Robocod

@__jamiie "Stop being such a bitter fanboy!", oh thank you jamiie for pointing out the error of my ways posting on a PS centric site with such a well constructed,thought out & reasoned name calling!🙄😂

I note you failed to acknowledge any of the hypocrisy of Microsoft's laughable claims of claiming previously multiplatform 3rd party IP's like Bethesda's were "niche indie titles" when they cancelled PS versions the moment the ink dried on the Zenimax buyout...despite Gamer Phil spinning the "gaming for all!",rhetoric! Or their 3rd party timed gamepass exclusives blocking PS versions whilst calling Sony anti-gamer!

But since you taught me the error of my fanboy ways, let's check out your recent posts... "PS5's Remote Play portable will allegedly launch in November"..."This is the Wii U Gamepad but 11 years late!!"....🤔 Ah,more considered arguments there,I see!😋
Criticise it for the rumoured battery life,or likely Jim Ryan special "premium product" pricepoint etc.,but that's your articulate reasoning?!😂

"Buy a Switch!"...what the same "innovative" Ninty that paywalled dlc behind overpriced, understocked(to drive FMO), plastic figurines riding the Skylanders mtx train? The same one that made Mario Maker after the likes of Little Big Planet 1 & 2 demonstrated what could be done with level/game creation tools? 😁

The same Ninty that instead of letting you bring your Virtual console purchases over from Wii U, charge increasing level tiers to access the same libraries on subscription only? The same one that charges full price new release for Wii U remasters with a Malibu Stacey New Hat extras?!😋

I so enjoy seeing the so-called "I'm above all that tribal fanboyism",owners who claim they're not fanboys with multiplatform avatars project the same closet fanboy behaviour they lecture others on!😂

Bet you failed to see where the FTC fined Microsoft (a drop in the bucket),$20 million for privacy & illegal data harvesting on misleading children's Xbox account settings,& they PR response being "it was just a glitch,chillax bro!" ?
But they're the little 2.3 trillion indie company & not a monopoly,right?!

Been gaming long enough on multiple systems & seen gaming tribalism long before the current megacorps to call out corporate spin & bs where i see it! Unlike some apparently judging by your continual PS comment snipings! Maybe practice what you preach next time!😋

Imagine what they might’ve sold had they ported Octopath Traveller to PS4/5 too! 🙄😂Oh,but I forgot it mysteriously spent an extended period on Gamepass then later mumble,mumble,oh here's Octopath Traveller 2!

Cos Gamer Phil Spencer would NEVER pay to keep multiplatform games off the competition, or buy whole AAA publishers to do the same,that would be way too petty & monopolistic of a 2.3 trillion monopoly!😋

I can live with cheesy B-grade like the OG PS1 Resident Evil games vs the dreadful Mila Jovovich movies or the other not Resident Evil effort that seemed like it mutated worse than when William Burkin injected the G-virus in RE2!😅😁

The asterisk to these expansions is if Microsoft continues its cash splash of "donations",PR "ten year deals",& lawyers getting the sale over the line they'll rebadge a future expansion into a Reaper of Souls type new release & pull the plug on Playstation users seeing them down the line!🙄🤔

@NinjaNicky Took me long enough to find out about that despite all the glossy previews! Don't get me wrong,the vibe seems fairly positive, but only finally saw that apparently though possible solo,its regarded that you need to team up with others to try defeat some of the higher level bosses.

Only rarely hit up Diablo 3 multiplayer,so agree its disappointing!😕 Can only imagine if the likes of Take-two are taking notes for GTA 6 merging single/multiplayer in a similar fashion!

Not to mention being a hard drive guzzler with all the online updates!

"Aggressive plans". What,they'll add ps2 games instead of coming up with a good ps2 emulation on ps4/5 for offline/local play & like the limited PS Now/Premium ps3 titles remain unavailable in regions like mine?!🤔😅

"Let there be competition!" say Microsoft & Activision!
Also Activision Blizzard: You want Diablo IV or pretty much any of our classic PC titles you can only buy & install 'em via our Battle Net store launcher!🙄😂

Apart from the always online requirement of Diablo IV even for single player,honestly wary of buying it on ps4/5! What's to stop Microsoft in their current arrogant behaviour (if they beat off regulators),from claiming this to be another "indiie niche" title & pull the online plug on PS owners by rebadging any add-ons a new iteration & make Diablo exclusive?

You have Bobby Kotick giving puff-piece puppy dog eyes interviews decrying the media is out to get him & rewriting the narrative of what dodgy workplace culture after they literally outlaid millions in NDA settlements all on the basis of recouping it via the $70billion M$ cheque!
Not to mention the "donations" to US Congress politicians to wave the Murican First Flag & go after Sony!🙄

All for the IP's like COD which they attest the smaller sized Sony could "easily make a competitor" to but the monopolistic 2.4 trillion M$ can't?! It would be laughable if they hadn't already pushed their weight around to get as far as they have!

