Support NeoGAF

[DrFigs]

I see people just want to be negative. i thought it was pretty good

 

[SteadyEvo]

Scraps of what? The shite they showed? Sony can keep them

Stop it. I know you can’t wait to play Ragnorok and Silent Hill 2. And whatever ND shows 2 years after release.

I’m just fucking with you man. All in good fun

 

[mortal]

With their big studios absent I thought it was respectable. Y’all acting the show was a disgrace I’m disappointed to not hear from them to but their track record is solid. Let them cook And be glad they’re not doing GaaS

Well I went into it with very low expectations, outside of a few titles, it was a C for me at best.
I just can't pin Sony anymore when it comes to getting a proper showcase, they're all over the place. Who knows if we'll even get one this year, wouldn't be the first time they skipped out eniterly.

 

[Clear]

Really liked the look of that Ballad of Antara, excellent art direction and looked technically extremely competent.
Astro Bot looked good too.
Dynasty Warriors looked fun as ever.

Until Dawn & Silent Hill 2 remake both seemed solid, but honestly the big issue for me is they are both remakes and I'm not sure how keen I am to replay stories I already know.

I hope Concord plays really well for the people who like that sort of thing, but damn... is as knock-off Guardians Of The Galaxy be the best creative setup these "veterans" could come up with?

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Souls-likes are now officially my most hated subgenre.
Come back endless, derivative, 16 bit platformers. All is forgiven.

 

[GeorgioCostanzaX]

I’m excited for it but only if it’s on PSVR2 and if there are enough other PSVR2 announcements to warrant my purchasing the hardware. That’s probably NOT happening so I probably won’t be excited.

I stand corrected RIP PSVR2 but this actually looks good. I do wonder if it will be free or $69.99 though?

 

[Spyxos]

Souls-likes are now officially my most hated subgenre.
Come back endless, derivative, 16 bit platformers. All is forgiven.

Whenever I see a new one, I can only roll my eyes.

 

[Quantum253]

Condord risky? thats not what you call a risk. its a trend chaser thats 100% going to flop.

None of that $60 multiplayer-only bullshit....You get full cineamatic stories every week you log in. You'll fall in love with the characters and the developers would request you don't compare to Overwatch.

 

[buenoblue]

Just watched the Astrobot trailer again in 4k. It looks so good. Also downloaded Astros playroom it plays and looks great on my new OLED and Atmos sound system
I miss the days of AAA platform games that play and look amazing

 

[sachos]

Sony have fallen so far when it comes to shows. Compare this shit to their E3 2016 show.

I still watch that show from time to time, the Easy Allies reaction to it makes it even better, so much hype.

 

[Lokaum D+]

I see people just want to be negative. i thought it was pretty good

if u like shit multiplayer, cross dressing, PC announcements, remakes that no one asked for yeah, it was pretty good, if you are a normal person it was at the best mediocre.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Man, I have to say that was pretty weak. If that’s all that PS has for the rest of the year, that is bleak. Where’s the big first-party PS game that’s going to drive PS5 sales this holiday and get people excited? I miss those days. There doesn’t seem to be anything. A 5v5 FPS shooter with tiny little vignettes of story but no actual single player gameplay or levels? Who the hell thinks that’s a good idea? Better yet, who is asking for that product?

Yikes. That was a weak showing just across the board. I hope the Nintendo Direct in a few weeks is better.

 

[demonstr8]

This SOP was not even worth having. Just a joke of a stream. I didn't get hyped for it though so no biggie.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

if u like shit multiplayer, cross dressing, PC announcements, remakes that no one asked for yeah, it was pretty good, if you are a normal person it was at the best mediocre.

I’m usually an easy grade, but yeah that show was a 5/10 at best. Like, what on earth is going on over there

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

I see people just want to be negative. i thought it was pretty good

"want to be"... bruh, my friends and I have been there since PS was a thing. What I wanted, was to see some kind of return to form where PS was showing off new franchises and awesome jrpgs, cool new first party games and the like.

