SuntannedDuck2

@JDINCINERATOR Agreed other then God of War, GT or Ratchet the rest are all PS4 related IPs or 2016+, they won't support Killzone or Infamous which I think is sad.

Infamous has more of a chance while a Killzone and others don't have the same impact they did in the past.

I get selling characters, and whatever worlds but yeah. The PS3 and under IPs for sure have characters/settings and gameplay they don't care about as much to try and sell to people.

Unless things like Twisted Metal that are just so out guesses, but it's a tv show so they won't bother with more vehicular combat or any type of cage match/other crazy angle games I assume (even if Destruction Allstars could have been that then the Fornite audience angle they went for that was super pointless and stupid).

I mean I thought Gas Guzzlers and others are fair for that sort of thing.

Uncharted I think works not just because of the 4th/Lost Legacy PS4 ones (where is the 1st to 3rd game, Golden Abyss not surprised they wouldn't be interested in touching it) but just in general, having something as 'light hearted' or adventure movie like their own Indiy/Tomb Raider (Activision won't with Pitfall for whatever reason they don't care to compete with that). compared to their other IPs.

I mean while Infamous you can see as more then a Fallout compared to Outer Worlds (Fallout the big title, Outer Worlds not as much but similar style, Marvel or any other IPs as the bigger ones, Infamous to compare, whether we comparing super hero angle or otherwise here, hopefully that makes sense), they could rework it or bring characters back in some way. Other games do bring characters back, try new ones, etc. Or age them up and work out a scenario for them.

I mean Sucker Punch keeps making new characters then just the 1 you follow through each era like the other Sony IPs.

I mean they could rework other IPs to be about the same family message/dark themes and what not, will audiences be happy, maybe not, but I mean they still could try to.

The other PS1 to PS3/PSP/Vita IPs I think can work but I see why they wouldn't care to.

Even Syphon Filter competing with Splintercell or Metal Gear, would Sony care about that? I doubt it.

I doubt Sackboy will get another, does Sony even care, will Astrobot take that place?

They care about teen/adult IPs and that's obvious, the rest are whatever 3rd party kids IPs that make deals and the niche stuff if they care to still offer more to Bandai Namco I guess if they do well.

Yeah that is interesting, where is the Uncharted 1 to 3 remake? Should have had Bluepoint work on that. Or someone else.

Still what big IPs will they stick to? God of War and Gran Turismo sure, Uncharted you'd assume, Last of Us, Horizon, Ghost is just there I assume as it doesn't have 1 set character, Sucker Punch hasn't had that since the Sly games consistent characters across all 2 to 3 games (Infamous got Cole for 2/Festival of Blood or whatever went on there, and PS4 era ones had 2 separate characters).

Multiplayer other ones.

it's more then just Ubisoft pushing Assassin's Creed so much and Far Cry/other hanging on there.

Thing is what's the point, we getting to the point all these companies are just having 4 IPs they rely on, build up others with multiplayer and go for the COD/Activision format? Well that's boring.

Not to mention all of us not interested go elsewhere.

I liked Ubisoft still offering their niche titles, it gave me something to want to buy from them. Now none of these 3rd parties offer anything and 1st parties aren't doing ity for me besides Nintendo's niche games.

I mean EA offering My Sims was nice (accounts are the reason why, if i can't network off line with them like I skipped Fenix Rising/Lost Crown and Beyond Good and Evil 1 remaster, I think i have an EA account but I have no interest in using it, haven't for years) and they still have the Indie program but that's about it.

That aside whatever recent IPs, whatever older few they carried over into PS4 (I doubt Infamous or Killzone, I care about them but Sony doesn't or doesn't have enough interest to spin up a character or a group of them or whatever new character, I mean why not, in-between Marvel games have an Infamous, it doesn't have the same effect as Fallout/Outer Worlds but you could kind of go for that dynamic and build it up).

@LikelySatan big comments XD

Yeah it is easy to tell. Can't help it too much to say or ideas good or bad coming out. XD

No dual screen features to hide cards so no play.

Also I'd rather play it via the cards then a digital version especially not some platform to play it.

This is just like GT7 is for car makers Vision GT designs to do things for them.

Its getting stupid to see other things like this of brand details in Fornite.

Can't make a decent free to play UNO and sell card packs or other UNO variations anymore? Sigh.

That is some news. They are busy. They have many projects sure and want to do it themselves but come on FromSoft.

Did Sony want more out of these co op or God of War live service? What angles and details are we missing here.

Also why not have Santa Monica do it they know the characters better. Let aline that world and to work around it for live service is different sure but still. But no we get the next project and remakes.

I don't know a lot is still unclear here. Its some details but its still not clear enough. What demands did Sony have? What was Bluepiint not brought up to speed on as not capable or couldn't get working or what idea/direction approval.

Still doesn't change lack of direction at Sony for leading them with new games format over remake format of workflow and goals or angles that are too picky as every idiot publisher does of whoever is approving or not not just deadlines. Clearly their direction is terrible. Or their ideas, artstyle, engine, programming, monetisation, writing tone and more are not enough for Sony's picky staff.

Bluepoint and whichever staff and whatever the case of actions, words, whatever in meetings presented.

Thats still Sony's incompetence of leadership being picky. They could have had many angles and still not be approved by some idiot leadership staff.

Whatever of staff or Bluepoint leadership sure but Sony is too picky these days of their frameworks and it shows.

Not enough sales. I mean what do Sony expect. I can believe this rumour. Expanding markets gaming or not makes sense, but money is money. Controller gimmicks aren't the case either for PC ports.

I never see the console/PC thing as 'early access' on console to a PC port. I see it as 'play on the device you want'. Always will.

Fine with exclusives or console/controller gimmicks as it appeals to me that way, but I can see the money angle too. I play 99% console/handheld. I use PC for general, flash games, other games (or emu). Mobile I use for odd things or emu.

I'm not buying Xbox games on PS5/PC either.

Also what will Nixxes be doing then if this is true? Like XDev assist for other studios and whichever ones they need to? Or will Nixxes be shut down too? I hope not.

Whether the PC Xbox happens or not Sony backtracking is just hilarious. What other markets are there they can expand to? IF not gaming sure but even still. They have tv shows/movies, merch, they going for a theme park too? Or other things? Shove the characters into things?

Well we got Xbox Shampoo. When we getting some PlayStation ones?

I mean I could also say 'scents' but I won't go that far (if you know, you know). Also Sony would never do that.

Mobile I think their outsourcing efforts are a joke. I am fine with mobile existing but Sony from cellphone era with God of War Betrayal/Ratchet Going Mobile were great. 2007-2015 era and PS Mobile, were ok, modern era is kind of just boring.

The God of War 2D game is nice to see but yeah that co-op angle is a bit sad.

While Sackboy Run is fine or Fate GO works (no interest in), the Horizon live services are hit and miss and the Ratchet mobile game looks super bad and while the artstyle is fine the gameplay is pathetically underusing what the series has of gadgets/weapons and movesets at all).

Like I remember hearing, they didn't just put Sim City on the DS they sort of just threw Sim City on the DS.

That's the kind of situation I see, IPs thrown on there with no care at all to make them stand out, the environments and characters will sell it, gameplay, who ever heard of that?

Sony are just as pathetic as the others.

I mean they think the PC audience or mobile audience are the same audience as console?

Or that everyone is willing to agree on a PlayStation account? At least they refunded people but I mean come on.

What idiots are running Sony these days. XD They don't think at all.

They seem to forget how people are, it doesn't take a psychologist to tell you there are various types of people out there, not all see a brand/are that loyal, there other audiences on other platforms into other types of games.

Did they have the 'we put our games on mobile we win' mentality for PC audience? XD

When they are competing against the 3rd parties they already were on console, and way more Indies then on console.

I mean other then Another Code (instead of a point and click/visual novel with DS/Wii gimmicks) you get a very trying to appeal to a western audience with such 3rd person camera and gameplay and yeah the odd Switch like Joycon use but it's more toned down and doesn't work as well as the DS/Wii ones did that Cing and Arc System Works didn't as much. It's a fine game but it has issues.

