Ronnie Posted January 31, 2023 Posted January 31, 2023 It was a lack of first party support that had dire consequences for the PSVR, not the specs. It's the same old story for Sony. The price of the VR2 might come down eventually, but I suspect that after yet another failure sales-wise, Sony will abandon even their (already pretty modest) support of it.
Sheikah Posted January 31, 2023 Posted January 31, 2023 It was a lack of first party support that had dire consequences for the PSVR, not the specs. It's the same old story for Sony. The price of the VR2 might come down eventually, but I suspect that after yet another failure sales-wise, Sony will abandon even their (already pretty modest) support of it.With all due respect, what are you talking about? PSVR was well supported and sold 5 million units, the second best selling headset of all time. And now Sony are following up by releasing a sequel, something they never did for the Vita.Being so angry all the time isn't good for your blood pressure, you know.
Ronnie Posted January 31, 2023 Posted January 31, 2023 9 minutes ago, Sheikah said: Being so angry all the time isn't good for your blood pressure, you know. How unpleasant and unnecessary of you, to no one's surprise.
Sheikah Posted January 31, 2023 Posted January 31, 2023 4 minutes ago, Ronnie said: How unpleasant and unnecessary of you, to no one's surprise. I'm being completely serious. Why are you so riled up all the time?
Julius Posted January 31, 2023 Posted January 31, 2023 I mean, a combination of an economic crisis in the wake of a global pandemic which saw components shortages impact virtually every hardware product under the sun was always going to mean this would be the case, right? A premium price product when people are bleeding cash was never going to break pre-order records, was always likely to struggle to meet projections (which, by the way, is for stakeholders to not go crazy, not really for us consumers to go crazy over), and much less one which requires a premium price console to even run the thing. All-in it's £1k at the moment to get a PSVR2, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I don't think this has nearly as much to do with first-party support as has been suggested, it's down to age-old supply and demand, and demand can't be there if there isn't enough disposable income for many to reasonably consider making a purchase. I'm skipping this and the Edge controller, despite having the disposable income, simply because I think it seems like a stupid way for me to invest money in the midst of a cost of living crisis. Let's also not forget that there's also a knock-on effect stemming from the components shortages which means that there are far fewer PS5s in people's homes now than would have been projected in 2018/2019 when PlayStation would have been planning their slates and hardware lineups for the first half of this gen. A slump to start isn't a bad thing, so long as the support is consistent moving forwards, and I don't think we have any reason to believe that the support won't be there. Hell, Jim Ryan has even been frank about where VR is at right now; this is from a Washington Post article released in October 2020, a few weeks before the launch of the PS5: Quote "I think we're more than a few minutes from the future of VR," Ryan said. "PlayStation believes in VR. Sony believes in VR, and we definitely believe at some point in the future, VR will represent a meaningful component of interactive entertainment. Will it be this year? No. Will it be next year? No. But will it come at some stage? We believe that. And we're very pleased with all the experience that we've gained with PlayStation VR, and we look forwarding to seeing where that takes us in the future." I'm not expecting crazy sales numbers when all is said and done from the PSVR2, but I'll be surprised if it goes the way of the Vita, and even more surprised if it doesn't surpass the sales of its predecessor. I don't think it's fair to simultaneously be on Sony's back for blowing their metaphorical load too early with games like God of War, The Last of Us, Spider-Man, et al, but then also be on their back for not knowing what's in store. There's more than enough at launch for those looking to dive in to justify doing so from where I'm sitting.
Sheikah Posted January 31, 2023 Posted January 31, 2023 2 hours ago, Julius said: I mean, a combination of an economic crisis in the wake of a global pandemic which saw components shortages impact virtually every hardware product under the sun was always going to mean this would be the case, right? A premium price product when people are bleeding cash was never going to break pre-order records, was always likely to struggle to meet projections (which, by the way, is for stakeholders to not go crazy, not really for us consumers to go crazy over), and much less one which requires a premium price console to even run the thing. All-in it's £1k at the moment to get a PSVR2, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I don't think this has nearly as much to do with first-party support as has been suggested, it's down to age-old supply and demand, and demand can't be there if there isn't enough disposable income for many to reasonably consider making a purchase. I'm skipping this and the Edge controller, despite having the disposable income, simply because I think it seems like a stupid way for me to invest money in the midst of a cost of living crisis. That's basically it, yeah. Everything costs more and everyone has less to spend. They will have designed and put PSVR2 into production prior to everything going down so it's not even like they "pitched the product wrong". There's really no story or alternative take here - they won't sell as many as they could have done right away but over time I expect it will do quite well.
