Jump to content
NEurope
Sign in to follow this  
Julius

PlayStation State of Play (Wednesday 9th March @ 22:00 GMT)

Recommended Posts

Quote

A new State of Play is upon us! Join us this Wednesday March 9 at 2 PM Pacific / 5 PM Eastern / 11:00 PM CET for new reveals and eye-catching updates for PS5 and PS4 titles. Note: We won’t have any updates on PlayStation VR2 titles or hardware in this broadcast.

The show is clocking in around 20 minutes, give or take, with a special focus on highlighting great games coming from some of our beloved Japanese publishers, though we’ll have a few updates from other developers located around the world, too.

Funnily enough, they go on to call out that for streamers there may be some licensed music used, so to be careful when streaming. So I guess that means we're almost certainly getting another trailer for Stranger of Paradise :p also imagine we'll see a final spot for Ghostwire Tokyo, too. 

Focus on Japanese publishers is nice to see, but 20 minutes doesn't really give me much hope to see much outside of Square Enix and Capcom. I know we're expecting Final Fantasy XVI news soon based on the update we got towards the end of last year, but I'm trying my best to imagine that's not happening, as we've been burned a few times by it not turning up at other events at this point. Outside of that from S-E the only thing I can think of is a potential remaster of something like Tactics, which has long been rumoured, though the timing would probably kill Triangle Strategy on Switch if it did show up here. Hell, give us Parasite Eve or something. Or, you know: Dragon Quest VIII Remastered. Please? 

Over at Capcom, if Street Fighter 6 is exclusive (though I don't think it would be wise for it to be), then maybe it's here? But something like Resident Evil 4 Remake could be saved for June, if we see it at all this year, so maybe we finally get a classic RE Collection on modern consoles instead. 

With that in mind, I'm only really backing two horses that I would love to see here that I think are reasonable to hope for: whatever is next for Astro Bot (a full-fledged non-VR game PLEASE) and Granblue Fantasy: Relink.  

Edited by Julius
  • Thanks 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As always, going in with no expectations.

But since this is a Japanese focused SoP I'm hoping for some JRPG goodness. 

Edit: And I'm looking forward to no FFXVI showing just to see @Julius mad :p 

Edited by drahkon
  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks like something for Stranger of Paradise may have slipped out that we'll see in the State of Play today. 

Spoiler

A third - and final - demo drop? 

Wonder if it might be a demo for the start of the game and we could see a save transfer to the full game?

 

18 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Focus on Japanese developers/publishers? That's my kinda State of Play. 

Damn right :D 

I actually realised while playing Elden Ring that I've only played one game developed in the West so far this year of the five games I've played. Not to suggest that Western developed games are bad by any stretch - there are many that I love - but there's definitely some secret sauce to a good number Japanese games that typically makes them that much more appealing to me. I imagine it's just the shift in cultural perspective which enforces their design and writing to be so...unpredictable, I guess, compared to what I'm used to with Western storytelling and design? 

Got to imagine there's a TED Talk or GDC presentation on it somewhere :laughing:

18 hours ago, drahkon said:

Edit: And I'm looking forward to no FFXVI showing just to see @Julius mad :p 

My expectations are really reined in when it comes to XVI news today, I feel like that would either get a State of Play of its own or a blowout from Square Enix, just based on how far along it seems to be, how Unit III generally handle their development and marketing timeline, etc.

I'd love to be surprised, but kind of like with Breath of the Wild's sequel, I feel the smart move would be to announce that they're showing the game off at an event ahead of time, just because there's that much hype and expectation to see more of it. Then again, smart moves aren't exactly S-E's forte, so :p

Deep down there's a weird part of me - and I imagine this is just down to XVI failing to turn up so much before - that thinks we've got better odds at seeing something like a Final Fantasy Tactics remaster, or even VII Remake Part 2 (yeah I went there), than XVI today. Not that I think that they're terribly likely, just more likely.

Gut feeling, and seeing how my past is with FF hopes and dreams, naturally this means XVI is going to be shown today and announced to be coming to PS Now exclusively, as well as streamed on mobile :laughing:

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just realized this is tonight? No idea why, but I thought it's next week. :D 

Cool, will probably watch while farming runes :p 

45 minutes ago, Julius said:

Gut feeling, and seeing how my past is with FF hopes and dreams, naturally this means XVI is going to be shown today and announced to be coming to PS Now exclusively, as well as streamed on mobile :laughing:

It's also going to be a Battle Royale.

