Julius

Some of the people at my workplace definitely need to be reminded of that Absolutely. I think there are just too many factors to take into consideration here to point at one thing and go "Ha, that's it! There's the problem!" which I think Schreier is guilty of doing at times. It's human nature to be reductive and try to come to one conclusion, because that's so much easier for us to comprehend, but there's so much more under the belly of the beast that is "crunch". This is a difficult thing to find a solution for exactly because it's so easy to oversimplify the situation and chalk it up to "crunch = bad, therefore any company with crunch = bad". Is the typical, perhaps generalised idea of "crunch" we've come to be familiar with in the games industry - the one where people feel their livelihood is threatened, that they're burning the candle at both ends in some endless nightmare, and that their work isn't fully appreciated, and that they aren't fairly compensated - a problem? Yes, I think it's almost undeniable. But throw in, as you mentioned, work culture changes with a much different outlook on work-life balance, amongst many, many other things, and it's just such a difficult one to crack. Especially when it could potentially so much from person to person. It's great that we hear more, and I really want to hear what the thoughts are of those working overtime at CDPR right now. Do some feel their livelihood is threatened? Are others so proud of their work that they're happy to work these six day work weeks in order to get their work out there? Is one guy planning to propose and saving for a wedding , so he's putting in overtime? Was this all written down in their contract as a possibility? It's a multifaceted issue, and one especially difficult I think for Schreier to comment on. Yes it's a video game company, but, just as an example, outside of what we've even mentioned so far: just how familiar is he with the typical Polish work-life balance? Is this something that's a known quantity in Poland, and are other companies doing the same? I mean I'd have to imagine so because of the laws in place. It's not an easy thing to talk about, and I'm glad he continues to shine a light on it when others won't or can't for one reason or another, but it feels to me like gotcha journalism at the worst of times.

I mean, I hate PR speech in general so I'm with you there! I think he only mentioned it to avoid any misunderstandings that they aren't being paid fairly. I mean from what I've read elsewhere though, devs based in Poland really aren't making that much as it is? Could be wrong on that though. I want to hear more of what someone actually working there has to say, because all I gathered from Schreier's article was that he spoke with one of them, who yes did not want to be named, but all that's been attributed to them - and without a quote - is that they've been working paid overtime for a year. And yes, it's required by Polish law, but at the same time, that's still not the standard everywhere else - I know they likely wouldn't otherwise, but it's still a good law to have in place (commending Poland here and not CDPR just to be clear). I think Schreier has generally been good about this all, but at the same time, I'm not a fan of him going "ha, gotcha!" when things don't play out how CDPR wanted them too (and yes, I do think it was a bit cocky of them to declare something like that a year out). And speaking of things not playing out how CDPR wanted them to, I think the lack of a mention for the pandemic delaying things and impacting work schedules is a bit of an oversight on Schreier's side. It's not an excuse, but I think it's something worth mentioning. I'm not sure off the top of my head how badly Poland have had it, but I imagine it'll have impacted their plans to some degree. This too, it absolutely could be the case that people are asking for it. Happens at my work place too; I work for a bank, so as soon as COVID hit, everyone was offered overtime at triple the rate. But even normally, when OT is offered, it's normally at double the rate, which is all the time right now. Again, I don't know. If people are being pressured into OT, being given smug looks, made to feel ostracised, and feel their job security is threatened, then absolutely drag CDPR through the coals. But until we know more and hear more I think this is a bit of an empty yell trying to back up Schreier's other stories. CDPR's intentions are certainly in the right place, as far as I can tell, and hopefully things improve in the future and this can be avoided where possible.

Head of CDPR Adam Badowski has tweeted a response out to Schreier's article from yesterday: It's difficult. Enforcing 6 day work weeks isn't right, but at the same time, a 10% profit split between employees and being "well compensated" for additional hours worked, especially so close to launch...it's hard to fall on either side of this one. They shouldn't be obligated to work 6 day work weeks (I mean, unless their contract says so) but we've yet to hear from anyone working at CDPR directly about this, which we have elsewhere (such as with Naughty Dog). Until then, I think it's difficult to say where I personally land on this.

