Activision have a consistency issue. Modern Warfare 2 (2022) was a great campaign and then Modern Warfare 3 (2023) reused multiplayer maps and Warzone. Black Ops 6 was a great campaign and now Black Ops 7 is a series of online-only co-op missions
I imagine they'll release Halo Infinite's multiplayer separately for PS5, as thats free to play with microtransactions and Xbox will be wanting anyone hoping to play multiplayer to buy into that ecosystem rather than the "buy once, play forever" that the original Halo games had.
I'm fine with the online-only components of a game needing download. But the article says "full single player campaign" instead of "full story campaign"
Is split-screen/local multiplayer also locked behind a download?
Thoroughly enjoyed playing this on the PS3. The most memorable thing about it was the side quest with the band Blind Guardian that ended in them playing "Sacred Worlds" in-game. I wonder if they'll keep that intact in the remaster.
Like I said in another thread, I think the game will do modestly well at least. It's definitely not the next Concord because it has the name value of Bungie, and even having a "from the creators of Halo and Destiny" in the trailer or on the box somewhere will get those extra sales in from a wider audience.
@KundaliniRising333 The big difference between Concord and Marathon is that Marathon will get sales on the name value of Bungie, Halo and Destiny alone. I'd be shocked if it suffers the same drastic failure Concord did
@Dalamar for talking sake, I would never class a console as primary or secondary either (also difficult as I have and continue to play retro consoles too)
But, if we go by the general rule that the primary console is the one that you choose to buy and play most third party/multiplatform games on, then it's the PS5 for me.
@Darude84 not to disparage your favourite generation being PS5 or anything, but aside from PSVR2, three of the four games you've named are playable on PS4.
Edit: I rescind based on your edit around the in-built SSD benefits (loading times etc)
"Marvel Rivals Maker Reassures Fans PS5 Gigahit Will Not Be Affected by Layoffs" until the player numbers drop slightly and the rest of the team get laid off as punishment
@get2sammyb Very much so. If you look at release schedules by generation. As time has progressed, the number of AAA games has reduced over time and the number of indie games increased to fill the gap before eclipsing it entirely this generation. What was once the minority of games on XBLA and PSN now makes up most of the digital storefronts, whereas outside of October and November you're likely only to see one or two AAA games released each month now.
Something to think about here is that there's less new AAA games being released than there was historically. Players are still looking at new games to find something to purchase on the Store and it's increasing the visibility and opportunity for growth for the indie games.
Same with trade shows, with longer and slower development cycles (and less innovation in some cases), there's opportunities for indie games to fill those gaps.
Shuhei Yoshida did a great job, but it was also a necessary job to fill in the gaps that the current market has.
I skipped out on the HZD remaster as I'd recently played HZD. I bought Days Gone years ago in a sale and haven't gotten around to playing it yet so paying £10 for an upgrade before I play it is reasonable to me
@Fiendish-Beaver I'm in a similar thought. I could see this season covering the flashback sequences from Part 2 along with some other filler focused on Joel and Ellie's ongoing lives, and Abby's buildup of seeking revenge for what happened to the fireflies.
@nomither6 while I wouldn't go as far to say as charging is unnecessary or wrong (we live in capitalism), I'd definitely question the value for money of the services.
I think many people have also questioned the value for money and that's why they offer so many "bonuses" along with the online access. While the bonuses make people feel better about the money they're spending, I don't think they'd sell subscriptions alone if the online service itself was free and Plus was just for everything else.
AI can be used to increase output and speed up development (bringing costs down) without resulting in job losses. Not every AI implementation is an asset flip.
@GuttyYZ those seventh generation development cycles were up to their eyeballs in crunch. The industry has moved away from that as a whole due to the major backlash and publicity surrounding it since. With a greater level of detail to boot, the games of the modern era now take even longer than they would have. Any AAA development cycle being less than 5 years is a thing of the past now.
Releasing a DLC roadmap for a game that isn't even out yet is in poor taste. It makes me wait for the "Gold Edition" or "Complete Edition" before considering the purchase.
Some retailers are now delisting them, which means they won't be getting stock.
