage is by DESIGN. sony prevented a heated backlash had it not released a disc drive at all, yet it purposely limited supply so that people would either lose interest in getting one, thereby being "forced" into a digital future, or at the very least, discouraged millions of people from paying for the upgrade at all seeing as how overpriced the drive is, even when it is not being scalped. sony will NOT manufacture enough drives to meet the demand in order to coerse people to play games the way SONY wants them to. it's time to stop finding excuses and see this for what it is. when the ps6 launches, the main SKU will NOT include a disc drive. perhaps sony will pull the same stunt by offering an optional drive that is severely in short supply if only to avoid a PR disaster by not doing so. by the time the ps6 pro comes around, no drive will be offered. the ps7 will simply not have a drive period. by then, it is likely that backwards compatibility will be thrown out the window anyways and they will be selling people the same remasteres from 3 console gens ago at full price exclusively on PSN :S. my advice: embrace retro gaming and indie games... the grass is so much greener on this side
even more impressive is the fact that the switch never had a single MSRP drop in 7 years! meanwhile, the ps2 saw at least 6 price drops and eventually sold at just $99. if nintendo permanently drops the price of the switch by 20% next year, i expect it will beat the ps2 record within a couple years time. nintendo will likely keep manufacturing switch hardware until the record is beaten. that doesn't change the fact that the ps2 is the greatest console ever made, of course
@FreasurePlanten if sony were to design a modern handheld, the idea is that it would run all ps4 games and most ps5 games (with some fidelity/resolution compromises just like steam deck does) out of the box. sony would not design original games exclusively for the handheld. as such, the question on whether sony would invest enough resources to support the handheld is irrelevent when there are already thousands of ps4 and ps5 games that would run on it from day one. the old model of designing different games exclusivly for home console and/or a handheld are long over... even for nintendo. in the case of sony, if they are smart, all of our current digital libraries would run on it and there would be no reason to release carts of any kind. it would be a digital software only device like steam deck. if it happens, this is the only approach i can see sony pursuing.
looks like people are getting what they deserve for supporting sony's scummy business practices and contributing to the downfall of console gaming as we know it
if this happens, you can kiss any future dark souls games goodbye. i doubt sony would encourage fromsoftware to go back to that well when bandai namco still controls the IP and would be extracting a large percentage of the revenue. outside of earning some easy money by remaking/remastering dark souls until the end of time (should bandai namco and fromsoftware be interested in doing so), sony would likely put fromsoftware on new IP projects so that it can control the franchises and reap the rewards all for itself. if this means more creativity and fresh ideas, it will be a good thing for the studio.
@ChimpMasta i disagree with your take. it is unheard of to do a price drop on a new SKU so soon after launch. something is amiss here. don't buy into the hype.
@MrMagic it has not sold "well"...supposedly, sales have come close to the ps4 pro's launch if not exceeding them slightly (at best). in no way does that mean it's selling "well"... selling "well" relatively to what and by what standards? the ps4 pro only sold 14m units... which is just 12% of ps4's total lifetime sales so i wouldn't jump the gun and call the pro lines successful. all they have done is cause confusion and enable developers to become sloppy with the base hardware. i expect the ps5 pro to sell under 10m units due to its higher price point.
yup, it must be selling like hot cakes for them to be dropping the price after just 5 days on sale. that's how economics works heh... this reeks a failed marketing campaign, overstock and lack of demand.
nope, not good enough. needs a permanent price drop and applied to ALL SKUs other than the pro. realistically, its going to be a few more years before people bite on the ps5 if they have been on the fence this long. and all that is dependent on some killer games coming out... i.e. the apparent problem isn't just the price.
@Americansamurai1 no. they want to phase out the physical SKU and stop distributing physical media beginning with the ps6. naturally, they are going to push the idea of digital distribution down our throats until that happens. also, there is a reason why the (optional) optical drives are in short supply and impossible to find... because sony wants them to be. people should brace themselves for the ps5 being the last stop of the physical era. eh, i can see the ps6 including an optional optical drive for the sake of backwards compatibility perhaps, but outside of super limited physical runs, i think the vast majority of ps6 games will be digital only.
@NEStalgia yea, its a real shame how things have turned out for the ps5. there is a certain level of complacency that is going on in the gaming industry these days that really irks me. then you have sony banking off of this complacency in order to sell a new console SKU. this is just bad across the board. this is not what i want or expect from a gaming console, but i suppopse that ship sailed when the ps4 pro was introduced in 2016.
@KundaliniRising333 absolutely. my thoughts exactly. if the possibility of a pro model was not in the cards and the console business model had not changed in 2016 to accomodate this scapegoat way of doing things, i truly believe that developers would be trying a lot harder to release a great experience, knowing that it would be the only release on home consoles for at least 8 years. the pro models are enabling developers to become complacent to mediocre results on the base machines as they know they can just brute force their way to something better on the pro hardware. sadly, i don't think we will ever see what the base ps5 was truly capable of so long as a pro model exists.
the current state of capcom is so very sad. they are turning into s-e as far as doing the bare minimum to optimize their games. sony collusion for an easy marketing campaign on how superior the pro version is by comparison is just scummy. mh wilds is pursuing the same strategy by the looks of things.
@LogicStrikesAgain why wouldn't they put the time to optimize? many reasons.
1.sony is putting a lot of marketing bucks behind ps5 pro enhanced games and publishers will be compensated for their efforts with various business deals. the pro will be the new hot toy this holiday season and sony needs to find reasons to sell and in some cases re-sell people on the ps5 again.
2. as i stated previously, publishers will make their money regardless of how poorly optimized the base version of the game runs. most people are not going to watch DF videos to verify what it is that they are buying, nor will they protest if the performance is bad — only a vocial minority will complain AFTER they hand over their cash.