Not at all surprising, yet still very disappointing. I'm honestly still a bit surprised that we haven't seen this game delayed further. I think it might be too late now (6 or 7 weeks from release?), but my gut feeling is that this game needs a bit more time cooking. It's weird, because while I don't want to see everything the game has to offer...it does feel like we've seen such a small part of it up until now, and again, we're only 6 weeks or so out. But maybe that's just me?

Digital pre-orders for launch titles are going up, not directly on the PS Store but hosted on the PlayStation site (note: these are UK links): Spider-Man: Miles Morales Demon's Souls Destruction AllStars Sackboy A Big Adventure Godfall Not sure exactly who here is going digital, but I know for sure that @Ganepark32 is, so I'll tag him note that as on PS4, these require immediate payment! Oh and for anyone in the US, just change the 'en-gb' part of the URL to 'en-us' and @drahkon no idea if you're going digital with some of these, but just in case, I think you would just need to change 'en-gb' to 'de-de'.

Digital Deluxe Edition is on the way. Besides the Scythe, are the rest available in-game anyways (besides the OST of course), and this is just a boost at the start of your journey? Oh, and some more awesome images to drool over:

This got me excited and I'm not even getting the console at launch! If it wasn't confirmed before, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos are coming to Series X|S. Really looking forward to a more fluid and stronger soundscape next gen. Between this and Tempest on PS5, should be a great time for our ears at least

Yeah, I really enjoyed using it on Final Fantasy VI on the SNES Classic as a very quick way to hop back in, and I've enjoyed it to varying degree on Virtual Console and Switch Online too. I mean, the PS4 (and I assume Xbox One? But could be wrong there) has application and game suspension already too, which I use a whole lot, though that's not quite the same (but still a great way to quickly get back in). Guess I was more questioning why I would personally need it for 2 games or more at a time, but hey, I guess just having the option is a good enough reason!

New gameplay and a look at special editions: The Jin Sakai one looks hilarious. Game looks super fun!

So uh, this is happening. Hope it's something original and not Simba's Pride UPDATE: THR reporting it's going to be a prequel.

EA Play coming to Game Pass Ultimate on November 10th. And December for PC:

Yeah, like I said, that's just me personally As we both mentioned, Game Pass is a great reason to pop in and try a game out, but I don't think that necessarily translates to having a bunch of games in Quick Resume, because if I don't like a game I gave a try on Game Pass, I'd just delete it and move on. And even then, these consoles have solid SSD's packed in, so the issue you have in loading up a game from scratch is probably going to be reduced anyways. Forza and games like that would be good games to pop into, I agree there for sure, and I guess I could see myself just wanting to pop in for a quick drive every now and then just to chill out a bit. So maybe I'm wrong in saying that I wouldn't use it at all. But on the flip side, the number floating around is that you can have a maximum of 12 games using Quick Resume at once, for backwards compatible games I believe, and that just seems a bit excessive to me. Options are great, but it's just odd is all: what's the aim? Personally speaking, for me the outcome with something like this, if I were to utilise it fully, is bound to be me just hopping from one game to another and not making any real progress with any of them. It'd be great for series speedruns I guess? Again, it's a neat enough idea and a cool feature, just one I don't think I'd personally utilise all that often (if at all).

Have no idea how I didn't post this any earlier, but some YouTubers in Japan will be getting some hands-on time with the PS5 on the 4th (this coming Sunday). Maybe we'll finally get our first look at the UI?

