Video games sales are way up now across the board in spite of everything. Even the fading current gen consoles are near selling out constantly. Not everyone has been hit nearly as hard by this pandemic and a good chunk of those lucky enough to be still working are stuck inside or need something to help keep their kids inside, and I expect that bump to continue even several years after a vaccine is widely available, if only because more kids were trained to like video games. Sony reportedly upped their PS5 estimates for this year for good reason.
Video games sales are way up now across the board in spite of everything. Even the fading current gen consoles are near selling out constantly. Not everyone has been hit nearly as hard by this pandemic and a good chunk of those lucky enough to be still working are stuck inside or need something to help keep their kids inside, and I expect that bump to continue even several years after a vaccine is widely available, if only because more kids were trained to like video games. Sony reportedly upped their PS5 estimates for this year for good reason.
There's a difference between buying a game or less expensive console and buying a $600 console that looks 3% better than the one you already have.
also, there's a reason that sales numbers never hit previous generations numbers (generally speaking). Diminishing return at buying something new. Older systems continue to have games made for a good period of time at a reduced price, bigger catalogue, etc. New gens WILL get purchased but i think for "mass consumption" it's a tough sell right now.
i think part of the problem with BC stuff for the playstation is that there are a ton of games that were great during their time, but would just be total ass to play now. early 3d graphics just dont age nearly as well as sprites or 2d games in general. i think that's where a lot of nintendos backwards compatibility strength come from. they pull from the nes, snes, and gameboy, and only port the really popular 3d games like ocarina of time. while i think there are just a few specific early games from playstation and xbox that people would want access to again. being able to play my ps4 games with a SSD will be amazing, but im not going to be too butthurt if i cant play through ps1/2 games. the ones i would want to play (final fantasy) are already ported to a bunch of things already anyway.
i would love a convenient way to play some snes games though without shelling out $200 for a snes classic, or like $400+ for a switch...
Unlike the first set of shaky-ass stuttery 3D games on the Playstation 1, the first Xbox and Playstation 2 with 3D engines translate well-enough to 1080p and even +1080p resolutions, allowing for their typically sub-HD 2D UI elements (this is why Ninja Gaiden Black is fantastic for an almost 15-year-old game). They are by no means perfect, look at Mercenaries or Panzer Dragoon Orta, but imperfect certainly beats "none at all." This the separate of the consideration that most Playstation 2 games, like most Playstation 3 games and most Playstation 4 games and most Super Nintendo games, are not necessarily worth returning to because most games, in general, are not worth returning too. It's the capability of returning to them that is so desirable, especially when reproducing a relatively accurate (or at least passable) SNES experience with virtually every single game on that library is so easy it can be done on your phone.
The same certainly can't be said about PS2 or original Xbox games. That's what makes that feature so valuable.
I agree with this about the PS2 and original Xbox games. The Final Fantasy 12 PS4 release did not really look that different from the original game. I know because I own both and before it was announced had actually started playing through it again on my PS2. Admittedly that was basically at the end of the life cycle and, in my opinion, one it the best looking games on the console but still. While I know it is forbidden to discuss here, the various non hardware based ways to play those games leave a lot to be desired and only work on a small number of games, at least last time I checked. I can't think of any reason, given the hardware disparity, that the ps5 does not have enough power to brute force emulate the average PS2 game. Whether or not Sony wants to invest in designing the software to do so seems much more debatable.
It doesn't sound like it. They got rid of it on PS3 after effectively paying for and launching all the technology....twice. Their solution now, for Playstation 2 games, is PS Now--well, a very limited solution in terms of the library, and the fact that Sony has gone to some efforts to ensure everyone forgot about PS Now, so their solution is actually repackaging PS2 games as PS4-compatible stand-alone titles that you can purchase again, and may be playable of Playstation 5.
There's a reason the conversation over Playstation 5 backwards compatibility support...is 99% about Playstation 4 games (specifically, the most popular ones). And, you know, for "most" people that's enough. "Most" people don't care about backwards compatibility more than momentarily. So it's understandable why Sony only cares about it as far as that 99% is concerned.
I would not at all be surprised if we see Playstation 2 titles that were, with not inconsiderable effort, refinement, and time, made available as PS4 digital titles....end up getting the same treatment on PS5 again. Better than nothing.
Video games sales are way up now across the board in spite of everything. Even the fading current gen consoles are near selling out constantly. Not everyone has been hit nearly as hard by this pandemic and a good chunk of those lucky enough to be still working are stuck inside or need something to help keep their kids inside, and I expect that bump to continue even several years after a vaccine is widely available, if only because more kids were trained to like video games. Sony reportedly upped their PS5 estimates for this year for good reason.