3. if the spec requirements have shifted with the introduction of the pro model, there is less of a reason to optimize for the base because it is that much easier to brute force their way through development with the pro and then simply remove feature sets for the base as they near completion. i'm sure s-e knew about the ps5 pro's specs during the development of ff rebirth. it never should have gotten released in its current state, but knowing that the pro was just around the corner, they settled with such disparity and compromise, while cheating its customers.
i don't buy the argument that by 2028 the console hardware would be too old and outdated. console gaming was always about a 5-10 year life cycle on the same piece of technology and hardware specs. since developers would spend so much time with the hardware, performance and ambition would steadily increase due to their improved knowledge base and familiarity. if you compare ps1, ps2 and ps3 launch games with those from the end of the life cycle, it is a night and day difference and never fails to impress me. that is what has been lost in the console space thanks to the introduction of the pro model(s) and trying to chase tech trends. what you get now is a box that never truly reaches its potential. you often get sloppy code and lazy developers who are tapping out without much thought to optimization. this is why pc has so many problems (due to the myriad of configurations available). that curse has found its way to the console space now.
all that is to say, if a smart developer works within its limitations of a single hardware spec, there is no such idea as "too demanding" (within reason of course) because they will usually take all necessary steps to make it run adequately. that is what game development is all about. these days, devs are trying to get away with a one size fits all approach and we have seen the results.
sounds like you have given cdpr a free pass for that disaster of a game . they didn't have a clue on how to optmize it due to their lack of knowledge in the console space at the time (being a pc centric developer for many years prior to the witcher 3), project mismanagment, marketing deception and a complete disregard for their customers. it was not the fault of the base hardware in itself that set them back. look at the switch... if you want to talk about archaic tech that somehow managed to run "impossible ports" such as doom (2016), doom eternal, alien isolation, various metro games, witcher 3 etc, then look no further. compromises, sure, but if there is a will, there is a way.
they have barely scratched the surface of the base ps5 and unfortunately we will now never know what it is truly capable of.
@LogicStrikesAgain yes, you would hope that publishers have more integrity than to leave its customers out in the cold... its not so much that the developers have malicious intent and saborage their own games... but they sure as hell won't give the base build as much time and resources if the ps4 pro era is anything to go by. sony was solid with its first party efforts, but many 3rd party devs let things slide when they shouldn't have once they realized that they could brute force their way to victory with the extra power of the pro. the real problem is that people will purchase a given game whether it runs well or doesn't if it is something they are anticipating. many gamers can't help themselves but pre-order afterall. they get what they are given. cyberpunk already proved this.
fairly certain less than 10% of all ps5's sold will be the pro variant due to the price tag and lack of interest. i hope it is FAR less than that so a pro lineup is no longer viable for sony going forward with the ps6. that means they will have no choice but to properly optimize their games for the base model. you know, the way console gaming should be...
better prepare yourselves for horrendous ports on the base ps5 now because developers have been paid by sony to shine a light on the enhanced ps5 pro features while the base versions fall by the wayside. we already saw evidence of this with ff rebirth, dragon's dogma 2 and presumably mh wilds among many other games. what a way to treat your customers.
@LogicStrikesAgain
"This gen has seen games that rival the best of last gen. Games like Baldurs gate 3 and Elden Ring to name just a few. And we’re still only halfway current gen."
yea, elden ring is also on ps4 so no loss there. bg3 is a rare current gen-only exclusive that made a mark in terms of innovation. we need more games that are willing to try something "new".
"Now if people cant enjoy games because they're also available on other consoles, PC or even last gen consoles. Well thats their prerogative. But that leads to a narrow path of fulfilment. And hardly warrants a “this gen has no games” comment."
that is the entire point i was making. what that means is, millions of people simply don't need a ps5 to enjoy their hobby right now. i wouldn't dare say this about the ps4 in 2013-2020 though which says a lot about the current state of playstation. sony has not given people a good reason to invest in a ps5. that is a big problem and will become more evident when sales slump unless, of course, gta 6 manages to save the industry (which in itself is sad to see).
"If your definition of true exclusives means not having any PC ports. That would mean Nintendo is the only one that has true exclusives, still followed by Playstation. Does the PC have any notable games or “system sellers” that are true exclusives to that platform?"
up until 4 years ago, sony was known just as much as nintendo for its exclusives and this translated into sales and excitement. that wasn't such a bad thing was it? to give people more reasons to own a console? i don't think there is any way to defend the current state of playstation by dismissing the importance of exclusives like that.
"Also, i dont get the ‘doesn't take full advantage of PS5 hardware if its cross gen’ argument. Cross gen games obviously run and look much better on PS5 because they use the extra power of the console."
well, people buy a console for new experiences... whether that means better graphics or new innovations that couldn't be achieved on older hardware, etc. the ps5 to this point has been stuck in cross gen territory for many of its 1st party titles. if you are limited in game design across the board (including physics, AI, animation etc) due to older hardware, a resolution or framerate boost is not going to fix that. we are 4 years into the gen and only NOW are we starting to see more games built from the ground up for the current gen. that is disappointing no matter how you slice it. don't see how the ps5 can be ranked higher than last place (currently) compared to its legacy and everything that has come before it. if that isn't disappointing, i don't know what is. now, if you never owned a ps4 and jumped into the sony ecosystem for the first time with a ps5 (and have the luxury of 100% backwards compatibility), then you would be in a different boat. for most of the playstation community, that is not the case.
@LogicStrikesAgain
you might be missing the context as to why people are underwhelemed with the ps5. this article is specifically about owning a ps5 and the "value" that it offers, even if you own other consoles such as ps4 or a pc.
1. half of those games listed are also on ps4 and vast majority are on pc and elswhere.
2. half of those games are not taking full advantage of the ps5 hardware as they are cross gen releases and need to cater to lower specs.
3. many of those games are run-of-the-mill sequels with absolutely nothing new to show and are creatively bankrupt in their design. i'd argue that none of those games are impressive enough to sell hardware. there are no "system sellers" to be found. where is the innovation and originality? MAYBE astro bot could be a "system seller" for a very hardcore group of platforming fans, but that's about it.
4. only 3 games on the list are exclusive to the ps5 and two of those (ff rebirth and stellar blade) will soon find their way to pc.