So no, I absolutely didn't "want to" see another fall of one of the main pillars: Nintendo, Sega and now, Sony.

 

[CosmicComet]

Very good State of Play from a 3rd party standpoint.

Highlights:

-MH Wilds was the MVP.

-Where Winds Meet. Was super happy to see this again!

-Ballad of Antara. Amazing artstyle. I'm happy too see more Asian devs bring their vision at a high level.

-Dynasty Warriors Origins. Always up for more of these. Fan of this series for life.

-Path Of Exile 2. Dang that looked good. Normally dont care for Diablo clones (or Diablo itself) but color me intrigued.


Astro Bot I may try when it inevitably comes to the PS Extra catalogue
Definitely ain't buying that but it was charming. Infinity Nikki was charming too I'll admit.

 

[SportsFan581]

Have to watch this tomorrow. I've got to say just reading down the comments without seeing any of it is hilarious. Long live the Gaf.

 

[Effigenius]

It was a terrible state of play outside of Astrobot. But it won’t make a difference to Sonys dominance. If they can steamroll the competition and not release any games, why not just do that?

 

[Clear]

Man, I have to say that was pretty weak. If that’s all that PS has for the rest of the year, that is bleak.

To be honest, I think overall its going to remembered as a very strong year for Playstation, albeit one dominated by partnerships with other publishers and developers.

I mean, objectively this year we've already had Granblue, Stellar Blade, Helldivers 2, FF7r2 and Ronin, so going into a second half with Silent Hill, Until Dawn and Astrobot doesn't seem like an especially weak line-up.

I can see people bitching, but looking at the list of games above makes it seem like a pretty solid mix of old and new IP to me. Objectively, when has Xbox had a year like that, ever?

 

[SportsFan581]

I can see people bitching, but looking at the list of games above makes it seem like a pretty solid mix of old and new IP to me. Objectively, when has Xbox had a year like that, ever?

? I'd say, objectively (LOL), that MS had far stronger 2nd party lineups for most of the early years of the 360.

 

[Jaybe]

Watching it now… who are these characters? Is this the Forspoken one?

 

[Clear]

? I'd say, objectively (LOL), that MS had far stronger 2nd party lineups for most of the early years of the 360.

So for over a decade and a half? And even then there's nothing really comparable in terms of history with the FF7 and Silent Hill franchises and the platform.
Which is why the blase attitude is a bit weird to me; going back to Midgar and Silent Hill and their associated characters ought to be considered more noteworthy than it is on terms of service to the platform fanbase.
I mean, if we all were to rate shows based on which titles matter to each of us individually, wouldn't that mean that the only way one could give high marks is if you liked every franchise and genre?

 

[Ryuji Goda]

Trash

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

No one is excited for it. Even if they say they are.

Never played the VR game but the tech demo is fun. Plus there aren’t exactly a ton of platformers nowadays.

 

[nial]

Watching it now… who are these characters? Is this the Forspoken one?

They're from Concord.

 

[nial]

 

[SportsFan581]

So for over a decade and a half? And even then there's nothing really comparable in terms of history with the FF7 and Silent Hill franchises and the platform.
Which is why the blase attitude is a bit weird to me; going back to Midgar and Silent Hill and their associated characters ought to be considered more noteworthy than it is on terms of service to the platform fanbase.
I mean, if we all were to rate shows based on which titles matter to each of us individually, wouldn't that mean that the only way one could give high marks is if you liked every franchise and genre?

One, there is no such thing as an objective opinion on a video game lineup, period. The only thing that could be objective there is numbers and the lifetime sales numbers on SH are not impressive. Everyone that rates a show is doing that based on their personal feelings about the games presented, yes. If the show features no games that I have interest in, that's a bad show for me. That is in no way objective though.