Julius Posted January 31, 2023 Posted January 31, 2023 Sony have outright denied the contents of Bloomberg's article: This is the second time now they've denied the contents of a Bloomberg article, and by the same author too – Mochizuki. Yikes Pessimistically, at a stretch, I guess a case could be made that they're trying to save face to stakeholders – but that seems incredibly unlikely.
Ashley Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 6 hours ago, Julius said: and by the same author too – Mochizuki. Yikes At first glance I thought the author's name was Mochizuki Yikes. Yes, that's my entire contribution. 1 1
Julius Posted February 3, 2023 Posted February 3, 2023 (edited) Just realised the Gamelists I spent an hour organising with the aid of HLTB - to FINALLY get my digital games in check - have completely vanished... Well, I guess I'll see you when I see you (so probably never), my smattering of digital offerings Edited February 3, 2023 by Julius
Julius Posted February 9, 2023 Posted February 9, 2023 (edited) Here we go again: a slew of new indie announcements and updates incoming. Update #1 @ 16:00 GMT - PixelJunk Scrappers Deluxe arrives later this year. Update #2 @ 16:15 - a new look at the awesome looking Animal Well. Update #3 @ 16:30 - an update on Eternights (can love on a battl– I mean, uh, bloom after the apocalypse?), coming this summer. Update #4 @ 16:45 - an update on Pacific Drive, coming later this year. Edited February 9, 2023 by Julius
drahkon Posted February 18, 2023 Posted February 18, 2023 (edited) Been playing that rhythm game since yesterday...you know the one. It's awesome. Got me straight out of my gaming lull. No more "CoD only" during my gaming time It's now 90% Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line and 10% CoD. Think I'm finally going to throw in Wild Arms soon, too. Been clamoring for a JRPG and even though this is a very slow one (especially the battles), I want to give it a go and see what all the fuss is about. Edited February 18, 2023 by drahkon 1
Julius Posted February 21, 2023 Posted February 21, 2023 Lies of P is coming to PlayStation in August 2023, available to wishlist now: I mean, it's always looked very Bloodborne, but it looks even more Bloodborne in this trailer. So...guess I'll wait to see how it reviews
drahkon Posted February 28, 2023 Posted February 28, 2023 On 2/18/2023 at 11:20 AM, drahkon said: It's now 90% Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line and 10% CoD. Well, that has changed It's now 50/50. Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line is great, but when you don't know about 80-90% of the songs because you never played the majority of the games it's a tad...boring is the wrong word, but I don't know how else to describe it. On 2/18/2023 at 11:20 AM, drahkon said: Think I'm finally going to throw in Wild Arms soon, too. Been clamoring for a JRPG and even though this is a very slow one (especially the battles), I want to give it a go and see what all the fuss is about. 5 hours in and it's not bad. It's a - what the Angry Video Game Nerd so eloquently describes as - "where the fuck do I go kinda game". I'm all for exploring and less handholding but holy hell this is a bad one. You basically gotta talk to everyone and if you're unlucky the one you need to talk to in order to trigger something is the last one Wild Arms' battles are also a prime example for why there needs to be a speed-up option for the emulation. It's good turn-based fun, but sooooo slow. Characters and story seem fine so far. There's a bit of mystery to the origin of, well, everything. Especially the bad guys. Are they aliens? Are they ancient beings? Quite interesting. Anyways, not playing much these days. Only finished 4 games in February and I doubt it'll change much for March. Real life is keeping me busy (it's good for my wallet, though. Aside from the PS+ Premium sub I've only spent 35 bucks on gaming so far ).
