RoomWithaMoose

As someone that's been invested since the new VCS was announced, I'm proud of Atari.

At the same time, getting increasingly weary of acquisitions... Hopefully they aren't overspending. At least everyone they've bought was undoubtedly cheap.

@ThePlaystationStan I agree that the PS5 is a better console — almost entirely because most modern Xbox games are on it. But the Series are still pretty good consoles, all considered.

Heck, even in regards to the exclusives thing, a lot of people here don't appreciate the decently large collection of backwards compatible games on Series/One you can't get on PlayStation. Including many Xbox exclusives throughout history that remain exclusive.

@Mr-Cage They all did what they were told: made cheaper games to fill out GamePass Day 1. It's much more a failure on management to make GamePass profitable than the developers for making quality — if mostly unremarkable — games.

I think that most developers only made a couple games under Microsoft says it all.

@ThePlaystationStan You know, I don't really see how Microsoft's continuous failures would affect the end-consumer. The Series still gets games, Xbox still puts out a ton of games (not for long...), GamePass remains a pretty good service for the customer, and the hardware has never not been capable.

It's no Wii U or Dreamcast — and those have a bunch of fans despite having libraries that pale in comparison to the Series. Really, the only reason to bemoan owning an Xbox is if you engage in fanboy wars. Otherwise, it's a perfectly fine console to be on, and barely a different experience from the PS5 outside of some missing support.

@Flaming_Kaiser I didn't call myself nuttin' nor beg for any port.

Makes you realize how stupid all the acquisitions were in the first place. Bought them all just to close them before most could really produce anything and came out of it with less money and less respect.

@Bot_Bot_69 ...Seems kinda telling that neither responded to you with clear examples of AI's positive effects on individuals.

If we didn't live in a global capitalism where the rich profit off us working ourselves to death, advanced automation from AI (or the LLM simulacrum of artificial intelligence we currently have — @NerdyPaul) might almost be worth the unregulated environmental strain. But we don't have that...

No company pushing AI is doing so to revolutionize the labor-exchange to workers' benefit. They're doing it to pay people less to get equatable products. In the realm of art, that translates to foregoing intent for more rapid, vapid content. Which I guess could be interpreted as a good thing, if you ask the right consumer.

To anyone saying Sony should swoop in and buy 'em: First off, no. Second off, you're really underestimating how badly Bungie and the compute crisis are going to hit them. They're not really in a position to buy anyone anymore.

@Jett I am not apart of the Master Race and have no interest in fighting their fanboy battles.

However, the argument that many PC players wouldn't be able to play GTAVI at 60fps seems entirely irrelevant to the comparison. Like, a PC fanboy wouldn't give any amount of s***s. And it feels INCREDIBLY unlikely a PC port is more than 2 years away — likely more like 1. This isn't the 360 era anymore; T2 would be throwing money away if they got cute with console exclusivity.

@AI-Generation I always thought 30fps was perfectly fine. 60fps is notably better, but I wouldn't call it essential. Frame pacing is really what kills it for me.

120fps always seemed pointless and unnecessary, though. Again, it is better than 60fps — marginally. But has never made enough of a difference for me to care.

@get2sammyb That matters not to PC Master Race.

Either through emulation or an official release, they'll hoot and holler incessantly about how they have the real version of GTAIV, and yadda yadda — something about consoles sucking.

Give PC Master Race a year and they'll be ALL over this.

@johnedwin Prices will go up regardless of when they release it. The question is whether or not it's worth releasing at all, not so much when.

The only way kinda around increasing prices is to front load manufacturing so you have a heavy stock built at lower prices. But, from the sounds of it, it's already too late to do that. So unless Sony already built that stock...they really don't have a good option.

@DanteDevilHunter Yeah...

Doesn't mean Xbox didn't popularize it.

@GamingGod Yeah, but practically no one gave a s*** about PS2 online play. I only even remember them advertising it with Deadlock and SOCCOM.

SEGA implemented it before either of them, but Xbox undisputably popularized it in the console space.

@ShadowRJ And Xbox Live basically beat PSN to the punch by, like, 5 years.

Xbox was pretty much the defacto place for online multiplayer for nearly a decade.

Don't really see the connection to that junk GTA data. I mean, tangentially, sure. But this data doesn't really prove the other data, and vice versa.

Surely what this would support is the idea that cannibalizing your single-player resources to make a bunch of live-service multiplayer games is stupid, right?

So, wait, this is based exclusively on IGNdeals' affiliate link clicks after 1 week of pre-orders? That tells us literally f***ing nothing.

At most, we can assume this ratio is representative of an inclination towards PS5 over Xbox Series. Except we can already assume that based on install bases. But there's way too many variables at play here to assume that specific ratio is accurate in any way, nor that it will continue being just as accurate as time goes on. It's junk data from a nebulous population over a miniscule amount of time.

