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[Metnut]

They’ve announced two major third party games in about 60 days. People just love to complain. A bunch of interesting third party games were shown too during the SOP. Some people are just miserable and I’m sure they are killjoys irl too.

 

[PurePlatinum]

We HAVE gotten a lot of big first party announcements in the last nine months or so.

Astro
Saros
Intergalactic
Yotei

And those are great. I think people are very curious about some of the big question marks right now. What’s up with Marathon/FairGame$ and what’s going on with Wolverine and Corey’s game?

I think these are fair questions. 90% of that state of play was filler trash but I’d be happy if there was just a little more first party. Days Gone and a CG trailer for Saros just doesn’t cut it.

Colin is losing his mind.

 

[BbMajor7th]

Ah, the old 'it's the audience's fault' argument again.

Love that one.

 

[Arsic]

It was trash. Even compared to other state of plays. Showing 2026 games, no gameplay, and trailers we’ve already seen is a waste of everyone’s time.

Excusing this shit or trying to blame the internet or gamers is donkey shit especially since most thought the previous Xbox showcase was an A or B awesome time of reveals.

Get fucked.

 

[Fabieter]

These "bad shows" gave us goty and number of goty candidates. And had no problem with delivering message and promoting games shown.
Probably you should keep your expectations in check what shows are about. It's not really about you getting shot of excitement to forget about it week later.

I will just not watch any of those shows again.

 

[Guilty_AI]

 

[Felessan]

Excusing this shit or trying to blame the internet or gamers is donkey shit especially since most thought the previous Xbox showcase was an A or B awesome time of reveals.

And MS with their fancy shows just went out of console business and even struggle to provide anything relevant in games

Fancy shows blablabla, but the actual quality of games is what important, not getting B or A for the show.

I will just not watch any of those shows again.

And who really cares?
Astrobot was in one of those last year bad shows and it's goty.

 

[Arsic]

And MS with their fancy shows just went out of console business and even struggle to provide anything relevant in games

Fancy shows blablabla, but the actual quality of games is what important, not getting B or A for the show.


And who really cares?
Astrobot was in one of those last year bad shows and it's goty.

NG4, NG2 black, and Doom were all amazing day ones for me.

Sony showed me nothing I want day one.

Simple as that.

 

[Felessan]

NG4, NG2 black, and Doom were all amazing day ones for me.

Sony showed me nothing I want day one.

Simple as that.

You may like whatever shit MS provide all you want
Doesn't change the fact that Sony games (1st party and 3rd party exclusives) are just better games overall.

Simple as that.

 

[Punished Miku]

NG4, NG2 black, and Doom were all amazing day ones for me.

Sony showed me nothing I want day one.

Simple as that.

I think people also underestimate the actual pacing and crafting of the show itself. Xbox dev directs are their highest budget shows. They shoot on location at the studios featured, with interviews and professional film quality shots mixed in with a good amount of gameplay and gameplay explanation. Then on top of that, they specifically announce it will be 4 games to set tight expectations, but shadow drop a 5th just to make it fun and exceed what you expected.

The Playstation shows are not well made, sterile, lifeless, cheap looking blue and white bluescreen background behind anyone talking. None of it is really well done, and the two Sony employees they got to talk are not compelling representatives for the company. They were even sticking in PS+ announcements that were falling flat and not really appropriately placed in that show. They managed to get that a 1st party game would be an appropriate "one more thing," but that trailer just wasn't very good for Saros. Just given the team making it, I'm sure it will have lots of impressive elements but about all you got from that trailer is that it's a roguelike which is not much of a hype builder for me. Not even Days Gone was a shadow drop, but is coming out in April. That's fine, but from a showmanship perspective, isn't really hyping anyone.

People can trash MS as a company, compare sales numbers or whatever, but they have a great marketing crew for these events. They know how to make them fun to watch, paced well, shot well, and with surprises to enhance the fun of watching it.

 

[XXL]

We simply have different points/tastes and that certainly don't make you know better what's good or not than me.

Just to be clear. This wasn't directed at you. I just responded to you, because you had mentioned it.

 

[DannyDanger]

Essentially 3 new IP and two sequels to acclaimed games is cookie cutter? Maybe you don't know what cookie cutter means.

You included multiple games that have already been revealed, multiple sequels and yearly sports franchise, but I'm the one that doesn't know what cookie cutter means....