There's a difference between buying a game or less expensive console and buying a $600 console that looks 3% better than the one you already have.
The current $300-$400 consoles are vanishing just fine right now. Its not really about dedicated gamers spending that much more on games, especially with some of them losing income. It's about a bunch of people becoming dedicated gamers because that's one way of coping with 2020.
My reasoning is that its only been like 4 months of people staying at home more. Lots of industries just got put on hold at first but are starting to run dry now and massive layoffs are starting to hit everywhere. At least in the US unemployment benefit increases lapsed and congress is useless. Cases are spiking again around the world and some places are going back into lockdown. I think the 2nd 4 months of this mess are going to be much harder on people than the first 4. People will certainly buy the ps5, but i think a lot of people who got consoles early on are not going to have the cash to splurge on another more expensive console. Especially if the price point is $500+. And poorer families that may have bought their kids a console as their big christmas present may not be able to afford it this year.
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
I mean, they got a console. They don't need another one right now. Not if it's that or eat.
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
+2
Options
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
Yeah, really its hard to say what December will look like here in America. Unemployment and Evictions are still on the rise, Covid still not under control, and our Gov is generally incompetent.
A new console might not be the highest concern for some.
Given the available feature upgrades unique to the Dualshock 5 (HD controller touchpad...) this is pretty understandable, but if you preferred the DS4, this is going to be kind of an annoyance for multiplatform titles (or just games in general) that don't take advantage of said new features.
Given the available feature upgrades unique to the Dualshock 5 (HD controller touchpad...) this is pretty understandable, but if you preferred the DS4, this is going to be kind of an annoyance for multiplatform titles (or just games in general) that don't take advantage of said new features.
I look forward to the Bluetooth dongle that 8bitdo will make that will enable DS4's for use on PS5 games
I still really wish there were a non-Rube Goldberg method to make any Xbox One controller compatible with my Xbox 360, much less my elite controller, but admittedly that's a tech standard from almost 15 years ago that was much more closed by design.
(Also DS4 on PS3 would be nice, considering the DS3 kind of sucks, but my console is dying anyway.)
Given the available feature upgrades unique to the Dualshock 5 (HD controller touchpad...) this is pretty understandable, but if you preferred the DS4, this is going to be kind of an annoyance for multiplatform titles (or just games in general) that don't take advantage of said new features.
Given the amount of third parties that bothered to use the DS4's pad, I'd say this is probably going to be not much of an issue. Lowest common denominator and all.
I think the guitar in The Last of Us 2 is the only time using the DS4 pad hasn't seemed either dumb or like they just needed another button to map. And even there the game could have easily done without it.
Yeah, map or some other sort of menu is the thing I've seen the most frequently, which is fine but always seemed like "Well, we needed a map button and we'd already used the rest of them for other stuff..." to me.
KoopahTroopahThe koopas, the troopas.Philadelphia, PARegistered Userregular
edited August 2020
Ghost uses swipes on the pad for additional hotkeys. Such as putting away your sword or getting the wind to help you towards your objective. I think you also press it to enable your x-ray vision to 'hear' enemies nearby.
I think lots of games used it to open the map, which I actually always appreciated.
The touchpad button effectively became Select, since the Share button wasn't usable as that.
The touchpad itself though, hmm...
Yeah, this is how it's used every time I've played on PS4 (admittedly, I mostly play multiplatform games anyway).
But I'm also one of those old geezers who rolled their eyes at the whole "share button", when it first appeared on the DS4, then when it was announced for the next Xbox gamepads with Series X.
0
Options
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
Ah yes, the share button or "The button I would accidently press thinking it was the select button."
+8
Options
ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
Touch pad beats the hell out of the analog stick for typing though. That alone justifies it being there.
There are better ways to do that though, whether it be the attachable chatpad which is vastly superior to the mediocre on-screen keyboard on the PS4 (but is a separate accessory), or using your Playstation app on your phone as a input device (which is free), than earmarking a large chunk of the gamepad's usable, non-hand-covered surface for a keyboard. People aren't using the their PS4s to answer their email or even browse the internet all that often. The PS4 probably isn't going to the original press of the next great American novel.
A long while back, I was fiddling with a controller, taking it apart and such. Turns out when I put it back together, I missed the one ribbon cable that turns on the touch aspect of the pad. It still worked like a button (because if it didn't, I'd have definitely known something was wrong, as said so many games use it as a defacto select button), just no touch movement. I went like 2 months before I finally noticed. It was a game of Binding of Isaac that finally did it (need to drag the touchpad to view the map).