It could be PS Direct are holding back stock so that they can focus on replenishing their own supply when the time comes, as it would be a really poor show if they discontinue the add-on
@OldGamer999 I already have a Switch and am still tempted to get a Switch OLED even with the 2 on its way, just for that good quality screen at a competitive price. If the Switch 2 has an OLED screen then its an immediate upgrade from my current Switch
@Bluemoon2008 people who already own it on PS4 are double dipping for the PS5 version (or even triple dipping)
Sent a letter in because I love to get involved in something new. Keep up the good work and a happy new year to all of the Pushsquare and Hookshot teams! (and all contributors too)
@themightyant as per the article, the patch was developed by Virtuos rather than CDPR. So CDPR have still finished development on the game by outsourcing future updates to another developer
@AFCC the PS2onPS4 emulation version has glitches on PS5, so this uses the new emulator and also features rewind and save states. Those features weren't on the previous emulation of Jak
@DonJorginho Even if affordable and stable, PCs will always be for enthusiast/knowledgeable gamers and not the general public due to the technical know-how required to manage the OS and hardware
They could give something like Baldur's Gate 3 or Alan Wake 2 for free and people will still complain.
I always look at PS Plus monthly games as being aimed at players who will buy all the games they want to play and then get given indie games to try that they might not play otherwise.
@AverageGamer soft disagree as WW2 had one of the best COD campaign in years, and I'd take Advanced Warfare over Black Ops 3 or Infinite Warfare.
Sledgehammer have done good campaigns, Vanguard was likely lost between the big hitters of MW and Cold War, while MW3 had to rely on using Warzone maps due to time constraints
@AverageGamer it's an odd situation because Sledgehammer only had less than two years to put out Modern Warfare 3 after Vanguard, and was definitely rushed by the publisher when it was planned to be a DLC
Raven developed the campaign for Black Ops 6, and its the best campaign in years. That makes my prediction 2025's COD will be Treyarch again with "more of the same" multiplayer from Black Ops 6 but a new campaign that they've made tthemselves.
@TheArt @Ilyn Elden Ring and Dark Souls are definitely both evergreen. I'd throw Demon's Souls and Bloodborne as the "cult classics". I know several people personally who tell me "I've started another playthrough of Elden Ring", or have tried to perfect their Dark Souls run.
Bloodborne could join that list if it had a PC release and a performance patch for PS5, of course.
As Dragon Age Origins and Inquisition have shown before, the series is evergreen with the likes of Skyrim and The Witcher. It's something that people will buy for a long time to come, and because it's single player won't be reliant on short term server lifecycle.
For something for comparison, I'd love someone to look into the lifetime sales of Dragon Age Origins and how many sold in the first week or month. It became a hit over time.
I've always thought it slightly entertaining how large the fan outcry was for Shenmue 3 for years, and then after it was released, barely any mention of Shenmue since.
Imagine if Half-Life 3 was finally revealed and released and caused the entire community to never speak of any Half-Life game again
@wiiware @amatmulisha maybe it's not so much the work Reggie done on a particular game but innovation he done for marketing, like the creation of the Nintendo Direct.
Either way, the rest of those names definitely created and designed some influential games.
@Rich33 Hey Rich. How are you doing, what you playing this weekend? Always nice to see you around on here.
So, if i have a 120Hz TV, i should be able to get above the capped 60fps on games that support the Pro? Im hoping we see consistent higher performance on PS6. While I won't be getting the Pro, I'm keeping a close eye on it as if it does well enough, it'll be the difference maker of whether I get a PS6 on launch or wait until the cross gen releases dry up
They always seem to emphasise, resolution. Id happily accept a pro console outputting 1080p if it could run a consistent locked 120fps. I know its an enthusiast console, but 8K TVs are also an enthusiast TV due to the size required to really benefit from the dots per inch.
@nessisonett Keep at it Ness. Get yourself on Linkedin if you aren't already. Opportunities are competitive, but you'll get there eventually and make use of that degree
@Rich33 @ATaco let me rephrase haha. (Might edit my original comment too). While not necessarily a big time investment for the "review bomb", they still care too much about something inconsequential in the grand scheme
Comments 74
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Single Player Campaign Is Being Torn Apart
Activision have a consistency issue. Modern Warfare 2 (2022) was a great campaign and then Modern Warfare 3 (2023) reused multiplayer maps and Warzone. Black Ops 6 was a great campaign and now Black Ops 7 is a series of online-only co-op missions
Re: PS Plus Essential Subscribers Bemoan 'Crap Selection' in Latest Update
A problem with alot of gamers. Everything's either amazing or crap, with no nuance.
Because "this isn't to my taste" means it has to be bad.
Re: Halo PS5 Is Great, But Why Doesn't It Have Competitive Multiplayer?
I imagine they'll release Halo Infinite's multiplayer separately for PS5, as thats free to play with microtransactions and Xbox will be wanting anyone hoping to play multiplayer to buy into that ecosystem rather than the "buy once, play forever" that the original Halo games had.
Re: Despite Concerns, Physical Copies of Gears of War PS5 Appear to Have the Campaign on the Disc
I'm fine with the online-only components of a game needing download. But the article says "full single player campaign" instead of "full story campaign"
Is split-screen/local multiplayer also locked behind a download?