How is that better than:
Tides of Annihilation
Saros
Mind's Eye
Hell is Us
New Onimusha
And more

 

[Neolombax]

Nothing in it had me REALLY interested or had me looking forward forward to 2025, so it was an average SOP for me. There was nothing that made me want to spend my money. It was more, thats nice. I'll wait for a review kind of deal.

 

[Pedro Motta]

Microsoft Developer Direct - 5 Games.

State of Play - 29 Games.

Sony Playstation is just a more healthy platform for all developers to show their games. Problem is, not every game is for everyone.

If I was a third party, I would love to be featured in a State of Play that racks up millions and millions of views.

 

[WaterOnix]

This is the guy who went hard against everyone who disliked the end of Mass Effect 3 lol. What's so hard about letting people dislike things you like?

 

[PurePlatinum]

Here's how I know Colin is full of shit - If the first party output is totally fine, why all the executive shakeup drama? Are they just firing Ryan and demoting Hulst because they feel like it? Or does Sony know, just as we all know, that this is essentially a lost generation? Sony is essentially admitting this with the executive shake-ups and Colins is STILL playing goalie for them.

 

[Arsic]

You may like whatever shit MS provide all you want
Doesn't change the fact that Sony games (1st party and 3rd party exclusives) are just better games overall.

Simple as that.

I’ll take Doom info over anything Sony has cooking right now that we know about lol.

Ninja gaiden 4 for that matter too.

Gears as well.

Don’t let history and current state of affairs blind you. Sony is sitting on a bag of nothing for those of us who were living it up until ps5 dropped. After demons souls remake it has been rough times…

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

This is what I called excitement junkies. Those that doesn't want just some good news, they want "shock and awe" news to keep unreasonable dose of dopamine.
SoP showed quite a good amount of games, some of them completely new and desirable and I was more than happy with things showed.
But astroturfing junkies wanted excitement on the level of parade of many 1st party with gameplay or, that is even worse, Bloodborne remake.

It's fine to be happy with the things showed. But as an entertainment product, the State of Play failed.

And like I said, it doesn't need to be a parade of 1st party titles. It doesn't need to be a parade and it doesn't even have to be 1st party.

ONE exciting thing is enough. Which could be any number of things.

 

[Fabieter]

And who really cares?
Astrobot was in one of those last year bad shows and it's goty.

Who do we discuss at all. Its just opinions, who cares tho..

If you think they are doing a good job than more power to you.

Imo the bar in the fucking basement if we are happy with sonys offerings.

 

[Illyria]

I mean I prefer gameplay of Housemarque's game, not a cgi trailer. Plus no Ghost of Yotei or Death Stranding 2. We still have no studio updates about Wolverine or Resident Evil 9. I figured one of those games would be there for sure. Maybe even a Persona 6 announcement or the Halo & Gears rumors. None of that happened & it's why I rated it low.

Some games did look good like Sonic, Lies of Pi, etc.

 

[Camreezie]

Isnt him saying this a hot take in itself?

 

[Felessan]

Don’t let history and current state of affairs blind you. Sony is sitting on a bag of nothing for those of us who were living it up until ps5 dropped. After demons souls remake it has been rough times…

Sony consistently has goty winners and goty contenders.
They announced Astrobot 3 months before its release and still won goty, so the fact that we have limited knowledge of lineup doesn't mean we will not have goty contender this year.

It's fine to be happy with the things showed. But as an entertainment product, the State of Play failed.

It depends what was the target for the show.
Actually, given current circumstances, it better to have a good show with exciting games than to have exciting show with good games.

Because it's games and impressions of games that should be anchoring in memory even after initial excitement spike dies out (and it'll die quite fast given internet's information overload) and not the show impression.
And Sony target is to sell games, it doesn't sell show.

 

[sainraja]

Colin is too much of a fanboy to take seriously on this topic.

There were some good games there but nothing that will make someone rush out and buy a PlayStation. Housemarque appeals to about 1-2 million diehard PlayStation players and they already own consoles.

People are either already into gaming and have their favorite franchises when they look to getting a console, OR they are complete newcomers. Someone who’s a newcomer might not care who Housemarque appeals to, as long as the game they are making interests them.

We have to learn to take a step back sometimes, specially if we are going to talk about what might make someone or won't make someone rush out to get a console. The library of games on a console does not get shorter just because of new game announcements. It's a growing library.

