• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

PlayStation fans, vote with your wallet.

RyanEvans21

Member
I still don't understand why people like to be scammed, I bought th physical edition on Amazon for 49€ (just arrived ) yet people pays like what? 80? For the digital version.
Standard Digital Edition still cost $60. Digital Deluxe cost you $70 if you want some freebies included..
 

ItJustWorks

Member
^^^ GOTY just dropped and someone's not too happy about it. Seriously, stalker? lol
You ignored all those other titles that released in a year to act as if...stalker was a bad one? You must be young.

You think astrobot is winning GOTY that year? Or even catching a 90 meta? It wouldn't.

Were down bad these days boys. Some of ya'll don't even realize it.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
You ignored all those other titles that released in a year to act as if...stalker was a bad one? You must be young.

You think astrobot is winning GOTY that year? Or even catching a 90 meta? It wouldn't.

Were down bad these days boys. Some of ya'll don't even realize it.
i didn't understand. Astrobot is already at 94 Meta?
 

nial

Gold Member
But stop fooling yourselves. You want Astrobot to succeed because you hope it succeeding means something much bigger will come, and that something doesn’t feature Astrobot.
A lot of people want Astro Bot to succeed because, well, it's Astro Bot. Most of that crowd is generally people disappointed with Sony only focusing on cinematic blockbusters and GAAS (not true, btw, but whatever)
I personally find the 'send a message' thing to be kinda weird, I don't think Sony has exactly anything to learn from here as they've obviously watched closely the development process behind this game. Everything people claim to be a lesson to Sony, they already know it.
Hell, Astrobot would’ve been an 84 in 2017
This is ridiculous, though. And there's practically no way anyone can prove it, heck, no one has even attempted it.
Sales will tell us all, but I'm glad enough that it's charting very well across the board. And Sony is not really the 'VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS NOT MET' publisher people believe it is.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
I made a joke where I said it's similar to when you see a hot chick, and say she's a Miami 7 but a Wisconsin 10.

We get less goty level releases, and less quality releases in recent years

So astro bot is a 2007 84 meta and a 2024 94 meta.
Sorry, but it doesn't make any sense. Games aren't judged or reviewed relative to other games.

And the statement that "Astrobot is a 2007 84 meta" is completely hypothetical and based on assumptions. The same could be said for those 2007 games that they would be a 74 or 82 in 2024, but such a statement would also be equally futile.

The only fact that matters is that Astrobot is a 94 meta right now, and people are loving it.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
What justifies a full price game then? This is the kind of game most should be spending their hard earned on- the game is complete and without any major issues. It’s a joy to play. If the reason you think people won’t spend full price on a game is determined by length, then please tell me why we should pay full price for game like Persona or Final Fantasy which can take upwards of 50, 60 odd hours to complete yet god of war only takes around 15 hours to complete? Last of us the same. Uncharted. Halo. Gears of war. What justifies their high prices when they have a finish time a quarter the time of a persona game…?
It's highly subjective.

Does a game look like something you absolutely want to play? €70, or €80, could be justified.
If it doesn't, then that price would be too high.

If someone else does think a game is worth that price, it's perfectly fine.

How many times don't we see people say that they'll wait for a discount to buy a certain game?
This is no different from that.
 

PeteBull

Member
Who is this "we" people keep talking about in reference to the PS fanbase?

I'm sure the game is enjoyable for those who like platformers and I was on the fence, but the more I see of it, the less I see that justifies the €70 pricetag.
Just dont buy it then, bro, same way u buying that shit concord game copy didnt save it from gargantuan failure, same way u not buying astrobot wont make a difference for its astonishing success, it will easily sell 10m copies ltd anyways :)
I think by now u can tell ur gaming tastes are, to not use different word, very "unique", and so be it, its ur hard earned money, u can spend it on concord, fairgame$ and other shitty products in the gaming industry, as long as big majority of gamers vote with their wallets in completely opposite way to u, it will all work out positively for us :)
 

Paasei

Member
It's highly subjective.

Does a game look like something you absolutely want to play? €70, or €80, could be justified.
If it doesn't, then that price would be too high.

If someone else does think a game is worth that price, it's perfectly fine.

How many times don't we see people say that they'll wait for a discount to buy a certain game?
This is no different from that.
No clue where you buy your games, but this game is €65 at most in NL from your standard retailers.

If a game like Astro Bot is not something you are primarily interested in, then that is totally fine. But the price tag you are on about is weird to me. The only thing I can think of is that you have digital PS5 and can only buy it in the PS Store.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
No clue where you buy your games, but this game is €65 at most in NL from your standard retailers.
It's €69,99 in the Playstation Store.