Resident Evil Code Veronica X...so long as they did a proper job of it & not Resident Evil 3 rush job port it! RE5 could benefit...though it could really do with a revamp from the ground up...if memory serves they never did fix the dumb A.I. co-op for single players! RE6 needs to disappear like Indy Crystal Skulls & the horrid looking new one into a nice big warehouse & never be seen again!😅

@RonLonDonSwan I'd agree but as per the most recent G'n'G outing,the old 16bit pixel art style animation seems to be a lost art in Japan sadly! Not just G'n'G,but look as remakes like Asha in Monsterworld,or Wonderboy Returns vs Lizardcube's Wonderboy Dragons Trap remake!🤔

Matilda Callista or Battle Princess Madelyn were as about close to indie inspired knock offs, albeit don't go on sale super often.
Would love to see a G'n'G compilation of the originals,along with Demon's Quest, Ultimate Ghosts'n'Goblins from PSP,& the Maximo games too!

The main annoyance as I recall though is unlike when you had "brick & mortar" retail sales on ps plus you could add extra subscriptions without problem....But try to buy a PS Plus extension online & it PSN Store won't let you complete the transaction unless you add a suitable credit/debit card details for subsequent renewal! I assume you can hopefully remove it but its a lot of stuffing around for what used to be a straightforward procedure!😕

This cotton candy puff piece of an excuse of an interview The Verge did was nothing more than a PR Advertorial for poor lil me Bobby Kotick.

Activision/Bobby Kotick: Been outlaying millions with not only its armies of lawyers but also in numerous "no fault" legal settlements & NDA's. "We admit nothing....but here's a bunch of money, now make this go away!!"🙄
Also Activision: Harrasment,Misconduct? What Misconduct? How Very Dare You! Fake news! "You're part of the conspiracy trying to bring us down! Are you a Playstation plant?!"
Bobby Kotick & Activision Board: Now let's cash that $70,billion Microsoft cheque,& party on with Gamer Phil or retire!! Wahoo! Cue the Vince McMahon "No Chance" soundtrack!

And just remember,Gamer Phil's first move when the trickle of allegations became a flood,was to stay relatively mute publicly & instead use the corporate credit card & pick up Activision at a relatively bargain price vs before its share price tanked & took full advantage to take the biggest selling IP's off Playstation when opportunity allows it! All the while sacking devs from their own studios! 🙄

@LiamCroft The story itself is of no surprise. I suspect the real story out of this is if we see if Konami are petty enough to leave the original creators out of the credits much like say Bruce Straley was left out The Last of Us tv show credits despite being co-creator & creative director of the original game!🙄

Not the first or last occasion bad blood in the games business leads to these things,but still very nasty way to repay the original creators months of toil producing the original only to be left out on technicalities!

Wonder how the ps4 versions will fare? Even for all the "this could run on a tablet" type assurances how it fares after the first few updates will be the question.🤔

Finally had my question answered with no offline single player & though it sounds like it has a decent campaign with its open world,that you need to team up on bosses & have storage space guzzled up potentially like COD on continual updates for a multiplayer you might not have any interest in is a shame.

Makes me suspect Take-two/Rockstar taking a similar approach to GTA 6,hence the previous scrapped version wherein one might’ve still had separate play modes.🤔
Don't get me wrong...I'd like to give it a go...but the always online aspect rather than an optional multiplayer just doesn't grab me. They always insist at the start no "pay to win" mechanics & "cosmetics" etc....& then once they get a player base can easily implement changes...you don't think Microsoft won't be looking for a return on the $70billion regardless of how long or short they choose to support competing platforms meantime?🤔

Whilst it might be a form of control,there are more often than not a regular cycle of psn sales these days usually with a 2 week turnaround,especially since Shu Yoshida took over Indie operations.🤔

Are there improvements that'd benefit PSN? Gifting friends,an automated Steam style refund system etc.,absolutely!
But would you want grey markets ala G2A etc. getting in,& causing headaches over dubious keys that may or may not work?

I'm aware of more legitimate sites ala Humble store etc.,but always leaves you exposed if there's a problem that the 3rd party reseller just ignores you & the site your buying for says its not their problem. Discovered GOG seemingly exited most 3rd party sites,so its not a Sony only situation

Just my own bit of speculation to add to this article of speculation😋!!...
But seriously,yes some stuff could well get saved for Sumner Games fest...however,I think Sony might be a bit coy on possible future 3rd party & 2nd party exclusives lest they get caught up in CMA & possible FTC court proceedings.

Microsoft has waged a massive disinformation war online & through paid up donors of US Congress repeating the narrative "Sony pays to keep games off Gamepass!"...whilst they ignore Microsoft Xbox literally making exclusivity for smaller indies a part of getting onto Gamepass!🙄
And Nintendo have been no less active in return for Store prominence Indies & some 3rd parties be tied into exclusivity windows etc.
They all engage in exclusive deals...Sony is the only one that gets burnt at the stake for it!

