I went to the PSN store (US), told it to filter for only PSVR2 titles, and to sort by release date. It shows five games yet to be released but available to be wishlisted, and a dozen released so far this year (as best I can tell - PSN doesn't actually show the release date). That doesn't include at least another dozen that dropped in December, including quite a few great titles, nor does it include DLC for some long-running titles.
Is Sony supporting PSVR2 with a lot of first-party studio titles? No - but they're not supporting PS5 with a LOT of first-party studio titles, I'd argue. Are there a lot of games coming out for PSVR2? Sure, including some shovelware and some quality titles - enough to keep you busy if you're willing to look at third-party titles.
Somebody on this site seems invested in convincing us PSVR2 is dead. It's not, even without a ton of support from Sony.
I already use sites that check prices over time (psdeals.net is my personal favorite, but there are others that are also awesome) so I'm not just comparing my price to the regular price, but to historic sales prices. I think that likely mitigates the impact somewhat, so long as the pricing sites are getting good data and seeing real prices.
If my price is higher than the sale price of a checking site, Sony probably loses my purchase, at least for then.
If Sony breaks that functionality though, and makes it harder for sites to track pricing over time, that's what will really get me upset. Until then, it's just another barrier to a sale.
The thing about this case that I find impressive is the actor has a specific contract clause, a specific negotiated right, which he wants protected. I can respect that.
I don't respect anyone who is automatically pro-union without examining what's at issue in a negotiation, any more than I would respect someone who is always pro-employer. Both sides can be selfish, and both sides can be anti-consumer.
Madden will be fun to play for a little bit, to take my Seahawks through the playoffs again. I toyed with picking it up this year since they won it all and it will be fun to replay and see the names again in years to come - but then I remembered how they've turned Madden into a perpetual sales pitch for DLC (which will be useless by the time I play it). By the time I've played it three or four times in a week, I'm ready to be done with it for another year.
If it was more about playing the game and less about buying more content, I might play it more. I'm done buying it, though.
"It’s important to underline that Microsoft will not see a cent from any of this," you say, assuming there's no licensing deal with Steam or other storefronts allowed on the new XBox.
Who says it's going to be just a PC that lets you run anything? XBox has always just been a Windows PC with a locked GUI. It could still have a locked-down front-end, and might allow only specific, partnered stores - with terms that could see those stores share a portion of their revenue for access to the device.
If Steam keeps 30% of the sale price itself, they could share 5% or even 10% with Microsoft for games sold on a "Helix" version of Steam, especially if MS helps with the storage and distribution on the platform.
@Dimey Then buy your own studio and run it the way you want to run it.
A well-written game is going to be a well-written game whether it has ray tracing or not, and a poorly-written game will be poorly-written with or without it. It's not like a studio who spends resources to implement ray tracing must, by definition, shortchange some other area of development.
Obviously tradeoffs exist and nobody can do everything, but I doubt there's even a single studio saying "it's a bad game, but if we throw in ray tracing it will sell" - and if there are, they deserve the reception they'll get.
And that opening line wasn't entirely snark - if you know how to allocate resources to make better games, you could get rich showing development studios how to do it. There are a lot of very smart people trying very hard to make better games, and ray tracing is just one small cog in the process.
I have to agree that ray tracing doesn't contribute to story - but then, you could argue that 3d graphics don't contribute to story. We're past the days of text-based video games (though I'm old enough to remember them), so graphics ARE important on some level. How good is "good enough" will forever be a subjective matter, and will inevitably vary by game, art style, player, and era.
That said, ray tracing can make good-looking games look spectacular. It can reduce the things that ruin immersion (like screen space reflections clipping out).
Is it necessary? I don't know - is the Mona Lisa NECESSARY? But it can sure be beautiful when it works well.
I picked up a refurbished unit after one of the price hikes (I suspect a return from someone who didn't think it was a big enough leap), plus a disk drive for it.
There are a few PSVR2 games which look significantly better with the Pro, and if the PSSR2 upgrade improves it (and if future upgrades continue to improve it), so much the better. Considering that a graphics card alone costs more than a PS5 Pro these days, it's not as bad a deal as some people made it out to be.
I'm a little burned out on Metroidvania, to be honest. I'm old enough to have played the originals which spawned the term (though I barely touched Castlevania, I was certainly aware of it), and I've played many, many in the genre over the years. And now, I'm less interested in more of the same.
Nothing against Sons of Sparta for those who like it, and if it were on a portable device I might be more willing to give it a shot...but probably not.
Give me the big expansive games that studios are spending the better part of a decade building. If they're good enough to keep my interest, I can stand the wait.
If you want to delight me with a smaller game, give me something that feels new and different, like Journey did - but not a modern Journey clone, because that's not new and different any more.
That's not to say I won't try indie titles, or even another metroidvania - but just saying "metroidvania!" won't get me to even turn my head these days. You'd better be coming at me with something new and different and delightful, not an amalgamation of dozens of games I've played before.
On one hand, you've got studios rushing games out before they're ready (SP, MP, MMO, it doesn't matter, it's happening to all of them).
Mix that with a live service model that demands immediate adoption and retention of players in order to be sustainable, where any hiccup that loses players could be a death sentence.
Shake them together, and the end result will be UGLY, every time.
There are reasons I still buy movies on disk (just had the Criterion edition of The Princess Bride arrive today). One major reason is because a 4K movie on disk is usually going to be better quality than the same movie streamed from most any streaming service - it's almost certainly going to be at a higher bit rate and unaffected by your network connection.