Just because I'm playing it and notice it, I can tell you AC Odyssey uses the touchpad to move the map around. So does Yakuza 0, which was the primary game I was playing at the time the controller was "broken". Not that you would ever use this over the stick... but I guess it's there.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
0
Options
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
Was there ever a AAA non-Sony game that used the DS4 pad? Other than Hideo Kojima's stuff, of course.
Risk of Rain allows you to use the touchpad as a cursor, like a track pad. It was a nice implementation as theres lots of little upgrade icons on screen, so you can hover your cursor over them for info. Seemed like a logical purpose that doesnt come up enough.
0
Options
reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
In Final Fantasy 14, you can use the touchpad as a mouse substitute.
A long while back, I was fiddling with a controller, taking it apart and such. Turns out when I put it back together, I missed the one ribbon cable that turns on the touch aspect of the pad. It still worked like a button (because if it didn't, I'd have definitely known something was wrong, as said so many games use it as a defacto select button), just no touch movement. I went like 2 months before I finally noticed. It was a game of Binding of Isaac that finally did it (need to drag the touchpad to view the map).
Just because I'm playing it and notice it, I can tell you AC Odyssey uses the touchpad to move the map around. So does Yakuza 0, which was the primary game I was playing at the time the controller was "broken". Not that you would ever use this over the stick... but I guess it's there.
This sounds like a decent argument for a Dualshock 4 option with a big touchpad, rather than making it the default and taking the place of, for example, a dedicated select button or something like a profile control switch.
On the other hand, profile switches on controllers are considered a relatively "premium" option that might not be due on a basic default controller, and maybe Sony would want to avoid controller SKU confusion or something.
Cross posting from the Ghost of Tsushima thread, but the load times on this game are absurdly short.
It's giving us a preview of what SSD gaming could be like and it's not just play load times. It flips to flashbacks in new locations for storytelling purposes and the tech holds up
Cross posting from the Ghost of Tsushima thread, but the load times on this game are absurdly short.
It's giving us a preview of what SSD gaming could be like and it's not just play load times. It flips to flashbacks in new locations for storytelling purposes and the tech holds up
Ghost of Tsushima is, ironically, an example of you can have really short load time on a completely normal mechanical drive.
(More dubiously, some other game will prove how you can have really long load times on the solid state storage on the next generation consoles.)
Cross posting from the Ghost of Tsushima thread, but the load times on this game are absurdly short.
It's giving us a preview of what SSD gaming could be like and it's not just play load times. It flips to flashbacks in new locations for storytelling purposes and the tech holds up
Ghost of Tsushima is, ironically, an example of you can have really short load time on a completely normal mechanical drive.
(More dubiously, some other game will prove how you can have really long load times on the solid state storage on the next generation consoles.)
Fingers crossed not, and I know we both hope you're wrong...
But another thing is how fast load times change the way we approach individual encounters in games. Because it's not a burden if I have to reload, I can try and retry outposts in different ways that's just so fucking fun
Even in TLoU2 I was impressed with how quick loading back into the game was after dying or re-loading an encounter - the initial loading was pretty hefty but once you were in it was good.
Switch Friend Code: SW-3944-9431-0318
PSN / Xbox / NNID: Fodder185
Cross posting from the Ghost of Tsushima thread, but the load times on this game are absurdly short.
It's giving us a preview of what SSD gaming could be like and it's not just play load times. It flips to flashbacks in new locations for storytelling purposes and the tech holds up
Ghost of Tsushima is, ironically, an example of you can have really short load time on a completely normal mechanical drive.
(More dubiously, some other game will prove how you can have really long load times on the solid state storage on the next generation consoles.)
Fingers crossed not, and I know we both hope you're wrong...
But another thing is how fast load times change the way we approach individual encounters in games. Because it's not a burden if I have to reload, I can try and retry outposts in different ways that's just so fucking fun
It's hardly the only example, but (at least on an SSD even before my Sabrent 1 TB NVme), Diablo III always had very short load times.
Of course, you don't run into them that often anyway, because you tend to spend a lot of time clearing out each zone and transitions are rare. So it's actually easy to forget they're there. If they were twice as long, it'd be inconvenient, but not game-changingly so.
Eh, that Kotaku article is super misleading. They aren't "taking preorders" and asking anyone to commit before they disclose the price. All they're doing is gauging interest and using this to kick off a lottery whereby a lucky few will be able to preorder directly from Sony's new online store during a short window.
I just signed up, because I'm willing to preorder from Sony (free shipping for PS+ members!) and give that a shot. If I get selected, I'll hop on during the preorder window and place my preorder. If I don't get selected, I'll just go to Amazon (while supplies last).
Posts
There's a difference between buying a game or less expensive console and buying a $600 console that looks 3% better than the one you already have.
