The Wednesday letters page thinks there’s a secret reason why the Xbox 360 was Microsoft’s most successful console, as one reader complains about the difficult of Silksong.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Now or never
I feel like a bit of a shill saying this, but if anyone was thinking of getting a PlayStation 5 you should probably do it this year during Black Friday. These RAM shortages are no joke, and I will be shocked if there is not another price rise next year.
That goes for pretty much any gaming device too. I’m not sure what the Switch 2 uses, or if Nintendo can avoid it, but PC cards are doomed as well. We’ve had plenty of times this year where people have complained about gaming becoming only for the rich time but now I think it’s happening for real and the companies didn’t even mean for it to happen and it doesn’t benefit them.
It’s not just the PlayStation 5 I predict is going to get more expensive next year, it’ll be everything hardware related. This really is the worst generation and it’s not even close.
Golem
The final sale
I see the Xbox Series S is very cheap in the Black Friday sales now, but I wonder if many people will feel it’s worth getting one, knowing how Microsoft is treating its console business now and how everything is multiformat and on not only PC but also PlayStation.
It’s a sad end to the Xbox project, if you ask me, because rather than being foolish I think they took some big swings and just lucked out. No one predicted Game Pass would fail this badly and I can totally see why they bet the farm on that. The consequences of your actions sure can suck, am I right?
KGT
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
Proof of life
I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know NieR:Automata was on Switch, I’m surprised they got it working at all, but glad to know that it now runs on the Switch 2 as well. I played it on PlayStation 5 and I would say it’s one of the best games I’ve ever encountered. Just amazing mix of excellent combat and storytelling, with an off-kilter tone that means you never know what’s going to happen next.
But that was eight years ago and we still haven’t had even a whisper of a sequel. I really don’t understand. The game sold nine million copies, which I’m sure is at least seven more than they were expecting, so where’s the next game? I don’t mind taking your time with it but at least tell us it exists!
Wendel
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Caveat emptor
Here’s a question for you: what do you do when you simply cannot get past a bit in a game? I’m referring specifically to Silksong, which I do think is a fantastic game but I’m currently stuck on The Last Judge and it poses the question of why do companies make games that difficult?
I would consider myself a pretty decent gamer, and someone who has been at it for many years, but I do you find it very frustrating when I simply cannot get past a certain point in the game. From my perspective, this game is now broken and I can’t really see a way of defeating the boss. And as a result, I have wasted my money. What can I do? Should developers make it easier somehow?
John
GC: It’s a long-running argument but Silksong, like Dark Souls and ilk, makes a virtue of its difficulty and it’s no secret that the game is extremely challenging.
Medium to hardcore
Interesting that the cheapest Steam Deck is now within reach of the Switch 1 in terms of price. I agree with the reader yesterday, that the Steam Machine would have to be very cheap to justify any interest, but I don’t think it will be.
It’ll be expensive and explaining to a normal person why it is, and what its benefits are, is too much work. I just don’t think there’s any way that you can make a PC in a box a mass market product.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both Xbox and Valve have hinted that their machines aren’t going to be cheap. It’s for existing fans and medium to hardcore gamers, I doubt they’ll even try to market it to anyone else.
Colin
A different time
Looking back at the PlayStation 2 and its games what gets me is just how varied it all is. This was an era when new genres were being invented all the time and there was nothing that was really dominant. Most games weren’t online and first and third person shooters barely existed. 3D platform games were around but not common, while there were a lot more racers and some actual competition for sports games.
A lot of double-A games were basically what we’d think of as indie games nowadays and they could afford to be weird and it didn’t even really matter if they made a profit or not because they never cost that much in the first place and maybe the next one will make up for it. There were a lot of Japanese games like this I feel. I mean Katamari Damacy is still somehow going!
You just can’t do that anymore and it’s not even really anyone’s fault. Either you have better graphics and more expensive-to-make games or you put up with everything looking like a PlayStation 2 game forever. Maybe there’s a middle ground to be found but I think it’s clear that no company’s looking for it. Which makes it seem like everything is just heading for the cliff and not even trying to get out of the way.
Focus
Powerful look
I don’t want to insult anyone that wears crocs (much) but they seem like the perfect footwear to personify Xbox: big, clunky, and ugly. Say what you will about Xbox hardware, but it never seemed as slick and stylish as the PlayStation.
Ironically, the best looking one by far, in my opinion, was the Xbox 360, while the worst looking PlayStation was the PlayStation 3. A coincidence that that was the one time the Xbox was a major hit and Sony really struggled during a generation? I think not.
Zeiss
Rather you than us
Well GC, you certainly stick to your guns with some of the lower scores you have given out recently. You are if nothing else consistent in your dislike of Musou games.
I enjoy reading different opinions on games and would consider any game that scores a 4 to be flawed, broken or rushed to market. I would argue that neither Hyrule Warriors or Air Riders are so awful they drop below an average score. After 30 hours of Hyrule Warriors as a fan of the series/genre I would give it a 7 – it’s very polished, runs great, and offers a ton of post-game content which then ups the difficulty to change the gameplay to a more considered button masher.
I can see how it’s not for everyone and there are better examples of the genre. Will I go back to it now the credits have rolled and I have explored some post-game content… meh, probably not!
Air Riders; I am still under the 10 hour mark so don’t feel it’s appropriate to comment too much as everyone has that honeymoon period, with a new game which distorts their impressions of it. I find Metacritic reviews made within hours of playing a game a bit of a joke – any reasoned analysis needs some time to reflect on it before making a final decision.
Game developers also know to make the first few hours as moreish as possible – there are so many memorable opening stages/acts that hide a poor closing third. What I will say is that Air Riders for me is offering a fun F-Zero style racer/party game.
Thinking about how quickly gamers can drop off a game they initially thought was the next best thing I was reminded of gaming mags in the ‘80s/’90s that had a longevity graph (can you recall which ones?) I consider this metric perhaps the most interesting – some games have legs (Street Fighter 6 is a good recent example, selling 6 million) while others lose their playerbase within weeks.
I expect Kirby will have empty lobbies (aside from Japanese players, where Kirby is much bigger a deal) while Mario Kart’s remain full for years. Arguably, when games on our SNES and Mega Drives came feature-packed and complete at launch, longevity was viewed differently to how todays live service games have stretched the notion of longevity to the point it’s destroying the industry.
Anyhoo, I’m off to race around a city as a giant hamster wearing a pink ribbon. Good times…for now!
Bristolpete
Inbox also-rans
For anyone that’s interested they’re adding Donkey Kong Jungle Beat statues via the Emerald Rush DLC soon. My favourite Donkey Kong game until Bananza!
Tolly
I wonder if Call Of Duty being on the way down will benefit Halo at all? It was the big online shooter before Call Of Duty 4 hit the big time. They’re both Microsoft games too.
Lumpy
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.