gaston

great weather, maybe a bit hot, and I did not play much, but a bit of tetris effect on psvr2 (the platform claimed dead before it even was released, but alive enough that it is worthwhile to publish an article every now and then that it is dead). I was actually really surprised by tetris effect. I played the demo some time ago and did not really enjoy it and also did not think that VR added much. But, I took the plunge when it was on sale and now I am really loving it. Some levels are better than rez I would dare to say.

Very strange article. The expensive part is to get something ported to a platform, the extra maintenance cost cannot be so enormous. In particular it cannot be that much of work to put a new song pack on an additional platform (assuming that there is no significant fee attached to update a game). Even a few sales on new song packs would just be free money. Thus, to me to stop support feels more like a decision not to support a competing platform.

It was surprising that beat saber made it to psvr2 at all, I am pretty sure this was not because meta thought that psvr2 would be a good place to recoup some the billions they invested into VR. Maybe they did this to get some idea of the engagement and now they know enough.

Anyway psvr2 is a great improvement over psvr1, has now a very reasonable price, there are plenty of very good games, there is a continuous influx of new games, and the majority of them are of quite good quality.

@Bamila isn't this the point of video games, movies, books ?

@Dan12836666 MS hardly released anything in the first 3 years of this gen, PS is now behind. But this narrative that there is nothing coming from PS is so strange.

They released MLB the show, they released astrobot + dlc, bungie released the final shape, which I think was very well received (and wasn't there another one after that?), soon ghost of Yotei. Then there are second or third party games funded entirely or partially by PS. Sure stupid things happened, naughty dog's multiplayer was not thought though properly and then was cancelled very late, many studios pitched ideas which did not work out (london studio, pixel opus, bend, bluepoint) , and sony bought studios for live service games which also did not deliver. Sure, this is quite a disaster, but sony released games continuously. MS only seems to be in a good position outputwise because they bought publishers for 80 billions and then ported a lot of their more or less successful games over to playstation.. But did those studio deliver content reflecting their number and size ? Also the old catalogue of xbox games that still can be ported will dry out at some point and then this current dominance of xbox games in playstation release calendar will likely shrink.

Anyway I think somebody came up with this narrative that playstation studios stopped making single player games and everybody is just repeating this wrong statement.

I only recently picked up tetris effect and loving it (on psvr2). Before I only played the demo and wasn't impressed (also on psvr2). The trailer already made me curious, but now I am really looking forward to lumines arise.

@Dan12836666 ms has fallout 76, wow, overwatch, minecraft, sea of thieves, cod warzone and tried red fall, bleeding edge. But I guess non of these are live service because of reasons. Nintendo has smash brothers and mario kart also falls presumably also in this domain.

@LuDaurre Why is ps5 a shame ? It is better than a ps4(pro) in any respect (maybe but its design): gone are the long loading times, most games have good 60 fps modes, the controller provides much improved haptic feedback, 3D audio is not really unique but more ubiquitous, and VR headset which is easier to install, better resolution, better controller, better haptics. There haven't been many ground breaking first party games, but there are quire a few awesome games which released this generation (my highlight is probably returnal), and then ps5 is nearly 100% backward compatible with ps4 and many of the ps4 games run significantly better on ps5. I really do not understand the disappointment.

Okay in the past the generational leap was always more apparent since the resolution bump from generation to generation and increase in geometrical complexity was obvious, whereat the jump from HD to 4k is less noticeable and was also softened by the intermediate step, the ps4pro. Also many games just targeted ps4 since that hardware is already good enough. But for me just the fact that I do not have to wait e.g. more than 2min after dying in red dead redemption 2 makes all the difference. Bot to each their own. And if You do not see any value in a ps5, You could just sell it and get e.g. ps4 and save some money.

Beat saber is in my opinion the best rhythm game. In that sense it is a shame that they stop supporting it on psvr2. If the game is still supported on other platforms, then this decision feels strange. It cannot be that much work to also support the psvr2 version, and I am not sure whether this move would drive enough people to start from scratch and switch platforms. If they want to slowly ramp down and move on, it makes sense to stop supporting the platform that is not relevant for their future plans (if a successor is in the works, it won't be available on psvr2.)

Anyway I am happy that it made the jump to psvr2, which was not obvious. It has a decent enough music library, and as long as it does not disappear from the store it is not that bad.

