Rob_230

@PuppetMaster it is concerning. They just need a brief look back at their lineage and history. Money sitting on the table.

Sony seem to misunderstand and think everything needs to be a 100 million, 60 hour epic in order to sell. They could easily fund 3 or 4 quality 20 hour titles (see uncharted lost legacy, Miles morales) for a fraction of the cost and at significantly reduced development times. This is what Shawn Layden called for all those years ago, but he seems to have been ignored. It's so daft.

They could immediately reduce the risk associated with many of these games, and they would no doubt be better off for it. Astro Bot getting the rave reviews it's getting today is the PERFECT example of that.

Sony themselves said not to expect any major titles this year, meaning that they don't consider this a tentpole release. Yet I bet Astro Bot does significantly better than many titles that have spent years in development and cost double the price to make.

@The_Wailing_Doom Haha, good spot! I completely agree. I don't see why it should be one or the other with Sony and superhero games. The InFamous series was excellent and arguably there is more freedom to really experiment and go wild with the formula if not tied into marvel licensing. For example they could make a much darker game to balance out the lighterheartedness of marvel content. Second son released 10 years ago, so something new is long overdue (and it doesn't even need to come from suckered punch necessarily as I appreciate they are deep into development of the successor to the wonderful ghost of tsushima)

Get Hiroki Totoki in front of this to see all the Sony IP that could do with dusting off given his recent comments that playstation has a lack of ip. There is loads of forgotten ip Sony should be looking to bring back in some capacity:

Resistance, ape escape, killzone, medieval, patapon, uncharted, syphon filter, motor storm, days gone, infamous, Gravity rush, wipeout, Sly cooper, infamous, puppeteer, Parappa, jak and daxter, siren, little big planet, Socom, Siren, warhawk being just a few examples that spring to mind.

Massive congratulations Team Asobi on knocking this out of the park.

Mine has been dispatched this afternoon. Hopefully the controller and game both arrive tomorrow! Can't wait for this. The win Sony desperately needed

@riceNpea Hogwarts had zero microtransactions. There were fears before launch that the room of requirement would add GAAS elements, but that wasn't the case at all.

I believe that there was a single dlc pack with an optional combat arena, but nothing that would interfere with the game.

• Open up the world further (let us properly explore diagon alley, and the wider wizarding world (ministry of magic etc).
• Develop a stronger story with more impactful side quests
• Improve enemy variety
• add quidditch
• less padding (merlin trials, I'm looking at you)

The first game was very good and really created a wonderful sense of place. But there were definitely numerous areas where they could improve in future titles

This is really bad. Like catastrophically bad for Playstation. Seeing SIE on the box has always indicated a seal of quality, an unmissable experience - and it's what drove the momentum from the end of the PS3 generation, through PS4 (winning them the spectacular market share for that gen), and is what has driven the sales of PS5 to date.

But if you cannot rely on Sony first party any more (even in this one instance), then that starts to build doubt amongst consumers, and they might not rush out to buy the next AAA exclusive. And given how Sony has behaved this generation, it might impact the transition into a theoretical Playstation 6.

Through the poor communication, lack of a product roadmap, failure to hype up the core with proper showcases, Sony have shown themselves to be out of touch with their core customers. It's damaged my enjoyment of gaming this generation, that's for sure. The magic has gone to be replaced by soulless, corporate greed.

I feel like PS4 generation was a success due to the legacy of the likes of Shawn Layden. He warned about this happening. And everything now seems to be coming home to roost.

Jim on the otherhand was a business man without a clear passion for gaming. And we'll have to see with Hermen Hulst. A nice guy - but im not sure if he is a leader - he has a lot of work to do to prove he is the man for the job.

Ultimately the Sony magic we once knew, is gone. Whereas we used to see sprinklings of originality from the likes of Japan Studio (who - whilst their titles didn't sell big numbers - they eclipsed Concord, particularly when you take into consideration the reduced development time and production costs), now Sony seems to have lost sight of its roots and what made them who they were. They only see pounds, dollars, euros and money. Whereas before they had heart

Sony CANNOT blame anyone but themselves. They have been told by their customers time and time again what they want. But they have chosen to stop listening. They need a massive turn around - starting this month - to reassure customers and win back ailing support for the platform.

Because as it stands currently - it's not only fairgames and marathon that look set to fail - but also the likes of the until dawn remake, PS5 pro etc. Sony really need to get back to looking at the general mood in the gaming community because it doesn't look great right now

I really hope that when Sony reflect on this whole mess they recognise that the problem doesn't solely sit with Concord. It feels like the wrong game launching at the wrong time. When SIE has stubbornly refused to speak to it's customers in a meaningful way - for years at this point - this does feel like a backlash against wider issues at play. If the game had dropped in a small gap amongst some of Playstation's bigger single player IP, and there was clarity that Sony is still investing in the types of games that it has become known for, there is a chance this would have been received more positively. SIE need to sit down and really take the time to listen.