Or the Tetris/F Zero and others live services based on retro IPs (which is an insane strategy) trying to compete with Sony, Nintendo can put Mario and their characters into any sub genre and movesets they want. I find that hilarious.

Part 4:
I can go to any location/any car in ANY game, to me that's just formulaic boring appeal. What you can DO in those places sure, but you can set a game anywhere and to me it's still just a boring visual backdrop, games are about playing, not just looking at the eye candy of buildings and cars or photography.

You can't interact with any of it, or have events to change the way you play along the streets/hills/mountains, that's my issue with these games, the locations aren't a playground, just a backdrop that's empty.

it's like a platformer having you walk around everything, or a skating game with limited places to grind, it's a pretty boring location instead it of that moveset/interactivity of the world. That's my point but with racing game events.

Niche alive. Sorry supports for as long as 3rd parties support till phased out. Niche is not a bad thing.

Vita was big, then families, then niche audience targeting. Other small titles funded/published by Sony.

Playdate/Evercade are niche. But only focusing on 'big success' not little ones, sigh. Not other strategies. XD Apparently some people don't understand how niches/balancing for suitable audiences not big growth as ONLY solution.

Do people forget Dreamcast got games from 1998-2007? Vita got games from 2011 to 2019/21 or something and remote play (Android 2019, iOS 2021 with Backbone grip), Wii U 2012 to 2023 eshop close and disk earlier then that. I could list others.

Labo had all it's ideas out.

I don't care about every Indie but even I know when consoles actually end support not just 'major games I care about' mentality. Even Just Dance reaches end of console lifecycle along with phone support now, after PS Camera/Xbox One Kinect support is not suitable anymore/ended. XD

Even Silver Skies Umbra an Indie, & last US eshop game for Wii U was going to use as many peripherals for Wii/Wii U as possible but "had" to cut the balance board.

3rd parties will use things if they see the need/as much as the console/peripheral maker allows, & game releases digital or physical to a cut off point they see as being suitable after lacking demand of support or it's been 10 years let's end it.

Sure you get exceptions like Eye Toy on PS3 and Singstar Mics and other stuff but its varies. PS Move on PS4 for PSVR.

Anyone play Playlink PS4 party games, the smartphone app controller ones? No. Not surprised no one talks about it other then the ones who showcased it part of Sony staff it seems. But you see plenty talk about Eye Toy/Singstar/PS Move/PSVR still.

Smartglass with second screen features (gone now for Xbox app) in 2012 for 360/One no? Or the Windows 8 TV TV TV 2013 to 2017 app swapping or Kinect Gestures app? I think it was awesome. Notice how I didn't say I care for TV TV TV, I said the feature it was offering that was Windows 8 like.

Clearly no Youtuber will bother to cover Playlink ever again unless like me who worked it out. Old firmware and delisted apps/games, Android archive the apps, and disk insert the games, and your good. Everybody 1 2 Switch is the 10 years later of that as well as the PS5 D&D style tactics RPG. Anyone pay attention to those? Didn't think so.

But then again I'm the one that worked out Fabric unofficially on Curseforge's launcher before Modders expanded upon the idea (they still wanted Fabric support regardless so did it themselves, I didn't spawn the idea to them) with a mod that works better then Curseforge officially added it after enough people wanted the feature (talking Minecraft modding).

Do I think PSVR3 will happen. No I don't. But saying it's 'dead' is a bit far.

People thought oh no more Nintendo Labo was a bad thing, um maybe they had limited ideas/moved staff they needed for other projects. But why would idiots not think about that angle.

PSVR2 will be the end. London Studio gone, Firesprite 2 games, Sony doesn't care. Easier for controller features/end at Dualsense then a separate peripheral.

But Portal I hear you say. Yeah & where are dual screen/other features? None. Portal exists to keep remote play going & offer no dev input other then cloud. Why else do I think Indies were sad/laughed at it, not just that it wasn't a new handheld but that there is nothing to develop for it.

Part 3:
I don't just play for 'immersion' I play for gameplay, which gameplay takes a back seat all the time to push immersion aka cutting corners for people with no imagination or to sell you a location/story and not gameplay, sorry gameplay that's overly basic and boring, you play to see story and backdrops. Animal/human movesets are the most boring they have ever been.

You don't have to be a kid friendly game to offer wacky movesets in 90s era platformers?

Mario has more movesets for a human regardless of being a fantasy world. Pitfall Lost Expedition is an Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider type game that's a metroidvania and has some great mundane but still great movesets and items for exploration. They still fit the theme while offering 'gameplay' reasons for things.

The locations can be whatever they want them to be. I don't care.

Forget gameplay these days we only sell movie style stories with generic easy to understand set pieces or formulia fantasy worlds and elves/dwarves then new original fantasy creatures (lazy artists) and racing games with driving through holiday destinations.

Not actual arcadey objectives or other event/mode depth anymore that'd be ridiculous to develop just focus on the graphics and physics clearly, who has time for other gamey rules for events right? Just offer a real world location to drive and nothing fun to do in it.

You can make any modes with a lawn mower to hit things. You could a truck with more swinging parts of it to fit into gaps., or a car and a caravan, or a truck with a trailer, but no we can't have something dangerous like that and gameify it that'd be ridiculous. XD

I literally play any car, bike, dirt bike, rally car, train, F1, MX/ATV, Jet Ski, Snowmobile, and whatever else related racing games. I talk gameplay, so I'm going to talk gameplay. Not 'simulating' the experience of going to whatever place in the world and whatever cars are provided of licenses in the game. When if 'things to do and see' are boring, aka the gameplay, that's my point.

I think why do human/animal characters play boringly and are too heavy or have limited animations/moves for platforming, combat, whatever, why we get less magic powers and other things, where is using them for interactivity in the world like Echoes of the End. Using Ice powers to make ice platforms, not just ice particles to hit enemies, wow how riveting.

I think open world racers need more, they just seem like mass produced car/location games repeated forever, they just need more too them.

Even anti grav, where is a WipEout style Zone or any other types of events? We don't get that just 'look it;'s a scifi setting and you get used to the way these scifi vehicles are and the same boring events over and over'.

Like take advantage of it being a open world, or scifi game or with particular vehicles other then cars, whether a lawn mower, train, boat, whatever, offer modes/events. It's what you USE them for.

Repeat: You can make any modes with a lawn mower to hit things. You could a truck with more swinging parts of it to fit into gaps., or a car and a caravan, or a truck with a trailer, but no we can't have something dangerous like that and gameify it that'd be ridiculous. XD

Part 2:
We only allowed races/derbies/time trials/elimination or Point to Point the big boy event types. XD

Sure the realism of Gran Turismo 7 is so bad because it has a fuel limiting challenge or coffee break cone challenges in it as gameplay variety, were only allowed to focus on the races/cars/tracks (real tracks) as the only type of content. XD

Also oh yeah such great games, such limited playlists of events like NFS Unbound, such grind and lack of content, artstyle change was cool but limited events and progression what modern era fun. XD

Shooters aren't just deathmatch or only set as contemporary settings, they have story, they have capture the flag/territories and other things right? Splatoon was a more fun shooter and level design in the last few years, regardless of the 'squids' and street culture angle it's core moveset and level design was so much fun. So was Titanfall 2 with it's factory level and time jumping one.

I think programming and animations, I don't care what location it's set in and fav car models/brands. I'm not thinking wow this place looks great like a normal person focusing on how nice it's set in this real world location, I think how games are made, what can you DO in these locations and what they can be made into. XD That's the difference. I don't think like a customer.

Because collecting feathers on rooftops in Assassin's Creed games is so realistic. XD Sunset Overdrive had tower defence instead of generic outposts, where is challenges/side objects for outposts in those open world types? No just generic layouts and enemy patterns, how boring. Traps? No. Poison/gas masked enemies?

