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.
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 ?
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 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.
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).
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.
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.
@Medic_alert Not sure that is the issue. Anyway a game on standalone, pcvr, ps5 + vr headset would still require a lot of dedicated work to optimise for the platform (maybe not so much for PCVR when assuming that everybody there has an über-pc, but certainly for standalone and ps5+vr).
I think the issue is rather that VR is still too niche and no matter how many platforms are combined, it is still very difficult to make money with a title which is only playable on VR platforms. Some studios seem to start to look more into VR + flat. And that seems to work much better. If one can take phasmophobia as an example. Phasmophobia is presumably a very good game in what it tries to achieve, but it is likely not a game for the broad public, still it seems to do much better on ps5 than most of the pure VR titles. I suppose that is not a strategy that can work for any VR game, but many VR games are not so focuses on VR controls and a flat adaptation could work.
One could argue that if VR games are also playable on flat screen that there would be even less reasons to buy a VR headset. On the other hand if this would lead to more high quality VR titles more and more people could be tempted to try VR. GT7 is a prime example, many people just bought a headset to play this one game in VR.
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare There is the narrative that sony only creates horizon games and nothing else.
New sony only makes AAA games, so in that sense there are by definition fewer IPs because less games are created.
This generation: spider man (miles morales + spiderman 2), ratchet&clank, the last of us remaster 1&2 (+ "soon" Intergalactic + cancelled multiplayer adaptation), mlb the show (20-24), gt7, horizon forbidden west+call of the mountain (the lego game is only sony published, not even Sony's idea), god of war ragnarok (+ cancelled multiplayer adaptation by bluepoint), returnal (+"soon" Saros) , ghost of (tsushima remaster + soon Yotei), Demon's Souls remake, Concord (butchered by the community), astro bot, (+ "soon": Marathon, Fairgame$, unannounced "gummy bears" project, unannounced new IP by santa monica, several cancelled projects: new IP by Bend, new IP by London studio now closed).
Sure some IPs have multiple installments, but I guess the cost of modern games requires that assets are re-used i.e. succesful games are followed by a sequel. Then there were quite a few unsuccessful and cancelled projects (not sure whether it is worse than in the past), and maybe You do not like any of these IPs, but is that "few" ?
@Cypher1942 What is the advantage of the better lenses of a quest3 if the render resolution of the games drops to half of the theoretical resolution ?
There are certainly games on quest which look significantly better thanks to the better lenses if the psvr2 version is exactly the same as the quest version, and then there are many games which appear significantly better on psvr2 because of the higher render resolution, better colors, higher level of detail, more visual effects, larger FOV, better haptics. Crisp visuals is only one part and a crisp upscaled low resolution, low detail image is still just a low resolution, low detail image.
For video playback I would say, it also depends very much on the actual content, whether more vibrant colors or higher resolution are more important. In particular white text on dark gray background will (at the same resolution) look significantly better on a quest3 (there will be some ghosting on quest as well, but the high contrast image will be sharper and there won't be god rays), a video of a coral reef will look much better on psvr2 (more vibrant colours thanks to hdr oled, no general glare from the background illumination, the resolution is likely less significant unless You do A/B comparisons). Singling out one parameter is just that.
@Rhaoulos it is very difficult to evaluate whether something is or isn't worth paying for if You haven't tried it. Maybe You get Your money's worth from a switch, maybe there are more excellent games on psvr2 than You were thinking. All I can say, is experiencing VR is very different from watching 2D videos of people playing VR games, and VR adds an incredible extra layer of immersion in particular when coupled with 3D audio and haptics.
Some people just buy a ps5pro and racing wheel + seat just to play gt7 without regret. Some people buy a switch just to play one game without regret. But it is of course possible if You bought a psvr2, You just would realise after trying the best of the best psvr2 games that this extra level of immersion is not for You.
Anyway if You have a chance, try it. And if it is a quest keep in mind that the graphical fidelity of ps5+psvr2 is significantly higher in a large fraction of the catalogue, the field of view is significantly larger and psvr2 offers far superior haptics.