If a game like Astro Bot is not something you are primarily interested in, then that is totally fine. But the price tag you are on about is weird to me. The only thing I can think of is that you have digital PS5 and can only buy it in the PS Store.
Yes, I have a Digital.
But €65 is still too expensive for a game like this, imo.
That €5 difference is insignificant.
Just dont buy it then, bro, same way u buying that shit concord game copy didnt save it from gargantuan failure, same way u not buying astrobot wont make a difference for its astonishing success, it will easily sell 10m copies ltd anyways :)
I'm not buying it.
No idea what Concord has to do with it, but I'd buy Astro Bot at €40 as well.

Seems like half the standard price is suitable for both games.
It's completely irrelevant to how much of a success it is.
I think by now u can tell ur gaming tastes are, to not use different word, very "unique", and so be it, its ur hard earned money, u can spend it on concord, fairgame$ and other shitty products in the gaming industry, as long as big majority of gamers vote with their wallets in completely opposite way to u, it will all work out positively for us :)

What does FairGame$ have to do with it? I have never said anything about that game at all.

And what are those other shitty products I like?
Games like Shadow of the Colossus, Death Stranding, MGS, FFXIV, TLOU, GOW, Killzone? Those are the kind of games I'm typically drawn to.

The only ones invested in Concord are people like you, who can't seem to move on even though the game already got shut down.
 
Last edited:

PeteBull

Member
The only ones invested in Concord are people like you, who can't seem to move on even though the game already got shut down.
Concord is just top of an iceberg, of new sony's aproach to their first party output, myself just like many longtime sony fans(or u can even say fanboys, im not afraid to admit it, i love majority of sony games way more than i love microsoft or nintedo games) know its do or die now, either they keep on pushing for those terrible(from my pov) games and "oldschool" games like astrobot gonna get left behind/stop being made, or there is hope they change the course- but that is only option if their new strategy fails miserably, just like concord.
 

JusticeForAll

Gold Member
Totally agree with the topic starter. You can't on one side say that you don't want gaas, but on the other not spend your cash when games come out that are the antithesis of those. Put your money where your mouth is.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
Concord is just top of an iceberg, of new sony's aproach to their first party output, myself just like many longtime sony fans(or u can even say fanboys, im not afraid to admit it, i love majority of sony games way more than i love microsoft or nintedo games) know its do or die now, either they keep on pushing for those terrible(from my pov) games and "oldschool" games like astrobot gonna get left behind/stop being made, or there is hope they change the course- but that is only option if their new strategy fails miserably, just like concord.
Who cares, really?
I've been labeled one of the biggest Playstation fanboys on Gaf, I'm just not as hyped for Astro Bot as others.
In fact, over the past ~30 years, I dont even like the majority of Sony's output.

As for sp vs gaas, I'm on neither side of the debate, as I like both equally.
Sometimes a games fails, like Concord, which doesnt bother me since you can just move on and play something else as if nothing ever happened.

And on the subject of Concord, since you keep bringing it up, I only pre-ordered it because at the time I was under the impression that it was required to play the beta and when I realized it wasn't, I couldn't be bothered applying for a refund. Certainly not over €40.
That's the only reason I 'bought' Concord.
 
Last edited:

PeteBull

Member
Who cares, really?
I've been labeled one of the biggest Playstation fanboys on Gaf, I'm just not as hyped for Astro Bot as others.
In fact, over the past ~30 years, I dont even like the majority of Sony's output.

As for sp vs gaas, I'm on neither side of the debate, as I like both equally.
Sometimes a games fails, like Concord, which doesnt bother me since you can just move on and play something else as if nothing ever happened.

And on the subject of Concord, since you keep bringing it up, I only pre-ordered it because at the time I was under the impression that it was required to play the beta and when I realized it wasn't, I couldn't be bothered applying for a refund. Certainly not over €40.
That's the only reason I 'bought' Concord.
Its fine if u buy or not buy particular games, its ur money, bro, we arent resetera to guilt trip ppl for buying or not buying shit, just saying many of us have different aproach than u, we care for "oldschool" sony games, not for those new artrocities current sony is promoting, so for us its either- our fav company/its games gonna be done, or its back to old good times.