Concord was always facing an uphill battle - particularly as one of the first live service titles to release. If Sony wanted to test the waters of live service, there were so many existing ip crying out for a new lease of life that could have been considered (for examplSocom, MAG, Killzone, Resistance, Warsaw, Starhawk Twisted metal).

As I said elsewhere, the ramifications of these losses will be huge. It won't just be concord / firewalk affected, but Playstation's whole business for years to come. You can't just write off losses like this. And with Marathon and Fairgame$ to come, and the disaster that has been the bungie aquisition? It doesn't look good.

This whole live service experiment appears to have been jumped into two footed without feeling the pulse of the gaming community. It's possible that concord DID look unique when it was first shown to Sony - but an 8 year dev cycle is just far too long and new, fresh ideas will have overtaken it, and those games that got to market first have established strong player bases which are unlikely to jump into another online hero shooter.

I have said since PS5 launched something is not right at Sony. They are not listening to what the community is telling them. More losses to come I'm afraid.

If they think PS5 Pro will be a massive success - particularly in this financial climate - I'm afraid to say that i think they are sorely mistaken. When they are still increasing the price of PS5 around the world (and yet to max out its potential), i don't see many upgrading to a new machine right now.

I really hope Astrobot performs well this week, and Sony get some goodwill back with a strong State of Play in September - because it's looking a little concerning right now.

As for Concord / Firewalk, it is a shame that it has come to this - as others have said, the best thing to do right now might be to resurrect factions and let them work on curating / sustaining an audience for that if they are set to continue as a live service studio. I'm not sure Sony would be able to set them off on a new game right now with another protracted development timeline - but i certainly dont want to be reading an article in a few weeks telling us that the studio has been shuttered and more developers have lost their jobs. Because by all accounts, Concord appears to have been competently put together and launched in a decent state. There are clearly talented developers at the studio and I hope a solution can be found to keep everyone employed

I wonder if they were reliant / had hopes of being acquired by Playstation if Until Dawn landed well but Sony is not currently in a merger and aquisition phase.

Some downsizing is natural once contractors work is complete on a title, but this sounds more severe than that

I do worry about the knock on impact from an abysmal failure such as this. It's been well reported that companies can't afford to just write off game failures any more. Goodness knows how much it cost to make concord, but the impact will inevitably filter down to Sony's other studios (and this being a new ip doesn't bode well for Sony signing off on new titles in future). The same vibe is also being felt around Fairgames - so Sony have a job on their hands to turn things around before it releases.

I hope Astrobot does very well, because otherwise this could be a tough winter for Sony as until dawn is already sounding like it is going to struggle given the high cost of entry

Will be half of by black friday based on Ubisoft's history, so will pick up down the line

Would be interested in the open beta but 80gb is huge for a 3 day demo

Could they make it free to play for like a couple of characters until you rank them up to level 5 or 10. That would give more people an incentive to at least try the game and decide if it's for them (although I'm not sure if you rank / level up characters up like that in concord). Progress could then be carried over to the main game if you decide to purchase the full title.

I do think the article has probably hit the nail on the head. A lot of people will see this as one of the poster boys for Sony's push for live service. With a lack of a clear roadmap telling gamers what else is coming in the near future, then this is getting more of a reaction compared to if it had dropped between two major AAA releases. Because by all accounts, this isn't a bad game - it's just coming across as quite generic in a sea of live service games with established player bases from other studios

Machine games probably also delighted that the work already done to develop the game on PS5 before Microsoft bought Bethesda and renegotiated exclusivity with Disney won't be going to waste

Excellent games and I was a fool to sell them given the increasing resale value on the originals

Yet more evidence that the ps5 pro is completely unecessary. Who will be able to justify buying one at whatever price it finally launches at. Economic situation around the world isn't getting any better is it.

Better that Sony focus on optimising titles for release on the current PS5 imo, and look to delivering a larger technical leap for a likely PS6

I'm sure nintendo is looking very closely at this. If they can undercut the base PS5 with Switch 2 they are already onto a winner

Speaking of ubisoft, did anyone see Will Ospreay's incredible Assassins Creed Shadows inspired entrance and ring gear (complete with Roger Craig-Smith / Ezio introduction) at the AEW wrestling all in PPV last night? Incredible:

https://youtu.be/E-A45Bqc6-A?si=CLAgdqRu5KTE87xO

Crikey. She will be properly OP of they do this. My party of choice was Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie. I was surprised to see Yuffie usurp Red XIII who I always mained in the original game (with vincent), but she was a joy to use and one of the more versatile characters for aerial and ranged combat

Looking forward to playing this at the full price...of my PS Plus subscription when it drops in a couple of years. Great game but not sure it needed to be remade, even with the additions. Would have bought a sequel though!