  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So...  Stranger of Paradise release trailer, Star Ocean 6 trailer, Ghostwire Tokyo trailer, Astro Bot sequel, Dynasty Warriors 10 OR Final Fantasy Warriors (not both) and then finish off with trailers for Resident Evil 4 Remake and Final Fantasy 16.

A few other minor games (mostly new IPs) sprinkled throughout and that's my prediction.  Pragmata will be a no show, it will be this generation's Deep Down and never get released.  Dragon Quest 12/3 HD will be shown off at a DQ specific event, so not here.  Capcom have already said no further SF6 info until the Summer, so not here.  Forspoken just got delayed, so no further trailers or marketing until around August/September I reckon.

That sounds like a pretty solid SOP to me.

Edited by Dcubed

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Here we go!

Been a great day with a lot of news and trailers, fingers crossed this delivers! 

See you all on the other side :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, that was a bit rough. 

First game that came up was a futuristic looking game by Capcom, and it's not Pragmata, but a third-person multiplayer shooter with mech suits where you fight hordes of dinosaurs, and it's called Exoprimal. Looks like it could be dumb fun, but also looks destined to be a PS+ game at launch. But 2023? Capcom, come on guys, seriously: chill the heck out with these release dates that are so far in the future! 

Ghostwire Tokyo was then shown, and I know it's out in a couple of weeks, but feels like it's really getting the Deathloop treatment. I'm just so tired of seeing that game that I couldn't be much less interested at this point. Introduced super weirdly too as a "fan favourite"? – the game's not out yet, so I struggle to see how it could possibly be a fan favourite. 

And then we got a TV spot for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, which abruptly cuts at the end. Kind of what I was expecting considering we had the "final trailer" a few weeks ago, but not really a great spot for selling the game? Really surprised it wasn't the game with the licensed music here, and hey there's a new demo which is cool, as we found out would be the case earlier today, and it's been confirmed that from the demo that you can carry progress over to the full game, which is pretty neat. Didn't really make the game a must buy on Day One deal for me, I'm fine just playing Elden Ring and other games for now, but I still love the sound of the (original) music that's in store, so look forward to checking it out at some point this year. 

And then another big AAA Square Enix game in Forspoken, which we know got delayed this week, so my mind immediately went to "yup, this is a contractual obligation" and half checked out. The more we've seen of this game the less interested I've been: I still think it's first trailer was it's best, and everything else shown from it is kind of one big mess in my mind. 

Gundam Evolution - not my thing, I mean especially a first-person hero shooter mech game where you don't even get to see your cool ass mech? I'm sure there will be fans, but it's not for me. TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection actually looks pretty neat, I've heard so much in podcasts about Turtles in Time, so depending on its price, could be interested in checking that out, if not waiting for a sale. GigaBash is a kaiju game which we saw so little of I have no idea if I'm interested, but given how short the trailer was, I guess there isn't anything to be interested in? Again, I'm sure it'll have it's fans, but yeah, not for me. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - All Star Battle R will also have it's fans, but having not watched the anime or read the manga, all I can say is that it's got cool music. 

Trek to Yomi looks great, getting a voice cast with some names that I won't claim to know offhand but will be digging into is cool. I am a bit concerned that it's looking more and more like a game we've seen plenty of (INSIDE, Limbo, Little Nightmares, etc.) just in a new genre, and so my concern is about the combat mainly. Still looks great, it's apparently coming in Spring, but guys it's March, I don't like the idea of setting unrealistic goals which cause crunch but not even a month, when it's supposedly dropping in the next three? 

Returnal's Ascension in Update 3.0 coming on March 22nd in all honesty is one of the highlights of the show, and well, that's pretty concerning considering that it's not one of the games from a Japanese publisher that we were told to expect here. Co-op could be great fun in a game like this, but as someone who doesn't know anyone IRL who has played the game, let alone would want to return to it, it doesn't mean much to me. And while I really enjoyed the game on the whole, as you might have guessed from my posts about the game in its thread, the idea of an endless tower is pretty much exactly what I don't want. Still, @drahkon is undoubtedly excited, so I'm looking forward to hearing his thoughts on it!

And then the last two games, set up as being two brand new games from Square Enix. I immediately thought Welp, no XVI, no hope for a DQ VIII remaster, but maybe there's still hope for a remake? 

