Julius

We've got previews! Not too surprising as one preview slipped out a bit early yesterday...and the thoughts seem real positive! Game Informer also got a chance to sit down with some of the team and asked about the game being on two discs: Hype. Just over five months to go...

Interview with some of the key devs to work on the game:

Game's gone gold! 30 days to go

Yeah, honestly I say it'll be a tough choice to choose, but for me, I don't think it is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Jan 26th) - I always want to be a few games behind on Yakuza/Judgment/RGG projects so that I can use them as a pick-me-up when I need them. Right now that means going back to Like a Dragon (I think I got to Chapter 5 and completed the business management stuff - aka got filthy rich - last year, before dropping off due to life stuff and then other games coming along). Also got Lost Judgment and Ishin to get through, not to mention the upcoming Gaiden - I'm backed up on these games for now Granblue Fantasy Relink* (Feb 1st) - yeah, Day 1. I've been waiting on this game and keeping tabs on it forever, and even if it's just a case of swimming in 7s, I'm fully onboard for that. It just looks so vibrant compared to a lot of other bigger JRPGs these days, I'm really curious to see how the combat is after Platinum stepped back from the project, and I'm super curious to see what the long-term plans are for the series outside of mobile. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if this got knocked back to the summer just to avoid the trinity of JRPG big-hitters releasing around it. Persona 3 Reload (Feb 2nd) - the last thing I want to do with my second Persona experience is to rush through. I love taking my time and just chilling in those games. I'll wait. Hopefully next summer is quieter than this year's because that seems like the perfect time of year to get through a Persona game! Final Fantasy VII Rebirth* (Feb 29th) - yeah, also Day 1. I'm on the fence about replaying OG VII and Remake before this, but regardless of what I decide to do, there's no way I'm not picking up Rebirth on Day 1. Four weeks between this and Granblue seems ample time to get through Relink, too! We're just getting absolutely spoiled these days Loved 5! Definitely a bit longer than the other games in the series up to that point, but I also think it's one of the stronger games in the series (I'd put it behind 0 and alongside Kiwami 2 as one of my favourite entries) if you're looking to take your time and soak it all in. And, if not, I feel like the story has enough momentum/switch-ups to keep driving things forward! Will be looking out for your thoughts Man, the RGG games are insane for what they do with stuff like this. I always love toying around with the arcade machines in these games, I think I spent a solid hour or so on Virtua Fighter 5, such a blast! Waiting for the day we inevitably get to buy a Dreamcast, put it in our in-game room, and boot up Shenmue and after that it'll be OG PS2 Yakuza. Man, wouldn't that be a thing!

Trailer 3:

January 26th 2024: Fml. This, Granblue Fantasy Relink, Persona 3 Reload, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth all releasing within just over a month of each other. All potentially 100+ hour JRPGs. We're eating good, but man am I exhausted just thinking about it! Will definitely need to put some time into thinking about which games take precedence.... Gameplay trailer: Story trailer: Announced during today's RGG Summit: Q1 2024 is simply nuts.

I'll update with some more cohesive thoughts on Ahsoka Part 6 in a bit, but for now: Man, I love Star Wars

When I first saw the leaks when I woke up this morning, I looked up at my desk and just let out a good chuckle As for the decision to stay the same price, go all-digital, and 2TB (which I'm sure they want consumers to view as a trade-off for the disc drive): all makes sense to me. With Game Pass being - by far - the biggest draw into the Xbox ecosystem these days, I'm sure their player numbers are heavily leaning in favour of digital games as it is, and I'd imagine they have the stats between Game Pass and the all-digital Series S to back this all up.

I've had to check so many times over the months on the spellings, Shin is right but it seems like they've gone with Baylan (source: Star Wars Databank); don't think it helped that they said their names on-stage well before spellings were confirmed in printed press. As for expectations, I don't really have many, but what I hope... Very excited for tonight's episode, whatever it may bring!

A further leak has also seemingly confirmed the existence of a planned Xbox handheld... ...which will not be getting funding. Yeah, totally agree – and I do wonder if it will have any impact at all on the Activision-Blizzard purchase, because seeing it stated like this (we are also planning on purchasing X developers and one of our only two rivals in the dedicated console space) is finally the phrasing that I think could put things in a new light in this case: Xbox do want a monopoly. It's something I would certainly be considering and taking a harsh look at, that's for sure. This also feels like the most casually unhinged thing I've ever heard/read Phil Spencer say. I can see what he's trying to get at - what greater jewel in the video game acquisition crown could there be than Nintendo? - but to suggest that it would be a career moment to have your bosses buy them? It sounds like a pretty sad career if the highlights are acquisitions. Also, for context, this was all said during perhaps the biggest mid-gen surge to date (2020, so the year COVID has massive tangible effects, and Animal Crossing and the Switch soared to new horizons), so it's even funnier reading him go on about Nintendo taking too long to adapt and bring their games to other consoles Yeah, seems like an old doc based on it starting with FY20 (so probably 2019/early 2020?) and while COVID is a factor in potential delays, etc., boy oh boy are they super behind if all of this was the plan. Even before COVID, to slate Elder Scrolls VI for FY24 seems bold, genuinely to the point of outright stupidity. I do find it interesting that they at least acknowledge the weakness of the Zenimax purchase in it being more North American/European focused and not exactly diversifying their portfolio, which is what a lot of us have been saying since the acquisition was first announced. And I agree with you – the slide doesn't exactly invoke any confidence in them doing much interesting besides, well, remaining Bethesda, for both better and worse.

