Rob_230

No. I wouldnt be buying into a new generation at launch when this one hasnt felt like its got started yet. This is like Sony trying to align a traditional console life cycle but not reacting to the new reality of game development. Normally a console would be hitting its stride at this point, but this isnt normal times.

Given the economic climate and the fact we seem to be hitting a limit on graphical fidelity, it feels way too soon to think about a transition. Particularly given how game development costs have balooned and developers are losing their jobs at an unprecidented rate. To even consider a theoretical PS6 seems wrong.

Maybe i'll feel differently in 4 years time, but i just think this gen has so much more to give

@Shepherd_Tallon next level games, who had worked on Luigi's Mansion for years - they started exploring a sale so Nintendo bought them in 2021.

In fairness Sony has been doing the same, in that Insomniac, Bluepoint, Firewalk, Housemarque were all long time partners prior to acquisition. That's why i reckon Arrowhead games will soon be acquired following the success of Helldivers 2.

I also think Sony will buy Ballistic Moon if Until Dawn Remake is successful (and Lucid Games would have been, had Destruction Allstars not performed poorly)

@KundaliniRising333 must have been playing a different demo. Looked fab to me? And more importantly it was extremely fun to play

I've provided Sony with slack on another article about this so i wont repeat it here (increasing game budgets, longer timescales etc)

BUT from a consumer perspective this does little to convince me that this generation (both xbox and playstation) has been the worst yet.

Yes we have seen some EXCELLENT games, but we haven't even tapped into the potential of PS5 yet - i completely understand why games are still releasing on last gen systems. The cost of game development means they need to squeeze every penny, dollar, euro they can out of a release - but it does mean we have few examples of titles properly testing the system. So for me, all this talk about a PS5 Pro is gross when we dont even know what the base console can do. I see no reason why consumers should upgrade.

I also dislike the hardware. I've come to the conclusion that the PS5 is a horrible design. Granted the giant vents are there to aid heat loss, but it is an invitation for dust. I have never had consoles shut down on me before, but ive had it happen multiple times with PS5 because of unfortunately located dust entering the system via said vents, which has required me to open the console multiple times to clean it out. Its ridiculous. It really dawned on me last weekend as i was cleaning the system after it repeatedly cut out during the FF7 demo and Like a dragon: Infinite wealth how ludicrous this generation has become.

Personally despite the 'drought' ive had no shortage of things to play, and doubt i will over the course of the next 15 months thanks to 3rd party titles, but i would really like to see Sony invest in smaller studios and start developing some innovative releases (a la gravity rush, concrete genie etc) rather than close any studio that doesnt release a billion dollar product.

Also, im bored of saying it, but i want Sony communicating with the fans. They used to be great at this, but the ps5 generation has been awful. The State of Play a couple of weeks ago was a good start, but hopefully with JR leaving, we'll hear more from Sony this year to set up the future slate for playstation.

Rant over. I still love Playstation - and the dualsense is ace. So there's that!

@get2sammyb surely Sony should take note of Nintendo and start doing the same. We have just seen with Helldivers 2 that a game doesnt have to have the biggest budget to be a success. Quite frankly in this day and age, it feels like the sensible way to go - smaller games, sprinkled with a couple of big games that take long to develop- whereas currently it seems to be the other way around.

Nintendo has a proven model that shows gameplay is king and when all is said and done, the giant open world and flashy graphics actually dont matter all that much.

Shawn Layden was right all those years ago when he said the current model is just not sustainable

Fantastic result. Well done Insomniac. Very well deserved

@UltimateOtaku91 Yeah i agree, and possibly that fair games title from haven studios. It doesnt count, but they are also positioning the likes of FF7, Rise of the Ronin, Stellar Blade and Silent Hill 2 like they are first party titles.

I do think Sony will get away with the gap in 'major' releases (also bolstered by the likes of spiderman 2 dlc, which will be treated as a big deal) as they have wisely sewn up alot of 3rd party deals, but they will need to sort out their slate to avoid it happening again. And they need to do a big show this year to hype fans about what is coming up to encourage people to keep buying into the ecosystem, particularly with a new switch around the corner.

This just goes to show how expensive and time intensive game development has become unfortunately. Developers are going to have to start thinking outside the box if they want to maintain a steady flow of releases (personally i'd be happy if the industry pivoted to more smaller scale releases, with the odd massive game here and there - currently games are too big and there isnt anywhere near enough time or money to play everything i want to)

The release of GTA 6 will likely buy developers a few months breathing space next year mind - as that thing will be a juggernaut that completely takes over the gaming space and column inches. Developers will likely want to completely clear out on either side of that to avoid being lost in the hype

@UltimateOtaku91 For Sony that is quite staggering given the past 15 years. That said if they are saying no major existing franchise releases that doesnt rule out new ip or smaller titles similar to uncharted lost legacy. Wouldnt be surprised to see that rumoured Atreus god of war game for example.

