PlayStation 5: Thread 04

[fishbowlhead]

https://insider-gaming.com/ps5-pro-in-development/
Is it a scoop if you're regurgitating info from Microsoft's FTC case?

If true it should weigh in at a light and affordable £800+ if you want to see any meaningful performance improvement on those sexy cross gen games they're winding up

It’s going to happen sooner or later. I actually think we could see a pro then an ultra this gen from both parties given how fast things progress these days.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I think I'd like to see the PlayStation and X actually being used first. I can count on one hand the games that use the horsepower of the new consoles... And one of them is demon souls.

[Neon Ignition]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Sony-dives-into-extended-reality-with-2bn-R-D-war-chest

Sony is going to spend 40% of its total R&D budget for this fiscal year on prioritising GAAS titles, live services and the likes. 55% of Sony's budget for game development will go on live service games, increasing to 60% by 2026.


So... more good news for MS's Xbox revival hopes then.

[Cassius_Smoke]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Com...-R-D-war-chest
Sony is going to spend 40% of its total R&D budget for this fiscal year on prioritising GAAS titles, live services and the likes. 55% of Sony's budget for game development will go on live service games, increasing to 60% by 2026.


So... more good news for MS's Xbox revival hopes then.

They fail to remember that there isn't an unlimited number of people and an unlimited number of wallets and an unlimited amount of time.

[Neon Ignition]

It amazes me that they're so deep into the idea, they're doing it at a point where there are more than enough examples around them of how doomed an approach it is

[Deuteros]

I see the appeal, all it takes is for one of these projects to make it and they have a cash cow in their hands.

[wakka]

I see the appeal but at the same time getting one of these things to actually be successful seems to be more luck than judgement.

Whereas generally speaking Sony's first party third person action adventures are very reliable sellers. They've got a strong formula, experienced teams, and I think sales performance of these titles is fairly predictable.

I would have to say I think devoting 60% of spend to GaaS seems like a very risky prospect.

[fishbowlhead]

This is awful.

[Neon Ignition]

And one of these will be the Twisted Metal project. Another will be the cartoony Horizon one so presumably an FPS isn't in the mix given Sony's COD obsession. Gran Turismo?

[nonny]

The appeal is there but the risk is huge. For every Fortnite there are 20-30 failed projects and they have a high cost upfront with success only guaranteed once a community is established.

Even Destiny and Fortnite have had near failures... Fortnite taking almost 18 months to shape itself into the BR hook it is today.

As everyone says once you have one it's a constant revenue earner, but getting there is difficult.

[Neon Ignition]

Plus, in most cases the games that achieved success got there by being toward the point of the spear. Sony is setting off from a sprint line of a race that's pretty much already finished

[nonny]

The other issue you have is to offset the risk there's the whole concept of the beta preview but I feel half the time dropping a half-baked version into a wide community simply stalls as much as it does assist the process.

This is (one small) part of the reason why I think Halo Infinite waned over seasons. They basically showed you a vertical slice of what was really good gameplay ahead of launch but everyone quickly realised the content was slow and moved on. I still play it and it's great in Season 4 (8v8 on Halo remake maps) but it's too late for most.

Same thing happened to Spellbreak, Rumbleverse etc... There's a tonne of failed projects in that graveyard. Granted Sony has more presence in the market but as you say, it is now one with very established titles like Fortnite, Warzone, Apex Legends etc... and there isn't much room.

I think the best "launch" of a GaaS was actually Apex Legends. No-one knew anything about that game until it shadow dropped out of nowhere, it had that Titanfall link to be familiar yet very different and it was actually good right out of the gate. Even that game has struggled in places but to my mind it's the best management of release and maintain I've seen.

Destiny... everyone seems to forget the first year of that game.

[fishbowlhead]

Has Diablo4 even made an impact into this persistent always online genre, by that I mean has it had a significant impact on player numbers on other games? If something like that can’t get people off Destiny, Apex or Cod then it’s not worth even starting a game in that field.

I’m guessing Marathon will be the big test of how much they put in going forward into GaaS games.

Ugghhhhhhhh.

[hudson]

I rather enjoyed the Division games. I think there can be some good ones that slip through

[nonny]

Has Diablo4 even made an impact into this persistent always online genre, by that I mean has it had a significant impact on player numbers on other games? If something like that can’t get people off Destiny, Apex or Cod then it’s not worth even starting a game in that field.

I’m guessing Marathon will be the big test of how much they put in going forward into GaaS games.

Ugghhhhhhhh.

It has but some users were annoyed with the need to create new characters per season. Admittedly I've not played it at all but that's what I've read on twitter. There was also a pretty sizeable drop in WOW player counts when Diablo hit but it's probably too early to tell if the end game season stuff sticks.

Agree Marathon is probably the biggest title we know about coming into this model.