Huge leaks coming out of this case with certain items astonishingly left unredacted. • Phil Spencer in 2020: getting Nintendo would be a career moment for me. • Xbox mid-gen hardware refresh (digital Series X @ $499, haptics and quieter buttons controller @ $69.99) • Phil Spencer: Game Pass at 25 million subscribers, no growth since Activision Blizzard acquisition announcement (note: this is from late 2022): • Bethesda release schedule leak (from 2019?): • next-gen version of Red Dead Redemption II: • early plans for next-gen Xbox (2028, cloud-hybrid games, potential switch to ARM). • Ninja Theory's Project Ara is based on an existing IP. Holy. Hot. Damn. These are some spicy ass leaks!

Gematsu have provided translations to a Famitsu interview from August, with series creator Yujii Horii. And it's...nothing much to get excited about. Well, there you have it folks! A game first announced nearly two and a half years ago is progressing quite steadily... Currently not expecting any news out of TGS, given that S-E have given a pretty clear picture of what their panels are looking like this year, and they want all eyes on the new Monsters game. Seriously starting to wonder if this is being held back to be announced for the Switch 2 (not as an exclusive, but just because hype), or if their plans have changed for the remake, maybe some megaton announcement about the trilogy being fully given the HD-2D treatment (not as one package, but just to announce an overall project) given it was previously teased - and they've gone with the "I mean, if we're remaking III, why not do the others at the same time?" route. Because, while it's possible they've hit a snag with development, I'm struggling to imagine what it could be if so. The DQ team isn't exactly known for their quantity of mainline games output, but they are known for quality, whereas Asano (who we all assume are working on this) have a high output (I mean, at least compared to a lot of the rest of S-E). I wonder if they're upskilling the DQ team on HD-2D development so that when the time comes to do I & II that they can do it without Asano's support? Actually, scrap that, I've just had a horrible thought about what the snag could be while typing this out: what if they're having trouble with the music rights after Sugiyama's death? We haven't had any worthwhile update on this game since then (September 2021)...

Really nice to see, and great to have the 40 fps option as a middle ground seemingly from the get-go this time around? Think I'll see what the trophies are saying for the Plat, if a second playthrough/NG+ is required then I might go Quality (30 fps) for my first go and then Performance (60 fps) for my second, but that will only be if Photo Mode doesn't auto-change to Quality (which it did in Miles, at least, and I imagine Remastered too). Exactly the type of game I want to play in 60 fps, and considering how Insomniac have been this gen, I doubt there are going to be any major hiccups in going with that option. Plus, Miles was an absolute delight my second time around at 60 fps! Also, looks like we can slingshot ourselves from pretty much anywhere we can reasonably find this time around, which is super cool! Honestly, it's really hard to disagree. We're still a good bit shy of the midway point for this gen, but in just under 3 years they'll have launched 3 all-new current/next-gen games, and heck, if we want to be pedantic, 4 in total if we're considering Remastered. They're the best PlayStation has to offer at the moment for my money, as I'm struggling to think of any other studio with their combined quantity and quality of output this gen; heck, off the top of my head, I'm struggling to think of any other team under the PlayStation Studio who have put out more than one new game this generation. Guerrilla with Forbidden West and Call of the Mountain, maybe? I know COVID will have been a factor in delaying some projects, of course, and that knock-on effect likely meant it took longer for some teams to even get their first PS5 game out there...but that still doesn't change the fact that Insomniac have had the output that they have. It would have been something praiseworthy in a world without COVID, but in a world with? Kudos to them. And we already know Wolverine is on the horizon, as well as probably another R&C game or something else completely out of left field. It's just wild!

Preview time baybeeeeeee

...replay it and pretend you're Peter in the first game?