It feels like if forecasts are being cut they had a major release planned for this feb or march that they have to delay out of the window. Perhaps Rebirth preorder numbers are softer than expected too, although i do expect it to sell well and shift consoles this month

I'd like to replay these. Tempted to get on the switch though. We'll see!

Looks like Arrowhead will be getting acquired shortly then. Sony often 'tests' developers with these types of releases prior to purchase (i.e housemarque, bluepoint)

Great result for the team and even moreso given limited marketing oomph behind it ahead of release bar a couple of SOP appearances

I'm still glad my wife didnt walked in on me playing the Yakuza 0 Gandhara video minigame 😅 Looks like Infinite wealth has something similar too with the online dating stuff - so never mind people not being able to tell the difference in Koj's stealth game

Lessons:

Dont release Sonic in the same week as Spiderman and Mario

Recognise the fact that the traditional audience who plays Yakuza titles would have liked a physical release of Gaiden.

Dont milk the Persona franchise . I have Tactica, but as a masive fan of the franchise, i'll admit it felt like one spinoff game too far

Don't overly stack all your cards in such a short space of time. People have limited money to spend on games and many other companies released strong titles during Q3

It seems to have worked for you, but releasing two 60-70 plus hour titles (infinite wealth and Persona 3) within weeks of each other seems daft. People only have so much time to play

I think this game will be something special

Honestly not many. I'd not turn my nose up at a new quake if it was good, and i want to play Blade and Indiana Jones. But from that list there isn't much more i want to play. My gaming habits tend to lean towards Sony first party titles and JRPG's so there is little on there that jumps out at me. I did enjoy deathloop, and i think a sequel to Ghostwire Tokyo could achieve the potential that was teased in the first game.

Sony very wise to explore these partnerships in Korea and China. Will be fascinating to see what titles come from them over the next decade

I bought it but it will be sat on the shelf until i finish like a dragon and FF7 rebirth. So many games, too little time unfortunately

If it turns out to be true i just hope it puts an end to this ridiculous console war. I do still think there is more to this than is rumoured but we'll see. I'm always nervous where Microsoft is involved.

As for the games, i'll play on a case by case basis. The reason i don't have an xbox is because i am not interested in the library particularly. But i wont pretend that the loss of double fine didn't sting. I'll want to play those titles, and i am keen to play blade and indiana jones. Everything else im not particularly fussed about.

I always predicted we'll see Elder Scrolls 6 eventually, so it will be interesting to see what happens with that.

Im interested enough to potentially preorder but i want to see some previews first

@AndyKazama £54.85 on Shopto.net - though i expect Hit will match it in the coming days

Yeah looks like I'll be putting my playthrough of Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth on pause when this comes out. Easily my most hyped game in years

I do hope im not premature in saying this, but from everything i'm seeing i really hope this becomes the blueprint and benchmark that Square refers back to for future FF titles. This seems to have a bit of everything and looks absolutely phenomenal. They seem to have nailed what FF is all about

@Neither_scene Could there be another compeitor if Microsoft bow out? Been rumblings for years that Tencent is interested in entering the market - they already have a solid number of studios under their belt

Microsoft on seeing WWE dominating the headlines online over Cody not finishing the story - "hold my beer, we got this"

So long as there is a trophy for locking winston in the freezer does a platinum really matter 😁

Disney being relaxed about the exclusivity in that recent interview would certainly start to make more sense. Hopefully means Blade would come across too

No chance am i paying for it. Too many other games that i want to support with my money. May try when it inevitably gets added to plus

I have it - it arrived today. But not playing yet. Playing Yakuza / Like a Dragon first, then will be playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth - i do want to get to this as soon as possible - but given the speed i beat games, it will likely be may or June 😅

@Kidfunkadelic83 i'm still early doors so not hit the money wall yet, but there is usually a sub activity that can be used to farm money.

IGN published a guide on the fasteat ways to earn money which may help?

https://www.ign.com/wikis/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/How_To_Farm_Money

Playing it now and loving it. Would love to know the sales split for this and Persona 3 please SEGA

Yet again proving the world was a better place before social media.

@UltimateOtaku91 will be a demo drop if the rumours are true

Reallycant ask for much more than that from a state of Play. If i had to nit pick id say rise of the ronin and Silent Hill 2 underwhelmed, but a release date for the fab looking Stellar Blade, footage for Judas, Sonic, Death Stranding, Helldivers, a little something for VR really made the show stand out. Well done Sony. Now off to download the Silent Hill Short Message which looks and sounds excellent

Great review and looking forward to this. I really must get around to the demo. The UI in the screenshots looks awfully busy which seems distracting - but i LOVE that this is a 20 hour game. More of this please

Im not bothered by them killing the justice league. I half think Rocksteady wanted to stop working on batman titles and this was one way to do it. And its not like they can't undo the whole thing through some narrative twist in the future (going to a different universe etc). Ultimately if this is their creative vision, then all power to Rocksteady for seeing it through - if indeed it was their vision

Unfortunately this game could cause much greater damage to the studio however as a result of being nothing more than incredibly generic and boring to play. Nothing i have seen appeals. Its like the game has been designed by a committee of people throwing out what they think are popular concepts / what will make them the most money, without any consideration of what made the arkham games fun.