Apart from 802 GB storage being available after the OS partition and some tests on frame rate/resolution/boot speed, no, not really it's cool to see it all in action, though! Was thinking the exact same thing! I figured maybe one was from a console start-up and the other was going into it through Quick Resume, but the difference isn't big or small enough for them to be different? Super strange. After watching a decent chunk of these videos now, the Series X tests by DF in particular are the highlight by far, and seeing it brute force its way to sometimes double the frame rate without further optimisation is awesome, and I can't wait to see similar tests with the PS5 and see those comparisons (not because I care which is better, it's just cool to learn more about how both consoles are doing!). I can't wait to get around to playing Final Fantasy XV and Sekiro for the first time on next-gen hardware! That being said, it also highlighted so much of the other stuff which has personally has me holding off on picking up a Series X for now that it's hard to ignore. Why are we getting the first previews now and not in a month or so? Because there isn't a big ol' must-play exclusive launch title. Why are they showing off a five year old Halo as part of these previews? Because Infinite needed more work. Will I personally use Quick Resume if/when I get a next-gen Xbox? Absolutely not. It's a neat enough idea, especially with Game Pass giving access to so many games, but I play one game at a time, and enjoy games most that way. It's something I'd test for five minutes and be done with, and honestly, I expect that to be the case for most players with it only really applying to single player games.

Well that sucks, have they mentioned when they might be able to fulfill it by? Was always worried this might end up being the case; out of curiosity, did you register interest prior to then going up, or register interest/order it after? This is all making me nervous about my order! But fingers crossed for us all anyways, I know it's not the end of the world of it doesn't turn up on launch day, but it would still be nice! Out of curiosity, what's turning you off of the new consoles? I've seen you mention in the PC thread you were looking to potentially dive in, and especially if simulation games like the F1 games are more your thing, it does feel like that might be where the better experience ends up being for the foreseeable future. Anecdotally, I was talking to someone from my work the other day about it all, and he mentioned he didn't stick a pre-order in so that they can iron out all the kinks before he picks one up. I kind of get it, but my logic for getting one at launch right now is: a) the price isn't going down for a while, I've saved up the money for it and might as well pick one up now. b) with COVID in play, I don't think it's insane to think that production and shipping issues could crop back up after launch. c) i) my PS4 sounds like it wants to burn my apartment down every time it runs something too intense. ii) I've noticed an increasing number of games I feel would benefit greatly from PS5's backwards compatibility, and I'm really looking forward to returning to some of my favourites of this gen with better performance. d) the games. I know Miles Morales is on PS4 at launch too, but it'll undoubtedly be at its best on the PS5. And it's just an investment in the games and franchises I already love, and PlayStation Studios, which I trust to put out high quality games on a consistent basis. However, I will admit that I'm super excited to get the PS5, but not purely because of next-gen at this point, if that makes sense? Demon's Souls looks to be the most "next-gen" game, but even that is "just" an amazing looking remake of a decade old game. It's Bluepoint, it looks fantastic...but this is kind of what I would expect from a Bluepoint remake of Demon's Souls, if that makes any sense. Final Fantasy XVI looks visually like a PS4 game in many places (and not quite as good as VII Remake, even, though there's still time to smooth it out I'm sure!), and I think it's just that lack of games designed with next-gen front and foremost which is stunting my excitement for those possibilities right now. I think Ratched and Clank is the only game announced so far where I can say I'm excited by the possibilities and risks it might take. That's not to say the tech side of it is the only thing I'm looking forward to (far from it, solid gameplay and a good story is still more than enough to put a smile on my face!), but it's only there where I have reservations so far going into next-gen. Thanks for this! I skimmed the articles about the Kraken yesterday but barely mulled it over, that's pretty insane!

The save data can still be used I believe on the PS5 by using the PS4 version through backwards compatibility (so just boosted performance I guess), but I do agree that it's strange. Part of me wants to say they're going to be treated as different applications and potentially have different trophy lists, like with Spider-Man Remastered, because I really have no idea what else it could be. I had been thinking about sticking a PS4 version pre-order in, or at least picking up a copy after launch, just for the boosted performance when I do get around to it, but I'm too sure at this moment either. It's a super weird thing but what might sway me over to picking up a PS4 copy, even if I end up playing the PS5 upgrade version, is the fact that it was originally a PS4 title, and that you could then have 0 - 7 (and Judgment?) all in the same PS4 cases on the shelf, rather than this becoming the black sheep?

