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Posted

I tried to find something on the Xbox Store (via the website) and it's so bad that googling "game name Xbox store" is much better than actually using Xbox/Microsoft site.

 

The app found the game well enough but you it doesn't tell you if you own it, doesn't let you buy it and won't even show the price.

 

One thing I love about the $25,000 for adverts that Kotaku was portraying as an awful thing: it also costs $25,000 for a prominent advert on Kotaku.

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Posted (edited)

Yeah the 25K thing shouldn't really be part of the indies against Playstation story, it seems pretty standard and understandable.

34 minutes ago, Ashley said:

I don't think I've come across a digital storefront that does discoverability well. They all feel like trying to find a shirt that fits you by walking around TK Maxx with a blindfold on.

The PS5 store is very fast loading which is great but really poor for discoverability. The home screen talks about a handful of big games but beyond that, it's a mess. Especially with so much shovelware flooding the platform now.

Xbox I find much better.

Switch is a mixed bag. Good curation from Nintendo and plenty of search options but the web based interface is so laggy it's painful to use.

Edited by Ronnie
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Ashley said:

I don't think I've come across a digital storefront that does discoverability well. They all feel like trying to find a shirt that fits you by walking around TK Maxx with a blindfold on.

The Wii U eShop did a great job of this; easily the best digital games store I've ever used (and the fact that many games sold best on Wii U, despite the hardware itself being a gagantuan sales failure is testament to the quality of the Wii U eShop layout).  The Switch eShop is a gigantic leap backwards in that regard.

 

Quote

I tried to find something on the Xbox Store (via the website) and it's so bad that googling "game name Xbox store" is much better than actually using Xbox/Microsoft site.

 

The app found the game well enough but you it doesn't tell you if you own it, doesn't let you buy it and won't even show the price.

 

One thing I love about the $25,000 for adverts that Kotaku was portraying as an awful thing: it also costs $25,000 for a prominent advert on Kotaku.

This is very true.  The Xbox store (on both console and on the web) is completely useless for finding anything.  You basically have to know the name of the game and use the search function, or else you will never find what you're looking for.  I've honestly just given up now and I usually just google "game name Xbox store" like you do.

Edited by Dcubed
Posted

It seems other companies were interested in snapping up Housemarque, with China, US and Sweden all be named as the countries where the other interested parties were located. I imagine Microsoft and Tencent were two of them. I’m not surprised Sony went all in on them.

It feels like this is where we are heading now. If big hitters like MS and Tencent start sniffing around studios then Sony and Nintendo are going to have to pay up in order to secure them, as seen with this deal and Next Level Games.

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Posted
It seems other companies were interested in snapping up Housemarque, with China, US and Sweden all be named as the countries where the other interested parties were located. I imagine Microsoft and Tencent were two of them. I’m not surprised Sony went all in on them.
It feels like this is where we are heading now. If big hitters like MS and Tencent start sniffing around studios then Sony and Nintendo are going to have to pay up in order to secure them, as seen with this deal and Next Level Games.
As annoying as buying up exclusives is, you have to wonder if it will result in more stable/optimised games if developers aren't having to put their games out on multiple systems. Bethesda comes to mind with their games that ran like utter shite on PlayStation consoles, for instance.
Posted
18 minutes ago, Sheikah said:
39 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:
It seems other companies were interested in snapping up Housemarque, with China, US and Sweden all be named as the countries where the other interested parties were located. I imagine Microsoft and Tencent were two of them. I’m not surprised Sony went all in on them.
It feels like this is where we are heading now. If big hitters like MS and Tencent start sniffing around studios then Sony and Nintendo are going to have to pay up in order to secure them, as seen with this deal and Next Level Games.

As annoying as buying up exclusives is, you have to wonder if it will result in more stable/optimised games if developers aren't having to put their games out on multiple systems. Bethesda comes to mind with their games that ran like utter shite on PlayStation consoles, for instance.

You would hope that would be the case but examples like Days Gone and Master Chief Collection show that even if games are exclusive, 1st parties are still willing to ship them even if they need more time in the oven. Bethesda games ran poorly on the 360 as well. It will be interesting to see if they improve under Microsoft’s leadership.

Posted
4 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Yeah the 25K thing shouldn't really be part of the indies against Playstation story, it seems pretty standard and understandable.

The PS5 store is very fast loading which is great but really poor for discoverability. The home screen talks about a handful of big games but beyond that, it's a mess. Especially with so much shovelware flooding the platform now.