@Korgon I am neither a big fan of Resident evil nor of esport racing games, still in particular Resident evil 8 has some truly epic moments, and I think Gt7 in VR is a lot of fun, more fun than most of the flat arcade racers. I don't think one can compare the quest version of Re4 with the psvr2 version. Same will likely be true for hitman. Anyway if there are more games that speak to You on quest than there are on psvr2, and non of the advantages psvr2 has over quest (haptics, larger FOV, more vibrant colors, better image quality i.e. better lighting, shadows, more detail, more effects, higher resolution thanks to DFR) is relevant for You, than I guess You found the platform that is best for You. There are certainly some games which are likely better played on quest e.g. vendetta forever. I cannot say that I like the artistic direction of the game, and I suppose here the better quest lenses may shine and the LCD may even make the over saturated colors look better. Anyway I turn around too much physically and have to take care of the wire a bit too frequently. But then there are the haptics which add quite a bit to the experience as well. So not fully clear to me what I would prefer. In most cases I would take the better image quality and advanced haptics any time over a wireless solution. Also one device less to charge.
@rusty82 That is certainly a problem and likely very different from person to person. Many people managed to train the motion sickness away by very short VR session to teach the brain that the weird missing correlation between motion suggested by the image and what the rest of the body senses is normal and not a sign of poisoning. The important bit is to stop immediately at the first sign of motion sickness. Otherwise You teach the brain the opposite. I don't know enough people who suffered motion sickness in VR to know how likely it is that it can be trained away. Then there are games which are less likely to trigger motion sickness i.e. stationary games in which You move a lot like beat saber, synth riders.
@Deljo Everybody has their preferences. I don't like the general glare You get from the background illuminated LCDs, I really enjoy the extra level of immersion You get from the haptics on PSVR2, I like the larger FOV, and not least the more atmospheric images (better lighting, shadows, more volumetric effects). Many quest games are just ported over to psvr2 with the minimum of work. But many make full use of the haptics, improve lighting, shadows sometimes even textures, better resolution thanks to DFR. And it seems that more and more games on psvr2 make better use of the ps5 than the early quest ports.In addition to Re4/8, Gt7, NMS, call of the mountain, also metro, behemoth, alien look significantly better, and are more immersive due to the haptics. Yes, quest has great games too. But the better lenses is only one part, not everything. What advantages do the much better lenses of a quest have if the resolution is much lower ?
Anyway, for me even the low resolution of psvr1 was never the issue (the limited tracking volume much more so). It was always more about the complexity of the images (detail, light, effects), and with quest3 you don't even get the image complexity of psvr1. If You look closely than You can see in some games downgraded from the psvr1 version. Moss1 on psvr1 had a more complex image e.g. better water simulation. Same for red matter. Red matter 2 has a simpler images with less effects than red matter 1. And this is true for a large fraction of the psvr2 library, that it is composed of many games designed around the limitations of the quest platform and only now we get more and more multiplatform games which make better use of ps5+psvr2. Anyway the quest clearly has advantages (better lenses, pass through as You mention), but psvr2 has many advantages over quest3 too (haptics, significantly more processing power + DFR, larger FOW, .more vibrant colors). And as I said before everybody has their preferences. Some prefer a very clear low resolution image, some people do not mind mura, and some god rays so much and prefer the more vibrant colors, the larger FOW, the higher resolution, the haptics and the overall higher quality, more detailed image.
@Korgon Quest3 does not have the haptics of psvr2 which in many games are very well utilised in the psvr2 version and add an extra dimension. Also in most games the graphics are significantly improved and provide a much more atmospheric experience. Then there are the few exclusives GT7, Re4, Re8, call of the mountain which You won't have anywhere else and which are fantastic. PSVR2 has some advantages over a quest.
@MasterChiefWiggum Sure, but sitting in front of a TV will not give You the incredible experiences You can have in VR. There are for example epic moments in resident evil village You don't have in the same way when just watching a TV.
@rusty82 To each their own. A series S + gamepass privides will give You pretty much the same games You also can play on ps5 at lower quality. Maybe You save a few bucks maybe You wont. A switch will likely give You some great exclusives. But Neither would give You the very different experience You get with PSVR2.
Simple answer to this question: if enough people buy it there is a point. If not, there isn't and there won't be any future such remasters.
Assuming SIE is not blind to sales data, then it seems that enough people enjoy the ultimate versions of games, thus there seems to be a point in squeezing this likely easy source of revenue. Another reason might be that sony wants to future proof these games, So, maybe You will appreciate the existence of these remasters at some point ... .
Anyway I agree with pushsquare this permanent bickering about everything playstation related is becoming annoying.
I wonder how much of this decline is due to subscription services. I mean if the money is already spent, one does not buy another game unless it is generally praised or talked about. And while most of the ubisoft games are good they haven't been transformative or innovative in the past years. Anyway it would be a shame if ubisoft would disappear. The worlds they create are typically quite good.
