If Concord's failure didn't hurt PlayStation then the other half a dozen cancelled live-service games and the potential of this Horizon game cannot hurt the platform. That's why Sony will continue investing until they have that big live-service success every publisher is aiming for.
@AI-Generation I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying your PS5 Pro. There is still an appeal to traditional consoles.
But I have the impression that both Valve/Steam and Microsoft/Xbox see it as an opportunity to improve their OS for gaming in the living room. Steam OS on the Steam Deck definitely shows how it's done.
This new Xbox Helix hybrid thing will able to play PC games, meaning I guess it can play Sony Studio games as well as switching to a console mode for Xbox console games.
I don't think the "Xbox Helix" hybrid would be enough to change PlayStation's strategy regarding PC releases, especially where the next Xbox hardware is expected to be significantly more expensive than what a PS6 might cost.
Adding Valve's Steam Machine, PC gaming handhelds and cheap gaming PCs from Chinese brands like Ayaneo to the landscape, all targeting the living room and console-like experiences, and suddenly it becomes more difficult to convince people to buy an expensive TV tethered gaming console, when people can buy a cheaper device with an open PC ecosystem.
What changed? What happened for you to become so jaded against PC getting PlayStation games?
They need to keep readers engaged somehow. If Xbox poses no competition to PlayStation anymore, then what could replace it as the "opponent of PlayStation"?
Based on that logic, Microsoft would also stop releasing their games on PlayStation, because apart from Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves and Oblivion Remastered, everything else sold below 500k units on PS5.
Luckily they continue releasing games on PlayStation. Sometimes you need to invest to build up an audience.
I really wish with remasters they'd choose games that were generations old.
I respect your opinion, I just wanted to point out that Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag is actually 2 generations old, as it was released at the tail end of the PS3 and Xbox 360 era. It looked fairly nice for it's generation, so I see your point. Unfortunately in most cases publishers will choose the most successful and beloved games of a series for a remake, before they focus on older ones.
Back in the days AC4 Black Flag felt like an extension of the naval gameplay from AC3 to me. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the other ones. The story felt like it's leading nowhere, but the atmosphere was strong.
Now 13 years later, after the Assassin's Creed series went the RPG route and having played over 2000 hours of Sea of Thieves, I could see myself enjoying the qualities of Black Flag more.
But I am somewhat sceptical regarding the combat, where the original already felt too easy. And I could see the now non-failing tailing missions encouraging that you murder your targets to save time.
What I am mostly curious about, if they reworked or removed the present time sections, as I actually felt quite involved in the present time templar vs assassins plot. Also I hope those annoying "idle" missions got removed, where you send a ship crew on a mission and wait 30 minutes for the result.
Man, if this was implement on my Nintendo 3DS, where I still have 30 or so digital games (Super Mario 3D Land, 20 retro Nintendo games, Sega 3D Classics, Steamworld games) downloaded from before they closed the store, I would be angry if I couldn't access those games offline.
Oh well, I guess I'll spend my money on physical Evercade cartridges that I know will work offline.
The Last of Us Online could have been the most fitting franchise for an extraction shooter (like Arc Raiders). Scarce resources, people need to craft and improvise to survive, quest givers asking you to find medicine or a lost personal item, all sorts of hostile infected beings roaming the lands and other player survivors who may or may not attack you.
Oh well, we shouldn't dwell in what could have been.
@ozkrmz Awesome to see someone sharing their love for older hardware. Thanks for sharing and enjoy gaming no matter on which device. Gaming is about the games, not the platform you play them on. Don't let others spoil your fun. 👍
"I hope we're going to start calling them Returnal-likes at some point"
Maybe if these games were more broadly available on all platforms like "Dark Souls". Otherwise people will continue calling the genre "rogue-like" or "rogue-lite".
Cases like this are the reason why I am sceptical of future console generations supporting physical media. Unfortunately every platform holder, including Sony, want the users to be "always online", to avoid issues with offline DRM.
Since then there's no devs who wants to make a dedicated and polished X-Men game where you can control multiple X-Men characters, NOT just Wolverine.
If I remember correctly, based on the leaked Insomniac Games data, currently PlayStation/Insomniac Games are the only ones who have the license from Marvel to create and release a dedicated X-Men game. Even if other developers would want to work on a dedicated X-Men, Wolverine or Spider-Man, they cannot due to contractual agreements between Sony and Disney/Marvel, which based on the leaks last until 2035.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-signs-deal-with-marvel-to-make-exclusive-x-men-games-until-2035-insomniac-cyber-security-attack-reveals
If Wolverine end up as a success, I hope Sony give the greenlight for Insomniac to make X-Men game :3
Unless something changed since the Insomniac Games leak, X-Men is already on their roadmap to release in 2030.