Julius Posted March 1, 2023 Posted March 1, 2023 There will be a LeBron James limited edition pair of plates and a DualSense releasing later this year. Yeah, I'm having a tough one piecing together how LeBron is the one getting the first official limited edition plates for PS5 too. If memory serves, only the second limited edition DualSense too (after the one for Ragnarök)? C'mon now PlayStation, really, this?!
bob Posted March 3, 2023 Posted March 3, 2023 On 01/03/2023 at 4:05 PM, Julius said: There will be a LeBron James limited edition pair of plates and a DualSense releasing later this year. Yeah, I'm having a tough one piecing together how LeBron is the one getting the first official limited edition plates for PS5 too. If memory serves, only the second limited edition DualSense too (after the one for Ragnarök)? C'mon now PlayStation, really, this?! Did you miss how he redefines play? 1
Julius Posted March 8, 2023 Posted March 8, 2023 Babe wake up, the new PS5 system software update just dropped
drahkon Posted April 19, 2023 Posted April 19, 2023 Thanks to some real life stuff I haven't played much these last few weeks. I spent quite a bit of time with Undermine, though. A lovely rogue-lite. Starts off a little too slow but once you unlock some stuff it ramps up pretty quickly. Well worth the money and time. Started Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom last night. Seems fun. Pre-ordered MH:R Sunbreak, of course. Can't play it on release day, though, as I will be in France that weekend 1
Julius Posted April 20, 2023 Posted April 20, 2023 PlayStation have acquired Firewall Studios - not to be confused with the previously acquired Firesprite! Quote I'm excited to announce that we've expanded our relationship with Firewalk Studios and are thrilled to welcome them to PlayStation Studios. Firewalk is home to a remarkably talented team of creatives who have launched some of gaming's most celebrated experiences, and they're already hard at work on their first original AAA multiplayer game for PlayStation. Since announcing our publishing partnership with ProbablyMonsters and Firewalk in 2021, we continue to be impressed by the team's ambitions to build a modern multiplayer game that connects players in new and innovative ways. The studio shares our passion for creating inspiring worlds grounded in exceptional gameplay, and we want to continue to invest in their mission. We're excited for Firewalk to bring their technical and creative expertise to PlayStation Studios to help grow our live service operations and deliver something truly special for gamers. Based in Bellevue, WA, Firewalk was formed in 2018 as part of ProbablyMonsters, an independent AAA game company founded by CEO Harold Ryan (former CEO, President and Chairman at Bungie) that builds sustainable game teams focusing on original AAA games. Firewalk's team of best-in-class developers, led by industry veterans Tony Hsu (Studio Head, previously GM and SVP of Destiny at Activision) and Ryan Ellis (Game Director, previously Creative Director at Bungie), have years of collective expertise on some of gaming's most successful and impactful multiplayer titles. ProbablyMonsters and Firewalk announced an exclusive publishing partnership with SIE in April 2021 and now Firewalk will be the 20th studio to join PlayStation Studios. Taken from the PlayStation Blog. 1
Julius Posted April 28, 2023 Posted April 28, 2023 (edited) Per their End of Financial Year report for the year ending 31st March 2023, the PlayStation 5 sold 6.3 million units in Q1 2023, which is Q4 in FY23 for Sony, which has resulted in them breaking the recor for most consoles sold in an opening quarter for a calendar year and contributed to the highest revenue on record for Sony in their FY Q4. This comes after previously projecting sales of 5.2 million units and 6.2 million units for the quarter. Overall, this brings the PlayStation 5 up to a lifetime sales figure of 38.4 million units sold. Safe to say it's over the production slump which saw it (more than understandably) stumble out of the gates at launch! Now let's hope they deliver the good in June/September/whenever with some more game announcements ETA: Sony are aiming to sell a record number of PlayStation consoles in a 12 month window – 25 million units. Gentle reminder that publicly stated aims are almost always going to be a lowball for the sake of investors (so that they can outdo their own goals); this almost certainly means that, should things go smoothly, they're probably more realistically projecting 27 million to 30 million units sold in the next 12 months. Edited April 28, 2023 by Julius
Julius Posted May 5, 2023 Posted May 5, 2023 It has been announced that Pixelopus (Concrete Genie, Entwined) is being closed down. From their Twitter: Following this, IGN reached out for comment, to which PlayStation responded: Quote PlayStation Studios regularly evaluates its portfolio and the status of studio projects to ensure they meet the organization’s short and long-term strategic objectives. As part of a recent review process, it has been decided that PixelOpus will close on June 2. A huge shame, especially seeing as they had reportedly been working on a game in collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation. After Japan Studio, this really hurts – feels like yet another smaller and very creative studio being pushed out. I've had Concrete Genie sitting on my shelf for a year or two now. Think this is a sign to dive in and give Pixelopus their due.
