Comments 5,857

Re: Talking Point: Was Sony Right to Resist Adding PS5 Exclusives to PS Plus Day One?

Rob_230

People investing in gamepass need to really think about the value at $20 a month. That is $240 a year. If Microsoft only release 3 first party titles a year, that would cost $210 if you were to buy them outright at an assumed cost of $70 (and that assumes you can't buy them cheaper at physical stores, and you want all 3).

Microsoft's output each year has never been fantastic so it's unlikely you would see many more than 3 first party games you would want to play so there is alot of reliance on third party deals to bolster the line up - which recently look to have been a little weaker as developers either move away from subscription, or ask for more money than Microsoft is willing to pay upfront.

I just don't think the model is sustainable and it will be interesting to see how this goes. I expect many will migrate to gamepass pc which is cheaper (without the paid online requirement too).

Either way, Sony was absolutely correct not to drop its day 1 titles into PS Plus. They cost too much too make and the company would soon be on its knees if it followed microsoft's example as Sony simply can't afford to prop playstation up in the same way

Re: Poll: Can a Game's Brutal Difficulty Put You Off Playing It?

Rob_230

@Llamageddon Thanks for that. I'll certainly keep my fingers crossed and keep watching impression videos and previews etc.

I do think with some of these titles there is an element of journalists and commentators (not accusing push square of this btw) needing to avoid taking the easy option of simply slapping a souls tag on everything in their reporting, when it's probably not a fair comparison

Re: Poll: Can a Game's Brutal Difficultly Put You Off Playing It?

Rob_230

@JalapenoSpiceLife haha it happens every generation to the point it does get boring, doesn't it?

  • PS1 was probably survival horror and JRPGs
  • Ps2 was the era of the 3d platformer
  • Ps3 was the era of the first person shooter
  • Ps4 was the era of the walking sim and metroidvania

And now we are where we are with souls-likes and live service games. Does make me wonder what PS6 generation will look like 🤔

My goodness, don't give them ideas 😅 Overcooked 3 - eat your soul edition

Re: Poll: Can a Game's Brutal Difficultly Put You Off Playing It?

Rob_230

As a parent to 2 young children, and limited free time due to life and work commitments, I won't buy difficult games anymore . I just don't have time to dedicate to learning how to master them. I've bounced quickly off every souls game and souls-like game. That doesn't mean I don't like a challenge - I do, but I want to feel I am making progress in an evening.

With that said, not every game has to cater for everyone, and there are plenty of other games out there that I can have a great time with so I don't think developers should have to hinder their vision if they want to make a difficult game.

My only caveat is that currently, souls-likes appear to be the genre of choice, so I am getting a little frustrated seeing some awesome looking games like black myth wukong and phantom blade zero and feeling like I won't be able to play them.

Re: Poll: One Year Later, What Are Your Thoughts on Final Fantasy 16?

Rob_230

It's a fantastic game. The music is unreal (dare I say leaps ahead of much of Rebirth) - although I didn't vibe with the Titan boss battle music.

The Eikon battles were spectacular - if a little basic in terms of the mechanics.

I loved the story and the characters, and the battle system was a lot of fun (not sure I want it for all of my FF games, but I enjoyed it for this).

Definitely a few flaws - the side quests were generally pretty dull - go here, kill this - when there would have been an opportunity to try something a bit different to add even a little levity into proceedings - although I did like how finishing these helped the hideaway to grow.

And at least the single moogle in the game actually.... looked...like...a...moogle (seriously, what are those things in FF7 Rebirth? Nightmare fuel!)

A great game that I will definitely be returning to.

Re: Sony Game LEGO Horizon Adventures Reveals Footage in Nintendo Direct

Rob_230

That Nintendo direct was excellent. Combined with the Xbox showcase it's really shown up how poor Sony has become with its communication and marketing. I've pencilled in a handful of games that are more than likely day 1 buys. Slightly surprised not to see Final Fantasy 9 Remake - So I'll foolishly hold onto the hope that Sony still has a showcase planned for later in the year.

Re: Xbox Bigwig Confirms Many More Microsoft Games Are Coming to PS5

Rob_230

I think its an inevitability. When you watched the showcase yesterday, I think everything other than MGS was labelled as coming day 1 to gamepass. I don't see a future where that can be sustainable, unless Microsoft supplement development costs through sales on Playstation. Gamepass simply doesn't have enough subscribers, and growth seems to have plateued. It's Microsoft's only option, short of shuttering studios because at the end of the day, they are a business, not a charity and need to be profiting off these releases

Re: PS5 Fans Beg Sony for a More Fulfilling Livestream in the Aftermath of Xbox Show

Rob_230

Give Microsoft their flowers. It was a very well put together show. It was well paced, had a good variety of games (something for everyone - although did slightly lean too far into their image of old in terms of the genre of game they are known for), and - crucially- gave xbox owners an idea of what else is coming this generation. That was exactly what Microsoft needed. Another flub and that was it for them, but I am genuinely seeing enthusiasm online and rightly so.

Personally I find these kind of shows build hype and excitement - and I would love Sony to put out something similar

Re: PS5 Hardware Architect Says It May Take Less Time to Build a Console Than a Game Now

Rob_230

Shawn Layden warned about this years ago. It would have been fascinating to see a Sony under his control and how it would have developed. Developer scope has blown out of control and gamer expectations with it.

