RobN

@RoomWithaMoose Wait, you're telling me a site that is explicitly about Playstation has a pro-Playstation bias? I'm stunned.

It's like waking up one day to allegations one political party is biased against a different political party - surely it can't be true! Snark aside, I genuinely don't understand what point you think you're making - nobody expects pure unbiased editorial from a site for fans of X, they expect some bias in favor of X because it's a site for fans of X presumably run by fans of X.

I'll repeat the summary I said before: Both things can be true at the same time - [subscription services] can be bad for the industry AND good for an individual developer's game.

That doesn't have to mean a pro-Plus anti-GamePass bias (though such a bias might lead to the same conclusion for less-than-logical reasons). I think it's a reasonable conclusion to draw - it's hardly the only thing in life where people make personal choices (perhaps remaining silent about something political to keep their job) that may not be in the best interest of society overall.

I don't trust any developer that won't let reviewers release reviews until the last minute, or any who won't let them review on specific platforms. Not every time this happens is it as bad as Cyberpunk, but it DOES tell you they don't trust their own game. Listen to them.

I'll wait for a sale - a year or two for a good sale, if I must - and everyone knows that means I'll end up playing a more polished game than what anyone else will experience this weekend.

Never good news when the console version isn't reviewed before release day. I don't know if it will be a Cyberpunk-level fiasco, but then nobody else does, either, right?

I think anyone who preorders is a fool - sorry, nothing personal, it's just not a smart response to the current industry. I'll wait for it to go on sale - even if it's an extra-long wait, when I do start it I expect it will be a much better game than it will be this weekend.

@themightyant I picked up Premium on sale, for none of the benefits you mentioned but because of something else - some PSVR2 titles are available free only on the Premium tier. That list has been shrinking since I upgraded several months ago (it was well over a dozen, now there are only about six titles left).

Yes, I understand the free PSVR2 catalog is a niche feature - but I would argue that streaming and PS1/PS2 games are each also niche features.

The math here is really simple.

If we collectively spend less money because of Game Pass or PlayStation Plus than we would spend without them, that's basically bad for game development as an industry, because that's a smaller pie to pass around. If we spend roughly the same, it may still be a bad deal depending on who is taking how large a cut, and how that compared to other distribution methods. It's only good for the industry as a whole if we, collectively, end up spending more money as a whole OR if a higher percentage of what we do spend goes to the people making the games.

Yes, it's really that simple...for the industry as a whole.

Now, for each individual developer and each individual game, the math is different. There's a reason why you don't see Madden or FIFA free on day 1, but they DO often show up on these services at the end of their season, just before the next version comes out. And there's a reason why indies are more likely to take a deal, get some sure money, and put their game on a service.

Both things can be true at the same time - it can be bad for the industry AND good for an individual developer's game.

I've had my eye on The Invincible for a while now, and didn't pull the trigger on multiple recent sales. Now I'm glad I held off.

That's one of the tradeoffs of Plus (or Game Pass) - even when a game isn't on the service, there's some resistance to picking it up if you think it's a good candidate for the service. Not that I'm complaining, but I wonder if the developers would be happier if I'd picked it up on sale.

@rjejr "So is this 96 straight hours of gameplay?"

I suppose that depends in part on whether or not their servers survive for the entire window. Hopefully the crashes are kept to the racetrack, and not the servers.

@Anke I loved FH4 [set in England]. I've played several of them, including FH5, but 4 was my favorite by a mile.

Can I tell you what was different about it, especially compared to FH5? No, not really. But it worked for me in ways FH5 didn't.

They're removing PSVR2 games much faster than they're adding any - despite a ton of PSVR2 games coming out this summer. They had a nice PSVR2 collection, including some for only the Premium tier, but they're all dropping off.

This month it's Pistol Whip leaving, with nothing joining to replace it, AFAIK.

The word you're looking for is "plurality" - that is, "more than any other" and implies less than a majority. That is different from "majority" which means "more than half."

And that whole discussion is idiotic because the US doesn't elect our President on popular vote, anyway, so the difference between majority and plurality is irrelevant.

I bit the bullet and picked up a used PS5 Pro a few weeks ago, and this makes me glad I didn't wait any longer.

I actually wish I'd done it when they were on sale for $50 off this spring or early summer, but glad I didn't wait any longer.

Looks like there's a demo on Steam, full version releasing there same time as PS5 version.

Seems like a great game for a handheld. If the multiplayer support includes couch co-op, that's got possibilities for the PS5, otherwise I'm not so sure.

But for games like this, a LOT depends on the execution. "I Am Bread" seems like a similarly ridiculous premise, but seems to have done very well. This feels like it's targeting the same audience.