@AhmadSumadi I think most people who buy $1000+ phones get them on a payment plan, with an overpriced network plan, or with a trade-in deal. And I'm not super certain they make up a big enough portion of consumers for said phones to be seen as anything other than luxury products.

Which is to say, the markets are very different, and the seeming success of expensive phones doesn't mean video game consoles can charge similar prices and expect to sell.

Seems like a lot of commenters aren't reading that it takes nearly $1000 JUST to put the d*** thing together. We're not looking at an $800 release when sold at a loss. Adding up all the other expenses in producing and shipping a console, even hitting $1000 with subsidies is probably practically impossible.

Y'all really need to grasp that the Steam Machine, with comparable output to a base PS5, costs $1050 when sold at a presumable profit. If the PS6 is significantly stronger, subsidies and whatever special manufacturing deals Sony can pull out of its a** aren't going to save that price tag.

EDIT: Also, everyone in the know are saying component prices are going to double by the end of next year. If it costs $1000 to assemble now, we're probably looking at a $1400 minimum by then. Maybe they can stock up now, but that could just lead to a s***ton of product already too expensive to produce.

@AI-Generation Too much hype. It'll get 10s galore from journalists just for a bunch of video essatists to release videos throughout next year calling its praise into question.

Whether it's good or not will depend on how tired one is of R*'s formula. If GTAV and/or Red Dead 2 are what you consider the best games of all time, you'll love it. If you think games like Breath of the Wild or Ghosts of Tsushima ran circles about R*'s efforts, I doubt VI will do much of anything to convince you it deserves its generational status.

No, but it is stupid.

@Oram77 Well yeah, no game is a guaranteed success. That's exactly the point.

Making a GaaS doesn't guarantee revenue anymore than making a single-player game does. So why scramble to heavily invest in the fad that's already come and gone? No one's gonna be making Fortnite money, so why try so hard to compete with it. There's no sense to it.

EDIT: This accidentally kinda works as a response to the Astro thing, too. So...there ya go.

I literally do not get how fans are still justifying Sony's live-service push.

Every time I bemoan the lack of PaRappa:
"PlayStation already tried that, it didn't work and they should never try again."

The live-service push proves time and time again to be a fool's errand rife with failures:
"I mean, it made sense that they tried. And they should keep trying, because Fortnite makes a lot of money."

I just don't get this fanbase half the time...

@Oram77 But why prioritize that specific type of game when their biggest success in the space is about as profitable as any of their top-selling titles? Why even care about the space when efforts therein have made nothing close to Fortnite money?

There's no sense to it. If they want to make a live-service game — whatever. But it should never compromise their usual output again, nor should they expect anything close to the top dogs.

@Oram77 The live-service graveyards are brimming with quality games.

Also, is Helldivers 2 Sony's most profitable game of all time? Because, if it isn't, I don't see how that's justification to keep compromising their software lineup to chase the dragon.

While I think releasing a standalone, affordable Switch-like ASAP to tide the market over until a competitively priced PS6 can happen is PlayStation's best option, I can't help but feel like any such device would be DoA.

I mean, what can Sony do to pull people away from the Switch? What can they offer that the Switch hasn't been offering for almost a decade? Sure, PlayStation faithful would probably buy it, but would the mass market care when they can already get a device with the same utility that has Mario Kart and Pokemon? I'm just not sure. But it sounds like a DS vs. PSP situation again.

It's like, Nintendo is already so dominant over that subsect of gaming that you can't just jump into it and match them. It's the same problem Xbox has trying to keep up with PlayStation's high-end home console dominance.

@wildcat_kickz Hmm, makes me wonder if we're going to have to suffer through 'is GTAVI woke?!' discourse here in the States.

I had to read that headline 4 times before I could comprehend the title.

On one hand: Who cares?

On the other: The only reason for this I can imagine is trying to discourage game hoarding by requiring a higher level of engagement to redeem them all. So kinda anti-consumer.

That's what I've been saying!

An enthusiast console for enthusiasts and no one else. Those Valve fans thinking this was going to disrupt the console space never had a clue.

This doesn't bode well for Helix or PS6, though. Here's how much it cost to make money off a PS5-level console in 2026. Even with Microsoft/Sony selling at a loss, I can't imagine a console significantly more powerful than a PS6 would be any less. And any console that price is DOA as far as mass audiences are concerned.

@GamingGod But no one's playing those games. So it doesn't make sense to position them as representative of the tastes of PC gamers.

I mean, as said in the article, they never really stopped providing annual single-player experiences. The wording does imply less of an emphasis on live-service, but what it's saying is exactly what they've been doing this whole time. So not necessarily indicative of much change in strategy.

Still, the problem was never a complete lack of single-player games. It was the type, cadence, and budgets of them. Not really much lately to indicate any changes therein.

Big thing here is the implication that they're canceling promotional plans. That's really what I expected to save sales numbers. Sounds like sales are just going to slow to a crawl, and Sony fully anticipates this and is okay with it. We'll see how exactly they plan on milking current owners — really can only imagine PS+ price increases and making Premium more compelling.

