Rudy_Manchego

@Ralizah I know... part of me is annoyed as I have been collecting... the other is going to do his Smaug the dragon impression by laying on all his Vita physical collection.

Though that would probably break them all. Hadn't thought that through.

@Ralizah They really have already. Some cart titles are already going for £25 plus for the most common games with many rarer going for upwards of £50.

@Balosi Exactly - I have been quietly collecting physical games for some time now where I can find them cheap but a lot of the best games are not available in the west.

Plus the price and unreliability of the bespoke memory cards mean I can't just download all my games locally.

This is very disappointing for me as an active Vita users. I want them to confirm if a) my already purchased titles will still exist, b) will trophy info still sync and c) will physical titles still have patches available for download?

I'll probably jump on the Occulus Quest 2 first and then see what if offers, just coz I really want to go wireless but these are nice looking controllers and the haptic element will be really important.

Looking forward to more details!

@Col_McCafferty I fully agree and there are some titles that are almost evergreen too. BOTW, Hollow Knight, Skyrim, any From Soft game all have loyal communities and still get good views etc. I think more should be done to reflect on great past games and review the history. Retro gaming has never been more popular.

@Jaz007 I completely agree that any abuse in the workplace should be reported equally. I just wouldn't state that because these aren't reported for all studios that any studio should get off the hook.

Techland should defo address these allegations. This video is just weird as it rails on tweets from internet nutters, states it will launch this year then promotes the game.

With regards to ND, Ubisoft, Rockstar etc., I find it baffling that almost all media outlets will happily post the most minor of updates and hype for games yet NOT mention industry abuse at the same time. I think there is room in the media for both. Their products are good but that shouldn't give a free pass.

Well I personally don't understand a lot of the comments. As fans of the industry, should we not be expecting that serious allegations are dealt with and opened? Why should I be hyped for a game that may (or may not) be borne of a toxic workplace? Everything is always not the time or the place. I guess what people are saying is yeah that's bad, as long as I get a game that I'd quite like to play.

I get that a promo video isnt the place but this is a weird juxtaposition of the two. Addressing that the game has suffered some development issues, bemoaning mean tweeters, then promoting the game.

I will sometimes finish a game then pick it up and play straight afterwards (TLOU, Hollow Knight and lots more). Sometimes games are made to be replayed in a lot of ways. Sometimes it is nostalgia. I loved going back to Gun last year on the 360 and I replay Super Metroid yearly on different platforms.

It is the same with films. I'll happily rewatch a film several times. Often there are different things to appreciate.

I think the media (no offense) and FOMO culture is what makes it seem weird. We have to be on the new big thing all the time and don't necessarily appreciate what laid the path before it.

That said, I'm weird. I don't see the appeal of MP games that people put thousands of hours into. Give me a bit of SMB3 any time.

I am playing at the moment and gosh darn is this a long game. Still I might as well redeem since it's 'free'. To be honest, I've found you can ignore almost all these kind of premium things.

I played it end to end and got the Plat, though I am weird like that. It's a great game, bogged down slightly with some bloating in terms of collectibles and a narrative that I thought conflicted with gameplay choices but I can see why so many have completed it.

I also wonder, judging by comments, that a trophy system that rewards playing all aspects of the game rather than silly challenges or multiple run throughs helps player engagement?

It's sort of a shame - though I only ever interacted to checked the Push Square community and even then not regularly... so it is easy to see why it is going!

I guess - I mean you could argue that PS5 is doing strongly out of the gate BECAUSE they have been more mysterious, given that Xbox were far more forthcoming.

There is a content issue coming for Sony. So many companies are buying out smaller devs, not just MS but Epic, THQ etc. There is only a certain sized pool of established developers out there. It means that competition for dev studios is going to hot up. Sony are smart in expanding their existing studios to increase output. We can see that with Guerilla and Insomniac. Still, MS have the money to pump into their Gamepass service.

It's an interesting generation and I look forward to what happens.

@Flaming_Kaiser Ha ha - very true! Plus has real world value if you DO win.

