@XenonKnight I always thought the same, but realised there is a problem with that. To satisfy anti monopoly rules you have to have an alternative purchase source - that was retailers selling discs. I suspect that forcing the selling of the alternative to a higher price (intrinsically) was frowned upon.
@XenonKnight Personally I think that is a loss Sony feel they can't take anymore - they are effectively subsidising discs at this point. That money could be used to help delay a game price increase, or help subsidise PS6.
@ButteredCrumpet "Yet Xbox ... seem intent on not being intent on anything."
Project: Fish out of water - flip flopping hard.
The rest of this post just made me laugh out loud - I particularly like "I would rather punch myself in the crotch than work for them again, with a landmine."
@NathanUC @ThePizzaMule You missed the point in their announcement where they clearly stated that instead of discs, retailers will be selling digital codes.
This may even end up cheaper for digital purchasers - what if Amazon start selling games digitally cheaper than Sony's store and email the code to you. A lot of digital purchasers buy wallet top ups via emailed code from other retailers, so there is no difference in convenience. This would in turn force Sony to drop store prices, embark on sales etc.
@ButteredCrumpet I genuinely hoped I had misunderstood what they were saying (and still do, as, with no offence intended, their comment was difficult to understand in places) They had only mentioned jailbreaking (not specifically piracy) - but I disliked the 'taking of the moral high ground' around consumer rights along with this.
It is this very type of act that has companies enforcing policies which can impact on the rights of others - or at the least inconvenience people who do abide by the rules.
(Just noting again the person I was replying to did not mention Piracy - I don't tend to respond to those comments and just 'report' them). You are quite right - all piracy and theft in general do is raise the prices for others. It is not a victimless crime - the company is a victim, but so is everyone else who suffers higher prices as a result. This is a hobby, and someone condoning piracy because THEY feel the price is too high is wrong - they are helping to cause the very problem they are complaining about.
@Foxhound It certainly has it's moments of difficulty, but I agree with you on the atmosphere and lore. I enjoy Soulslikes, and it is not an easy game at all imo.
Just be careful with what you are doing with your quartz upgrades - they are quite important (though I can't remember which upgrades are best now).
And try to save the boss weapon upgrade full moons (full moonstone of the covenant) for a weapon you REALLY NEED to upgrade - they are VERY, VERY limited.
If you hit a roadblock, there may be an easier way to do it - most bosses have a weakness to exploit.
I will add that if you have Overture, do not start it until near to or after the main game (preferably after) - as much as the weapons are excellent, it is endgame difficulty, and has ramifications for a sequel. I also think the atmosphere of the DLC surpasses the main game.
NG+ and NG+2 runs are easier though in my opinion.
@ButteredCrumpet Thank you - I suspected it was the case, but wasn't sure as I always leave mine plugged in.
I have seen a fair few comments like this stating they were going to go offline for the week, and thought this might not work. Sony will see if people cheat.
(Though the time played indicators can be a bit off sometimes - I have seen it change by FAR more hours than I have actually played)
@Ken_Kaniff I'm not sure, but its possible that when you plug it back in to the Internet that Sony will be able to see what you have been doing whilst you have been offline.
@Mindless_Demon Maybe I'm starting to get a bit cynical, but I'm beginning to wonder if PC / Xbox (and maybe Nintendo) are going to see bigger drop offs in engagement this week, whilst their users are all trying 'drum up' support for this 'blackout' - too busy posting across various sites comments sections and social media.
@Foxhound Lies of P is a great game. The DLC (Overture) adds a lot to it as well. After playing the DLC, I played through the entire game again + DLC again with the new weapons (for me it was claws and bow).
@Xonic In your reply to @ButteredCrumpet you were criticising Sony's decision, and saying that they were effectively defending them. Yet, you then went on to say "However my 2nd PS5 that's in box waiting for the jailbreak to be completed says otherwise".
My comment, (which was not disagreeing for the sake of it, and I did ask you to correct me if I was misunderstanding you), was that you cannot take the moral high ground on consumer rights whilst planning to jailbreak a console (at best a legally grey area).
I then went on to say "Even if it is in a legal grey area in your country, its still acts like this that force these companies to put up more and more walls, often at the inconvenience of others" Ie acts like this (and piracy) have negative implications for rule/law abiding gamers as well as companies.
My comparison to online cheating was regarding that (in a similar way) this behaviour, causes the need for anti cheat software that can negatively affect non cheating gamers.
In regards the stigma point - Fair enough. I wouldn't say cool, but there was no real stigma attached (maybe a bit from older generations) - though I appreciate this can vary and I see you are from Canada I believe, and I am UK.
Please note, and you are able to check my comments history, I have been highly critical of Sony's communication quality this gen.
I'm not sure them communicating the details of their plans (around retailers selling digital) at this point is a good idea. They missed their chance when they first made the announcement (it may be that they still had things to finalise), but some are just too loud and angry to properly listen at this moment. From my point of view, there is also almost a paranoia about their plans at the moment. The one thing they need to confirm ASAP is a disc drive for PS6 or alternate plans for back catalogues.
Not getting into the whole physical vs digital, and just looking at the majority digital buyers only - this may even be a good thing for consumer choice.
If we consider one of the main draws of digital to be convenience, some retailers (eg Amazon) may start selling these digital versions via emailed code following purchase, just like they do for wallet top ups now.
I buy digitally, but I buy my wallet top ups online in order to get the best deals, enter the codes on my console to add the funds, and then buy the game via the PS Store. The future plans may give me the option to buy the game cheaper directly from the retailer, have the code emailed to me, then enter the code on my console and start downloading.
This may actually be good for digital consumers, which are the majority, even if exact figures are being disputed, and potentially bad for Sony in this 1 regard. You are right though, that we need further details.
You have the argument that Sony will provide the digital codes, but this likely has no bearing as I think they provide all the discs now.
@Xonic So, if I have this right and please correct me if I am wrong - you have bought a second PS5 for the premeditated purpose of committing a normally illegal act (jailbreaking it)?
Even if it is in a legal grey area in your country, its still acts like this that force these companies to put up more and more walls, often at the inconvenience of others, yet you want to take the moral high ground and complain about consumer rights?!?
I'm not even saying that consumer rights are where they should be here, but one of the benefits to Sony of going all digital is that it helps stop this sort of behaviour. I assume from what you have said that you are very aware that digital-only poses a greater risk as if they detect you using a modded console they can cancel your account and purchases, as well as bricking the console.
It's exactly the same argument as anti cheat on PC - those who want to cheat cause companies to include anti cheat software which often impacts others on performance.
Quoting: "A company that made its wealth literally on the backs of the niche people that supported games and suffered through the stigma of being a "gamer""
I have been gaming since the 80's and never felt this level of 'stigma'.
Quoting: "This sudden push didn't come out of no where, I'm sure the PS6 may have always been the plan to stop physical media but them suddenly mid-gen enforcing it?"
The cut off date is likely set to coincide with PS6. Whether PS6 launches immediately before at the end of 2027, or mid to late 2028 maybe after a period of normalisation, we don't know yet. I suppose you could argue that the date should be closely aligned with the launch of PS6, but this is impractical as there will be a massive cross gen this time.
@Vertere I was just answering / reiterating a couple of specific points.
I think that (unless of course one of these specific actions eg the 'blackout' has such a significant impact such that Sony reverses its plans) the discussion now needs to move away from discs, to digital rights / 'ownership' (ie what rights they and you have regarding a digital licence).
1 exception (that doesn't affect me) - Sony need to confirm an optional disc drive for PS6, and if not what plans they are making for disc based back catalogues. The sooner the better.
