Comments 2,733

Re: Metal Gear Solid Delta Producer Is Hoping to Remake MGS4, Rescuing It from PS3 Jail

Rich33

"The hardware of that era required some extremely unique design choices to get good 3D performance with the tech available, and MGS4 ended up with some pretty unusual code because of that… Bringing it over now would be a real challenge, I think."

For the love of sanity, then - please use a different team or engine to the Snake Eater Remake, or wait for PS6 even.
I never played the original MGS4, and would like to play a remake.

Re: Japanese Ghost of Yotei PS5 Sales Are Just About Hanging On

Rich33

@johndoe89
How were you expecting more?
It was technically a fantastic game, with a practically flawless framerate, that as usual for Sony 1st party, but a rarity for others these days, didn't need weeks of patching after launch to get it into a decent state!
Excellent story which had somewhat different themes each chapter. Excellent gameplay. An open world which, unlike most (but not all), is interesting and worth exploring.

You are entitled to your opinion, but mine is that it is the best game of this year, and surpassed GoT (which I wasn't a fan of at all) by a fair margin.

Even if you don't like it - and I think I remember from various articles comments sections that you don't, that doesn't make it objectively a bad game.
I don't like lots of games eg racing games, but that doesn't mean I go around telling people that GT and Forza are bad games, because they are not.

Re: PS5 Roguelike Let It Die: Inferno Uses a Crapload of Generative AI

Rich33

Oh we have a new tool to play with!

Let's just see how many different ways we can use it - doesn't matter if it breaks everything in the process!

This is no different than using a mallet to tighten a screw... you may get lucky very rarely and save a bit of time, or more likely you will **** the whole thing up.

Re: Looks Like PS5 Is Going to Clean Up This Black Friday

Rich33

@MrPeanutbutterz
I bet he was horrified at how much series X is retailing for now.

The lack of permanent price reductions does make me wonder if those PS4 "long term holdouts" will just decide to skip PS5 and buy a PS6 when it launches, or if they think PS6 is too expensive (I'm still sure we are looking at £650-700), will buy a PS5 at that point in time, as I'm sure it will drop a lot in price once PS6 is announced (if not new, then certainly used).

This is part of my thoughts around GTA6 not making a massive impact on console hardware sales now it is so late - and I bet Sony were not pleased to hear of the delays.

My personal view is that cross gen will be here even longer next gen, particularly if Sony have more difficulty selling the PS6 than the PS5 (which will be magnified if it isn't powerful enough to convince PS5 owners to upgrade).

Re: PS5 Sales in Japan Quadruple as New Model Launches

Rich33

@Titntin (@Oram77)

To be fair I think the Pro is great (as you probably know lol), but even I was surprised that the 'special price' digital console is only outselling it 2:1.

It almost suggests that they put the reduction on the wrong console!

Good point on the 2Tb storage - I mention it from time to time, but so many people seem to forget this, and that it alone is worth approx £100 of the price (though to be honest, it wasn't exactly shouted from the rooftops (so to say) by Sony either).

Re: Looks Like PS5 Is Going to Clean Up This Black Friday

Rich33

@AverageGamer
I'm sure I read that Pro is also around £/$100 off at the moment.
If you have PS Plus I would check out the PS Direct store if you have it in your country as I also seem to remember you may get a 5% discount from them on top.

Hope you enjoy it - I've had mine since launch and have been very happy.

Re: Looks Like PS5 Is Going to Clean Up This Black Friday

Rich33

@MrPeanutbutterz
I doubt we will ever see that sort of price reduction over the course of a generation again.

I'm not convinced GTA6 is going to make a big impact on console sales any more.
PS5 is tracking more or less level with PS4 now, and with GTA6 likely launching so late in the generation I think all those that would care will likely already have PS5"s by the time it comes out. You might see a small surge for a week, but little more.

I did think it would cause a larger surge in Pro consoles, but again, I just think it will be too late in the generation, with PS6 only a year or 2 away by the time it launches (I still believe 2028 for PS6 is more realistic).

Re: Looks Like PS5 Is Going to Clean Up This Black Friday

Rich33

Sony just have to be a little bit careful not to end up being seen as - "don't buy, just wait for one of their over the top sales".

Could they drop their RRP when not on sale, but not have as big a reduction on sale?

Or, are they keeping the RRP high to (1) reduce price increases when they are eventually affected by RAM prices, and (2) reduce massive sticker shock when PS6 price is announced.

Re: Talking Point: Does PS5 Have a Sequel Problem?

Rich33

For all of the games noted, I really enjoyed the sequels, and would happily buy a part 3 for all of them too - and an Atreus spin off for GOWR.