So that should not be a focus of conversation in threads like these in my opinion. It should simply be about how a company will keep their existing audience engaged.. as that is what it boils down to, that is what new game announcements help with. The library of games already on the console will do their job in convincing people to go out and buy a console. New games in existing franchises, new IP are a bonus and meant to keep people engaged and of course they help with selling as well, but as I have been trying to say, the existing library will always be a key factor.

 

[Arsic]

Sony consistently has goty winners and goty contenders.
They announced Astrobot 3 months before its release and still won goty, so the fact that we have limited knowledge of lineup doesn't mean we will not have goty contender this year.


It depends what was the target for the show.
Actually, given current circumstances, it better to have a good show with exciting games than to have exciting show with good games.

Because it's games and impressions of games that should be anchoring in memory even after initial excitement spike dies out (and it'll die quite fast given internet's information overload) and not the show impression.
And Sony target is to sell games, it doesn't sell show.

Sure they could shadow drop a GOTY contender.

However your second point is irrelevant. The show could be just trailers with no fluff. Same for the Xbox one. The meat and potatoes if you will. Issue is the Sony one had no meat and all potatoes. Xbox had mostly meat.

Sony needed more game play and far less games set for 2026. Plus the mgs trailer was a wasted slot since it had already come out a few days prior.

I don’t think you see the content of what was shown was trash so there’s no convincing you. If a days gone ps5 remaster with no plans for a days gone 2 is exciting to you… then you are likely on boot licker territory.

 

[Felessan]

Imo the bar in the fucking basement if we are happy with sonys offerings.

I'm happy with future games lineup available on playstation.
For me it's not really important whether game is 1st party or not, I leave this for forum warriors.
And Sony do put a lot of efforts so their lineup, 1st and 3rd party, is excellent.

 

[sainraja]

Third party never was explicitly stated as the premise of State of Play.

This is from direct from Sony's website:

I am all happy with the third-party announcements (especially tides of annihilation), while let down by lack of first-party announcements (I didn't expect anything Bloodborne at all, but at least announce GoW Greek Saga), I am sure you can and will understand the nuance here.

Third-party games are part of the "world of PlayStation" though... so

EDIT
They might need to do more to set expectations, so they might want to work on that.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Way too much hate considering the amount of content.

I think next time they should just pick out their best 3 games, show them, and put the rest out as trailers. I think the Internet reaction would be better. It's like people hated it because there were too many AA games, but it is crazy to hate any platform due to too many games. They weren't even bad games just now Bloodborne, and that is all that was needed to hate.

MS recently did one and that is what they did. 3 big games(2 of them good) and people went wild.

 

[TropicanaTwista]

I sort of agree with Colin. I truly don't know what people want. I do feel like they just want to bitch about any and everything. They have announced 4 first party games in the last 9 months. Really don't know how much more to expect here, especially with 2 of them being brand new IPs.

Slight pushback that this was their best SOP. I thought it was solid but their last couple of SOPs have been pretty good. The quality of these shows have greatly improved since late 23 early 24 imo. Announcing things like DS2, another new Kojima game (even if it's gonna probably be a PS6 game), Astro bot, new ghost game etc.

 

[sainraja]

Sure they could shadow drop a GOTY contender.

However your second point is irrelevant. The show could be just trailers with no fluff. Same for the Xbox one. The meat and potatoes if you will. Issue is the Sony one had no meat and all potatoes. Xbox had mostly meat.

Sony needed more game play and far less games set for 2026. Plus the mgs trailer was a wasted slot since it had already come out a few days prior.

I don’t think you see the content of what was shown was trash so there’s no convincing you. If a days gone ps5 remaster with no plans for a days gone 2 is exciting to you… then you are likely on boot licker territory.

The criteria by which people judge these shows changes on a rolling basis though... no show will 100% satisfy everyone. I have seen people complain about things being shown too early, people asking for teasers without gameplay just so they know what is coming, and people complaining when they wait to announce things when they are close to ready... so

EDIT
I didn't watch the show, just read up on it. The only new game that I am interested in is Saros. Regardless, people have always expected a lot more than what is usually presented.

 

[Dorago]

Maybe if they'd shown one single exciting game there wouldn't be any negativity.

It's obvious that since most of their GAAS projects bombed out that Sony has nothing else in the pipeline.

Seven games cancelled, one released then withdrawn within a week, and one a good success.

Helldivers alone is not going to keep Sony afloat, especially since the three months of excitement about that game have come and went.

What are we supposed to play on this thing now, GTA VI which might not even be released this year?