Who knows, maybe Sony already have plans to extend digital rights, or are thinking about it - they just aren't ready to announce them yet. Maybe they are waiting until after they have announced PS6, or maybe just until the current anger around discs has subsided.
You have never 'owned' the software - it is (and always has been) intellectual property of the company who developed / published it.
With physical discs, all you 'own' is the plastic disc, which is effectively a licence to play the game.
Accessing without authorisation, or worse duplicating for your own personal gain, any intellectual property is illegal (piracy). The authorisation to access the software is granted when you purchase a digital licence on a disc, or via a digital store (eg Sony's).
The modification, or copying, of any part of an intellectual property is illegal too, even if you own a licence to use the software - it is only a licence to use it 'as intended'.
The licence on a physical disc can be revoked, just like digital. There would have to be a mechanism to do this - eg you have to sign in to play the game, and they prevent the access of this, or a game that requires servers and they disable them. I'm not saying that it is right they can do this (for Discs OR Digital), but it is legal and always has been (there may be a notification period depending on country).
It is this last part (revoking / cancelling the license) that causes the issues - you will never be allowed to own it as that would mean you would be able to modify and resell the code.
@ButteredCrumpet I am remembering a nice conversation we were having a while back around Sony not communicating whilst people weren't listening. I understand what you are saying.
@ItsaboutDRM I'm pretty sure the Terms of service for account closure are: 36 months (3 years) of complete inactivity before a warning is sent. After the warning is sent you have 6 months to log in or reply before they close your account - ie a total of 42 months or 3 and a half years of inactivity.
@Fatewalker Thats all great (no sarcasm), but prejudices isn't correct. It certainly isn't cost - I could go out tomorrow and buy an RTX5090 if I really wanted to spend that much (and pair it with a 9800X3D). Though I would need to use my current 4k120hz lounge TV, not a monitor.
Recently, nearly everyone I know who used to game on PC has left the platform. The reasons all boiled down to a few issues: 1) They were spending longer fixing / updating than gaming, and were fed up. Compatibility issues / driver issues etc. 1 had to completely wipe their PC twice and still had issues. None had strange set ups that I know of, and most you would consider pretty intelligent. Most have been on PC for a while at least. 2) Stutter issues in games becoming more prevalent. 3) Online cheating - though this doesn't really affect me.
Fairly recently my partners PC started acting up (not used for gaming, but not low spec for office work). They had to wipe it completely to resolve the problem which occurred after a Windows update. The whole episode took a lot of hours.
Finally, and this was a little while ago, 1 person who knows my partner, and who does still game on PC only, warned me well away from PC as they too were fed up with issues. They have always gamed on PC as far as I know - certainly inexperience isn't an issue.
My only personal addition is that I really like Sony 1st party games.
NB when I spoke about Demon Souls I was referring to playing on my launch PS5.
@Northern_munkey Its not quite the same, but years ago I was playing on my console (hooked up via SCART), and all of a sudden the colours went strange. Then, before I realised what was going on, they went monochrome to either R, G, or B (I can't remember which now).
I found the cat round the back of the TV / console units/stand chewing on the cable. Thank goodness it wasn't a power cable or kitty would have had a bit of a shock! Not a clue what possessed him to do it, but it was the only time he did anything like this.
@Fatewalker That sounds right - as the camera pans (or things move), I see the steps between frames. If the fps drops I see less steps per distance/time, and vice versa. It doesn't need much of a drop at all before I notice it - 5fps drops are pretty noticeable, but I can see smaller at 60fps (with or without VRR). With a TV I am used to, I can numerate this.
PSSR is a difficult one to explain, because I have watched at friends in the past, games running DLSS and this makes no difference. (I haven't seen FSR4 running in person on PC because most of the people I know moved away from PC gaming after Pro was released). Its not the cleanness of the image as much as it is that the steps I see are slightly less apparent. Demon Souls (to me) looks higher fps than in reality for the same reason.
As I say, I lost my tolerance for less than 60fps before I even really knew anything about framerates. More recently a family member complained about bad headaches whenever they played games - definitely what you would call a casual gamer, they nearly stopped. As soon as they said this to me I knew what it was and found they were using quality modes, changed them over to performance, and problem solved.
Boycott of GTA6 (High profile / all digital by dev choice)
Increased purchase of Wolverine in physical format skewing sales % away from digital.
This 'blackout' at least involves 'going without', which along with 'putting your money where your mouth is' / 'voting with your wallet' are ernest forms of protest. So even though I am basically all digital, good luck to those (genuinely) taking part.
@Fatewalker As a hopefully interesting aside to the last point, I don't just see it like that - I can actually see the slideshow like nature of the frames. I can usually 'see' the framerate of a game within about 5fps, and see even smaller drops. I do this up to about 90fps.
Thats not to say things can't confuse me: I would have sworn a couple of games such as Demon Souls (PS5) were around 70 - 75 fps, and games using PSSR (particularly 2, but also 1) look higher framerate than they really are (something not apparent in any other upscaler I have seen). On the other hand, poor frame pacing is highly visible to me and can make framerates look much lower (thankfully I don't see much of this as I generally only buy after seeing framerate graphs, unless it's Sony 1st party which I will still pre order).
@Fatewalker I'm not saying there shouldn't be compromises - in fact quite the opposite. My examples are purely where compromises have clearly been made, but 60fps is achieved. I also tried my best to keep to examples where there is little doubt the compromises were made on behalf of the CPU.
NB I have never played the Rat game - I just remember watching the DF video discussing the 60fps mode. I don't know how distracting it looks in this case, but a lot of games move enemies / NPC's at 30fps (or lower) at distance - certainly the times I have seen it I have thought it acceptable.
Cyberpunk is also similar to KCD2 (at least on Pro - on base there are a few areas people thought were CPU limited, but the uplift in framerate to approx 90fps on Pro sort of discounts this). Both were reserved enough and clever enough to keep things at a suitable framerate standard, whilst appearing to be much more complex.
I'm also not saying RT should be expected this generation- leave that for the 30fps modes, and don't include in 60fps modes unless you are really talented / have a small scope game. Its not worth it, and sometimes makes very little difference.
I understand UE5 is overly resource heavy - I don't know why anyone uses it as I much prefer to see games running on UE4 on console. Maybe on PS6 we will see UE5 become more appropriate. Interestingly though, I know Epic have clearly stated it is developers using too many features that causes this and Developers should scale back on these features for 60fps on consoles / lesser PC hardware. I'm not convinced either way - on one hand it happens far too often to not blame the engine, but devs are notorious for pushing things too far and 'trend chasing' as you put it.
Regardless, Dawnwalker has just alienated a proportion of the audience, and possibly created much worse in terms of word of mouth (I know I will advise no one to even look at it even if they don't know what a frame per second is), in a packed release schedule.
I also feel sorry for all those who aren't as clued up on the subject who buy the game, and are disappointed (or like me feel ill) when they actually play it - contrary to certain idiots opinions, you do not need to know what framerate is to be affected by it / not enjoy it. I know this better than most.
@Fatewalker I'm not confusing graphical optimisation, but I understand most do get confused here. Every part of the game can be optimised, at different stages of course.
In fact one of the most egregious things about this title, and one that practically blacklists this developer, is that they would have known they weren't getting to 60fps probably a long time ago, but haven't disclosed it until now. I suppose the other option is that they weren't sure what fps they were going to achieve, but that sounds worse imo.