@AdamNovice A Venom game would have made a lot of sense especially in combination with the recent Venom movies. I get it, that Insomniac's Spiderman universe is seperate from the MCU (and I don't know where Sony's Spidry film universe fits in), but having a movie and game combo has always been successful.
But it allows just enough uncertainty to re-open the debate, and it’s something I’m becoming increasingly tired of.
You're sharing your frustration over multiple articles, but then go on to write another 1-2 articles about the same thing. You're obsessed with Xbox. You need help man.
As seen with PlayStation 1st party games "underperforming" when they got released years later on PC, in case of Forza Horizon 6 it will also suffer from not launching the same day on PS5 as on Xbox and PC. But, I still think it will be well received on PS5 once it launches.
Never would have thought that on a PlayStation centeric website the PlayStation fans would prefer the PlayStation service more than the Xbox service. I wonder what the result would look like if the same question is asked on an Xbox centric website? 😆
From a business point of view, Microsoft knows, if you want to grow a market or release a new service you need to invest first to attract the user base. They already turned many of their products into services (Office, Azure, Copilot) so doing it for games was a good attempt. But apparently the subscriber base didn't grow as they would have hoped.
Personally I appreciate that players have the choice between buying a game or "renting" it via a subscription. Not everyone lives in a wealthy country and has the monthly income to afford all the hot new games. But I guess some gamers have never been inclusive.
ITT - people not realising Microsoft are desperate, and Xbox is a dead format. This isn't competition for Sony.
Wow, really? I didn't know Xbox is dead as I'm only reading PlayStation related articles on PushSquare. When did Microsoft announce it? Is it just the "format" or also the "platform"? How many millions of users are impacted and where are they going to go? Will they be able to migrate their libraries?
This is crazy news, why is no one else talking about it?
If PlayStation players had to wait 2 years for Starfield to release (in a broken state) on PS5, then they can wait a few more weeks until it's on sale and patched.
@Flaming_Kaiser I agree, ads in gaming are annoying, but it's already an established thing on mobile. Gaming is not moving in a direction that you and me like, but it is the way it is. A new generation of players, who grew up with ads- filled free-to-play mobile games, could be joining PC and console gaming. They have a different tolerance for ads and digital distribution.
Personally I view subscription models like GamePass and PS Plus Extra as rental subscriptions. I rent games which I want to try first or games which otherwise I wouldn't buy. But the subscription costs have become too high so I dropped to the lowest tier.
Thanks for the nice review. I played the demo fairly recently, it was fun, but the game didn't quite click with me. Don't know, but the rigid dungeons and the turn-based deck-builder combat felt somewhat stiff.
the only reason COD is multiplatform is because of those trials.
Microsoft’s own internal documents and public history suggest multiplatform was the goal for two reasons: financial necessity and historical precedent.
In court filings (notably the FTC v. Microsoft trial in 2023), Microsoft revealed that Activision’s previous attempt to make Call of Duty exclusive to their own PC platform (Battle.net) was a "resounding failure." Microsoft argued it would be financially suicidal to cut off the massive PlayStation player base, as they would lose billions in revenue that the $69 billion deal required to recoup.
Microsoft frequently cited Minecraft as their blueprint. After acquiring Mojang, they kept the game on every possible platform because the value is in the network effect and microtransactions, not hardware sales.
Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year contract for Call of Duty before the major trials began. Jim Ryan famously rejected it initially, stating in a leaked email, "I don't want a new COD deal. I just want to stop your merger."
It also bought PlayStation enough time to sort out the shortages. Xbox was doing pretty well those first two years.
While the delay did give Sony time to resolve PS5 supply chain issues, it’s worth noting that they were both impacted. By the time the deal closed in late 2023, the "shortage" era was largely over for both. Sony didn't "win" more time; they simply survived the same global supply chain crisis everyone else did.
Microsoft’s strategic shift was driven by internal corporate mandates, not Jim Ryan's pressure. They have been investing tens of billions into AI since 2019. Every division, including Xbox, is now under pressure to be "self-sustaining" to help fund the company's massive pivot into AI. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood reportedly issued a new mandate for the Xbox division to reach 30% accountability margins. Jim Ryan didn't do that.