We all saw how microsoft ended up already, from having amazing portofilio like gears/early halo and high quality forza horizon on top of many exclusive japanese games(og xbox and x360 era) to what it is now- useless hardware w/o even 1 proper exclusive.
We simply dont want sony to go same path.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
Its fine if u buy or not buy particular games, its ur money, bro, we arent resetera to guilt trip ppl for buying or not buying shit
Funny, because you literally did just that.
, just saying many of us have different aproach than u, we care for "oldschool" sony games, not for those new artrocities current sony is promoting, so for us its either- our fav company/its games gonna be done, or its back to old good times.
Yeah, I know. I also realize that it seems that lots of regulars on here are 50+, so that might explain a lot.
Especially since Astro Bot has a high nostalgia factor.

Which is fine btw.

Also, why do some of you act like I'm against singleplayer games or whatever?

I literally just stated that I am not in favor of either sp or gaas. I like em both. I see everything as adding to PS portfolio, so having a broader and larger library to pick from.
Taking a stance against this seems counterproductive at best.
We all saw how microsoft ended up already, from having amazing portofilio like gears/early halo and high quality forza horizon on top of many exclusive japanese games(og xbox and x360 era) to what it is now- useless hardware w/o even 1 proper exclusive.
We simply dont want sony to go same path.
Sony won't go the same path. I think people should stop projecting MS' issues onto Sony, because that's the underlying issue with a lot of heated debates this year.
 
Last edited:

Zathalus

Member
I preordered the Digital Deluxe version, bought the controller as well. When it comes to PC I’ll order the deluxe version of that as well.
 

SNPlayen

Member
I did my part. I haven’t played yet but my daughter has been playing all day, I have been hearing laughs of joy all day. Can’t wait to play myself
 

MacReady13

Member
It's highly subjective.

Does a game look like something you absolutely want to play? €70, or €80, could be justified.
If it doesn't, then that price would be too high.

If someone else does think a game is worth that price, it's perfectly fine.

How many times don't we see people say that they'll wait for a discount to buy a certain game?
This is no different from that.
No this game is different from that. It’s firstly a well made, quality product that is highly rated and loved by pretty much everyone who is playing it.

Secondly, it has a great length for a 3d platformer with plenty of secrets and a good challenge.

It easily justifies its price and I’m a proud owner of the game. Wanna support this kind of top quality product, don’t be a fool and buy this game. It’s worth every cent you pay for it.
 
As a PlayStation only gamer who engages very little with multiplayer and craves worthwhile, single player experiences...

I'm not buying Astro Bot anytime soon.

I have nothing inherently against this game. It looks fun. It looks pretty. It looks like it takes good advantage of the PS5 and will respect me as a gamer.

But in the current economy where every penny counts and I have to think very hard about paying full price for a game because I only make 20K a year and that money has to cover a lot of stuff...I can't in good faith justify $60 for this title.

The long and short of it is, I don't think that I'll get enough value out of it. I'd probably buy it if it were $30. But $60 is just out of the question. I'll get this game on a good sale, or eventually when it comes to PS+ since I am subbed to Premium on that through 2026 (got a great conversion deal some time back).

I want games like Astro Bot to exist. But I don't think this title has enough raw value for me. If it were a game that played a long time, like say The Last Of Us or Marvel's Spider-Man or Ghost Of Tsushima, I'd be all over it. Astro Bot needn't have some huge narrative with tons of backstory to increase its value like the games I mentioned, but I'd like it to have more content than it appears to have.

I feel most mainstream gamers to feel the same, and for Astro Bot to very quickly become "the best game no one is playing". I lamented this earlier this year when I bought Alone In The Dark (2024) at full price knowing it was doomed and would rapidly drop in price. But I've done my charity for this year.

I'd like Sony to steer away from their live service push, and I hope that the epic disaster that was Concord pushes them in that direction. But it's not my responsibility to get them to change their ways. I've already voted for my wallet with live service atrocities by not purchasing the ones that are sold and refusing to engage with the ones that are f2p. I don't feel my spending $60 on Astro Bot is going to make Sony suddenly go. "I understand now. SP is the way!" In fact, I'm quite sure that any positive impact the game has to Sony's finances will be considered a fluke. After all, Hogwart's Legacy was effectively a license to print money for WBD, but they still ran after the live service pipe dream and if the stories are true are designing HL's sequel as a live service. If an IP as large as Harry Potter selling gangbusters as an SP only title can't convince a massive corporation that SP is the way to go, I don't see how a much smaller and niche IP like Astro Bot will have more than a trivial impact on Sony's trajectory.