Dynasty Warrior Origins, by its nature needs to display a lot of characters on screen. In order to reduce CPU load, its clear they have worked in a system by which enemy and friendly soldiers belong to small groups and act in unison within those groups. On occasion groups act in unison with one another. The game still has fairly aggressive culling of character draw distance, but nowhere near like previous games, and this is possibly GPU related. Even with a massive number of characters on screen, it still achieves >70fps in its graphics mode on Pro (in fact fps is barely different between the graphics and performance modes showing the CPU limited framerate). The game gives the illusion of large armies, even if what is going on under the hood is somewhat simpler. That is what I mean by using cleverness to appear to get more out of the hardware.
When Insomniac added their RT performance mode to SM MM (and 1 remastered) I'm sure I remember them saying that they needed to do a full optimisation of the game world due to CPU constraints. They needed to reduce NPC's and vehicles in some areas / at some points in the story, and I'm sure that was just 1 example.
IIRC it was one of the Plagues tale games that launched at only 40fps max on base PS5, with the devs saying 60fps was impossible due to CPU limitations. Then a 60fps mode was added, achieved by them reducing the number of Rats. Again, If I remember correctly from DF videos, they had decided arbitrarily the number of rats they wanted, and set the fps target based on that - when they worked the other way using 60fps as the key target, they had to reduce the number of rats - something that ended up having negligible difference on the actual game.
But yes, game design always needs to fit the hardware you are targeting to release on, and grander plans need to wait until the next generation of hardware is released. If developers want to release on console, usually a necessity due to sales targets, then they have to accept and work within the fact that completely new hardware only releases every 7ish years.
60fps is the standard now, and they want to break that already! - what will they do when PS6 launches?
Anyone saying 30fps now is OK - good for you, but all those not upgrading to PS6 better get used to 20fps or 15fps as devs push things even further once PS6 launches.
@Fatewalker If devs want to produce games for console they should design and properly optimise to the hardware actually available - that hardware changes every 7ish years. Those 100+ million CPUs are still current until PS6 releases, and it won't release before this game comes out.
It is not innovation to exceed the limitations of the hardware available - it is just poor work. Innovation is getting more (or appearing to do so often through cleverness), out of the hardware that is the current baseline, and on console that is PS5 and Series X.
@Fatewalker
I'm sorry, I still very strongly believe that 60fps has been clearly set as the minimum standard, and that if devs want to release games in the massive console market, they need to fit to the hardware, whether it has limitations or not. If that means simplifying their over ambitious plans, then that is that.
To be honest, I don't really see the limitation - we have had some excellent games / worlds etc all generation, some far in excess of 60fps. It's more a case of excessive ambition than hardware limitation.
The age of the CPU compared to PC is irrelevant - they are choosing to release on console, a platform where by its very nature the CPU is completely up to date until the end of the generation.
I just wish that Sony would step in here, because as the market leader they have a massive opportunity - a minimum framerate standard, with details such as minimum average of above 59fps (DF could help here) across the game, is desperately needed.
Edit: I will just add that 30fps is last gen, not something to be looked on as forward thinking - its backwards thinking.
@Fatewalker I get what you are saying - I for one think that 60fps should be a bare minimum these days and that unlocked fps modes should be included as standard in all games, for those with 120hz VRR TV"s.
I also appreciate that whilst poor optimisation is often the real reason for framerate drops, other systems present, can ultimately be the limiting factor.
If there were big differences between the CPU's of the main consoles, and some of them could achieve a stable 60fps, then I think an argument about CPU limitations could hold for not achieving 60fps. However the Series S, Series X, PS5, and PS5 Pro, all have almost identical CPU's with the Pro being a chunk faster. That accounts for well in excess of 100 million consoles, and the entire console market bar the less capable Switch 2 (if you count this).
It does not matter how old the CPU's are - this is the current gen of consoles. It would be like releasing a game that only achieves 30fps on the most powerful PC with the best CPU you can buy, and complaining that the CPU's are at fault because there are not more powerful ones available yet.
60fps has been the standard this gen and not having the option of a stable 60fps is unacceptable on base PS5 (let alone Pro). Obviously, the normal trade off is graphics, and that is why developers add 2 or 3 modes allowing you to turn up graphics settings, in exchange for framerate - to ensure everyone has a mode they are happy with, within the limitation of their console.
We have had some very impressive game worlds / mechanics that have been possible at 60fps (and sometimes well in excess), including a few with RT features.
If the problem really is that it is the CPU that is limiting the framerate to below 60fps in a certain game, then that is still very poor development and a poor studio in my book. They have let their ambition exceed their capability with the current hardware available (over 100 million units of such).
I also remember Mark Cerny's reaction when posed with the question about CPU upgrades for Pro, and he was more than clear that developers shouldn't need to exceed the CPU in the base PS5. Sony didn't want the base PS5 to become a 30fps machine then, and they certainly don't now.
It should also be noted that in a year or two, we will enter into a cross gen period that will probably last at least a further 5 years due to the cost of parts and therefore consoles. I'm not sure that PS5 owners who can't afford to upgrade to PS6 should be subjected to 30fps when the PS6 launches, but if some developers can't even manage to keep to 60fps now, what fps will games be running at on the PS5 in 7 years time? Will they even get 30fps? And what does this mean for the new handheld device being planned which is probably not even as capable as a base PS5?
@Hylian-Likely I'm a real gamer, and have been playing games since the Speccy+2.
A game that doesn't play at near locked 60fps is completely unplayable to me - literally. Within approx 10 minutes I get headaches, and feel sick, and no amount of time will help me adjust - it just gets worse.
The thing is, I have also spoken to many (many) others who have similar problems, and have even helped people who didn't know what was causing it when they experienced the same. I didn't know what caused me to have issues until after a lot of digging and knew very little about framerates before then.
This is not a choice - I wouldn't even play literally the best game ever made, even if it was free (or they paid me!), but couldn't manage a decent 60fps - because I couldn't. And I used to be able to tolerate 30fps, so don't think the same could never apply to yourself.
@get2sammyb I will be there day 1 for PS6 - I literally cannot play a game that isn't near locked 60fps, and get headaches and feel sick if the game deviates too much.
No amount of time helps me 'adjust' - it just gets worse. I nearly gave up console gaming towards the end of PS4 generation.
There are well over 100 million consoles out there, in use, that have very similar CPU's.
The CPU argument is therefore rubbish in my opinion - this is simply a case of poor developers letting their ambition exceed their abilities on current gen hardware.
A hard pass from me for this game, and any further game from this dev team will have to prove 60fps before I even start to get interested.
@Bettyswollocks Tell Sony customer service the game is not fit for purpose with the recently revealed fact that it will not be 60fps. 60fps is the standard now, and various presentations from Sony in the past have confirmed this.
I and others have had refunds for games which do not keep a satisfactory 60fps as per DF testing, pre launch. If I remember correctly 1 user here confirmed this to me, even after playing a game briefly, but I would say that that is far riskier than pre launch.
I loved the original Onimusha games, and RE Requiem is a fantastic game, but the demo for this didn't really excite me enough.
What didn't help is that from a technical point of view it looked way behind RER.
Also, these coming couple of months are really packed, with Wolverine already a definite purchase.
I'm waiting to see the full reviews / analysis of Onimusha before I buy.
@PuppetMaster I'm sorry, I still see this a communication issue.
What he said was not nice to hear, but it is no different than the goals of any large company.
There may also be translation issues here - I have no idea what his native language is. I don't profess to be able to speak Japanese, but what I know for certain is that direct translation is very difficult with actual meanings lost or gained in the process.