@Rob_230 Yep,same here mate! Their aggressive reaction was history repeating if you recall the Bill Gates era Microsoft in the 90's when the FTC tried to clip their wings in an antitrust action over Internet Explorer vs Netscape "browser wars".

Monopolies always get nasty when their ability to cannibalise other companies to benefit themselves is threatened!🙄
Seriously,streaming deals where the revenue is skewed 100% to M$,& Switch which hasn't even had a COD this generation as Bobby Kotick didn't think it viable!
(Versus his being comfortable with marketing dlc deals with either Sony/XB until his mismanagement skeletons were finally exposed & tanked the share price?)

You could call it naivety...until you include their previous rubber stamping the Zenimax Bethesda deal & ignoring how Microsoft immediately started cancelling all playstation ports not locked in contracts...& the US Congress people (on both sides of their massive political divide),on Microsoft's donation payroll ramping up the "Murican first" rhetoric & ramping up absurd charges of a "Sony monopoly" in Japan!🙄

Not expecting anything from my country's system. Been a while since the ACCC beat Valve down here to help create their current refund system! They never demanded the exact same thing when they fined Sony EU Store through the courts.
So suspect they're just waiting for others to have done the hard lifting before they rubber stamp it!

Sad times indeed when megacorps like Microsoft, Facebook,Amazon etc. exist!😕

The factions multiplayer should've remained an addon whether free or paid inclusive of the mtx sustaining things from there.

Unfortunately Jim Ryan/Herman Hulst's desire to ramp up the live service games portfolio meant they were all too willing to greenlight Factions as a standalone project as its potential "Fortnite" goldmine.🤔
To be fair Shawn Layden readily admitted in his era they "needed to do more" in that area,but when you only have so many internal studios & dev $$,the shareholders meeting indicating a dominate share of funding Gaas games takes them away from one of Playstation's strengths.

Again,Jim Ryan is a business driven CEO for better for worse....his focus is keeping Sony as profitable as possible...but whereas say the PS Premium/Classics program gets basic psp/ps1 ports & no efforts to add/fix a ps2 library or PS3 remakes,they are happy to chase the mobile market & live services!🤔

Licensing hell would likely prevent it,but would love the original Spiderman cartoon title song to be snuck in as earworm..."Spiderman,Spiderman, does whatever a Spider can!"😋😂

@Rob_230 This point entirely! If you dare brave Twitter its absolutely spammed with Xbot acolytes tweeting EU comments attacking the UK's CMA & conspiracies of conflicts of interest vs an EU Comission that has been far too willing to take Microsoft's PR "Ten year deals" as competition without looking at the bigger picture that none of the companies are in direct competition with Azure or Activision could be bothered with a Switch COD.

They just naively rubber stamped it as if the Zenimax Bethesda deal never happened & naively take their vague political promises at their word!🙄
The fact they've been spending their time since making attacks on the CMA & making nonsical repeats of Microsoft's narrative about "increased competition" when their history is anything but monopolistic us laughable!

Not techy minded enough to do it myself, but all that's missing from their statement is the South Park BP CEO Apology video/Gif "We're Sorry!"😂

Not sorry enough to refund anyone that still bought it or have Cyberpunk 2077 type outrage that Sony yanked it off the PSN as they didn't want the fuss of bothering with refunds becoming a regular feature of the store!

Bit off topic,but recall the PS4 review of Blacksad marked it down for bugs...wonder if that ever got fixed enough to be playable?

Haven't caught up with State of Play in full, merely the wrap ups...once again much like the Xbot socials that flooded the internet spruiking the EU approval of the Microsoft buyout & heaping ctricisms & conspiracies of CMA's denial,seen a similar demolition of PS Showcase!🙄

If all the indies & 3rd party releases were timed exclusives ala Switch/Gamepass Directs I could imagine the howls of protests & "Sony pays to keep games off other consoles!",but a timed Persona Exclusive,or Octopath Traveller or Planet of Lana are apparently all okay cos Xbox or Nintendo etc?

My biggest criticism is not so much the lack of first parties shown,but the associated reports of increasing live service games/online vs Sony's traditional strengths in single player games.

Likewise live service online games & mobile etc., are a big focus alongside mentions of streaming/ cloud,but we've only seen a relative handful of PS1/PSP games come to the classics/Premium range & little to zero 3rd party content,nor PS2 emulation or efforts to remaster ps3 era stuff like LBP 1 & 2,Karting,Motorstorm Pacific Rift/ Apocalypse,Resistance,Infamous etc., nevermind ps2 era classics both in-house & 3rd parties!
Dismissed as "not profitable",they're following the next big online hit ala COD,Fortnite, GTA etc but most end up being a waste of money & get shut down after a year or so!

Obviously not Mr Ryan's demographic,& yes Microsoft's behaviour & continual intent to take more 3rd party games off the table mean he's looking at alternatives...but meantime it means they're chasing gaming options I'm just not interested in,so showings from their new studios just come off as bit meh! Show me some classic Sony & I'll continue to support it!

