Playstation Thread.

Honestly, this is worse than their "Riiiiiiiddgee Raaaaaceererrrrrrr/Giant Enemy Crab/MASSIVE DAMAGE/Five-hundred-ninety-nine US dollars" disaster of an E3 however many years ago.

The sad thing is, I was looking forward to the PS5 Pro. Right now I'm kind of using my PS5 mostly as a PS4 Pro and keep my PSVR permanently attached to it. I was hoping to be able to pick up the PS5 Pro and use that with my PSVR2 and eliminate the need to be swapping cables out.

But at that price... $960 in Canada plus another $100 for the disc drive? To hell with that. Even though I could get $500 off it if with rewards points I have at a local retailer, it's still obscene.

I just got a PS5 this past winter with the first round of price cuts And hardware revision. I do NOT have a high refresh, 4K display that I play my game content on. In that respect, most of the benefits of the Pro are not going to affect me. By and large, I don’t think a LOT of average consumers are going to see most of the the system’s benefits. For most, the existing system is “good enough”, and I’m not seeing any meaningful benefits in the games shown working on the newer hardware.
The pricing is high, but not THAT extreme compared to PC gaming stuff. I think it hasn’t helped that pricing cuts have been increasingly rare the past couple of generations. I don’t recall the PS4 (when I got it in 2015) being much, if any cheaper cheaper than it was at launch (even though I DID get the STar Wars bundle, which did cost more than a base model). I don’t think the PS4 saw any appreciable price drop until the Pro. This generation? Last Christmas was the first discounts I’d seen for the console, and it was a temporary $50 cut.

I’m not sure, in an abject sense, the pricing is that awful. HOWEVER, for the “console market” it is clearly above the threshold for where the console segment has traditionally sat. What boggles my mind is how Sony looks to be penny pinching. At that price point, you are clearly targeting established, hardcore, Playstation players. Many of whom likely have libraries of games across the PS4, PS5, and digital. So why are you splitting off the disc drive?
To eek extra $100 bucks out of you, that’s why. The pricing doesn’t look THAT bad if you bought the PS5 digital, 2 TB drive and disc drive separately…but you’d still be coming out ahead by having the disc drive in the deal.

How about some positive stuff in here?

Astrobot is a joy of a game. On a design standpoint, I feel it falls somewhere between a Lego platformer and Super Mario Odyssey (skewing more to Mario in terms of the actual mechanics). While not using all them fancy new technical features like Ray tracing and stuff, the game still looks GORGEOUS thanks to great art direction. I’ve dropped about 20 hours this week to get JUST short of all 300 bots (just playing through the campaign took about 9 hours, rest has been scavenging for hidden posts, puzzle pieces, and trying to get through the challenge stages). The game never gets REALLY hard, but some of those challenge levels can get quite tricky. I’d argue it never gets as deep or as expansive as a given 3D Mario

I LOVE the deep cuts, and there were several 3rd party surprises (Legacy of Kain?! Mister Mosquito?!), though I was surprised at several Sony omissions (Lemmings, Syphon Filter, Twisted Metal immediately come to mind). One of the nicer surprises was that after completing each galaxy’s boss, you got a “Playstation Adventure” level, allowing you to play a “Lego-style” recreation of a classic Playstation title. While 3 of them were styled after current heavy hitters, it was just glorious to have another run through Loco Roco and Ape Escape.

I would play another full game of them doing these sorts of “PlayStation Classic” levels with the full breadth of Sony’s library. After all, when do you think they’ll ever bother doing another WipeOut or Medievil or Syphon Filter? Word is that there is some DLC given several companies were acknowledged in the credits, but didn’t make it into the game (like UbiSoft stuff). Maybe we’ll get some of those additional PS characters in the mix as well.

Basically, Astrobot is probably one of the most enjoyable titles of the year, much less a PS5 exclusive. Compared to the other stalwarts of the PlayStation catalog, Astrobot is something they need MORE of. This Gamespot article has a strong argument about the value of this kind of game and how it can be used to elevate the BRAND, instead of continuing to dump millions into the bloated live service shooter market.