I'd also say delaying that acquisition financially hurt their competitor as the economic environment changed drastically in that two year period (Jerome Powells interest rates).
Jim Ryan’s aggressive opposition required a massive legal and lobbying spend. Sony had to fly executives globally and produce thousands of documents. While Microsoft's "setback" was a drop in the bucket for a $3 trillion company, the legal campaign was a significant distraction for Sony's leadership.
Kind of surprising that Jim Ryan offered a meaningful position to Yoshida Shuhei, where he could actually have an impact. Usually in these corporations, he would have gotten a made up position with no responsibilities.
And it also proves that Yoshida did a formidable job, as PlayStation at that time was disregarded as a platform for indies and Yoshida turned it around making PlayStation, next to Steam and Nintendo, one of the top priorities for indie releases.
@Flaming_Kaiser Good question. My best guess is that for console/PC players with a dedicated gaming device, not much will change except for less options for physical games. I could imagine, even if the PS6 has some form of physical distribution (disc drive), new games on physical discs will become rarer, maybe more expensive, and might arrive weeks/months after the actual release of a game. We already had a few rare exceptions, like Alan Wake 2's physical release arriving 1 year later this generation.
Don't think of "streaming games via subscription " becoming the only option. Just like with video streaming, for gaming you will have the option to pay for a subscription and consume what's included, or pay for a digital license for unlimited usage (*as long as the servers are kept up) tied to your account.
While many 3rd party publishers (EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar, Activision) have their own digital store, you are still able to buy their games and micro-transactions on the PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Steam and Epic Games stores. The question will be how you will access the library of games tied to your account: via a gaming device or streaming?
Stadia had 3 major issues:
Initially there was no free option.
The base option had no free games.
You had to build up a library from scratch.
GeForce NOW allows you to play games which you bought on Steam or Epic Games and has a free option with ads, but the paid tiers are more suitable. Gameranx has a pretty good impression video on how GeForce NOW works: https://youtu.be/cUe90EzDV7s Based on rumors Microsoft is also working on an ad-based free GamePass subscription.
People have shown that they will tolerate ads when watching videos on YouTube and other video streaming platforms, and are willing to upgrade if it becomes unbearable. I think for the next 5 years things will mostly stay as they are and people will continue playing on old & current gen hardware. But over the next 10 years I could imagine streaming becoming popular, as new big games might not run on current gen hardware and next gen hardware is expected to be very expensive.
@twitchtvpat You can already connect the PS5 and the Xbox consoles to a monitor and a mouse & keyboard. If the Xbox Helix is a PC underneath than it should be able to play any PC game. It will be up to the users how they set it up an use it.
I do wonder, if Microsoft truly goes so far to make their games Xbox exclusive again, will we get more articles about "port begging " here? Those articles seem to be quite popular with the fans. /sarcasm
Maybe Microsoft will take PlayStation's example and only release live-service multiplayer games on PlayStation going forward? 🤷🏼
Apart from Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves, none of the Microsoft published games sold exceptionally well on PlayStation.
But personally I don't like this trend of going back to exclusives. There was this sense that PlayStation and Xbox would open up and release their games on more platforms, making those games more accessible, ending all the pointless "console war" debates. But now it seems like things are going back to how they were before - except now everything is more expensive.
@Flaming_Kaiser It depends how you define "affordable"? For many low income families, paying 10-15 Euros per month for a streaming subscription is more affordable than having to pay 500+ Euros upfront for a new device and 30-80 Euros per game (or if we compare it to movies and series 15-25 Euros per Blu-ray).
I don't believe gaming on consoles and PC will fully be replaced by streaming, they will still remain for the gaming enthusiasts who can afford it, but I do think that especially console gaming could slowly decrease over the next 10 years, if console prices go up instead of down, becoming "less affordable".
Game preservation is already in a bad place in my opinion, no matter what you think about streaming. The majority of games released on disc are incomplete, lack key day-1 patches and/or require a constant internet connection. Also with time some games become a rarr collectibles and go up in price (especially Nintendo games), making them less affordable. I rather prefer an affordable game distributed digitally via the PlayStation store than an over expensive game on a disc or cartridge.
I assume we both grew up in the 90s or early 2000s, are nostalgic to that amazing feeling of having a new game physically in your hands and putting it into your console for the first time. That's why I love Evercade so much, as it allows me to relive that feeling. But modern gaming is slowly moving away from physical media and I don't think there is much we can do about it.