 

[SportsFan581]

Behemoth and Astrobot looked cool. Astrobot has the looks to be a great platformer, now they just have to provide the difficulty/challenge to make it worth while. If they can nail that aspect as well this could be the first old school "mascot" introduced in a long time.

I guess the Marvel game and the first game there look workable if that is a type of game that you enjoy. Can't say anything stood out as particularly unique about either of those, but maybe the uniqueness doesn't pop well in those trailers.

My most polarizing takeaway from the show is - SH looked like hot garbage in that showing. Yikes. Did they dev that out on a PS3 or what.

 

[Clear]

One, there is no such thing as an objective opinion on a video game lineup, period. The only thing that could be objective there is numbers and the lifetime sales numbers on SH are not impressive. Everyone that rates a show is doing that based on their personal feelings about the games presented, yes. If the show features no games that I have interest in, that's a bad show for me. That is in no way objective though.

Gotta disagree. Personally I have zero interest in a bunch of legendary franchises, but I refrain from trashing them because reality is they undeniably mean a lot to many other people.

If I feel like I'm in the interest group for a thing I will comment because it's within a frame of reference that gives meaning to my criticism.

Dunking on a thing that isn't meant for me seems pretty bad faith.

 

[SportsFan581]

Gotta disagree. Personally I have zero interest in a bunch of legendary franchises, but I refrain from trashing them because reality is they undeniably mean a lot to many other people.

If I feel like I'm in the interest group for a thing I will comment because it's within a frame of reference that gives meaning to my criticism.

Dunking on a thing that isn't meant for me seems pretty bad faith.

That's the thing though, doesn't matter if your view is good/bad faith, holier than thou or humble, it's still just your subjective opinion of art.

 

[Clear]

That's the thing though, doesn't matter if your view is good/bad faith, holier than thou or humble, it's still just your subjective opinion of art.

Subjectivity doesn't imply a complete lack of utility though! Witness statements are compelling enough to be routine forms of evidence in criminal law, despite their known fallibility.
It's simply that they are considered less probable/defensible than scientific or forensic proofs.
So in the context of conversation discussion debate, whatever, the important thing is how convincing the subjective view is. So being able to demonstrate good faith is a very good start, as the opposite should be an an instant dq

 

[MALpractice311]

So I'm finally watching this. Just spitballing my thoughts.

(1) Concord: OverValorWatch! Starring "We have Guardians of the Galaxy at Home"! This SOP has immediately started off on the wrong foot, with more cash grab, cynical, "me too, me too", knockoff bullshit. The only good thing about all these knockoffs is watching them fail and killing the studios responsible. Fuck this shit.

(2) GOWR on PC: I really doubt there's a big audience for GOWR on PC, especially since Ragnarok double-downed on the worst aspects of GOW2018, but good luck, I guess.

(3) Dynasty Warriors Something-Something: For people who like this kind of thing, this is the kind of thing they're going to like. Pass for me though.

(4) Infinity Nikki: Same thoughts as Dynasty Warriors.

(5) Ballad of Antara: Seems to be a Souls-like. I'll keep an eye on it, but I'm not overly excited considering how few Souls-likes are anywhere near as good as Fromsoft's output.

(6) Behemoth: Companies are still supporting PSVR2? Shocking.

(7) Alien - Rogue Incursion: Finally, a some what interesting looking piece of PSVR2 software. Just wish we had more than 30 seconds of footage.

(8) Marvel Rivals: Hasn't there been multiple live service Marvel and DC games that went belly up in the last two to three years? I can't believe they're still trying to make this happen.

(9) Where Winds Meet: So, Chinese Sekiro? I'll keep an eye on it, like Antara.

(10) Until Dawn on PS5 and PC: Yep. That's Until Dawn. I can't imagine that there's anyone that would want to play this that hasn't already.

(11) Path of Exile 2: I suppose if you like Diablo-like games, then this looks pretty good.