The same isn't really true for games, at least not unless you're streaming the game itself like with Plus Premium. The game you buy in the PS Store is the same quality as the game you buy on disk, may take the same time (or even less) to install, and is actually a better experience since you don't have to manage the location of the disk just to play the game. The digital copy may be cheaper, too.
The main argument left is that you may "own" the game on disk in ways you don't "own" the digital copy, but as games depend on servers being online, and new hardware doesn't include drives to play old games, that's a less compelling argument than it used to be.
Starfield is consistently on sale for $42 on XBox (US prices), so I don't expect to pay more than that for it on PS5. That may mean I need to wait until closer to the end of the year, but that's fine with me.
Then again, I played a few hours back when I had it on XBox (my Series S is gathering a THICK layer of dust), and it was...fine. I don't have real complaints, but honestly I'm more excited about a third replay of Prey (or its Moonfall DLC, which I haven't played yet) or another time through Stellar Blade than I am of Starfield. So maybe I'll wait until it's on sale for $20 or less in a year or two.
Honestly, it feels a little annoying to wait a week and then open the wishlists, just so they can get two cracks at media attention instead of just one. If they'd done both the same day, this article wouldn't exist.
That said, it's on my wishlist. Definitely not a day one purchase (nothing is for me any more), but worth keeping an eye on.
Haven't watched the video yet, but there were a LOT of PSVR2 titles in 2025, and more than you have listed for 2026 (neither Microsoft Flight Simulator nor Secret of the Mimic are on your list - both are still pending release dates but are expected this year).
First party support is lacking, but a lot of games coming to VR are coming to PSVR2 as well as Steam or wherever else.
@Wakkawipeout That's why Burnout Paradise is still my favorite open world racing game. Several of the race events were variations of "You start here. Get to this other point on the map first. Go." - and you could choose any route, even going the wrong way (you'd lose if you did that, but you COULD).
Often there was a clear choice, where one route was THE way to go - but sometimes there were multiple reasonable routes. Some were shorter but had more traffic, others might be faster but required you to hit certain jumps to get in or out of them, others were true toss-ups between two parallel streets.
Throw in the game modes that weren't pure racing - marked man, specifically, a version of tag where knowing the map and ways to get in and out of harder-to-reach places helped - and open world games CAN be a ton of fun.
But most open world games don't really nail that as well as BP did. Cart racers are more likely to have the multiple path thing over more traditional racing games, too.
I'd rather have a Motostorm collection remake for the PS5 (heck, if I'm wishing, throw in PSVR2). Until then, I'll probably give this one a shot.
@Wakkawipeout My only argument with that is when the open world racing allows multiple choices of routes, each with their own tradeoffs, it can be superior to a single track with no alternate paths. It's what I loved about Motorstorm (not open world titles, but different than many racing games), and some Burnout Paradise races.
Otherwise, your points are well taken. The same track/route with different vehicles that feel different can really change how you approach them. That does require significant differences in vehicles beyond just a new skin on the same handling, which not all games did a great job of.
I enjoyed Monster Hunter World, but didn't pay for Iceborne so I've missed half the content. I expect the same with Rise, which makes me wonder if I should bother starting it.
Given that I could buy the pair (Rise + Sunbreak) from PSN today for $9.59 US, having just the base game for free doesn't seem like a compelling deal to me. Especially since Sunbreak itself is also on sale for $5.99, making RIse by itself worth a whopping $3.60...that's sad.
It's rather hilarious to see people say that everything after Saints Row 2 was a failure. According to the stats I can see (from vgchartz), 3 sold more than any other in the series, including more than the first two combined. It was my favorite.
Personally, I didn't play the first one, 2 was good, 3 was the best, 4 was okay but wore out its welcome way too fast, Gat wasn't interesting enough to finish, and the reboot was...sad. I'd love to see them return to the style of Saints Row The Third, or even Saints Row 2, which was a lot less ludicrous than the series became but still didn't take itself entirely seriously all the time.
Notwithstanding the infamous purple baseball-bat-sized dildo, good comedy and satire requires better writing than I expect from the game industry these days. It will likely be a small publisher, willing to risk humor that might get them in trouble from some people - the type of risk big corporations won't take - and it won't necessarily be the same game genre it shows up in. Wherever it comes from, I'll keep an eye out for it.
The hardware for the PS6 is likely locked in and unlikely to change at this point, whether they release it in 2026 or 2030. Given that, I'd rather have the hardware NOW rather than wait, all things being equal.
All things are not equal, however, given the market disruption AI is creating. Advances in home computer graphics are going to be stalled for a few years as RAM and GPUs are redirected to data centers rather than consumers.
Given that...I honestly hope they scrap the current PS6 plan and go back to the drawing board for a PS6 that's using new tech for 2030 or whenever, rather than 2025-26 tech that's delayed a few years.
I was disappointed by the total lack of any PSVR2 content. I was hoping for something there, and at least one studio dropped news that day but didn't make the show. Maybe Sony will show up next month at the VR showcase.
However, I was delighted enough at Kena 2 that I knew from the beginning I was going to think of it as a success even if that was the only thing I liked (and it wasn't, there was plenty).
@UltimateOtaku91 Sony need to be really careful with this game, if this has a Concord moment then that could really effect the main Horizon games going forward.
I disagree. I think the fact that the art style in this game is SO different from the Horizon main series, its success or failure is unlikely to significantly affect those games. This may have Horizon in the name and feature the same type of enemies, but it's clearly not a mainline Horizon game, and I don't see much market confusion happening.