Use the constraints cars have and put random events around them in these open worlds not just the same boring events repeated and the only selling point is the car/location every game that's just boring.

Dirt 5 (no idea about 4 or Showdown but 3 didn't have that), or Drive Club had different side objectives.

If Ratchet games can have weapon cycling and poison gas not just a timer or just an arena with varied enemies, no other modifiers, the game would be boring with just enemies as the only change (arenas/level layouts do matter). So other spins on things are allowed? Ratchet Deadlocked was an entire game about arena gauntlets with modifiers.

Or my Foamstars modes of building creatively/to a goal (point a to b), clean up foam (so reverse), power ups, traps, but they remixed 2 done before modes from other games then came up with other ones using 'foam' as a mechanic.

I mean the delivery feature in FH6 is something but still seems a bit eh to me. It needs more then just 'look we did this thing and it's still realism'. I mean make it arcadey and exciting, offer a bunch of rules with it, or side objectives or something.

Why not have a car or side human character waterboarding thing or car skiing or something. Oh too far that if they did that. XD Or just snowmobiles.

I haven't played many open world racing games but even Burnout Paradise was more exciting then most modern ones and I haven't played many of the NFS open worlds mostly the circuit ones so far. Even The Run was a load of run.

WRC3 a annual game, I had more fun with it's campaign than anything in a long time, because it's standard stages, it's gates/points, and other ones made the most fun of events I'd ever played.

@JayJ I'm mostly talking about additional options for these games. That's all. Dirt 5/Drive Club style side objectives/side modes plenty of racing games had over the years Sim or Arcade, not a total conversion. XD

Games aren't just fantasy, pirate, shooters being deathmatch/battle royale or WW2/modern era. Aka setting only defining them. Battlefield 2 Modern Combat console/Driver San Fransisco hot swap characters around maps feature, best part of those games.

So the traffic/lights/lanes event types that took me 2 seconds to come up with is crossing the line to mean Carmageddon or Blur or Split Second type action? Yeah no. I have an imagination/dev mind constraints for ideas do devs/players?

Even the cooling system in an FIA Truck racing game was the most 'realism' but exciting gameplay feature I'd seen in a racing game in years.

I'm not saying oh Spy Hunter transforming vehicles or play as Jet Skis/Boats/Trains/hover cars instead of regular cars. Or gas invades the locations.

Or driving on the sides of buildings. Nothing like that. XD

Project Gotham Racing had varied events in cut off city streets, garages, Geormetry Wars, walkable dealership, track maker, kudos system. Look/play good.

Not talking kart racers, I care about racing games but I've played plenty old/new with far more engaging realism/gameplay ideas/progression & it's all gone for the 'realism' and empty games we get nowadays. I think about constraints cars have and make modes about them. That's all I'm really saying here. If that wasn't clear what I meant, just to clarify.

Clearly kids games have that creativity to it/oversimplify too and adult games are about realism/skill tree RPG design with whatever graphics/story telling, forget gameplay, gameplay is for kids/so PS2 era, graphics/story are so modern era.

While Echoes of the End & Inertial Drift say hello.

Even Onrush was the most amazing of mode/event types in YEARS, regardless of it flopping.

The new Carmadgeddon is generic roguelike trash.

You can have photography and add more objectives to it or free photo taking without them. Stunts? Stuntman movie for 1 or few missions?

You could have find all the tourist spots or hit all the flower pots/lamps, or sign posts or whatever. Interactivity in the world not just ' LOOKING at it' and driving around it with races, drifts and other basic things. That's the point.

I play literally any racing sub genre, so no 'only arcadey action' sure that's ALL I play stereotypically. I've played so many sim, arcade, anti grav, kart racers, rally, bike, jet ski and more. Do you think I'm only into ARCADE or action style. XD Or any other overtake, sprint (GT4+ 1 lap magic), Dirt 5/Drive Club side objectives, other side missions that FM6 and FM7 offered.

Forza Motorsport had bowling, does that fit a simcade racing game? GTI Club had hot tomato and car soccer before Rocket League.

Because me enjoying Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano's RPG/rewind system before Grid 2008/FM3, Sega GT's car builder/Pure's ATV builder, Enthusia's roulette/clean driving/license tests, and more is me being a kart racing type player. XD

Like I just came up with for TKR 2026 mini review today, why not traffic/lights or lane related or fuel limiting, other types. That took me seconds to come up with & within limits of TXR being about an express way.

Or overtakes, car soccer, bowling, Stuntman style, PC3/others target scoring, any Juiced 2's 4 drift modes for other games.

Part 2: for my first comment about events/modes TXR 2026 can add:
Gravel, Grid, Onrush, Wreckfest and many others all sort of are 'good enough' but are still lacking.

I mean I can want more events and devs to get their heads out of their butt yet we get race, drift, time trial, elimination, derby if it's something like Wreckfest (also other vehicles for 'visual variety' but they still are just a race, so who cares, no objects to hit/break, no rust spreading, no other creative weird angles for things at all just bland realism and limited ideas) and that's it and have for 2 console generations now and 9th gen has cut back the bowling and other things in say Forza, where is car soccer? Where is other weird modes like GT Club?

Where is using objects and points systems for interesting mode types? It's just gone.

GT still has the fuel limiting one, I think still 1 lap magic.

Everything is just locations/what car licenses. So what's new school lacking or 'exciting'?

I don't see it.

Old School sure, and this game is trying to fit with what it did in the past and I think that's a good thing it was already unique and still is.

I'd like more too and I do think the Drift sub series was better but I still think this release is still good enough.

@Wakkawipeout Burnout Paradise did and while i respect it for that the AI was particular and to me going other paths was a nice option but most times it was because I got lost trying to get from Point A to B anyway and didn't always help just felt like it was open ended and you 'can' sometimes have an edge.

Won't deny the predetermined routes in an open world can be a bit weird. It also can sometimes feel like not just to oversimplify but to still have that 'circuit or others type feel to it' but that's what I think games that do commit to it like Gear Club Unlimited does, it may have highways and things but it isn't an open world it's whatever they made for the game and just cut points on purpose.

Then again they could have more MODES/EVENTS and actually work around that, some that are more cut off routes, others that are more open ended, others with other rules with trees, traffic lights, street lanes (what I just came up with for Tokyo Extreme Racer to add more events and bets or whatever with street racers, it is the express ways, so what limits are on there to come up with ideas for, those things and wrap rules on them), hills, routes through (inside not just around the outside of) buildings (Burnout Paradise did there) if they wanted and more, or other objects in set routes with some gates or cones or other objects to curate things, but they don't they just offer static worlds and say look at the locations we have' and do nothing exciting with them.

They could curate some routes with barriers or fences or construction or markets or other things, even rally games do this in the city stages. None of this can be that hard to come up with then just 'make the same generic modes/events', offer the cars, focus on the location and make another generic racing game to put on shelves and start of the next noteworthy location to repeat the process.

A limited fuel challenge being more then a thing in Gran Turismo circuits and to offer for Point A to B and fuel stations or whatever else in these open worlds, make it work with multiple routes or cut off ones (built up to the multiple path ones for more challenge later). I mean it can't take people that much time to come up with that idea, fit the constraints of the game/game worlds or what 'cars' can be used for. But apparently it does with how boring and repetitive I find most of these generic open worlds games.

Or a Project Gotham Racing, already recreated cities and whatever streets they want to cut off.

While it could offer more I mean what they do offer is the appeal.

Thing is what is NEW School? Being empty? Being having low amount of playlists in NFS Unbound?

Being a boring esports title? Fewer modes/events? Caring more about locations being empty and having as many licensed cars? Wow such an upgrade. XD

They could offer some traffic lights or particular lanes (in/out of single/double lines, etc road layouts, like the lines are a bad thing if touched, I mean even a train racing game & different rail routes, maybe a train/tram mode) or other type modes/rules for conditions of events with opponents but I doubt that will ever happen.