Thats not to say that I don't think this was a massive blunder. Sony need to reconsider how things like this are interpreted and make customers feel - even though I suspect that only a tiny % of gamers will ever read / hear these comments.
I also believe the hardware price increases were simple necessity with current market part costs. Sony do not want to heavily subsidise PS5 any more, particularly not with PS6 only a couple of years away. Game prices may also be too low now - since the last price increase we have seen comparatively massive inflation, that just hasn't been reflected in what we pay. However, I have wondered whether Sony stopping Physical discs is an effort to try and delay / reduce price rises. Removing this manufacture / distribution burden, not to mention the removal of the 2nd hand market that makes developers (and Sony) nothing.
None of this is to say I don't think Sony could be doing better, but straight pricing is not the most effective target area, particularly as I'm sorry to say people will always want things cheaper.
@Fyz306903 "The thing is does it matter if the ps6 doesn't initially sell that well?"
No. People want to think sales numbers are important and that Sony will be forced to subsidise to a ridiculous degree (it will still be heavily subsidised), but this isn't the case.
Sony's business model depends solely on their ecosystem, and after 2 great generations this is clearly very healthy from a business point of view.
In the long run (>5yrs) they obviously want a fair number to have moved over to PS6, but the ONLY NEED (in the current very high part cost climate) for a PS6 is to offer an upgrade path to those who want to upgrade, and importantly can afford it at the subsidised price. It is purely there to prevent people like this from looking at other ecosystems.
If someone has the money and wants to upgrade, and Sony don't have a capable, impressive PS6 unit available or on the way, then they might be tempted by Helix or similar. From a pure business / realistic point of view, this would be a loss to their ecosystem, likely of someone with a higher than average ongoing budget for gaming.
Being realistic, for those that can't afford a PS6, an upgrade to Helix (or PC) will be out of the question, and these customers will likely stay on PS5/Pro until the price drops, or their situation changes. The only real fear here is that those who are left unable to upgrade become apathetic to gaming in general over time, but this is something they will have to manage until part prices come down, unless they want to subsidise more heavily as the years go by.
This is no real difference to why the PS4 & 5 Pro consoles were necessary at the time, with the exception that I can see PS5 versions of games releasing after PS6 to be missing features.
@ButteredCrumpet This is just yet another case of poor communication in my opinion.
As you say, making money is the goal of all providers - customer service (from most large businesses) is only about making customers happy because happy customers are more loyal, more likely to stay, more likely to purchase, and more likely to spread good word of mouth - in other words, more money.
But, my goodness, does this guy not realise how bad this communication sounds - to the admittedly probably very small % of people who will read / hear it. Sony management really need to attend (better) courses on HOW to communicate things.
However, I still think people totally overestimate Sony's need to sell huge number of PS6's in the current part cost climate. Their business model needs nothing more from PS6 (at least in the first few years) than to prevent those wanting to upgrade, and can afford to, from looking elsewhere, because they (Sony) have nothing worthwhile to upgrade to (ie if they don't have a PS6 available). Part of this of course, is that those customers likely have more budget to spend on games etc so need to be happy with their purchase.
I don't think this matters one bit.
The key reason for a PS6 to exist is to offer an upgrade path from PS5/Pro for those who want it, in order to prevent them looking elsewhere.
To put it in practical terms, and meaning no disrespect - if people don't have £1000 to spend on hardware, then they won't be looking at Helix (or PC). But, if PS6 doesn't exist then someone who has a PS5 and wants to upgrade, and can afford it, may be tempted to look elsewhere outside of Sony's ecosystem.
It's this ecosystem that is important to Sony's business model, and I fully expect a very long cross gen period with PS5.
Providing the hardware impresses, stock permitting, I will be there Day 1.
Just to echo what others have said, this was/is an excellent game, and more importantly, and excellent BOND game. One of my favourite games this year.
Did individual mechanisms suffer slightly because they wanted to do so much - yes; but this was a knock on effect of wanting to make sure this game came across as a proper 007 Bond adventure, and not just another shooter or stealth game. And in this, they really succeeded. Hopefully the expected sequel just refines and not changes.
@SEVENTEENSOILS NB I will try and use games industry examples so I don't go off topic.
I agree with you when you talk about a "feeling of a decreasing QoL" being a problem - the trouble is that often it is a perception, not reality. How often do we see people here talk about the price of consoles and games, yet not consider inflation or just how much work goes into them these days to meet peoples expectations. I'm sure that the cost per hour of enjoyment, inflation adjusted, is much cheaper these days. I will admit that hardware prices are getting high now, but that is not necessarily the fault of the manufacturers, and not every household could afford a games console when I was growing up either.
Of bigger concern is that at the same time as people believe their QoL is being eroded, they are being constantly (and often falsly) told how it is this persons fault, or that groups fault.
People do just seem angrier these days. If they can't have something, for whatever reason, they are angry at it (just look at the backlash against Pro that was in a lot of cases seated in this).
Of equal concern though is that people do not respect others property or privacy or rights or opinions etc anywhere near as much as they should. Effectively, they care about themselves, not others.
And everything is black and white these days - the worst thing ever, or the best thing ever. There is no middle ground, no grey area, no 'OK'. But then I suppose well thought out opinion does not gain as many 'clicks' or 'likes' as pure outrage.
How many times have we read comments along the lines of 'if your not with us your against us' or a 'shill' etc (from some, by no means all) in recent weeks, even on this site, in the discourse about the end of physical media. Some (and I have written at length about this in other posts) want to rant and rage, yet won't 'go without' themselves (a phrase I seem to have used a lot) to try and actually push their message.
I personally think GTA6 bears a lot of responsibility in the ending of physical media - partly because it shows people will accept digital only, as again, people won't 'go without'. However, that doesn't mean I think it in any way acceptable that R* are hacked! (Even worse that this looks likely to be for financial gain)
@LordOfTurnips Now that sounds like a really good idea for what I can only imagine is a collectors edition - I have never tended to bother because they often (not always), seem to be a bit rubbish (but to each their own - I'm not criticising).
Comments 4,111
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@XenonKnight
I always thought the same, but realised there is a problem with that.
To satisfy anti monopoly rules you have to have an alternative purchase source - that was retailers selling discs. I suspect that forcing the selling of the alternative to a higher price (intrinsically) was frowned upon.
Only my guess though.
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@XenonKnight
Personally I think that is a loss Sony feel they can't take anymore - they are effectively subsidising discs at this point.
That money could be used to help delay a game price increase, or help subsidise PS6.
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@NathanUC
But they did not say what you are suggesting.
What they said is "Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only"
This suggests online retailers selling digital, digitally ie emailing codes, just like they do with wallet top ups.
Again, this could be good for digital purchasers.
Re: Xbox 'Heard You', Purges PS5 Logos from Multiformat Game Trailers
@ButteredCrumpet
"Yet Xbox ... seem intent on not being intent on anything."
Project: Fish out of water - flip flopping hard.
The rest of this post just made me laugh out loud - I particularly like "I would rather punch myself in the crotch than work for them again, with a landmine."
Re: Xbox 'Heard You', Purges PS5 Logos from Multiformat Game Trailers
Me - 'Heard you', Purges Xbox studio games from wishlist! Lol
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@NathanUC @ThePizzaMule
You missed the point in their announcement where they clearly stated that instead of discs, retailers will be selling digital codes.
This may even end up cheaper for digital purchasers - what if Amazon start selling games digitally cheaper than Sony's store and email the code to you. A lot of digital purchasers buy wallet top ups via emailed code from other retailers, so there is no difference in convenience.
