What’s your prediction? (Picture: PlayStation)
The Friday letters page is upset at the closure of Roll7 and Intercept Games, as a reader struggles to make sense of Xbox’s multiformat plan.
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That time of year again
So, Xbox has its showcase in June again and there’s rumours that PlayStation’s will be in late May, which makes sense I guess (only in that they did it then last year, I’m not actually sure why it was so early given how little they announced).
But what do we think they’re going to announce? The obvious guess is the PS5 Pro, but isn’t it actually a bit early for that? It presumably won’t be out until autumn, so they’re kind of putting people off buying a regular PlayStation 5 until then, which doesn’t sound like something they’d want to do.
To be honest, I think the best guess is that we’ll probably get very little announced, just like last year. I’m going to say that Concord live service game, an Astro Bot game (probably not VR), and maybe one other minor remake or indie-ish game. I’d love to be proved wrong, but Sony has already said there’ll be nothing out until next April so what, in reality, are they going to talk about in so much detail now?
I used to look forward to this time of year for games, now I kind of dread it because a bad showcase means another six months, at least, of nothing much happening.
Tony T.
Pleasing the investors
Really terrible news about Roll7 and Intercept Games. When what were thriving and profitable indie developers are being shuttered by a massive publisher it’s clearer than ever that the gaming industry has fully entered its ‘greed is good’ phase.
It’s a shame that the art and artists are suffering for this. But hey, those Take=Two executives are almost private island rich now, so there’s still some upside.
Magnumstache
Lemon Solelike
With so much doom and gloom in gaming at the moment (RIP OlliOlli and Roll7) I just want to say how much I’m enjoying Another Crab’s Treasure right now. I was immediately interested in it, because, like GC, I liked that idea of a Soulslike that wasn’t just a dark fantasy. This isn’t nearly as hard as From’s game, although it is still quite hard, but I really enjoyed.
All the different shells you pick up are really imaginative and they’re actually useful too, helping to make the game feel like more than just Dark Souls with different graphics. My only real complaints are that it’s not really as funny as it thinks it is, although there are some good fishy puns, and the platforming can be a bit annoying. Although I like that it’s in there, as it helps shake things up a bit again.
Would totally recommend it to both veteran Souslikes fans and those looking to dip a toe in the water. Probably my game of the year so far.
Streplis
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Finite appeal
Nice review of Endless Ocean a series I had completely forgotten about. I was looking forward to this, pleased I did not pre-order.
As someone who has never played the series, would I be better dusting down the old Wii and picking up the originals from eBay or would you say the three entry is the best of the three despite its flaws?
I would be mainly playing offline, solo if that makes a difference?
Keep up the good work.
Chris
GC: Thank you. To be honest, we’re not sure we’d really recommend any of them, but if you don’t own any then the Switch one is the best looking, which is important given much of the appeal is quiet spectacle.
Stranger things
Been playing Stellar Blade a lot today and I’m not sure I can really add much new to the debate, as I pretty much agree with the consensus so far: great game, bizarre main character. The developer can make the game however they want but EVE is so freakishly sexualised, while everything else is perfectly normal, it’s really odd. Everything from her knee(!) length hair to her outfits switching from relatively normal to outrageously impractical is just so weird.
I’m sure there’s some specialist websites the designer could’ve visited to get all this out of his system, and then we could’ve avoided all these arguments. But for those that haven’t played it I think you don’t realise just how bizarre it really is. You don’t really get creeped out but weirded out. Gonna keep playing though.
Royston
Plug ‘n’ play
I do most of my gaming on Switch these days, but I have an Xbox Series X and decided to give Game Pass a go, since there’s not much in the way of new releases for the next few months. I thought I’d give Diablo 4 a go since I’ve not really played that type of game before.
Booted it, to be met with a QR code for Battle.net. Went through the profile creator until I got to the checking your human bit, where I was asked to complete 20 match the symbol puzzles. 20, not three, not five but 20.
Failed the first time, and the second, and third times. I gave up. Why is playing a game like a job application now? This stuff is ruining my hobby. Just fancied playing something new but I’m not qualified apparently. Back to the Switch I think.
Somasonic
Like poetry, it rhymes
I just had a thought around when GTA releases their games and it’s a genius way to make more money. It happened with GTA 5 and most likely will with GTA 6. They are released at the end of one console cycle and just before the next one is released.
Allowing for massive amounts to buy their game with the current gen console. Then in a year or possibly two later, it’s released on the next console, allowing for nearly double sales and many people buying the game twice.
Carlos
GC: Oh yeah, we hadn’t thought of that. Assuming the rumours of a 2026 launch are true, that’s right. We suspect that’s more of a happy coincidence than anything else though, as we’re pretty sure 2026 wasn’t Microsoft’s original plan for the next generation and GTA 6 has been in development for many years.
Great idea
I don’t know why Bethesda doesn’t employ other people to make all their games, whether it’s Obsidian, other developers or just fans. The fact that the most popular mods for Fallout 4 are to remove the next gen update is hilarious to me.
The idea of Fallout is great, as the show proves, but the reality is a broken, janky mess where wandering around exploring is great but all the actual gameplay is pretty bad… until you install the mods to make it work properly. Maybe one day it’ll be like that from the start.
Station
More Trending
Complex plans
I think everyone agrees that last year’s Xbox Game Showcase was good, but they sure have a lot to explain this year. There’s so much rumoured to be going on and normally rumours about Xbox turn out to be true, I guess because it’s easier for rumours to leak out from there than Nintendo or Sony.
But if all Xbox games are going multiformat what is Phil Spencer and co. going to say about that? Given he promised that Starfield and Indiana Jones weren’t going to. I know he was a lot more vague in an interview later but few people are going to have seen that, compared to watching their ‘business update’ video.
And if a new console is coming out, how is that going to seem appealing if all their games are going on PlayStation anyway? But they say that it’s going to be the biggest leap forward ever, so that means it has a huge selling point, so they don’t actually need to go multiformat after all?
But then why both with those four games they have released on PlayStation 5? Their sales are going to be a drop in the ocean, so why bother riling everyone up over just that, if there weren’t going to be more? None of this makes any sense and I’m not sure if it ever will.
Weston
Inbox also-rans
So basically Casper Van Dien doesn’t understand Starship Troopers, is what I’ve learned today. Somehow I’m not surprised. Oh well, if Helldivers 2 does only one good thing it’s getting more people to watch the movie.
Tranc3
The crossovers for Call Of Duty are so weird and random. Gundam so doesn’t fit it. I didn’t know there were Warhammer 40,000 skins though, I’ll see if I can get them. That one does actually kind of fit.
Boisson
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