5. true exclusives matter to many people because it incentivizes one to purchase the hardware and brings "value" to the platform. the ps5 is almost completely void of this now and its hurt the perception of the brand.
one more thing i'll note is that in previous console generations, there was more risk taking and NEW ip being developed which made the industry that much more exciting. these days, it's mostly by the numbers and predictable. sony has yet to release a new ip on ps5 outside of returnal?! even astro bot (ps5) is not a new ip as it is based on the groundwork of astro bot rescue mission and astro's playroom.
to sum up my thoughts: this generation has been incredibly uneventful, predictable and expensive so far. not much to celebrate at the moment. hopefully that gives you a better sense of why people are not as excited as you are. that said, the indi scene continues to impress and there is always something worth playing in that space. my rant is mainly focused on the AAA space as we know it.
has there been a "system seller calibur game" released? debatable but in my opinion, no.
are things looking bright over the next few months with hotly anticipated releases? no. we don't even know what projects most of sony's 1st party studios are working on, let alone what the potential release YEAR will be for them. we do know that they have a bunch of service games in active development that will likely bomb just as hard as concord though!
the only exception to all of this may be gta 6 but that isn't even a ps5 exclusive and is likely a year away from release
things are rough for sony right now and they have little to no bullet points to entice potential customers to get a ps5 who may be on the fence and/or not impressed with how the first 4 years have gone for the platform. i would know, i'm one such potential customer. had a great time with the ps4 since 2014 and see no reason to throw it by the wayside anytime soon. this is probably the point of no return and i should save my money and invest it into the ps6 instead (if it can deliver what the ps5 couldn't)
@rick1987 they tried that with the getaway series on ps2. first game was passable. second game was a complete failure. getaway 3 for ps3 was outright cancelled during development. sony nor any other publisher is simply incapable of competing with gta... they would need a $1-2b budget and 10 years of development time to get even remotely close to gta in scope and production values.
sony is playing with fire. how many times do they need to be punched in the face before they flinch, let alone, re-think whatever it is that they are doing anymore?
concord and destruction all-stars wasn't enough. last of us factions cancelled after YEARS of development time wasn't enough. spiderman: the great web and many other live service projects being cancelled and presumably losing them even more money in the process... had no effect on their vision for live service games? really?
bring on horizon mmo and fairgame$ if you must, but just know that its very likely to cost sony well over $400m in additional losses when all is said and done. if the rumours are true and bend is working on a live service game, i think we can already see the writing on the wall — that is, it will be their last game before being shuttered. bend is one of sony's oldest studios and seeing them misused only to fall by the wayside like this is just real sad.
don't believe all the lies about there being no way to drop the hardware cost on ps5's due to supply chain issues, etc... the truth is, sony has lost an enormous amount of revenue over the past few years due to numerous failures incured by its live service projects (especially those that got cancelled after years of development and will never see the light of day). sony will continue to lose revenue for the next several years due to poor project management and the customer is expected to pay for its mistakes by way of higher hardware costs. at the same time, sony is not exactly keeping the platform interesting with enough games to even warrant a ps5 purchase (for many people) in the first place. the next 4 years are not going to be any better. get used to this era of playstation. the only bright spot is that they might be able to turn things around by 2028 when the ps6 launches, but that is not a given.
well, so long as you understand that most live service games will fail to last more than 6 months to a year, this isn't all that surprising. these days, it is just a matter of how long the publisher is willing to lose money before pulling the plug. the only difference here is that sony was pro-active in dealing with the failure compared to some other publishers. why bleed money for a year knowing the game will not survive based on all the early metrics? smart move by sony to be abrupt with this mess... of course, the game never should have been greenlit in the first place but sony was desperate to follow the trends. they earned this by way of their arrogance and mismanagement.
hate to say it (well, actually i don't), but fairgame$ will likely have a very similar fate. live for 2 weeks? maybe a bit longer... perhaps a few months. sony says it will keep making these kinds of games? complete nonsense when resources are finite.
surely, they must be working on the metaphor "complete" edition, while planning metaphor's sequel at the same time. that's just how it goes at altus... i'll be shocked if its another new IP so soon.
@NEStalgia true, but don't forget that metaphor (former working title: project re fantasy) was officially announced in the fall of 2016, right after persona 5 launched, giving it plenty of time to grow its own levels of anticipation. considering the success of p5, people were very excited about project re fantasy right off the bat. but after a teaser trailer a year later, the project went radio silent for years... i think many people moved on, completely forgot that this game existed or weren't aware of it in the first place. i bet many "casual" p5 fans don't even know that metaphor is created by the same core team. yes, the change in setting is definitely going to divide some of the persona community which could hamper sales to some extent. if metaphor manages to sell 5m copies, that will likely be considered a success for atlus all the same, especially for a new IP. they might even bring in some new players who are attracted to metaphor specifically because it is set in a fantasy world and not in another contemporary highschool.
@NEStalgia it is somewhat speculative on my part, but compared to persona 5 and its lead up to launch, i just did not see the same level of anticipation with metaphor (generally speaking) on social media. i have no doubt that persona fans will like the game as well, but i am not convinced there is as much crossover within the community as there should be. maybe its due to the major shift in setting? the highschool/student life aspect is completely gone here. in my opinion that is a good thing — we've seen that 4 times now (including persona 1) so a fresh take on it was warranted. of course, sales will tell the story. i'll be impressed if manages to sell even 50% of persona 5's 9m copies.
$113CAD for (3) noteworthy games and (3) historically important, but not so notworthy games from 30+ years ago, is not "reasonable" by any metric. easy pass. i wouldn't be able to justify the idea that i am supporting s-e' exploitative FOMO tactics alone. heck, i don't think they updated the font on console either? is it still arial instead of the classic pixel font? on pc, you don't have that problem thankfully
@LavenderShroud your guess is as good as mine. maybe they took notes from nintendo (when they too stopped caring about maintaining the family friendly facade) and opened the floodgates on the eshop haha. the accountants did the math: sony is better off letting it all in than not, if it means their revenue numbers go up.
i don't know what sort of changes have been going on at sony of late. a few years ago, they felt it ncessesary to censor trish' back side in dmc v (i think that was reverted back later with a patch?). doa xtreme 3 was never released in the west for being culturally inapproproate or something...
fast forward a few years... we are in an era with more DEI politics and censorship controversies than ever before, and yet, sony now has no issue with stellar blade and venus vacation — games that are pandering to certain demographics with sexual innuendo and fanservice to the point of no return... i mean, some of this stuff is quite cringe inducing.
so, my question is... what in the actual heck changed at sony to completely turn off its shame meter? is it as simple as MONEY?!
there was never any doubt in my mind that this game would turn out great with all the talent behind it. i'm a bit stunned by the lack of interest from the persona community, however. had no idea that such fans could close themselves in a box like that and not pay attention to a new, fresh IP that was planned entirely by ex persona members!
it's a little disappointing that the dungeon design can be bland in some areas since that was arguably the weakest aspect of the persona games as well. the performance and graphical issues don't bother me so much since this game was clearly designed and intended to be released on the ps4 long ago — delays brought it into the current gen and they decided not to take advantage of ps5's power. if you want a cleaner presenation for the ps5 port, wait for the "complete" edition in 12-18 months time.
congrats to the studio zero team for delivering on this long delayed project. currently sitting at 93 on open critic which should put it in the RPG of the year discussions with the possibility of establishing itself as a new tenpole IP for atlus.