I mean I'm just thinking out of the box but still within the space of it is city streets so how do you go about modes and particular rules for them when dealing with racing others.

I literally came up with those ideas just now/narrowed in on what an express way has, they are completely unique to that, the devs probably don't even think that far out of the box to add rules/constraints to games like this anymore. Sigh.

Too much about the location or the 'vibes' or what the original did and can't think up anything decent to the constraints they have set or my ideas would be too awkward or 'gamey' which I mean, sure who cares reality is boring you can use characters/locations 'however you want' but apparently not in no imagination world we live in it seems with 'creatives' or customers.

Do you make deals whether socially/for business and get parts or reputation or other things, do you like drift sub series go to a gymkhana or other things?

TXR has always been unique with it's way of doing things, the maps may not be much but the goal and angle of it is still unique and fits the street culture angle for sure.

But what do people want? More content sure but what do they want when this series is already unique. It is repetitive sure but I mean they don't over do it for a reason, they could lead it other directions while being consistent it's just if they are up to it really

More parts of the city sure?

Do they want other things that other games have? Whether of AI or opponents, or parts, cars, city and non city or event types or car customisation or whatever?

Other locations that offer enough per city streets, like Project Gotham Racing, if so I'd be up for that, but again even it had a car dealership to walk around and garage and good 'variety of events' even in the restrictive but fun PGR then the open ended PGR3, that I still had fun with but found too supercar/sports car bland and the restrictions PGR2 had as well as other content was more exciting. In ways the Forza Motorsport 6 did wrong.

Radical returning, like Argonaut and others, ok I'm interested.

A sequel for it has been a thing for years of speculation besides a maybe prototype that didn't go much of anywhere or just a mention/plan to.

It would be cool but I don't care for most modern open worlds so I'd pass on it really.

That aside Radical were a fair studio, licensed games or original games.

Well AA need to stop trying to over compete with AAA the idiots, there is a reason they were sometimes good at not being ambitious but they just seem to keep having the same bad design in some studios/publishers and others keep the AA dream of great games alive, the problem is I find many AA just as bad as AAA for boring game ideas.

Styx series I'll take a look at since I am giving Of Orcs and Men a try, but otherwise I think Nacon hasn't done much that great in the past few years. Test Drive could have been good but isn't and is just as behind and boring as any other open world racing game.

Greedfall has it's moments but still can't even market well with it's 2nd game, that showing at the Summer Gamefest 2 years or 3 years ago was so bad at convincing people to be interested, why did they even bother?

Who is going to handle the WRC games now? EA/Codemasters did 2 entries and gave up. I thought it went back to Nacon/Kylotonn? Or however is doing them now?

Not surprised. Though I keep getting surprised no one points out Hiroki Titoki at all just Herman? Both are in leadership roles.

Nothing new we are supposed to be loyal and shut up about business decisions of course. Whether Bluepoint or Sony's, yeah sure.

Well I don't care for PS5/PS6 anyway, I didn't enjoy PS4, so like I care. I keep up with the news and I play retro games on any of my older consoles or whatever else on Switch in the sometimes genre branch out or sometimes narrow range of 'decent' games.

Gameplay/level design over boring graphics, story, hardware and controller gimmicks (if only controller or console software gimmicks were exciting anymore, but they aren't) that got less exciting nowadays.

What am I supposed to care about in modern gaming if singleplayer is just as boring as multiplayer and Indies are sub par with their singleplayer ideas (in certain studios/genres)?

So launch price there? Yet we get overly discounted NEW launch prices of the $30 or any others over time with some games at the end of their point and then those discount to say $5 or something.

So how is Sony factoring that in for those types of games? I'm not quite sure there.

Also the '30 days' is pointless not all games have the discount twice in one month, or both fortnights the sales go on for (besides the odd other preorder discounts or other things). They need to fix it.

So they need to extent it to maybe 3 months or something. 1 month is not helpful information. I know I keep track of Switch sales and remaining days/next sales with many in my wishlist that's full, so yeah I see often.

I don't have a wishlist on PS4 (of course PS5 or PS+ or whatever Sony puts it for) but even then the few times i check some games and go ah this is on sale again. I keep track.

Well what do they expect, car licenses are expensive, photo graphing/air travel trips are expensive.

They could do no car licenses (Wreckfest doesn't and it still has a same as other games of its type progression system that I was so bored with I did a no upgrades/cars bought run I was so bored, the other vehicles are just visual variety, no interesting modes/events with their weight and design at all, just more boring races in new on screen lawn mowers and motor sofas and things) but we can't have that, that'd be ridiculous. They have to have car licenses to excite an audience in their whatever boring contemporary version of a country for some boring road trip game with boring events, with boring things to do and other boring immersion that's not fun.

We have to have a generic open world racing game with nothing exciting to do in it and compete with the other ones that do the same. Why wouldn't they. XD

Because we need more Forza Horizon, The Crew, NFS competitors, that continue to be missing the mark and even then I find the mark very boring as it is for these games.

I couldn't care less here. The staff will make the same boring decisions as any other racing game in the modern era, so I couldn't care less. Whether it released or not.

I care more for Tokyo Extreme Racer Drift sub series, not the main series so I'm skipping this one on PS5. That or Racing Battle C1 Grand Prix (had Battle and C1 the wrong way, this title is really awkward each time when mentioning it XD), the mouthful one. They were more exciting, the gymkhana side stuff and the socializing with other people at drift spots, besides the fair main content, was really interesting. Still via menus but it made sense.

That aside sure Rave Racer is cool.

Well with how boring the progression and events/modes and rules for them that lack variety of creativity, boring use cases of cars/the environments or additional objects used in events to add more to them, and effort put in to focus on physics/graphics in boring recognisable locations in the modern era.

How am I supposed to get excited?

Not cared for a modern sim/arcade racer in years and even kart racers/anti grav ones have been pretty weak too. Only enjoy retro niche/popular racing games these days when they had better ideas. Very very few Indies are worth it either. The AA/AAA ones are a joke.

Typical, divert from other decisions, weak announcement I mean it's a particular time and from other dates that matter to me in the year. But like I care.

I so care we have 4 US studios making the big singleplayer tv/movie style slop games and the rest do multiplayer. I so care about that. The 4 big brand name IPs. Then otherwise whatever Guerilla does for Horizon 3.

I already don't care about this game, so like a release date will change anything from other business related news Insomniac/Sony XD What do they think were stupid. I haven't been impressed with an Insomniac game since Sunset Overdrive/Song of the Deep, maybe even Ratchet Nexus in 2013. Maybe even Crack in Time in 2009, Fuse/All For One were hmm, QForce/Full Frontal Assault were hmm.

Some of us already gave up on P,layStation and just pay attention to the news of all 3 platforms. XD

@Rodimusprime13 well that stidio is still going just depends onicenses i guess and work with those engines.

@Leinad7 thats hilarious. Good to know.

@Chupa_loyzer Sucker punch is small too.

Shutting down bluepoint regardless of IPs had quality skilled people.

If Atari shut down Digital Eclipse people would be annoyed too. Expertise matters.

Many of us care about remakes it depends what IPs.

I have my negative thoughts on modern games AAA, AA or Indie but I'm leaving them out of this to think about Sonys strategy.

Bluepoint could have done PC ports aka help Nixxes, or assist like XDev or something.

Bluepoint is clearly not unknown. Their remakes or IPs they remade had an impact on people. Any era even if more recent ones.

More know them then Mass Media, Sanzaru aka Sly 4 or port studios of PS3/Vita.

Or licenses game studios like Behaviour or Asobo but do nowdays for dead by daylight or plague tale/2019 microsoft flight sim. I know their licensed or original games.

Or original non live service aka not dumped into that and leave ND, SP, Santa Monica snd Insomniac the singleplayer ones. More tv shoes/movies/merch.

The others are multiplayer now. Thats 60 maybe 70%. Thats a lot of outsource small games or mobile as why have another song of the deep or pentiment project of scale.

