Sheikah

I think Day 1 becomes very likely for me for a few reasons: There'll be backwards compatibility so no interruption to playing the games you're already playing Price cuts to consoles usually don't happen for a couple of years (and even then the price doesn't go down that much), so you're probably not saving that much money by waiting Play the better versions of new games that come out, and possibly boost performance for existing PS4 games (similar to the boost mode on PS4 Pro). If the reduced load times are true, that could be a real incentive to get it The specs reveal is interesting in the sense that it will give you an idea of price, and they might go into more detail about these reduced load times. Either way I am expecting the critics - it'll either be presumed weaker than the Xbox, or more powerful and therefore prohibitively expensive. But as you're all saying, we know Sony have got the games to back it up and that's the main thing that matters.

What was horrid about it?

Interesting!

I'd argue that it has more replayability in that there is more of a character-driven story, and making a specific choice means you fight different bosses for a very different ending. It has the usual New Game + in which you carry over your character's stats/abilities/items, which makes for a fun time because you're able to quickly take down enemies second time round and get through the game much quicker. Just an example, but you unlock a skill that lets you release a smoke bomb if you stealth kill someone, which then lets you chain kill other enemies who are around you. That normally unlocks partway throughout the game, but you have that ability right away in NG+. In terms of combat, it's much less of a sedate affair than Dark Souls - no holding shields and slowly advancing, more deflecting attacks and stealth backstabs. One thing I disliked about Dark Souls if you wanted to get everything was the need to do multiple playthroughs to get several copies of specific boss souls (e.g. you needed to kill Sif 3 times). There's none of that here.

So during the lockdown I've been playing Sekiro. Fantastic game, and not insanely difficult once you get to grips with the basics. I completed the game the other day and finally got all endings yesterday. Currently working towards getting the platinum trophy since it's actually fun to do. I'd rate the combat in this game the best From Software has ever done, and a massive step up from Dark Souls. Worth checking out for anyone who is bored, and doesn't mind a challenge!

Although Game Pass is great value for money, I don't see it having the power to dramatically change the landscape next gen based on one reason - it already exists and hasn't really helped reverse the 2:1 sales ratio of the PS4 to X1. With a "service", even though a great one, I think it's harder to wow people over in comparison to having that new game that everyone wants. FF7, for instance, is appealing to people's nostalgia (and based on the demo looks like it will be a great game). I do wonder about how Game Pass is sustainable in the long term as well - there's no doubt that Microsoft games going straight on Game Pass are making a lot less money, absolutely no doubt in my mind. This is compounded by the fact you can still get 3 years of Game Pass for effectively 1 dollar (I kid you not - check out that link!). And even for people not stacking 3 years of Live, I read that the 1 dollar trial can be repeated over and over. Microsoft must surely be losing money on this (or making significantly less than they normally would), but by having Game Pass they can report some very lucrative "sales" figures (and comment on how vast numbers of people are playing their games at launch). An example of this is how they commented on having 3 million players in the opening weekend for Gears 5. When you consider how many were playing that on 1 dollar game passes versus paying the 60 dollar new game cost, you have to wonder how much profit they were making. Not that I'm saying I wouldn't love it if PS4 did a Game Pass of their own (with the same pricing/trial structure), I'm just not sure how long it could stick around with a seemingly everlasting trial price.

I'm sure this whole thirst for power with Microsoft started after the PS4 was released and was more powerful than the X1 despite being cheaper. Since then we saw the Xbox One X release which in my opinion was complete overkill at £450, for a mid gen console with realistically about 3 years left of the generation. I reckon something about having the technically 'inferior' console irked Microsoft and they want to be on top in this area. To be honest I don't see how this reveal on its own could realistically be convincing anyone to buy it without any game announcements to back it up yet, since that's where Microsoft need to prove themselves. Sure it's exciting to see a console released but in all honesty, would you sacrifice actual great games for graphics looking a bit nicer? Like, no follow ups to Bloodborne, Persona, God of War, Nioh, FFVII, Horizon, Last of Us, Yakuza, Studio Japan games, Kojima games... I'm probably missing some out but you get my drift. Not saying Microsoft don't have their games, but there's been an obvious disparity this gen. To me it's a bit like if there was an alternative to the Nintendo Switch made by a competitor, that had higher resolution and slightly better graphics...but no Nintendo games. I wouldn't be buying it.

Amazing game, if you haven't played it before you're in for a treat.

Yep, that's what really matters at the end of the day. Right now having good exclusives is a bit of an unknown for Microsoft's console (especially since some exclusives got cancelled partway through development this gen). I'm sure it'll be great for playing multiplatform games but at the end of the day if I want to play the inevitable God of War 2 and FF7 instalments (a year before the other system), I know which I'll be buying.

"One of Nintendo's best games"...doesn't get much higher praise than that. I'm pumped, more excited about this than any other Nintendo game of recent times. Already bought the digital version and got it downloaded!