@Styledvinny79 They're releasing new PSVR2 games all the time. It may not have sold as well as Sony wanted, but it's still in the mix (and I'm enjoying mine).

@Rich33 Wow - serious copy/paste error on my part. I'll go back and tweak my post.

@Kraven The article already said both systems will be backwards compatible with the PS4 and PS5, so I don't know what more you want on that.

As for the comparisons, based on Wikipedia for the base PS5 [edited for a copy/paste error]...

PS6
8 x Zen 6 (or later) cores, compared to 8x Zen 2 cores (same number, newer tech)

40-48+ RDNA 5 Compute Units at 3GHz+, compared to 36 RDNA 2(ish) compute at up to 2.23 (slightly more, somewhat faster, newer tech)

160-bit or 192-bit bus with GDDR7 at 32GT/s+, compared to 256-bit bus with 16GM of GDDR6 at 448 GB/s (significantly faster RAM, smaller bus, notably no mention of amount of RAM for PS6).

Every spec mentioned (except the bus) is an improvement, some dramatic. Presumably the faster RAM will negate the smaller bus, but I'm no expert on that.

For the supposed handheld specs:
4 x Zen 6c cores, compared to 8x Zen 2 cores (half the cores, newer tech, probably lower-power consumption)

12-20 RDNA 5 Compute Units at 1.6-2GHz, compared to 36 RDNA 2(ish) compute at up to 2.23 (half the CU give or take, newer tech, similar speed - if it's going to be similar to the PS5 it will be based on lower resolution and/or improved machine learning upscaling/smoothing)

128-bit bus with LPDDR5X-7500+, compared to 256-bit bus with 16GB of GDDR6 at 448 GB/s (I'm guessing that's still faster RAM, smaller bus, notably no mention of amount of RAM for handheld).

So overall, something like half as powerful as the PS5 in some ways, but the newer tech might minimize that somewhat, especially at lower resolutions (don't put a 4k screen on it). Which lends more credence to the idea that the low power mode in the current PS5 beta is a preview of the handheld's capabilities.

The handheld won't look better than a PS5, maybe nearly as good if the machine learning is really awesome, but probably not. It will likely look reasonably close (maybe even better) to the PS5 in that new low power mode they're introducing.

@KundaliniRising333 I may not start it until after it's gone from Game Pass. One drawback of Game Pass (and of Sony's Catalog for the middle and top tier of Plus) is the limited duration games spend on them - if you don't jump in right away, it can leave before you finish.

@KundaliniRising333 One difference is that I'll be able to play Lies of P for as long as I keep a Plus membership (even after lapses in membership), whereas it will be leaving Game Pass.

The other is that with Plus, I can play on my PS5 instead of on my Series S (which is getting pretty dusty, never being turned on any more).

@Porco I understand, but they run the risk that people will do what I do - just stop clicking on those articles in the first place, because the experience is so bad. Do that on enough types of articles, and you start losing traffic overall.

@get2sammyb "However, it's obviously REALLY hard to make an outstanding game that people are going to fall in love with."

Absolutely. And for all I know, this game might end up being one of them.

It's been out less than six months. I know studios expect to make all their money in the first few days or weeks, but if you're not investing in a massive advertising campaign that few can afford, I'm not sure that's realistic. Maybe over time it will gain an audience and get more attention and become successful - or maybe it will be drowned by the flood of new releases and be forgotten.

I actually played a bit of this - I don't recall if there was a demo (maybe with Plus Premium?) or what, but I played a bit. And it was interesting, but I didn't go too far before I put it down and picked up something else. I may go back some day, maybe.

The point, if I have one, is that there's no guarantee you'll make money making video games. I think to be successful, studios are going to have to be willing to fund several losers in the hopes that when they get a winner, they can make enough off it to cover their losses. You're going to have to take chances if you're going to stand out - because if your game doesn't stand out, I don't know how likely it is to make enough to keep the lights on.

oversupply of new releases = too many new games. True enough. Nobody can play everything.

increasingly selective consumers = not everyone wants the same thing. Combine that with the first, and with so many games we can afford to be choosy.

This all checks out. I'd throw in the fact the the successful live service games dilute the amount of time people have for all the other games, in general.

Make a great game that people love, and it may not roll out of the gates with a million sales, but it WILL gather steam and get attention. Make a mediocre game that looks like all the others, though, and you'd better have SOMETHING to make you stand out from the crowd.

Try to make everyone happy, make nobody happy. Check. That's EA.

I don't even like soccer (sorry...football), but I can tell you how this is going to go.

Had no idea this existed. Interesting.

I'm never opposed to waiting for a game to be polished before it's released. Get it right so the first impression is excellent.