@Rhaoulos Microsoft would never claim it's just because Call of Duty. Officially GamePass subscribers got an "upgrade". Here's the official message:
Ultimate has been upgraded for players who want the best of everything. We’re rolling out our most expansive upgrade yet, including more day one games than ever before, Fortnite Crew & Ubisoft+ Classics for the first time ever, enhanced Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming quality up to 1440p, Rewards with Xbox, and more. Now players can have it all.
Ultimate subscribers now get access to over 75 day one releases a year. That includes some of the most anticipated upcoming games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, High on Life 2, Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4, and The Outer Worlds 2. These join a growing library of more than 400 games playable on Xbox consoles, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud on supported devices, with more than 45 new games added today. Think of hits like Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, plus exclusive benefits like access to EA Play.
I think Microsoft gambled, hoping that whole lot more people would subscribe to GamePass with the addition of Call of Duty releases day 1, but that didn't happen.
@cragis0001 was Bethesda perfect? No. But let’s look at the track record here - can you honestly name one Microsoft acquisition that has been better post purchase?
Mojang Studios, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment have all grown in size and have successful games.
It's baffling how Bethesda managed to make Starfield worse on all platform, years after the first release. It didn't crash so much on the initial launch.
It's hardly surprising that the worst Call of Duty in the last 10 years, with strong releases from Battlefield 6 around the same release window, didn't perform in sales as it was initially expected. Yet it didn't stop the game dominating thr sales charts in January and February.
Most likely the revenue it "lost" on GamePass it gained from PlayStation and PC. But a bad Call of Duty is a bad Call of Duty.
@psmr They do, but this is about Bethesda and their role under Xbox management. This is about Pete Hines not having any decision making control and his role being redundant after the Xbox management took over. It's just giving context to how management in large corporations works.
@Flaming_Kaiser I replied to your previous comment: "Better spend a fortune on subscriptions where you don't own anything. Man streaming services are a nightmare already with movies."
My point is, despite streaming games not being your or my preferred way of playing games, it could potentially become the most viable option for people with low income in the near future, who cannot afford new expensive consoles which go up in price over time. People won't mind not having ownership and they will tolerate all the downsides of streaming, as long as they can play the "newest premium games" for a low entry price. If subscription fees become too high then people will unsubscribe and either play free-to-play games or turn to piracy.
Comments 590
Re: Sony's Not Pulling the Plug on Horizon Hunters Gathering, New PS5 and PC Beta Test Announced
If Concord's failure didn't hurt PlayStation then the other half a dozen cancelled live-service games and the potential of this Horizon game cannot hurt the platform. That's why Sony will continue investing until they have that big live-service success every publisher is aiming for.
Re: These Numbers Explain Why Sony Is Stopping Porting PS5 Games to PC
@INeedGoodGraphics
According to Alinea Analytics (take it with a grain of salt) Marathon sold around 800k on Steam, 217k on PS5 and 133k on Xbox, a few weeks after release.
Link: https://alineaanalytics.substack.com/p/marathon-has-sold-12m-copies-across
Re: These Numbers Explain Why Sony Is Stopping Porting PS5 Games to PC
@AI-Generation I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying your PS5 Pro. There is still an appeal to traditional consoles.
But I have the impression that both Valve/Steam and Microsoft/Xbox see it as an opportunity to improve their OS for gaming in the living room. Steam OS on the Steam Deck definitely shows how it's done.
Re: These Numbers Explain Why Sony Is Stopping Porting PS5 Games to PC
@AI-Generation
I don't think the "Xbox Helix" hybrid would be enough to change PlayStation's strategy regarding PC releases, especially where the next Xbox hardware is expected to be significantly more expensive than what a PS6 might cost.
Adding Valve's Steam Machine, PC gaming handhelds and cheap gaming PCs from Chinese brands like Ayaneo to the landscape, all targeting the living room and console-like experiences, and suddenly it becomes more difficult to convince people to buy an expensive TV tethered gaming console, when people can buy a cheaper device with an open PC ecosystem.
Re: These Numbers Explain Why Sony Is Stopping Porting PS5 Games to PC
@ryanburnsred
They need to keep readers engaged somehow. If Xbox poses no competition to PlayStation anymore, then what could replace it as the "opponent of PlayStation"?