@Robinsad I guess but to me (and I'll admit I'm not an expert), that your point of spending a whole grand is no guarantee of ever getting one of these is the key bit. I could spend a grand on lottery tickets and not win a jackpot.The artificial scarcity is to get people to spend more to try and win it.

@Kidfried This is possibly the best way I have seen the truth laid out about this whole thing. It's what I see every day and feel so down that more don't see it.

I try not to comment on too many incendiary topics but I feel passionately about this. If people are able to profit by black marketing (either by being an insider or just trading in general outside of the game), this completely closes down the argument that FUT is not a form of gambling and a blight on the landscape of gaming.

@Th3solution Completely - they are really throwing themselves into this and pulling out all the stops. At the same time, they can afford to. Xbox as a brand is generating a lot of revenue still so it's not like Stadia that is bringing in close to zilch for Google while costing lots.

I'm in two minds. MS are either geniuses, who are going to pioneer a new age of gaming software as a service, making their subscription service almost device agnostic, completing rewriting the rules on video games. Or they are going to push something that doesn't really click with consumers and they start to bleed too much cash. It is clear to me that Microsoft want to emulate their success in Azure and Office 365, which is less about buying a product and subscribing. Whether the industry is ready for it... well, that's another matter.

@PossibLeigh Ha ha - oh yeah. New film idea... THERE WILL BE SALT!

@Th3solution Oh you are totally right in the money stakes. Is Gamepass a sustainable model? Who knows? Right now, no but if you look at the Netflix model it makes more sense.

Netflix was and is slightly continuing, to spend money as fast as they get it to attract people to the service. The profits there in 2020 were quite low.

If you see Gamepass as an investment then I think it does make sense. Microsoft are going to be at a point where their Gamepass service can be run via browsers and via the cloud. Imagine a service, like stadia, where you can game on console, on PC, on your phone or even smart devices like TV's. Now imagine that they have must have intellectual properties like Elder Scrolls, Doom etc and the way to play is via that service. It's like Netflix having Stranger Things or whatever that weird period drama is about.

It's a big if but I'd see buying up studios and IP's as a big part of that strategy.

@PossibLeigh That may be the case - who knows? However, to be honest, historically, gamer outrage doesn't go very far. If someone really wants the product, they'll moan but there have been very very few successful boycotts of games. Also not forgetting that many passionate Bethesda fans are also PC gamers which this won't really affect, other than the launcher they have to use.

I mean, Battlefront 2 is probably the biggest gamer outrage of the last few years and it sold under expectation but still sold 9 million copies in the first 3 months of release despite all the hoo ha.

I can see gamers being up in arms at ES going exclusive, then it will launch, everyone will report on it and it will get lots of attention and subscriptions.

@sanderson72 I would very much expect so since for online service games, you really need as many people playing as possible to make it financially viable.

If a platform holder buys a large brand with large tentpole franchises, it really does make little sense to launch them on rival platforms. Microsoft's aims have always been to get more and more people to buy into their services, not necessarily buy an Xbox over a PS5. Could we see some titles come to Playstation? Absolutely. Particularly if they are already long in development.

However, I think those games will be ones where player base matters. You'll see Elder Scrolls Online or Fallout 76 remain multiplat as well as expansions for those games.

Personally, I think Starfield or Elder Scrolls will be exclusives. If the only way to play those was via PC or Xbox, regardless of what people say, they'll sign up to Gamepass to play it in droves.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I am playing AC:Valhalla and that game is just too large and content spread out too think. I find most of my time just travelling between objectives. I don't get a chance to learn about the area or recognise landmarks because I get through missions then move on to the next huge area.

Which is a shame because the worlds are so so beautiful and I see no reason why the same amount of story couldn't have been packed into a smaller world.

I think a way a lot of open worlds deal with story progression is to move the story into new areas of the map since it can be difficult to forge big story moments into areas you have already existed but that is more to do with creativity than anything else.

