@DangerousChicken yeah I did notice that myself, not sure I will bother with the platinum at the moment but it will depend how close I get I suppose. The annoying ones so far are piano and the gym.

@TrollOfWar Blood Omen is a game I love but you are right that out has not aged well at all. The menu lag when changing weapons is just annoying and something that a modern control system would fix immediately. Same with the combat, it was alright for it's time but it is very dated now and could use tightening up.

It's a shame that most games now don't match it's voice acting and dialogue however as those really carried the entire LoK series.

Currently working my way through FF7 Rebirth which I am enjoying, but still have some issues with the combat. I'm much better than the original but also feels very busy and I still dislike the aggro system that targets the controlled character.

So far the worst part of the game is the piano stuff which can get it the bin. I have no idea how that nonsense made it into the game as the difficulty compared to other mini games is insane

Excellent news if true as Silent Hill 1 desperately needed a remake and it would mean 3 would likely follow.

@naruball Even then the yellow light of death was still far less common than the red ring of death. I don't really hold it against either company however as it was just a rough time of companies having to rapidly adjust to using lead free solder whilst not having the expertise in place yet to know the long term effects.

Having a bit of a varied one this weekend after finishing Metro Exodus last week. I was a bit disappointed with it overall because whilst the game is good mechanically, it just didn't feel like Metro. You spend most of your time outside in the sunshine and barely use items like the Gas Mask. I also found the karma system in this one to be a bit more annoying due to how much it pushes you towards the bad ending.

Did a bit of Guitar Hero last night to entertain myself inbetween working on Champions: Return to Arms which is a real slog. I enjoy the game but playing it as a single player is always a chore.

I also started FF7 Rebirth the other day but have not put that much time into it. My friend also told me about *D2 Survivor" today which is pretty amusing for a free browser game. Got my summon necro into nightmare difficulty on the first try due to how OP they are.

I have booked time off before now for WoW expansion launches so can understand why people do it. Zero interest in GTA tho so I doubt I will ever play it.

Its good but I would prefer a full ground up remake of VtM: Redemption.

I probably would buy it outright depending on a few key factors, the main one being if it has a drive for backwards compatibility. I am fine if its optional, and it will be even better if I can use the one from my Pro. Then I would trade the Pro to get some money back so it would not be a bad deal.

I don't even need it to be fully backwards, PS3 would be nice, but ill accept anything disc based from PS4 onwards. Batocera has me covered for PS1 & 2 and my PC can handle the PS3 side. Obviously if they could make it run games from the 1 to the 6 it would be incredible, but not a deal breaker.

What Is quite disappointing is the amount of comments calling people morons, idiot and no-lifers just because they are prepared to spend their money how they choose. At the end of the day not every one is the same and we don't all value the same things in life. This is fine but people should understand that we can all value different things without resorting to petty insults.

I live alone, with no kids in a 2 bed house to keep costs down since I don't need a massive house. As such I have a certain amount of disposable income. The likes of Holidays, fancy cars and the latest phones an fashion have never really appealed to me so I don't spend my money there. Instead I spend my money on gaming and going out for good food / craft beers. It may not match other peoples life, but its no more or less... its just different.

I still think the PS6 will launch below £1000, even if it sits in the £800 - £900 bracket and I still think it will sell well enough to be a success. It will certainly sell less than the PS5 but console generations are iterative these days and the old consoles will still be able to play most of the games, even if its at a lower spec.

There is a lot of concern but however much the PS6 costs you can be certain than the Helix and PCs are going to also rise in-line and the PS6 will look reasonable by comparison. Especially since the PS6 will be using a custom OS that can get similar performance out of lower spec parts than a comparative Windows PC, which Helix may end up being.

@Weebleman I think people choose to be wilfully ignorant at times to just fuel their anger. As you say its been clear as day since the initial announcement that retail would continue to be supported, just with codes rather than licences. There is no evidence that codes will have to be sold at the full PSN price, nor would it make any sense as stores need to make their cut. The process is already in place, its just swapping a disc for a code.

Its also like when they compare older systems like PS1, PS2, PS3 being sold at a significant loss as they would make money back on games. Its ignoring all the extra features and systems involved that we now take for granted as part of a modern platform. As companies introduce more features, it's an increased ongoing cost at their end, so they reduce how much of a loss they sell devices for. They are not just paying a single one off manufacturing cost any more and yet people still act like its the year 2000.

I finished of the Nioh 3 dlc the other day which I really enjoyed and am now giving Metro Exodus a try. Only playing it on easy as I am really bad at shooters with a pad, and it's alright so far but it's not scratching the same itch as the first two. I think it's because the open zones just don't feel as scripted as the Metro tunnels and it's lost something with the change.