BTW, two of the new PS Classics being uploaded this month are Secret Agent Clank and PS2 cult oddity, Mister Mosquito.

I'm not too bummed about it...


But then, I lean more towards Xbox, anyway.

Now, to be quite frank, it's the PlayStation 6 prospects I find more concerning at this stage.

I already have the base PS5. So all the bad stuff announced for PS5 PRO in itself doesn't really concern me. What concerns me is what these things mean for the PS6.

Physical media has been dying for a while now. But if PS5 PRO is any indication, I'm guessing by the time of PS6 it'll be completely dead. And with the economy the way it is and seeing how Sony is trending their prices, I'm not very hopeful of even being able to afford the next generation.

Once physical media is extinct, I mean... what's even the point of having different consoles? Or consoles at all?

Just release everything for gaming PCs on Steam or Gog.com.

The end of an era... but at least we'll still be getting movies on disc for another little while.

To be fair, video games are kind of weird for having "exclusives" for different "players", anyway, when you start to think about it.

It's not like you can only play Sony's new Spider-Man movie on Sony-brand Blu-Ray players. And it's not like Tor-published e-books can only be bought and read on Amazon kindle e-readers and nothing else.

Video games are the only medium that tries to make sure some software is only compatible with specific hardware.

(...This better not give anyone any bad ideas...)

Mind, there's some very practical reasons for that being the case. Video games ARE a case where the software and the hardware work together moreso than in any other medium. But, it's still a little odd to think that we've all just grown to accept this to be the case, when it doesn't work this way in any other medium.

I feel like Nintendo will probably be the last holdout on something like a "universal gaming system". If only because they do enjoy their gimmicks, which makes them pretty incompatible with the other players on the market. But, with as much of a hard time Microsoft and Sony have had in their gaming divisions this last decade, I could see them working together to merge consoles in the future.

We could see a Playstation X in our lifetimes.

Or...I dunno, Microsoft and Nintendo have gotten awful chummy this last decade. With XBox exclusives eventually making their way onto the Switch. That's mostly from Microsoft trying to buy Nintendo and Nintendo not going along with it. But, still, maybe we're more likely to see a Nintendo XBox?

Yeah, I've thought about the disparity versus other mediums a bit there, myself.

ZakuConvoy said:

Or...I dunno, Microsoft and Nintendo have gotten awful chummy this last decade. With XBox exclusives eventually making their way onto the Switch. That's mostly from Microsoft trying to buy Nintendo and Nintendo not going along with it. But, still, maybe we're more likely to see a Nintendo XBox?

Microsoft’s Phil Spencer says acquiring Nintendo would be ‘a career moment’

He believed it would benefit both companies.

www.theverge.com

Click to expand...

Something tells me Nintendo wouldn't allow themselves to be acquired by a foreign company. That kind of thing seems like a no-no in Japan.

Well, it's less about Microsoft actually acquiring Nintendo and more Microsoft seemingly looking to get out of the gaming market entirely. Microsoft hasn't just been getting chummy with Nintendo. There's also rumors that one of their biggest games may coming to the PS5. Halo!
Microsoft might just think it's easier and cheaper to put out games or a app on the other consoles and stop making their own console entirely. And I could see Microsoft licensing a few of their franchises out for Nintendo or other companies to make a game with. It'd be interesting to have Nintendo work on a few of the Rare franchises like Banjo-Kazooie, again.

But, this is all a lot of what ifs. But, it does feel like Microsoft is eyeing teaming up with SOMEONE to license out the franchises they own. And they may end up teaming up with BOTH Sony and Nintendo on different projects. We could see a new Sony-made Halo at the same time that a new Nintendo-made Banjo-Kazooie comes out, or something.

And the thing is, if both companies DO agree to something like that, Microsoft would probably want to make sure that these games based on their franchises could also be easily ported to the PC. Since Microsoft still dominates the PC market. So, it's possible that Microsoft could become the "glue" that binds all three of the big gaming giants together, by licensing out their IPs, and making sure all these games are PC-portable.

