Playstation 5: Thread 03

[Neon Ignition]

Honestly, if it's coming I hope it's a complete re-imagining as there's just no value in a direct remake of a game that recent and current as well as playable right now on PS5. I'd be more wary of what it means for Sony's decision making.

I assume it's an attempt to cash in on the whole Demon's Souls, Crash Bandicoot etc remake success but TLOU just isn't the right project for it. Even limiting to Naughty Dog Uncharted 1 is a vastly better choice.

[wakka]

The TLOU1 remake news comes from this story by Schreier:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-09/sony-s-obsession-with-blockbusters-is-stirring-unrest-within-playstation-empire

So we know that it's in development, but it's not confirmed as something we'll actually definitely be receiving (although it looks likely).

Agreed that it's a pointless remake. Yes, it's nice that it could have accessibility included for people who couldn't play the first one, but I would counter that the resources could still be expended more profitably on creating an entirely new game that featured full accessibility.

The story above is worth a read - it's interesting to see how conservative Sony are becoming. Their willingness to make big bets was such a key component of their success last gen. If they just stick a '2' onto the end of their big PS4 games this gen, creatively speaking they could be soon circling the same drain as Microsoft.

[Neon Ignition]

It's a difficult one as whilst the big AAAA titles are bringing them success they're risky in of themselves when new IP's. By that token:

2021 - Returnal
2020 - Ghost of Tsushima, Dreams, Sackboy (to an extent)
2019 - Blood and Truth, Erica, Concrete Genie, Days Gone, Death Stranding
2018 - Bravo Team, Astro Bot, Firewall, Detroit, God of War
2017 - Farpoint, Drawn to Death, Horizon, Gravity Rush 2
2016 - RIGS, PSVR
2015 - Tearaway Unfolded, The Order 1886, Until Dawn

There are risky elements to all those either with changes or financially and it's not always paid off. I can imagine why reorganising their studios makes sense too as in effect they've had success but now found themselves in a position where they have these active major franchises on the go:

-Gran Turismo
-Ratchet and Clank
-Spider-Man
-Horizon
-God of War
-Uncharted
-The Last of Us
-Returnal
-Astro Bot
-Littlebigplanet
-Blood and Truth

So it probably uses all their studio resources to keep them coming at a steady pace now. It wouldn't surprise me if that's why there's been low level chatter of buyouts still to come. With the big moves MS has been making it'd make sense to line up your key studios and ips and then acquire smaller studios and properties to continue investing in new stuff rather than have to needlessly wade in with Bethesda style buyouts

[wakka]

Hmm. I'm not sure we need all of those games coming at a steady pace, though, really. After the next Horizon, God of War and Ratchet are out the door, which will be relatively imminently, I think the wisest move would be for those franchises to hit pause and the developers to start creating something new.

I think the point for me is that Sony shouldn't be relying on excessive sequelising, unless they've got something interesting to bring to the table (e.g. God of War's PS4 reinvention). Because these are hardware tentpoles, they really need to excite players enough to move hardware, not just turn a steady profit at retail.

If they keep all their in-house talent focused solely on hammering out more of the above, there's a real danger of the franchise fatigue that has set in with Halo and Gears (games which I don't think sell consoles at all, nowadays, hence the megabuys of Bethesda et al).

[Neon Ignition]

Presumably, though it'll likely be another third person adventure, if ND wasn't working on Uncharted 5 themselves and TLOU3 isn't likely their immediate next release it means a new IP is on the way from them

[teddymeow]

Bring back Shawn Layden, and with him, the Vib Ribbon remake!!

If this is all true then TLOU remake could hit when the TV show does as a kind of multimedia thang.

Days Gone 2 not being greenlit is a surprise...now. At launch it sold okay but wasn't really a critical darling. It took a lot of patching and word of mouth for it to become the "beloved" title it is now.

The biggest concern is, again if true, the loss of talent from multiple studios.

[hudson]

Just die TLOU

[fishbowlhead]

You can turn that off. I hated it too and it's hard for me to believe anyone would see it as a feature.

Just tried this and it still hurts my eyes and makes me nauseous spinning the camera around. So its 60fps or bust for this unfortunately.

[speedlolita]

I experienced the same with The Last of Us Part II. I stupidly powered through it but it was definitely unpleasant.

[nonny]

I think it's a difficult predicament to just concentrate on big AAA titles. They are tentpole franchises but there has to be scope for smaller budget titles from first party studios as well.
.

They might not be system sellers but it's a basis for ongoing creativity and I would hope that being in-house that would retain talent as it would allow an outlet for them to take risks away from the big titles.

[Neon Ignition]

If true it makes the decision to pursue and support PSVR2 a bit more curious

[hudson]

David Jaffe reckons Sony are planning a "counter-punch" to Game Pass coz he know some people inside Sony.

[fishbowlhead]

Sony are obviously in a transition phase as far as studios are concerned but I wouldn’t worry too much, we had massive output from them end of PS4 and PS5 was off to a good start as well, not to mention games on the way, Returnal, Ratchet, Deathloop etc, plus all the PS5 updates that have come for PS4 games.

Re counter punch to gamepass. I’ve no doubt PsNow will be rebranded and adapted for this role and pushed more, since it’s already set up and working, just needs more games, option to download instead of stream etc.

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, all the talk of PSNow being reworked etc not being enough is nonsense. Sony have the pieces to negate Game Pass enough with minimal effort. What people usually actually mean is they want Sony to put first party AAA's out on Day 1 in a way that they don't have to pay for them which is never going to happen. By having a Game Pass response they're simply not leaving anything to chance, in the same way that PSVR ensured PlayStation was included in the VR wave so that if it took off they'd be well positioned. It didn't so now it's just a side arm till sales drop off. Basically - The Vita strategy.

[nonny]

I think the simple thing to do with PS Now is make every title downloadable. Having some stream only just isn't a good model, you need all of them to be installable locally and make streaming is the backup option, not the other way around.

Then it's a matter of content. I don't see Sony putting new releases on there day one but if there was an agreed timescale to games appearing on there it would make a difference. Maybe all first party titles get 6 months and then they're added into the service for example.

The best thing about game pass, besides the current pricing, is besides surprise inclusions everyone knows every new first party release is included and everything is downloadable. It makes it more likely people will subscribe into the future because they know what's coming to the service.

The one thing I would like to see on game pass is knowing precisely when titles are being removed. That would be great for consumers and an easy thing to provide.

Sony can compete but I don't think they're happy to because it's a forced change to their primary model. That said, I'm sure they will come out with a huge revision to PS Now because they basically have no choice.