Personally won't be playing this. I still think they peaked with Asylum (although Arkham City was solid), but i do hope that anyone that gives this a try gets some enjoyment from the game

Square's own HD-2D line kind of fills the gap Tokyo RPG factory was set up to fill, so i expect the staff will be migrated onto supporting those titles going forward

Knack 3, lets goooo

If it happens, at most we will see:

• FF7 launch trailer
• Death Stranding 2
• Helldivers 2 launch trailer
• Rise of the Ronin
• Elden Ring DLC trailer

Plus a couple of smaller 3rd party projects. Even the above sounds ambitious for a SOP

The banner image for this article says it all about the state of xbox given all the physical titles in that section are switch games.

Personally i exclusively buy games that have both a physical and digital edition physically - and i'll often wait on smaller digital titles where you know a physical will come later (have copies of things like Hades, Sifu, Tunic, Cuphead, and will soon have Sea of Stars on my bookshelf). The exception is if games are exclusively released through limited run games. Can't be bothered with all that, so if its not available at general retail, i'll pick up the digital version.

I have a few reasons for this:

Habit: I've been playing and buying games since Mega Drive 2. I have always liked seeing my library grow - and also where my money has been spent. I've found it difficult to move away from physical media - and whilst i did go heavily digital on PS Vita for convenience, i bought most of the games i wanted physically too.

Resale: This is a big one for me. I have aold on alot of my games - and probably missed out on a lot of money by selling to CEX etc - but having the option to sell on games i no longer want to play is important to me.

Cost- in the UK, physical gaming is much cheaper than buying titles digitally and its often not even close. You can easily save £20 on the PSN price if you shop around.

Ownership: This one is more contentious as i know many games these days are a licence on a disc and don't include the game but i feel more confident - rightly or wrongly - in having the game on my shelf that i can pull out and demonstrate that i own it. With a digital title, i dont have that option.

Deals and rare finds - Going into a game store is a rare treat these days, but when you do and manage to snag a bargin you do get a sense of elation that you don't get from buying a title on the store. I've managed to grab some decent bargins recently (on switch titles) that wouldnt have been possible otherwise

Other: I still feel the magic of opening the shrink wrap and enjoying the artwork on game cases - even if they often dont include an instruction book anymore. Some releases are very special. Just take the contents of the Tunic physical release as an example - its fab.

Hanging out with Ichiban and Kiryu in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Loving it so far

I've loved Tekken since Tekken 2, but this will be the first i miss at launch for quite some time. Not because i didnt love the demo, but there is just so much coming out and i simply cannot keep up. Like a Dragon arrived today so i'll be playing that as soon as i am over the Flu. I'll pick this up in a few months time.

Ironically they are making those same bloggers - that they claim to have brought down the game - more money.

By releasing statements like this, it will only provide more content for bloggers to farm for clicks.

Would have been much better off apologising for the state the game launched in and promising to rework it to make it something they - as a dev team - can be proud of

Also, whilst there are indeed bad faith content creators out there, video footage doesnt lie, and it doesn't take much information to form an independent opinion on the title 😅 and its not a positive one

3 overcoats is one way to beat the cold i suppose!

@atthegates if you have uninstalled games on your home screen that sounds like you have a bug on the system. I'm sure you have tried this already but a couple of things to try could include:

1 . Go to settings, users and accounts, other and select “restore licenses” (some have said it worked for them online)

2. Kick off the download for the game in question again. Pause the install and try deleting again

@Cherip-the-Ripper i think it was in lost judgment?

Im not overly fussed about this given its music tracks and costumes - my biggest concern is that they release Persona 3 Sapphire in a years time - which given past performance is most likely - particularly given content is missing.

@Bentleyma haha thats disapointing! Though it does give me time to finish Persona 5 Tactica first 🙂

Yakuza Tuesday, Persona a couple of weeks later, final fantasy 7 late feb....yeah, this one will have to wait. I do want to play it at some point though!

As i said previously on a suicide squad article, Rocksteady is not the same company that released the arkham trilogy. With lots of its senior talent having left the studio you have to ask if WB had been pushing the studio in a direction it didnt want with SS and the live service model. I'll watch the work of hundred star games with interest.

Sonic superstars seems to be 32.99 or less at retail and has been since launch 🤔 dont think i'll be picking up much in this 'sale'. Just as well. Like a dragon next week and persona 3 / FF7 in Feb

@kyleforrester87 i thought that 🤣 they might want to revisit that quote. Hardly back of the box worthy