@BennyTheCat I don't know about this game specifically, but in general the ability to run at 40fps has nothing to do with VRR - it has everything to do with 120Hz support. As long as your PS5 can detect the 120Hz it ought to appear as an option - but I can't confirm that, as I have both 120Hz and VRR.

That 2600 version of Pac-Man was truly awful - and I say that as someone who played the heck out of it. So much screen flickering, graphics and maze that were nothing like the arcade, it was an abomination.

But it was still fun.

@Pacific Fair enough. I don't think the message of free content months or years after release is nearly as loud or as impactful on purchasing patterns as rising prices and buggy launches. It's more about bringing the title back into the news cycle (with a positive spin) to encourage sales and play.

Though I should be careful arguing too strongly about waiting to buy games until they're discounted, because I see publishers starting to resist discounting their games for longer. I want to continue to encourage sales and discounts - as well as encouraging higher-QA before release.

Stars is great if you're 12 years old and the collectible shelf on your phone is the coolest thing ever. Webkinz were great when my kids were 12, too, back in the day - though those came with real-world plushies they could play with.

It was worth poking at Stars once or twice a month to grab whatever free points they had to get enough to cash in for PSN wallet funds. Otherwise it was a childish waste of time. I never understood who Sony thought the audience was for this.

@Pacific I consider myself a well-adjusted person, who thinks it's nearly idiotic to buy at launch.

No matter how good the game is, if you wait a little while you pay a lower price for a patched version, regardless of whether extra content is added later or not. Perhaps for online multiplayer it's worth getting in early, but all the examples in this article are single player games, and all of them were better (and cheaper) a couple months after release than they were on day one. Every single one.

I understand wanting to support a game to get more games like it - you do that with paying for them when they go on sale, too, to show they have a long tail. But when you preorder or buy day 1, you encourage the release of half-baked games that need weeks or months of patches. I hate that, and have vowed to never again preorder anything no matter how excited I am for it. I wait for the reviews, wait for the patches, and wait for the sales. Extra content is just icing on the cake.

This article format is fine for 10 or 20 suggestions, but when you get up to 80+ it's not so good.

What if you had a first page that just had the list - title, sale price, retail price - and each title was a link to the subsequent page with the summary detail? Keep five pages of listings, with a sixth page as the new first page that just shows the entire list as concisely as possible.

For a few apps that don't have a good way to manage multiple accounts (Fandango Now, formerly Vudu, is the primary example in my case), having one account on the TV and another on the PS5 is a solid option. My wife's account and my account each have a few things the other's doesn't, so swapping accounts by swapping which device we use to watch works well.

So some people are disappointed that this game looks too much like the last game, and the sequel ought to be more different than the original.

But you know if they seriously messed with the formula, some people would be disappointed that the sequel looks nothing like the last game, and complain the developers changed all the things that made the previous game good and added nothing worth having.

You ask why we can't have nice things - this is one reason why, because players as a whole cannot agree on what "nice things" are in the first place. How do you expect anybody to deliver?

There's an interesting mix of serious and BS arguments mingled together here. It may depend on what local laws are if a particular argument is serious or BS.

Let's say they shut down the servers, but release the software so you can host your own server. And let's say a year later, a critical vulnerability in a software library they used for the server is exposed, and anyone running the server software could be hacked unless it's patched. The developer doesn't want to be on the hook for patching it - that's why they released it for free in the first place. But could some laws make them liable anyway? Surely it's unreasonable to insist they release the source code itself so the community can patch it, but what other options might they have?

The copyright issue is less compelling, but has a point, including one they don't make here. If the server software for, say, Little Big Planet (which had huge issues with hacking) was made public and people used it to make porn content which was then publicly posted, the damage to the IP (not to mention Sackboy's psyche) could be significant.

If local laws target the software publisher when copyright issues are raised, recreating Mario Kart in LBP could also come back to bite the publisher. That's not liability they want to take on if they're not in control of the server to remove infringing content - if they're on the hook for damages, they need a way to mitigate that risk.

It sounds like a simple problem - just don't kill games! - but it's not as simple as it sounds. There are liability issues and possibly licensing issues that could make this a lot more complicated.

Didn't M$ go on a video game company buying spree back in 2000, just to sell/close most of the studios a few years later?

I suspected history would repeat itself, and here we are.

I don't play a lot of online games, but I absolutely completely and totally HATE that Plus is required for online games. It's idiotic. It's a cash grab. It's wrong.

The other features are nice. I love the cloud saves (even more with the PS5 removing any other backup option - again, something I totally hate that's very anti-consumer). I enjoy the free games monthly that you more or less own, at least more closely than you do for the catalog titles, even if there are only a half dozen titles a year I really truly enjoy. I upgraded to the Premium tier for the PSVR2 titles they added to the library - but this list of those titles has shrunk ever since I upgraded, so I'm not sure I'll renew at this price. We'll see.