Might also have another blast of the WoW Forever beta later, or I might just hold off on that now until launch.

I am aware I am in the minority but the black version just looks boring and plain. I think the white and piano black design was brilliant as it really stands out and makes the unit stand out in the cabinet.

It will be a very sad day if we have to go back to boring black boxes with no personality to them.

Would the PS5 have sold extra copies? Yes
Would it have made a big difference? Probably not

I always said I think E-Day was chosen for Exclusivity because it was an easier pick compared to other Xbox tentpoles. The franchise is not as important in 2026 and it was likely never going to do massive numbers. The fans wanted to see something return to exclusivity and E-Day and felt like it was the safest bet as it would not make a massive financial difference anyway. It's a shame however as the game looks to be reviewing well and the studio is likely at risk now.

@Max_the_German The problem is that the minimum subscription duration is just a month. Make it 12 months, and many problems are solved.

Can't tell if this is a joke response, but making the subscription service worse is not a solution to a problem they have created. Yes removing, or limitting, Day 1 would also make it worse but I feel like that would still be a better option than forcing people to sign up for long contracts.

I will probably continue a bit more on the WoW Forever beta testing if they have now fixed Druid.

@HonestHick Physint is only talked about because the budget was largely unreported until it got cancelled. Your whole point is people only discussed something, after it became widespread community knowledge... well yes that how news works. As to not discussing budgets during the PS4 era, it was simply not an issue then, Pre Covid and Post Covid are very different times in the industry. As for DS2 it was acknowledged at the time of launch that it was not performing as well as the original. The same is true for a lot of sequels, regardless of the Dev.

Sony were not willing to continue investing $400m into an unknown game, which is a smart play for them. Xbox then secured the investment for a much lower amount, which makes it a smart play from them. Both can be true without making up nonsense or calling it an Xbox Tax, or assuming its fanboi deflection.

@Sunraku I know its a prequel but traditionally when prequels are released they heavily rely on information from the earlier iterations to maximise appreciation of the game. Its the classic case of you know who the character is, but now lets shows you how they became that person. When you lack the future knowledge the prequel can end up feeling blunted and that invariably puts some players off jumping in.

As for the other game I assume you mean the Halo remake, but thats an entirely different conversation. Lack of Multiplayer, No Clarity on Halo 2 or 3 Remake. I imagine they did expect it to do better, but they also hampered their own sales by removing content and never confirming future plans.

I think its obvious that releasing on PS5 would have generated some extra sales but I don't think it would have made much of a difference overall and there is no way to say one way or another.

I always suspected that Gears reversing course as an Exclusive was due to the fact that it was never going to be a mega success on PS. It felt like an easier game to hold back as it due to it being the 6th game in a story driven franchise.

Its a nice addition for the trophy hunters who have been wanting it, personally however, its never been my jam. I quite enjoy seeing some of the silly pun named trophies popping up at random gameplay moments. I can never be bothered chasing platinum’s however as too many trophies are post game or require extras that just don't interest me.

It will be interesting to see the end result as I suspect that once again it will be very minor. Its a repeat case of elegant design vs raw brute force power, and it didn't result in much difference last time. PS6 will likely also retain the market share which means its will still be the target platform, and any Helix gains will be minor as a result.

Regardless both machines will likely end up looking great and the real factor will be price. On that I suspect PS6 will win the day, unless the Helix has undergone major changes. Its a much harder sell with every generation as current games already look great and most don't care about perfect fidelity.

@wildcat_kickz I am the other way on this and think the PS5 is probably their best looking console to date. I was unsure about the white at first but when I got my hands on it honestly loved it. It bold, its different and its really stands out in a room.

The one thing I don't want is a shift to plain black towers. They may blend into rooms easily but I want my console to looks special in my living room.

@AI-Generation It is a joke that Wolverine is £69.99 in the store digital and £59.99 at retailers physical

This is how it works in most industries as you need to provide bricks and morter stores with a reason to sell your product. Companies set an MSRP with a good margin and stick to it on their platform. Other retailers are then free to go under that, if they choose to, in order to promote sales. If the PS store always undercut other retailers then there would be no incentive for retailers to stock their products and people would criticise them for running a monopoly. This would also limit visibility as you remove the free marketing of your product being in multiple shop fronts.

All of this is likely exactly the same as how it will play out when discs are finished. The only difference is that instead of selling retailers a disc in a box, they will be selling them keys but still allowing them room to set pricing.