People who hate multiplier will just ignore this. People who hate single player will continue to ignore the main Horizon games. Nothing will change.
Both @Rich33 and @1970sGamer can be right - currently, Generative AI art is still not up to the quality of decent artists and coders (though I'm no artist, so AI does a much better job than my stick figures).
If it continues to improve, it will eventually sweep through multiple industries leaving human creativity in its wake, with plenty of people shaking their fists at the sky.
Some amount of change due to AI is inevitable. The exact details of that change are unknowable. Sadly, the extent of the change will depend more on the technical feasibility than the moral implications, particularly as it becomes more difficult to tell if AI generated the content or not (as is already happening with writing).
I'd love to see some PSSR 2.0 news. I'm also hoping for some PSVR2 updates - Microsoft Flight Sim's PSVR2 update could be in here, potentially, if Microsoft is going to be part of State of Play moving forward.
Honestly, if this wasn't Horizon, I doubt I'd be interested. But I signed up to be considered for the beta.
If it's PVE and it's not exploitive in pricing or monetization, then it could be a lot of fun. If you can solo it, even better.
The art style isn't my favorite, but it's not awful. I'm interested. If it ends up being F2P I'll definitely give it a shot - if not, I'll keep my eyes on the reviews and pricing, and decide if it's worth my time when there's more to see than a promotional video.
If they could figure out how to do a solid PSVR2 implementation, I'd buy it. I don't know how you'd pull that off with a controller behind where the headset can track it, though.
@ED_209 What worries me most is that 99% of the current PlayStation fan base only wants and only accepts one type of game.
While I think you've got a point, I'd also say that it's not the SAME game for that entire 99% of the fan base.
For some, they really just want another Fortnite (you don't see those folks here too often, because...they're playing Fortnite). For others, they want another Burnout, or another TLOU, or another Genshin, or another MGS, or whatever else that fan wants. There's a lot of variety regarding which ONE type of game each of us like.
Remember that this site isn't representative of all Playstation players - most don't care enough to come to sites like this, and even fewer care to post. Sony can't market only to the comments section in places like this, they have to have a bigger target.
The Horizon universe is large enough for a lot of different games - it's a global event in the story, after all. Honestly, I think this one might have been stronger if it didn't have even a cameo from characters from the main game, but I see why they did it and it doesn't feel like those characters will be prevalent.
If you like co-op PVE, then I don't see why you wouldn't give it a shot. I'm sure the art style is to optimize performance with multiplayer.
I prefer solo, but I'll probably check it out if it's not too expensive (they don't hint at if it's F2P or not) and not too exploitive. We'll see.
This is early February. November is nine months away - enough time to create a new human being, which is another way to say that a lot can happen between now and November.
One of the reasons I prefer a controller to my phone screen is the tactile buttons on a controller. I don't want a controller with virtual buttons as the primary, any more than I want a car with the AC and radio control only on a video panel. Tactile buttons are superior.
This could be useful for software to let your phone act as a controller, but that's it.
Always, always wait for reviews on the platform you plan to play on.
It's not for the rating, necessarily, as different reviewers have different priorities and you have to find someone who likes what you like - but for details of how well it plays, how buggy it is, and whether or not the game matches the marketing.
Any more, I just don't buy on release on general principle. It will always be cheaper a few months later, and almost always significantly more polished as well. I can wait for them to finish the game, and then buy it at a discount.
@Fritz167 - so just buy the titles you want and ignore the rest.
I see absolutely no downside for them to branch out into multiple genres - anything that brings more players in and more revenue in can only help them keep the lights on and keep new content coming. It doesn't hurt anyone if there are tracks we don't like - just skip them and play the ones you do like. Unless they start removing tracks, just welcome the attention and revenue for the developer.
I'll probably pick it up for Black Friday at a discount. I loved Forza Horizon 4, though I found 5 to be underwhelming. It's been a while, though, so 6 may scratch that itch just fine.
As for showing up a bit later on PS5 - great! Gives them a chance to work out the day 1 bugs, and give us a more polished release!!
I happened to see it in the store (web version) before I saw this article, and nearly picked it up then (I waited to check to see if there were more relevant details, like a bundle I was missing). I never got into Beat Saber, or most rhythm games, but Synth Riders just WORKS for me in ways most of the other games don't.
I'll be flinging my arms around to We Are the Champions tonight after work, I guarantee it.
One of the key points he seems to be making is that trends don't guarantee success. Not every shooter is Fortnite, not every AA game is Clair Obscur, not every AAA is GTA.
Make the game that makes sense, with the budget that makes sense, given the specific circumstances. Developers need to focus on doing whatever it is THEY do well, as well as they can, and not try to chase whatever the latest trend is and shoehorn it into whatever they're doing.
PS3 emulation on the PS5 is a pipe dream. If Sony CAN do it (and I doubt they can, at least not with the level of reliability they would want), they WON'T, at least not in any meaningful way (like letting me put in a PS3 disk and play it on my PS5). Very simply, there's no money in it for them. What's the point?
The portions of the review focusing on the ridiculous and revealing outfits don't bother me. Sexy outfits can be fun, or in the way, and as long as they're optional then I don't care too much. Same with the ridiculousness of the plot - does anybody remember the plot of the original Doom? You can't get more basic or meaningless than that, can you?