Insomniac has 2 studios.others maybe 1 or are just large.

There is a bsck compat studio.

Or source Namco for Patapon/Eveeybodys Golf/Freedom Wars, etc

Or other 3rd parties, use the small amount of big IPs for tv and movies and screw over the other studios.

Totoki is like Jim Ryan money and select big brands focused. None of us are a fan of that business strategy when Sony hasn't had a single Destruction Allstars to others of the market to enter successfully yet.

GT is an exception.

Helldivers 2 worked.

I'd be sad if Media Molecule or Firesprite went but they seemed more likely options.

Who knows what pitches Bluepoint had that weren't monetisation capable enough.

He tried many strategies with reworking the things after Games for Windows Live/Xbox One DRM, reverse Kinect, they dropped TV TV TV (I miss those Windows 8 features but oh well).

They made back compat, they offered and focused on Gamepass, some ideas made sense of Phil/Sarah and the others and the rest was Microsoft.

Having an AI staff member in charge and saying such nonsense cover up just really doesn't sit well.

We see through the nonsense and will continue to have less respect for the brand.

Having a box under TVs or whatever is fine, but I already didn't care about the games, let alone them being multiplat, many others may but I haven't cared.

To me it's the games being uninteresting, I am fine with either platform. I'm still buying buying or playing them.

Only back compat for me or if I feel like using the CD, DVD/Blu-ray app and Soundcloud, that's it. I can do those on any other console. Even then I still use my 360 more then my Xbox One, Series X has been used even less then the Xbox One has when I barely used it.

Will State of Decay 3 work? Will they keep Double Fine/Ninja Theory/Compulsion and more around?

Do they want big projects, fair singleplayer or more multiplayer money. Sony seems to be going for fewer singleplayer with key studios and more multiplayer for the rest of them and cutting them down, and the outsourced smaller ones or the 3rd parties to make deals with for the Japan Studios games by Bandai Namco to see if those work as they don't fit Sony's big scale sales reports?

Pasted from my PureXbox post.

Thankfully, it better turn out good though.

That and this is the last game I care about due to playing the older ones. Not a stealth fan, but interested to try different things or games/IPs niche or popular i missed out on.

Ubisoft got rid of the others and not into the other directions of their other IPs, so they are really fitting a fine line here for me.

Wow who could have guessed. It's still fair speculation/official or whatever. Still that mythology would be interesting.

If we get another side character, sure, story or gameplay wise. I mean I always found it weird Daxter always got 1 level and that's in in the Jak games.

I don't mind side characters to play as but to me they need different gameplay not just story relevance. Otherwise offer interesting items to use, or weapons and not just for combat, but level design. I find modern games boring just being story/combat, the bare basics of a video game. While other games in other genres basics make sense for FMV, puzzle, dialogue, strategy, tycoon, board game, and so on. Its what they do with them from there.

Even platformers are just characters/worlds and very basic and boring platforming these days by Indies. Because platformers just have to be kid friendly action adventure games then platformers. Sigh. When others clearly show they can be more and have depth in platforming. As much as I don't think much of Mario 3D World as I got it for Wii U recently. I find it to be still enjoyable enough and still more playable then the 2D games in the series I struggle with more and Galaxy to be a delight, didn't like 64, not played Sunshine or Odyssey at all. But I enjoy a good 3D platformer. Or hack n slash with more to level design sometimes to break things up.

I have to play more Dante's Inferno and Conan, maybe the Tetra or Tehra or whatever it was PSP Mini too.

That aside is it the Norse gameplay/camera and game design or will we get platforming again and 3rd parson as far as Ratchet or Uncharted or others?

I hope they change the formula per mythology it would make things more interesting.

Well it's an extraction shooter or not (if Far Cry 7 that's a good sign), whatever of the projects.

Splintercell hopefully turns out good, I'm not a big stealth fan but I am interested to see how this one goes, I enjoyed Conviction I played it in 1 day, same with Battlefield 3, both that weekend.

I'm struggling to find Ubisoft games to support, they cut Prince of Persia, Red Steel is not going to VR or modern platforms ever, Mario Rabbids duology was good I need to finish those and Rabbids 3D.

I haven't got Valiant Hearts, Child of Life or the 2D Assassin's Creed games at all but I have the manga for AC China and it was an enjoyable read.

I have the other entries for PS2/360/PS3 so I have to work my way through those.

But I'm working my way through many of that era of Ubisoft IPs I never experienced so it's been interesting so far.

Got Prince of Persia Revelation so that's something to experience as have Two Thrones on PS2 but not Warrior Within so it on the go or another platform to come across is something. Still got to finish Forgotten Sands Wii which is great.

@get2sammyb Good mindset, as someone who played flash games and the 'wow look at all of these' I still knew the quality of them, or you could compare with demos (not to the same extent but still). I play or made Minecraft modpacks (still do but I base them around what quality mods, or what niche/popular ones have a good angle for a theme, as if making a video game but putting different content in, not have 100s and not care what they offer as I've seen happen) or adventure maps (take more time to make) if I had an idea. But I still can go back and forth to it, and still collect retro video games, or buy anime blu-rays or whatever. I still have enough of an idea what is quality, what each medium has value.

If most people trade board games, sports, card games, toys, books, tv shows/films, going places, for just gaming with their friends it kind of says a lot. They do it to socialise or to fill in time as bored, not a hobby like us on this site, that and many of us have reference of things too from different times then those generations do. That or whatever older people enjoy these games too for similar reasons and the 1 game to do everything, when it really still has limits we know, but they don't think about.

Flash games were fun and many smartphone games were flash game like design or ported over and what not for a touch screen then mouse/keyboard.

But nowadays we know what tyhey are capable of.

But I'd still never say a flash game was better then a handheld or console game. Regardless of flash going down and still able to play them via Flashpoint or others. I tried a few again, they were ok, but I can still get more out of Youtube videos or console experiences. I swapped Flash games for Youtube videos years ago, and it made sense to. Not just because of my web browser having clean up options set either so progress would be reset in the flash games.

I see the appeal. Thing is I can still play flash games, user generated content and still play high quality console/handheld games. However many of the audience playing them wants something to do, to play with friends or others or whatever.

How many of us hardcore played bot matches compared to online?

But many of us on this site know the difference, lived through and understand the quality, many people don't and want socializing or to not be bored, it's the modern version of playing sports, playing board games/card games, it's to fill in things to do, even if the most basic gameplay to us and garbage quality, most people don't care or have a bar to meet, like hardcore audiences, journalists or others do.

I got a smartphone in 2014 yet been around all through the 2000s learning a computer with MS Office and making PowerPoints as fake video game ideas, flash games and their level editors and more.

I'd still even if I didn't have a computer as lucky as I was so going to computer labs in school wasn't an issue, I'd still seek more compelling experiences then the 'bare minimum' of platform/user generated content.

Well it's no different to if I discovered flash games every day. Then Youtube channels.

Dreams could have been out earlier or competed better but it was on 1 platform/2 if count PS5 not just PS4, but it needed to be on PC or mobile. Or have enough creative types. Platform/engine based games are just going to have volume and people play them for sure. Project Spark was not going so well and with a platform that doesn't have audiences that care enough about that sort of thing.

I used flash games with level editors for sure, I have no interest nowadays but I respect them being a thing.

Those types of people treat gaming as a social thing or to not be bored, same as playing a board game/card game, whatever sports outside, etc. not a hobby like the rest of us do that value a book, a film, a game, they aren't hobbyists like us.

So it isn't surprising really.

Only on a platform, whatever quality and just not as great, why go for mobile games when you can go for a platform instead (or similar) or multiple mobile games when just one or play things to pass the time, not have as a 'hobby'.

At least with Minecraft mods or adventure maps I can work out the quality, just as much as I can any video games per genre, per cover art, per screenshots. I don't stick to JUST one game, I know the limits, but most people don't see limits of a game, they see more things to do, they are that stupid. But I analyse things and know their limits and still explore the hobby.