I have a pair of these and they do the job. They look nice and work well enough for in game chat on Co-op. I tend to not use them on games unless the other half is doing something. Battery life is OK but a couple of gaming sessions is enough to drain them enough that I have to recharge to make sure they don't cut out.

They are not as comfortable as my Steel Series Arctis 7 which was also PS4 compatible and that has far better build quality but then you are paying an extra £50 on top.

Truthfully, this means I probably won't pick up the game at launch. It looks like a great game, I want to support new titles for the PS5 but that price point is just too high.

I can't see what I'm getting for the extra £20 (or more). If I wait several months, I could get this and probably another title for the same price, such as the deep sales most games get given.

It is a real shame because the game deserves some serious attention.

@Gaia093 I can really identify with this. I have had fun in local coop but that is more of a special occasion and being with someone (pre-covid obvs).

I have tried playing online coop and it is fun but it doesn't seem to sustain itself. A close friend who I do a podcast tried playing games like A Way Out and they just fizzled out. We are trying Borderlands 2 with another friend, as well as Star Wars Squadrons and they are fun but for me, I think what I enjoy from gaming I get more from solo play.

@Deanster101 This is the top casting choice of the decade.

This actor was also recently in His Dark Materials Season 2 and i have seen her in The Worst Witch (my daughter watches it, honest) and haven't been that impressed. Particularly with the need for a good american accent. However, I'll wait to see the finished product before I actually have a strong opinion.

Works pretty well so far. Only put about 100 hours into the console though so not exactly a heavy user.

Probably some more indulgent animations for Quiet around the helicopter.

This is amazing... and you say unplayable? I say this is how I played Tomb Raider 2 on my old PC back in the 90's.

@LTPenguin I played this on PC and it was my first isometric RPG and I got on fine with it. It takes a little getting used to the mechanics but largely, any progress is your progress based upon how you react to dialogue and events.

@LordSteev Ha ha don't worry, I read it all! You are spot on with armour sets. I ended up getting what I got in the game and then just upgrading those. In Skyrim (great example), I would do whole quests to get a sword that set people on fire. Then do another quest to get another SLIGHTLY better sword. I ignored all of that in AD:Odyssey because it was never as good as what I could have bought.

@themightyant I feel your pain. I have Hades and I can see it is a truly excellent game yet, after yet another run and failure, I feel like my evening was spent getting nowhere.

It's tough to work out how to feel about games like Genshin. They are quality but they thrive on constant engagement. I'd say if you like it and are enjoying it, enjoy and just be aware of the more predatory aspects.

@themightyant I've really loved the aesthetic of Genshin but I don't really play those games because I struggle with open ended games. I have a strange OCD that I want games to have an end - be it a tournament or story or something. I struggle with some roguelikes because I don't feel I am making progress.

That said, I think the F2P model can yield really good games and I've heard a lot of people really praise Genshin as being a really fun game. I think the issue is the predatory industry and monetization around it to make a select few get the FOMO and spend more than they should.

@themightyant Free to play games are an interesting point and I do agree. I know that there are some great models that have worked well. Also, in F2P games, grind is often the main model. I know that a lot of people sing the praises of Warframe for making you want to support the devs rather than pay for basic features. I also agree though, that these games mtx's target those who are susceptible.

@Jimmer-jammer Thanks for the thoughtful response and you make a really valid point. I mean, in perspective, I put 80 hours into AC Odyssey, even with the monetization and enjoyed the game (having spent nothing additional on it). It is just that it felt jarring in game that this was a really good 40 hour game, stretched into a longer 80-100 hour experience for no reason other than to encourage engagement.

When I compare to the excellent Ghost of Tshusima, which had many elements, by playing and exploring you got all the content, cosmetics etc. whereas you can't get that in the AC game without paying or grinding excessively.

I guess they don't make the games bad, per se, but I think they are affecting game design which is detrimental to the end product.

Still it is complicated and as said, I've played games to the end that had these in so maybe I am part of the problem!!

@Jimmer-jammer It's an interesting point and I don't know which games you play so would hate to make a generalisation but the games we are playing are affected by micro-transactions, even if we don't actually buy them.