Xbox I find much better.

Switch is a mixed bag. Good curation from Nintendo and plenty of search options but the web based interface is so laggy it's painful to use.

Yeah they've all got good and bad things but nobody seems to have figured this out, and I'm including wider ones like App Store and Play Store. It's inevitable to some regards when there's a lot of content but it still feels messy. Hell, even trying to find new podcasts on any podcast app seems awful in my experience.

3 hours ago, Dcubed said:

The Wii U eShop did a great job of this; easily the best digital games store I've ever used (and the fact that many games sold best on Wii U, despite the hardware itself being a gagantuan sales failure is testament to the quality of the Wii U eShop layout).  The Switch eShop is a gigantic leap backwards in that regard.

I'll take your word for it, I've purged all knowledge of the Wii U from my head.

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

It seems other companies were interested in snapping up Housemarque, with China, US and Sweden all be named as the countries where the other interested parties were located. I imagine Microsoft and Tencent were two of them. I’m not surprised Sony went all in on them.

It feels like this is where we are heading now. If big hitters like MS and Tencent start sniffing around studios then Sony and Nintendo are going to have to pay up in order to secure them, as seen with this deal and Next Level Games.

Agreed.  We're really entering Endgame now as far as this industry goes.  The winner will be the one that secures the most developers and game content for their services; just like what's happening with TV/streaming and the movie induistries.

Unfortunately, I don't think Nintendo has a chance in this game really.  They're gonna end up going it alone again; but their partners who they rely on (especially Tecmo Koei) are gonna get eaten up if they don't hurry up and start putting rings on fingers pretty soon...

Edited by Dcubed
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Posted
19 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Agreed.  We're really entering Endgame now as far as this industry goes.  The winner will be the one that secures the most developers and game content for their services; just like what's happening with TV/streaming and the movie induistries.

Unfortunately, I don't think Nintendo has a chance in this game really.  They're gonna end up going it alone again; but their partners who they rely on (especially Tecmo Koei) are gonna get eaten up if they don't hurry up and start putting rings on fingers pretty soon...

Yeah, Nintendo don’t have the money to throw around like Microsoft and Tencent do. However, I think they are still in a decent position when compared to the rest of them. They have a huge library of games from past consoles at their disposal, it’s just whether or not they want to actually utilise them.

They’ve been on their own for a while now. Sure, they have support from various 3rd parties but it’s still their own games that are drives the sales of their consoles. I do see what you mean though about their support studios. They have proven to be quite valuable this generation and losing them to another company would certainly hinder their game production.

It’s funny, given the arcade style games that Housemarque make, I often thought they would have been a good fit for Nintendo and the Switch.

Posted

I kinda think that by the time the next big shift in gaming happens, I'll have enough games in my library to see me through the rest of my life so it probably won't impact me too badly.. but it'll definitely be interesting to see where things go next!

Posted
20 minutes ago, nekunando said:

I kinda think that by the time the next big shift in gaming happens, I'll have enough games in my library to see me through the rest of my life so it probably won't impact me too badly.. but it'll definitely be interesting to see where things go next!

I think I’m at that point already but…

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Even though I’ve downsized my PS4 collection, I’m already looking at retro stuff to replace them with. It never ends! :laughing:

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Posted

The PS5 hit 10 million units sold on July 18th, per GamesIndustry.biz. It managed this feat a few weeks earlier than the PS4 did, which is pretty amazing considering the issues with supply at the moment. Their report also gives some sales figures for first-party titles, so well worth a read:

Elsewhere, the M.2 SSD storage expansion update seems to be on the horizon now as it is coming as part of the next update for beta users. There's a full blog post on it here, but I'll throw the requirements in below:

Quote

Interface: PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD

Capacity: 250GB – 4TB

Cooling structure: Using an M.2 SSD with your PS5 console requires effective heat dissipation with a cooling structure, such as a heatsink. You can attach one to your M.2 SSD yourself, either in a single-sided format, or double-sided format. There are also M.2 SSDs that have cooling structures (such as heatsinks) built in.

Sequential read speed: 5,500MB/s or faster is recommended

Module width: 22mm width (25mm width is not supported)

Form Factor: M.2 type 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110.

These numbers can be found on retail listings for M.2 SSD devices. The first two digits refer to the width, the remaining digits to the length.

Socket Type: Socket 3 (Key M)

Total size including cooling structure:
In millimeters: smaller than 110mm (L) x 25mm (W) x 11.25mm (H).
In inches: smaller than 4.33in (L) x 0.984 in (W) x 0.442in (H).