This would in turn force Sony to drop store prices, embark on sales etc.
Re: Sony Reminds PS5 Owners Their Digital Games Are Licensed, Not Sold
@ButteredCrumpet
I genuinely hoped I had misunderstood what they were saying (and still do, as, with no offence intended, their comment was difficult to understand in places)
They had only mentioned jailbreaking (not specifically piracy) - but I disliked the 'taking of the moral high ground' around consumer rights along with this.
It is this very type of act that has companies enforcing policies which can impact on the rights of others - or at the least inconvenience people who do abide by the rules.
(Just noting again the person I was replying to did not mention Piracy - I don't tend to respond to those comments and just 'report' them).
You are quite right - all piracy and theft in general do is raise the prices for others. It is not a victimless crime - the company is a victim, but so is everyone else who suffers higher prices as a result.
This is a hobby, and someone condoning piracy because THEY feel the price is too high is wrong - they are helping to cause the very problem they are complaining about.
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@Foxhound
It certainly has it's moments of difficulty, but I agree with you on the atmosphere and lore. I enjoy Soulslikes, and it is not an easy game at all imo.
Just be careful with what you are doing with your quartz upgrades - they are quite important (though I can't remember which upgrades are best now).
And try to save the boss weapon upgrade full moons (full moonstone of the covenant) for a weapon you REALLY NEED to upgrade - they are VERY, VERY limited.
If you hit a roadblock, there may be an easier way to do it - most bosses have a weakness to exploit.
I will add that if you have Overture, do not start it until near to or after the main game (preferably after) - as much as the weapons are excellent, it is endgame difficulty, and has ramifications for a sequel. I also think the atmosphere of the DLC surpasses the main game.
NG+ and NG+2 runs are easier though in my opinion.
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@ButteredCrumpet
Thank you - I suspected it was the case, but wasn't sure as I always leave mine plugged in.
I have seen a fair few comments like this stating they were going to go offline for the week, and thought this might not work. Sony will see if people cheat.
(Though the time played indicators can be a bit off sometimes - I have seen it change by FAR more hours than I have actually played)
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@Ken_Kaniff
I'm not sure, but its possible that when you plug it back in to the Internet that Sony will be able to see what you have been doing whilst you have been offline.
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@Mindless_Demon
Maybe I'm starting to get a bit cynical, but I'm beginning to wonder if PC / Xbox (and maybe Nintendo) are going to see bigger drop offs in engagement this week, whilst their users are all trying 'drum up' support for this 'blackout' - too busy posting across various sites comments sections and social media.
Re: Protesting PS5 Players Now Plan Permanent Blackout, Meaning No GTA 6 or Wolverine
@Foxhound
Lies of P is a great game. The DLC (Overture) adds a lot to it as well.
After playing the DLC, I played through the entire game again + DLC again with the new weapons (for me it was claws and bow).
Re: Sony Reminds PS5 Owners Their Digital Games Are Licensed, Not Sold
@Xonic
In your reply to @ButteredCrumpet you were criticising Sony's decision, and saying that they were effectively defending them.
Yet, you then went on to say "However my 2nd PS5 that's in box waiting for the jailbreak to be completed says otherwise".
My comment, (which was not disagreeing for the sake of it, and I did ask you to correct me if I was misunderstanding you), was that you cannot take the moral high ground on consumer rights whilst planning to jailbreak a console (at best a legally grey area).
I then went on to say "Even if it is in a legal grey area in your country, its still acts like this that force these companies to put up more and more walls, often at the inconvenience of others"
Ie acts like this (and piracy) have negative implications for rule/law abiding gamers as well as companies.
My comparison to online cheating was regarding that (in a similar way) this behaviour, causes the need for anti cheat software that can negatively affect non cheating gamers.
In regards the stigma point - Fair enough. I wouldn't say cool, but there was no real stigma attached (maybe a bit from older generations) - though I appreciate this can vary and I see you are from Canada I believe, and I am UK.
Re: GTA 6 Netflix Extended Look: When and How to Watch
Not watching until they confirm 60fps.
If its not 60fps, I won't be purchasing until 60fps is confirmed and tested on PS6.
(I suggest physical buyers take a similar approach)
Re: Furious PS5 Players Unplug Their Consoles in Protest as Blackout Gets Underway
@Gremio108
(In regards your reply to @GordonPS)
Please note, and you are able to check my comments history, I have been highly critical of Sony's communication quality this gen.
I'm not sure them communicating the details of their plans (around retailers selling digital) at this point is a good idea.
They missed their chance when they first made the announcement (it may be that they still had things to finalise), but some are just too loud and angry to properly listen at this moment. From my point of view, there is also almost a paranoia about their plans at the moment.
The one thing they need to confirm ASAP is a disc drive for PS6 or alternate plans for back catalogues.
Not getting into the whole physical vs digital, and just looking at the majority digital buyers only - this may even be a good thing for consumer choice.
If we consider one of the main draws of digital to be convenience, some retailers (eg Amazon) may start selling these digital versions via emailed code following purchase, just like they do for wallet top ups now.
I buy digitally, but I buy my wallet top ups online in order to get the best deals, enter the codes on my console to add the funds, and then buy the game via the PS Store.
The future plans may give me the option to buy the game cheaper directly from the retailer, have the code emailed to me, then enter the code on my console and start downloading.
This may actually be good for digital consumers, which are the majority, even if exact figures are being disputed, and potentially bad for Sony in this 1 regard. You are right though, that we need further details.
You have the argument that Sony will provide the digital codes, but this likely has no bearing as I think they provide all the discs now.
Re: Sony Reminds PS5 Owners Their Digital Games Are Licensed, Not Sold
@Xonic
So, if I have this right and please correct me if I am wrong - you have bought a second PS5 for the premeditated purpose of committing a normally illegal act (jailbreaking it)?
Even if it is in a legal grey area in your country, its still acts like this that force these companies to put up more and more walls, often at the inconvenience of others, yet you want to take the moral high ground and complain about consumer rights?!?
I'm not even saying that consumer rights are where they should be here, but one of the benefits to Sony of going all digital is that it helps stop this sort of behaviour.
I assume from what you have said that you are very aware that digital-only poses a greater risk as if they detect you using a modded console they can cancel your account and purchases, as well as bricking the console.
It's exactly the same argument as anti cheat on PC - those who want to cheat cause companies to include anti cheat software which often impacts others on performance.
Quoting: "A company that made its wealth literally on the backs of the niche people that supported games and suffered through the stigma of being a "gamer""
I have been gaming since the 80's and never felt this level of 'stigma'.
Quoting: "This sudden push didn't come out of no where, I'm sure the PS6 may have always been the plan to stop physical media but them suddenly mid-gen enforcing it?"
The cut off date is likely set to coincide with PS6. Whether PS6 launches immediately before at the end of 2027, or mid to late 2028 maybe after a period of normalisation, we don't know yet. I suppose you could argue that the date should be closely aligned with the launch of PS6, but this is impractical as there will be a massive cross gen this time.
Re: Sony Reminds PS5 Owners Their Digital Games Are Licensed, Not Sold
@Vertere
I was just answering / reiterating a couple of specific points.
I think that (unless of course one of these specific actions eg the 'blackout' has such a significant impact such that Sony reverses its plans) the discussion now needs to move away from discs, to digital rights / 'ownership' (ie what rights they and you have regarding a digital licence).
1 exception (that doesn't affect me) - Sony need to confirm an optional disc drive for PS6, and if not what plans they are making for disc based back catalogues. The sooner the better.