Let's take the last two AC games (possibly 3, I haven't played Origins). Fine games, well made. The main complaint from gamers is the grind and the amount of padding in the game. Fair comment. Then you consider there are literally paid options to skip this grind and you can see that time and money was spent to create grind to generate a need for SOME to pay their way out of it.

I remember Far Cry 5 and there was a particular weapon I wanted because it fit my player style and I think it would have taken me many hours to get the resources to get it OR just buy it for a few £'s. That isn't accidental. That's by design. In Far Cry 3, I got a similar scaled weapon by just playing through the story.

My last comment would also be that if you aren't affected by micro transacitons then you aren't the target market. They are designed to go for the players that are susceptible to this. Fortnite is a great example. Free game that gives playes peer pressure amongst the community to spend more time and money to look better or engage more.

I can't get it work despite knowing that I have met all the criteria and having done it in separate years.

Headline figure - you played an AWFUL lot of Bloodborne, Ghost of Tsushima and Hollow Knight in 2020.

@deathaxe Very true... though Google Pharma will probably last 1-2 years before being axed and leaving patients without medicine!

I still maintain that Stadia was a good product, launched and maintained poorly. This will only limit the confidence in the product further, meaning its end is more inevitable.

Amazon Luna, on the other hand, if bundled with a better games model and launch, possibly tied to Prime has a far better chance to succeed.

@polljord Forgive me for saying but I'm not sure of the link between the two? I mean I agree that the handling of Covid is a disaster but I don't think anyone is saying that getting a PS5 is as big an issue or deserves a bigger outcry than Covid 19. I mean, an MP bringing this up is just daily government business that hasn't stopped because of Covid. It is just being reported and discussed by gamers because it is part of the hobby. There are huge injustices in the world that dwarf any consumer rights issues but (most) people are capable of being interested in one more point and sensing scale. By the same logic, climate change is going to risk far more lives than Covid over the next few decades so we shouldn't be making a fuss about Covid when we have that to deal with?

@deathaxe All very true - it's a shame and a lottery about what gets brought forward.

I mean we have consumer protection laws and this is a consumer protection issue when all is said and done. Essentially a consumer does not have an equal opportunity buy a product as someone that uses software to drive up demand by ensuring product unavailability.

Good news that this is taken seriously and I mean that genuinely.

I just received this in my emails today. NO idea what it is but YOINK.

Well two things at play - the real impact of the pandemic is now being felt as the disruption of the last year has really settled in, and the Cyberpunk fallout.

No one in the immediate future is going to launch a faulty game unless they really really have no choice.

A shame but... you know, I would rather people stay safe and do the best work possible. There are still lots of great titles coming this year and I have a backlog bigger than an elephants... trunk.

Well I quite liked Star Wars Squadrons...

@deathaxe No they don't - Activision lost the game rights in 2014 I believe so they reverted to Marvel and Sony did a deal with Disney as part of the MCU movie rights to get a first party game out.

Disney have no problem licensing out exclusives - as others have said, there are several Disney games exclusive to certain platforms, such as the Marvel game that came out a year or so ago to Switch.

The point is that Disney don't really care - they get paid for the rights regardless of single or multi-plat.

@deathaxe Except Spiderman PS4 and Miles Morales - Sony don't own the game rights to the character, they are still licensed by Disney.

@get2sammyb One would hope not... it isn't really a seal of quality.

I suspect exclusive. Unless keeping it multi-plat was part of the licensing deal and Disney have no issue with content being platform exclusive.

I am happy with my PS5 purchase. I've played through Spiderman Miles Morales and The Pathless, and have AC: Valhalla (gifted to me) and Demon's Souls to play as well as all my previous purchases to get through.

I also moved my PS4 up into my work office so play that when the TV is in use (playing Hollow Knight on it at the moment).

@SwitchVogel This is 100% my issue with them. They turn games a little into to do lists and are designed to get you coming back, whether you fee like you want to or not.