The portions of the review criticizing camera control, enemy AI, hit indicators (for both enemies and the player character), and weapon feel all hit a lot harder.
If it's not fun, who cares what it looks like? Games need to start with fun. Sprinkling in sexy (or not) is fine, even gaping plot holes or unbelievable scenarios are okay, but without the fun, there's no point.
Of course Sony will allow it in the store - and happily take their 30% cut on every sale. They don't care if it's AI-generated. It costs almost nothing to host it, and if it sells, Sony profits.
What, you expect them to turn away free money, because of...ethics or something?
In their defense, do you really want Sony to be the arbiter of which game infringes on which IP? There's a lot of room for conflict of interest there. Your game has a raccoon, well, a Sony studio owns Sly Cooper!
I'm not defending this game (heck, I don't know anything more about it than I read in the article, for all I know it's Lazy Flock who is ripping off the other studio - how would I know?). But I am warning that before you ask Sony to police their store more aggressively, be very careful about what it is you're wishing for.
A Gran Turismo theme...only if it paints a line on the road in front of me showing the best line to take, and braking warnings....
Most people don't buy cars because they have a cool theme. This is a gimmick that will make it seem less serious to most of the people who have six figures (or close to it) to spend on a car.
If this is just the marketing piece Push Square picked up because it's PlayStation related, that's fine, but if this is the best Sony has to brag about the car, I predict a sales disaster.
I'm sorry, but this is stupid math - it's the same math Sony promotes, but it's stupid.
Show me the same list, but use a site that tracks price history to find the lowest sale price for each game BEFORE the date it appeared on Plus, then sum that and give me THAT number. That's a more reasonable and appropriate number.
Does it take more time to do that research and math? Yes, of course it does. Does it mean anything? Not a lot - but still about 1,000x more than adding together the full MSRP prices!
I'm partial to psdeals.net - try talking to them or some of their competitors and see if they can open their database to some direct queries to track this down more easily.
EDIT: And start NOW for doing this for 2026 - fire up a spreadsheet, and on the day Sony announces next month's Essential games, go hit psdeals.net or a similar site and record the lowest sale price for the games on the list. That will make this article for 2026 a lot easier to write, with more interesting and meaningful numbers!
I think you just convinced me it was a good idea NOT to check out Wuthering Waves. Genshin sucks up too much of my time as it is, and at this point I'm not going to quit Genshin to pick up a different gacha, so...probably best to avoid it in the first place.
Besides, I started No Man's Sky this year - that's got enough to keep pulling me back in, it's almost another gacha in the way it keeps asking you to do just a little more.
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Re: As PSVR2 Fades into Obscurity, VR Specialist Reveals Its First Ever Non-VR PS5 Title
I went to the PSN store (US), told it to filter for only PSVR2 titles, and to sort by release date. It shows five games yet to be released but available to be wishlisted, and a dozen released so far this year (as best I can tell - PSN doesn't actually show the release date). That doesn't include at least another dozen that dropped in December, including quite a few great titles, nor does it include DLC for some long-running titles.
Is Sony supporting PSVR2 with a lot of first-party studio titles? No - but they're not supporting PS5 with a LOT of first-party studio titles, I'd argue. Are there a lot of games coming out for PSVR2? Sure, including some shovelware and some quality titles - enough to keep you busy if you're willing to look at third-party titles.
Somebody on this site seems invested in convincing us PSVR2 is dead. It's not, even without a ton of support from Sony.
Re: Poll: Has PS5's Dynamic Pricing Debacle Changed Your Relationship with the PS Store at All?
I already use sites that check prices over time (psdeals.net is my personal favorite, but there are others that are also awesome) so I'm not just comparing my price to the regular price, but to historic sales prices. I think that likely mitigates the impact somewhat, so long as the pricing sites are getting good data and seeing real prices.
If my price is higher than the sale price of a checking site, Sony probably loses my purchase, at least for then.
If Sony breaks that functionality though, and makes it harder for sites to track pricing over time, that's what will really get me upset. Until then, it's just another barrier to a sale.
Re: 'I Need a Union Contract to Feel Safe': Broken Hearted Mega Man Voice Actor Won't Star in New PS5, PS4 Game
The thing about this case that I find impressive is the actor has a specific contract clause, a specific negotiated right, which he wants protected. I can respect that.
I don't respect anyone who is automatically pro-union without examining what's at issue in a negotiation, any more than I would respect someone who is always pro-employer. Both sides can be selfish, and both sides can be anti-consumer.
Re: 8 PS Plus Extra, Premium Games for March 2026 Announced
Madden will be fun to play for a little bit, to take my Seahawks through the playoffs again. I toyed with picking it up this year since they won it all and it will be fun to replay and see the names again in years to come - but then I remembered how they've turned Madden into a perpetual sales pitch for DLC (which will be useless by the time I play it). By the time I've played it three or four times in a week, I'm ready to be done with it for another year.
If it was more about playing the game and less about buying more content, I might play it more. I'm done buying it, though.
Re: Hypothetically, Could Sony Stop Its PS5 Ports from Running on Xbox Helix?
"It’s important to underline that Microsoft will not see a cent from any of this," you say, assuming there's no licensing deal with Steam or other storefronts allowed on the new XBox.
Who says it's going to be just a PC that lets you run anything? XBox has always just been a Windows PC with a locked GUI. It could still have a locked-down front-end, and might allow only specific, partnered stores - with terms that could see those stores share a portion of their revenue for access to the device.
