Playstation lost their minds

 

For all the many faults with Xbox as it has been run there is at least on gratis that they've always held- they are run by a human being- at least for the time being. Spencer isn't just personable, but he's an active stakeholder in the business that he runs, acquiring a platform that he wants to play on just as much as his various customers do- and that counts for a lot when fighting the 'out of touch' allegations. I don't know if Sony has ever had that as they've traded across a conga line of AI-generated business suits with equally outlandish views in what other humans even are let alone what they do- and these past few weeks alone have done a startlingly effective job of demonstrating how three different generations of these ghouls fail the Turing test.

Chris Deering led the computer company through some of their formative years, 1995 to 2005, during which they managed to wrangle some of their most important status defining victories over Nintendo and stand as a competitor in their own right. And yet during a recent podcast the man really let his ass be shown when speaking about recent lay offs which he insists have nothing to do with Greed. Yeah sure, man- afterall it's just adjusting for the recent over-hiring right? But then- I wander what emotion was ruling various gaming companies when they tried to overstock their staff to take advantage of a short-term global measure? What would you could opportunistic short-sightedness like that then, hmm? Maybe brief spouts of abject madness?

The worst part was Deering's proposed advice to the laid-off. He said they should 'move somewhere cheap and live on the beach for a year'- which is just... wow, this man wouldn't survive a week in the real world, would he? First off 'move somewhere cheap' is just wild. Because 'Somewhere cheap' for a tech company job typically out-of-state, which would just disqualify you from the jobs you are trying to secure- and good luck trying to buy yourself back into the state after the market has calmed down when you haven't worked for a year. As for 'living by the beach'- I don't know what this man lives off of but most people can't afford to sustain themselves on savings for an entire year on a video game developer's budget- guy must think they're movie stars or something!

But that's just the start of it. We've had to deal with Jim Ryan's reign over Sony which mandated the proliferation of Live Service games in the mad gamble that one would become a smash hit- which has led to him literally eating so much crow that Sony scored the dubious title of biggest video game flop in history thanks to the horrendous performance of Concord- dead in 2 weeks. Trying to squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle, Ryan had to have his plans stepped over time and time again leading to a legacy that is remembered largely for detestation than for his brilliant strategy- and the idiot probably hopped off to his next position on a Golden Parachute because the upper echelons of this industry is run by clueless vermin in desperate need of extermination.

Which brings us to the PS5 Pro, where the savings are passed down to no-one. The mid-generation upgrade which is meant to bridge the gap between what this generation has offered and what the next generation will aspire to has managed to hit the very soul of 'out of touch' with their reveal presentation. Bizarrely Sony themselves admitted that performance was the highest priority for most gamers out there- with the choice usually being actively taken for games to play on performance mode over quality mode- before debuting a console almost specifically designed to shoot for as high fidelity as possible whilst forgoing potential improvements to raw performance. Oh sure- we've got virtual frames now- but if this can achieve anything close to Path Tracing I will eat my hat. This is a minimal step towards what players want.

And it's important to establish how minimal this has been in improvements so that you fully accept the absolute aghast with this the audience suffered the reveal of the price. $699 in America- and it is cheapest by far in America. Over here in ol' blighty- land of the all around poor being trampled on by rich nationals? Yeah, we're being charged £699- which is roughly about $900 in conversion. In Canada they're looking at north of a $1000. Cry about import tariffs all you want- this is utterly unassailable to most level-headed on the planet and feels driven from a place of pure malice. Afterall you're looking at an extra 80 for the disk drive (which is apparently selling out- showing you were priories lie) and another 30 for the bloody vertical stand! The game doesn't even come with the pro controller- so that's another 100+ dollars for full package!

The general consensus appears to place this at the feet of the current interim COO Totoki and some sort of insane chase of margins so tight that the Playstation pro is literally a backwards investment in the medium. Honestly, at that price I currently have a PC that is one graphics card upgrade away from being a superior choice- and I only haven't upgraded because of the headache of switching the card around. That Set-up would last a heck of a lot longer than the 3 or so years that Sony expect this console to last whilst they work on the PS6 to replace it entirely. The market for a console like this is two fold- either the stupid or the rich will flock to this- and that latter audience I could care less about- they can buy whatever they want but the former audience- this is going to be a drain of their trust for the console market that I think Sony aren't fully cognizant of.

Already we commonly ask what the purpose of the console market is in the modern age and as the years tick by that purpose appears to be drying up. They're no longer a cheaper alternative, they're no longer as seamless an alternative. Games are slowly starting to be put out as a more consistent quality on PC and Console, (Except for those by Rockstar) how long we be able to justify these excesses for the way things are going. Xbox are too far up their own ass to take advantage of this, I expect their pro console to be only marginally better- maybe they'll throw in the pro-controller seeing that's it's not as tech-packed as Sony's equivalent. Either way, this generation might be shaping up to be something of a wash with no real standout moment- and that is a crying shame. Thanks Sony.

Why are playstation making themselves the villians now?

