Comments 7,531

Re: PS5 Sales in Japan Quadruple as New Model Launches

themightyant

@PuppetMaster I believe the Digital base console is the only model with the new cheaper pricing, so that explains why the base disc model sold so poorly.

You can still add a drive for less in total... but Sony don't want to enable that too easily, they make more money digitally, and selling this likely at a loss will want to make up for it via PSN sales.

As for the PS5 Pro, some people just want the better console.

Re: PS5 Sales in Japan Quadruple as New Model Launches

themightyant

36,983 total units is better, but it will be interesting to see how this does over time, or if it's just a flash in the pan change.

For comparison here are other totals from recent weeks:

  • 5,855 - w/c Nov 10
  • 7,691 - w/c Nov 3
  • 7,537 - w/c Oct 27
  • 10,503 - w/c Oct 20
  • 12,085 - w/c Oct 13
  • 14,800 - w/c Oct 6
  • 27,344 - w/c Sept 29
  • 16,911 - w/c Sept 22

@Titntin THIS! That Pro storage upgrade covers a lot of the cost.

Re: Looks Like PS5 Is Going to Clean Up This Black Friday

themightyant

@Medic_alert The people buying in year 6 of a console are less likely to be big spenders imo. Less likely to make the money back.

@TheArt The same applies, there's likely a lot of people who aren't massive gamers (hence they haven't bought a PS5 yet) but GTA6 + PS6 might tempt them.

I just think the idea that PlayStation (or Xbox) are waiting for a massive sales bump from one game, even GTA6, is nonsense. Yes it will give sales a bump but it's not going to change the generation like some suggest.

Re: Looks Like PS5 Is Going to Clean Up This Black Friday

themightyant

@TheArt Firstly I think GTA6 is going to be delayed till 2027 (I can't think of ANY game that gave a release DAY over a year in advance and hit it). By 2027 we will likely be expecting PS6 within months not years.

Secondly we were specifically talking about people buying PS5s, not people who already own one. So yes I think SOME people may not want to spend $500 on an old console just to play GTA6 when they can potentially wait 6-12 months and play it on a new PS6. If they don't have a PS5 by then the PS6 may make more sense.

Re: Yakuza Kiwami 3 Becomes an Orphanage Sim with Massively Expanded Morning Glory Minigames

themightyant

@JohntheRaptor I guess it depends where/how you grew up. For me if someone says morning glory I immediately think of morning wood. Personally I never knew it was a cocktail (looks tasty... but dangerous with Absinthe!) again depends where/how you grew up. Oasis album is specifically ABOUT waking up euphoric (whether drugs, music or what is vague) and it is a clear reference to the slang.

The point is enough people in the English speaking world would know this meaning they kinda HAD to change it imo.

Re: Cyberpunk 2077 Now at a Staggering 35 Million Sales as Work on Sequel Continues to Ramp Up

themightyant

Yeah I'm puzzled as to why they've chosen UE5 for The Witcher 4 when RED is still perfectly capable.

@ApostateMage @StitchJones CDPR did a debrief into WHY Cyperpunk 2077 released in such a bad state, why it took so long to develop, and talked about it on an investor call. One of the key factors was the RED engine.

The trouble isn't that it isn't a capable engine, it is, it was to do with staff. They had to massively size up for Cyberpunk AND there was a lot of staff turnover at CDPR, in part due to mismanagement and overwork. This led to new staff being unfamiliar with the RED engine and taking a long time to get used to it. (It takes years to truly master a tool) Moreover a lot of senior staff were having to constantly spend time getting new developers up to speed with it, especially with such a high turnover. This all led to a massive loss in productivity.

So part of the problem was company culture, leading to high staff turnover, but also the use of proprietary engine which exacerbated it. The feeling with Unreal is incoming staff will be familiar with it and it will remove that part of the problem.

FYI 343 Studios came to the same conclusion with Halo: Infinite's long dev cycle, which is why they also moved to UE5. Sensible imho.

Re: Talking Point: Does PS5 Have a Sequel Problem?

themightyant

All these are just the second full games in the series, or second game in this timeline for GoW (S-M: MM was a shorter spin-off). Hence it is completely reasonable to expect these. So no it's not a problem that they are sequels and each expands on the earlier game in many ways.

However the problem is two fold.

1) That high-end AAA game development on these titles takes so long. 4-5 years even for a sequel

2) There isn't enough new IP across all Sony Studios.

That said new IP takes even longer than a sequel so if you want #2 then it will take even more than 4-5 years, many new Sony IP are around 6-8 years.

Re: PS Plus Essential Games for December 2025 Announced

themightyant

@DualWielding Same. This is often the problem with these services. The list can be strong on paper, but if you aren’t going to play these over the other games you have then it doesn’t really matter if they are decent.

Still I’ve had more than my fill from PS+ this year.

Re: Valve Won't Subsidise Steam Machine, Expected to Be Pricier Than More Powerful PS5

themightyant

Isn’t the “weaker than ps5” line just fake news? Certainly seems that way considering the base ps5 hardly ever hits 60fps in 4k.

@Boxmonkey We won't know for certain until testers get their hands on it to benchmark. But because these are PC specs we already have a pretty good idea how this will run. Digital Foundry said they expect it to perform between Series S and Series X, which is below PS5.

Personally i'd take that 4K@60fps with a GIANT pinch of salt considering the specs. They also said that was with settings on low and FSR. Even if it does hit 4K@60fps that isn't always better if everything else is blurry or low-res. Also remember Microsoft said the Series S was just the Series X at 1440p... look how that turned out. Don't believe all their marketing.