Always taken the pricing of digital releases being the same as retail,(originally touted as not to hurt sales),with a pinch of salt given it was more likely the brick & mortar shops would tend to sell them cheaper BITD,by $20-$30 when there was greater competition.

Nowadays there's so many online store/service accounts looking to tie you into them, with occasional freebies or ones like Gamepass which seek to push subscription over ownership altogether!🙄

Not sure if the likes of Fortnite could count as a physical release when I'm guessing it'd been pointless to release in disc format & surely was a code in those console bundles!

As a region that had a tease once or twice PS Now might’ve been in the pipeline only to vanish without a trace,the first reaction is to look up at the sky & say "Cloud,what cloud,Jim?!"😂

Granted using cloud as the only solution for playing the likes of Red Dead Redemption, or the older Sly Raccoon or Ratchet & Clank games as they couldn't be bothered updating the PS2 emulation used back on the limited Classics range on PS4,seemed like a cheap tatic in any case!

It'll be curious just what cloud infrastructure they'd be looking to expand to,as all talk of the touted Azure deal has gone rather silent! 🤔

Not really a surprise with their declared intents on expanding into more live service games & mobile (& tv/movies),none of which are reasons I like to play on PS!😕 (PS Deluxe region down under so still no PS Now type streaming!)

But the real stinger is their keeness to possibly revisit some old classics in new mobile forms, but still haven't been bothered on majorly expanding the PS Classics range with third parties & still restricted to select few ps1/psp titles...surely they can get a fully functional PS2 emulation/classics range to replace the abandoned range on PS4? (Most of which seemingly don't work well on ps5).

I'm sure there'll be some big AAA announcements, (& hopefully indies too),just wish they had a bit more love for the classics catalogues both 1st & 3rd parties.

If there was even a 3-6 month timed exclusivity I could imagine the howls of protests from Switch/XB owners & the "Sony pays to keep games off XB!"....
Whilst totally cool with M$ using the corporate credit card to buy up entire AAA multiplatform publishers just to take them off PS & how the likes of the recent Persona 4 Golden one "mysteriously" missed a dedicated PS5 version,(regardless of the series not stretching any hardware its on),or Square Enix's Octopath Traveller 1 seemingly permanently not getting a PS release! Nevermind Switch & Gamepass timed exclusives! "But Sony pays to keep games off rivals!"🙄 Uh huh,sure Jan! 😂

Given GTA casting is a Area 51 alike state secret until just prior to release,would take anything said now with a massive pinch of salt!

That said with the retirement of co-creative DJ Lazlow prior to Dan Houser,it won't be the same firing up the radio &/or game tomorrow find him on in the next one!😔
Doesn't fill me with optimism that the likes of Fernando will make an appearance either with several of the "old guard no longer there!

Grabs the pack of chips/crisps & favourite softdrink beverage & quietly waits for the connection timeout error messages!😋

I am curious about it but honestly have yet to hear of the campaign story mode much in all this other than its open world online only.🤔 Not to mention its longer term future given its XB/M$ overlords.
Imagine if they choose to nuke future expansions! Petty,but they've engaged in plenty of that already!

@get2sammyb Whilst I can't find the specific quote,I know Microsoft has stated a desire whether its a Windows 12 or similar future iteration they ultimately want to stop releasing individual Windows versions & much like other areas of Satya's reign as MS CEO turn Windows into an online subscription service.

They are already in the process of killing off retail downloads of MS Office,& obviously have a very strong stranglehold in the Azure market.
If you look at Phil Spencer's record as Xbox boss he made PR Backflips after Don Mattick's reign.

But a lot of the "Online,Online sharing" policies weren't reversed so much as repackaged into the likes of Gamepass,Gamepass Ultimate & now XCloud.
I might not be a big Jim Ryan fan for his disdain of PS1-PS3 backwards compatibility programs & libraries as unprofitable apart from no frills efforts like PS Plus Premium/Deluxe,(that only release psp & occasional ps1 games),but i don't doubt he is a business & numbers man & absolutely tries to maximise sales/profits over PR/Twitter point scoring. Sony need that even if I'm not a fan of the live service Gaas direction they're following.

I have no doubt he would like to grow their Cloud presence as a backup,but given the way Xbox has aggressively been taking major 3rd party AAA Publishers & entire stables of devs off PS Platforms for Gamepass exclusively,that Sony must be exploring non-Azure options for an expanded PS Now/Premium expansion as they barely have expanded the revised program (Down Under Territory here),since.

Personally not fussed on streaming,but I have little doubt MS sees XB future as another streaming/online subscription over a box under the TV....they just don't want the Don Mattick blowback by vocalising it here & now. You just follow their actions,not their PR spin.🤔

Am I surprised? Not in the slightest-as per the previous article on the "fightback" vs the CMA & veiled threats against the UK authorities by both M$/XB & Activision, & the "Murica" flag waving US Congress threatening retaliation & investigations into the ridiculous "Sony Monopoly" but are literally receiving donations from Microsoft, they have a long financial & political reach & engaged in corporate & financial bullying for decades in every market they've entered.