If Steam keeps 30% of the sale price itself, they could share 5% or even 10% with Microsoft for games sold on a "Helix" version of Steam, especially if MS helps with the storage and distribution on the platform.
Re: As PS6 Delay Rumours Swirl, Fans Debate Ray Tracing's Worth
@Dimey Then buy your own studio and run it the way you want to run it.
A well-written game is going to be a well-written game whether it has ray tracing or not, and a poorly-written game will be poorly-written with or without it. It's not like a studio who spends resources to implement ray tracing must, by definition, shortchange some other area of development.
Obviously tradeoffs exist and nobody can do everything, but I doubt there's even a single studio saying "it's a bad game, but if we throw in ray tracing it will sell" - and if there are, they deserve the reception they'll get.
And that opening line wasn't entirely snark - if you know how to allocate resources to make better games, you could get rich showing development studios how to do it. There are a lot of very smart people trying very hard to make better games, and ray tracing is just one small cog in the process.
Re: As PS6 Delay Rumours Swirl, Fans Debate Ray Tracing's Worth
I have to agree that ray tracing doesn't contribute to story - but then, you could argue that 3d graphics don't contribute to story. We're past the days of text-based video games (though I'm old enough to remember them), so graphics ARE important on some level. How good is "good enough" will forever be a subjective matter, and will inevitably vary by game, art style, player, and era.
That said, ray tracing can make good-looking games look spectacular. It can reduce the things that ruin immersion (like screen space reflections clipping out).
Is it necessary? I don't know - is the Mona Lisa NECESSARY? But it can sure be beautiful when it works well.
Re: PS5 Pro Sales Explode on the Back of PSSR 2 Hype, System Sells Out in Some Stores
I picked up a refurbished unit after one of the price hikes (I suspect a return from someone who didn't think it was a big enough leap), plus a disk drive for it.
There are a few PSVR2 games which look significantly better with the Pro, and if the PSSR2 upgrade improves it (and if future upgrades continue to improve it), so much the better. Considering that a graphics card alone costs more than a PS5 Pro these days, it's not as bad a deal as some people made it out to be.
Re: Opinion: God of War: Sons of Sparta Is the Smaller PS5 Game Fans Want, and I Hope We See More
I'm a little burned out on Metroidvania, to be honest. I'm old enough to have played the originals which spawned the term (though I barely touched Castlevania, I was certainly aware of it), and I've played many, many in the genre over the years. And now, I'm less interested in more of the same.
Nothing against Sons of Sparta for those who like it, and if it were on a portable device I might be more willing to give it a shot...but probably not.
Give me the big expansive games that studios are spending the better part of a decade building. If they're good enough to keep my interest, I can stand the wait.
If you want to delight me with a smaller game, give me something that feels new and different, like Journey did - but not a modern Journey clone, because that's not new and different any more.
That's not to say I won't try indie titles, or even another metroidvania - but just saying "metroidvania!" won't get me to even turn my head these days. You'd better be coming at me with something new and different and delightful, not an amalgamation of dozens of games I've played before.
Re: Highguard Permanently Shuts Down on 12th March
On one hand, you've got studios rushing games out before they're ready (SP, MP, MMO, it doesn't matter, it's happening to all of them).
Mix that with a live service model that demands immediate adoption and retention of players in order to be sustainable, where any hiccup that loses players could be a death sentence.
Shake them together, and the end result will be UGLY, every time.
Re: Physical Game Sales Hit All-Time Low in the US
There are reasons I still buy movies on disk (just had the Criterion edition of The Princess Bride arrive today). One major reason is because a 4K movie on disk is usually going to be better quality than the same movie streamed from most any streaming service - it's almost certainly going to be at a higher bit rate and unaffected by your network connection.
The same isn't really true for games, at least not unless you're streaming the game itself like with Plus Premium. The game you buy in the PS Store is the same quality as the game you buy on disk, may take the same time (or even less) to install, and is actually a better experience since you don't have to manage the location of the disk just to play the game. The digital copy may be cheaper, too.
The main argument left is that you may "own" the game on disk in ways you don't "own" the digital copy, but as games depend on servers being online, and new hardware doesn't include drives to play old games, that's a less compelling argument than it used to be.
Re: Rumour: Starfield PS5 Release Date Locked in for April as Xbox RPG Targets Lower Price Point
Starfield is consistently on sale for $42 on XBox (US prices), so I don't expect to pay more than that for it on PS5. That may mean I need to wait until closer to the end of the year, but that's fine with me.
Then again, I played a few hours back when I had it on XBox (my Series S is gathering a THICK layer of dust), and it was...fine. I don't have real complaints, but honestly I'm more excited about a third replay of Prey (or its Moonfall DLC, which I haven't played yet) or another time through Stellar Blade than I am of Starfield. So maybe I'll wait until it's on sale for $20 or less in a year or two.
Re: Kena: Scars of Kosmora Is Now Available for Wishlist on PS Store and PC
Honestly, it feels a little annoying to wait a week and then open the wishlists, just so they can get two cracks at media attention instead of just one. If they'd done both the same day, this article wouldn't exist.
That said, it's on my wishlist. Definitely not a day one purchase (nothing is for me any more), but worth keeping an eye on.
Re: Video: Silence as PSVR2 Turns Three Years Old - Is Sony's PS5 Headset Dead?
Haven't watched the video yet, but there were a LOT of PSVR2 titles in 2025, and more than you have listed for 2026 (neither Microsoft Flight Simulator nor Secret of the Mimic are on your list - both are still pending release dates but are expected this year).