I did not expect anything, and there were a few surprises like "dreams of another", or this squid game Darwin's paradox.
Then there are all the block buster games which look pretty much all fantastic in the trailers, albeit the trailers seem to be all a bit too similar, or too similar to old already shown trailers. They all kind of blend together in my head. Maybe, because there is nothing really standing out, or because there were just too many in the SOP.
Maybe more frequent 20min SOPs with fewer games is a better choice ? On the other hand if there are two many SOPs people are even less excited about them as they are already. I guess there is no good solution to present such a huge number of games, and create excitement for many of them.
People who are really fan of the game, presumably paid full price anyway. All the others won't get a cheap upgrade for a game they are not going to play again.
@nomither6 If the graphical quality would matter to most people, most people would not play any AAA games on switch, but it seems enough people do, which makes the switch a viable platform to target. Are there any signs that Rockstar would not sacrifice any features, because they want to have the highest quality game possible ? All I can see is that everybody hypes up "multiplatform" as the new way to go, that there is no reason to not go multiplatform because now games "scale" from a 5090 down to the apple watch without sacrifices. Will gta6 be different, because it will be the most incredible, demanding game ever, or will it just be a small iteration over gta5 ? Who knows. And maybe it will be exclusive to xbox X/S and ps5 and only limited by the xbox s specs and not also by the switch 2 ones ...
@Propaperpusher Would it be better if psvr2 would not have eye tracking, the haptics and oled panels and cost 400 EUR? Foveated rendered games, the immersion due the haptics and adaptive triggers, and the colors are still the stand out features of psvr2 and make it so amazing.
Anyway the data suggests, that too few people are willing to spend 600 EUR for this extra bit of immersion, and that the install base is considered to be too small for the majority of the developers. In that sense maybe a cheaper headset, stripped to the bare minimum set of features would be more successful, albeit also disappointing ...
@Perturbator "Paid for exclusives" often also means that the platform holder invested some money into a project which would otherwise not be realised at all. Exclusives "suck" if they are exclusive to a platform one does not have access to, but are better than if the game is not made at all. Also, exclusives are typically made specifically for a platform, thus better support the particular features of a platform.
Psvr2 fans moan, if a game is exclusive to quest, and psvr2 fans moan if a game is also available on quest because it will not fully realise its potential. So, the only way out are psvr2 exclusives ...
Comments 579
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 578
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.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 576
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.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 576
@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.
Re: RiME Dev Tequila Works Forced to Auction Off Assets After Bankruptcy
Sad to see! Really liked Rime and "The Invisible Hours".
Re: PSVR2's Best New Game About to Get Even Better
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.
Re: Bungie Will Reveal Its Next PS5 Game Marathon on 12th April
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.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 575
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.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 575
@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 ?
Re: Hands On: Hitman: World of Assassination Is a Must-Play on PSVR2
@Kibinaaru Freelancer mode unfortunately does not have VR support. Would be cool if it had, though.
Re: Almost All PS5 Fans Are Against $80 Games
Sure everybody prefers to pay less. But in the end You get what You pay for i.e. You cannot have a 80$ 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.
Re: Switch 2 Goes for the Kill in Japan By Massively Undercutting PS5's Price
@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.
Re: Switch 2 Goes for the Kill in Japan By Massively Undercutting PS5's Price
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
Re: Sony Reportedly Gearing Up to Sell You The Last of Us on PS5 One More Time
I would buy the last of us another time if it was the last of us VR.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 574
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.
Re: PSVR2 Owners, It's Time to Immerse Yourself in the Headset's Best New 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.
Re: RPG Fans 'Very Sensitive to Feeling Like They Wasted Time,' Says Atlus Battle Designer
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).
Re: Sony Licenses Everybody's Golf to Bandai Namco, Coming to PS5
@Perturbator Yes, a PSVR2 version would be sweet ... and unfortunately very unlikely. But who knows may be the wind is turning.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 573
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.
Re: Video Game Industry Caught in a 'Vicious Circle of Death and Rebirth', Says Helldivers Boss
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?
Re: After Gobbling Two Publishers, Now Xbox Has Been Sniffing Around Ubisoft's IP
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
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 572
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.
Re: 58 PS5, PS4 Games You Should Buy in PS Store's Mega March Sale
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.
Re: Insomniac Delists, Relists VR Catalogue, and Few Even Noticed
@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.