Many of those people just go eh whatever I can do to play for however long and their basic gameplay loops and other garbage. They want something to do, not something to explore a medium, or have much quality. They couldn't care less or doesn't even cross their mind.

With hardcore we know with films/games what they are capable of and what we seek in them of story, graphics, themes/settings, gameplay, music, following actors and other stuff people do.

I mean if people just use a phone, can't access anything else or don't care to branch out, that's on them.

I mean the amount that bought PS/Xbox?Switch and still use Fortnite, Roblox and more, it really changes nothing whether they get a console or not and still use a phone. It's still a social experience, it's still a single game regardless of the device change. The games evolve or they have more games inside a platform, not surprising really.

Hence why I brought up flash game websites at the start, or audiences can play any other user generated content games.

Playing with peers or random things, aka even if it wasn't sport, or a board game or something they are just trading those for games as social time or to do something and not be bored, then actually care about video games the way we hardcore do.

@Shokwave2 They want everying to be about the brands or the world but refuse to do interesting events or interesting other progression systems.

There is a raeson I have more fun discovering older racing games niche or popular and more and more write off modern ones in any sub genre.

We can see the visuals, we can see the characters, and worlds, but forget gameplay it's too secondary all the time.

We won't see a WipEout Zone or other HD FUry modes again likely? Crash mode from Burnout again?

Who knows.

As particular as Onrush was, it's really the most modern racing game i enjoyed with event variety. Grid Legends/Gravel were good enough, Project Cars 3 was 'something'.

Redout/Fast Racing are fair I'd say in the anti grav space.

Others vary. Getting interested in an FIA truck racing game for it's heat mechanics was 'something' even if still a formuliac game.

We will see, if it has enough 'events' and decent progression I'll buy it, if not, well it's as bland as the rest this generation, anti grab or arcade/simcade, pure bare minimum design, graphics, decent physics, never the 'content' anymore just repeat the same bland basic done before events, I don't need 'new' just enough variety and enough ideas for them to use the world/vehicles/characters, put obstacles, put gates/floating cones or other objects, give us things to do and rules per event type.

We get race, time trial and drift as basics, maybe elimination or derbies if were lucky. Wow how excitingly boring.

Gameplay first, visuals later, world design is fine but needs more to compliment gameplay not be boring.

@twitchtvpat Yes and no, people wait for sales for a reason, not everyone has interest in many of the niche or other types Sony put out either.

Fiancial situations or games that interest people, current market direction, and more it all varies. People have preferences after all.

People buy stuff when it's necessary or a game of their interest, as narrow as that may be, it is the truth.

Some like me go crazy on sales, other times I may get something particular on day 1, other times I may wait it out for later.

It varies.

They want live service money from audiences already interested in other games or think hardcore are loyal, yet many of us do have brains and watch the business side and more.

Casuals already interested jump at whatever they care about, hardcore do theirs, and others buy everything, it varies per person.

People see value in hour counts, gameplay, story, music, graphics, actors, dev teams, setting, tone, whatever they look for.

Those are valid.

I was not a fan of their PS4 strategy, I am still not their PS5 strategy despite being 2 different business models.

I have moved to Switch after Sony focused on more cinematic IPs then the some being that others not so of PS3/Vita and older. You had your Uncharted, your Jet Li and others for sure, but not doubling down on it so much. That put me off.

I went to their niche games, they cut those too, so I went elsewhere. That's my decision.

I still use a PS4, I get only Indie or AA Japanese games that's it.

Everything else is niche Nintendo games (the major ones I'll get later).

As unfortunate as it is for the social media staff having to deal with this stuff and just promoting other things as intended when fans are really angry at the higher ups or the company in general and for fair reason, it really is unfortunate times.

I mean Sony brought it on themselves.

There is a lot of news this week between PS/Xbox this week, wow, did they think the games would be enough?

Either way, good to hear about it now then waiting it out and go hmm.

The sooner we get staff that are not money only in the head the better, you can balance multiplayer and singleplayer but just ruining themselves to multiplayer when they could have a better balance of that, not 80% multiplayer and 20% singleplayer besides PC ports of the singleplayer games and back compat.

It really says a lot what Totoki and Hulst are doing it's crazy.

Wouldn't want to be the puppet in this position that's for sure.

Phil/Sarah leaving I can also see reason in too, just awkward times they are leaving on unfortunately.

They tried, we have what is the current state of things.

@Artois2 As particular as it is, I think they should have stayed pigeon holed, be a Nixxes/XDev type studio or like the back compat one for PS+ Deluxe/Premium/digital license purchase, they'd be alive then.

Them wanting to not save themselves and going 'we have a chance to make an original game again like when we made our first game that's original since the PS3 eshop launch (as made only remasters/remakes after that) and not be a port house and all these other things.

(without thinking if they would be focusing on any other brand just not in the remaster way, so not being original still XD but for live service)

They want to be creative and do things sure (just like any other tv/film staff that go oh this IP, I want to be original well you have to build up to that or save yourself. Creative types forgetting the greats have that flexibility for a reason to get to the point they are now. It's a lot of waiting on purpose.

But do they think about that? Sure it can stretch to a point and that point can be annoying but even still, to fit a different business model is understandable then what they were doing).

But so many people want that chance to be creative, but they needed to be more business smart about it instead of getting to creative in their minds or think what the market is right now, not just 'big company safety' that is nice until it's clear what they are actually after or if they go oh were not supporting remasters/remakes anymore in the wider scale being Independent.

I mean again the back compat studio, or Nixxes.

But if they knew better on if they'd be put to live services and not really being ambitious or creatively original AT ALL clearly and they just were put to again other IPs with God of War live service, or whatever else they pitched we don't know yet how creative they were and how not monetising particular they reached or whatever creative ideas didn't have enough tv/movie scale potential of singleplayer, or multiplayer or whatever else they were to stick to as a goal.

But with them approaching a different business model that they were till end, they could have saved themselves business wise, unless Sony didn't want them to work on remasters/PC ports either, which is very likely and they were still going to be pigeon holed into live service regardless, but even still.

@get2sammyb Good point. That aside fresh news, easy views/comments for the site. But yeah very sad news.

Them cutting many PS3/Vita studios or downscaling ones like Guerilla Cambridge to just 1 Guerilla studio (Insomniac still has 2 studios, the others are I think just big studios and not 2 separate ones but I forget).

Liverpool surviving in Firesprite, Evolution gone, Bend carrying through Golden Abyss to Days Gone to live service and the PS4 strategy others had to follow, it made sense, but their audience either likes the new strategy of PS4 era (I don't but I get why they did it even if they have lost me more and more to the point i buy 3rd parties or only tune into articles for the business side only), we all know how particular PS5 era is and fairly so.

The rest get outsourced of mobile makes sense.

The PS3 multiplayer attempts are over, PS4 era happened of your Uncharted 4 multiplayer and and other odd ones but mostly singleplayer among all studios, Ghost of Tsushima showing they can still have a combo of both singleplayer/multiplayer I think is a surprise for sure in the late PS4/through the PS5 era, we are seeing them attempt the PS4/5 era of multiplayer market design very interestingly of outsourced Lucid with Destruction Allstars, or Concord funding and all sorts of things and the side studios get the multiplayer expectation nowadays.

Japan studio downscaled to Asobi is sad but fair. That and Polyphony/Ico spent a lot of money in PS3 era.

Polyphony probably spends a ton on licenses for cars, music, advertisers/sponsors and even making fictional prototypes for manufacturers then them having their OWN teams for that and the car makers save money hiring/running a team for that purpose. Barely any tracks just more cars/sponsors more and more. The odd new tracks/less fictional ones over time due to scale and effort to put into them (let alone running the fictional greats and the new fictional were fair in GT Sport). Make new events every so often.

London gone and I assume future peripherals or other projects (live service or otherwise) for more safe ones like Portal then the PSVR type scale. Remote play they have tried each gen and it makes sense why to keep going with it, cloud, etc.