(12) Silent Hill 2 Remake: Whoa. This looks like a PS3 game. What the fuck. Who at Sony thought this game was in a good enough state to be featured on an official Sony stream?

(13) Monster Hunter Wilds: Same thoughts as Dynasty Warriors and Infinity Nikki.

(14) Astro Bot: I enjoyed the Astro Bot game that came with my PS5. This looks like a bigger budget, full fledged version of that. I'll play it.


My Final Thoughts:

It was better than the last three or four SOPs, but that's such a low bar. There's nothing here that's screaming to me personally that I need to play. I know POE, Dynasty Warriors, and Monster Hunter have huge fan bases and I'm sure they're excited, but I don't think there was really anything beyond those games to encourage new people to buy PS5s (or PSVR2s), considering we learned recently (if I understood everything correctly) that about half of PSN subscribers are still on PS4 and have yet to upgrade to PS5s.

I really, really, really, REALLY want all of these Overwatch/Valorant knockoffs to bomb left, right, and center and crater those developers. There's literal years of evidence indicating that chasing that GAAS/live service dragon will kill you and yet everyone is still pursuing these losing propositions. The more of these games that tank and kill their studios, the sooner execs will stop forcing devs to make them. Yes, people losing their jobs is painful in short term, but it has to happen for the health of the industry as a whole in the long term. Come at me, bro.

Lastly, is Sony just intent on remaking/remastering all of their PS4 exclusives other than Bloodborne and the Gravity Rush series? What do they have against Japan Studios games? Put those three games on PC and PS5. They don't even need full on re-makes. Just some quick and dirty remasters for some easy money. I have a jailbroken PS4 and things that modders have been able to do working on their own without source code is pretty damn impressive. Just hire them and give them full access. They could have those games running 4k, 120fps in like a week.

 

[adamsapple]

You're not too far off actually.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

People keep forgeting that SH2 remake is not AAA game like Resident Evil 2,3(that one was too short),4. If if costs 30$ i can buy it.

Sorry dog, it's $70. Just wait for a sale.

 

[Bigfroth]

The standouts for me were Astrobot, Monster Hunter, and Path of Exile. Everything else was subpar. Sony's PSVR2 looks like Nintendo's Virtual Boy , it should have been PC-compatible from day one.

 

[thatJohann]

I’m def not regretting selling my PS5 two months ago. The switch is the only console I need at the moment.

 

[Gudji]

Weak sauce. The showcases and SoP have been pretty low quality for a while now - with a few exceptions here and there.

Anyway I think it's because the big hitters are taking too long to make and get to a point they're comfortable with sharing.
Also they seem to have stopped showing games that are too far away like when they announced horizon, GoW, etc.

 

[SportsFan581]

Subjectivity doesn't imply a complete lack of utility though! Witness statements are compelling enough to be routine forms of evidence in criminal law, despite their known fallibility.
It's simply that they are considered less probable/defensible than scientific or forensic proofs.
So in the context of conversation discussion debate, whatever, the important thing is how convincing the subjective view is. So being able to demonstrate good faith is a very good start, as the opposite should be an an instant dq

That's why it's important not to start such a discussion by trying to paint your opinion as an objective truth.

It depends on the subject of the conversation as well. If you are discussing the law, there is room for subjective opinion as far as what you feel constitutes a violation of the law, but also a rigid framework of the law itself underneath. Video games, films, music etc. have no rigid underlying framework in regards to quality or success. Do sales equal success? Does critical reception? ROI? What about longevity? Cult classic status? You could find a game that "won" in at least one of the criteria I mentioned there and still find 30 or 40% of the market that don't agree that the game/film/album/song was "good".

Some people can have a better, maybe more educated, subjective view than others, making them better predictors of market reactions. These are the people that end up at the top of publishing houses like Sony, but even their opinions, though heavily data driven, are still subjective and mistakes still happen.