Re: Hitman PSVR2 Could Very Well Be Some of the Most Fun You'll Find on PS5 This Year
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 !
Re: Insomniac Delists, Relists VR Catalogue, and Few Even Noticed
Would be nice if insomniac would honor their VR titles and give them some life on platforms which are still supported.
Re: Insomniac Delists, Relists VR Catalogue, and Few Even Noticed
@Medic_alert Not sure that is the issue. Anyway a game on standalone, pcvr, ps5 + vr headset would still require a lot of dedicated work to optimise for the platform (maybe not so much for PCVR when assuming that everybody there has an über-pc, but certainly for standalone and ps5+vr).
I think the issue is rather that VR is still too niche and no matter how many platforms are combined, it is still very difficult to make money with a title which is only playable on VR platforms. Some studios seem to start to look more into VR + flat. And that seems to work much better. If one can take phasmophobia as an example. Phasmophobia is presumably a very good game in what it tries to achieve, but it is likely not a game for the broad public, still it seems to do much better on ps5 than most of the pure VR titles. I suppose that is not a strategy that can work for any VR game, but many VR games are not so focuses on VR controls and a flat adaptation could work.
One could argue that if VR games are also playable on flat screen that there would be even less reasons to buy a VR headset. On the other hand if this would lead to more high quality VR titles more and more people could be tempted to try VR. GT7 is a prime example, many people just bought a headset to play this one game in VR.
Re: Horizon Online Snaffles Bungie's Design Lead As Guerrilla Builds All-Star Team Around Live Service PS5 Game
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare There is the narrative that sony only creates horizon games and nothing else.
New sony only makes AAA games, so in that sense there are by definition fewer IPs because less games are created.
This generation: spider man (miles morales + spiderman 2), ratchet&clank, the last of us remaster 1&2 (+ "soon" Intergalactic + cancelled multiplayer adaptation), mlb the show (20-24), gt7, horizon forbidden west+call of the mountain (the lego game is only sony published, not even Sony's idea), god of war ragnarok (+ cancelled multiplayer adaptation by bluepoint), returnal (+"soon" Saros) , ghost of (tsushima remaster + soon Yotei), Demon's Souls remake, Concord (butchered by the community), astro bot, (+ "soon": Marathon, Fairgame$, unannounced "gummy bears" project, unannounced new IP by santa monica, several cancelled projects: new IP by Bend, new IP by London studio now closed).
Sure some IPs have multiple installments, but I guess the cost of modern games requires that assets are re-used i.e. succesful games are followed by a sequel. Then there were quite a few unsuccessful and cancelled projects (not sure whether it is worse than in the past), and maybe You do not like any of these IPs, but is that "few" ?
Re: Rockstar Acquires Remaster Dev That Fixed Awful GTA Trilogy
A shame that they do not port the full version of L.A. Noir to psvr2.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Cypher1942 What is the advantage of the better lenses of a quest3 if the render resolution of the games drops to half of the theoretical resolution ?
There are certainly games on quest which look significantly better thanks to the better lenses if the psvr2 version is exactly the same as the quest version, and then there are many games which appear significantly better on psvr2 because of the higher render resolution, better colors, higher level of detail, more visual effects, larger FOV, better haptics. Crisp visuals is only one part and a crisp upscaled low resolution, low detail image is still just a low resolution, low detail image.
For video playback I would say, it also depends very much on the actual content, whether more vibrant colors or higher resolution are more important. In particular white text on dark gray background will (at the same resolution) look significantly better on a quest3 (there will be some ghosting on quest as well, but the high contrast image will be sharper and there won't be god rays), a video of a coral reef will look much better on psvr2 (more vibrant colours thanks to hdr oled, no general glare from the background illumination, the resolution is likely less significant unless You do A/B comparisons). Singling out one parameter is just that.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Rhaoulos it is very difficult to evaluate whether something is or isn't worth paying for if You haven't tried it. Maybe You get Your money's worth from a switch, maybe there are more excellent games on psvr2 than You were thinking. All I can say, is experiencing VR is very different from watching 2D videos of people playing VR games, and VR adds an incredible extra layer of immersion in particular when coupled with 3D audio and haptics.
Some people just buy a ps5pro and racing wheel + seat just to play gt7 without regret. Some people buy a switch just to play one game without regret. But it is of course possible if You bought a psvr2, You just would realise after trying the best of the best psvr2 games that this extra level of immersion is not for You.