Who knows, maybe Sony already have plans to extend digital rights, or are thinking about it - they just aren't ready to announce them yet. Maybe they are waiting until after they have announced PS6, or maybe just until the current anger around discs has subsided.
Re: Sony Reminds PS5 Owners Their Digital Games Are Licensed, Not Sold
@lcrpajarero
Re: Sony Reminds PS5 Owners Their Digital Games Are Licensed, Not Sold
@ButteredCrumpet
I am remembering a nice conversation we were having a while back around Sony not communicating whilst people weren't listening.
I understand what you are saying.
Re: Sony Reminds PS5 Owners Their Digital Games Are Licensed, Not Sold
@ItsaboutDRM
I'm pretty sure the Terms of service for account closure are:
36 months (3 years) of complete inactivity before a warning is sent.
After the warning is sent you have 6 months to log in or reply before they close your account - ie a total of 42 months or 3 and a half years of inactivity.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Fatewalker
Thats all great (no sarcasm), but prejudices isn't correct.
It certainly isn't cost - I could go out tomorrow and buy an RTX5090 if I really wanted to spend that much (and pair it with a 9800X3D). Though I would need to use my current 4k120hz lounge TV, not a monitor.
Recently, nearly everyone I know who used to game on PC has left the platform. The reasons all boiled down to a few issues:
1) They were spending longer fixing / updating than gaming, and were fed up. Compatibility issues / driver issues etc. 1 had to completely wipe their PC twice and still had issues. None had strange set ups that I know of, and most you would consider pretty intelligent. Most have been on PC for a while at least.
2) Stutter issues in games becoming more prevalent.
3) Online cheating - though this doesn't really affect me.
Fairly recently my partners PC started acting up (not used for gaming, but not low spec for office work). They had to wipe it completely to resolve the problem which occurred after a Windows update. The whole episode took a lot of hours.
Finally, and this was a little while ago, 1 person who knows my partner, and who does still game on PC only, warned me well away from PC as they too were fed up with issues. They have always gamed on PC as far as I know - certainly inexperience isn't an issue.
My only personal addition is that I really like Sony 1st party games.
NB when I spoke about Demon Souls I was referring to playing on my launch PS5.
Re: Furious PS5 Players Unplug Their Consoles in Protest as Blackout Gets Underway
@Titntin
I can't say anything - I use the same bad jokes too lol
Re: Furious PS5 Players Unplug Their Consoles in Protest as Blackout Gets Underway
@Northern_munkey
Its not quite the same, but years ago I was playing on my console (hooked up via SCART), and all of a sudden the colours went strange. Then, before I realised what was going on, they went monochrome to either R, G, or B (I can't remember which now).
I found the cat round the back of the TV / console units/stand chewing on the cable. Thank goodness it wasn't a power cable or kitty would have had a bit of a shock!
Not a clue what possessed him to do it, but it was the only time he did anything like this.
Re: Furious PS5 Players Unplug Their Consoles in Protest as Blackout Gets Underway
@Northern_munkey
"puppy's eat them"
Oh dear, it sounds like you speak from personal experience on this one!
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Fatewalker
That sounds right - as the camera pans (or things move), I see the steps between frames. If the fps drops I see less steps per distance/time, and vice versa. It doesn't need much of a drop at all before I notice it - 5fps drops are pretty noticeable, but I can see smaller at 60fps (with or without VRR). With a TV I am used to, I can numerate this.
PSSR is a difficult one to explain, because I have watched at friends in the past, games running DLSS and this makes no difference. (I haven't seen FSR4 running in person on PC because most of the people I know moved away from PC gaming after Pro was released).
Its not the cleanness of the image as much as it is that the steps I see are slightly less apparent. Demon Souls (to me) looks higher fps than in reality for the same reason.
As I say, I lost my tolerance for less than 60fps before I even really knew anything about framerates. More recently a family member complained about bad headaches whenever they played games - definitely what you would call a casual gamer, they nearly stopped. As soon as they said this to me I knew what it was and found they were using quality modes, changed them over to performance, and problem solved.
Re: Furious PS5 Players Unplug Their Consoles in Protest as Blackout Gets Underway
Whilst I think there are MUCH better targets:
This 'blackout' at least involves 'going without', which along with 'putting your money where your mouth is' / 'voting with your wallet' are ernest forms of protest.
So even though I am basically all digital, good luck to those (genuinely) taking part.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Fatewalker
As a hopefully interesting aside to the last point, I don't just see it like that - I can actually see the slideshow like nature of the frames.
I can usually 'see' the framerate of a game within about 5fps, and see even smaller drops.
I do this up to about 90fps.
Thats not to say things can't confuse me:
I would have sworn a couple of games such as Demon Souls (PS5) were around 70 - 75 fps, and games using PSSR (particularly 2, but also 1) look higher framerate than they really are (something not apparent in any other upscaler I have seen).
On the other hand, poor frame pacing is highly visible to me and can make framerates look much lower (thankfully I don't see much of this as I generally only buy after seeing framerate graphs, unless it's Sony 1st party which I will still pre order).
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Fatewalker
I'm not saying there shouldn't be compromises - in fact quite the opposite. My examples are purely where compromises have clearly been made, but 60fps is achieved. I also tried my best to keep to examples where there is little doubt the compromises were made on behalf of the CPU.
NB I have never played the Rat game - I just remember watching the DF video discussing the 60fps mode. I don't know how distracting it looks in this case, but a lot of games move enemies / NPC's at 30fps (or lower) at distance - certainly the times I have seen it I have thought it acceptable.
Cyberpunk is also similar to KCD2 (at least on Pro - on base there are a few areas people thought were CPU limited, but the uplift in framerate to approx 90fps on Pro sort of discounts this). Both were reserved enough and clever enough to keep things at a suitable framerate standard, whilst appearing to be much more complex.
I'm also not saying RT should be expected this generation- leave that for the 30fps modes, and don't include in 60fps modes unless you are really talented / have a small scope game. Its not worth it, and sometimes makes very little difference.
I understand UE5 is overly resource heavy - I don't know why anyone uses it as I much prefer to see games running on UE4 on console. Maybe on PS6 we will see UE5 become more appropriate.
Interestingly though, I know Epic have clearly stated it is developers using too many features that causes this and Developers should scale back on these features for 60fps on consoles / lesser PC hardware.
I'm not convinced either way - on one hand it happens far too often to not blame the engine, but devs are notorious for pushing things too far and 'trend chasing' as you put it.
Regardless, Dawnwalker has just alienated a proportion of the audience, and possibly created much worse in terms of word of mouth (I know I will advise no one to even look at it even if they don't know what a frame per second is), in a packed release schedule.
I also feel sorry for all those who aren't as clued up on the subject who buy the game, and are disappointed (or like me feel ill) when they actually play it - contrary to certain idiots opinions, you do not need to know what framerate is to be affected by it / not enjoy it. I know this better than most.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Fatewalker
I'm not confusing graphical optimisation, but I understand most do get confused here.
Every part of the game can be optimised, at different stages of course.
In fact one of the most egregious things about this title, and one that practically blacklists this developer, is that they would have known they weren't getting to 60fps probably a long time ago, but haven't disclosed it until now. I suppose the other option is that they weren't sure what fps they were going to achieve, but that sounds worse imo.
