Popular Post fbdbh Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) I might be alone with this, or there might be others who feel this way (let me know), but I'm starting to feel some kind of weariness around Sony and this generation of PlayStation games in general. First, Sony's been absent, or at least distant for a while, not engaging their community in a meaningful way. They're pulling out of E3, cancelling PSX. Their State of Play is underwhelming. Second, I realized that I'm not enjoying their exclusives either. There's just no diversity there, not the kind I wish to see. The vague genre of "cinematic third person action-adventure" is getting stale and tired, exclusives look more like each other than their own franchises. They're removing gameplay aspects that were unique and fitting to the story, and now every game has the same uniform control scheme and game feel. Basically, I've been playing Ratchet and Clank, The Last of Us, God of War, and on paper they are vastly different genres (a sci-fi platformer, a realist survival horror, a fantasy hack'n'slash), yet I'm going through the same motions, same pacing, same story beats every time. They're different enough so you can target them towards different audiences, but I don't feel any difference anymore. Just think about it, during the PS2 era if you played a Tomb Raider, a God of War, a Resident Evil, a Ratchet and Clank, a Metal Gear Solid 3, just remember how they were nothing like each other. And now they are. In so many ways, that they start losing their identity. Setting, dressing, art direction are there as superficial differences, but gameplay-wise, I've been cleaning so much bullshit from open world maps, I've been running and gunning just to arrive to a seamless transition of a cutscene, so much now that... I'm tired. I'm tired of all. And back to Sony... I feel a lack of innovation, and exciting PS2-PS3 games don't get love (ports, remasters, anything) anymore. Thinking about Resistance and Ratchet again. New IPs are almost nowhere to be found (I mean after Bloodborne and Horizon, I thought there will be more), even third parties are very cautious, and what's worse, Naughty Dog has not produced a new IP for this generation. Let that sink in. There are no more snappy trilogies and fast arriving sequels (say what you want about shallow sequels, but at least we got 3 Resistance, 3 Uncharted, 3 Killzone, etc last gen). Now there are only these big lumbering graphics-vistas that look great, but play shallow and boring and take years to make, but for what? For the same amount of gameplay to be padded out with HBO drama and meaningless collectibles? Eh. (See, Capcom is on fire, on steroids, where's that kind of energy?) Sony also doesn't seem to speed up progress on what the community is craving, the PSN ID change, maybe some kind of backwards compatibility... it's all just meh. Sure, this kind of negativity in me might disappear once news start rolling out about the PS5, but still. Meh. For me, PS4 is getting... really stale and uninteresting, and that's not just a generation-ending feeling, because I'm still finding exciting, diverse and unique stuff on PS3 (not to mention the sadly small, but amazing PS2 section on the store), even if they lack the stark blue skies and stable framerates of the PS4. Starting to gravitate towards Nintendo or whatever. Dunno... how about you? Edited March 26, 2019 by fbdbh 47 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DarkHpokinsn Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 Nah loving everything Sony has been doing. As far as the Exclusives all feeling the same, they really don’t, maybe it’s just you in that case. 66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbdbh Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 2 minutes ago, DarkHpokinsn said: Nah loving everything Sony has been doing. As far as the Exclusives all feeling the same, they really don’t, maybe it’s just you in that case. I only felt this for Ubisoft games for a while, but then after Horizon, I wasn't so sure. Other people made their point about the subject, like Jim Sterling and Bunnyhop, his video on this makes it clearer: 4 minutes ago, NekoRave said: Sony is complacent, they always do this when they feel they don't need to try anymore. Really sad tbh. And when they try something new it's... censorship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post GTA93 Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) Go get a Xbox One, you'll regret instantly that. Seriously I'm tired of these "Sony is doomed" posts, I agree with you on some things (western FP in primis) but your critics are too harsh. Edited March 26, 2019 by GTA93 35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbdbh Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 Just now, GTA93 said: Go get a Xbox One, you'll regret instantly that. Yyyeah, not looking better. Although it has Rare Replay and backwards compatibility (Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey), but that's like a month's worth of interesting material. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHpokinsn Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, NekoRave said: Sony is complacent, they always do this when they feel they don't need to try anymore. Really sad tbh. But they are trying though, Clearly. 