Sony should have diversified to release more titles like uncharted lost legacy and Spiderman miles morales, and Ratchet and Clank that could be put out more regularly. Back in the PS2 days, Astrobot would never have been described as a 'smaller' title - but it has been tagged with that brush despite looking like a fully fledged ps studios banger.

These big games are getting just way too big imo. It's almost impossible to get through stuff

Re: Even as a LEGO Game, Horizon Adventures' PS5 Visuals Are Off the Charts

Rob_230

@get2sammyb Yes I totally agree. I've already ordered Astro and will be ordering this as soon as pre orders go live. Sony needs to see that a variety of different experiences will sell - beyond their usual output (ironically I bet this will sell huge numbers on switch - genuinely curious about what impact that will have on Sony's thinking for other titles with crossover appeal)

The last week has shown the fun, colourful side of Sony that has been missing for a while (since Japan studio shuttered)

Re: Poll: Was Summer Game Fest 2024 Great or a Letdown?

Rob_230

Geoff set expectations, but even then I felt like it underwhelmed. The gaming industry just feels like its in a bit of a rut right now.

Lego Horizon looks fun and fresh, phantom blade looks decent, physical alan wake 2, sonic generations, and power rangers all look good - and quidditch was a decent announcement (happy to try for free on ps plus) - but as ever what is with all the random skits and ads throughout. Truly bizarre. Takes away massively from the show.

Does look like a number of third parties have committed to Microsoft and Nintendo's shows this month - final fantasy 9 and dragon quest 3 hd being very heavily rumoured

Re: It's 'A Truly Exciting Time' for PlayStation as New Sony CEOs Take Control

Rob_230

Hope they look at the success of helldivers and excitement for Astrobot and realise they can broaden their slate by releasing more smaller titles (like shawn layden advocated for) per year, rather than always going for the huge AAA titles - and obviously moving away from the live service push (10+ games i believe they threatened). No issue with them working on 1 or 2 but they don't need any more than that - they've struck gold with Helldivers, but it will be extremely difficult to replicate that success

Re: State of Play Officially Confirmed for 30th May, Updates on PS5, PSVR2 Games

Rob_230

  • Astrobot
  • Lego Horizon
  • Concorde
  • Fairgames (eurgh)
  • Assassins Creed Shadow (Sony appear to have marketing so doubt we will hear a peep out of Ghost 2 until post launch)
  • Metal Gear Solid 3 (Silent Hill wil be in Konami's SH transmission coming up in a few days)

Resident Evil Code Veronica Remake

At a push FF 9 remake, but not optimistic

Metro VR

Plus a few indie games

Possibly Helldivers 2 DLC?

Expect PS5 pro to be revealed closer to launch in a blog post

Re: Feature: Revisiting PlayStation Showcase 2023, an Event Sony Must Improve Upon

Rob_230

Sony has soured me on buying into a new generation at launch - I will say that much. I was expecting to have seen more specifically built for PS5 at this point, so the talk of PS5 pro has always felt abit obserd to me. I don't see how Sony have demonstrated that they deserve customers to invest in more hardware given PS5 hasn't yet hit its stride, and PSVR2 was thrown underneath a bus.

I completely understand the market forces, and increased development time for games, but a company like Sony should really have better plans to manage that - even if the 3rd party exclusivity plan has yielded some respite for them.

Despite this I am hugely optimistic for a showcase this year. I reckon there will be enough first party stuff to show off at this point. Only question will be is if they decide to market ghost of tsushima 2 yet, or if they will wait for Assassins Creed Shadows to release first

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 529

Rob_230

Just hit cosmo canyon in FF7 rebirth (they butchered the music for that remastered theme in that area imo) so mainly playing that. Really enjoying the game, but as I've said in other articles, too much padding.

Will be helping my daughter on Dreamlight Valley at some point too no doubt.

Away with work next week so have picked up red dead redemption and sea of stars for the switch

Re: A Lot of PS4 Owners Have Yet to Upgrade to PS5

Rob_230

Let's not forget that COVID had a massive impact on sales numbers, so a big proportion of those active users will be players that don't play as regularly and thus have no reason to upgrade to a PS5. We are only talking 2 years ago.

Isn't the sales data showing that PS5 is only slightly trending behind PS4 numbers at the same stage of its life. Rather than a negative, you could just as easily put a positive spin on things that DESPITE recessions and less disposable cash, PS5 is still hanging in there or there abouts. Sure, it won't please the Shareholders given the rising costs of development, so squeezed margins, but in raw numbers of active users I don't think this is anything to be concerned about

As it is, as a day 1 adopter of PS5, I dont regret my decision (paticularly as final fantasy is traditionally my favourite series), but I do have to say that whilst I have LOVED previous consoles, I only 'like' my PS5 currently. Perhaps that's my age, or perhaps it's because games increasingly feel like they have been designed by commitee to pad out play time as much as poss.

As an example, even though I'm really enjoying FF7 Rebirth, my goodness the open world padding is way over the top and ends up detracting from the main game.

Don't get me wrong though, I do love the QOL features PS5 brings to the table - particularly the dualsense. And I'm not overly concerned about number of games releasing - I don't have enough time to play what I already have - the games will come in time (hopefully when they are ready). I do want to see an increase out of Sony first party though as we enter the midpoint of PS5' life. I am more than ready for Ghost of Tsushima 2.

As others have said, GTA6 will be the tipping point that makes more people transition to PS5. With COD a shadow of what it once was, nothing else will come close to being that game that drives change amongst more 'casual' game fans