Anyway if You have a chance, try it. And if it is a quest keep in mind that the graphical fidelity of ps5+psvr2 is significantly higher in a large fraction of the catalogue, the field of view is significantly larger and psvr2 offers far superior haptics.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Korgon I am neither a big fan of Resident evil nor of esport racing games, still in particular Resident evil 8 has some truly epic moments, and I think Gt7 in VR is a lot of fun, more fun than most of the flat arcade racers. I don't think one can compare the quest version of Re4 with the psvr2 version. Same will likely be true for hitman. Anyway if there are more games that speak to You on quest than there are on psvr2, and non of the advantages psvr2 has over quest (haptics, larger FOV, more vibrant colors, better image quality i.e. better lighting, shadows, more detail, more effects, higher resolution thanks to DFR) is relevant for You, than I guess You found the platform that is best for You. There are certainly some games which are likely better played on quest e.g. vendetta forever. I cannot say that I like the artistic direction of the game, and I suppose here the better quest lenses may shine and the LCD may even make the over saturated colors look better. Anyway I turn around too much physically and have to take care of the wire a bit too frequently. But then there are the haptics which add quite a bit to the experience as well. So not fully clear to me what I would prefer. In most cases I would take the better image quality and advanced haptics any time over a wireless solution. Also one device less to charge.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@rusty82 That is certainly a problem and likely very different from person to person. Many people managed to train the motion sickness away by very short VR session to teach the brain that the weird missing correlation between motion suggested by the image and what the rest of the body senses is normal and not a sign of poisoning. The important bit is to stop immediately at the first sign of motion sickness. Otherwise You teach the brain the opposite. I don't know enough people who suffered motion sickness in VR to know how likely it is that it can be trained away. Then there are games which are less likely to trigger motion sickness i.e. stationary games in which You move a lot like beat saber, synth riders.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Old-Red Sure the real comfort You only have if the headset is at least as light as regular glasses, or maybe a skiing mask
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Deljo Everybody has their preferences. I don't like the general glare You get from the background illuminated LCDs, I really enjoy the extra level of immersion You get from the haptics on PSVR2, I like the larger FOV, and not least the more atmospheric images (better lighting, shadows, more volumetric effects). Many quest games are just ported over to psvr2 with the minimum of work. But many make full use of the haptics, improve lighting, shadows sometimes even textures, better resolution thanks to DFR. And it seems that more and more games on psvr2 make better use of the ps5 than the early quest ports.In addition to Re4/8, Gt7, NMS, call of the mountain, also metro, behemoth, alien look significantly better, and are more immersive due to the haptics. Yes, quest has great games too. But the better lenses is only one part, not everything. What advantages do the much better lenses of a quest have if the resolution is much lower ?
Anyway, for me even the low resolution of psvr1 was never the issue (the limited tracking volume much more so). It was always more about the complexity of the images (detail, light, effects), and with quest3 you don't even get the image complexity of psvr1.
If You look closely than You can see in some games downgraded from the psvr1 version. Moss1 on psvr1 had a more complex image e.g. better water simulation. Same for red matter. Red matter 2 has a simpler images with less effects than red matter 1.
And this is true for a large fraction of the psvr2 library, that it is composed of many games designed around the limitations of the quest platform and only now we get more and more multiplatform games which make better use of ps5+psvr2. Anyway the quest clearly has advantages (better lenses, pass through as You mention), but psvr2 has many advantages over quest3 too (haptics, significantly more processing power + DFR, larger FOW, .more vibrant colors). And as I said before everybody has their preferences. Some prefer a very clear low resolution image, some people do not mind mura, and some god rays so much and prefer the more vibrant colors, the larger FOW, the higher resolution, the haptics and the overall higher quality, more detailed image.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Korgon Quest3 does not have the haptics of psvr2 which in many games are very well utilised in the psvr2 version and add an extra dimension. Also in most games the graphics are significantly improved and provide a much more atmospheric experience. Then there are the few exclusives GT7, Re4, Re8, call of the mountain which You won't have anywhere else and which are fantastic. PSVR2 has some advantages over a quest.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@MasterChiefWiggum Sure, but sitting in front of a TV will not give You the incredible experiences You can have in VR. There are for example epic moments in resident evil village You don't have in the same way when just watching a TV.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Rhaoulos If You haven't tried VR yet, try it. It is a very different experience.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Old-Red To increase the comfort there is globular cluster (a lot of people like it), or just a sweat / head band (what I am using)
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Brockybrock I am not particularly good in GT7, but it is fantastic in VR and I would not play it any other way. But that is just my opinion.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@Cypher1942 You can play all normal games (and apps including movie streaming apps and blueray player) on the headset in cinematic mode.