See below for full requirements.

Length

The following M.2 SSD lengths are compatible with PS5 consoles:
30mm, 42mm, 60mm, 80mm, 110mm (corresponding to the form factor type, per above).

Width
A 22mm-wide M.2 SSD module is required.
The total structure (including an added cooling structure) cannot exceed 25mm (0.984in).

Height
The total height of the M.2 SSD and its cooling structure (such as a heatsink) – whether built-in or separate – must be less than 11.25mm (0.442in).
The height must also be in the right place, in relation to the M.2 SSD’s circuit board:

The size below the board must be less than 2.45mm (0.096in).

The total size above the board must be less than 8mm (0.314in).

(Note: millimeter measurements are the technical standard and are more precise than inches. We recommend double-checking that the total dimensions of M.2 SSD and heatsink products you’re considering meet the millimeter requirements before purchasing)

Both single-sided and double-sided M.2 SSD devices are supported.
M.2 SATA SSDs aren’t supported.

You should carefully review drive specifications prior to purchase and contact the vendor or manufacturer if you need further information. SIE cannot guarantee that all M.2 SSD devices meeting the described specifications will work with your console and assumes no responsibility for the selection, performance or use of third-party products.

Not all games are necessarily playable with the exact same performance provided by the PS5 console’s internal Ultra-High Speed SSD, even where the M.2 SSD device’s sequential read speed is faster than 5500MB/s.

The majority of M.2 SSD devices with the above type numbers (M Key Type 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110) and without a built-in cooling structure will fit the PS5 console’s SSD slot. However, sizes for cooling structures (like heatsinks) vary greatly. If you are not sure an M.2 SSD or cooling structure (such as a heatsink) you’re considering meets the size requirements outlined here, we recommend looking for another product option or contacting the vendor or manufacturer for more information.

This news follows an article by Finder on Seagate confirming that the first SSD to be compatible with the PS5 from them will be the FireCuda 530, with prices and SSD sizes from NAS Compares being:

• 500GB - US$140

• 1TB - US$240

• 2TB - US$490

• 4TB - US$950

Nice to finally see some news slipping out about this, hopefully it won't be too long before the update is rolled out for those waiting on it.

For me, just considering there aren't many next-gen titles at the moment that I plan to keep on my PS5 long-term anyways and I'm fairly prudent with deleting games once I complete them, I think I'm happy just using my 2TB HDD for PS4 games for the foreseeable future. 

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Posted

We got a release date for Solar Ash during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase, with the game coming October 26th:

Also go the announcement of a new game from Cloisters Interactive during the showcase as well, with it coming soon.

Quote

From Cloisters Interactive, A Memoir Blue is an interactive poem about a superstar athlete and the all-encompassing love between mother and daughter. Coming soon to Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC, and the App Store

A unique aesthetic combining hand-drawn and 3D art brings Miriam's magical-realist journey to life, as she swims into the depths of her memories. A series of gameplay vignettes blends sacrifice and heartbreak with victory and pride as she reconnects with her inner child and deepens the love she shares with her mother.

 

Posted

So we went from having 4 on screen at one time to... still 4. :blank:

Really weird design, why would they put the description of the trophy all the way on the other side of the screen instead of directly underneath the title. At least you can see more than 12 characters I guess. 

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Posted (edited)

So bit the bullet and got an SSD, after a lot of research I went for the WD SN850 (if it's good enough for Mark Cerny then it's good enough for me). 

This without a heatsink was £159.98 from Amazon but they let you pay it up in 5 instalments of £32 a month which eased the pain a little.  The heatsink I went for was the QIVYNSRY M.2 heatsink 2280 which I got for £10.99.

Sadly I don't have the Beta so hopefully the official software update wont be too long.  

Keep an eye on the prices as they are fluctuating wildly.  

JDjPPbPqIU4eyYoGvSSCd2V7bdB2_ZDPa_E5AAl_

Edited by Cookyman
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Posted
3 minutes ago, Ashley said:

 

 

AnimatedGreenLcont-size_restricted.gif

FINALLY. 

One of my biggest hangups with the PS5 since launch to be honest, especially after going back to Photo Mode in Ghost of Tsushima for its DLC. 

Posted

Pretty funny that both Nintendo and Sony decide to release a major Firmware update with major new features on the same day!

Your move Microsoft! :D 

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