The "ten year deals",really don't matter much when not only do reportedly 100% of the streaming revenue goes to M$,but none of the aforementioned companies they signed deals with are in direct competition either!

M$/XB & most recently "Gamer" Phil Spencer having been spinning the "woe is us,we can't possibly out console Sony" narrative alongside insisting Sony could "easily" come up with a COD competitor to replace COD revenues....

And yet their farcical claims are exposed about "bringing COD to more gamers",when you know Bobby Kotick thought so little of the Nintendo cod market they never bothered making any Switch ports as being unprofitable....
Likewise if making a COD competitor was so "easy" then why would Microsoft be playing $70 billion into buying the entire Activision IP library instead of playing it into Halo/Gears or indeed something new?🙄

It doesn't until like the Zenimax Bethesda buyout you logically draw the parallels that ripping entire catalogues of established IP sequels & other previously multiformat future new releases off your main rival platform permanently using their multi billion monopoly money warchest & combine it with their stranglehold in the Azure market is the easiest way to crush your competition by offering permanent exclusives of what were 3rd parties & buy your way to the top.

Are they alone? No,the failure to stop megacorps whether they,FB,Amazon,Apple etc.,getting to where they are is the real issue.
As to how the currently still big,but not M$ Big Sony/Playstation can respond or if they ultimately seek partnerships with some of the other megacorps & become a division of one to try compete on a more equal footing time will tell.😕

The purchase of Activision,already a mtx monolith in its own right,becoming part of an even bigger Monopoly in Microsoft,(who control the PC & have a very strong Azure presence),is as far removed from being good for gamers as you can get! As is Bobby Kotick getting his golden parachute & army of Microsoft money to make all his mismanagement nightmares go away!🙄

The arms race to buy up all the remaining AAA 3rd parties is going to make things more fractured & ultimately expensive...& to borrow the quote from Revenge of the Sith end in thunderous applause! 😔 Unexpected,no. Disappointing,definitely!

Not a popular opinion,(especially in this thread), but never gotten too far into the Soulsborne Series,though I'm in the minority much like Zelda bores me but loved Alundra & HZD!😅

Anyway,what i do find ironic is Elden Ring has been used as the absolute poster child by XB fan boys against God of War Ragnarok getting GOTY (when not only both have their fans,& are great games),like it was an Xbox exclusive & yet the irony here proves that for all hype about gamepass, make a good game & PS punters will vote with their wallets & owning/buying a good solid classic will always top a so-so rental sub.

Never owned a NES,(&more so SNES,which i suspect I would've liked could I have afforded one despite it & the MD killing off the Amiga),so never got indoctrinated into the Zelda kool aid.

I did buy Windwaker & BOTW on WiiU but never understood the greatest game eva accolades of its Acolyte reviews...copies elements of other games but guaranteed "Essential" on like of Eurogamer....who'll then proceed to nitpick Horizon Zero Dawn & subsequently Forbidden West as "technically impressive,but doesn't do anything new"...when Zelda hasn't done anything new in years!🙄😅
But I'm in the minority,as I wasn't a ninty kid looking at their best games with nostalgia. Ironically actually enjoyed the limited rentals of Alundra on ps1...its not you,its me,I know!😂

Shu "Yosp" Yoshida not long ago spoke of as one time Sony Worldwide Studios exec the difficulty of deciding which internal projects to cancel,but also how expensive AAA dev has gotten.

That said,its clear under Hermen Hulst/Jim Ryan, the focus in the last couple of years is shifting away from single player focused internal made games to either online only live service ones or a mix of single player & likely online multiplayer like a GTA like open world model.
In turn studios like Pixel Opus or others have either been closed or seen veterans depart.

And with Shu Yoshida now heading the 3rd Party Indie Initiatives with Greg Rice (ex Double Fine), future AA type single player titles like Last Guardian,SOTC,or other "quirky" ones seem likely to either be 3rd party or timed exclusives like Kena,Bugsnax external stuff.
Hulst/Ryan are targeting "prestige Blockbuster" like Wolverine,Spiderman & then the slew of Multiplayer "secret project" ones.

Likely to be profitable? For the successful ideas probably...but the Shawn Layden era that did more quirky gambles &/or bring back classic era stuff like Medievil or Shadow of the Beast that touch on the classic back catalogue of PS1/PS2 era seems far less likely. Hulst never really seems to come across as a fan of PS1/2/3 Sony unless it was the mainstream titles.
For better or worse,this does seem the PS5 strategy...just have to roll with it or be forced onto the Gamepass schlock.

The sensible option would be to block the multi trillion Monopoly that's been complaining its the poor little downtrodden Indie that hadn't already taken Zenimax Bethesda future releases off PS platforms & pushed them already into releasing underbaked titles to feed the Gamepass beast!