...But that's just a crazy conspiracy theory....for now.

Microsoft has basically been saying since the end of the XBone era that they are less interested in getting people to buy Xbox consoles than they are simply people playing (and buying) their games, period. That’s why there hasn’t been a true Xbox console exclusive in well over a decade, they know offering the title on PC will get more eyes and more purchases. That’s why they’ve been willing to work with Nintendo to get titles on that platform (especially since MS doesn’t have, nor will likely make, and true handheld game device).
As is, the biggest hangup on getting Microsoft properties on the PlayStation have been Sony, themselves.

If Microsoft were to exit the gaming space, the Xbox brand would likely survive. They’ve assembled a pretty impressive slate of studios and IP, and could easily thrive as a 3rd party, if it came to that.


And on the topic of the PS5 Pro, Jayz Two Cents on YouTube did an interesting comparison build to what you COULD get for $700-ish on a PC, while still addressing the peculiarities and differences in how pricing is done with consoles versus PC.

Well, I DID call it, just a couple weeks early:

Sony dun goofed and posted the Remaster collection on the store this morning before the Direct this evening. Developed by Aspyr (who did the Tomb Raider Trilogy), the collection is slated to feature Soul Reaver 1 and 2. Likely with the usual slate of upgrades and such. No word on Legacy of Kain Blood Omen (which is included on the Evercade cart with Soul Reaver 1). Launching on December 10.

That is great.. If it's PS exclusive though.. well the game is pretty much dead.

Some updates from the State of Play:
Astro Bot is getting free DLC with 10 new bots and some challenge stages, with more hinted to come.

Several PSVR2 titles, including Metro Awakening and a novel claymation inspired game (cross compatible?) called "The Midnight Walk"

Most of what was shown were DLC and remasters that will be available on other platforms-
Lunar (YAY!!!!) 1+2
Sonic 3 Movie DLC for Sonic x Shadow Generations.
New Playable characters for TMNT Shredder's Revenge (Mona Lisa and Mondo Gecko)

Palworld is launching today on PS5, despite recent legal action from Nintendo

Horizon Zero Dawn is getting a full remaster in October, sporting graphics closer to its sequel. Existing PS4 owners can upgrade for $10
Lego Horizon is still on deck for November with preorder bonuses.

Fantasian (the former Apple Arcade exclusive) will release December 5.

In response to my earlier query, Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen will be a PS Classic in October, joined by Dino Crisis.

After another trailer trying to sell us on the benefits of a PS5 Pro, Sony revealed a big first party game for 2025:
Ghost of Yotei, from Sucker Punch. A sequel/Spin off of their acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima.

I already played Forbidden West years ago. Even at $10 I just don't see it worth the upgrade.

DLC for Astro Bot will be nice.

DLC for Shredder's Revenge, yeah, I bought it for PS5. I'll probably also get it for Switch. But not a Sony exclusive, so not much of a feather in their cap.

Ghost of Tsushima sequel sounds like the only real thing that's not DLC or Remake or non-exclusive that has my attention.

I didn't watch the SoP myself. But if that's sll they had, I don't really feel like I missed much.

I love Horizon, but I've got so much else to play that I dunno if I want to go back to it again. Gonna need more than just slightly prettier graphics.

Playing Dragon Warrior VIII on PS 2 as I've caught up a lot of the games I want to play on PS 2.

Trying to level up on the game so I don't get handed royally later.

Since Sony had the biggest kerfuffle as of late with digital purchases:
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law new requirements for Digital Storefronts.

tldr; Starting next year, digital storefronts in California will be required to clarify the nature of digital purchases, clarifying that, as a consumer, you are simply purchasing a license to use the media from that retailer. It will also disbar retailers from using terms like "BUY" or "Purchase" when it comes to digital sales. It won't prevent a company from revoking access (like when UbiSoft turned off the Crew and removed it from libraries), but it SHOULD help bring light to issues around digital sales that have cropped up the last few years.

Eh, I'll take it, I guess.