Okay, clarified: physical owners will also get the same option to upgrade. Save data will not be transferrable between PS4 and PS5 versions. Not too surprising, but why didn't they just say this from the offset? So strange!

Digital Foundry comparison for backwards compatibility is up:

PS5 version releasing on 2nd March 2021, with a free upgrade available for those with the digital PS4 version when the PS5 release comes. I'm guessing it's just the wording of it about the digital version getting it immediately (an option to have it preloaded maybe?), because I have to imagine it'll be the same day for the PS4 physical version to get an upgrade too. Surely? UPDATE: it would seem not. Official press release puts it pretty plainly: Huh. Personally I'm in no rush (still got to play 5 and 6, and I want to try out Judgement, before this) but that seems a bit odd. UPDATE 2: insanity. Would be nice if he gave a source, but it's the senior editor of Gameblog over in France, so I guess only a tiny pinch of salt? Still, that press release is a bit of a mess!

Update tomorrow at 14:00 BST regarding the upcoming expansion:

Series X previews are going up. Series X vs One X loading time comparison: Digital Foundry are just polishing their content up before we get their perspective too: And a few more load times: Also a few mentions that this is coming in at somewhere around 800GB available storage (after the OS partition).

Well, it's still 53 days away over here in Europe... But Digital Foundry's breakdown of the recent gameplay shown during the PS5 Showcase will at least make the wait 10 minutes and 45 seconds shorter!