Re: So, PS3 Game Sacred 2 Is Getting Remastered for PS5
Thoroughly enjoyed playing this on the PS3. The most memorable thing about it was the side quest with the band Blind Guardian that ended in them playing "Sacred Worlds" in-game. I wonder if they'll keep that intact in the remaster.
Re: Poll: Are You Planning to Buy Bungie's Marathon?
Like I said in another thread, I think the game will do modestly well at least. It's definitely not the next Concord because it has the name value of Bungie, and even having a "from the creators of Halo and Destiny" in the trailer or on the box somewhere will get those extra sales in from a wider audience.
Re: Marathon a 'Premium', Paid for Game on PS5, But It's Not $70
@KundaliniRising333 The big difference between Concord and Marathon is that Marathon will get sales on the name value of Bungie, Halo and Destiny alone. I'd be shocked if it suffers the same drastic failure Concord did
Re: PS5 Players See Switch 2 as a Secondary Console, Not Direct Competition
@Dalamar for talking sake, I would never class a console as primary or secondary either (also difficult as I have and continue to play retro consoles too)
But, if we go by the general rule that the primary console is the one that you choose to buy and play most third party/multiplatform games on, then it's the PS5 for me.
Re: Sony's Pricey PS5 Pro Is Now Being Outpaced by PS4 Pro Launch Aligned in the US
@Darude84 not to disparage your favourite generation being PS5 or anything, but aside from PSVR2, three of the four games you've named are playable on PS4.
Edit: I rescind based on your edit around the in-built SSD benefits (loading times etc)
Re: Marvel Rivals Maker Reassures Fans PS5 Gigahit Will Not Be Affected by Layoffs
The rest of the title:
"Marvel Rivals Maker Reassures Fans PS5 Gigahit Will Not Be Affected by Layoffs" until the player numbers drop slightly and the rest of the team get laid off as punishment
Re: Epic Games Names and Shames Fortnite Cheater, Gives Prize Money to Charity
I'd love to know how they were even caught. IP address tracking by Epic, or did someone grass them in? 😂
Re: PS5 Has Narrowed the Gap on Switch's Indie Game Sales, Says Shu Yoshida
@get2sammyb Very much so. If you look at release schedules by generation. As time has progressed, the number of AAA games has reduced over time and the number of indie games increased to fill the gap before eclipsing it entirely this generation. What was once the minority of games on XBLA and PSN now makes up most of the digital storefronts, whereas outside of October and November you're likely only to see one or two AAA games released each month now.
Re: PS5 Has Narrowed the Gap on Switch's Indie Game Sales, Says Shu Yoshida
Something to think about here is that there's less new AAA games being released than there was historically. Players are still looking at new games to find something to purchase on the Store and it's increasing the visibility and opportunity for growth for the indie games.
Same with trade shows, with longer and slower development cycles (and less innovation in some cases), there's opportunities for indie games to fill those gaps.
Shuhei Yoshida did a great job, but it was also a necessary job to fill in the gaps that the current market has.
Re: PS5 Fans Are Pondering the Point of Days Gone Remastered After Graphics Comparison Emerges
I skipped out on the HZD remaster as I'd recently played HZD. I bought Days Gone years ago in a sale and haven't gotten around to playing it yet so paying £10 for an upgrade before I play it is reasonable to me
Re: HBO's The Last of Us Will Likely Run for Four Seasons
@Fiendish-Beaver I'm in a similar thought. I could see this season covering the flashback sequences from Part 2 along with some other filler focused on Joel and Ellie's ongoing lives, and Abby's buildup of seeking revenge for what happened to the fireflies.
End scene of the season will be the Joel in one.
Re: Free PS Plus Extension for All Members Affected by PSN Outage
@nomither6 while I wouldn't go as far to say as charging is unnecessary or wrong (we live in capitalism), I'd definitely question the value for money of the services.
I think many people have also questioned the value for money and that's why they offer so many "bonuses" along with the online access. While the bonuses make people feel better about the money they're spending, I don't think they'd sell subscriptions alone if the online service itself was free and Plus was just for everything else.
Re: PSN Downtime Raises Fresh Questions About PS5's Future Functionality
"a firmware update in the future could theoretically enable disc drives to be connected without requiring a handshake with PlayStation’s servers."
This doesn't help if you buy a "new" PS5 Pro and disc drive as a collector post-shutdown. You wouldn't be able to get the firmware update.
I definitely feel they shouldn't be requiring the handshake in the first place.