Hmmmmm kind of done with games that waste my time, so if that appears to be the case in the final review, I'll probably skip the dlc

I'd love a chance to play again but Square don't need to worry about a remake given their financial situation. Just make them playable on PS5 and I'll be happy.

Loved the game but I know the plot and for this type of game, it's not enough to just improve the visuals. Would have bought a sequel, but I don't think I'll be buying this

I get the game doesn't look great but I'm not really sure people celebrating it's (presumed) failure is a great look tbh. Just don't buy it.

I hope it does well enough to secure Firewalk's future (and keeps its employees in post).

But I do hope that Sony gets the message that this isn't the direction that people want them to go in and pivots hard on the live service plans. I do think they are starting to realise this. Because let's be honest, Fairgame$ is likely to be received exactly the same as concord, and the dire straights that Bungie is in is also reflecting badly on Sony currently

IMO Sony has been lucky that Xbox just isn't at the races, and nintendo is winding down the switch.

Reason for the strong engagement is because of the flood of quality software ober the last decade that in many cases could only be played on Playstation (at least initially) since the end of the PS3 cycle. Sony is riding the coat tails of that success. But it's clear they are losing goodwill which won't sustain them into PS6 on the current trajectory

I also think Phil Spencer is actually correct that last gen was the worst one 'to lose' as a lot of people will want to carry forward their digital libraries (and with the bonus of also being able to play pS4 discs).

I've generally been disappointed this gen. The Sony magic isn't there. As I've said before it's not just the quality of games - there are lots of excellent games available - but the x factor that set Playstation apart is lacking; and a large part of that is this mystique generated by poor PR and an awful communications strategy over the past few years

I wish Sony just did pre-orders to meet demand with these things rather than making an artificially limited quantity. That would kill the scalping dead, and Sony would get alot more money directly into their pockets.

I literally don't care about a controller being limited edition. Yes I was lucky enough to get the spiderman one and I have a preorder in for this one, but everyone that wants one should have the opportunity to buy one.

Yeah I secured one. Not admitted it to my wife yet though 😅

This looks really good. Excited for this

@hypnotoad Yeah Smyths are legit. Really happy with all previous orders I've placed with them.

I will admit I bought astro dualsense from playstation direct as I was sat on there from 9.50 hitting refresh and didn't realise other stockists were selling it or I would have bought from Smyths too.

I got an email from Sony asking me to review my physical version of FF7 Rebirth a couple of days ago after I finished my playthrough. I don't know if the criteria for being invited to leave the review was completing the game, triggering a certain trophy (I.e. reaching a particular section of the game), or based on tracked hours played (I put 115 hours into the game)

All a moot point once GTA 6 comes out. Gamers still on PS4 will buy into PS5 in large numbers.

The other point is Sony need to release more must have first party games. Titles like a last of us 3 or a ghost of tsushima will move consoles and is the cure to the online rhetoric thay ps5 has no games

Can't see console price falling - at least not any time soon. Market forces won't allow it currently

Honestly forgot this was happening 😅

Stuff like foamstars won't have helped, which by all accounts doesn't seem to have performed well.

Ff7 rebirth is an interesting one. Square have to have know sales would be lower on PS5 given the install base vs PS4, and the relative impact that covid had on increased game sales. Plus with Sony's financial backing, I think the doom and gloom around the game's performance is probably overstated.

I finally finished Rebirth on Thursday and certainly there are issues with the game. Some of the boss battles were questionable imo, and certain elements of the game problematic (too much bloat detracted from the story), to the point it won't be my GOTY sadly. But it's still a fantastic game and it's clear to see how much hard work went into it and i am very much looking forward to seeing how the trilogy wraps things up in this slightly alternative reality.

As for what's next, I just can't wait for FF9 remake to be announced. I hope it gets the care and attention it deserves to do it justice

We all said this when it happened. Mind boggling really. Shows that Sony should have stuck to what they knew which was acquiring long term development partners rather than chasing the live service dream. They will be ruing this for years to come.

That money would - in my opinion - have been much better spent investing in growing their existing studios so the likes of naughty dog had capacity to work on both single player ip and factions; or on tying up third party support with the likes of Sega or Square Enix to beef up those partnerships (not necessarily aquisition) which served them so well during the PS4 generation

Or even supporting those smaller Japanese developers like level 5, spike chunsoft, or falcom who would really benefit from additional publisher support.

Bonkers really

They are using the moogle design from Rebirth, so absolutely not.

Look the whole thing is awful and shouldn't degenerate into a Sony good, Bungie bad scenario, but it is somewhat encouraging to hear people involved exonerate Sony involvement in this.