After putting a few more hours in on Friday night and a decent amount more yesterday, I can now say that I've finished Super Mario 64 for the first time. This game is a classic, and even as a first time player nearly 25 years after the game's initial release back on the N64, I could still get an overwhelming sense of just how special this game is: charming and (mostly!) upbeat soundtrack, diverse and masterful course design, and this great sense of exploration all come together into this great game which stands the test of time to this day. Mario himself controls just as tightly as you could want him to, even by modern standards, which is a feat I'm still astonished by after finishing the game. I feel like a large part of this game's timelessness comes down to just how sprawling some of these areas are, in every direction. You have the wide grassy fields of Bob-omb Battlefield to test and acclimatise your skills and power over the controls, the sweeping depths of Jolly Roger Bay (the water levels in this game are GOOD! I think that's the first time I've ever said that ), and the heights of Whomp's Fortress and Cool, Cool Mountain to experience all of that in the earliest parts of this game. Grabbing Power Stars is a lot of fun, as is familiarising yourself with courses. I generally would at least get to the point where I got the Power Star awarded for collecting for the Red Coins in each course, just because it feels like a good test of your understanding of the course. And Mario's moveset perfectly complements that. You have the Backflip to get to new heights in tight spaces; the Triple Jump to audaciously flip over obstacles, and keep momentum; the Cartwheel Flip to sharply return to the direction you were running from, then flip over anything in your way; and - my favourite move in the game by far - the Long Jump to instantly thrust yourself through the air at a breakneck pace. Chaining these moves together and gaining some level of mastery over them instills a great sense of awe and accomplishment which feels great to this day. The way all of this is accessed is through Peach's Castle, which is an interesting enough place to explore, but my favourite part of Peach's Castle by far is jumping through paintings into new levels, and especially those ones when/where you enter the paintings having an actual impact on the course. It took me a few tries to notice when they were doing this, but once I did, I was honestly taken aback a bit, because it's such a simple thing which could easily go overlooked, yet has such a huge impact in that you can then influence courses once you have it figured out. The level design is fairly consistent in layout, mechanics, and theme, but almost all of them feel distinct, and so you end up with a great catalogue of courses to explore. It just feels so fresh to enter a new course, and even somewhat similar ones (such as Jolly Roger Bay and Dire Dire Docks, or Whomp's Fortress and Tall, Tall Mountain) are spaced far apart in a way that it stills manages to feel fresh. Throw the caps into the mix for good measure and each course feels so different to the next, I really enjoyed that aspect of it. All of this being said, my least favourite parts of the game - and those which I think have aged the worst - are those tighter spaces where you can't exhibit this mastery over jumping around and leaping long distances which I feel the stronger courses in the game offer consistently, because it is so difficult to control Mario in those scenarios when you have so little control over the camera. These tighter spaces also typically find themselves matching up with some puzzle platforming, and the camera just doesn't work with you on some occasions where in more modern games it would. It's definitely most noticeable in Tick Tock Clock I feel, which is a shame, because I enjoyed so much of what that level was trying to do (though I have to question why they didn't slow the music down when you slowed the mechanical components in the course...). It's a shame, it really is my only biggest knock against this game as a first time player. The skill-based platforming far outclasses the puzzle-based platforming in my mind: in more open areas when traversing across narrow spaces (a small land bridge on Tall, Tall Mountain comes to mind) the camera sweeps in this organic way which perfectly matches the gameplay, and in those moments this game is unstoppable. The only other thing which comes to mind is very minor, and that being forced out of a course after picking up a Star, but I know that's something Odyssey doesn't do. It's not really an issue now that I think about it, and an worst it just helps you familiarise yourself with the courses. I understand that this is a port, and that this game is a revered classic with a storied history and longstanding fan base (and as someone who wants to support game preservation and has been wanting to play this game for a long time, I'm glad I've finally got the chance to!), but something as simple as giving the option for more camera control and not having it switch between fixed angles would have modernised this game and done away with what is by far my biggest problem with it. I know that wouldn't have been an option on the N64, but it is now, and I don't think this is at all like the fixed camera angles of the older Metal Gear Solid games. Heck, default it to the classic camera by all means, but in a third-person 3D platformer being ported nearly 25 years after release, again, it would have fixed what is by far my biggest issue with the game. I would have been happy to continue to collecting Stars if not for the camera, but I'm still really happy with how much I enjoyed of the game, and it's certainly not something I'll let sour my experience. I just hope Sunshine's camera will be better! But, not wanting to end on a sour note, I've got to mention some of my favourite moments in this game. Tall, Tall Mountain is easily my favourite course of the game, its variety of short and long horizontal areas while spiralling up this huge mountain is awesome. Even falling from way up in the course to near the bottom back at the start didn't feel too bad, because it was just so much fun to run around the course! I would say that discovering the underwater town in Wet-Dry World was one of my favourite moments, and collecting all 8 Red Coins to get that Power Star with some precise platforming was a whole load of fun. It was probably my favourite Power Star to get in the game. Getting frustrated for 30 minutes at being unable to get to the Star above the Thwomp in Tick Tock Clock wasn't so fun, but was fun was taking a short break, and doing it first time when I got back. The most typical gaming thing of all and lastly, getting to the spinning platform on Rainbow Ride for the second time after not figuring out how to get to the Tricky Triangles area, and taking this enormous Long Jump of faith across the course and landing felt so good. Getting over there and immediately realising that I just couldn't see the path over because of the draw distance from where you start? Certainly gave me a chuckle! There is so much charm, and fun, and game to this video game. I had such a great time with it, and camera issues aside, it's a timeless classic with movement which I'm sure would make most other 3D platformers - both modern and of the era - blush. Look forward to giving Sunshine a go next in the coming weeks!

The game has a provisional PEGI rating of 18. Imagine it's based mostly on the blood splattering all over Joshua's face in the trailer, but still, it would be interesting if this game ended up actually receiving an 18 rating. Also, Yoshi-P has shared during the XIV panel at TGS that a teaser site with character and world info will be going up at the end of October, and also acknowledges the western audiences jokes about how long it might be until the game is actually released...and takes the tiniest bit of a dig at XIII/XV/VIIR too Oh, and he didn't have any plans to share any XVI info today. That lands squarely on Yoko Taro

Turns out there was a bit of a mistranslation yesterday: no new characters, but rather new gameplay focused on a character we hadn't seen much gameplay from before. A lot of Daruk and Impa gameplay, Impa's shadow super looks great, love how slow Daruk is, oh and we got to see the laser parry. Good showing! I was watching this live and they had J-Mon and HighGai providing live translation, which I've got to mention because it was a jolly stream, and much better than yesterday's show without any type of live translation!