Re: Mailbox: The Joy of Astro Bot, Ciri in The Witcher 4, and Terrible Trophy Lists
My story of mishearing "PlayStation" as "Police Station" as a child has now been immortalised for future generations. 😂
Thank you all contributors for a great article and for us all being part of a great community.
Re: Free PS Plus Extension for All Members Affected by PSN Outage
@nomither6 those players haven't lost out financially and don't need compensation.
Online services cost money to maintain, and Sony don't sell your personal data to make that money.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Failed Because It Wasn't Live Service, EA CEO Seems to Suggest
Needs to look back and compare Anthem to the Mass Effect Legendary Edition when it comes to BioWare
Or compare Anthem with Jedi Fallen Order or Jedi Survivor.
A game not being live service isn't the issue here.
Re: Capcom Seems Sold on Using AI to Help Out with Game Development
AI can be used to increase output and speed up development (bringing costs down) without resulting in job losses. Not every AI implementation is an asset flip.
Re: Next Mass Effect Isn't Going to Be Ready for a Long, Long Time, Suggests BioWare Vet
@GuttyYZ those seventh generation development cycles were up to their eyeballs in crunch. The industry has moved away from that as a whole due to the major backlash and publicity surrounding it since. With a greater level of detail to boot, the games of the modern era now take even longer than they would have. Any AAA development cycle being less than 5 years is a thing of the past now.
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Roadmap Confirms Three Expansions and Loads of Updates in 2025
Releasing a DLC roadmap for a game that isn't even out yet is in poor taste. It makes me wait for the "Gold Edition" or "Complete Edition" before considering the purchase.
Re: Unfortunately, PS5's Disc Drive Add-On Shortage Doesn't Seem to Be Getting Better
Some retailers are now delisting them, which means they won't be getting stock.
It could be PS Direct are holding back stock so that they can focus on replenishing their own supply when the time comes, as it would be a really poor show if they discontinue the add-on
Re: UK Sales Charts: Old Favourites Elden Ring, GTA 5, Cyberpunk Raid Top 10 in 2024's Final Week
@OldGamer999 I already have a Switch and am still tempted to get a Switch OLED even with the 2 on its way, just for that good quality screen at a competitive price. If the Switch 2 has an OLED screen then its an immediate upgrade from my current Switch
@Bluemoon2008 people who already own it on PS4 are double dipping for the PS5 version (or even triple dipping)
Re: UK Sales Charts: Old Favourites Elden Ring, GTA 5, Cyberpunk Raid Top 10 in 2024's Final Week
@OldGamer999 and not even discounted for the holidays either. Switch must still be selling well
Re: Site News: The Push Square Mailbox Is Officially Open, Send Us Your Letters
Sent a letter in because I love to get involved in something new. Keep up the good work and a happy new year to all of the Pushsquare and Hookshot teams! (and all contributors too)
Re: Random: PS5, PS4 Shovelware Isn't Even Trying to Hide Its Plagiarism Anymore
Postive of the use of AI in game development: it makes it easier for anyone to release the game they want
Negative of the use of AI in game development: it makes it easier for ANYONE to release the game they want
Re: 3 Bonus PS Plus Premium PS2 Games Available to Download Now
@AFCC I think it's a new set of trophies for the PS5 version
Re: More Cyberpunk 2077 Updates Could Be Coming as CDPR Enlists Outside Help for Patch 2.2
@themightyant as per the article, the patch was developed by Virtuos rather than CDPR. So CDPR have still finished development on the game by outsourcing future updates to another developer
Re: 3 Bonus PS Plus Premium PS2 Games Available to Download Now
@AFCC the PS2onPS4 emulation version has glitches on PS5, so this uses the new emulator and also features rewind and save states. Those features weren't on the previous emulation of Jak
Re: Gamers Drawn to Troy Baker's Mesmerising Indiana Jones Like Moth's to Flame
He just works, Todd.
Re: Ex-PlayStation Boss Thinks the Days of Consoles Are Numbered
@DonJorginho Even if affordable and stable, PCs will always be for enthusiast/knowledgeable gamers and not the general public due to the technical know-how required to manage the OS and hardware
Re: Poll: Are You Happy with Your PS Plus Essential Games for December 2024?
They could give something like Baldur's Gate 3 or Alan Wake 2 for free and people will still complain.
I always look at PS Plus monthly games as being aimed at players who will buy all the games they want to play and then get given indie games to try that they might not play otherwise.
Re: Site News: Write to Us About Your PS5 Game of the Year for 2024
I forgot to word count before submitting 😂 oh well
Re: Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter Part of PS Plus Premium Lineup for December
If you already own the PS2onPS4 version of Jak, I wonder if they'll give you the new emulation version for free.