Comments 2,697
Re: Unfazed by Concord, Sony Doubles Down on Exploring Service Games
no, sony is very fazed by concord, actually. their shareholders are which means sony is out of obligation. don't believe the PR...
Re: Stellar Blade Dev Says It Hopes Everyone Is 'Living in Love' After Naughty Dog Artist's Interpretation of Eve Is Unfairly Criticised
@PuppetMaster not likely as you would be playing with fire in allowing employees to express themselves without a filter (everything is perceived as political these days), which in turn could have a negative repurcussions to the business side of sony as a company. yes, i did say this PR stunt backfired for them.
Re: Stellar Blade Dev Says It Hopes Everyone Is 'Living in Love' After Naughty Dog Artist's Interpretation of Eve Is Unfairly Criticised
@PuppetMaster if you work for sony or ND, there is a very high chance that it requires approval from the PR department, fan art or not. it wouldn't surprise me if this was an intentional move to calm the storm at ND and generate some "good will".
Re: Stellar Blade Dev Says It Hopes Everyone Is 'Living in Love' After Naughty Dog Artist's Interpretation of Eve Is Unfairly Criticised
this actually comes across as a PR move by ND to show the world that they can in fact create a "normal" looking anime inspired female character and that they have no issue with it, despite how they have gone about it in their latest works. but that appears to have backfired on them. until ND releases a game of their own which adheres to the more traditional interpretation of video game protagonist, they are going to have a rough time with that 10% of the gaming community i mean, this might get to a breaking point where sony has to intervene and have a heart to hear with druckman. at the end of the day, this is about money and if druckman's vision is going to put a damper on the profitablilty of the product, people at sony are inevitably going to pull the chord. if not now, down the line. its just a matter of how long they are going to allow this to continue. it's no secret that the last of us part 2 underpeformed for a myriad of reasons...
Re: Nomura Known as 'Demon King of Retakes' During Final Fantasy 7 Dev
@PuppetMaster no doubt, he had high standards. he moved up the ranks of squaresoft incredibly quickly by the looks of things. it's just that nomura wouldn't have the final call for anything related to ff7 (1997) as he had his own superiors to adhere to at that time.
Re: Nomura Known as 'Demon King of Retakes' During Final Fantasy 7 Dev
strange, since nomura was primarily the character artist at that time. kitase directed ff7 (1997). if anything, it would be kitase and sakaguchi who were perfectionists and worked the team hard to achieve the finished results... far more so than nomura at any rate.
Re: SEGA Is Pondering a PS Plus-Esque Subscription of Its Own
@Koren616 their mini consoles have done well for them. in the case of the dreamcast and saturn, they are probably waiting for an adequate board to be available that is financially feasible and able to run the games optimally. i doubt they will want to sell a mini console that exceeds $150USD so its just a matter of sourcing the necessary compnents and/or waiting until they are cheap enough. i'd expect the saturn (and possibly the dreamcast) mini's to be limited to japan, though, due to their failure in the west upon their original release.
Re: SEGA Is Pondering a PS Plus-Esque Subscription of Its Own
i find it very odd that sega, after selling the bulk of its legacy titles via compilations and digital releases, suddenly felt it was necessary to pull the plug and delist them... in the hopes that people will PANIC and subscribe to their new service. would it be too "honest" of sega to offer an option to its loyal fans instead of forcing this initiative down their throat? of course it would. i hope you guys were able to snatch up that sega genesis classics disc (ps4) before sega pulled the digital listing (that release is surely to go up in value now so that's good!) or picked up a genesis mini when they were available... or one of the many other classic compilations (too many to list here) over the past several decades, dating back to the ps2? the point is, there is no reason to subscribe to a service if you already own the majority of sega's legacy catalogue. probably better off emulating them anyways for optimal performance. and surely, this is not the way to go about it if you don't want to piss off or alienate your fans.
Re: New PS4 Games Release Dates in 2025
one year later and the ps4 is STILL the gift that keeps on giving! the only thing the ps5 has on it is the possibility of gta vi releasing in 2025! but imagine a cruel twist of fate where gta vi released on the ps5 AND ps4 haha... that would be something to see
Re: Industry Analyst Argues Either Sony or Microsoft Will Need to Exit the Console Market
this analyst just woke up after a long slumber i assume. xbox has gotten trounced by its competition for 3 of its 4 console cycles and yet here they are, doing their thing. nintendo got trounced 2 of its last 4 console cycles (not including its dedicated handhelds) and surprise, surprise, they are still around and perfoming amazingly well with the switch. would it surprise me if microsoft didn't make a console next gen and focused entirely on software? of course not. that seems like the right decision. but after more than 20 years of 3 direct competitors fluctuating all over the place in the console space, it is absurd to say that there was only room for two players. if that was the case, nintendo would have exited the console space after the gamecube or wii u, right? or microsoft would have dropped out after the x1 generation. sony has been the only console maker with consistent hardware sales 4 console cycles in a row... but even if you are a distant third in sales, you can still carve out a niche and be successful enough to keep things going. if we ever get to a point where nintendo is in a distant 3rd place and only selling 20m units of its latest console, i have no doubt that would be more than enough for nintendo to continue its venture.
Re: Intergalactic PS5 Is Naughty Dog's Wildest, Most Creative Story Yet
sorry to break it to y'all, but akira actually relied on sponsors to FUND the production, hence why the branding was featured in the film. it was purposeful. comparing a film that REQUIRED sponsors for its existence to a $500m ND game makes no sense whatsoever. it sounds like sony has decided to experiment with a new revenue stream for the sake of making more money, at the expense of the "art". it is immersion breaking and i know i'm not alone with those sentiments. attempts to defend something as jarring as a porsche spaceship as well thought out and meaningful is frankly, embarassing. ND and sony should be ashamed.