Re: Talking Point: Is PSVR2 Worth Buying In 2025?
@rusty82 To each their own. A series S + gamepass privides will give You pretty much the same games You also can play on ps5 at lower quality. Maybe You save a few bucks maybe You wont. A switch will likely give You some great exclusives. But Neither would give You the very different experience You get with PSVR2.
Re: PS5 Fans Are Pondering the Point of Days Gone Remastered After Graphics Comparison Emerges
Simple answer to this question: if enough people buy it there is a point. If not, there isn't and there won't be any future such remasters.
Assuming SIE is not blind to sales data, then it seems that enough people enjoy the ultimate versions of games, thus there seems to be a point in squeezing this likely easy source of revenue. Another reason might be that sony wants to future proof these games, So, maybe You will appreciate the existence of these remasters at some point ... .
Anyway I agree with pushsquare this permanent bickering about everything playstation related is becoming annoying.
Re: Ubisoft Revenue, Net Bookings Decline 31%
I wonder how much of this decline is due to subscription services. I mean if the money is already spent, one does not buy another game unless it is generally praised or talked about. And while most of the ubisoft games are good they haven't been transformative or innovative in the past years. Anyway it would be a shame if ubisoft would disappear. The worlds they create are typically quite good.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think of Sony's State of Play for February 2025?
In my opinion the SOP was really good.
I did not expect anything, and there were a few surprises like "dreams of another", or this squid game Darwin's paradox.
Then there are all the block buster games which look pretty much all fantastic in the trailers, albeit the trailers seem to be all a bit too similar, or too similar to old already shown trailers. They all kind of blend together in my head. Maybe, because there is nothing really standing out, or because there were just too many in the SOP.
Maybe more frequent 20min SOPs with fewer games is a better choice ? On the other hand if there are two many SOPs people are even less excited about them as they are already. I guess there is no good solution to present such a huge number of games, and create excitement for many of them.
Re: Former Rockstar Animator Doubtful GTA 6 Will Run at 60fps on PS5
@DennisReynolds Indeed ! I got fooled. Thanks !
Re: PS Plus Copies of Days Gone Won't Offer Cheap $10 Upgrade to New PS5 Version
People who are really fan of the game, presumably paid full price anyway. All the others won't get a cheap upgrade for a game they are not going to play again.
Re: Former Rockstar Animator Doubtful GTA 6 Will Run at 60fps on PS5
@DennisReynolds It seems that there is a switch version of gta 5
Re: Former Rockstar Animator Doubtful GTA 6 Will Run at 60fps on PS5
@nomither6 If the graphical quality would matter to most people, most people would not play any AAA games on switch, but it seems enough people do, which makes the switch a viable platform to target. Are there any signs that Rockstar would not sacrifice any features, because they want to have the highest quality game possible ? All I can see is that everybody hypes up "multiplatform" as the new way to go, that there is no reason to not go multiplatform because now games "scale" from a 5090 down to the apple watch without sacrifices. Will gta6 be different, because it will be the most incredible, demanding game ever, or will it just be a small iteration over gta5 ? Who knows. And maybe it will be exclusive to xbox X/S and ps5 and only limited by the xbox s specs and not also by the switch 2 ones ...
Re: PSVR2 Misses Out on Civilization 7 VR
@Propaperpusher Would it be better if psvr2 would not have eye tracking, the haptics and oled panels and cost 400 EUR? Foveated rendered games, the immersion due the haptics and adaptive triggers, and the colors are still the stand out features of psvr2 and make it so amazing.
Anyway the data suggests, that too few people are willing to spend 600 EUR for this extra bit of immersion, and that the install base is considered to be too small for the majority of the developers. In that sense maybe a cheaper headset, stripped to the bare minimum set of features would be more successful, albeit also disappointing ...
Re: PSVR2 Misses Out on Civilization 7 VR
@Perturbator "Paid for exclusives" often also means that the platform holder invested some money into a project which would otherwise not be realised at all. Exclusives "suck" if they are exclusive to a platform one does not have access to, but are better than if the game is not made at all. Also, exclusives are typically made specifically for a platform, thus better support the particular features of a platform.
Psvr2 fans moan, if a game is exclusive to quest, and psvr2 fans moan if a game is also available on quest because it will not fully realise its potential. So, the only way out are psvr2 exclusives ...