First party support is lacking, but a lot of games coming to VR are coming to PSVR2 as well as Steam or wherever else.
Re: Mini Review: Tokyo Xtreme Racer (PS5) - Unapologetically Old School for Better and Worse
@Wakkawipeout That's why Burnout Paradise is still my favorite open world racing game. Several of the race events were variations of "You start here. Get to this other point on the map first. Go." - and you could choose any route, even going the wrong way (you'd lose if you did that, but you COULD).
Often there was a clear choice, where one route was THE way to go - but sometimes there were multiple reasonable routes. Some were shorter but had more traffic, others might be faster but required you to hit certain jumps to get in or out of them, others were true toss-ups between two parallel streets.
Throw in the game modes that weren't pure racing - marked man, specifically, a version of tag where knowing the map and ways to get in and out of harder-to-reach places helped - and open world games CAN be a ton of fun.
But most open world games don't really nail that as well as BP did. Cart racers are more likely to have the multiple path thing over more traditional racing games, too.
I'd rather have a Motostorm collection remake for the PS5 (heck, if I'm wishing, throw in PSVR2). Until then, I'll probably give this one a shot.
Re: Mini Review: Tokyo Xtreme Racer (PS5) - Unapologetically Old School for Better and Worse
@Wakkawipeout My only argument with that is when the open world racing allows multiple choices of routes, each with their own tradeoffs, it can be superior to a single track with no alternate paths. It's what I loved about Motorstorm (not open world titles, but different than many racing games), and some Burnout Paradise races.
Otherwise, your points are well taken. The same track/route with different vehicles that feel different can really change how you approach them. That does require significant differences in vehicles beyond just a new skin on the same handling, which not all games did a great job of.
Re: PS Plus Essential Games for March 2026 Announced
I enjoyed Monster Hunter World, but didn't pay for Iceborne so I've missed half the content. I expect the same with Rise, which makes me wonder if I should bother starting it.
Given that I could buy the pair (Rise + Sunbreak) from PSN today for $9.59 US, having just the base game for free doesn't seem like a compelling deal to me. Especially since Sunbreak itself is also on sale for $5.99, making RIse by itself worth a whopping $3.60...that's sad.
Re: Going Platinum #13: Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Without a PSVR2 port, I'll never see this game.
Re: Saints Row Is 'Dead' Says Design Director After Prequel Pitch 'Ghosted' by Embracer Group
It's rather hilarious to see people say that everything after Saints Row 2 was a failure. According to the stats I can see (from vgchartz), 3 sold more than any other in the series, including more than the first two combined. It was my favorite.
Personally, I didn't play the first one, 2 was good, 3 was the best, 4 was okay but wore out its welcome way too fast, Gat wasn't interesting enough to finish, and the reboot was...sad. I'd love to see them return to the style of Saints Row The Third, or even Saints Row 2, which was a lot less ludicrous than the series became but still didn't take itself entirely seriously all the time.
Notwithstanding the infamous purple baseball-bat-sized dildo, good comedy and satire requires better writing than I expect from the game industry these days. It will likely be a small publisher, willing to risk humor that might get them in trouble from some people - the type of risk big corporations won't take - and it won't necessarily be the same game genre it shows up in. Wherever it comes from, I'll keep an eye out for it.
Re: Star Wars: Galactic Racer Seems Like an Exciting Mix of Burnout, MotorStorm, and WipEout
Motorstorm was awesome, and I miss it. I wish there was a remaster of the whole series for this generation.
My only Burnout was Paradise, so I'd be okay with open world, but I'll be happy if this has some Burnout vibes.
Hearing some of these details excites me more than the trailer did.
Re: Opinion: The Euphoric Reaction to PS6's Rumoured Delay Really Confuses Me
The hardware for the PS6 is likely locked in and unlikely to change at this point, whether they release it in 2026 or 2030. Given that, I'd rather have the hardware NOW rather than wait, all things being equal.
All things are not equal, however, given the market disruption AI is creating. Advances in home computer graphics are going to be stalled for a few years as RAM and GPUs are redirected to data centers rather than consumers.
Given that...I honestly hope they scrap the current PS6 plan and go back to the drawing board for a PS6 that's using new tech for 2030 or whenever, rather than 2025-26 tech that's delayed a few years.
Re: John Wick PS5 Game Has an Original Story That's Part of the Canon, Movie Director Involved
Why isn't the trailer linked in the article?
https://youtu.be/OhHvHrDBru8
I know it's a teaser, and it explicitly says "not actual gameplay," but still...some shots near the end were "captured on PS5."
Re: Stunning PS5 Indie Game Neva Gets a Prologue DLC for Just $3
On sale now - and added to the catalog for Plus Extra and Premium next week.
Re: PlayStation Fans Delighted with New State of Play, Already the Most Popular One Ever
I was disappointed by the total lack of any PSVR2 content. I was hoping for something there, and at least one studio dropped news that day but didn't make the show. Maybe Sony will show up next month at the VR showcase.
However, I was delighted enough at Kena 2 that I knew from the beginning I was going to think of it as a success even if that was the only thing I liked (and it wasn't, there was plenty).
Re: 10+ PS5, PS4 Games to Buy in PS Store's Weekend Offer Sale
Test Drive Unlimited is coming to Plus Extra and Premium next week, so maybe not a good time to buy that one.