Re: Onimusha: Way of the Sword Brings Capcom's Iconic Action Series Back on PS5
this is a very surprising announcement because capcom couldn't even be bothered to port the remaining onimusha games to modern platforms. after they released the remaster to the first game, there wasn't even a whisper. people speculated that meant it sold poorly and the franchise was officially dead. what strange behaviour then to secretly be working on a new entry without porting the other 3 games? huh... let's see how closely capcom goes back to onimusha's survival horror roots vs the more action based sequels... this will be interesting.
Re: Okami Sequel Announced by Capcom
@ApostateMage i'm ashamed to admit that i never played okami all the way through... been on the backlog forever, but this announcement will certainly give me the push to finally correct this shameful behaviour
Re: Okami Sequel Announced by Capcom
absolutely insane! kamiya departing the sinking ship that is platinum games makes a lot more sense now. have to give it to capcom for venturing back into the realm of "experimental" and "artistic" games again they have been playing to safe with sequels for a while now, but THIS sequel is something to gasp at.
Re: Naughty Dog's New PS5 Game Is Finally Announced, Sci-Fi Action Title Intergalactic
a bit underwhelming to be honest. been waiting 10 years for a new IP from ND and this didn't make the best first impression. it's likely going to turn out fine based on their track record, of course, but have to be honest... it was all a bit...trite... also, as @nessisonett mentioned, the product placement was a reach...is sony relying on some new revenue streams to pay the bills? that was uncalled for. as for the lead character, i got lev vibes all over again... this is certainly a ND game huh?
Re: Avatar Dev Will Let You Turn Off PSSR as It Fixes Poor PS5 Pro Patch
sounds like the devs are less interested in the ps5 pro than the consumers themselves haha. what a shameless display of faux hype and misleasding marketing from sony. this on top of the previous 4 years of dropping the ball is nothing less than a disaster of epic proportions. the clock is ticking and sony will need a miracle to redeem itself before the ps6 is announced. still waiting for a reason to own a ps5 some 4 years later...then again, might as well save the investment and put it towards the ps6 at this point — if it fares any better that is :S
Re: Ex-PlayStation Boss Thinks the Days of Consoles Are Numbered
we are at the point now where it would be beneficial if the big 3 joined forces to establish a standard console and thereby host their library on a single platform. imagine a console where you could play nintendo, playstation and xbox games? it would be a win/win for everyone involved and they could split the hardware sales 33.33% each. if anything, this would likely improve software sales for each competitior as people who otherwise wouldn't give a platform holder a chance will be more willing to experience their content. as for the ecosystem of each platform holder, there could be 3 seperate store apps built into the OS and allow nintendo, sony and microsoft to each operate independently of one another for the sake of privacy and security. this would essentially be a steam-like platform but for the console space.
and yes, nintendo and sony could still go ahead and release their own specific hardware over and above this (i.e. handheld hardware). if nintendo was concerned about losing its creative juice and innovation, there would be absolutely nothing stopping it from continuing to develop its hybrid consoles which would appeal to a seperate demographic in addition to the "partnership" console. why this has yet to happen is beyond me. but yes, a single console to rule them all is exactly what this dire gaming industry needs right now.
Re: PS5 Disc Drive Stock Still a Source of Intense Irritation for Many
it's not that sony was unprepared... the shortage is by DESIGN. sony prevented a heated backlash had it not released a disc drive at all, yet it purposely limited supply so that people would either lose interest in getting one, thereby being "forced" into a digital future, or at the very least, discouraged millions of people from paying for the upgrade at all seeing as how overpriced the drive is, even when it is not being scalped. sony will NOT manufacture enough drives to meet the demand in order to coerse people to play games the way SONY wants them to. it's time to stop finding excuses and see this for what it is. when the ps6 launches, the main SKU will NOT include a disc drive. perhaps sony will pull the same stunt by offering an optional drive that is severely in short supply if only to avoid a PR disaster by not doing so. by the time the ps6 pro comes around, no drive will be offered. the ps7 will simply not have a drive period. by then, it is likely that backwards compatibility will be thrown out the window anyways and they will be selling people the same remasteres from 3 console gens ago at full price exclusively on PSN :S. my advice: embrace retro gaming and indie games... the grass is so much greener on this side
Re: As the Switch Closes in, Sony Confirms PS2 Sold 160 Million Units
even more impressive is the fact that the switch never had a single MSRP drop in 7 years! meanwhile, the ps2 saw at least 6 price drops and eventually sold at just $99. if nintendo permanently drops the price of the switch by 20% next year, i expect it will beat the ps2 record within a couple years time. nintendo will likely keep manufacturing switch hardware until the record is beaten. that doesn't change the fact that the ps2 is the greatest console ever made, of course
Re: Talking Point: Would You Want a Steam Deck-Like Portable PlayStation?
@FreasurePlanten if sony were to design a modern handheld, the idea is that it would run all ps4 games and most ps5 games (with some fidelity/resolution compromises just like steam deck does) out of the box. sony would not design original games exclusively for the handheld. as such, the question on whether sony would invest enough resources to support the handheld is irrelevent when there are already thousands of ps4 and ps5 games that would run on it from day one. the old model of designing different games exclusivly for home console and/or a handheld are long over... even for nintendo. in the case of sony, if they are smart, all of our current digital libraries would run on it and there would be no reason to release carts of any kind. it would be a digital software only device like steam deck. if it happens, this is the only approach i can see sony pursuing.
Re: Disgruntled PS5 Pro Owners Campaign to Disable Support After Slew of Shoddy Patches
looks like people are getting what they deserve for supporting sony's scummy business practices and contributing to the downfall of console gaming as we know it
Re: Feature: Why Would Sony Want to Buy Kadokawa?
if this happens, you can kiss any future dark souls games goodbye. i doubt sony would encourage fromsoftware to go back to that well when bandai namco still controls the IP and would be extracting a large percentage of the revenue. outside of earning some easy money by remaking/remastering dark souls until the end of time (should bandai namco and fromsoftware be interested in doing so), sony would likely put fromsoftware on new IP projects so that it can control the franchises and reap the rewards all for itself. if this means more creativity and fresh ideas, it will be a good thing for the studio.
Re: UK Retailers Are All Discounting the PS5 Pro Already
@MrMagic right. the portal is doing so great that sony doesn't want to announce sales figures
Re: UK Retailers Are All Discounting the PS5 Pro Already
@ChimpMasta i disagree with your take. it is unheard of to do a price drop on a new SKU so soon after launch. something is amiss here. don't buy into the hype.