Julius Posted May 18, 2023 Posted May 18, 2023 Some more details on PlayStation's accessibility controller - which they've now seemingly given an official title of 'Access controller' after previously referring to it as Project Leonardo? - have been shared for Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Good stuff
Julius Posted May 23, 2023 Posted May 23, 2023 The Backbone One - PlayStation Edition for Android finally releases today:
Julius Posted May 24, 2023 Posted May 24, 2023 New accessories from today's Showcase, Project Q streaming portable and wireless earbuds: Quote Take a sneak peak at new accessories revealed at today's Showcase the Project Q device for playing games installed on your PS5 and streamed over WiFi, plus our first official wireless earbuds offering lossless audio on PS5 and PC. More details to come in the months ahead. In for the earbuds, because my overears get waaaaaaaaaay too warm, but not that interested in Project Q.
Jimbob Posted May 25, 2023 Posted May 25, 2023 (edited) If PlayStation offered a cloud-based service akin to Xbox (e.g. not needing the PS5 to play PS5 games) with this new Project Q device, i'd probably be more interested. But as it is, it's not something i'm overly interested in. Edited May 25, 2023 by Jimbob
Julius Posted May 27, 2023 Posted May 27, 2023 Factions has seemingly been delayed internally, with Naughty Dog putting out a statement that the game needs more time in development. More on that below. They've also announced that they're working on a "brand-new single-player experience" (Naughty Dog? Never! But yeah, this was obviously expected, and Neil teased that something else was cooking over there a little while back). I would guess this isn't Part III but a new IP, purely based on the wording and that I feel the best way to shut down concerns for the franchise with this Factions news would have been to announce Part III in any capacity (if it was being worked on). Further to this news about Factions, though, Bloomberg and Schreier once again seem to have the scoop on what's been going on...and it doesn't sound good. Quote Sony Group Corp. has slowed down development on an upcoming multiplayer game in its long-running The Last of Us video game series as the creators reassess its quality and long-term viability, according to four people familiar with the project. The team working on the game was scaled back after a recent evaluation, said the people, who asked not to be named because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. A small group remains on the project while the company reevaluates the direction. While the game has not been canceled, many of its developers have been moved to other projects. Following requests for comment from Bloomberg News, Naughty Dog, the Sony subsidiary working on the project, put out a statement on Twitter saying that "we've realized what's best for the game is to give it more time." Naughty Dog has been developing the multiplayer title for at least four years. It started as a complementary mode to The Last of Us: Part II, the single-player game released in 2020, but the creators grew ambitious and decided to make it into its own game, Naughty Dog said. Sony has invested heavily in "games as a service," or video games designed to be monetized beyond their initial sales through ongoing purchases. As part of that push it asked another of its video-game studios, Seattle-based Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project's ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment. Coming up on three years since the launch of The Last of Us Part II and in a few months that launch of the PS5, and we've yet to see the reveal of anything original from Naughty Dog for the console – particular wording used here because of course they put out Part I, the remake of the original game, last year, as well as the next-gen versions of Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy in the Legacy of Thieves Collection, but the former project didn't start at Naughty Dog, and it was widely believed that neither project was a studio-wide effort, what with Factions and their single-player project in development. It's crazy to think that we're coming up on three years of the PS5 and we still have no original announcement for the console from Naughty Dog, PlayStation's premier studio. I'm happy to wait and trust that whatever they turn out will be quality, but it's yet another feather in the cap of doubters about PlayStation's recently adopted GaaS-oriented strategy. Got to imagine there'll be something, even if just another piece of concept art, released for Factions or Part III - any TLOU news at all - for the game's 10th anniversary this year.
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