Dynasty Warrior Origins, by its nature needs to display a lot of characters on screen. In order to reduce CPU load, its clear they have worked in a system by which enemy and friendly soldiers belong to small groups and act in unison within those groups. On occasion groups act in unison with one another. The game still has fairly aggressive culling of character draw distance, but nowhere near like previous games, and this is possibly GPU related. Even with a massive number of characters on screen, it still achieves >70fps in its graphics mode on Pro (in fact fps is barely different between the graphics and performance modes showing the CPU limited framerate).
The game gives the illusion of large armies, even if what is going on under the hood is somewhat simpler. That is what I mean by using cleverness to appear to get more out of the hardware.
When Insomniac added their RT performance mode to SM MM (and 1 remastered) I'm sure I remember them saying that they needed to do a full optimisation of the game world due to CPU constraints. They needed to reduce NPC's and vehicles in some areas / at some points in the story, and I'm sure that was just 1 example.
IIRC it was one of the Plagues tale games that launched at only 40fps max on base PS5, with the devs saying 60fps was impossible due to CPU limitations.
Then a 60fps mode was added, achieved by them reducing the number of Rats. Again, If I remember correctly from DF videos, they had decided arbitrarily the number of rats they wanted, and set the fps target based on that - when they worked the other way using 60fps as the key target, they had to reduce the number of rats - something that ended up having negligible difference on the actual game.
But yes, game design always needs to fit the hardware you are targeting to release on, and grander plans need to wait until the next generation of hardware is released. If developers want to release on console, usually a necessity due to sales targets, then they have to accept and work within the fact that completely new hardware only releases every 7ish years.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
60fps is the standard now, and they want to break that already! - what will they do when PS6 launches?
Anyone saying 30fps now is OK - good for you, but all those not upgrading to PS6 better get used to 20fps or 15fps as devs push things even further once PS6 launches.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Fatewalker
If devs want to produce games for console they should design and properly optimise to the hardware actually available - that hardware changes every 7ish years.
Those 100+ million CPUs are still current until PS6 releases, and it won't release before this game comes out.
It is not innovation to exceed the limitations of the hardware available - it is just poor work. Innovation is getting more (or appearing to do so often through cleverness), out of the hardware that is the current baseline, and on console that is PS5 and Series X.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Fatewalker
I'm sorry, I still very strongly believe that 60fps has been clearly set as the minimum standard, and that if devs want to release games in the massive console market, they need to fit to the hardware, whether it has limitations or not. If that means simplifying their over ambitious plans, then that is that.
To be honest, I don't really see the limitation - we have had some excellent games / worlds etc all generation, some far in excess of 60fps. It's more a case of excessive ambition than hardware limitation.
The age of the CPU compared to PC is irrelevant - they are choosing to release on console, a platform where by its very nature the CPU is completely up to date until the end of the generation.
I just wish that Sony would step in here, because as the market leader they have a massive opportunity - a minimum framerate standard, with details such as minimum average of above 59fps (DF could help here) across the game, is desperately needed.
Edit: I will just add that 30fps is last gen, not something to be looked on as forward thinking - its backwards thinking.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@StarZinger
TV displays have made a massive change to how tolerant people are to framerates, and how visible they are.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Fatewalker
I get what you are saying - I for one think that 60fps should be a bare minimum these days and that unlocked fps modes should be included as standard in all games, for those with 120hz VRR TV"s.
I also appreciate that whilst poor optimisation is often the real reason for framerate drops, other systems present, can ultimately be the limiting factor.
If there were big differences between the CPU's of the main consoles, and some of them could achieve a stable 60fps, then I think an argument about CPU limitations could hold for not achieving 60fps.
However the Series S, Series X, PS5, and PS5 Pro, all have almost identical CPU's with the Pro being a chunk faster. That accounts for well in excess of 100 million consoles, and the entire console market bar the less capable Switch 2 (if you count this).
It does not matter how old the CPU's are - this is the current gen of consoles.
It would be like releasing a game that only achieves 30fps on the most powerful PC with the best CPU you can buy, and complaining that the CPU's are at fault because there are not more powerful ones available yet.
60fps has been the standard this gen and not having the option of a stable 60fps is unacceptable on base PS5 (let alone Pro).
Obviously, the normal trade off is graphics, and that is why developers add 2 or 3 modes allowing you to turn up graphics settings, in exchange for framerate - to ensure everyone has a mode they are happy with, within the limitation of their console.
We have had some very impressive game worlds / mechanics that have been possible at 60fps (and sometimes well in excess), including a few with RT features.
If the problem really is that it is the CPU that is limiting the framerate to below 60fps in a certain game, then that is still very poor development and a poor studio in my book. They have let their ambition exceed their capability with the current hardware available (over 100 million units of such).
I also remember Mark Cerny's reaction when posed with the question about CPU upgrades for Pro, and he was more than clear that developers shouldn't need to exceed the CPU in the base PS5.
Sony didn't want the base PS5 to become a 30fps machine then, and they certainly don't now.
It should also be noted that in a year or two, we will enter into a cross gen period that will probably last at least a further 5 years due to the cost of parts and therefore consoles.
I'm not sure that PS5 owners who can't afford to upgrade to PS6 should be subjected to 30fps when the PS6 launches, but if some developers can't even manage to keep to 60fps now, what fps will games be running at on the PS5 in 7 years time? Will they even get 30fps?
And what does this mean for the new handheld device being planned which is probably not even as capable as a base PS5?
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@PaperAlien
Very well said.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Hylian-Likely
I'm a real gamer, and have been playing games since the Speccy+2.
A game that doesn't play at near locked 60fps is completely unplayable to me - literally. Within approx 10 minutes I get headaches, and feel sick, and no amount of time will help me adjust - it just gets worse.
The thing is, I have also spoken to many (many) others who have similar problems, and have even helped people who didn't know what was causing it when they experienced the same.
I didn't know what caused me to have issues until after a lot of digging and knew very little about framerates before then.
This is not a choice - I wouldn't even play literally the best game ever made, even if it was free (or they paid me!), but couldn't manage a decent 60fps - because I couldn't. And I used to be able to tolerate 30fps, so don't think the same could never apply to yourself.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@get2sammyb
I will be there day 1 for PS6 - I literally cannot play a game that isn't near locked 60fps, and get headaches and feel sick if the game deviates too much.
No amount of time helps me 'adjust' - it just gets worse. I nearly gave up console gaming towards the end of PS4 generation.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
There are well over 100 million consoles out there, in use, that have very similar CPU's.
The CPU argument is therefore rubbish in my opinion - this is simply a case of poor developers letting their ambition exceed their abilities on current gen hardware.
A hard pass from me for this game, and any further game from this dev team will have to prove 60fps before I even start to get interested.
Re: The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro
@Bettyswollocks
Tell Sony customer service the game is not fit for purpose with the recently revealed fact that it will not be 60fps.
60fps is the standard now, and various presentations from Sony in the past have confirmed this.
I and others have had refunds for games which do not keep a satisfactory 60fps as per DF testing, pre launch. If I remember correctly 1 user here confirmed this to me, even after playing a game briefly, but I would say that that is far riskier than pre launch.
Re: Onimusha: Way of the Sword May Be Another PS5 Capcom Hit as It Crosses 2 Million Wishlists
I loved the original Onimusha games, and RE Requiem is a fantastic game, but the demo for this didn't really excite me enough.
What didn't help is that from a technical point of view it looked way behind RER.
Also, these coming couple of months are really packed, with Wolverine already a definite purchase.
I'm waiting to see the full reviews / analysis of Onimusha before I buy.
Re: 'We Don't Need to Aggressively Sell the Console': Sony CEO Says Timing of Memory Crisis Is 'Lucky' for PS5
@PuppetMaster
I'm sorry, I still see this a communication issue.