This could end up being good for Bungie if it gets them back on course doing what they do best.

Hopefully it can all be resolved quickly as the current situation is very messy

Sony and Bungie was never a natural fit and felt like a colossal waste of money.

Yet it sounds like Sony is generally doing right by the studio (albeit its always sad to hear of layoffs).

I don't think this aquisition business where the parent company doesn't properly integrate the subsidary company ever really works so I'm not entirely shocked this is where we got to.

Sony has always taken a coordinated and collaborative approach to its first party studios, yet Bungie was a very clear outlier so I don't see how it could ever really work.

It does sound like this was a Bungie management issue rather than a Sony issue - but it will be interesting to see how things evolve.

Lol, not sure about the narrator, but this is the kind of weird and wacky game we don't get enough of these days. Colour me intrigued

Didn't braid rely on a unique for the time gameplay loop and sell itself on a storyline twist which most people are now aware of?

The market has moved on, and I feel there are more games that have built on braid's mechanics since its initial release.

It feels like one remaster too many. I haven't heard people asking for a rerelease of Braid anywhere, so it's hardly a shock that it hasn't sold well.

@caiol92 Just looked this up. Incredible! Would love that. It is possible given its the 30th anniversary this year

I'll get this and I have the spidey one (which was more due to promising my son) - but my biggest regret is not getting the God of war one. I thought that was gorgeous- I loved the blue. So this is probably a close second. I love the design (although less enamoured with the eyes on the touch pad).

That will mean I have the traditional white, Spidey, this, and my daughters pink one. I think after that I will have to stop 😅 I do like the retro vibes of the concord one mind

Have put the preorder date in my calendar - I think this looks really good

Trying to defeat the shadowblood queen in queens blood (FF7 rebirth), and progressing towards the end of the adventure will likely be my gaming weekend

Can't stand them, won't buy them, and never will.

And that's fine. I'm happy that gamers that are interested in this genre of game are well served, in the same way I am enjoying the renaissance of JRPG titles.

My issue does come however when souls like mechanics get shoehorned into every title where they don't feel necessary just because it's the trend of the day. It becomes exhausting.

@RBMango An Astro pad would be peak. Definitely keeping my fingers crossed.

I quite like this as special edition controllers go, but don't think it needs the logo on the back of the pad

My God I am so on the hook with Persona 5. I absolutely love the characters and the world. But I'm not sure about this one.

The music in the trailer does pull me immediately back in to that world but there seem to be a lot of reused environmental assets - and I'm not into Gacha games at all. I steer clear of those almost as much as I do souls-likes. I don't think this one is for me

I disagree with the argument that Persona 6 is further away because of this title though. This is being made by a completely different developer and the thing holding up a new Persona is surely the fact that Persona Team has been working on Metaphor Re:Fantazio

@Kidfunkadelic83 No. In fact if it is multiplat, then I often download and play the demo on Nintendo Switch instead. Makes zero sense locking demos behind a paywall

O boo hoo. How on earth can they make such ludicrous comments like:

"We adopt what I would call a more fiscally responsible approach to media investments"

Perhaps if Microsoft invested in advertising they wouldn't be in third place. They have no-one but themselves for not diverting a bigger proportion of their budget into the media side of things. It's called growing your business. To criticise Sony for that is madness. It's almost like Sony has to spend more on advertising to make up for the fact Microsoft is buying up half the industry.

It's nonsense like this which is why I actively dislike Microsoft and will never buy into their ecosystem. It's pathetic. They are one of the richest companies in the world. Get your house in order.

I'm sure this playing pauper has nothing to do with the fact FTC is calling them out for broken promises over the Activision blizzard merger either...

Truly pathetic

@WhiteRabbit Thanks!!! Have you found any problems with screen burn etc? That is my one fear - though I will say I've never had a problem with PS Vita or my Switch OLED.

It should feel like a big jump. I can't justify upgrading often (and my wife won't let me more to the point 😅) so I have been rocking a 1080p Sony from 2012. It's been a great TV but you can tell it is starting to reach end of life.

I have heard about screen glare so I think the blinds will be getting a good workout during the day!

@WhiteRabbit Thank you. I'm genuinely intrigued to see how much of a jump it will be for some of my favourite PS5 games!

I picked up the LG C3 (48"). Been hearing people talk for years about how good the C series is for gaming so decided to take the plunge. Hoping it lives up to the hype!!

Nothing stopping them announcing it at TGS and dropping in October for Christmas - with that said, i wouldn't be surprised to see a pro model dropped to release alongside GTA6.

I still don't feel the need for a pro though and won't be getting one unless my PS5 breaks. Then again, I'm probably not the target market given I only upgraded to my first 4k tv yesterday 😅 Can't wait for it to arrive.