I would also add that I don't want massive changes for sequels, and felt all 4 of these games delivered enough, but thankfully not too many changes.

Sometimes, familiarity is a good thing, particularly in cases such as these where the games are this good - they are all absolutely top tier in my opinion.

Re: Lies of P Dev 'Will Not Disappoint' with Upcoming Games, Says Director

Rich33

@AdamNovice
NB SPOILERS

As I saw it, Overture more or less confirmed that Lies of P 2 will continue P's adventure, in an attempt to put right Krat via time travel - though the rules of this were very hazy - by the end it seemed that he had only made small changes as he was always meant to have interceded in that moment of the past.

If you return to the final boss area of overture Gemini mentions about finding a way to save people.
Also, if you grow the golden rose its entry includes a section about altering fate.
And, after Overture, Lady Antonia's letter to you gains additional text to find a path that can save everyone.

The character teased at the end of the main game (D) could be interesting, but a lot of people didn't want a character change as P is established, and I think they have realised it would be a mistake to outright change - though D could join P in his quest.

Re: Sony Poised to Publish PS5 Hit Death Stranding 2 on PC

Rich33

@get2sammyb
Though the world in which Sony started releasing games on PC was very different - I would have agreed with them back then that PC was no threat whatsoever.

Now they have PC Hybrids including (probably) the next Xbox just around the corner, all looking to continue to blur the lines as to what a PC actually is, and ready to run any PS game with PC code.

Obviously, as you point out in the article though, this game isn't owned by Sony so the normal 'exclusives' argument doesn't really mean much.

Re: Poll: Five Years of PS5 - How Would You Rate Sony's Console?

Rich33

@Stevemalkpus
100% agree with you that there should be, and that mass media should start outing this shameless behaviour. Perhaps if it does, the manufacturers may backtrack (if they can).

There is also a complex danger for the 2 companies that supply the RAM and signed deals, which becomes particularly relevant if, as you say, they didn't know the other was also making a deal:

A shortage of RAM worldwide could lead to other, currently minor producers (if any - I'm not sure) upping their production, or new producers entering the market to fill demand.

At the end of the signed deals the 2 companies who signed deals suddenly find that they lose 40% of their guaranteed sales, prices have normalised, and that 1 or more new competitors have entered the market as major opposition (and who may have signed longer term deals with other - as a result of the shortage - RAM starved companies); not to mention that the other current major opposition (who also signed a 40% deal with OpenAI) now having found themselves in the same position are more aggressively competing too.

I also wonder if the 2 companies will try and change course now, if they thought they were getting an exclusive deal...obviously not breaking contract, thats a big risk, but they themselves could lobby to get the contract voided by competition authorities.

Re: Xbox Devs 'Thrilled' to Be Bringing Their Games to PS5

Rich33

@PuppetMaster
I had to say something - it had just gone too far, and the rudeness/disrespect (on his part) was silly. As I said, we can all have disagreements, but something has got to be serious before you drop civility.

Hopefully it is acceptable to say - good on them for deleting, and the posts were still visible when I posted (as I copy pasted his quotes) so he will have seen it.

Re: Poll: Five Years of PS5 - How Would You Rate Sony's Console?

Rich33

This poll is a couple of years too early - Sony typically release their best towards the end of each gen.

Somewhat surprised given a lot of the comments I read here often that the poll is so positive, and that very few think PS6 should launch 2027 (I think 2028 is far better).

For me, this has been the best generation so far.
60fps, SSDs, and a very strong Pro machine being the highlights.
I do think that Sony need to deliver game-wise in the next few years though to cap it off nicely.

Re: Poll: Five Years of PS5 - How Would You Rate Sony's Console?

Rich33

@LogicStrikesAgain
I was reading through your post, and you already covered what I was going to say about there still being a couple/few years left.
I'm generally happy with Sony studios output, though they definitely could have released more. For me at least, I have had a couple of those generation definers from them - GOWR, Astro, GoY, SM (MM & 2).

I am hopeful though that, just like PS3 and PS4 generations, they finish strong. I think all of us forget sometimes that Sony have typically released some of their best games in the latter years of each gen.

Re: You Can Buy a Fully-Fledged PS5 for the Same Price as a Less Powerful Xbox Series S Right Now

Rich33

@Oram77 @Jacko11
I think PS6 is going to be around the £650 - £700 mark, without a disc drive (but with an optional one available) - and I'm absolutely fine with that, providing it is capable enough. (I'm not convinced yet).

I've been saying it for a while, and I'm sure I will say it many more times before it launches, but if the PS6 isn't expensive/capable enough it is going to fail spectacularly.