Re: These Numbers Explain Why Sony Is Stopping Porting PS5 Games to PC
Based on that logic, Microsoft would also stop releasing their games on PlayStation, because apart from Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves and Oblivion Remastered, everything else sold below 500k units on PS5.
Luckily they continue releasing games on PlayStation. Sometimes you need to invest to build up an audience.
Re: Poll: Are You Sold on Assassin's Creed: Black Flag's PS5 Remake?
@THEBrew
I respect your opinion, I just wanted to point out that Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag is actually 2 generations old, as it was released at the tail end of the PS3 and Xbox 360 era. It looked fairly nice for it's generation, so I see your point. Unfortunately in most cases publishers will choose the most successful and beloved games of a series for a remake, before they focus on older ones.
Re: Poll: Are You Sold on Assassin's Creed: Black Flag's PS5 Remake?
I'm not fully sold yet...
Back in the days AC4 Black Flag felt like an extension of the naval gameplay from AC3 to me. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the other ones. The story felt like it's leading nowhere, but the atmosphere was strong.
Now 13 years later, after the Assassin's Creed series went the RPG route and having played over 2000 hours of Sea of Thieves, I could see myself enjoying the qualities of Black Flag more.
But I am somewhat sceptical regarding the combat, where the original already felt too easy. And I could see the now non-failing tailing missions encouraging that you murder your targets to save time.
What I am mostly curious about, if they reworked or removed the present time sections, as I actually felt quite involved in the present time templar vs assassins plot. Also I hope those annoying "idle" missions got removed, where you send a ship crew on a mission and wait 30 minutes for the result.
Re: PS5 Confirmed to Be Affected by Game Expiry Issue, Sony Support Sends Mixed Messages on DRM
Man, if this was implement on my Nintendo 3DS, where I still have 30 or so digital games (Super Mario 3D Land, 20 retro Nintendo games, Sega 3D Classics, Steamworld games) downloaded from before they closed the store, I would be angry if I couldn't access those games offline.
Oh well, I guess I'll spend my money on physical Evercade cartridges that I know will work offline.
Re: 'We're Going to Pull Funding if You Don't Fix This': Uncharted 4 Was Almost Cancelled on PS4 Because It 'Sucked'
Luckily they pulled through and the game became successful.
Re: The Last of Us Online Was 'the Best Multiplayer Game' Devs Ever Played
The Last of Us Online could have been the most fitting franchise for an extraction shooter (like Arc Raiders). Scarce resources, people need to craft and improvise to survive, quest givers asking you to find medicine or a lost personal item, all sorts of hostile infected beings roaming the lands and other player survivors who may or may not attack you.
Oh well, we shouldn't dwell in what could have been.
Re: PS5 Price Increases Hit Another Region, Effective from 1st May
@ozkrmz Awesome to see someone sharing their love for older hardware. Thanks for sharing and enjoy gaming no matter on which device. Gaming is about the games, not the platform you play them on. Don't let others spoil your fun. 👍
Re: 'This Feels Like Nothing Else Out There': Saros Devs on Making Another Standout PS5 Exclusive
Maybe if these games were more broadly available on all platforms like "Dark Souls". Otherwise people will continue calling the genre "rogue-like" or "rogue-lite".
Re: PS4 Game Expiry Timer Sparks DRM Concerns, Here's What We Know So Far
Cases like this are the reason why I am sceptical of future console generations supporting physical media. Unfortunately every platform holder, including Sony, want the users to be "always online", to avoid issues with offline DRM.
Re: Uncertainty Surrounds Rumoured Venom PS5 Game
@PuppetMaster
If I remember correctly, based on the leaked Insomniac Games data, currently PlayStation/Insomniac Games are the only ones who have the license from Marvel to create and release a dedicated X-Men game. Even if other developers would want to work on a dedicated X-Men, Wolverine or Spider-Man, they cannot due to contractual agreements between Sony and Disney/Marvel, which based on the leaks last until 2035.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-signs-deal-with-marvel-to-make-exclusive-x-men-games-until-2035-insomniac-cyber-security-attack-reveals
Unless something changed since the Insomniac Games leak, X-Men is already on their roadmap to release in 2030.
Re: Uncertainty Surrounds Rumoured Venom PS5 Game
@AdamNovice A Venom game would have made a lot of sense especially in combination with the recent Venom movies. I get it, that Insomniac's Spiderman universe is seperate from the MCU (and I don't know where Sony's Spidry film universe fits in), but having a movie and game combo has always been successful.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 630
Re: 'We'll Share More When We're Ready': Xbox Wants to Make the 'Right Decision' on Exclusivity and PS5
You're sharing your frustration over multiple articles, but then go on to write another 1-2 articles about the same thing. You're obsessed with Xbox. You need help man.