Also people hate live service games (at least if they are produced by Sony; unless people make exceptions for games that do not have an explicit live service sticker attached to it), so there is likely no place for an indefinitely supported game.

Independent of who actually is to be credited for the art design of the game, all I can say it looks very good, and the world sounds intriguing. To me it looks more interesting than most of the other multiplayer shooters, but I am neither a multiplayer person nor do I play many flat screen games these days. So, without a VR mode I will most likely not give it a try.

Anyway I have the feeling that people just feel like they have to hate it because all Playstation GAAS games have to suck. I am pretty sure if the same game was under somebody's else banner it would not get the same negativity.

@Dman10 why would you play games like cyberpunk on a tiny screen ? You would miss out on many aspects of the great world they have created on such small screens. But to each their own.

I guess they had (or have) the ambition for a 2 billion dollar game but not the budget ...

I liked the first one. And indeed the voice acting was great. In particular the french version (the english voices much less). The second title was visually and maybe technically more striking, but it lacked the felling of inferiority and lacked the novelty. I somehow cannot imagine what could be an interesting spin for the 3rd installment.

I am still having 1/3 of the excellent hitman triology on psvr2 to get through plus the additional targets,The Mid Night Walk also on psvr2 but I am likely waiting for the next patch, and then I started Alien Rogue Incursion on psvr2, which really surprised me. It is a very solid, very atmospheric game. I suppose it improved quite a bit with the patches it got since launch.

Happy to see the extensive support of the psvr2 mode !

we haven't seen how it runs on the switch 2, but if it runs decently on a switch 2, should it not also be possible to add a VR mode ? That would at least something new.

I hope ioi hasn't forgotten how transformative and great the hitman vr mode is, and considered such an addition for this new title as well.

I hope they did not forget about the VR mode this time ...

I continue my vacation in the world of hitman on psvr2. I now arrived on the Maldives. Awesome !

Also played a bit of GT7 on psvr2 after a longer pause. Still as great as when I played it first.

If it is about a remaster or remake, I hope they make it something truly special and add a VR mode

While waiting for the next patch for the The Midnight Walk, I played more of the excellent psvr2 adaptation of hitman, which is basically 2 games in one. It can be played as intended or as a fps. It is quite difficult to resist the temptation to play it as the latter ...

If there is a game which You like and it gets continuously updated. What is the problem with that ?

For example, GT7 is one of the greatest psvr2 games and a live service game although never really called like that.

GTA V is presumably one of the most successful live service games. But maybe people just bought it on every system multiple times because of the single player content?

Anyway I don't get it why people automatically hate on every sony game that carries the live service sticker without even waiting for the game to come out. Marathon seems to have a very cool world and also seems to play well. I am not really much into multiplayer games, but if there was a psvr2 version I would definitely give it a shot.

@FredBiletnikoff Not sure that this is the correct interpretation. I would rather say, there are 70M PS5s in the wild and maybe 2M PS5+PSVR2, and a VR developer who also offers flat versions of their games has a good chance to significantly increase the revenue, provided the non-VR version is competitive enough in that market.

At the moment the majority of the VR developers search the revenue

Finished Wanderer on psvr2. Fantastic games despite all its issues and long patch roadmap (likely best played after summer). Looking forward to Wanderer 2 (so hoping that many people support the studio).

Also still playing the awesome psvr2 version of Hitman which I will enjoy for a long time.

And then I started "The midnight walk" also on psvr2. Wonderful artistic direction, great music. Absolutely worth the price despite the likely relatively short length, but not a game You would pick for the gameplay, I suppose.

It could be even more excellent if it had a psvr2 mode.

In my opinion, days gone had a great atmosphere. Initially I was intrigued by the story, but at some point I lost interest. After finishing the game, although I really enjoyed it, I did not have the impression I would need a sequel.

Anyway great that there is now an ultimate version for those who want to play it or play it again.

Now only a VR mode is missing.

Still playing Wanderer (psvr2) and hitman (psvr2). The developers of Wanderer just posted a long patch-roadmap. So, clearly the game launched despite it delays a couple of months too early. Still, it is very playable now and it is an amazing adventure (often like a point and click adventure), but also has less succeeded combat. Anyway, probably best played after summer, but the developer deserves appreciation. For hitman I currently lack patience, and I am too tempted to go in full assault, but then only last a couple of minutes ... . Anyway also an amazing psvr2 game.