This would give more opportunity for the S2 to overtake markets. That's if Nintendo keeps it at a reasonable price, though; obviously they're struggling with component costs just the same. Maybe just all of gaming is about to implode.

@GamingGod There's not much reason to provide the context of a school shooting for your game if not for the narrative potential. Or is this some morbid multiplayer game you're referring to?

Having a Steam Deck doesn't prove anything. Anyone can go on Steam right now and browse the most popular games. You didn't have to engage with all the worthless titles released on the marketplace, and they're not at all indicative of what PC gamers generally like.

@GamingGod PC gamers like hardcore multiplayer and gooning infinitely more than whatever you're talking about.

In fact, hiding from school shooters sounds like it would specifically be in a narrative-driven game.

I don't think these ports negatively affected hardware sales, and past statements had implied it was essentially free money.

Pretty sure this is just because of Helix. Either that, or there's been infighting about the whole initiative this entire time and something finally gave.

Otherwise, the solution to greater revenue is better ports and support.

Mario Kart World has sold pretty darn well at $80 and I'm sure T2 noticed. Likewise sure they feel more confident in GTA's prospects than MK.

Obviously not gonna be cheaper than $70. I don't think they want to rock the boat much, though. So $80.

@PloverNutter Yeah, but I wouldn't count on it lasting very long. Would definitely try it if I got it on PS+, but I wouldn't buy it at this point.

@Krlozgod The person another site would've paid for the translation...?

Ya kinda answered your own question, there. This is evidence that you can use AI to complete the job for free, so why would anyone hire a translator unless for moral standards?

@KawakiisaFraud Kinda feel, in both cases, it's just empty corporate talk for, "we ain't promising s*** either way."

The difference is PlayStation can have a consistent strategy, while Xbox is flailing about ready to change course at the drop of a hat.

Sounds fun. Never played it. I guess never will.

Random thing about this is Velan is also developing the new Star Fox remake.

If that's more successful than this, will that definitively convince people making a bunch of online multiplayer games was conceptually always a bad idea and Sony had more opportunity in reviving long dead IP?

Honestly, I think Sony just needs to cancel the current iteration of the PS6.

They can still try that handheld Switch competitor (even though I think it, fundamentally, can't touch the Switch) or, even better, a new PS5 model designed to be as cheap as possible. But launching a PS6 North of $800 with zero to no exclusives is going to shoot them in the foot for probably the entire generation. Sunk cost fallacy isn't worth it.

Better to ride out the 5 as long as possible. The only reason I don't think the PS5 can remain a viable product for another 5 years is its current price. Fix that and I'm sure they'll be fine. Unless Xbox gets their s*** together magically. But the Helix is in a worse spot than the PS6, so I wouldn't be worried about that.

And, like I've said in the past, if Sony can't figure out new hardware with mass appeal or how to keep the PS5 viable, I truly believe the Switch 2 will overtake charts in most territories. Unless Nintendo f***s something up, which is always possible.

@get2sammyb I dunno, maybe that's all Sony will see. But I think there's a lot of reasons Sons seemingly didn't resonate (like it being an average game) that should be considered when thinking about doing a similar project in the future.

Also, 100k sounds like a modest success for what was presumably a very cheap game with no marketing budget. I doubt Cadence of Hyrule — the best comparison I can think of — sold much better.

@PuppetMaster Markets aren't static. And PlayStation losing its grip on the Japanese market is neither set in stone nor beyond their control.

Dunno why you pseudo-realists think making Uncharted, The Last of Us, and Zero Dawn ad nauseum is the only logical future for PlayStation and will continue being financially viable for decades to come. Sounds to me a lot like what destroyed Ubisoft... At least PlayStation's games are better; we'll see how far that gets them.

EDIT: It's also weird you're putting so much faith in the decision making of a company you consistently criticize whenever there's a layoff or closure.

Can't wait to not pre-order it because I don't care about the game.

Yes, I'm a special butterfly and I need you all to know that.

@get2sammyb My plan entails a decade-long, multi game effort to revitalize the franchise.

Not exactly easy. Simple, is more apt.

EDIT: And while I would love for Sony to do this with a bunch of their old franchises, probably the only two worth the effort are PaRappa and Ape Escape. Maybe Boku, just because it feels like a cozy Japanese nostalgia game would've been more successful in the last 5 years than ever before. All 3 of which could be a boon in Japan, which is a market worth appealing to.

@PuppetMaster Make a cheap PaRappa game that appeals to Japanese children, all of which own a Switch, to make the IP a household name. Once that demo is older, a bigger PaRappa game can be made into a system seller.

Don't see the issue there.

@PuppetMaster They should try harder.

Make a new game that appeals to modern sensibilities and explicitly capitalizes on the enduring legacy of the IP. Hell, put it on Switch if they have to; even if it doesn't sell PS5s, they can at least do everything in their power to strengthen the IP into something that eventually can be a system seller.