The fast travel genuinely looks insane, reminds me a lot of what Sucker Punch managed to do with it in Ghost of Tsushima - that thing loaded things up incredibly fast when played on even a base PS4! I will say, it's an interesting choice in a game where I seriously think the method of traversal in swinging around is such a highlight of the game, but considering they've added an entire other borough of NY, it makes perfect sense. Plus, y'know, it's just nice to have the option! Honestly, I think PlayStation should've got more flack than they did for how they've handled the first Spider-Man on PS+/PS5. The PS5 remaster never came to it, it was only released individually as an upgrade a few months ago outside of the Ultimate Edition of Miles Morales, and they removed the first game from PS+ altogether earlier this year, too. I think Miles Morales is available through PS+ Premium, if you're cool with the idea of jumping straight into 2 then I'd honestly recommend giving it a try! It cuts out a lot of the busy work and trims the fat of Spider-Man 2018, making it considerably shorter and leaner, and is also a super easy Plat. Wouldn't be a bad way to dive in if you're unable to get your hands on 2018 first! That's insane! Such a cool way to fast travel! Any other method is going to feel so slow and outdated in future. Oh man, I hadn't even thought about that, but you're so right. I don't think it'll make Spider-Man 2018 or Miles impossible to return to...but I definitely think it'll be harder to go back. And to think, I'd only just talked myself out of replaying those games before 2 lands, too. Damn it, thanks Bob!!

So this is kind of insane: both the standard and deluxe digital versions of the game are the aforementioned twin packages, which bundles in 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake at no additional cost (for pre-orders up to release): That genuinely might be one of the smartest moves S-E has made in the last decade, and what a freaking steal! (and yes the version of Remake is Intergrade) Also, forgot to mention this after the first time watching the trailer...Vincent is 100% Matt Mercer, right? Nuts that he gets to be Ganondorf and a party member in VII's Remake project within the space of a year if so, good for him!

Interesting time to drop this news: over 7 million copies sold worldwide! Interesting stuff. Curious what the internal thoughts are on this at S-E, if it's on track, and what the expectations are for the project as a whole?

Well, I was not wrong. That showing was middling and weird as hell. Spider-Man 2 (best showing for that game so far imo) and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth aside, that was a very middle of the road State of Play. Not the worst one we've had (I think that title still goes to the one with the Little Devil Inside preview...and that game is still nowhere to be seen, welp), but it just felt so by the numbers. I also thought that the Helldivers 2 showing was abysmal, and I think all of the trailers for that game have completely missed the mark. We don't need fake team chats in 2023. Do you remember the last AAA game to do that during a big show like this? Anthem immediately comes to mind for me. And how is Anthem doing? as it is, unfortunately, I think Helldivers 2 is destined to be dead within two weeks. I don't think the game itself looks terrible - I do, however, think the trailers haven't done a good job of telling us what, exactly, the game's gameplay hook is supposed to be - but man, if this is a sign of how PlayStation plans to market their big multiplayer push, then I think they're in for a rude awakening over the next couple of years. New plates and DualSense controllers are neat too, think I'll be in for the silver one, as one of my launch controllers has ended up drifting pretty badly in the left stick. But, anyways, yeah. Not the worst State of Play showing, but far from the best, at least for me. It's crazy to me how PlayStation have successfully managed to create two tiers of expectations for their shows, with State of Plays - since the first Showcase - being fat and away the weaker of their two presentation types. Leaves us in an interesting spot, I think, because I'm struggling to see us getting another show from them before the end of year? Which means, as things stand, there isn't really much on the horizon announced from a first party perspective. That's fine, I think, but it's also rarely been the case over the last decade with PlayStation, so while third party is picking up the slack, it really, really feels like Insomniac is carrying PlayStation's first party and then some this generation.

Some words from Kitase and the team (oh, and the game's director, Hamaguchi, is saying the game could take as long as 100 hours): Yeah, I think I'm just going to spend 100 hours in the Gold Saucer alone Also, the game's PS Blog entry confirms a lot more details on the game - well worth a read - including confirmation that Sephiroth WILL be playable in the same section he was playable in the original game, and also confirms where the game ends (it's exactly where you'd probably expect the second entry of a trilogy retelling the events of VII to end).

A wonderful piece of promo art: Oh, nice catch, yeah that's great news!

The Collector's Edition looks nuts Quick, someone hide my wallet!

The new Deep Earth Collection, as revealed in the SoP: One of my three DualSenses have started to drift terribly in the left stick, had my eye on a Limited Edition controller to replace it, and while that's still on the cards, think that silver one will do for now! Per the PS Blog, pre-orders drop October 4th.

Trailer from today's SoP: Think it's the best showing of the game so far, just rattling off everything new. Also got a showcase of the Digital Deluxe suits: And a reminder that previews drop tomorrow at 15:00 BST Bit over a month to go now, excited to return to NY!

February 29th 2024!!! This, Granblue Fantasy Relink and Persona 3 Reload all in Feb guys... WHYYYYYYYYYYY