6 minutes ago, fbdbh said: I only felt this for Ubisoft games for a while, but then after Horizon, I wasn't so sure. Other people made their point about the subject, like Jim Sterling and Bunnyhop, his video on this makes it clearer: And when they try something new it's... censorship. This “censorship” is so mild I’m not sure it really effects anything. I just disagree on the Exclusives being “the same” cause they just aren’t. Edited March 26, 2019 by DarkHpokinsn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Dauersack Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 I can't complain, not when I see how much my friends on XBox and PC complain about their platforms. The XBox is basically useless at this point and Pc has the ongoing shitshow that is Epic vs Steam, and people on PC are not used to handling this kind of shit. There are enough unique playstation exclusives(for me anyway) if you look a bit further than the most known triple a games. The big ones kinda blend together a bit that is true, but that is more the fault of the industry in general, not Sony specifically. No one wants to take risks anymore, even putting out a single player only experience like God Of War has been described as a "calculated risk" during its release, so they keep using the formula that worked in the past as a foundation and try to build interesting and unique elements around it. Lack of diversity honestly does not bother me too much, as long as I enjoy the thing they keep repeating, but I was a fan of Dynasty Warriors for years so maybe my tolerance for repitition should not be considered the norm. I can see how it affects people who play a lot and mainly want to play exclusive games, then it might get stale a lot quicker if you play games Like The Last Of Us and God Of War back to back, most people had years in between these two great experiences. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladiator995 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I have to admit there has been a large influx of open world sandbox games recently and it is starting to become tiring. I’m having to play more indie games in order to actually get more niche experiences as all the triple AAA titles recently are either third person or sandbox. Can’t companies try and branch out into other directions? But then on the other hand, if people are buying these games constantly then the gaming companies will assume that we want more of the same ? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I need more BIOSHOCK Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I am rather looking forward ot getting Days Gone next month and Dying Light 2 when that lands. This year my main excitement is for the Crash Team Racing remaster! If there really isn't anything that floats your boat like you said PS3 is a great alternative when it comes to discovering many hidden gems you never even knew about. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHpokinsn Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, NekoRave said: You mean like dead ps2 classics project, vita, backwards compatibility and in general laziness? What I'm saying is the truth lol, my perspective is when Sony is at the top them "trying" is marginal effort to make the fanboys happy. But that's just my opinion on them, which is pretty fair. Why would they keep making Vita games if they were a financial failure? They never once said they were gonna do backwards compatibility, they’ve even said it’s impossible for them, Cell processor and all. PS2 classics isn’t really a big deal to begin with. You aren’t entitled or owed anything. Sony is the farthest thing from lazy. Nothing wrong with having fans or as you call them in such a negative way “fanboys”. Edited March 26, 2019 by DarkHpokinsn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Elvick_ Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 Not sure how you could think TLoU, R&C (presumably PS4) and God of War (presumably PS4) feel the same. I could see if it were the various cinematic third person shooters, and maybe give you God of War just due to how the camera is. But even still. Astro Bot wasn't even that long ago, and you didn't even finish Gravity Rush 2 (or play 1) and I didn't see Tearaway Unfolded on your profile either. Games like that don't sell as well, so they don't make them as much. I buy them all, but I'm only one person. I can't change an entire company's behavior with my own purchase. Either buy different things or don't be surprised when the most popular thing is what they make. They're making and funding what sells. Open world games. Third person shooter games with a focus on story. That's what has been working for them. Welcome to business. I still enjoy the games, but I tire of California's idiocy. They shouldn't be the ones talking with Japanese developers releasing games in Japan. That should be SIEJ. Even if Sony is going to be censorous buffoons the least they can do is just give the ruleset to the Japan branch and delegate to them. But I think they'd scoff at that which is why they don't do that. Since it's absurd. It's ridiculous to have Japanese developers have to go through English speakers in California just to get a game released in Japan. All because the company is filled with pearl clutching moral busy bodies. If it isn't AO on the ESRB rating (or equivilents worldwide) leave it alone. I doubt the ESRB would give anything actually illegal anything but an AO rating. If they wouldn't, then just tell them to get with it instead of putting a huge censorous barrier for no reason. But whatever. That and the atrocious UI designers that Sony (and basically every modern company) employs are the only issues I have off the top of my head. 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Angus1343 Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 Your thoughts don't sound like faults of Sony to me, and rather a reflection on the modern gaming industry as it has stood the past few years in the AAA market and with that I agree wholeheartedly. 35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHpokinsn Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, NekoRave said: I mean I beg to differ considering every project they make is either a gimmick half marketed or abandoned, like move, vr, vita, or whatever the fuck. Point is they are complacent compared to efforts they have done in the past which was to compensate for losing the so called console war. They aren't doing anything really worth noting, and you are right nothing is owed hince the complacent laziness of said company. They don't need to do anything, fans would defend or justify literally anything they do or don't do, that's my point lol Guess you haven’t seen the massive amount of push behind PSVR? That’s not an abandoned thing at all. I don’t see said complacencies. I’d say that’s worth nothing. 