I hope that people purchase Astro Bot and enjoy it. And when it's price is halved, I intend to as well. But until then, I'm voting with my wallet by hoarding my money.
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Games aren't judged or reviewed relative to other games.
Eh? They are, always have been, and always will be. Just like every other product.
Expressions such as “Mario-like” and “Souls-like” exist precisely because there’s some reference products that every other product is going to be compared to. Tons of games have been scored average with comments such as, “Yeah, it’s fine, but it’s no Mario / Zelda / GTA / DMC etc”. In another thread, people are saying that the new Astrobot is Sony’s Mario. But sure, games aren’t judged or reviewed relative to other games… The PS5’s dry spell plus the Concord disaster really did a number on some of you.
 
Something I failed to mention in my prior post, another issue that I feel will plague Astro Bot--and it has certainly had this effect on me--is that the last title in the series, Astro's Playroom, was a digital pack in title given away for free with every PS5. I had a fabulous time with that game and unlocked every trophy it had to offer, seeing everything that there was to see. I'm glad that I spent a few days completing it.

But it certainly was not worth $60 or $70 in my book. I wouldn't have bought the game at that price. And now that Sony has given me the title for free right at its launch, they've taught me, and likely more mainstream gamers as well, that Astro Bot titles are not worth a $60 or $70 investment. I'd buy it at $30...in a good month, I might even go $40. But $60 and up is a non-starter for me. Sony set a precedent for me that the series is worth less than its other titles, so now I see it in my mind as a budget series, not a full price one.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Eh? They are, always have been, and always will be. Just like every other product.
Expressions such as “Mario-like” and “Souls-like” exist precisely because there’s some reference products that every other product is going to be compared to. Tons of games have been scored average with comments such as, “Yeah, it’s fine, but it’s no Mario / Zelda / GTA / DMC etc”. In another thread, people are saying that the new Astrobot is Sony’s Mario. But sure, games aren’t judged or reviewed relative to other games…
No, they are not. You're confusing descriptions with review scores.

Reviewers say, "This game is Souls-like," because that helps them explain what the game is and plays like.

If games were reviewed in relative to each others' scores, in what world Halo Infinite could have a higher score than Returnal.
The PS5’s dry spell plus the Concord disaster really did a number on some of you.
lol, this is absolutely hilarious. None of us was rooting for Concord. Most of us already said it's gonna be a failure.

And PS5 had a stellar year. They have 8 PS Studios games this year, in addition to 4+ very high-quality / highly demanded third-party console exclusive games. Out of these 12 games, at least 3 would be GOTY nominations.

If that's what you call a "dry spell," then I wonder what you would say of other console platforms.
 

MikeM

Gold Member
As a PlayStation only gamer who engages very little with multiplayer and craves worthwhile, single player experiences...

I'm not buying Astro Bot anytime soon.

I have nothing inherently against this game. It looks fun. It looks pretty. It looks like it takes good advantage of the PS5 and will respect me as a gamer.

But in the current economy where every penny counts and I have to think very hard about paying full price for a game because I only make 20K a year and that money has to cover a lot of stuff...I can't in good faith justify $60 for this title.

The long and short of it is, I don't think that I'll get enough value out of it. I'd probably buy it if it were $30. But $60 is just out of the question. I'll get this game on a good sale, or eventually when it comes to PS+ since I am subbed to Premium on that through 2026 (got a great conversion deal some time back).

I want games like Astro Bot to exist. But I don't think this title has enough raw value for me. If it were a game that played a long time, like say The Last Of Us or Marvel's Spider-Man or Ghost Of Tsushima, I'd be all over it. Astro Bot needn't have some huge narrative with tons of backstory to increase its value like the games I mentioned, but I'd like it to have more content than it appears to have.

I feel most mainstream gamers to feel the same, and for Astro Bot to very quickly become "the best game no one is playing". I lamented this earlier this year when I bought Alone In The Dark (2024) at full price knowing it was doomed and would rapidly drop in price. But I've done my charity for this year.

I'd like Sony to steer away from their live service push, and I hope that the epic disaster that was Concord pushes them in that direction. But it's not my responsibility to get them to change their ways. I've already voted for my wallet with live service atrocities by not purchasing the ones that are sold and refusing to engage with the ones that are f2p. I don't feel my spending $60 on Astro Bot is going to make Sony suddenly go. "I understand now. SP is the way!" In fact, I'm quite sure that any positive impact the game has to Sony's finances will be considered a fluke. After all, Hogwart's Legacy was effectively a license to print money for WBD, but they still ran after the live service pipe dream and if the stories are true are designing HL's sequel as a live service. If an IP as large as Harry Potter selling gangbusters as an SP only title can't convince a massive corporation that SP is the way to go, I don't see how a much smaller and niche IP like Astro Bot will have more than a trivial impact on Sony's trajectory.