And then the trailer started for the first game. We saw the art, it looked a bit generic, but whatever, there was still a glimmer of hope. Oh jeez, this is clearly a fantasy tactics game - a Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics remake or sequel or something? And then we saw the alliance names and I immediately thought Well, those names are just too stupid to be Final Fantasy, and they're just a shade better than some of the location and event names in Triangle Strategy, so I guess this actually is a new IP. So yeah, those were my thoughts on The DioField Chronicle. Stupidly named game with stupidly named locations with a super generic art style, which is a massive shame because I was really digging the brief look at gameplay that we got, but we saw so little that that being the only real differentiator to a lot of other SRPG's means it didn't sink it's hook into me and sell me why I should play it over, well, every other Japanese SRPG out there. 

And then finally, Valkyrie Elysium. All I really saw was a character doing Naruto run and stupid faces, the rest of the game being watercolour (but the kind of extreme, almost too light and washed out kind) for what I'm guessing is an ARPG just didn't really grab my eyes any which way, and so was ultimately pretty forgettable. I haven't played but have heard a bit about the Valkyrie Profile games, so I'm sure it has its fanbase, but nothing shown here really made me want to play this game. 

As I started with: I just thought this was a rough State of Play. Trek to Yomi, TMNT Collection and Returnal update aside, it felt like PlayStation's equivalent of Nintendo's Partner Showcase Direct Minis, which is to say that I didn't think this was a particularly well put together showcase of games, and that it felt put together out of contractual obligation for all but the three aforementioned games, which just really made it tough to care. 

Weakest major event so far of the year for me, despite a surprisingly high volume to show for how short the show was. Even with tempered expectations, I don't think it was ultimately worth tuning in for. There was nothing new shown today that got me excited for a game I didn't already know about. 

My Verdict for State of Play: March 2022: 4.5/10 

Square Enix out-Square Enix'd themselves. 

Spoiler

February

State of Play: Gran Turismo 7 - 8.0/10

Nintendo Direct: February 2022 - 9.5/10

Pokémon Presents: Pokémon Day 2022 - 7.0/10

March

State of Play: March 2022 - 4.5/10

 

Edited by Julius
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I really don't know why I bother watching these. Almost always disappointing.

Oh well, not like we're starved for games this year.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm glad I didn't stay up to watch that. Awful showing. The only game I'm excited for is the Turtles collection. That package of games looks incredible.

If Capcom wanted to make a dinosaur game then why not use the Dino Crisis IP? Fans have been waiting years for a sequel to DC2 (No, DC3 doesn't exist) and the engine used for the recent Resident Evil games could do wonders for this franchise.

Why the hell are S-E making some weird sounding tactics game when they have the FF:Tactics IP at their disposal? Baffling. The game looked very rough as well. Same goes for the new entry in the Valkyrie series.

I don't get why Sony are putting out these SoP shows when the content isn't there or ready to be shown. You can tell Nintendo seem to be more organized with their Directs and also more aggressive to get decent content on their shows. Take the Chrono Cross announcement. It was originally a PS game, it would have fit perfectly with this SoP and yet Nintendo managed to secure it for their show.

I dunno, it just seems the majority of SoPs just don't hit the mark at all. It's been a while since they launched and Sony still haven't found their footing with them.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dino Crisis fans on suicide watch...

No, really.  Why isn't Exoprimal a Dino Crisis game?

Also, yeah... Pragmata is dead, as I predicted.

I'll gladly take the Ninja Turtles collection though! :D 

The Diofield Chronicle looks decent; surprised that it took this long for S-E to make a Fire Emblem knockoff that isn't from Matsuno or otherwise obviously inspired by Tactics Ogre!  And Valkyrie Elysium isn't a mobile game!? Praise Odin! :D (Edit:  It's being made by Soleil Ltd, AKA Valhalla Studios, AKA the Devils Third team? Uh oh...)

Also, why were non-Japanese games like Returnal and Trek to Yomi shown here?

Edited by Dcubed

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Everyone complains that no one makes original games anymore, and when someone does, you lot all say it ought to have been a sequel...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
28 minutes ago, bob said:

Everyone complains that no one makes original games anymore, and when someone does, you lot all say it ought to have been a sequel...

There's a difference between churning out the same IP over and over again and revitalizing a long dormant IP. Dino Crisis has been out of action since the original Xbox era and is well overdue a return. Final Fantasy Tactics is another that has been out of the picture for a long time. I think the last one was on the DS. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sign in to follow this  

×