Firesprite, Bend, Media Molecule are left for sure.

Whatever is able to be communicated to other studios, the main ones that get what is expected or do well with singleplayer, multiplayer balance and the rest are forced multiplayer is not surprising.

Whatever leadership.

Of the few singlelplayer/multiplayer combo games these days then a clear line of singlelplayer and multiplayer separately in the current market.

@nolifebr Agreed, I forgot about Totoki, making games and trying to go for the movie model of 'you make it, reclaim it or more money back' is just a lot to ask for but very much sounds like something they would do.

Trends for sure that go so fast. Having staff or staff leading to aid in adapting to the market.

Assigning to other types of projects more suited to them.

But nope.

We all are still fuming. XD Thanks for reminding us about Neon Koi, I forget these existed and that article. Sony is too behind on the trend.

The God of War license service is one thing but 'use big IPs we have and shove a model into this market for us' I mean... Come on.

Other thoughts:

=

Live service or tv/movie potential IPs sure but that's what Sony wants? Whatever fantasy, scifi, other settings, business model extent not good enough? Audience? We will have to wait and see.

Small scale stuff goes to outsourced studios, niche IPs to Bandai Namco currently.

Remove Bluepoint for the sales reports coming up? Whatever 'pitches' and not use their expertise for PC ports or remasters, why not make them another Nixxes or assist studio? Nope.

Not a mobile game as Sony just outsources too.

Remakes/remasters happening less and we get whatever of the back compat studio that are doing great, depending on the licenses we see.

The major studios making remakes (or whatever stretching of teams) or whichever leftover outsourced ones available not making Switch ports or doing other games, or originals, if many port studios are left. Or those making mobile games too I guess.

Is it part Bluepoint of saying 'were done with remakes/remasters please' maybe. It's still Sony's call and the live service path.

===

Now the quote and look at the studios:
(He blamed the closure of Bluepoint on a “challenging industry environment” with “rising development costs [and] slowed industry growth”.)

Those quotes are great but also just so silly. Challenging industry, they are a 60 something staff studio, Sucker Punch is how much in comparison? Bluepoint remasters/fill in gap studio they treated as?

So live service, any staff capable of that teach them? No. Expect them to adapt/convert easily? Business people, sigh.

Rising dev costs that clearly don't effect them? Compared to their bigger studios? Insomniac has 2 studios still, many others have 1 & are large. Are they capable yes, them/Obsidian on the Microsoft side are most capable this gen. But Insomniac prepping PS6/enough of Wolverine.

Sucker Punch does well on their budget/studio scale.

ND does whatever they do at such scale, reworking projects so far, their engine and such (for the PS3 stuff or like Studio Liverpool did for PSP/Vita).

London no more as clearly why bother with peripherals or other projects for them.

Bend had Golden Abyss 2011 to Days Gone 2019 to rework and scale up their engine and more to PS4 after Vita, so it is what it is there and their live service in whatever state it's in.

House Marque seems to be doing fair, Arrowhead/Ember Lab are Independent but still fit the funding status.

Media Molecule hanging by a thread if they make something similar to Dreams again or something else? Even if Dreams was a fair mix of what they had built up to and trying to make a platform and see if it would work. It is just too particular unfortunately compared to others. But PS audience had more potential with it then Xbox did Project Spark that's for sure.

Nintendo with Game Builder Garage or Mario Maker so they have a bit of a different angle and Mario Maker is a character/spin off IP so of course it works.

It makes me wonder how Asobi is still alive with Astro being a very strange IP among the others, Ratchet and GT sure, Sackboy sure but even still. So many are all these other scale projects and IPs, it's just interesting seem it come out at all really.

@HonestHick thanks, sometimes it takes a step back (if I think, collect the history and more well enough, sometimes it takes me a bit to make a good point, I mess it up sometimes XD) and going wait they tried this before, why did they turn to singleplayer more, oh they notice the market has changed, try to fit in again and struggle.

Not all can balance SP/MP, but that's where they need to work out what staff, what ones they hire to lead them, and what strategies, what audiences, is it story, is it setting, is it themes, gameplay, genre, whatever the case? Not look at market, copy others just enough to compete, when the singleplayer ones compete and stand out really well per setting, gameplay varies and the other qualities.

I agree, to me it gives off 'you see this big IP, you want to make new games, do this and push this IP we need someone to, Guerilla will do so for Horizon, others with do the other IPs'.

Many are too brand/business focused and seem to forget that many audiences will pick up on that and go wait what?

They rely on IPs/branding too much and think everyone will convert, and while many see the appeal in them, or new audiences see them in places, not everyone is going to convert, or they drop off some entries and so on.

I think the God of War 2D game looks appealing, I'm willing to give it a go, same as I did with Prince of Persia Lost Crown/Mario Rabbids for Ubisoft.

For sure they keep missing the Donkey and keep pinning other things.

Fairgames and Concord for sure are just 'we see the market and we need to make them fit a fine line of appeal' instead of more particular stand out angles. Sure not as Destruction Allstars line a genre many of that audience would get into if it wasn't made with another audience that never experienced those types of vehicular games.

Well the point was for Bungie to give pointers or fill in that gap and that's gone 'well' all their 'secrets' and it clearly doesn't work. XD

I try, not always on point but I try. But I also look back at retro gaming for the past trends, the past attempts, etc. those I missed and those I did experience and go hmm.

I have all 3 consoles as well for different reasons. I've been more into Switch but have access to PS5/Series from others around me, or retro of all 3 to see what I missed out on their pasts IPs, studios, etc. to really learn the history and have fun trying them out (had an OG Xbox, PS2, never a GameCube/don't an OG Xbox anymore, but mostly filled in my Wii U/3DS/Vita gaps and still discovering the trends and games of PS3/360/Wii or PS2/PSP/DS to research more about those consoles I already had).

I care about the controller gimmicks but even still. I have played MP but not online, never cared for it, tried bits on Wii U/Vita that's it, bot matches I cared more for, even the design/quality seems to be very strangely stretched of modes/cosmetics these days compared to the past.

They know their expertise, they know what they are capable of, if Bluepoint chose to not save themselves with other PC port, remake/remaster/assist or other options it is kind of on themselves, but in other cases it's also clear their decision or Sony's to order them to make these and the messaging/meetings were clear, whatever went down in them.

@LeeBB_Art Agreed they use their staff to 'fill in' or 'make a new game instead of ports/remasters, etc.' but what a way to put them to live service and disrespect them.

For sure they could have assisted, remastered, PC ported, new game that's TV?Movie/merch potential or anything, but nope, they got the live service/fill in as another studio treatment. I think they should have pitched themselves better.

Whatever their game pitches were who knows. After the God of War live service I think they were said to be working on prior, cancelled that to whatever they were all this time later.

Yeah the ego of PS3 era, but without the same variety of games (whether anyone cared for them or not, I did) so different business model/strategy, but similar ego.

That and with not as much of the 3D, Sixaxis, Move, and PSP push they had at the time too, besides the complex hardware. So silver lining there with PS5 but still.

Agreed, Naughty Dog is way larger and Bluepoint is maybe Sucker Punch or under/more size at 60 something employees, why remove them when they are smaller then the other bigger ones or even if Insomniac has been capable, they have a 2nd studio still around, not many of the others do.

I assume Bluepoint went to 'look good on the sales reports it seems' not just the pitches/business politics.

@HonestHick Which says a lot, as particular as the PS3 multiplayer only games were by them, or those with a decent singleplayer but multiplayer intention or singleplayer story to sell on but had optional multiplayer, they have sort of gone all over the places nowdays.

I think Sucker Punch has the old but still balanced approach down, offer multiplayer after but prep well enough for it.

The others go multiplayer only and the expertisie/skill and business model changes all the time or you get others like Lucid attaching a bad direction to an aesthetic and make Destruction Allstars, when it could have worked if done differently for a different audience.