Re: UK Retailers Are All Discounting the PS5 Pro Already
@MrMagic it has not sold "well"...supposedly, sales have come close to the ps4 pro's launch if not exceeding them slightly (at best). in no way does that mean it's selling "well"... selling "well" relatively to what and by what standards? the ps4 pro only sold 14m units... which is just 12% of ps4's total lifetime sales so i wouldn't jump the gun and call the pro lines successful. all they have done is cause confusion and enable developers to become sloppy with the base hardware. i expect the ps5 pro to sell under 10m units due to its higher price point.
Re: UK Retailers Are All Discounting the PS5 Pro Already
yup, it must be selling like hot cakes for them to be dropping the price after just 5 days on sale. that's how economics works heh... this reeks a failed marketing campaign, overstock and lack of demand.
Re: LEGO Horizon Adventures (PS5) - Dull Design Lets Down This Gorgeous Spin-Off
got exactly what it deserved. textbook cashgrab medicority
Re: PS5 Slim Price Drop Confirmed, $380 Until 24th December
nope, not good enough. needs a permanent price drop and applied to ALL SKUs other than the pro. realistically, its going to be a few more years before people bite on the ps5 if they have been on the fence this long. and all that is dependent on some killer games coming out... i.e. the apparent problem isn't just the price.
Re: PS5 Slim Price Drop Confirmed, $380 Until 24th December
@Americansamurai1 no. they want to phase out the physical SKU and stop distributing physical media beginning with the ps6. naturally, they are going to push the idea of digital distribution down our throats until that happens. also, there is a reason why the (optional) optical drives are in short supply and impossible to find... because sony wants them to be. people should brace themselves for the ps5 being the last stop of the physical era. eh, i can see the ps6 including an optional optical drive for the sake of backwards compatibility perhaps, but outside of super limited physical runs, i think the vast majority of ps6 games will be digital only.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Set to Run Significantly Better on PS5 Pro, Early Footage Reveals
@NEStalgia yea, its a real shame how things have turned out for the ps5. there is a certain level of complacency that is going on in the gaming industry these days that really irks me. then you have sony banking off of this complacency in order to sell a new console SKU. this is just bad across the board. this is not what i want or expect from a gaming console, but i suppopse that ship sailed when the ps4 pro was introduced in 2016.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Set to Run Significantly Better on PS5 Pro, Early Footage Reveals
@KundaliniRising333 absolutely. my thoughts exactly. if the possibility of a pro model was not in the cards and the console business model had not changed in 2016 to accomodate this scapegoat way of doing things, i truly believe that developers would be trying a lot harder to release a great experience, knowing that it would be the only release on home consoles for at least 8 years. the pro models are enabling developers to become complacent to mediocre results on the base machines as they know they can just brute force their way to something better on the pro hardware. sadly, i don't think we will ever see what the base ps5 was truly capable of so long as a pro model exists.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Set to Run Significantly Better on PS5 Pro, Early Footage Reveals
the current state of capcom is so very sad. they are turning into s-e as far as doing the bare minimum to optimize their games. sony collusion for an easy marketing campaign on how superior the pro version is by comparison is just scummy. mh wilds is pursuing the same strategy by the looks of things.
Re: Insomniac Developers Psyched for PS5 Pro, Enhanced Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is 'Phenomenal'
these developer advertisements are getting so lame.
Re: PS5 Pro was a '5-Year Project', In Development Before PS5's Launch
@LogicStrikesAgain why wouldn't they put the time to optimize? many reasons.
1.sony is putting a lot of marketing bucks behind ps5 pro enhanced games and publishers will be compensated for their efforts with various business deals. the pro will be the new hot toy this holiday season and sony needs to find reasons to sell and in some cases re-sell people on the ps5 again.
2. as i stated previously, publishers will make their money regardless of how poorly optimized the base version of the game runs. most people are not going to watch DF videos to verify what it is that they are buying, nor will they protest if the performance is bad — only a vocial minority will complain AFTER they hand over their cash.
3. if the spec requirements have shifted with the introduction of the pro model, there is less of a reason to optimize for the base because it is that much easier to brute force their way through development with the pro and then simply remove feature sets for the base as they near completion. i'm sure s-e knew about the ps5 pro's specs during the development of ff rebirth. it never should have gotten released in its current state, but knowing that the pro was just around the corner, they settled with such disparity and compromise, while cheating its customers.
i don't buy the argument that by 2028 the console hardware would be too old and outdated. console gaming was always about a 5-10 year life cycle on the same piece of technology and hardware specs. since developers would spend so much time with the hardware, performance and ambition would steadily increase due to their improved knowledge base and familiarity. if you compare ps1, ps2 and ps3 launch games with those from the end of the life cycle, it is a night and day difference and never fails to impress me. that is what has been lost in the console space thanks to the introduction of the pro model(s) and trying to chase tech trends. what you get now is a box that never truly reaches its potential. you often get sloppy code and lazy developers who are tapping out without much thought to optimization. this is why pc has so many problems (due to the myriad of configurations available). that curse has found its way to the console space now.
all that is to say, if a smart developer works within its limitations of a single hardware spec, there is no such idea as "too demanding" (within reason of course) because they will usually take all necessary steps to make it run adequately. that is what game development is all about. these days, devs are trying to get away with a one size fits all approach and we have seen the results.
sounds like you have given cdpr a free pass for that disaster of a game . they didn't have a clue on how to optmize it due to their lack of knowledge in the console space at the time (being a pc centric developer for many years prior to the witcher 3), project mismanagment, marketing deception and a complete disregard for their customers. it was not the fault of the base hardware in itself that set them back. look at the switch... if you want to talk about archaic tech that somehow managed to run "impossible ports" such as doom (2016), doom eternal, alien isolation, various metro games, witcher 3 etc, then look no further. compromises, sure, but if there is a will, there is a way.
they have barely scratched the surface of the base ps5 and unfortunately we will now never know what it is truly capable of.
Re: PS5 Pro was a '5-Year Project', In Development Before PS5's Launch
@LogicStrikesAgain yes, you would hope that publishers have more integrity than to leave its customers out in the cold... its not so much that the developers have malicious intent and saborage their own games... but they sure as hell won't give the base build as much time and resources if the ps4 pro era is anything to go by. sony was solid with its first party efforts, but many 3rd party devs let things slide when they shouldn't have once they realized that they could brute force their way to victory with the extra power of the pro. the real problem is that people will purchase a given game whether it runs well or doesn't if it is something they are anticipating. many gamers can't help themselves but pre-order afterall. they get what they are given. cyberpunk already proved this.