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
It doesn't sound like it. They got rid of it on PS3 after effectively paying for and launching all the technology....twice. Their solution now, for Playstation 2 games, is PS Now--well, a very limited solution in terms of the library, and the fact that Sony has gone to some efforts to ensure everyone forgot about PS Now, so their solution is actually repackaging PS2 games as PS4-compatible stand-alone titles that you can purchase again, and may be playable of Playstation 5.
There's a reason the conversation over Playstation 5 backwards compatibility support...is 99% about Playstation 4 games (specifically, the most popular ones). And, you know, for "most" people that's enough. "Most" people don't care about backwards compatibility more than momentarily. So it's understandable why Sony only cares about it as far as that 99% is concerned.
I would not at all be surprised if we see Playstation 2 titles that were, with not inconsiderable effort, refinement, and time, made available as PS4 digital titles....end up getting the same treatment on PS5 again. Better than nothing.
The current $300-$400 consoles are vanishing just fine right now. Its not really about dedicated gamers spending that much more on games, especially with some of them losing income. It's about a bunch of people becoming dedicated gamers because that's one way of coping with 2020.
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
A new console might not be the highest concern for some.
I know Sony and Microsoft didn't plan it this way, but this is a terrible time to launch new consoles.
Given the available feature upgrades unique to the Dualshock 5 (HD controller touchpad...) this is pretty understandable, but if you preferred the DS4, this is going to be kind of an annoyance for multiplatform titles (or just games in general) that don't take advantage of said new features.
I look forward to the Bluetooth dongle that 8bitdo will make that will enable DS4's for use on PS5 games
(Also DS4 on PS3 would be nice, considering the DS3 kind of sucks, but my console is dying anyway.)
Given the amount of third parties that bothered to use the DS4's pad, I'd say this is probably going to be not much of an issue. Lowest common denominator and all.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
The touchpad button effectively became Select, since the Share button wasn't usable as that.
The touchpad itself though, hmm...
Steam | XBL
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State
Usually just ended up being the select/inventory button in most games I played.
Yeah, this is how it's used every time I've played on PS4 (admittedly, I mostly play multiplatform games anyway).
But I'm also one of those old geezers who rolled their eyes at the whole "share button", when it first appeared on the DS4, then when it was announced for the next Xbox gamepads with Series X.
Just because I'm playing it and notice it, I can tell you AC Odyssey uses the touchpad to move the map around. So does Yakuza 0, which was the primary game I was playing at the time the controller was "broken". Not that you would ever use this over the stick... but I guess it's there.
In particular, because I use my ps4 controller on PC a lot, and in most games the share button is just a select button.
I end up with a lot of random uninteresting screenshots for my ps4 games when I first jump back on it.
Risk of Rain allows you to use the touchpad as a cursor, like a track pad. It was a nice implementation as theres lots of little upgrade icons on screen, so you can hover your cursor over them for info. Seemed like a logical purpose that doesnt come up enough.
This sounds like a decent argument for a Dualshock 4 option with a big touchpad, rather than making it the default and taking the place of, for example, a dedicated select button or something like a profile control switch.
On the other hand, profile switches on controllers are considered a relatively "premium" option that might not be due on a basic default controller, and maybe Sony would want to avoid controller SKU confusion or something.
It's giving us a preview of what SSD gaming could be like and it's not just play load times. It flips to flashbacks in new locations for storytelling purposes and the tech holds up
Ghost of Tsushima is, ironically, an example of you can have really short load time on a completely normal mechanical drive.
(More dubiously, some other game will prove how you can have really long load times on the solid state storage on the next generation consoles.)
Fingers crossed not, and I know we both hope you're wrong...
But another thing is how fast load times change the way we approach individual encounters in games. Because it's not a burden if I have to reload, I can try and retry outposts in different ways that's just so fucking fun
PSN / Xbox / NNID: Fodder185
It's hardly the only example, but (at least on an SSD even before my Sabrent 1 TB NVme), Diablo III always had very short load times.
Of course, you don't run into them that often anyway, because you tend to spend a lot of time clearing out each zone and transitions are rare. So it's actually easy to forget they're there. If they were twice as long, it'd be inconvenient, but not game-changingly so.
Surprised this hasn't been posted yet, it's been live for a few hours. No price still. Looks like Sony is vetting accounts and granting preorder slots to accounts with a lot of activity, prob to avoid scalpers and bots.
I just signed up, because I'm willing to preorder from Sony (free shipping for PS+ members!) and give that a shot. If I get selected, I'll hop on during the preorder window and place my preorder. If I don't get selected, I'll just go to Amazon (while supplies last).