It's almost insane that this game is coming out now, 8 years later. A strange relic of the past, will be interesting to see whether it feels dated because 8 years is a long time in the MMO world. I loved PSO back on the gamecube but admittedly I didn't care nearly as much about Episode 2 as I did Episode 1, so I'm wondering if it goes back to more of an Ep 1 feel. I haven't read any reviews of PSO2 but I do remember playing it briefly near when it launched, it must have been a trial or something. Not going to lie, I don't expect it to capture me like PSO1 did (I just can't imagine it will feel the same), but interesting to see how it fares nonetheless.

I'll definitely be up for Animal Crossing when that launches, already got my digital copy downloaded. It's the perfect game to play in this situation I reckon. Idyllic life when real life is going to shit.

Work just told us to work from home until at least 31st March.

I don't think Sony's playing daft here - they know they have the upper hand and they were able to quite confidently crush Microsoft before because Microsoft went first. Remember that E3 2013 presentation where Sony just had to create a presentation saying "we can do used games" and whatnot (things they would never have focused on had Microsoft not already announced you couldn't do that). There's merit to holding the cards close to your chest. Most people will just stick to the ecosystem they are already in next generation unless something goes really wrong. Sony also have much stronger first party games and have served their customers well this gen - people don't forget that.

Doesn't really matter if it's first party, they're still exclusives (even if timed for a year in the case of FFVII). Plenty of games coming out! More than the Switch has announced for it and that's a console that's nowhere near end of life, but nobody seems that worried about that. I feel like you're stirring the pot a bit if I'm being honest.

That's what I said - a botched quarantine (i.e. letting people travel out and potentially spread the virus) is worse than no quarantine at all. I didn't say they should merely just stop travel and do nothing else? Nothing you said there is impossible. The Italian government could arrange with hotels to house these people for 2 weeks. Not easy but by no means impossible. There'll be plenty of hotel options anyway since tourism has been hard hit. What ruins the chance of containment is letting a large number of people travel out and back to another country. With that many people you are quite likely to let at least one infected person out. No - stopping travel in AND out. And unsurprisingly - Italy has now done exactly that - put much of the north on lockdown. Meaning no travel in or out, without an exceptional reason. Has this turn of events changed your opinion?

I'd agree with others to start with FFIX. FFX is great but it's really quite different in feel to the PlayStation era Final Fantasy games, which are all essential plays in my opinion. FFIX is also a lot shorter.

Forgive me for the small amount of sympathy given, but regardless of how logistically difficult this would have been (but not impossible), it's also the only option that makes sense. If quarantine isn't done right (i.e. stopping travel), it may as well not happen at all.

They should be made to go into quarantine for 2 weeks before they can come back. Not sure if that's happening?

Is that Karl Pilkington? He has a head like a fucking orange.

Tongue in cheek I know, but you can just "buy" the demo but not even download it. I guess they just want some juicy statistic like having the most downloaded ever demo/software.

This isn't really the point though - it takes time to fully complete because stuff is only rarely available to collect (only so many fossils spawn a day, only so many fish are around at any one time, only so many fruit to harvest, etc.). It's not like having a second person around suddenly makes it so much quicker to complete. The whole point of Animal Crossing is that there isn't usually that much to do on any one given day - so having two players on a system is pretty detrimental to the experience, IMO. It's worse if you both don't play an even amount - one person will be missing out on a lot. I'll also point out that it's really not difficult to complete the game if you play over the full course of the year, which is what they want you to do. I managed it with no trouble on New Leaf.

Have you also ever considered AliExpress as a place to order from? Can get things new for pretty crazy prices so long as you don't mind waiting a little while for them to come from China. Warranty is sketchy but can order on credit card for protection... Just wondering as might be a better alternative to pre-owned headphones.

Ok, your post followed on from that of "Smart Delivery" so I thought you were saying Sony wouldn't be able to match Microsoft's ability to give gamers the PS5 versions of games they already own. I very much expect them to - at least, there's no reason they shouldn't. I think you're vastly overestimating the need for power here. Sony don't need to match crazy specs. If Microsoft target a level of power that means their system is prohibitively expensive then that's a real misstep. They don't want to be in the same situation as at the start of last gen. Ultimately though I think this power talk is a lot of smoke and mirrors - Microsoft actually need to develop some good exclusive games this time round to entice people over. They've got a much more difficult task ahead of them this time - people have now amassed big digital libraries on their chosen formats and now the next consoles are backwards compatible they can carry on playing them. I can't see a lot of PS4 owners jumping ship unless Sony royally fuck up or Microsoft somehow deliver a lot of good games around launch. One last point on price - remember that both companies can afford to sell at a bigger loss now than in previous generations. They make much more money from subscriptions and digital sales than at the start of the last generation so can afford to take more of a hit to secure more long term sales. Not saying they definitely plan to take more of a hit, just that they can.

I've had a pair of those headphones for a while, they are excellent.