If its not-too-expensive but underpowered, a lot of those people who want a cheaper PS6 will see little benefit so will stay with PS5 (and maybe dabble with Switch2), and some of those who want a bigger upgrade (and are prepared to pay for it) will start to look elsewhere.

Sony have a seriously difficult balancing act on their hands, and should not be jumping into this potential storm too early.

Of course, you also have some that expect a cheap, all powerful PS6 but thats fairly delusional.

Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Is Getting Comfortably Outsold by Battlefield 6 in Yet Another Country

Rich33

It will be interesting to see whether these COD sales figures make a dent in Activisions market valuation - and what MS (as the parent company of Xbox) will do as a result.

If the reports are true, the aquisition has lead to Xbox being forced to sell its games on its opponent's system, and led to unrealistic profit expectations on its other studios.

Now, we see the main Asset- COD - halve it's sales (or worse) from last year. MS shareholders are not going to like that!

Re: Suddenly the PS5 Pro Doesn't Look That Expensive Anymore

Rich33

@EfYI
Glad you are enjoying it.
My personal opinion remains that 5Pro is a much better console that 4Pro was, when comparing each generations Pro to base console.

And, things should improve even further early-ish next year when they upgrade to the new version of PSSR/FSR4.(whatever they call it!)

Re: Xbox Devs 'Thrilled' to Be Bringing Their Games to PS5

Rich33

@Striker21

All you have appeared to do here all day is fanboy* for Xbox, on a Playstation site.

As part of this, you have been very rude and disrespectful to a number of users:

  • "It's just typical manchild behavior that is illogical at its core." Directed at @PuppetMaster
  • "You are either an extremely picky gamer, a fanatic, or a combination of the two." Directed at @PuppetMaster
  • The entirety of your post #69, but "This generic and simple-minded statement" was a ket part. Directed at @MegaBeenz
  • "I hope that you improve your logical thinking". Directed at @MegaBeenz

All in this thread alone.
I do not always agree with other people, sometimes I vehemently disagree, but unless there is very good cause not to, I at least try to keep my comments civil and not insult anyone.

Also how disrespectful is it to keep asking for people to provide you with "rational" or "logical" reasons why they don't like every Xbox game - its not like everyone's tastes are the same, and in all cases they have not exactly set the world on fire so to speak.

As I said in a previous post, if they want my attention they also need to start upping their game from a technical point of view - Outer Worlds 2, Oblivion, and Doom TDA have all had serious issues or been lacklustre ports (ref DF).
In fact the only top tier Xbox game so far in my opinion has been Forza, and some people, myself included, just are not into racing games.

As justification for my previous comment * A quick look in your comments history shows that nearly all the comments you have raised here (and that haven't been deleted by mods - I can't see them) so far on this Playstation site, have been very much in favour of Xbox - 14 such post on this thread alone.

Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off

Rich33

@TrollOfWar
"Or PlayStation could just continue releasing games on PC (and PC handhelds) like they do now, without trying to prevent people from playing their games."

Or, they could pull out of PC entirely.

If Sony see Hybrids and handhelds are a threat to them keeping customers in their ecosystem, they will react by stopping ports to PC entirely. The comparatively tiny amount of money they make from PC Ports is not worth the risk of eroding their userbase.

All I am saying is it might be better if they can find a middle ground to block out just those higher risk devices instead.

Re: Xbox Devs 'Thrilled' to Be Bringing Their Games to PS5

Rich33

@PuppetMaster
Oh, and yes - there is a bit of inconsistency in not being into 1st person shooters as a general rule, yet having had some interest in Doom TDA, but for some reason I loved Doom 2016 - it felt more of an adventure game in certain ways.

Re: Xbox Devs 'Thrilled' to Be Bringing Their Games to PS5

Rich33

@PuppetMaster
I like a fair few RPG's - but it really comes down to the game in question.

Eg Hogwarts Legacy (does that count?) is amazing in my opinion, Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk were decent (but not amazing for me), but I have little interest in Mass Effect or Fable (I played a Fable game back on my 360 and that put me off the series to the point I would need to see something very convincing).

(I also like quite a few Soulslikes - Lies of P was amazing and First Berserker pretty good.)

I really enjoyed Oblivion and Skyrim back in the day, and would have happily bought Oblivion Rm, even just for the nostalgia, if it wasn't for the state it launched in (and I don't think it is close to having been fixed up properly).

Sony games on the other hand, I usually really enjoy - they just feel such high quality compared to most games. That's not me being a fanboy either- I just really like most of their games, but not all (eg GT seems excellent but I'm not into racing games).