I've got mixed feelings about the streaming with Premium, but I do enjoy the trial versions of games.

It's just such a mixed bag - some thing I like, some I don't, the value isn't consistent...but it's good enough, most of the time.

Yawn.

My OG ROG Ally can launch a title I purchased from Steam or GOG or Microsoft or Epic or EA or Ubisoft (and launch any of them from the same ASUS built-in GUI, or from other software such as Playnite), and it can stream games from my PS5. It could launch a Sony title I purchased from Steam, if I owned any such games from Steam.

The only new thing here is the XBox logo on the software initiating the process. The only people reacting this with anything but a yawn or a shrug are people who don't understand it, or stupid fanboys who think this scores a point for...someone, I'm not sure who.

I fell out of the first one pretty late in the game. I want to go back to it and finish it, but it's going to be painful to jump back in with no muscle memory to a game that's nearing the end, so I keep putting it off.

But I don't want a summary of the ending, I want to play it myself, so I'll be avoiding DS2 until I get around to finishing the first one.

@Uromastryx PSVR2 has been consistently priced at $350-400 since November of last year, other than a brief blip in January returning to the "normal" price. That's not more than the console.

@JayJ said "the politics need to be addressed" - do you mind elaborating briefly on that? What kind of politics?

The biggest developers don't need SGF or the Game Awards or E3 or whatever else. EA and Ubisoft and Konami and others can drop a new announcement or trailer any time they want and, for better or worse, it will get news and attention.

Shows like this really help the fringe players - the studios and games that are big enough to get (buy?) time in something like SGF, but small enough not to guarantee an audience on their own. So every time you complain that not every title was exactly what you wanted and you're not excited about every single announcement - that's not an accident, that's by design. You saw trailers and announcements you never would have seen without this event - and THAT is why it matters. If only one resonated with you, that's a huge win for that one developer.

Stop preordering games. Just stop.

When the developer/publisher doesn't let reviewers see it before release, wait. You know why they don't want reviewers to see it early - they're telling you to save your money, so listen to them.

Even if it's a diamond in the rough, buy it six months after release, with patches AND discounts in place. Save yourself the frustration of paying extra to be in the public beta, and just wait.

I'm really very confused why Astrobot Rescue Mission hasn't been ported to PSVR2. I mean, I understand they were working on Astro Bot, and they're still releasing updates to it, but how hard could it be to port what ought to be a sure-fire winner?

I didn't have the first PSVR and I'd love to play the game that introduced Astro Bot - and I expect a lot of PSVR2 owners are thinking the same thing. But I guess that's just not happening.

There's a simple, obvious reason why a studio wouldn't let reviewers see a game in advance - it's the same reason you should reconsider preordering a game ever again.

Six months after release it will cost $60 and have most of the bugs patched out of it.

Two years after release it will cost $20-30 and have more bugs patched, polish applied, and maybe even DLC included.

Why pay more to help beta test on day one? Buy later, save money, and minimize frustration.

Six months after release it will be $60. Two years after release it will be $30. And both versions will have fewer bugs and more polish than the day one $80 version.

I liked both Plague Tale games - but this doesn't feel like the same game. The art style is similar, I'll give them that. But there's no hint of working together with multiple characters, which was a key element of the games. Obviously, as a prequel, it also has a different nemesis - I didn't spot a single rat in the trailer. I'm not so sure what's supposed to win over fans of the first two games to this one, just yet.

@DrVenture69 Check the accessibility menus - they do have options for at least some things to be button presses instead of holds.

On the wishlist already.

Which doesn't mean I'll buy it day 1, I almost never buy day 1.

I just picked up some other PSVR2 games that went on sale today, as part of the new Summer Game Fest sale, so I've got plenty to keep me busy until...whenever this drops. With the Days of Play sale on PSVR2, if you don't have one yet, it's not a bad time to pick one up.

@LikelySatan You'll notice everyone here has the same interpretation of what you said, even after corrections. Perhaps you didn't actually communicate clearly - that's on you.

The 2025 one has been on sale for as little as $10 (US) so far. But not now...maybe not again.

@LikelySatan Just because you don't understand the attraction of something, doesn't make it stupid.

It's fine not to enjoy the same things that literally billions of other people around the world enjoy (rooting for their "home" teams in dozens or even hundreds of sports), but it's a bit bold to even jokingly say billions of other people are losers for having a different perspective than you.

How does Embracer count games? For example, if some big title comes out on Steam, Epic, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch 2, are they counting that as one game on five platforms, or is that five games?

If I were trying to pad numbers for investors, that would be five games, no question (well, maybe 4, as it's a tougher argument to make that the Steam and Epic versions are different...but maybe I make that argument anyway!)