I hope that people purchase Astro Bot and enjoy it. And when it's price is halved, I intend to as well. But until then, I'm voting with my wallet by hoarding my money.
Im holding off as well. Mainly because I just paid for vacation, my kid’s dance for the year, my dog’s vet bill and now having to pay for flood damage in my basement. Otherwise, i’d get this day 1. For now, i’ll wait for a sale.
 

ItJustWorks

Member
Sorry, but it doesn't make any sense. Games aren't judged or reviewed relative to other games.

And the statement that "Astrobot is a 2007 84 meta" is completely hypothetical and based on assumptions. The same could be said for those 2007 games that they would be a 74 or 82 in 2024, but such a statement would also be equally futile.

The only fact that matters is that Astrobot is a 94 meta right now, and people are loving it.
It's a joke. But there are others that agreed and understood just fine what I meant. But for arguments sake, you speak as if we can't play those games today.

You can play Mario galaxy today and astro bot today and determine which is better. (Not sure astro robot wins that). Same thing can apply to games older than 2007. We can still play all these games and compare lol. I do it all the time. But I see many like to forget because...

Their brain wants to think because something is new...its better. Yet how many times have many on this forum and gaming media complained about the contrary in 2024? That games have gotten... worse? Or lack ambition and creativity due to late stage capitalism?

Also, what's important in this factor is the sheer volume of high level releases in a year versus now. That's an objective fact. When you have a year of 20 ambitious 90+ meta games pushing hardware. And then fast forwarded to today where you have maybe...1? Then an astro bot will be more noticed and highlighted in that year than the year with 20 90+ titles.

It simply wouldn't do as well in a year that Mario galaxy released. Even if you released galaxy today. Point is, there seems to be a resistance from some gamers willing to acknowledge the industry is worse right now, not better. And it affects our standards. I wonder if many of them are younger.
 
Last edited:

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
It's a joke. But there are others that agreed and understood just fine what I meant. But for arguments sake, you speak as if we can't play those games today.

You can play Mario galaxy today and astro bot today and determine which is better. (Not sure astro robot wins that). Same thing can apply to games older than 2007. We can still play all these games and compare lol. I do it all the time. But I see many like to forget because...

Their brain wants to think because something is new...its better. Yet how many times have many on this forum and gaming media complained about the contrary in 2024? That games have gotten... worse? Or lack ambition and creativity due to late stage capitalism?

Also, what's important in this factor is the sheer volume of high level releases in a year versus now. That's an objective fact. When you have a year of 20 ambitious 90+ meta games pushing hardware. And then fast forwarded to today where you have maybe...1? Then an astro bot will be more noticed and highlighted in that year than the year with 20 90+ titles.

It simply wouldn't do as well in a year that Mario galaxy released. Even if you released galaxy today. Point is, there seems to be a resistance from some gamers willing to acknowledge the industry is worse right now, not better. I wonder if they are younger.
IDK man. Each to his own. But I played Super Mario Bros. Wonder (which I rate above Galaxy) and Astrobot in 2024. I would take Astrobot over Wonder any and every day!

Regardless, your comment about assigning it an arbitrary score in an alternate 2007 timeline didn't make any sense (to me, at least).
 

ItJustWorks

Member
IDK man. Each to his own. But I played Super Mario Bros. Wonder (which I rate above Galaxy) and Astrobot in 2024. I would take Astrobot over Wonder any and every day!

Regardless, your comment about assigning it an arbitrary score in an alternate 2007 timeline didn't make any sense (to me, at least).
It's just an opinion at the end of the day. My opinion is, it's a great example of some titles that wouldn't fare as well in a more robust release schedule.

There are some titles I can look at and not say that about, and there are certain titles I feel that way about. It's more a subjective vision thing.

For example, I think say...the witcher 3 could release any time in the past and stand out. But sheer ambition and doing things better than many of it's predecessors is a factor into why I feel that way. Some of these recent games...actually *aren't* doing everything better than their predecessors *to me* and I tend to more so call those titles out a bit that they...lets just say, "benefit" from current times.

Just a fruit for thought, an opinion that seasons the thread a bit.
 

DragonNCM

Member
Game is excellent platformer & I will get it but not for a full price. If it was Elden ring or Last of Us or GOW (adventure AAA game that is 50+ hours) would be in my library already.
I'm kind to old for platformers like this. Cant justify paying full price for games like this.
 
Top Bottom