Re: PS5 Pro was a '5-Year Project', In Development Before PS5's Launch
fairly certain less than 10% of all ps5's sold will be the pro variant due to the price tag and lack of interest. i hope it is FAR less than that so a pro lineup is no longer viable for sony going forward with the ps6. that means they will have no choice but to properly optimize their games for the base model. you know, the way console gaming should be...
better prepare yourselves for horrendous ports on the base ps5 now because developers have been paid by sony to shine a light on the enhanced ps5 pro features while the base versions fall by the wayside. we already saw evidence of this with ff rebirth, dragon's dogma 2 and presumably mh wilds among many other games. what a way to treat your customers.
Re: Sony Says the Best Time to Get a PS5 Is Now
@LogicStrikesAgain
"This gen has seen games that rival the best of last gen. Games like Baldurs gate 3 and Elden Ring to name just a few. And we’re still only halfway current gen."
yea, elden ring is also on ps4 so no loss there. bg3 is a rare current gen-only exclusive that made a mark in terms of innovation. we need more games that are willing to try something "new".
"Now if people cant enjoy games because they're also available on other consoles, PC or even last gen consoles. Well thats their prerogative. But that leads to a narrow path of fulfilment. And hardly warrants a “this gen has no games” comment."
that is the entire point i was making. what that means is, millions of people simply don't need a ps5 to enjoy their hobby right now. i wouldn't dare say this about the ps4 in 2013-2020 though which says a lot about the current state of playstation. sony has not given people a good reason to invest in a ps5. that is a big problem and will become more evident when sales slump unless, of course, gta 6 manages to save the industry (which in itself is sad to see).
"If your definition of true exclusives means not having any PC ports. That would mean Nintendo is the only one that has true exclusives, still followed by Playstation. Does the PC have any notable games or “system sellers” that are true exclusives to that platform?"
up until 4 years ago, sony was known just as much as nintendo for its exclusives and this translated into sales and excitement. that wasn't such a bad thing was it? to give people more reasons to own a console? i don't think there is any way to defend the current state of playstation by dismissing the importance of exclusives like that.
"Also, i dont get the ‘doesn't take full advantage of PS5 hardware if its cross gen’ argument. Cross gen games obviously run and look much better on PS5 because they use the extra power of the console."
well, people buy a console for new experiences... whether that means better graphics or new innovations that couldn't be achieved on older hardware, etc. the ps5 to this point has been stuck in cross gen territory for many of its 1st party titles. if you are limited in game design across the board (including physics, AI, animation etc) due to older hardware, a resolution or framerate boost is not going to fix that. we are 4 years into the gen and only NOW are we starting to see more games built from the ground up for the current gen. that is disappointing no matter how you slice it. don't see how the ps5 can be ranked higher than last place (currently) compared to its legacy and everything that has come before it. if that isn't disappointing, i don't know what is. now, if you never owned a ps4 and jumped into the sony ecosystem for the first time with a ps5 (and have the luxury of 100% backwards compatibility), then you would be in a different boat. for most of the playstation community, that is not the case.
Re: Sony Says the Best Time to Get a PS5 Is Now
@LogicStrikesAgain
you might be missing the context as to why people are underwhelemed with the ps5. this article is specifically about owning a ps5 and the "value" that it offers, even if you own other consoles such as ps4 or a pc.
1. half of those games listed are also on ps4 and vast majority are on pc and elswhere.
2. half of those games are not taking full advantage of the ps5 hardware as they are cross gen releases and need to cater to lower specs.
3. many of those games are run-of-the-mill sequels with absolutely nothing new to show and are creatively bankrupt in their design. i'd argue that none of those games are impressive enough to sell hardware. there are no "system sellers" to be found. where is the innovation and originality? MAYBE astro bot could be a "system seller" for a very hardcore group of platforming fans, but that's about it.
4. only 3 games on the list are exclusive to the ps5 and two of those (ff rebirth and stellar blade) will soon find their way to pc.
5. true exclusives matter to many people because it incentivizes one to purchase the hardware and brings "value" to the platform. the ps5 is almost completely void of this now and its hurt the perception of the brand.
one more thing i'll note is that in previous console generations, there was more risk taking and NEW ip being developed which made the industry that much more exciting. these days, it's mostly by the numbers and predictable. sony has yet to release a new ip on ps5 outside of returnal?! even astro bot (ps5) is not a new ip as it is based on the groundwork of astro bot rescue mission and astro's playroom.
to sum up my thoughts: this generation has been incredibly uneventful, predictable and expensive so far. not much to celebrate at the moment. hopefully that gives you a better sense of why people are not as excited as you are. that said, the indi scene continues to impress and there is always something worth playing in that space. my rant is mainly focused on the AAA space as we know it.
Re: Sony Says the Best Time to Get a PS5 Is Now
why is it a good time to buy exactly?
has the price dropped yet? no.
has there been a "system seller calibur game" released? debatable but in my opinion, no.
are things looking bright over the next few months with hotly anticipated releases? no. we don't even know what projects most of sony's 1st party studios are working on, let alone what the potential release YEAR will be for them. we do know that they have a bunch of service games in active development that will likely bomb just as hard as concord though!
the only exception to all of this may be gta 6 but that isn't even a ps5 exclusive and is likely a year away from release
things are rough for sony right now and they have little to no bullet points to entice potential customers to get a ps5 who may be on the fence and/or not impressed with how the first 4 years have gone for the platform. i would know, i'm one such potential customer. had a great time with the ps4 since 2014 and see no reason to throw it by the wayside anytime soon. this is probably the point of no return and i should save my money and invest it into the ps6 instead (if it can deliver what the ps5 couldn't)
Re: After a Tough Few Months, Sony Says It'll Keep Making PS5 Live Service Games
@rick1987 they tried that with the getaway series on ps2. first game was passable. second game was a complete failure. getaway 3 for ps3 was outright cancelled during development. sony nor any other publisher is simply incapable of competing with gta... they would need a $1-2b budget and 10 years of development time to get even remotely close to gta in scope and production values.