Xbox studios have only made a few games I would have been interested in (im not into 1st person shooters as a rule so thats a fair few out) - but then they did lacklustre or broken PS5 versions of the games I was interested in.

But you are right, I must be really weird (and an illogical manchild) to have bought a PS5/Pro, yet be into Sony games, and not be interested in every single game (or piece of crap in certain cases) Xbox releases! Lol

Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off

Rich33

@TrollOfWar
I thought launchers could actively detect the hardware they are running on, so would have thought it would be very easy, particularly with standardised hardware set ups. I would also have thought modders would only have a certain amount of ability to circumvent it.

This article makes it clear that the amount of money they make is quite insignificant compared to their console ecosystem.
Maybe these PC hybrids will make Sony consider it's just too much risk to bother, and lead them to pulling away from PC in its entirety. Or, maybe they can come up with a method of removing the risk of hybrids, and continue porting games to mainstream PC.
Given that choice I don't think AMD would be too concerned with Sony blocking certain hardware.

Good point on the handhelds - Yes, I would think Sony would be well aware of the risks of their games also being available on these devices, in relation to them getting their PS handheld off the ground, so may well be looking into this area too if they plan to continue porting to PC.

Re: Xbox Devs 'Thrilled' to Be Bringing Their Games to PS5

Rich33

@Striker21 @PuppetMaster

Personally I don't have much interest is all those games either.

  • If I liked racing games, Forza looked really excellent.
  • I had mild interest in Indiana Jones until I saw it running, and then I just sort of lost interest.
  • I had some interest in Doom TDA, and a lot of interest in Oblivion (not on the list), until it became evident that Doom was a half arsed port, and Oblivion was a complete technical disaster. So no way was I going to purchase them.

Thats it really. And given the poor technical standards of certain recent games from Xbox studios, they are all on my 'wait for DF analysis before getting excited' list.

Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off

Rich33

@GamingFan4Lyf
I am thinking that, as others have suggested, a Sony launcher might be the best way for them at the moment.

The main threat to Sony's console market from the PC space at the moment is hybrid devices eg the next Xbox / steam machine.
A Sony launcher could, I assume, be made to detect and not run on these standardised devices, thus removing this potential competition. They would have to be upfront about this of course.
This may in turn allow for them to launch more games, and a bit earlier, on more mainstream PC devices.

Like you, I think they have a lot of number crunching and risk analysis to do, but if they are able to remove some of that risk and focus on the generally less enticing to console gamers, mainstream PC market, there may be something in this.

Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off

Rich33

@Striker21
Sony studio games are not there to make money - it's a nice side earner.
Sony also make very little profit off of hardware - in fact at the start of the generation they often sell hardware at a loss.

Cheaper hardware, and Exclusives, are only really there to attract and keep customers happy in their ecosystem - this is where they make their money.

This is a major reason why Xbox is in the abysmal state its in - various bad decisions including Game Pass Day 1 and spending too much on aquisitions, has led to Xbox being forced into being multiplatform, and forced them into unrealistic profit margins. I believe MS shareholders want more money back after spending nearly $100bn on aquisitions.

Who would want an Xbox now? - Xbox console users don't have access to PS5 console Exclusives (including those not made by Sony), whereas if they had a PS5 instead they would have access to both PS5 exclusives and nearly everything Xbox makes too.

Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off

Rich33

@LogicStrikesAgain
I've said it in a separate post, but their own launcher would likely give them far more control over what devices can play their games - any device seen as risky* eg Hybrid designs like the next Xbox, and they could block the launcher, as it would detect the device. They would need to be upfront about it though.

Edit: * to their console ecosystem / business

Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off

Rich33

I've said before that I thought their PC business was pocket money compared to their console ecosystem, and it seems like that is the case, and pretty insignificant.

If they choose to continue on PC, and don't think it too big a risk to their console business, I also think they would do best to have their own storefront / launcher too.

That might allow them far more control to block their games on any hardware they do consider a risk - eg next Xbox and other hybrid devices like Steam Machine.

Re: Xbox Devs 'Thrilled' to Be Bringing Their Games to PS5

Rich33

To be honest, none of the Xbox studios games released so far on PS5 have interested me.
(Forza was done excellently, but it's just not my type of game - but I'm giving props to a game/port well done. Same with HiFi Rush too I believe.)

But, when the first thing I hear is "doesn't perform as well as series X" or "lacklustre Pro enhancement" the first thought in my mind is "skip!" - I haven't felt like I have lost out, more dodged a bullet, and no game has felt necessary.

They are going to have to try much harder (and I understand that its probably head office giving the studio too little time, but my point still stands).