@Northern_munkey Steel Series batteries are next level. I honestly don't know what form of wizardry they practise to make them last so much longer than other brands. I went with a standard Nova rather than the pro and they are good, fit nicely and a pretty light so you don't get any discomfort after long sessions.

@ShadowRJ Apologies, I probably chose my words poorly there. When I say Faux Outrage I refer to how the vocal minority turned it into and end of days scenario, screaming loudly in the hope that everyone would join them. Whereas the majority of people where either not aware, or didn't like the change but at least understood it and just carried on as normal.

For myself I have always said choice is better and I would like physical to remain, but I am also not going to make a big deal over something that will likely affect every platform going forward.

As expected it meant very little and had no real impact because the majority of these faux outrage protests rarely do. As has been repeated multiple times terminally online gamers are not the customer base. If you know 20 other gamers who are also terminally online then ofc you are going to hear that everyone is boycotting, but you are in an echo chamber.

Next gen its highly likely every console will be discless and people will just carry on as normal. PC will continue but anyone wanting to upstick's for a better deal will get a shock when they realise single components can cost the same as a PS5 Pro.

@REALAIS Just done some follow up reading this morning and it definitely sounds like they are returning to the original style of D2. When they changed the game style up for D3 you had PoE come in a replace that old D2 style game play, and it was very successful. Now PoE 2 is carrying on and is still very successful so I think Blizz have finally accepted that ARPG fan don't want them to keep reinventing the wheel.

I did enjoy both D3 and D4 but I do hope they slow the gameplay down a bit for 5 as its all got a bit frantic. At endgame you barely even register what you are fighting because you spam over the screen at 100mph in a sea of particle effects.

@Kakun Whilst they may. or may not be printing the disc's it worth noting that everyone, including Sony, has been aware of the unique key on the disc for years, just not what it would eventually be used for in 2026.

It's ironic that the real reason for the unique key 13 years ago was to limit Physical media. They wanted to lock games to your system to prevent resale or game sharing but backed down due to the massive backlash. Back then physical was still the dominant method of purchase so It fell completely flat. They left the keys there as they always wanted to kill the resale market, it's just a happy accident that it also allowed them to offer the disc to digital system which was well received.

I have a couple of things on the go at the minute as I am not fully settled on a single game (which is unusual for myself). I also made myself a Batocera setup for the living room using a HP NUC I relocated from the office.

Champions Return to Arms - PS2, via Batocera
Final Fantasy VI PR - PC
Pathfinder: Kingmaker - PC

and I still need to properly looks at the Nioh 3 DLC on PS5 as I got distracted with emulation. I am also looking at grabbing a Wii plus remote and Mayflash Dolphin Bar for Batocera so I can tackle a few Wii games again, so let the distractions continue.

I probably wouldn't play it as its not my sort of game but I also wouldn't say it looks bad at all. The trailer looked like it could be a good bit of fun with some over the top stuff going on. Hopefully it lands as a good game for those who enjoy that sort of game.

If the game was in a good place then they likely wouldn't have dropped it. The fact that they have dropped it probably hints that its not in a good place, or is burning through budget.

Either way the only way we will ever know is if / when the game releases as until then we quite literally know nothing about it.

Honestly that looks utterly stunning. I don't own a Switch 2, nor would I buy one, but It will do very well I imagine. GTA VI will still smoke it however just because it will appeal to far more people.

At this point I reckon The Witcher 3 Remaster and OOT Remake will both be up for GOTY along side GTA VI. I wouldn't be surprised if Wolverine is also in there as everything about it looks very promising.
EDIT: Based on the rules TW3 likely won't be allowed.

@Shrek_Realista Does anyone actually believe Sony will survive 10 years more?

Yes as they are still very clearly the market leader in home consoles and 95% of their customers will not even be aware of the bad press they have been receiving lately. The diehards who actually follow gaming news are the minority when it comes to their customer base.

I mean I guess this is kind of cool but the drives are still pretty expensive which is the real issue here, and is why companies are dropping them. Very few PC users will already have a drive so those that use RCPS3 will likely continue to just grab roms and ignore the physical aspect.

@wildcat_kickz I would add that I don't even think there is anything wrong with creatives using AI to flesh out and develop concepts or mood boards. Its very much a tool that can have a place as long as it doesn't create the final end product as a lazy soultion.

I also use it a lot for excel and specifically helping to write Jet Reports for Business Central and its a great little tool. People jump on it because they think AI is coming for their job. In reality the only thing that will take their jobs is a person will to use AI tools to be more productive in their role.

I am interested, but also I am sick to death of the stagger system that these games use. Its just ruins the combat when your characters feel exceptionally weak unless you all spam one move to weaken them for one turn. It was my biggest gripe with Octopath Traveller as it made the combat feel like a chore rather than something fun you could experiment with.