Re: Xbox Is Flip-Flopping on PS5 Again, and It's Truly Getting Tiring
Really? 😆 Based on the number of articles where you criticize them, you seem to have an issue with them.
Re: Microsoft Surely Kicking Itself for Not Having Forza Horizon 6 on PS5 Ready for Next Month's Launch
As seen with PlayStation 1st party games "underperforming" when they got released years later on PC, in case of Forza Horizon 6 it will also suffer from not launching the same day on PS5 as on Xbox and PC. But, I still think it will be well received on PS5 once it launches.
Re: Xbox Game Pass vs PS Plus: Was Sony Right All Along?
Never would have thought that on a PlayStation centeric website the PlayStation fans would prefer the PlayStation service more than the Xbox service. I wonder what the result would look like if the same question is asked on an Xbox centric website? 😆
From a business point of view, Microsoft knows, if you want to grow a market or release a new service you need to invest first to attract the user base. They already turned many of their products into services (Office, Azure, Copilot) so doing it for games was a good attempt. But apparently the subscriber base didn't grow as they would have hoped.
Personally I appreciate that players have the choice between buying a game or "renting" it via a subscription. Not everyone lives in a wealthy country and has the monthly income to afford all the hot new games. But I guess some gamers have never been inclusive.
Re: PS Plus Value Called into Question as Xbox Slashes Game Pass Price
@MrPeanutbutterz
Wow, really? I didn't know Xbox is dead as I'm only reading PlayStation related articles on PushSquare. When did Microsoft announce it? Is it just the "format" or also the "platform"? How many millions of users are impacted and where are they going to go? Will they be able to migrate their libraries?
This is crazy news, why is no one else talking about it?
Re: Starfield Tops Weekly US Sales Charts Despite 'Disappointing' Early Estimates
If PlayStation players had to wait 2 years for Starfield to release (in a broken state) on PS5, then they can wait a few more weeks until it's on sale and patched.
Re: 'The Solution Is to Get Rid of Consoles': Analyst Predicts $1,000 PS6 and a Transition to Game Streaming
@Flaming_Kaiser I agree, ads in gaming are annoying, but it's already an established thing on mobile. Gaming is not moving in a direction that you and me like, but it is the way it is. A new generation of players, who grew up with ads- filled free-to-play mobile games, could be joining PC and console gaming. They have a different tolerance for ads and digital distribution.
Personally I view subscription models like GamePass and PS Plus Extra as rental subscriptions. I rent games which I want to try first or games which otherwise I wouldn't buy. But the subscription costs have become too high so I dropped to the lowest tier.
Re: 'I Didn't Listen to Him': Ex PlayStation Boss Shu Yoshida on Why Jim Ryan 'Fired' Him
@nessisonett
Sony lists Gran Turismo 7 and MLB The Show also as live-service games.
Re: Mini Review: Vampire Crawlers (PS5) - Just as Fiendishly Compelling as Vampire Survivors
Thanks for the nice review. I played the demo fairly recently, it was fun, but the game didn't quite click with me. Don't know, but the rigid dungeons and the turn-based deck-builder combat felt somewhat stiff.
Re: 'We Haven't Forgotten You': No Rest for the Wicked Dev Teases Action RPG's PS5 Release
Unfortunately we have forgotten about them. /S 😆
Seriously, I was looking forward to play this, when they first announced it, but it's been years since then.
Re: 'I Didn't Listen to Him': Ex PlayStation Boss Shu Yoshida on Why Jim Ryan 'Fired' Him
@cainhurst94
Microsoft’s own internal documents and public history suggest multiplatform was the goal for two reasons: financial necessity and historical precedent.
While the delay did give Sony time to resolve PS5 supply chain issues, it’s worth noting that they were both impacted. By the time the deal closed in late 2023, the "shortage" era was largely over for both. Sony didn't "win" more time; they simply survived the same global supply chain crisis everyone else did.
Microsoft’s strategic shift was driven by internal corporate mandates, not Jim Ryan's pressure. They have been investing tens of billions into AI since 2019. Every division, including Xbox, is now under pressure to be "self-sustaining" to help fund the company's massive pivot into AI. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood reportedly issued a new mandate for the Xbox division to reach 30% accountability margins. Jim Ryan didn't do that.
