September 15th 2023.
The latest State of Play from Sony was met with disappointment from readers of the Friday letters page. Sony has been warned about this issue for a long time, yet nothing has been done to address it.
It seems like Sony has been asleep at the wheel and are no longer interested in providing their customers with quality content. This is even more baffling when considering how well the PlayStation 5 is performing.
It was a huge mistake to start the showcase with the game “Baby Steps”, a game which looks significantly worse than the Lord of the Rings: Gollum. It’s clear that Sony’s marketing department is not up to scratch, and is making decisions that are more fitting of Microsoft.
The Nintendo Direct was in stark contrast to Sony’s State of Play, with many more exciting games being announced for the Switch, despite it being in its last days. It’s quite clear that Sony has no idea what they’re doing, and the lack of new first-party games for the PlayStation 5 is concerning.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Spider-Man 2 have saved the show, but a year from now, what will Sony have to offer? It’s hard to tell at this point, but it doesn’t look like they have much in the pipeline.
Square Enix’s recent situation has been concerning, and it has been suggested that a buyout is in order. However, it’s not clear if this would be beneficial, as the company has struggled to produce quality content in recent years.
The departure of the Star Wars Jedi director is also alarming. It’s understandable why he might have left, considering that he has been at Respawn for almost a decade, but it’s a shame for fans of the series.
It appears that Sony is no longer interested in providing their customers with quality content, and it’s concerning to see the lack of new first-party games for the PlayStation 5. It’s unclear what the future holds for Sony, but it’s clear that they need to step up their efforts if they want to continue to be a leader in the gaming industry.
Baby Steps – What a way to kick things off
The Friday letters page is unimpressed by the latest State of Play from Sony. One reader worries about the third Star Wars Jedi game, and rightfully so. It was a confusing mess with few games that seemed worth the wait.
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Korey says, "Nothing again. I know we were warned but just what is going on with Sony and their State of Plays? I don’t know what the point of the one on Thursday was supposed to be but all it did for me was confirm that Sony is asleep at the wheel and just do not care about anything anymore. It’s like they’ve given up and yet the PlayStation 5 is still selling amazingly well. I just can’t even begin to understand what they’re doing and I know it’s pointless asking anyone else because no one does."
It's true that Sony seems to be in a state of disarray. What made matters worse is that the event was held on the same day as the Nintendo Direct, a showcase that was far superior in terms of game offerings and presentation. Nintendo's Switch is in its last days and yet they're still managing to put together an impressive line-up. On the other hand, Sony had nothing to show for it.
Shahzaib Sadiq chimes in with, "Final year. I thought that was an excellent Nintendo Direct. I know a lot of the games were remasters or remakes but the Switch 2 is probably going to be out by this time next year, or close to it, so in that sense I think Nintendo had a lot more than I would have expected. Very happy to see Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, although the first Paper Mario was very good too, so I don’t know why they haven’t remastered that as well, since there’s now going to be a gap between Super Mario RPG and the second Paper Mario."
It's impressive to see that Nintendo is still able to pull off a strong line-up despite the Switch's impending retirement. There's still the mystery surrounding Princess Peach: Showtime! and whether that will be the last big-budget original for the Switch. It will all depend on whether Metroid Prime 4 is cross-gen or Switch 2 only.
Grant follows up with, "Easy mode. I bought Final Fantasy 16 over the weekend, on a whim, and have been enjoying the story and the Game Of Throne-iness of it all. I really enjoy the history lessons you can get in-game and learning more about the world and timeline! What I can’t stand are the completely pointless battles. It’s way too easy! I literally just work through all of my special moves in each fight, and I’m guaranteed to have killed all the enemies and taken no hits. The bosses offer a bit more of a challenge but that’s just because they are so spongy."
It's always a bummer when great stories are ruined by a lack of difficulty. Even more so when the game mechanics are so simple that it's almost impossible to fail. It's a good thing that the bosses are more challenging but there really needs to be more of a challenge for the regular fights.
TommyFatFingers says, "Not too big to fail. I don’t know how I feel about the idea of Square Enix getting bought out by someone else but I’ll be honest, I haven’t enjoyed anything they’ve done, except for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, for a very long time. I don’t know if it’s a buyout that’s needed but something needs to be shaken up."
It's true that Square Enix needs a shake-up. It's not that their games are bad, it's just that they haven't been able to keep up with the times. There's a chance that a buyout could help them but it all depends on who's buying them out. Sony, Microsoft, and other big companies have a chance to save the company, but it's hard to tell if they'll be successful.
Finally, Dannet adds, "Forced out. I hope the exit of the Star Wars Jedi director will not prevent there from being a third game as not only have I enjoyed them both but there was a big improvement from the first to the second and I was hoping for that again with the next one. Trying to guess why he might have left though I did the maths and realised he’s been at Respawn for nearly a decade and I bet he just didn’t fancy and other five years of the same thing, no matter how much he might have enjoyed it at first."
It's understandable that the director has left Respawn after such a long time. But for those who are looking forward to the third Star Wars Jedi game, it's a bit of a disappointment. It's possible that someone else will take the helm and finish the project, but it will take some time. And with the way games tend to take longer and longer to make, it's likely that the developers will only be able to make one game before they retire.
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