 

[SportsFan581]

Also they seem to have stopped showing games that are too far away like when they announced horizon, GoW, etc.

This is one of those things that can present as a negative during a slower year but is a long-term win. Announcing games within 12 months of release is the best way IMO.

Sony knows they have the brand strength to ride-out a dry period in the short term.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Astro Bot looks fantastic; like game of the year quality. I'm excited for Monster Hunter but it still looks a little rough which is somewhat expected considering the 2025 release.

Everything else was underwhelming for me.

 

[Clear]

That's why it's important not to start such a discussion by trying to paint your opinion as an objective truth.

Isn't that a bit redundant though?
I mean, do we really need to preface every claim with "in my opinion..." When it should be implicit that any claim made unironically, is most likely their opinion? Because they are saying it!

For me the key is offering some sort of supporting argument or rationale that can be generally understood, so it can be defended as being a valid observation by anyone.
Saying "a feeling I have is" is enough to constitute a subjective opinion, bit its got limited utility and relevance when we're all different!

But if you can evidence or argue it rationally, especially pointing to something that can be empirically rationally argued, then we are crossing the spectrum towards objectivity.

Objectivity/subjectivity is a tendency or slant, not an absolute position. And I find tilting towards objectivity is more useful to more people than the other.

It depends on the subject of the conversation as well. If you are discussing the law, there is room for subjective opinion as far as what you feel constitutes a violation of the law, but also a rigid framework of the law itself underneath. Video games, films, music etc. have no rigid underlying framework in regards to quality or success. Do sales equal success? Does critical reception? ROI? What about longevity? Cult classic status? You could find a game that "won" in at least one of the criteria I mentioned there and still find 30 or 40% of the market that don't agree that the game/film/album/song was "good".

Fair points. What I would say though is that I feel like we should be more careful about invalidating merits. Success in any dimension should be given its due. If something's popular its a "win". If something's unpopular but has things about it that can argued as meritworthy its still a "win".

Some people can have a better, maybe more educated, subjective view than others, making them better predictors of market reactions. These are the people that end up at the top of publishing houses like Sony, but even their opinions, though heavily data driven, are still subjective and mistakes still happen.

Again what's the dimension being judged when defining "better"? If its your job to make money, that bottom-line is your top priority.

Its why there are so many uncreative donkeys in powerful positions within creative businesses!

If GAAS are -by the metrics of the industry- observably hugely popular and profitable its hard to make an objective argument that they shouldn't be at least an area of focus.

 

[SportsFan581]

Again what's the dimension being judged when defining "better"? If its your job to make money, that bottom-line is your top priority.

Better, in that type of role, to me, is just being able to predict market reactions better. A game was green-lit to be awards bait and is, another gets the go ahead for having a lucrative revenue model and plays that out, etc. Those at the top of these companies generally get there by reading the tea leaves well and understanding what is going to click and in what way.

Is it necessary to couch every statement, no. But, I'd avoid making declarations about objectivity when talking about opinions and such.

If GAAS are -by the metrics of the industry- observably hugely popular and profitable its hard to make an objective argument that they shouldn't be at least an area of focus.

Every publisher wants that pot of gold, I don't doubt that they will keep chasing it. At least for a while.

As for downsides, I'd say the success rate on big budget GaaS efforts has been worse than traditional games or at least no better. The market leading games here are extremely entrenched, and by nature of the GaaS element, don't relinquish their mind share easily. I'd say the biggest downside is just the process of conditioning players to spend most of their gaming time on this kind of game to begin with. I don't think the dividends will be there at the end of the line like they have been for traditional IPs that have stood the test of time. We'll see how it plays out.

But, again, there is no doubt there is huge potential to fleece gamers with these things when they hit and that will keep the wheels turning.

 

[Quantum253]

You're not too far off actually.

Whoa, when did YouTube bring back the disklike button? That's a lot of dislikes in such a short amount of time.