But as per their heavy PR Smokescreen "ten year deals" of nothingness, Gamer Phil "we can't outconsole Sony" rehearsed narrative & veiled threats to the UK,& paid up US Congress cheer squad proves,they have a long & powerful influence as monopolistic bullies & the failure to curb them in the 90's has only made them more arrogant weilding that Monopoly.😕

Hoping for the miracle that'd stop them,but not expecting it. If for nothing else but to give Activision Blizzard minor shareholders a reason to dethrone Bobby Kotick & his cronies off the ABK board & give it the corporate clean out it truly needs.

Remember when Abandoned was the deep secret Kojima/Silent Hills revival? Good times!😂

Yes,it would be a coup to pull these off as exclusives but they'd only be as good as the devs that they'd need to do them justice. Not impossible but keeping in mind Sony's live service investments would these fit in with their current strategy? 🤔

More calculated snake oil spin from "Gamer" Phil Spencer...."We can't outconsole Sony & Nintendo"!
Hmm,where have we heard that before? 🙄 Oh yes,the CMA/EU/FTC, we're the tiny 2+trillion indie who can't possibly make better games than our competitors....so we should be allowed to buy as many AAA publishers & 3rd party IP's they have & monopolise those instead of making our own, BUT Sony should make their own COD,its soon easy!🙄

They rushed Redfall out of the creative oven because they needed to feed the Gamepass beast (& cancelling its multiplatform intents,just like other Zenimax Bethesda games once the ink was dry on the contract).

The logic of Gamer Phil's acolytes to apportion blame anywhere but Phil continues to amaze. This was an entirely prepped South Park BP CEO "We're Sorry!"
If they can't manage the vast studios & IP's they already have,how can they possibly be trusted with Activision Blizzard's IP's too?

@get2sammyb Normally would be quite keen on a retro inspired reboot of something as classic as Double Dragon,but the visual style here rather than leaning into Streets of Rage 4 feels I dunno, more like a mobile game?🤔😕
Bit like Double Dragon 4 which instead of at least try for the 16bit arcade style original went for that God awful NES style...didn't it review up buggyon Push Square?
Never saw a PSN release down under region but might’ve been spared by sounds of it!

Been noting the hypocrisy of Microsoft's assertions over this for sometime...they claim Sony could easily come up with their own COD competitor & yet are spending literally $70 billion on buying Activision Blizzard's IP's because they clearly CAN'T themselves! 🙄

But it makes far more sense if like the Zenimax Bethesda buyout it means they can prevent future popular IP's & new releases from previously 3rd party AAA studios appearing on its main competitor.

Whilst undoubtedly a nice pay day,in light of the "nothing to see here" mult million legal settlements in recent months & the tanking of Activision Blizzard's share price with Bobby Kotick's management skeletons brought to life, little wonder they're fighting tooth & nail to access the Microsoft honey pot!🙄

If the deal were to ultimately tank though,I wonder how Activision would respond to adding Switch to the COD releases...in light of Microsoft's PR machine promises of "scaling" & "feature for feature" matching with XB/PC versions for a Switch version under their "10 year deals",vs the fact that Activision had ignored them since the early WII U era,would expose the XB lies & their true intent which is removing future ABK releases from their main competition-just like they did with Zenimax.

@get2sammyb Although younger at the time,the current "throw the toys out of the pram" & veiled threats by Microsoft are far from new...if you'd seen Microsoft/Bill Gates at war with the U.S. Government over the "browser wars" & its monopoly in the Windows PC market & being threatened with a corporate break-up this is exactly how ugly the real Microsoft can get when things don't go its way.🙄

Just look at the similarities to the Gun lobby having a strong influence in the US Congress, you now suddenly are seeing several politicians waving the American flag & pushing outlandish claims of a "Sony monopoly" when the likes of Arkane/Redfall revelations & undoubted cancellation of Starfield & Elder Scrolls Vi etc prove the opposite of Microsoft flexing its monopoly & paywalling AAA 3rd parties off its biggest competition.

Certain games media love to push the narrative that Microsoft/ABK are the good guys of gaming. The same Microsoft that keeps trying to force users to create a Microsoft Account & enable its spyware just to install or run Windows updates?
That claim Sony could create their own COD but are spending $70 billion to get control of it themselves?

The same Activision Blizzard that were happy to do timed exclusives with Xbox before Sony likely offered more $$ prior to the PS4 launch & extended said deal until Bobby Kotick's dirty laundry management was finally exposed enough to tank the value of his shares & bonuses?

ABK could sell games cheaper if they were truly worried about people's cost of living...they sell them higher because people are still buying them & they tie them into battle passes & mtx live services,& were among the vocal "single player games are dead" crowd going back to the 360/ps3 era.