 

[Felessan]

I don’t think you see the content of what was shown was trash so there’s no convincing you. If a days gone ps5 remaster with no plans for a days gone 2 is exciting to you… then you are likely on boot licker territory.

Of course I don't see - it's SoP. And I am not a brain dead astroturfer to expect 2 hours long show with tons of gameplay of 1st party, ending with Bloodborne remake announcement.
It's still was a solid show with some pleasant surprises, lots of updates of games and some new ones. Exactly the show I would like to see as midcore gamers who doesn't sleep on forum/news site and want to see updates across ~wide~ spectrum of games on my platform.
And Sony has different type of SoP for getting into details of gameplay of particular titles soon to be released, so I have zero problem with just trailers SoPs.

As for MGS Delta - it's another astroturfing. Except forum bubble lunatics, who care if it was shown or not some days prior, SoP (even SoP) is a completely different event in terms of mass market reach

 

[Chuck Berry]

Oh fuck off, Colin

I've been watching these for years, and this State of Play was indeed one of the worst.

Returnal was niche, and I doubt Soros will hit big numbers (I loved Returnal).

The other 1st part announcement was freaking Days Gone Remastered.

Sony is relying too much on 3rd party lately

 

[Pedro Motta]

Oh fuck off, Colin

I've been watching these for years, and this State of Play was indeed one of the worst.

Returnal was niche, and I doubt Soros will hit big numbers (I loved Returnal).

The other 1st part announcement was freaking Days Gone Remastered.

Sony is relying too much on 3rd party lately

You know that third party is like 95% of their game catalog right?

 

[DeepEnigma]

It’s subjective. Colin isn’t an authority on this.

Nobody is, because at the end of the day, it's all subjective, tribal, and gamers being gamers.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Excusing this shit or trying to blame the internet or gamers is donkey shit especially since most thought the previous Xbox showcase was an A or B awesome time of reveals.

Why was the Xbox showcase an A or B? Why was the SoP shit? Objectively both cannot be true at the same time

The SoP had more surprises, more new IP, and a lot more games overall

 

[DeepEnigma]

This should be posted in every single company showcases going forward. Gaslight the world !!

 

[Arsic]

Why was the Xbox showcase an A or B? Why was the SoP shit? Objectively both cannot be true at the same time

The SoP had more surprises, more new IP, and a lot more games overall

It didnt waste time or set up false expectations. Quick , focused, gameplay first, and release dates for this year.

I felt my time was respected, and sold me on games.

SOP like I keep saying had little gameplay, games for 2026 were too many, and I didn’t walk away wanting anything day one. I felt like my time wasn’t respected at all.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

All that State of Play showed me was that AAA games are mostly not for me anymore. They showed very little that looked interesting or even fun.

The only remotely interesting looking game to me was that weird fever dream looking Tim Burton esque looking title that can be played in VR. Most of the other stuff looked almost identical to me.

Indie and AA games are where it's at for me now and that's fine, they cost less and usually aren't bloated 50+ hour checklists.

Wake me up when they announce something that isn't an action RPG or a fucking souls like.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

You included multiple games that have already been revealed, multiple sequels and yearly sports franchise, but I'm the one that doesn't know what cookie cutter means....

How is that better than:
Tides of Annihilation
Saros
Mind's Eye
Hell is Us
New Onimusha
And more

Maybe you fundamentally misunderstood what i meant. What I meant was if they hadn't revealed these games earlier.

 

[fart town usa]

Seemed fine but I clicked through it. Sony first party is still a dumpster fire IMO. I guess its fair to be disappointed if you watch SOP for Sony Studios, but that's a losing battle in its own right. Like Linus calling out for the Great Pumpkin.

 

[viveks86]

We've seen that individually the games at the State of Play were positively received.

I think the problem with the perception around the State of Play itself is more nuanced than someone like Colin can comprehend.

People aren't viewing the SoP in a vacuum. People didn't want a SoP to begin with, they wanted a showcase. So when you're already disappointed from the get go, it's not likely you'll go up from there.

Sony has a presentation problem more than anything else. They aren't doing a good enough job curating the games they're showing. If I were to show anyone 40 games, the majority of people aren't going to be interested in more than 5 or 6 games. So watching a show filled with games you're not interested in only to end the show with a CG trailer showing no gameplay... yeah, that's not a great way to end a show.

The Day's Gone Remaster didn't help the narrative either, though Sony has always done remasters.

Sony has a perception problem and that's not a hot take to point that out.

This!