Re: Here's Your Chance to Tell Sony What You Think of Horizon Hunters Gathering
I disagree. I think the fact that the art style in this game is SO different from the Horizon main series, its success or failure is unlikely to significantly affect those games. This may have Horizon in the name and feature the same type of enemies, but it's clearly not a mainline Horizon game, and I don't see much market confusion happening.
People who hate multiplier will just ignore this. People who hate single player will continue to ignore the main Horizon games. Nothing will change.
Re: Mini Review: Dark Auction (PS5) - Compelling Visual Novel Makes Some Generative AI Missteps
Both @Rich33 and @1970sGamer can be right - currently, Generative AI art is still not up to the quality of decent artists and coders (though I'm no artist, so AI does a much better job than my stick figures).
If it continues to improve, it will eventually sweep through multiple industries leaving human creativity in its wake, with plenty of people shaking their fists at the sky.
Some amount of change due to AI is inevitable. The exact details of that change are unknowable. Sadly, the extent of the change will depend more on the technical feasibility than the moral implications, particularly as it becomes more difficult to tell if AI generated the content or not (as is already happening with writing).
Re: 20 PS5 Predictions for State of Play February 2026
I'd love to see some PSSR 2.0 news. I'm also hoping for some PSVR2 updates - Microsoft Flight Sim's PSVR2 update could be in here, potentially, if Microsoft is going to be part of State of Play moving forward.
Re: Sony Finally Confirms Horizon Co-Op Game, Horizon Hunters Gathering for PS5, PC
Honestly, if this wasn't Horizon, I doubt I'd be interested. But I signed up to be considered for the beta.
If it's PVE and it's not exploitive in pricing or monetization, then it could be a lot of fun. If you can solo it, even better.
The art style isn't my favorite, but it's not awful. I'm interested. If it ends up being F2P I'll definitely give it a shot - if not, I'll keep my eyes on the reviews and pricing, and decide if it's worth my time when there's more to see than a promotional video.
Re: Pure Pool Pro Brings the Glossiest Balls You've Ever Seen to PS5 Next Week
If they could figure out how to do a solid PSVR2 implementation, I'd buy it. I don't know how you'd pull that off with a controller behind where the headset can track it, though.
Re: Poll: What's Your Reaction to Horizon Hunters Gathering?
While I think you've got a point, I'd also say that it's not the SAME game for that entire 99% of the fan base.
For some, they really just want another Fortnite (you don't see those folks here too often, because...they're playing Fortnite). For others, they want another Burnout, or another TLOU, or another Genshin, or another MGS, or whatever else that fan wants. There's a lot of variety regarding which ONE type of game each of us like.
Remember that this site isn't representative of all Playstation players - most don't care enough to come to sites like this, and even fewer care to post. Sony can't market only to the comments section in places like this, they have to have a bigger target.
Re: Poll: What's Your Reaction to Horizon Hunters Gathering?
The Horizon universe is large enough for a lot of different games - it's a global event in the story, after all. Honestly, I think this one might have been stronger if it didn't have even a cameo from characters from the main game, but I see why they did it and it doesn't feel like those characters will be prevalent.
If you like co-op PVE, then I don't see why you wouldn't give it a shot. I'm sure the art style is to optimize performance with multiplayer.
I prefer solo, but I'll probably check it out if it's not too expensive (they don't hint at if it's F2P or not) and not too exploitive. We'll see.
Re: GTA 6 on Course for November 2026 Launch, Marketing Starts in Summer
This is early February. November is nine months away - enough time to create a new human being, which is another way to say that a lot can happen between now and November.
Re: New PlayStation Patent Could Let You Put Controller Buttons Where You Want
Oh, heck no.
One of the reasons I prefer a controller to my phone screen is the tactile buttons on a controller. I don't want a controller with virtual buttons as the primary, any more than I want a car with the AC and radio control only on a video panel. Tactile buttons are superior.
This could be useful for software to let your phone act as a controller, but that's it.
Re: PS5 Open Worlder Crimson Desert Seems Destined to Be a Hit, Tops 2 Million Wishlists
Always, always wait for reviews on the platform you plan to play on.
It's not for the rating, necessarily, as different reviewers have different priorities and you have to find someone who likes what you like - but for details of how well it plays, how buggy it is, and whether or not the game matches the marketing.
Any more, I just don't buy on release on general principle. It will always be cheaper a few months later, and almost always significantly more polished as well. I can wait for them to finish the game, and then buy it at a discount.
Re: Out Today: Rebellion Revives Retro Arcade Sports Game Speedball on PS5
Looks great - hope it hits Plus soon.
Re: As PSVR2's Beat Saber Goes Dark, Synth Riders Adds Timed Exclusive Track from Queen
@Fritz167 - so just buy the titles you want and ignore the rest.
I see absolutely no downside for them to branch out into multiple genres - anything that brings more players in and more revenue in can only help them keep the lights on and keep new content coming. It doesn't hurt anyone if there are tracks we don't like - just skip them and play the ones you do like. Unless they start removing tracks, just welcome the attention and revenue for the developer.
Re: Anime-Infused Arcade Racer Screamer Just Looks Better and Better Ahead of PS5 Release
Looks great. As always, though, the devil is in the details, which you can't really see in a trailer. Definitely worth a closer look once it drops.
Re: Forza Horizon 6 Confirmed to Launch on PS5 in 2026, Gameplay Revealed
I'll probably pick it up for Black Friday at a discount. I loved Forza Horizon 4, though I found 5 to be underwhelming. It's been a while, though, so 6 may scratch that itch just fine.