Re: Poll: Five Years of PS5 - How Would You Rate Sony's Console?

themightyant

The console itself is brilliant. Most balanced PlayStation console with less major flaws than any earlier PlayStation console. It's brilliant.

The library is vast and strong, but could be more varied, especially from First Party. There are more great games than I can ever play.

My money is on November 2027 for PS6 but I wouldn't mind if it's Nov 2028. But that's still 2-3 years away. It's still a ways off either way.

Re: You Could Be Playing the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time PS5 Remake in a Few Weeks

themightyant

I replayed it fairly recently and most of it still holds up, the platforming, puzzles, story, art design, vibe, and voice acting are all top tier. Music is great too. It’s really just the combat, which was weak when it launched, and fidelity that need a fix.

I am a bit worried about the Voice Acting, as @Starmac said there was an amazing dynamic between Farah and the Prince, played by a much younger Yuri Lowenthal (Spider-man) that grew over the course of the game. Farrah was played by Joanna Wasick (this is her only gaming credit) who reportedly went on to become a lawyer. They really sold the story and a budding romance, that the plot relies on.

Will the VAs capture that in a remake? Fingers firmly crossed.

Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off

themightyant

@TrollOfWar To be clear I can see this BOTH ways. I didn't state one way or the other how I actually feel, was only presenting the other angle that ROI on PC games isn't the only important consideration.

That said while I agree that, at least in the short term, releasing on PC helps the PlayStation brand grow, I do also think it's a careful balance that Sony have to tread. I still believe exclusives matter in making a decision about what system to buy, I know it does for me.

If, for example, they released ALL their games Day 1 on PC I absolutely think they will lose some users to PC long term. Or put another way would I have ever bought a Switch 2 if Nintendo's games were available on PS5? No I wouldn't. Exclusives do matter, and will change some people's buying habits even if not yours.

While PS5's sales have been in line with PS4 will PS6's? And perhaps PS5 could have outsold PS4 launch aligned if they didn't publish on PC. We don't have enough data to tell but usually companies want to expand their market.

If it was me at Sony I would be watching this like a hawk and play it super-safe. It would be multiplayer Day 1 everywhere, single player at least 2 years of PlayStation exclusivity, and possibly never depending on what happens in the next 2-3+ years. I do think PC gaming is on the rise and a large part of that is almost all games are available on it.

Re: Sony Estimated to Have Made $1.5 Billion from Steam, But the Novelty Is Wearing Off

themightyant

@TrollOfWar I generally agree with your point that they make a huge ROI on these PC ports, but it still has to be looked at in a larger long term context. i.e. IF people start believing they can wait to play these games on PC, Steam Machine/Deck (or Xbox next gen) and aren't spending their money on PSN directly for all the other games, then they will lose a lot more than $1.5 billion.

Fact is Sony only makes a tiny fraction of their money from first party titles, the VAST majority is from everybody else's titles on PSN, THAT is their golden goose, and for PSN to keep printing billions every year they need to keep people on PlayStation.

So while yes they are making a lot of money on each PC release, massive short term ROI, it is harder to quantify if this is worthwhile long term. Sony will be looking 5+ years ahead and won't want to do any harm to the PlayStation ecosystem.

Re: Are Shadow Drops the Future? Bethesda's Betting on Them After Oblivion Remastered Success

themightyant

We need to differentiate between a shadow drop of a KNOWN title and and an unknown one. Some games, especially new IP likely need to slowly build an interest base in order to sell Day 1 / full price. This is important because major business decisions like whether to greenlight sequels, or even shutter a studio, are made based on that early performance. Slow building long tail sales doesn't help here.

Yet some games, especially in known IP, like GTA, Silksong, or Remakes of popular titles like Oblivion, Metroid Prime could shadow drop and sell like hotcakes.

I'm not a fan of announcing things years in advance, though again I realise this is sometimes for business reasons e.g. to promote hiring for the game: "Come work on the new [insert IP you love]"

Re: Expedition 33's Charlie Cox Credits Lesser-Known Actor for Game Awards Nomination

themightyant

@Oram77 100%. They carried so much emotion. But a lot of that was from the actors. Check out this recording of Maxence and Estelle Darnault (as Sophie) acting the Gommage scene. It's heart rending even if you put it on silent.

FYI Maxence also did mo-cap for Verso and Renoir and voiced Esquie. Estelle did it for most of the female characters in the game: Alicia, Lune, Sciel, Sophie, Aline, Paintress, Emma etc.

But as you said credit to the animators for translating this into digitised form. Epic teamwork.

Re: Expedition 33's Charlie Cox Credits Lesser-Known Actor for Game Awards Nomination

themightyant

@Oram77 Absolutely. Personally I think "Gustave" deserves a nomination, and Charlie Cox did an utterly fantastic job in voicing that role. But "Gustave" isn't just his performance, it is the mo-cap actor it is the animators, it is the writers, it is the composer and musicians that made those moments with Gustave so utterly unforgettable. It is a team effort in many games. We need to highlight that more imo.

For those who came before in this instance

Re: Genshin Impact Buffs Some of Its Oldest Characters in Upcoming PS5 Update

themightyant

As a Razor main for at least the first year of the game, I REFUSED to change until Itto (shortlived). I look forward to at least giving him a go again.

@UltimateOtaku91 I'm not sure it's better in EVERY way. I still think the reaction based team building model is far superior in Genshin allowing far more flexible viable team comps whereas in WuWa you need more specific supports in 95% of cases. World exploration is also more interesting in Genshin imo, their world design is top tier. But I agree WuWa is great and pushing it in a lot of ways. Competition is good! It's a shame Genshin isn't reacting quickly.