What he said was not nice to hear, but it is no different than the goals of any large company.
There may also be translation issues here - I have no idea what his native language is.
I don't profess to be able to speak Japanese, but what I know for certain is that direct translation is very difficult with actual meanings lost or gained in the process.
Thats not to say that I don't think this was a massive blunder. Sony need to reconsider how things like this are interpreted and make customers feel - even though I suspect that only a tiny % of gamers will ever read / hear these comments.
I also believe the hardware price increases were simple necessity with current market part costs. Sony do not want to heavily subsidise PS5 any more, particularly not with PS6 only a couple of years away.
Game prices may also be too low now - since the last price increase we have seen comparatively massive inflation, that just hasn't been reflected in what we pay.
However, I have wondered whether Sony stopping Physical discs is an effort to try and delay / reduce price rises. Removing this manufacture / distribution burden, not to mention the removal of the 2nd hand market that makes developers (and Sony) nothing.
None of this is to say I don't think Sony could be doing better, but straight pricing is not the most effective target area, particularly as I'm sorry to say people will always want things cheaper.
Re: 'We Don't Need to Aggressively Sell the Console': Sony CEO Says Timing of Memory Crisis Is 'Lucky' for PS5
@Fyz306903
"The thing is does it matter if the ps6 doesn't initially sell that well?"
No.
People want to think sales numbers are important and that Sony will be forced to subsidise to a ridiculous degree (it will still be heavily subsidised), but this isn't the case.
Sony's business model depends solely on their ecosystem, and after 2 great generations this is clearly very healthy from a business point of view.
In the long run (>5yrs) they obviously want a fair number to have moved over to PS6, but the ONLY NEED (in the current very high part cost climate) for a PS6 is to offer an upgrade path to those who want to upgrade, and importantly can afford it at the subsidised price.
It is purely there to prevent people like this from looking at other ecosystems.
If someone has the money and wants to upgrade, and Sony don't have a capable, impressive PS6 unit available or on the way, then they might be tempted by Helix or similar. From a pure business / realistic point of view, this would be a loss to their ecosystem, likely of someone with a higher than average ongoing budget for gaming.
Being realistic, for those that can't afford a PS6, an upgrade to Helix (or PC) will be out of the question, and these customers will likely stay on PS5/Pro until the price drops, or their situation changes.
The only real fear here is that those who are left unable to upgrade become apathetic to gaming in general over time, but this is something they will have to manage until part prices come down, unless they want to subsidise more heavily as the years go by.
This is no real difference to why the PS4 & 5 Pro consoles were necessary at the time, with the exception that I can see PS5 versions of games releasing after PS6 to be missing features.
Re: 'We Don't Need to Aggressively Sell the Console': Sony CEO Says Timing of Memory Crisis Is 'Lucky' for PS5
@ButteredCrumpet
This is just yet another case of poor communication in my opinion.
As you say, making money is the goal of all providers - customer service (from most large businesses) is only about making customers happy because happy customers are more loyal, more likely to stay, more likely to purchase, and more likely to spread good word of mouth - in other words, more money.
But, my goodness, does this guy not realise how bad this communication sounds - to the admittedly probably very small % of people who will read / hear it.
Sony management really need to attend (better) courses on HOW to communicate things.
However, I still think people totally overestimate Sony's need to sell huge number of PS6's in the current part cost climate.
Their business model needs nothing more from PS6 (at least in the first few years) than to prevent those wanting to upgrade, and can afford to, from looking elsewhere, because they (Sony) have nothing worthwhile to upgrade to (ie if they don't have a PS6 available). Part of this of course, is that those customers likely have more budget to spend on games etc so need to be happy with their purchase.
Re: PS6's Purported $1,000 Price Point Could Lead to a 40% Slump in Sales
I don't think this matters one bit.
The key reason for a PS6 to exist is to offer an upgrade path from PS5/Pro for those who want it, in order to prevent them looking elsewhere.
To put it in practical terms, and meaning no disrespect - if people don't have £1000 to spend on hardware, then they won't be looking at Helix (or PC). But, if PS6 doesn't exist then someone who has a PS5 and wants to upgrade, and can afford it, may be tempted to look elsewhere outside of Sony's ecosystem.
It's this ecosystem that is important to Sony's business model, and I fully expect a very long cross gen period with PS5.
Providing the hardware impresses, stock permitting, I will be there Day 1.
Re: James Bond Is Officially Back as 007 First Light Crosses 4 Million Copies Sold
Just to echo what others have said, this was/is an excellent game, and more importantly, and excellent BOND game. One of my favourite games this year.
Did individual mechanisms suffer slightly because they wanted to do so much - yes; but this was a knock on effect of wanting to make sure this game came across as a proper 007 Bond adventure, and not just another shooter or stealth game. And in this, they really succeeded.
Hopefully the expected sequel just refines and not changes.
Re: GTA 6 Gameplay Leaks Continue as Group Makes Demands of Rockstar
@SEVENTEENSOILS
NB I will try and use games industry examples so I don't go off topic.
I agree with you when you talk about a "feeling of a decreasing QoL" being a problem - the trouble is that often it is a perception, not reality.
How often do we see people here talk about the price of consoles and games, yet not consider inflation or just how much work goes into them these days to meet peoples expectations. I'm sure that the cost per hour of enjoyment, inflation adjusted, is much cheaper these days.
I will admit that hardware prices are getting high now, but that is not necessarily the fault of the manufacturers, and not every household could afford a games console when I was growing up either.
Of bigger concern is that at the same time as people believe their QoL is being eroded, they are being constantly (and often falsly) told how it is this persons fault, or that groups fault.
People do just seem angrier these days. If they can't have something, for whatever reason, they are angry at it (just look at the backlash against Pro that was in a lot of cases seated in this).
Of equal concern though is that people do not respect others property or privacy or rights or opinions etc anywhere near as much as they should. Effectively, they care about themselves, not others.
And everything is black and white these days - the worst thing ever, or the best thing ever. There is no middle ground, no grey area, no 'OK'.
But then I suppose well thought out opinion does not gain as many 'clicks' or 'likes' as pure outrage.
How many times have we read comments along the lines of 'if your not with us your against us' or a 'shill' etc (from some, by no means all) in recent weeks, even on this site, in the discourse about the end of physical media.
Some (and I have written at length about this in other posts) want to rant and rage, yet won't 'go without' themselves (a phrase I seem to have used a lot) to try and actually push their message.
I personally think GTA6 bears a lot of responsibility in the ending of physical media - partly because it shows people will accept digital only, as again, people won't 'go without'.
However, that doesn't mean I think it in any way acceptable that R* are hacked!
(Even worse that this looks likely to be for financial gain)
Ramble over, lol.
Re: Opinion: Hermen Hulst Has Failed and PS Studios Needs a Change
@get2sammyb
A very fair and well argued article in my opinion.
Re: PlayStation Scaling Back Horizon Live Service PS5 Game as Sony Failures Continue
This needs cancelling. They don't really need another Concord for people (including me in this case it seems lol) to keep bringing up.
Re: Physical Disc Fans Must Wait to Play Control Resonant on PS5
@LordOfTurnips
Now that sounds like a really good idea for what I can only imagine is a collectors edition - I have never tended to bother because they often (not always), seem to be a bit rubbish (but to each their own - I'm not criticising).
NB The 2 I mentioned were normal price editions.
Re: GTA 6 Gameplay Leaks Continue as Group Makes Demands of Rockstar
CyberLeek?
What's next? CyberTurnip?