As for showing up a bit later on PS5 - great! Gives them a chance to work out the day 1 bugs, and give us a more polished release!!
Re: As PSVR2's Beat Saber Goes Dark, Synth Riders Adds Timed Exclusive Track from Queen
I happened to see it in the store (web version) before I saw this article, and nearly picked it up then (I waited to check to see if there were more relevant details, like a bundle I was missing). I never got into Beat Saber, or most rhythm games, but Synth Riders just WORKS for me in ways most of the other games don't.
I'll be flinging my arms around to We Are the Champions tonight after work, I guarantee it.
Re: 'You Can't Do GTA for $10 Million': Split Fiction's Josef Fares Champions Diversity in Games and Budgets
One of the key points he seems to be making is that trends don't guarantee success. Not every shooter is Fortnite, not every AA game is Clair Obscur, not every AAA is GTA.
Make the game that makes sense, with the budget that makes sense, given the specific circumstances. Developers need to focus on doing whatever it is THEY do well, as well as they can, and not try to chase whatever the latest trend is and shoehorn it into whatever they're doing.
Re: Former PS4 Exclusive Detroit: Become Human Has Now Sold 15 Million Copies
This is one of those games on my backlog. I'm interested in playing it, but just never seem to get around to it.
Re: Feature: 15 PS5 Predictions for 2026
PS3 emulation on the PS5 is a pipe dream. If Sony CAN do it (and I doubt they can, at least not with the level of reliability they would want), they WON'T, at least not in any meaningful way (like letting me put in a PS3 disk and play it on my PS5). Very simply, there's no money in it for them. What's the point?
Re: Divinity Dev's Boss Backpedals on Generative AI, But Not All the Way
@Dogbreath "I've witnessed dozens of boycott campaigns over the years, and not one of them ever had a measurable impact on a half decent game."
I would argue that some helped the game, giving it more publicity than it would have managed on its own or creating a backlash against the boycott.
Re: Code Violet (PS5) - Gooner Shooter Can't Get It Up
The portions of the review focusing on the ridiculous and revealing outfits don't bother me. Sexy outfits can be fun, or in the way, and as long as they're optional then I don't care too much. Same with the ridiculousness of the plot - does anybody remember the plot of the original Doom? You can't get more basic or meaningless than that, can you?
The portions of the review criticizing camera control, enemy AI, hit indicators (for both enemies and the player character), and weapon feel all hit a lot harder.
If it's not fun, who cares what it looks like? Games need to start with fun. Sprinkling in sexy (or not) is fine, even gaping plot holes or unbelievable scenarios are okay, but without the fun, there's no point.
Re: Haunted Paws Dev Accuses New Cosy PS5, PS4 Horror of Being a Copycat
Of course Sony will allow it in the store - and happily take their 30% cut on every sale. They don't care if it's AI-generated. It costs almost nothing to host it, and if it sells, Sony profits.
What, you expect them to turn away free money, because of...ethics or something?
In their defense, do you really want Sony to be the arbiter of which game infringes on which IP? There's a lot of room for conflict of interest there. Your game has a raccoon, well, a Sony studio owns Sly Cooper!
I'm not defending this game (heck, I don't know anything more about it than I read in the article, for all I know it's Lazy Flock who is ripping off the other studio - how would I know?). But I am warning that before you ask Sony to police their store more aggressively, be very careful about what it is you're wishing for.
Re: Sony, Honda's Afeela 1 Car Can Be Customised with Astro Bot, God of War Dashboards
A Gran Turismo theme...only if it paints a line on the road in front of me showing the best line to take, and braking warnings....
Most people don't buy cars because they have a cool theme. This is a gimmick that will make it seem less serious to most of the people who have six figures (or close to it) to spend on a car.
If this is just the marketing piece Push Square picked up because it's PlayStation related, that's fine, but if this is the best Sony has to brag about the car, I predict a sales disaster.
Re: Your PS Plus Essential Sub Netted You $1,500+ in PS5, PS4 Games This Year
I'm sorry, but this is stupid math - it's the same math Sony promotes, but it's stupid.
Show me the same list, but use a site that tracks price history to find the lowest sale price for each game BEFORE the date it appeared on Plus, then sum that and give me THAT number. That's a more reasonable and appropriate number.
Does it take more time to do that research and math? Yes, of course it does. Does it mean anything? Not a lot - but still about 1,000x more than adding together the full MSRP prices!
I'm partial to psdeals.net - try talking to them or some of their competitors and see if they can open their database to some direct queries to track this down more easily.
EDIT: And start NOW for doing this for 2026 - fire up a spreadsheet, and on the day Sony announces next month's Essential games, go hit psdeals.net or a similar site and record the lowest sale price for the games on the list. That will make this article for 2026 a lot easier to write, with more interesting and meaningful numbers!
Re: 'Everything Will Be Made by Humans': Expedition 33 Dev Says No More AI After Post-Awards Heat
@Titntin "AI as a tool is useful.
AI generated art however is other peoples stolen art mashed together"
Hate to break it to you, but that's what AI chatbots are, too, only with words.
Re: Game of the Year: Sammy's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
I think you just convinced me it was a good idea NOT to check out Wuthering Waves. Genshin sucks up too much of my time as it is, and at this point I'm not going to quit Genshin to pick up a different gacha, so...probably best to avoid it in the first place.
Besides, I started No Man's Sky this year - that's got enough to keep pulling me back in, it's almost another gacha in the way it keeps asking you to do just a little more.