I am still playing hitman and Wanderer on psvr2. It is so great that both these games made the jump to psvr2. The psvr2 versions of both these games are awesome (ignoring the current set of issues, which should be addressed already or in future updates). Since hitman just got a huge amount of fixes, I likely will focus on hitman.

@Dan12836666 I also really liked forbidden west (and zero dawn). I would say despite its success and appreciation, still an underappreciated game, since criticized by many for very weird reasons.

Sad to see! Really liked Rime and "The Invisible Hours".

The psvr2 version of hitman is awesome! But, I also ran into this load issue, and I am very much looking forward to a fix for that.

The artistic direction looks great and I have to say that I am intrigued by the small snippets of the worlds which have been revealed so far. Anyway I wish Bungie success!

Though, I am not a big multiplayer guy, so it is very unlikely that I will give this a shot. Maybe if they there is a VR mode, but there won't.

I am still playing hitman on psvr2. But now ran into the save file issue, and so I am presumably will wait for a patch. In the mean time I am enjoying my time (again) with the wonderful adventure Wanderer" now on psvr2.

@ApostateMage I haven't played anno mutationem yet, but the trailer in particular the sound track of the trailer intrigued me. Is the in-game sound track any good ?

@Kibinaaru Freelancer mode unfortunately does not have VR support. Would be cool if it had, though.

Sure everybody prefers to pay less. But in the end You get what You pay for i.e. You cannot have a 80$ game for 60$, but You will get for 60$ a version with less content, less polish, artwork with reduced effort, cheaper music, voice acting, motion capture.

But, if You rather have less quality e.g. AI generated artwork, voice acting, music, You can have this for a lower price, or significant shorter games and I am not talking about removing filler content because the latter is likely cheap, it is the linear, more curated content that is expensive).

Anyway I think one should pay according to the offered "value" which is of course very subjective. And if You try to bargain on the content You want and like, You won't get it in the future because it will be significantly cut.

@naruball Yes, indeed for people who have already a library a switch ( platform switch ) is certainly something to consider and platform features like trophies, or "friends" for multiplayer might weight in heavily on a decision.

Would one decide on switch 2 vs ps5 just because of the price, without checking what the two systems have to offer ? Why did not everybody buy an xbox-ss instead of a more expensive ps5 in europe/us ?

Maybe, if You just want a Christmas gift and You do not have any understanding of what You buy.

Otherwise, I would say You buy a switch (2) if You want the "best" handheld or if You are mostly interested in nintendo games (and ps4 level games), You buy a ps5 if You don't need that flexibility and do not care about nintendo games or if You want to play playstation exclusives or if You are mostly interested in cinematic games (and do not want a pc). At the moment the problem of ps5 in Japan is that its flagship games do not seem to appeal to the Japanese audience enough

I would buy the last of us another time if it was the last of us VR.

I guess I will do some sightseeing for the next few weeks in the levels of Hitman on psvr2 while also playing said game. Very beautiful, so much detail, and although already played it still a very fun-tastic game.

Very happy about this excellent psvr2 adaptation.

I already liked the psvr1 version, and this one is better in every way.

Fingers crossed that the next ioi game will also get the VR treatment.

If You play games (or read, comment about them or watch gameplay) you waste Your time*.*

If You do not enjoy the moment of wasting Your time, You should ask Yourself why You are doing this ?

And if a game is uninteresting, boring or is of low quality likely people won't enjoy their time with it, which may influence others to not purchase said game. So, better do not create uninteresting boring, low quality games (though I am pretty sure that there are low quality games which are incredibly fun. So, "low quality" is not necessarily a problem, but "boring" certainly is).

@Perturbator Yes, a PSVR2 version would be sweet ... and unfortunately very unlikely. But who knows may be the wind is turning.

I finished Arken Age. The scale of the final boss is impressive. Overall a good game. For me the biggest short coming is the music, which I did not like very much. I am presumably not very good in the game, but it felt often a bit unfair to me. I died quite often without knowing why, At other times I felt far too slow to evade attacks or underpowered. In my opinion there are a few flaws which prevent this game from being great. Still a good game.

