Comments 831

Re: Immortals of Aveum Cost $125 Million, Branded a 'Truly Awful Idea'

Stragen8

Price and the fact that it has 'coming to PS+ in a year or two' written all over it didn't help.

Thats why I didn't buy it and I'm sure many others! We've been trained to wait to purchase games because they'll be dirt cheap or on a subscription service soon enough! Unless it's an established IP or we don't want spoilers.

Plus we have waaaaay to many games freely available for the little time we have that it's hard to justify

Re: Naoki Yoshida Thinks New Blood Is Needed to Direct Final Fantasy 17

Stragen8

I wonder how many new fans the games are picking up along the way.

I've been a gamer since PS2 era but never got into FF. While the combat change is aimed at gamers like myself, I couldn't get past the 10 hour mark in FF15, forced myself thru 7 remake, and couldn't stand the demo of 16, even tho I thought I'd love it, it just didn't feel as slick as other hack and slash games.

I can't help but wonder if they need to shake the franchise up more if they want sales to get higher - or maybe scale back expectations for the games and focus on what the fans want versus chasing what may attract new gamers.

Re: Here's Why Sony Is Making Big Moves in the Mobile Games Sector

Stragen8

I'm all for this push. Build new smartphone focused studios! This will have very little impact on PS5 titles, but could help bolster Sonys checkbook to continue to push amazing creative single player games instead of chasing live service crap.

Also I cant believe Monopoly Go is on there. It's not even a game. Push a button and watch a piece go around a board randomly while you buy more spins. Awful awful game.

Re: GTA 6 Trailer Out Now, 2025 Release Window Revealed

Stragen8

I'm not a GTA fan, but somehow this just shot to the top of my gaming wish list. I want to be on of those 'Florida Mans'

Although it's crazy how GTA doesn't even need to parody the real world today...that crap happens every day...America has morphed into the joke of itself.

Re: Microsoft Still Wants to Put Xbox Game Pass on PS5, PS4

Stragen8

I'd buy GP on PlayStation in a heartbeat.

I really hope Xbox doesn't exit the console race. We see how lazy Sony is when they're ahead. The latter half of the PS3 when Sony was trying to stand out and catch up the 360 was their best years. And it paid off cause in the end they overtook the 360.

Although it looks like in a console generation from now Xbox may be the next Stadia with online only and on every device thru the cloud

Re: Talking Point: Is Bungie Really the Right Developer to Aid Sony's Live-Service Push?

Stragen8

A lot of their practices are very predatory - but isn't that almost all GaaS type games? They all use FOMO or other tactics to engage players just like Destiny.

I think what Bungie has nailed, is knowing how to engage players for years, and they have massive data on what works and what doesn't. And for the most part, even with all the negativity over the years (almost every expansion....) They still have managed to engage a HUGE number of players for 7 years and kept a studio of 1000 people financed through it.

The issue is in the fact that D2 has failed to innovate enough over time, and resources clearly spread out other places. It's a fantastic game to play, the gunplay is phenomenal. But after 7 years you're going to start to get burnt out if it's not innovating enough. Bungie should have leaned more into the MMO aspects of the game (which they've moved away from dramatically) and spaced out larger sized expansions and big overhauls versus repetitive seasons. But again, it's all good data for Sonys other games.

Re: As Long as Yoko Taro Lives, the NieR Series Will Continue

Stragen8

This is his 3rd or so Mobile game since Automata launched. So frustrating he keeps working on annoying gacha games instead of console experiences after the massive success of Automata.

I tried his previous gacha game when it released in the states SinOAlice or whatever....it was neat for like a week.

Re: Remedy Ditches Free-to-Play Model for Upcoming Multiplayer Game

Stragen8

I have mixed feelings on this. If they can revamp it to feel like a quality game that can be enjoyed both offline and online then I'm all for it!

However, if it's a multiplayer only game still, I don't see it making a dent when the market is flooded with F2P multiplayer games or premium games with established IPs. Games like Exoprimal etc have generally seemed to fail to catch on when they require an upfront investment for something that's online multiplayer only.

Re: AI Could Make Grand Theft Auto NPCs 'Really Interesting and Fun', Says Take-Two CEO

Stragen8

I would love to see how AI could be integrated with RPGs games like Elder Scrolls/Fallout.

I totally understand the issues surrounding AI and jobs, but if integrated correctly I really could see it bringing a new dimension to games. Graphics are no longer a leap between generations, but these are the types of gameplay advances that can really make games feel deeper and 'next gen'

Re: Poll: Do You Think GTA 6 Will Release on PS4?

Stragen8

I hope not. 5 was fantastic but is so held back by releasing on PS3, I really hope they learned and will make this current gen only, we know it'll get insane support for the next decade, I hope that support can take advantage of current power.

Re: Destiny 2 Fans Demand Refunds for Next DLC After Bungie Layoffs

Stragen8

'company laid off employees because they're not making enough money, so let's cancel preorders and show them!'. How does that not just compound the problem to laying off more people. This isn't a small indie dev, they don't care about anything but $$. Gaming landscape has changed. All these companies care about is maximizing profits. Micro transactions and dlc of PS3 era have become 20$ skins and drip fed crumbles of content.

The fact that they relied on a 2017 game to fund 1100 employees and development of 3 games is mind boggling. Especially when said quality of releases is not good.

Re: PS5 Live-Service Game Marathon Has Reportedly Been Delayed to 2025

Stragen8

Revisiting the PS3 made me realize how many games/genres Sony was pushing in those days. Especially on the publishing end.

They really need to step up their Indie/publishing smaller titles. Investing tons of money into these live service failures is not helping them. I get it, from a business perspective they need to chase trends, but man I miss the days of random games like Fat Princess.