7 minutes ago, Elvick_ said: Not sure how you could think TLoU, R&C (presumably PS4) and God of War (presumably PS4) feel the same. I could see if it were the various cinematic third person shooters, and maybe give you God of War just due to how the camera is. But even still. Astro Bot wasn't even that long ago, and you didn't even finish Gravity Rush 2 (or play 1) and I didn't see Tearaway Unfolded on your profile either. Games like that don't sell as well, so they don't make them as much. I buy them all, but I'm only one person. I can't change an entire company's behavior with my own purchase. Either buy different things or don't be surprised when the most popular thing is what they make. They're making and funding what sells. Open world games. Third person shooter games with a focus on story. That's what has been working for them. Welcome to business. I still enjoy the games, but I tire of California's idiocy. They shouldn't be the ones talking with Japanese developers releasing games in Japan. That should be SIEJ. Even if Sony is going to be censorous buffoons the least they can do is just give the ruleset to the Japan branch and delegate to them. But I think they'd scoff at that which is why they don't do that. Since it's absurd. It's ridiculous to have Japanese developers have to go through English speakers in California just to get a game released in Japan. All because the company is filled with pearl clutching moral busy bodies. If it isn't AO on the ESRB rating (or equivilents worldwide) leave it alone. I doubt the ESRB would give anything actually illegal anything but an AO rating. If they wouldn't, then just tell them to get with it instead of putting a huge censorous barrier for no reason. But whatever. That and the atrocious UI designers that Sony (and basically every modern company) employs are the only issues I have off the top of my head. Atrocious UI designs? They have some of the best UI these days. Edited March 26, 2019 by DarkHpokinsn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTA93 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 7 minutes ago, Angus1343 said: Your thoughts don't sound like faults of Sony to me, and rather a reflection on the modern gaming industry as it has stood the past few years in the AAA market and with that I agree wholeheartedly. ^ What OP said about Sony could be sadly extended to nowadays market, it's a general problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Babsimabuse Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 If I buy a new car I don´t make the manufacturer responsible for the shitty roads and ugly landscape I travel along 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SkyMason Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 Never been better to play games on PlayStation, there's so much shit (I mean that in all senses of the word) on the market you'd be hard pressed not to find something worthwhile to play. Not all of Sony's exclusives this gen have been for me, but they've all been top quality productions, with a lot of attention and care put into them - and that's more than can be said of the shite that's been put out on xbox the last 5 years. The censorship shit gives me pause for thought, and that can snowball into something much worse, but for the time being it's not making me turn my head elsewhere. I gotta say as well, maybe it's gamers in general that are just getting cynical af as well, everyone's moaning about shit week in, week out these days, instead of just, you know, enjoying their hobby and getting on with it. There's a lot of aggravating shit in this industry, but it's not worth the arseache, and overthinking it all to this extent, it just becomes exhausting. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Happy Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 I would agree that Sony has dropped the ball quite a bit over the second half of this console generation, for a multitude of reasons that are rather hard to explain. 1. Games overall/Exclusives The PS4 probably has the most extensive games library out of the currently relevant consoles. This is obviously a good thing and the main reason why i continue to stick with it. I can’t help but feel that Sony has become rather complacent with this situation and has failed to both attract and support smaller developers in the same way they did earlier in the PS4s life. Clearly Nintendo is doing a much better job on this front, as evidenced by Cuphead and Hollow Knight 2 both coming to that system over the PS4. As far as exclusives go, Sonys focus on highly cinematic AAA games has become somewhat of a meme at this point. I don’t think this is entirely fair but i can’t deny that it has been a pretty long time since i last cared for a truly exclusive PS4 game. 2. Playstation Plus It’s just not enough anymore. I was always a massive defender of PS+ and i still believe that in the 6 games per month era it was an insanely good deal. But now i’m finding it quite difficult to justify paying even a discounted price for the service. 3. The censorship I have yet to be affected by this policy personally, i just dislike it on principle and am afraid to see where it might lead in the future. 4. Marketing As i’ve brought up before, the PS4 has quite a lot of games. Which makes it even more puzzling in my eyes why Sony is insisting on convincing people that it doesn’t. Deciding not do an E3 presentation or a PSX sends a very clear signal that Sony has no plans for the near future and we should not be expecting anything. And while adapting Nintendos Direct format is a great decision it would have helped quite a lot if the first episode had actually shown off anything new outside of VR games which most people won’t have any use for. This would have been an amazing opportunity to show off some of the smaller indie titles coming in the near future and show those developers that Sony actually intends on supporting them and making the PS4 an attractive platform but they did little to nothing. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post fbdbh Posted March 26, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Elvick_ said: and you didn't even finish Gravity Rush 2 (or play 1) It was... so... boring. 