Jim Ryan’s aggressive opposition required a massive legal and lobbying spend. Sony had to fly executives globally and produce thousands of documents. While Microsoft's "setback" was a drop in the bucket for a $3 trillion company, the legal campaign was a significant distraction for Sony's leadership.
Re: 'I Didn't Listen to Him': Ex PlayStation Boss Shu Yoshida on Why Jim Ryan 'Fired' Him
@cainhurst94
What exactly did he achieve with ABK, apart from delaying the acquisition negotiations? 😆
Re: 'I Didn't Listen to Him': Ex PlayStation Boss Shu Yoshida on Why Jim Ryan 'Fired' Him
Kind of surprising that Jim Ryan offered a meaningful position to Yoshida Shuhei, where he could actually have an impact. Usually in these corporations, he would have gotten a made up position with no responsibilities.
And it also proves that Yoshida did a formidable job, as PlayStation at that time was disregarded as a platform for indies and Yoshida turned it around making PlayStation, next to Steam and Nintendo, one of the top priorities for indie releases.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 629
Re: 'The Solution Is to Get Rid of Consoles': Analyst Predicts $1,000 PS6 and a Transition to Game Streaming
@Flaming_Kaiser Good question. My best guess is that for console/PC players with a dedicated gaming device, not much will change except for less options for physical games. I could imagine, even if the PS6 has some form of physical distribution (disc drive), new games on physical discs will become rarer, maybe more expensive, and might arrive weeks/months after the actual release of a game. We already had a few rare exceptions, like Alan Wake 2's physical release arriving 1 year later this generation.
Don't think of "streaming games via subscription " becoming the only option. Just like with video streaming, for gaming you will have the option to pay for a subscription and consume what's included, or pay for a digital license for unlimited usage (*as long as the servers are kept up) tied to your account.
While many 3rd party publishers (EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar, Activision) have their own digital store, you are still able to buy their games and micro-transactions on the PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Steam and Epic Games stores. The question will be how you will access the library of games tied to your account: via a gaming device or streaming?
Stadia had 3 major issues:
GeForce NOW allows you to play games which you bought on Steam or Epic Games and has a free option with ads, but the paid tiers are more suitable. Gameranx has a pretty good impression video on how GeForce NOW works: https://youtu.be/cUe90EzDV7s Based on rumors Microsoft is also working on an ad-based free GamePass subscription.
People have shown that they will tolerate ads when watching videos on YouTube and other video streaming platforms, and are willing to upgrade if it becomes unbearable. I think for the next 5 years things will mostly stay as they are and people will continue playing on old & current gen hardware. But over the next 10 years I could imagine streaming becoming popular, as new big games might not run on current gen hardware and next gen hardware is expected to be very expensive.
Re: Xbox Targets 2027 for Project Helix Dev Kits, Calling Rumoured PS6 Release Into Question
@twitchtvpat You can already connect the PS5 and the Xbox consoles to a monitor and a mouse & keyboard. If the Xbox Helix is a PC underneath than it should be able to play any PC game. It will be up to the users how they set it up an use it.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Debating Whether to Make Its Games Exclusive Again
I do wonder, if Microsoft truly goes so far to make their games Xbox exclusive again, will we get more articles about "port begging " here? Those articles seem to be quite popular with the fans. /sarcasm
Re: Rumour: Xbox Debating Whether to Make Its Games Exclusive Again
Maybe Microsoft will take PlayStation's example and only release live-service multiplayer games on PlayStation going forward? 🤷🏼
Apart from Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves, none of the Microsoft published games sold exceptionally well on PlayStation.
But personally I don't like this trend of going back to exclusives. There was this sense that PlayStation and Xbox would open up and release their games on more platforms, making those games more accessible, ending all the pointless "console war" debates. But now it seems like things are going back to how they were before - except now everything is more expensive.
Re: 'The Solution Is to Get Rid of Consoles': Analyst Predicts $1,000 PS6 and a Transition to Game Streaming
@Flaming_Kaiser It depends how you define "affordable"? For many low income families, paying 10-15 Euros per month for a streaming subscription is more affordable than having to pay 500+ Euros upfront for a new device and 30-80 Euros per game (or if we compare it to movies and series 15-25 Euros per Blu-ray).
I don't believe gaming on consoles and PC will fully be replaced by streaming, they will still remain for the gaming enthusiasts who can afford it, but I do think that especially console gaming could slowly decrease over the next 10 years, if console prices go up instead of down, becoming "less affordable".