It' was good for what it was. I went into it expecting very little and came away with a few demos and games that peaked my interest. I think Amy big big games they have will be saved for more prestigious announcements like at the game awards.

I got excited because its Gundam, but was not full convinced by the kaiju looking enemies which looked out of place in a traditional Gundam series.

I will certainly keep an eye on it tho and hope it's good

If there was any truth at all to Xbox making a big Physical push then they would be singing it from the rooftops right now to make that point clear. Instead Asha is still ducking and diving the question and instead making comments like "what matters it being able to play your game anywhere, not the format they come in".

This disc-less thing is just being dragged up again and again as people hope the industry will buckle and change course. It won't as we hardcore gamers are the minority regardless what people think. Casuals don't care and that's who really pays the bills.

@Leinad7 Ofc it is because Sony hasn't offerred anything yet about if they have a plan, and if they do what form it will take.

Ofc if they have zero plans and do announce tough luck by your games again, then yes they rightly deserve grief. However you stated a plan that at present is pure speculation and nothing more

It looks like it should be great for the fans but it's not for me as I have just never really cared about the GTA franchise. I fully expect it to set the bar high for what current gen consoles can do which is expected given how long they have been developing and fine tuning it.

@RoomWithaMoose I am not so sure this does highlight the Helix as having a drive as they are rolling it out now. From the start my gut has been that they are rolling out this system for the SX / One X ahead of time in preparation for Helix not having a drive, because at that point it no longer needs one. If you then want to digitise future second hand disc purchases then the answer will be keep you old hardware for that purpose.

@Leinad7

• Any discs you have, and want to play, you need to buy again digitally
• PS6 is $1000-$1200
• Helix cost $1000-$1200

We don't know any of these things, they are just speculation at the moment and nothing more.

Edit: • Disc to digital program allows you to keep all your games, no matter what

Also even this is not confirmed, its some of your game with more to follow but we can't promise everything. Its better than nothing but there is no guarantee that it will as yet apply to everything.

I was honestly watching this thinking it would be a full new buy or a decent priced upgrade path and I would have happily paid it. For them to throw it out for free however to hype people for the new DLC is incredible. Hats off to CDPR

EDIT: Also is it bad that in the year of GTAVI a part of me hopes they allow The Witcher 3 Remake to compete for and win GOTY.

Just so I am understanding this latest update.

The solution to an all digital future where people "may" lose access to something they have paid for, is a proposition to immediately turn off your machine indefinitely therefore not having access to anything you have paid for.

I support choice, I have said this from the start, but this is just getting stupid now.

I won't be taking part for two reasons. Firstly I would prefer the choice to remain with disc Vs digital, but this protest will achieve nothing. The decision has been made and others companies have already put will do the same as they all want digital. If every player globally was to shut down for a week or two then Sony would notice. That's not going to happen thought, only 10% of players will even know about this and only 5% of that group will join in.

Secondly the Nioh 3 Dlc launches today and I'm not missing out on that just to make a point that is not life changing in the grand scheme of things.

I will possibly check this out but will be waiting on a decent discount or for its to arrive on a service. The first game was alright, but not amazing. It was probably a 6/10 game with elements of it being great and other elements awful. The setting and vibe of the game was great but the enemies didn't feel Lovecraftian enough. Instead of just random abominations I wanted to see Mi-Go, Nighthaunts, Shoggoths, Tindalos Hounds etc.

I was looking for a reason to finally grab System Shock and this looks like the exact reason!

Thats a pretty solid month all round. KCD2, Hell is Us and Metro Exodus have all been on my watch list.

I'll happily pick up the upgrade for that price. I can't see it being as big as GoT's dlc but I am sure it will be worth playing.

Won't affect me much however as the first Mortal Shell was poor so I'll probably just skip this one.

However I will never understand this frankly stupid method of disabling all trophies because players use something that is in the game. If you have a few trophies that can only be earned on a certain difficulty then fair enough, but actively removing the lot seems counter productive.

I get some people say gaining them on easy makes them feel meaningless, but they are meaningless. They are internet points and only hold value to the person who earned it, and that person decides how they earn it. If they wanna slog it on the hardest difficulty it makes no difference to them that someone who they will never know, or meet, did it on medium or easy.

@Ajbr8687 I remember buying that to play with my mate because it was classed as a 2 player co-op on the box. You each had 3 of the 6 characters and just had to pass the controller to each other to take turns. They completely mis-sold the co-op but I still enjoyed the game and might revisit it at some point.