Now I am mostly waiting for the psvr2 version of Hitman and I am curious about Wanderer, whether it is extended enough over the psvr1 version to warrant a repurchase on psvr2.

On one hand I would agree with @breakneck that there are too many games, and many people are locked into one game or one franchise.

But I for example would spend a bit more if more games would offer VR modes. I cannot say that I know the cost for developing a VR mode, but my assumption would be that the additional people attracted by VR modes would finance the additional development cost (adding VR mechanics, adjusting rendering for stereoscopic views, play testing), but likely not much more. Thus, a VR mode would likely not increase the profit but would increase the risk. So, a risk averse industry would not add VR modes and that is kind of what we see.

Then many studios have been chasing the golden GAAS of infinite revenue, forgetting that the idea of a game is fun not monetization.

And we have seen this massive consolidation of the market, now at the top MS gobbling up half the industry, then tencent and embracer. In an ideal situation a big publisher still could produce a large variety. But, there are very few examples where consolidation lead to more variety. Typically what happens is that products are streamlined, sharing more and more and finally only differing by the coat of paint. The best example here is likely ubisoft.

So, yes I see the problem that a "creative" industry is manged too much in regards of maximizing the profit, rather than honoring creativity.

Since shareholders are not interested in good products produced by the companies they hold shares of, but in the profits. There is likely no way out. Other than creating new, fresh, creative studios which are to some degree financed by the finance oriented part of the industry which ultimately eats up these studios to let them die. And there we have the circle.

Though I guess it becomes harder and harder as a new studio to be recognized by the well fed industry. So I suppose now most studios will die before they enter the circle

At the same time there is the problem that many games are just a reskin of each other. And maybe it is impossible to find the innovative new games which is buried in the catalogue of "identical" games?

Microsoft is now the good guy and unlike any other publisher will not sleep on old IPs, but release new great games to honor them in masses as they have successfully demonstrated in the past. So, if microsoft also takes over ubisoft and then finally provides a very large fraction of titles to playstation players, this can only mean that games become better, more creative and cheaper. Since that is what consolidation is about. /s

A bit of beat saber on psvr2, and finally got the platinum. Not that is anything special or that I am particularly good in beat saber. But still kinda proud .

And than a bit of Arken Age also on psvr2. It is certainly a good game. I am not sure whether it is more than that for me. It has many strong points. But, then a couple of negatives for me. I am not a big fan of its music, and art direction and either I am really bad in this game, which is absolutely not excluded, or it is occasionally a bit unfair or unbalanced. Still a good game, but won't be my game of the year.

I am on the edge for quite a number of titles, but will likely never play them.

Anyway shout out to Ghost Giant, Synapse, which I already have (both worth the full price). Then, I'd rather recommend to play the Re4 remake on psvr2 (not on sale but was on sale frequently in the past, also worth its full price) than going for the cheaper original flat ps4 version.

@Medic_alert Personally I would not be super interested if VR would be just standalone quality because the hardware specs would be quest 2 or quest 3, and all VR games would just be designed for that spec.

If You mean one headset to rule all platforms, than the problem does not get much simpler, because You still have to specifically optimise for the various CPU, GPU performance, memory speed and storage solutions to get optimal results. Additionally, a quest 3 on ps5 would not have eye tracking, so the visual fidelity would be significantly lower in the standout titles like Re4, Re8, Gt7, NMS, call of the mountain.

Sure, at the moment if you buy one headset You miss out on some games because not every quest game is ported to psvr2 or pcvr and vice versa. On the other hand if e.g. psvr2 would play quest games natively, there would not be any ports of quest games to PS5+PSVR2 You would just get the quest version without any enhancements. If then also Gt7, Re4, Re8, call of the mountain would have to run on the quest spec, these games would either not exist at all or would have an even larger downgrade than from hitman psvr1 to hitman quest.

Not sure that is what You really want.

In my opinion already the psvr1 version of hitman was fantastic despite the limited control options which e.g. made using the wire a gamble, and the unimpressive 2D cut scenes. Anyway I am hopeful that the psvr2 will be a decent upgrade over the psvr1 version i.e. improved control scheme, a better resolution and maybe a visual fidelity which is closer to the flat version.

Highly anticipated !