It's like the NBA All-Star game with Kevin Hart actively shitting on the game because big men are shooting 3s. People watching aren't going to perceive that well, especially if they miss a bunch in a row right after he says that.

Eh? So the people watching in this case are the gamers. The NBA game is the SoP. Who is Kevin Hart in this analogy?

 

[Fbh]

Why was the Xbox showcase an A or B? Why was the SoP shit? Objectively both cannot be true at the same time

The SoP had more surprises, more new IP, and a lot more games overall

I think this is fair point. But I also think it's an example that how you show stuff is often as important as what you show.
If they had trimmed the fat, presented a more curated number of titles focusing on what's new, and hyped up the first party stuff they DO have coming this year, I think the overall reception would have been quite different.

Like if it had been:

- Ghost of Yotei: New trailer with a heavier gameplay focus. We then get the director briefly talking a bit about the game and how it improves upon the first one.
- Onimusha gameplay reveal
- Metal Gear 3 trailer with date reveal
- Dreams of another reveal
- Tides of Annihilation reveal: We see the trailer, then a short dev commentary as they show a trimmed down cut of the gameplay footage they released the next day.
- Death Stranding 2: new trailer, Kojima talks a bit about the game and introduces some new gameplay mechanics as we get the first proper uncut gameplay footage. Ends by confirming the release date.
- Digimon reveal
- Lost Soul aside trailer with date reveal
- Minds Eye reveal
- That Warriors rouge lite shadow drop
- Darwins Paradox Reveal
- Metal Eden Reveal
- Lies of P DLC Reveal
- Saros reveal in the same style as Ninja Gaiden 4, with a trailer that mixes cinematics and gameplay, then goes on to show the devs talking about the game for a bit.

Or something like that, I think people wouldn't have been so down on it.

 

[HogIsland]

It still feels like this generation barely started, 4 years in.

 

[MiguelItUp]

That's fine for him to say, it's his opinion, but I do think saying it was "one of the best (if not one of the best) state of plays" is a bit much. I didn't think it was god awful, but I also didn't think it was deserving of calling it "best" by any means. I don't think that's some outrageous opinion.

I know a LOT of people have insane expectations these days, and it's crazy. But I still think it's totally fine to say when something is mid, lol.

 

[Soren01]

Who dis?

 

[Mibu no ookami]

This!


Eh? So the people watching in this case are the gamers. The NBA game is the SoP. Who is Kevin Hart in this analogy?

Influencers, streamers, gaming media...

 

[fart town usa]

I like the company and crew Colin has established with LSM.

Colin and his rants on why people don’t agree with him have become tiresome. He makes a show for his audience and should just focus on his audience. He’s a niche for the greater PS audience.

In this recent episode he is gloating on Sony’s PS5 sales milestone, but goes really hard on the opinions of the cesspool that is today’s video game social media crowd.

Dude really needs to focus on the product that is SS and stay away from noise that really brings no insight to the video game industry.

He’ll never catch a glimpse of this post because the people of NeoGAF were not nice to him. :’(

It's why I don't watch him. I like Colin but whenever I happen to watch, he's going on about being blacklisted by Sony, etc. I don't care because its played to death and it seems weird cause he's such a hardcore lolbertarian, etc. Like oil and water. Either whine and embrace it, or be the stoic/thoughtful commentator. Having both at various times doesn't lend well to casual viewers.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I think people also underestimate the actual pacing and crafting of the show itself. Xbox dev directs are their highest budget shows. They shoot on location at the studios featured, with interviews and professional film quality shots mixed in with a good amount of gameplay and gameplay explanation.

All to hide the fact that their output is mediocre.

All smoke and mirrors.

 

[Fabieter]

I'm happy with future games lineup available on playstation.
For me it's not really important whether game is 1st party or not, I leave this for forum warriors.
And Sony do put a lot of efforts so their lineup, 1st and 3rd party, is excellent.

That's fair to each their own. Imo it's a big step down over previous generations.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

It didnt waste time or set up false expectations. Quick , focused, gameplay first, and release dates for this year.

I felt my time was respected, and sold me on games.

SOP like I keep saying had little gameplay, games for 2026 were too many, and I didn’t walk away wanting anything day one. I felt like my time wasn’t respected at all.

Plenty of games are releasing in the fall of this year were shown.

Nothing you want to buy? Very odd take, they showed plenty of awesome games from Shinobi, Onimusha, MGS3, Saros, etc

None if these are day 1?