The current Activision Blizzard execs want the deal because like the recent Murdoch lawsuit once they pay off all the multiple lawsuits & investigations with NDA legal settlements they want a nice golden parachute to compensate them funded by Microsoft & its arsenal of corporate lawyers.🙄

People need reminding Microsoft have flexed their monopolies in Windows,Office for years & now dominating in areas like Azure,& A.I. tech. They want a similar dominance in the gaming space & streaming & want to push subscriptions over the concept of buying games.

Is Sony perfect? No,& it's a concern seeing the push into live services over single player by them too & the less said about Nintendo & its full priced minimal effort "remasters" & subscription retro games service the better!

But a future where Microsoft can keep swallowing up ABK, Zenimax etc.,what then,Take-two,Embracer,Capcom etc?
Again,why not practice what they preach & use that $70 billion to make their own COD since they claimed it was soo easy for Sony?

About the only thing that hasn't happened in ABK & Microsoft's veiled threats is a rally with Bobby Kotick & "Gamer" Phil Spencer to storm the CMA with a Shaman weirdo & "take what's theirs"!!🙄

None of their vaunted 10year deals are with any genuine competition with Microsoft. Nintendo hasn't had a COD since early Wii U era that Bobby Kotick couldn't have been bothered by it.
It only mattered when Activision Execs suddenly found themselves mired in numerous investigations & Bobby's shares took a nasty downfall.

But instead of the ABK board of cronies trying to get rid of him they look for a Vince McMahon style deal with Microsoft & their multi millions legal settlement bailouts to make it all disappear & give them golden parachutes.

Heaven forbid Gamer Phil Spencer should take Microsoft's lawyers assertions that Sony should "make their own COD" & use their 70 billion to do the same?!🙄😂 Oh that's right,far easier to buy up existing 3rd party AAA IP's & keep future releases permanently off your competitors!

If I knew how to insert the classic GTA SA CJ Gif I think I would at this point!😂

Jokes aside,I've found it ridiculous that Microsoft has been clearly pushing the $$ in "donations" to US Congress & getting them to wave the stars & stripes that little 2.3 trillion indie "Murican Microsoft" is being crushed by the Japanese Sony monopoly in cahoots with the FTC,when as we heard from the Redfall devs Microsoft's strategy in buying up entire AAA publishers has been to prevent future Playstation releases & the very "competition & freedom of choice" they claim to support!🙄

None of the "ten year deals" they've been touting as "supporting competition" are from Cloud based services that aren't trying to outdo/compete with XB,(& keeping in mind their dominance in the Windows PC space)...& Activision thought so little of the Nintendo market as not profitable that Bobby Kotick completely ignored the platform until his Microsoft bailout golden parachute was threatened & they needed an ally against Sony's pointing out how hypocritical Xbox & Phil Spencer have been since the Zenimax buyout & cancelling Playstation versions of future releases.

PS Premium is still a limited region service & its not being underwritten by a multi trillion dollar parent company that clearly does exercise its monopoly in the markets it controls, & clearly wants to buy its way to controlling the cloud gaming & console space.

I still fear they'll eventually win,with big lawyers & $$ in "donations",but it's nice to see their smug media campaign & influencers have egg on their face;for now at least!

@nessisonett I'm surprised people are taking his "paid for select accounts out of his own pocket"!!🙄 The same guy who also claimed he would step down from running Twitter & then claimed the result was "rigged with bots"!!
Given his petty trolling,he likely ordered them kept verified....& keeping the $$ for his next prematurely exploded tax write off rocket!!😂

Ironically have noticed a surge of bot accounts on my "For You" timeline spamming "Congress going after foreign owned Sony & FTC trying to block Murican Microsoft, yeah!!"...type posts! 🙄
Still enjoy following retro & indie stuff on there,but getting harder to wade through the other stuff!

@AndyKazama I think from what I'd seen on twitter they did tout having scope to create new/ rebooted versions alongside the original versions, it'd need something radical to set it apart from the other newer Bubsy games already out there.
Probably be cheaper to port the 2D ones over!🤔

The irony I found was there's a new "Microprose" out there,(having bought the name),but seemingly this Atari now owns their most noteworthy IP's! 🙄😅
Hardball/4th & Inches & Test Drive are all examples they could revisit/reboot as much as Bubsy though I doubt the younger players out there would even know about them,nevermind play them! They might’ve had Atari versions back in the day,but were also as common on other systems like C64,Amiga, & probably Apple too!

A bit brushed over in the article,but the 100 retro titles cover old publishers like Accolade, Microprose, Infogrames etc. Seemingly ones this or one of the previous Atari iterations sold off but seemingly reacquired again....in tandem with their recent acquisition of Nightdive Studios.

As to how many end up on console as opposed to being on GOG with different publisher branding now time will tell.

Long CV with the likes of Bullfrog & Lionhead nevermind MM itself. Rather enjoyed LBP 1 & 2, both as a single & multiplayer platform experience but also the wonderous creations players came up with as DLC.👍Always a great shame they never got the ps4 remaster treatment.