Re: Infinity Ward's Turn in 2026, Sledgehammer Games in 2027, Says Call of Duty Insider
@AverageGamer soft disagree as WW2 had one of the best COD campaign in years, and I'd take Advanced Warfare over Black Ops 3 or Infinite Warfare.
Sledgehammer have done good campaigns, Vanguard was likely lost between the big hitters of MW and Cold War, while MW3 had to rely on using Warzone maps due to time constraints
Re: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Reportedly 'By Far' Machine Games' Biggest Undertaking
For anyone worrying about first person platforming - Mirror's Edge was pretty awesome.
Re: Infinity Ward's Turn in 2026, Sledgehammer Games in 2027, Says Call of Duty Insider
@AverageGamer it's an odd situation because Sledgehammer only had less than two years to put out Modern Warfare 3 after Vanguard, and was definitely rushed by the publisher when it was planned to be a DLC
Raven developed the campaign for Black Ops 6, and its the best campaign in years. That makes my prediction 2025's COD will be Treyarch again with "more of the same" multiplayer from Black Ops 6 but a new campaign that they've made tthemselves.
Re: Peerless RPG Baldur's Gate 3 Has More Players Now Than at Launch
@TheArt @Ilyn Elden Ring and Dark Souls are definitely both evergreen. I'd throw Demon's Souls and Bloodborne as the "cult classics". I know several people personally who tell me "I've started another playthrough of Elden Ring", or have tried to perfect their Dark Souls run.
Bloodborne could join that list if it had a PC release and a performance patch for PS5, of course.
Re: Analyst Says Dragon Age: The Veilguard Had a Good, But Not a Great Launch
As Dragon Age Origins and Inquisition have shown before, the series is evergreen with the likes of Skyrim and The Witcher. It's something that people will buy for a long time to come, and because it's single player won't be reliant on short term server lifecycle.
For something for comparison, I'd love someone to look into the lifetime sales of Dragon Age Origins and how many sold in the first week or month. It became a hit over time.
Re: Shenmue 3 Publishing Rights Passed to ININ on Fifth Anniversary
I've always thought it slightly entertaining how large the fan outcry was for Shenmue 3 for years, and then after it was released, barely any mention of Shenmue since.
Imagine if Half-Life 3 was finally revealed and released and caused the entire community to never speak of any Half-Life game again
Re: Peerless RPG Baldur's Gate 3 Has More Players Now Than at Launch
It'll likely be an evergreen title now that people will go back to like Skyrim, The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2.
There's always the patient gamers too that will pick this one up because it isn't part of an annualised franchise
Re: Remedy's Sam Lake Honoured with Andrew Yoon Legend Award
@wiiware @amatmulisha maybe it's not so much the work Reggie done on a particular game but innovation he done for marketing, like the creation of the Nintendo Direct.
Either way, the rest of those names definitely created and designed some influential games.
Re: PS5 Consoles, PSVR2 Discounts for Black Friday Seemingly Revealed
@Scarface82G1 At time of writing, the Pro is still £659 (along with two year guarantee) at John Lewis
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Producer Wants to Remake the Worst Game in the Series for PS5
SEGA would be best just working with the developer behind Project P06 to give their game some polish and release it as an official remake.
Re: PS5 Pro Makes Unpatched PS4 Software 'More Palatable' on High-Res Displays
@Rich33 Hey Rich. How are you doing, what you playing this weekend? Always nice to see you around on here.
So, if i have a 120Hz TV, i should be able to get above the capped 60fps on games that support the Pro? Im hoping we see consistent higher performance on PS6. While I won't be getting the Pro, I'm keeping a close eye on it as if it does well enough, it'll be the difference maker of whether I get a PS6 on launch or wait until the cross gen releases dry up
Re: PS5 Pro Makes Unpatched PS4 Software 'More Palatable' on High-Res Displays
They always seem to emphasise, resolution. Id happily accept a pro console outputting 1080p if it could run a consistent locked 120fps. I know its an enthusiast console, but 8K TVs are also an enthusiast TV due to the size required to really benefit from the dots per inch.
Re: Survey Finds 21% of European Games Industry Professionals Were Laid Off in Last Year
@nessisonett Keep at it Ness. Get yourself on Linkedin if you aren't already. Opportunities are competitive, but you'll get there eventually and make use of that degree
Re: Metacritic Responds to Ongoing Dragon Age: The Veilguard Review Bombing Campaign
@Rich33 @ATaco let me rephrase haha. (Might edit my original comment too). While not necessarily a big time investment for the "review bomb", they still care too much about something inconsequential in the grand scheme