August 29th 2024.
Are you planning on skipping out on something? The Thursday letters page seems to understand the frustration towards Phil Spencer, as one reader expresses their desire for Capcom Fighting Collection 2 to be available on Xbox. If you want to join in on the conversation, feel free to email us at the provided address.
It looks like there might be a reveal for the PS5 Pro in September, based on all the talk about a new State of Play. If it doesn't get announced next month, then it's unlikely to come out at all this year, which goes against what we've been hearing. As someone who doesn't yet have a PlayStation 5, I'm interested in getting the Pro version, but the price is a major concern. The PS4 Pro was already £110 more than the original, so if the same holds true for the PS5 Pro, that would make it a whopping £560. And let's be real, it will probably be an even bigger increase than that. I'm not sure if I can justify spending that much money. I never thought I would consider skipping a whole generation, but maybe those who say it's better to wait for the PlayStation 6 have a point. Spending all that money and not having any new games to play on it is a major concern for me. I don't want it to turn into another PlayStation VR2 situation.
I have to agree with your review of Concord. It's not a terrible game, but there's nothing memorable about it. After playing as each character in the beta, my interest quickly faded. The problem for Sony, and any company in this position, is deciding whether to abandon the game completely or try to revive it with a revamp and new content. We've seen this happen many times in the past, but I don't see much interest from the majority of players. The number of people playing on Steam is usually around 200, which makes it difficult to find a game when you want one, especially for a multiplayer game.
I'm not surprised that people are getting upset with Phil Spencer. It's not so much what he's saying, but the fact that he keeps changing his story. He never acknowledges it, as if he expects us to forget what he said last time as soon as he replaces it with something new. He should have learned to keep quiet years ago, and then no one would have cared. I have no idea who the bosses of PlayStation and Nintendo are right now, and since they're not constantly putting their foot in their mouth, I probably never will. It's always risky when someone hypes themselves up as a gamer, just like everyone else. But when you combine that with a less-than-trustworthy reputation, I wouldn't be upset if I never heard from him again.
Despite enjoying Persona 5, I haven't been paying much attention to Metaphor: ReFantazio. But after seeing the screenshots in your preview, I have to say they're pretty incredible. The bosses look insane, especially the Hieronymus Bosch one. I've never seen anything like that in a video game, and that's a good thing. It makes me wish other games were more imaginative with their influences. I vaguely remember one of the Mario games having levels based on Van Gogh's artwork, but that's about it. I don't understand why there isn't more classical music in games either, considering it's royalty-free and many people would recognize it. It's used in movies and TV all the time, so why not in games?
After reading the backlash Phil received from his recent tweet, I couldn't help but wonder about his legacy. It's certainly going to be more complicated than Don Mattrick's, with loyal Xbox owners labeling him a traitor while PlayStation 5 owners like myself see him as a hero for saving us from Sony's live service games. I also wonder where Microsoft stands on older Xbox 360 and OG Xbox titles coming to the PlayStation 5. Regardless of what happens, we're rooting for you, Phil.
The news about the behind-the-scenes turmoil at Bungie makes me doubt the developer will last the year. Destiny 2 has already taken a hit in terms of popularity, and I don't see anyone getting excited about their new game, Marathon. From my perspective, there's nothing interesting or exciting about the graphics or concept. While I understand some people hope Concord's failure will lead Sony to give up on live service games, we also have to consider the human cost. Who knows what will happen to the Concord developer, and if Bungie goes under, there will likely be hundreds of layoffs. Not that it's anyone's problem here, but it's a depressing thought. If it were up to me, and I was going to make a second live service game, I wouldn't have made another first-person shooter. There's nothing in Marathon that couldn't be incorporated into Destiny 2 as a new mode. This way, they wouldn't have to worry about launching a whole new game and could potentially bring in new players.
Are you planning on skipping it? I was just reading the letters page on Thursday and it seems like a lot of people are unhappy with Phil Spencer. One reader even mentioned Capcom Fighting Collection 2 and how they hope it will be available on Xbox. If you want to join in on the conversation, you can email them directly.
Speaking of Phil Spencer, it looks like we might be getting a PS5 Pro reveal next month. There's been a lot of talk about a new State of Play, which usually means something big is coming. If it doesn't happen in September, then I doubt we'll see it at all this year. And that's not what we've been hearing.
Personally, I don't have a PlayStation 5 yet, so I'm interested in getting a Pro. However, the price is definitely a concern. The PS4 Pro was £110 more than the original, so if the same applies to the PS5 Pro, it could cost around £560. And let's be real, it will probably be even more expensive than that.
I'm not sure if I can justify spending that much money. It's hard to believe that I'm even considering skipping a whole generation of gaming, but I think those who are saying it's better to wait for the PlayStation 6 might be onto something. Spending all that money and not having any new games to play on it just doesn't seem worth it to me. I don't want to end up in another situation like with PlayStation VR2.
Moving on to a different topic, I completely agree with your review of Concord. It's not a terrible game, but there's nothing particularly memorable about it. I played as each character in the beta and quickly lost interest.
It must be a tough decision for Sony, and any company in a similar position, to decide whether to scrap a game completely or try to revive it with updates and new content. We've seen this happen in the past, but I don't see much interest from players this time. The number of people playing on Steam is usually less than 200, which makes it difficult to find a game when you want to play. That's definitely a problem for a multiplayer game.
It's no surprise to see people getting upset with Phil Spencer. It's not necessarily what he says but the fact that he keeps changing his story. He never acknowledges it either, as if he expects us to forget what he said last time as soon as he says something new.
Honestly, he should have learned to keep quiet years ago and no one would have cared. Can you even name the bosses of PlayStation and Nintendo right now? I certainly can't, and since they're not constantly putting their foot in their mouth, I probably never will.
Hyping yourself up as a gamer, just like everyone else, is a risky move. Add in Phil Spencer's untrustworthy reputation and I wouldn't be upset if we never heard from him again.
Moving on to something more positive, I didn't pay much attention to Metaphor: ReFantazio after playing Persona 5. But after seeing the screenshots in your preview, I'm blown away. The bosses look amazing, especially the Hieronymus Bosch one. I've never seen anything like that in a video game and I love it.
It makes me wish other games were more creative with their influences. I vaguely remember a Mario game having levels based on Van Gogh's artwork, but that's about it. And why don't we see more classical music in games? It's royalty-free and recognizable, and it's used in movies and TV all the time. So why not games?
Reading the backlash Phil received from his recent tweet made me wonder what his legacy will be. It's definitely going to be more complicated than Don Mattrick's. Loyal Xbox fans might see him as a traitor, while PlayStation 5 owners like myself see him as a hero for saving us from Sony's "live service trash." I also wonder how Microsoft feels about their older Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles potentially coming to PlayStation 5.
No matter what happens, I'm rooting for you, Phil.
It's disheartening to hear about the turmoil at Bungie over their game, Marathon. Personally, I don't see the developer lasting much longer. Destiny 2 has already lost some popularity, and I don't see much excitement around Marathon. The graphics and concept don't look interesting or exciting to me.
I understand some people are hopeful that Concord's failure will make Sony give up on live service games. But we also have to consider the human cost. Who knows what will happen to the developers of Concord and Bungie if the company goes under. It's not our problem, but it's still a sad situation. If I were Bungie, I would have made a different type of live service game, not another first-person shooter. There's nothing in Marathon that couldn't have been incorporated into Destiny 2 as a new mode. It would have avoided launching a whole new game and could have brought in some much-needed players to Destiny 2.
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