Dreams was undoubtedly ambitious...just unfortunate that its included creations didn't really have the broader appeal of Little Big Planet's Sackboy & its platform action to accompany its creation tools.
Dreams sadly a bit more akin to something like the old C64 creation called SEUCK (Shoot-em-Up-Construction-Kit),by Sensible Software. Got some people started on games creation, but not necessarily a bigger wider general audience.

Mark also ironically had the occasional twitter video of what a C64 Little Big Planet demo might look like!🤓
Guess time will tell if MM's next project will have a more live service/mtx orientation to it.😕
Hopefully Mark Healy's creative talents are put to good use wherever they might go.

@sanderson72 Seems to vary dev to dev but a theme that seemed common was a significant cost increase going from 16bit to 32bit & bigger staff/production increases etc.

Some of the older devs have started popping up on twitter etc. Eg: Graftgold's Andrew Braybrook has a blog/twitter,& Steve Turner a site talking about the mixed luck they had with publishers going bust & losing their most valuable IP's.
Andrew Braybrook has actually mentioned their ps1 port of Rainbow Islands was based off the Amiga version in how it was collated & has pondered a full blooded A1200 version might’ve been able to feature similar enhanced backgrounds!

Youtuber Kim Justice has done some great videos on others like Sensible Software & the like too!
Regarding Chris Sorrell of James Pond/Robocod fame,I believe he did a comic of sorts to do with Medievil's re-release on ps4 (he was involved with both games on ps1). He apparently did try a kickstarter at one point to license James Pond & do a new game but sadly fell well short & it was cancelled.

Unfortunately IP rights seem all over the place. Codemasters apparently picked up Sensible's catalogue a few years ago,(no idea if that means they're EA's now!😕) Read on Push Square Rebellion has Bitmap Bros.,& lord knows with others...System 3 I think were involved as Publisher for the Robocod Switch port but they seem a shadow of their former selves these days.

That said,have seen on the retro circles retro systems like Evercade seem to have picked up re-releasing some for their cartridges. (Or the A500 mini)

@YorkieDevil Tend to stick to WinUAE these days, but some games definitely benefit from joystick control vs a modern gamepad!👍

@BeerIsAwesome One thing back in the Amiga era at least was most of those games mentioned you had the item as a power up or bonus etc.

Still have nightmares from my games retail days having leftover unwanted promotional cans of "V Energy" drink for PS3/360 era COD Modern Warfare where we had bucketloads of preorders.
Would drink some to stay awake for Midnight launches of COD & other big titles,struggle to get to sleep at 2am or so thereafter & then need a couple to try be awake for a 7.30/8am early pick-up the same morning!!🤪😱 Gimmie digital lucozade/chupa chumps any day!

@BeerIsAwesome Seem to vaguely recall Robocod on PS2 (& more recently ported to Switch),missing the Penguin collectables,(which I think was related to a UK biscuit brand or something)?🤔 Seem to recall puzzle game Pushover also used a chip brand too?

@Batesy125s Yep,some great ones on Amiga,(& indeed C64 further back),James Pond/Robocod, Fire & Ice,(or other Graftgold stuff like Paradroid 90 & the rock hard Uridium 2), Cannon Fodder, obviously we did see the Turrican Games get ported...Ruff'n'Tumble was a great platform blaster too! Still reckon Speedball 2 would be great fun so long as they didn't spoil it with mobile like graphics I'd seen of other ports of it,keep it to the classical style!👍

@rpawlos15133 Yep,loved its spiritual ties to the Ghosts'n'Goblins series,but had its own little touches...always remember the first skeleton soldier going "one,two,hup!",until you interrupted! 😂
Hard as granite,tag teamed with my old school buddy to try reduce some of the hair tearing moments....but was a blast!

Kept hoping it'd reach the PS2 Classics range on PS4,unfortunately with that emulation range seemingly not compatible on PS5, they've seemingly abandoned making any new/updated PS2 Classics on PS Deluxe/Premium which is a crying shame!

@LiamCroft Resident Evil Code Veronica X & the Dino Crisis games are worthy choices...though another long forgotten series would be Maximo Quest For Glory & Army of Zin..never got the closing chapter either with the devs moved on sadly!

Those Microsoft political "donations" are undoubtedly greasing palms much like the same way you keep seeing school massacres & no action for the same reasons.

Microsoft are drumming the "USA,USA!" flag to justify their buying up the 3rd party AAA studios, bankrolling Gamepass & indie timed exclusives (& let's not forget games like Octopath traveller never seeing light of day after an extended Gamepass stay),& want to buy up the Japanese publishers if they get half a chance.

They are exercising their Microsoft piggy bank to buy up existing AAA 3rd parties to remove sequels & new IP's from Sony platforms (Redfall etc.),spending billions whilst insisting their smaller sized opposition come up with in house alternatives!

But if they're not allowed to buy them up,then create the scare campaign they'll fall into foreign hands for the arms race they've very much initiated under "Gaming for all" Phil Spencer.🙄