Re: After a Tough Few Months, Sony Says It'll Keep Making PS5 Live Service Games
sony is playing with fire. how many times do they need to be punched in the face before they flinch, let alone, re-think whatever it is that they are doing anymore?
concord and destruction all-stars wasn't enough. last of us factions cancelled after YEARS of development time wasn't enough. spiderman: the great web and many other live service projects being cancelled and presumably losing them even more money in the process... had no effect on their vision for live service games? really?
bring on horizon mmo and fairgame$ if you must, but just know that its very likely to cost sony well over $400m in additional losses when all is said and done. if the rumours are true and bend is working on a live service game, i think we can already see the writing on the wall — that is, it will be their last game before being shuttered. bend is one of sony's oldest studios and seeing them misused only to fall by the wayside like this is just real sad.
don't believe all the lies about there being no way to drop the hardware cost on ps5's due to supply chain issues, etc... the truth is, sony has lost an enormous amount of revenue over the past few years due to numerous failures incured by its live service projects (especially those that got cancelled after years of development and will never see the light of day). sony will continue to lose revenue for the next several years due to poor project management and the customer is expected to pay for its mistakes by way of higher hardware costs. at the same time, sony is not exactly keeping the platform interesting with enough games to even warrant a ps5 purchase (for many people) in the first place. the next 4 years are not going to be any better. get used to this era of playstation. the only bright spot is that they might be able to turn things around by 2028 when the ps6 launches, but that is not a given.
Re: PS5, PC Flop Concord Never Returning, Studio Closed Down
well, so long as you understand that most live service games will fail to last more than 6 months to a year, this isn't all that surprising. these days, it is just a matter of how long the publisher is willing to lose money before pulling the plug. the only difference here is that sony was pro-active in dealing with the failure compared to some other publishers. why bleed money for a year knowing the game will not survive based on all the early metrics? smart move by sony to be abrupt with this mess... of course, the game never should have been greenlit in the first place but sony was desperate to follow the trends. they earned this by way of their arrogance and mismanagement.
hate to say it (well, actually i don't), but fairgame$ will likely have a very similar fate. live for 2 weeks? maybe a bit longer... perhaps a few months. sony says it will keep making these kinds of games? complete nonsense when resources are finite.
Re: Metaphor: ReFantazio, Persona Director Katsura Hashino Is Already Grinding Out a New JRPG
surely, they must be working on the metaphor "complete" edition, while planning metaphor's sequel at the same time. that's just how it goes at altus... i'll be shocked if its another new IP so soon.
Re: Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS5) - Brilliant, Memorable RPG Is One of Atlus' Finest Works
@NEStalgia true, but don't forget that metaphor (former working title: project re fantasy) was officially announced in the fall of 2016, right after persona 5 launched, giving it plenty of time to grow its own levels of anticipation. considering the success of p5, people were very excited about project re fantasy right off the bat. but after a teaser trailer a year later, the project went radio silent for years... i think many people moved on, completely forgot that this game existed or weren't aware of it in the first place. i bet many "casual" p5 fans don't even know that metaphor is created by the same core team. yes, the change in setting is definitely going to divide some of the persona community which could hamper sales to some extent. if metaphor manages to sell 5m copies, that will likely be considered a success for atlus all the same, especially for a new IP. they might even bring in some new players who are attracted to metaphor specifically because it is set in a fantasy world and not in another contemporary highschool.
Re: Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS5) - Brilliant, Memorable RPG Is One of Atlus' Finest Works
@NEStalgia it is somewhat speculative on my part, but compared to persona 5 and its lead up to launch, i just did not see the same level of anticipation with metaphor (generally speaking) on social media. i have no doubt that persona fans will like the game as well, but i am not convinced there is as much crossover within the community as there should be. maybe its due to the major shift in setting? the highschool/student life aspect is completely gone here. in my opinion that is a good thing — we've seen that 4 times now (including persona 1) so a fresh take on it was warranted. of course, sales will tell the story. i'll be impressed if manages to sell even 50% of persona 5's 9m copies.
Re: Get Back to JRPG Basics with Physical Final Fantasy 1-6 Collection Anniversary Edition on PS4
$113CAD for (3) noteworthy games and (3) historically important, but not so notworthy games from 30+ years ago, is not "reasonable" by any metric. easy pass. i wouldn't be able to justify the idea that i am supporting s-e' exploitative FOMO tactics alone. heck, i don't think they updated the font on console either? is it still arial instead of the classic pixel font? on pc, you don't have that problem thankfully
Re: Fiona Feeds You Dessert in PS5, PS4's Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive
@BusyOlf that would be immensly more interesting than what appears to be the game being marketed to us.
Re: Fiona Feeds You Dessert in PS5, PS4's Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive
@LavenderShroud your guess is as good as mine. maybe they took notes from nintendo (when they too stopped caring about maintaining the family friendly facade) and opened the floodgates on the eshop haha. the accountants did the math: sony is better off letting it all in than not, if it means their revenue numbers go up.
Re: Fiona Feeds You Dessert in PS5, PS4's Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive
i don't know what sort of changes have been going on at sony of late. a few years ago, they felt it ncessesary to censor trish' back side in dmc v (i think that was reverted back later with a patch?). doa xtreme 3 was never released in the west for being culturally inapproproate or something...
fast forward a few years... we are in an era with more DEI politics and censorship controversies than ever before, and yet, sony now has no issue with stellar blade and venus vacation — games that are pandering to certain demographics with sexual innuendo and fanservice to the point of no return... i mean, some of this stuff is quite cringe inducing.
so, my question is... what in the actual heck changed at sony to completely turn off its shame meter? is it as simple as MONEY?!
Re: Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS5) - Brilliant, Memorable RPG Is One of Atlus' Finest Works
there was never any doubt in my mind that this game would turn out great with all the talent behind it. i'm a bit stunned by the lack of interest from the persona community, however. had no idea that such fans could close themselves in a box like that and not pay attention to a new, fresh IP that was planned entirely by ex persona members!
it's a little disappointing that the dungeon design can be bland in some areas since that was arguably the weakest aspect of the persona games as well. the performance and graphical issues don't bother me so much since this game was clearly designed and intended to be released on the ps4 long ago — delays brought it into the current gen and they decided not to take advantage of ps5's power. if you want a cleaner presenation for the ps5 port, wait for the "complete" edition in 12-18 months time.
congrats to the studio zero team for delivering on this long delayed project. currently sitting at 93 on open critic which should put it in the RPG of the year discussions with the possibility of establishing itself as a new tenpole IP for atlus.