35 minutes ago, DarkHpokinsn said: They never once said they were gonna do backwards compatibility PS2 was backwards compatible with PS1 PS3 was backwards compatible with PS1 (some versions with PS2) PS4 did nothing. (Doesn't even play Music CDs anymore :D) It was... kind of a step back. Edited March 26, 2019 by fbdbh 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maaden_Swe Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Why should Naughty Dog do a new ip when they are working on The Last of Us Part 2. For me Sony is doing everything right at the moment and I couldnt be a more happy gamer. Maybe you just are in a period of no hype for gaming, no matter what the companies do. Play Spider-Man for a while, or maybe its gonna feel like God of War to you, I donno ? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post FrenchDevil54 Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 Let's be real, Sony has never been good at making games, but they're good in the game business. I mean even at the time of the Ps1-2 era, the Saturn and Dreamcast were better consoles with more exclusive IPs from Sega (Virtua Fighter, Panzer Dragoon, Sonic, Shining Force, House of the Dead, etc). Sony won this war thanks to some exclusive titles like Final Fantasy, Tekken or Metal Gear Solid, which were not Sony games, but also and foremost thanks to great marketing strategy. After when Microsoft entered the arena, they had to rise up the bar and that's when they develop really good exclusives like Uncharted or God of War. But now, adversity is nowhere to be found: Xbone is agonising and Nintendo exclusives are (oh surprise) Zelda #34, Mario #56, Mario Kart #23, and Splatoon 2. Sony are not even trying anymore because they don't need to to be dominant on the market, which is all that matters to them. As for the new IPs, it's not only Sony, devs now prioritise season passes and crappy dlcs or multiplayer only games rather than being innovative. The whole industry is fucked up if you ask me. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbdbh Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 7 minutes ago, Maaden_Swe said: Why should Naughty Dog do a new ip when they are working on The Last of Us Part 2. They've been doing it for each generation. 4 Crash Bandicoot games for PS1 (various spinoff by others) 4 Jak games for PS2 (various spinoffs by others) 3 Uncharted games for PS3 (various spinoff by others) AND The Last of Us ... another 2 Uncharted games and another Last of Us 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post AJ_Radio Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) Your opening post sums up why I’ve mostly been playing older AAA games and indie games. Games like Axiom Verge, Velocity 2X, Downwell and Rogue Legacy were at least 10 times more engaging and thrilling than anything Sony Computer Entertainment has put out these past two years. When a game that is merely a sliver of a fraction of the budget that was needed to make God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man is somehow more fun, obviously something is wrong. Dead Space 2 was a thrilling platinum when I went for it. There is barely anything this generation that offers that kind of thrill and excitement, apart from indie games and one or two odd AAA games. Marvel’s Spider-Man is just boring and monotone. The open world formula it has has been beaten to death, all the villains are formulaic, the story is nothing special, and Spider-Man isn’t really a guy I care about. What’s so great about this game? The graphics, that’s what it does best. But anybody that knows me knows that I don’t buy a game for it’s graphics, I buy a game for it’s gameplay. Everything else in Marvel’s Spider-Man is just average and mediocre. God of War 2018 was a disappointment when I realized that it was mostly a boring quest to spread some women’s ashes. It lacks the thrill and excitement that the older games had. God of War 3 was a major breakthrough. God of War 2018 is just some boring quest that tries too hard to be open world. The lack of good bosses was another disappointment. In all honesty I will probably have a lot more fun playing Vanquish than I will playing a Sony exclusive that is mostly just a dazzling graphics powerhouse. Your description of the PS2 era is spot on. Metal Gear Solid 2, the original God of War, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill 2, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and Shadow of the Colossus were fucking phenomenal. Nowadays? Let’s get Resident Evil 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, God of War 2018, Assassins Creed Odyssey, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Fallout 76, Battlefield V and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 to copy each other and use the same formulas over and over. Let’s make the games more boring at the cost of making everything more cinematic and full of cutscenes. If you’re tired of Sony’s IPs, play some good indie games like Bastion and niche titles like Yakuza Kiwami. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. Thank you for expressing how I’ve felt for the past year. Edited March 26, 2019 by Spaz 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terra Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I haven't been really invested in a lot of their new IP's. I'm having more fun with older titles and JRPG's and Visual Novels. 2018 for me was the year of Danganronpa and I loved it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowxSakura Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 This generation in general I have not bought nearly as many ps4 games as I did ps3 around the same timeframe. I don't know what it is about the ps4, but most of the games I've played have been really just underwhelming. Not to mention there's just so many ports and remasters. I haven't purchased a single ps4 game since november of last year. Probably why I've been playing more retro games than current stuff, already bought about 15 sega games, and 1 snes game 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefourfoldroot Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Sony have gained fantastic credit from me with the phenomenal PSVR (how much more innovative and risky a proposition could you want?!). They then spunked away all that goodwill by instigating an insulting, puritanical, sexist, and arguably racist, censorship policy. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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