The Tuesday letters page is pleased that Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom has a female director, as one reader is appalled at the cost of the PS5 Pro bundle.
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Low expectations
So, once again all the rumours were true, and we’ve got a State of Play going out at 11pm on Tuesday. (11pm on a Tuesday… thanks Sony, really thinking of your international customers there.) Thing is though, I’m not sure why we’re looking forward to it? The chances of any major first party announcement, beyond some boring remasters, seems practically nil and while I guess Capcom might announce Resident Evil 9 I’d save it to The Game Awards, when more people are watching.
Sony has ruined the concept of the State of Play this year. It’s not even that they’re all boring but that the ones that are supposed to be good, like the reveal of Concord, are the worst! I blame that for the bad reception of Concord more than anything else and to me that’s just more proof that Sony has no idea how to talk to its fans anymore or has any idea what they want.
I hope there’s something good revealed tonight but I’m not going to ruin my beauty sleep finding out. I’ll just read about it in the morning and be absolutely unsurprised when it’s yet another nothing burger.
Standard
Get on with it
That’s cool to know that the new Zelda will be directed by a woman. I wouldn’t have expected that from Nintendo, especially when there are so few famous female game creators. Once again, we see Nintendo quietly getting on with business, pushing boundaries, at the same time as Sony and Microsoft just seem to be all talk and no action.
I also notice that Digital Foundry thinks the Switch 2 leaked images are real. I think it was pretty obvious that the photos, of the Joy-Cons and motherboard were real so I guess that means the Switch 2 really is… a Switch 2. That is, the same basic idea but seven years on.
That’s exactly what I want from the new hardware. I agree that there is a danger that ordinary punters won’t recognise the difference but that’s purely a question of marketing. Nintendo got it badly wrong with Wii U and right with the original Switch. We’ll see which it is for this one soon enough but I can’t believe they’ll mess things up any worse than their competitors have recently.
Zeiss
Comfort purchase
I realise people are free to do whatever they want with their money but a grand on a PS5 Pro bundle, just to have it be the same ugly grey colour as the original PlayStation? Sometimes I think I’m the only person in the country who doesn’t haven’t stacks of disposable currency just sitting around.
If you ask me Sony are out of control. I don’t know what this State of Play tonight is going to talk about but I bet it’s going to be nothing interesting and certainly nothing cheap. I’ll laugh my head off it’s the return of Concord. I really wouldn’t be surprised if Sony tried but I can guarantee that people are going to rip them apart if they do.
I feel so cynical towards Sony right now I think I might get Astro Bot just to remind myself that they can still be good, especially if it’s filled with nods to their older games. Or will that just be sticking the knife in, showing how far they’ve fallen?
Franky
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Download only
After your great review of Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics I am going to pick it up on physical on Switch in November from the USA, possibly from Amazon or Video Games Plus, as the game is not available in the UK physically on Switch. Do you know if all the games and content will be included on the Switch cartridge? Or will it require a download? If it requires a download I will go for the PlayStation 4 version instead. How much space does a Switch cart have on it?
I bought Metal Gear Solid: Collection Vol. 1 on Switch but most of the content required a download so I sent it back for a refund and got the PlayStation 5 version as a present for Christmas, as there was more content on the disc but still some to download.
Andrew J.
GC: They haven’t said but Switch cartridges come in various sizes.
Non-zero chance
I can’t agree with Cranston’s predictions of the next gen, at all. If Xbox are claiming ‘the largest technical leap in a console generation’, it isn’t going to be a handheld. That’s not to say they won’t also have a handheld. Sony may do the exact same? But right now, I couldn’t care less about next gen. The current generation barely feels like it’s got going.
I’m more interested in the games which are planned for this generation. Starting with GTA 6, which is top of most gamers’ wanted list. At this point, I feel a huge title like GTA 6 is desperately needed.
What are the chances of a Switch 2 version of GTA 6? It’s not as though they could confirm a version of an unannounced console. Wishful thinking, perhaps. But I’m not ruling it out.
Si
No competition
I see that the reviews for EA Sports FC 25 are all pretty similar, with another good but not great game. I’ll buy it, because what are you going to do, but I do wish there was a proper alternative to EA. After GC’s review, I gave eFootball a go again, but I just can’t get into it. It’s too slow and the animation is terrible. The game overall is not bad but without the official licences it’s just not something I’d spend much time on.
We’ll see what FIFA come up with for their new game. If they have partnered with 2K then I think that has the best chance of beating EA, but they’re clearly going to rush it. They’ve had nowhere near enough time if they’re going to launch next year and then the name will be dirt before they ever have a chance to make it good, just like eFootball.
There’s also UFL, that Cristiano Ronaldo is promoting, but that seems like it’s going to have the same problem. Something like EA Sports FC is so expensive to make it’s basically impossible to compete with, unless you’re going to spend silly amounts of money on it.
EA’s FIFA was outselling Pro Evolution Soccer even when it was by far the better game, so quality hasn’t necessarily got much to do with it. The game just has to be decent and have all the licenses, and EA’s game consistently hit that low bar.
Beaver
Under new management
In response to Liam’s request for arcade tips in Japan. I was in Akihabara in August and, honestly, the arcades there were a little disappointing, unless you are big into Gundam, rhythm games or pachinko.
There is, however, an amazing retro arcade on the top floor of the GiGO 3 building there, that has old school cabinets with Street Fighter 2, The House Of The Dead, OutRun, and things like that. They also have a Star Wars Battle Pod, which is worth a quid of anyone’s money! Here is a link with more details.
Terry
Too good to fail
This stuff coming out about why Concord was such a failure is unreal. Even if the $400 million figure isn’t true, how do you spend eight years making an Overwatch clone? I mean, kudos to whoever at the developer was able to string Sony along for that long, convincing them it was going to be the next Star Wars. I mean, really? Never mind it was clearly copying Guardians Of The Galaxy and couldn’t even get that right.
I read that it was actually the new CEO, Herman Hulst, that was championing the game at Sony, not Jim Ryan, so that’s a great sign for him being the new boss, eh? I imagine he’s the one behind the push for Horizon Zero Dawn at the moment too, since he used to work at Guerilla, so good to know he’s got his priorities right, only thinking of himself and not PlayStation as a whole.
But who knows, really. We’ll probably never find out exactly what’s going on behind the scenes. All we know is that it’s a disaster and Sony are sleepwalking themselves into irrelevance. If Xbox had their wits about them now would be the time to strike, but somehow I doubt Indiana Jones is going to perform the killing blow. Especially if it’s coming to PlayStation anyway.
Gifford
Inbox also-rans
RE: Liam and multiplayer games for a flight. If you have DS consoles then you could fill the time with lots of games like Tetris, Mario Kart, Space Invaders Extreme, 42 All-Time Classics, there are so many to choose from.
Half_empty80
I really don’t understand why PC gamers keep complaining about having to join PSN to play their games. There’s no fee and they very clearly knew about it in advance. Maybe don’t spend £50 on a new game before checking?
Lentin
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