You get the outsourced ones that don't approach it right or their own teams trying to work the business model out and yet can't as too many already exist, they don't approach them in stand out ways enough and there isn't much point.

@tomwinsagain Agreed but even then many Retro studios pitches never happened and we ended up with only DK/Metroid Prime from them. At least DK/Prime were quality.

But then again however many projects we don't see from many other studios.

@twitchtvpat We will have to wait and see. What they pitched, was it more live services that didn't appeal to them? Was it a tv show/movie type potential IP? Was it too small scaled? Was it a remaster/remake that they didn't see much point in?

Them making their own games and yet they get stuck with live service. They should have made themselves safe in remakes/remasters or otherwise territory instead. But they get ambitious and forget how to save themselves.

Expertise and more was clear of Bluepoint, but whoever clearly didn't understand and just 'wanted someone to fill in a gap' clearly didn't care what they were capable of.

Also aren't Bluepoint around Sucker Punch or more/less staff? The others are massive in comparison but they get to stay around? They are hardly a studio with much holding Sony back.

Insomniac is capable but also 2 studios. Naughty Dog can't remember. Guerilla I think is 1 still not 2 like years ago. Media Molecule survived, Asobi I assume is small or medium sized. Housemarque is doing fair but we will see.

Whether they buy Ember Lab aka Kena team who knows or like Arrowhead happy independent.

We will have to wait and see what the case was for sure. Those are the questions/possibilities I'm asking and want to find out.

Studios like Liverppool became Firesprite (Playroom for PS4, the Persistence, Horizon Call of the Mountain)

Japan Studio was downscaled to Asobi. London is gone so I guess no more peripheral/Getaway type projects anymore. Just whoever of the engineers at Sony Japan want to make them and the rest just 'happen to try and support it' or just do the controller gimmicks and that's it anymore?

Bend had Golden Abyss 2011 to Days Gone 2019, the whole generation, to rework their engine for PS4 and work around open worlds and more. Let alone whatever the motion capture and more was like compared to PS3/Vita type or however they did things for PSP prior.

Thing is what were Bluepoint pitching?

They could have been an assist studio like XDev for 1st/3rd parties, they could have helped Nixxes with PC ports or any other remasters/remakes/ports.

They could have yes been pitching tv/movie potential IPs but I assume mostly other live service type projects and whatever angle they did them just didn't offer enough monetization potential possibly.

Who knows what audience it was intended for, whether teens, adults, fantasy, scifi, other IPs to make multiplayer capable, who knows.

We can speculate for a while.

They were known to be working on the God of War live service game that was cancelled right? Bend was known for another one right?

I think the game is fine, I think the co-op as an unlock is weird, the artstyle is fine.

The studio knows what hey are doing it just didn't appeal in some areas, sure.

Scores don't matter to me. To me this game is the most appealing I've seen from a Sony IPs since 2017, beside Dreams of 2020.

Song of the Deep didn't get great scores either, who remembers that Insomniac Metroidvania around the time of Ratchet 2016? Gamestop published as well? No. Yeah not surprised.

I think games like this need to exist to try other audiences or other genres for the series, not just the big scale stuff.

That is weird, I got the 1st game just recently on Switch. Not like many of us weren't buying visual novels on Vita/PS4/PS5, or PS3 back in the day either.

But yeah not big scale project for PS5 is odd, no wonder they don't understand audiences. There is a reason many people from Vita or PS4/PS5 have a Switch is because clearly publishers are too stupid and think small scale games have to go to Switch.

I couldn't care less if a game that's small scale has to be 4K and this and that, I care more about gameplay or access on a platform. XD

I don't think oh only big scale projects only.

Even though many people only on PS5 or may prefer a PS5 version over Switch plays Indies and does like to play small scale games by big publishers IF THEY BOTHER to offer them but clearly publishers have their heads on backwards and seem to forget what types of audiences actually want and where they go, and why they go there is because they force them to go there with such mentality. XD

I've gone to more using a web browser on my laptop honestly. I enjoy walking places if I have to but mostly with a goal in mind, listen to music sure, not a podcast, not a video.

I use my phone for the odd search, or music, maybe a bit of videos but that's about it. I'm still gaming or reading a book or getting up to eat or doing other things. Or if a movie/tv series it varies but I commit to that with my physical copies. If it's a review of one then sure.

With videos I will educate myself or look for particular things in hobbies. Or read gaming news sites/forums.

Not whatever drama, and scrolling at all. It has to be hobby based or else i won't care.

I can sometimes just ignore my phone and just put on headphones and play the game, or I can play a game without much going on of story and yes have a video/music on.

It varies.

I don't find humans or their business interesting, so to me if it's tech, retro gaming or something anime or others sure, but that's about it. Only hobby based stuff.

Heck I even make Minecraft modpacks or make wikis if I care.

Most people using mobile apps clearly don't know how to keep busy, have conversations about nothing, browse too much, think people are talking about them or have to engage in conversation only and not find other things to do.

I assume not a Drawn to Life type game? Or others? That aside this looks cool, regardless of audience this looks interesting. If any licensed IP games can pull it off, by all means.

The imagination/gameplay potential while still being accessible, and a great kids/family IP for sure. Bluey is a great IP for sure.

Not too sure on the gameplay, but otherwise a lot looks good here for what gameplay there is, the artstyle to suit drawings is a cool idea.

I usually go for gameplay not the IP (or theming as much sometimes either for 'games') but I respect this one a lot. This looks great.

So is this going to be like Bungie's Oni? I think projects to get inspiration from such things are pretty cool and with a western spin. They are very intruging to see what they come up with.

That aside it looks fair, but if the gameplay stands, the building jumping seems fair for what it is, and going through Echoes of the End again the gravity path sections hmm.

@HRdepartment Other then the God of War 2D (not bought yet) I haven't cared for a Sony product since 2017, maybe a bit for Dreams (otherwise Gravity Rush/Knack) but that's it. Otherwise gone retro with most of their stuff as I preferred the variety and ideas they had in the past and I didn't experience most of them so filled in those gaps. Otherwise PS4 3rd parties, that's it. Not a single 1st party for me really.

Decisions like this with such expertise, no moving them to assist Nixxes with ports, no remasters/remakes/ports, no other projects to pitch suited to them, or their scale of team. Just live services, maybe mobile, maybe a TV/movie scale IP, maybe something too small they say no to. Who knows. We need to know it's just so silly to waste their talent on a Redfall or others like excuse to learn live services and be dropped.

Retro Studios with Nintendo at least has DK/Metroid Prime but even many of their projects get dropped and even the Nintendo USA studio otherwise makes Mario Minis games the puzzle game series, they haven't made anything Wave Race or otherwise scale since, what a waste of their talent and upcoming staff that studio is based around. Some Japanese studios really waste western one's talent and skills sometimes. In this case whatever Herman or others were thinking or told to do.

Whoever had other buttering up of business that worked compared to Bluepoint I guess, from other failed projects or successful ones.

I've gone mostly 3rd party on PS4, not impressed with PS5's peripherals or games, hardware is fine just nothing I want to play, I can wait for the ones I do, but I'm not desperate for those 3rd parties at all, been more interested in the Switch niche games 1st or 3rd party, buying the major ones later.

Xbox I barely even care about other then back compat, barely even gotten 3rd parties there. Barely even turn it on I go for 360 more for back compat or 360 games left behind or from past trends or so for their grrat mechanics and gameplay.

@SMJ I agree, I hope someone does, what great talent wasted on other superficial projects and no matter their pitches live service or ambitious or small scale, Sony apparently just wasn't hearing any of it.

They couldn't have put Bluepoint to assist Nixxes or something even, nope, waste their time and expertise on garbage other projects instead. Let alone 'make your own game again' sigh.

But their other studios can do it. It didn't seem they were playing fair really. Some in other studios must have talked really well with them to save themselves after other projects built and stopped too.

Live service, mobile, TV show/movie style IP or otherwise. Whatever large or small scale they clearly weren't happy with.