Game preservation is already in a bad place in my opinion, no matter what you think about streaming. The majority of games released on disc are incomplete, lack key day-1 patches and/or require a constant internet connection. Also with time some games become a rarr collectibles and go up in price (especially Nintendo games), making them less affordable. I rather prefer an affordable game distributed digitally via the PlayStation store than an over expensive game on a disc or cartridge.
I assume we both grew up in the 90s or early 2000s, are nostalgic to that amazing feeling of having a new game physically in your hands and putting it into your console for the first time. That's why I love Evercade so much, as it allows me to relive that feeling. But modern gaming is slowly moving away from physical media and I don't think there is much we can do about it.
Re: Pragmata (PS5) - Brilliant Combat Is the Star of Yet Another Capcom PS5 Hit
Looking forward to play this. I thoroughly enjoyed the demo.
Re: Rumour: Call of Duty's $300 Million Xbox Game Pass Gambit Could End
@Rhaoulos Microsoft would never claim it's just because Call of Duty. Officially GamePass subscribers got an "upgrade". Here's the official message:
Source: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/10/01/xbox-game-pass-ultimate-premium-essential-plans/
I think Microsoft gambled, hoping that whole lot more people would subscribe to GamePass with the addition of Call of Duty releases day 1, but that didn't happen.
Re: 'I Saw How It Was Getting Damaged': Ex-Bethesda Exec Goes to Town on Xbox's Mistreatment
@Ajbr8687
Mojang Studios, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment have all grown in size and have successful games.
Re: Rumour: Call of Duty's $300 Million Xbox Game Pass Gambit Could End
@Rhaoulos unofficially yes. Microsoft might be changing plans, if people unsubscribed after increasing the subscription prices
Re: Starfield Has a Serious Crashing Issue on PS5, PS5 Pro
It's baffling how Bethesda managed to make Starfield worse on all platform, years after the first release. It didn't crash so much on the initial launch.
Re: Rumour: Call of Duty's $300 Million Xbox Game Pass Gambit Could End
It's hardly surprising that the worst Call of Duty in the last 10 years, with strong releases from Battlefield 6 around the same release window, didn't perform in sales as it was initially expected. Yet it didn't stop the game dominating thr sales charts in January and February.
Most likely the revenue it "lost" on GamePass it gained from PlayStation and PC. But a bad Call of Duty is a bad Call of Duty.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 628
Re: 'I Saw How It Was Getting Damaged': Ex-Bethesda Exec Goes to Town on Xbox's Mistreatment
@psmr Maybe also happy developers? Just to balance out the negativity with some positives?
Re: 'I Saw How It Was Getting Damaged': Ex-Bethesda Exec Goes to Town on Xbox's Mistreatment
@psmr What about disgruntled first party devs?
Re: 'I Saw How It Was Getting Damaged': Ex-Bethesda Exec Goes to Town on Xbox's Mistreatment
@psmr I guess you are right, sorry. PushSquare needs to write more articles about Pete Hines.
Re: 'I Saw How It Was Getting Damaged': Ex-Bethesda Exec Goes to Town on Xbox's Mistreatment
@psmr They do, but this is about Bethesda and their role under Xbox management. This is about Pete Hines not having any decision making control and his role being redundant after the Xbox management took over. It's just giving context to how management in large corporations works.
Re: 'I Saw How It Was Getting Damaged': Ex-Bethesda Exec Goes to Town on Xbox's Mistreatment
@rusty82
The article drives user engagement despite being unrelated to PlayStation.
Re: 'The Solution Is to Get Rid of Consoles': Analyst Predicts $1,000 PS6 and a Transition to Game Streaming
@Flaming_Kaiser I replied to your previous comment: "Better spend a fortune on subscriptions where you don't own anything. Man streaming services are a nightmare already with movies."
My point is, despite streaming games not being your or my preferred way of playing games, it could potentially become the most viable option for people with low income in the near future, who cannot afford new expensive consoles which go up in price over time. People won't mind not having ownership and they will tolerate all the downsides of streaming, as long as they can play the "newest premium games" for a low entry price. If subscription fees become too high then people will unsubscribe and either play free-to-play games or turn to piracy.
Re: 007 First Light Is Getting Its Own Limited Edition DualSense PS5 Controller
Am I the only one who thinks this design looks a bit like the "goatse" meme (NSFW!)? 🤣