You either die the hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain

There's something brewing over in the offices of Sony Entertainment, and it doesn't sound all that appetising. Rather, it sounds like the bubbling and popping of a stirring witch's cauldron, prepping for dastardly profane magiks to rain upon the good people of the kingdom. Because recently, inexplicably, Playstation's top brass have donned the pointy hats and crooked noses of your typical fairy-tale bad guys in so many unnecessary instances that it's honestly starting to feel like their collective consciousness has been hijacked by some Microsoft fanboy illusionist who seeks to sully the hard won reputation of Playstation game studios one dumb controversy at a time. What a cad such a fellow would have to be to do so, and yet that's the only 'sensible' conclusion one can draw when Sony have invested themselves so fully in becoming the console market's 'bad guy' manufacturer. 

Now granted, in their shoes Microsoft was the exact same way back when the majority of gaming market share wore green. Who can forget the time when Microsoft tried to force all of it's next gen adopters to stay forever online with a little digital camera watching them everytime they logged in, pretty much the exact model the Chinese government would seek to adopt in the next decade? It's as though even the slightest whiff of supremacy immediately intoxicates the entire decision-making staff and forces them to lose all relatability and situational nuance. Can it be any coincidence that, since falling to second place in the console race, Microsoft have had their most consumer friendly years yet, building back up that reputation which one generation toppled for them. A better argument against narrow markets couldn't exist. If we had a whole bunch of competitors that kept their various shares of the market in flux, we wouldn't get these uppity world-burner types who think success equals a greenlight to gasoline dunking on your own customer base. (But let's not fall too deep into economic critique today, eh?)

I think that the path into this mess of self-defeating anti-consumerism started with a culture that wasn't just financially sensible and sound, but it was a response to a competitor's fumbling with the very same tactics, who had in turn inherited their tactics from the previous generation. So in a manner of ways you could say it isn't really Sony's fault, except in the way that they failed to better themselves from the mistakes of their ancestors, but who's counting that stuff, right? I'm talking about the culture of exclusivity that permeates PlayStation, where Sony have to secure their image of the erudite console for the supreme-ites out there by buying up all quality smaller studios and putting them to work as Sony delegates. It's a sound strategy, as I said, although one born in looking at the customers as commodities on a chess board to be forced over to your side rather than actual people. "Oh what's that? You love Final Fantasy? Well screw you, hope you can afford several hundred quid because the next game's coming out only on our console. Which obviously means you will too, because you have to love us now. It's in the rules."

Yes, Xbox did the exact same thing during their tenure, securing the rights to Final Fantasy XIII (Although that was only temporarily) and Nintendo and Sega would base their entire business models around which exclusive games they could score. But that still doesn't make this practise magically not the scourge of the consumer who is constantly expected to just follow these companies around like loyal lost pups grateful for the table scraps shoved their way. It diminishes the customer, especially in the eyes of management, which I think is where the superiority complex starts to set-in and where Sony start getting to acting like total fools and cads, thinking that they're somehow untouchable in this new meta they've built for themselves,

A big point of contention in recent months has been the truly horrendous manner with which PlayStation brass have treated indie developers, to the point where this most important sector of the industry is often looked down upon and chided. Indie developers have spoken out about being twisted into following a ruleset that doesn't even allow them to control their own pricing models, having absolutely no effort be part into marketing on their behalf and struggling to match PlayStation sales with sales on Itch.Io. It's ludicrous to think Sony would turn their backs to hopeful developers so readily, given that these are the faces that will inherit their industry, but I suppose the big boys over in their high offices know better, because they've adopted an almost blanket disdain for the indie market. Mayhap this stems from a time where Sony went all-in on an indie game only for it to blow up in their face (No Man's Sky) but I'm just idly speculating; maybe Sony brass just likes to kick puppies too.

Oh, and Sony scorn has also flown towards their own fanbase too, lest you start thinking you and yours are safe! During the marketing periods for the current generation of consoles, Sony went above and beyond to let people know that this new generation would be a hard cut off point for new games. From the moment it came out, the PS5 would be hit by innumerable new games, some of which were sequels, that just couldn't feasibly come out on PS4, so best get to preordering the new hotness else you're destined to miss out! Except, that was a lie, one that was made with knowledge and intent, as many of the new games announced would end up having a PS4 version announced conveniently after the PS5 launched, save the truly experimental like Ratchet and Clank or Demon Souls. It was such a short sighted grift too, because the moment it was deduced, fans would know exactly who lied to them, what their end goal was and that trust would be frayed from there on. Does the limited profit of today truly justify screwing over the near to distant future of your company's reputation?

And we end on the big one, the most recent flip flop from Sony that has everyone scratching their scalps in exasperated bewilderment. Sony went back on the promise they made, likely just to mirror Xbox's similar promise, that end of gen PS4 games would get a next gen update for free. Specifically we're talking about 'Horizon: Forbidden West' which alongside unveiling it's special edition revealed to people that they would have to spend extra on the big edition if they wanted a PS4 copy that would transfer to PS5. Quite the bold swindling attempt considering the lengths fans have to go to in order to get a PS5 in the first place, Sony, you could at least cover the upgrade charge after yours and Microsoft's total stock negligence. This was only a short controversy, of course, with Sony turning heel on the topic in less than a week and offering upgrades to the rest of the class; but good god what where they thinking? White lies is one thing, black lies another, but a straight up betrayal? That's the sort of thing that many cannot recover from. Just look at Onlyfans, after their debacle with maybe banning adult content, despite reversing the hairbrained decision they ended up totally sacrificing their market dominance to their ravenous competitors who jumped on the moment of weakness. Is that what Sony are attempting to replicate?

'With great power comes great responsibility', is the oft regurgitated Spider-man quote I come back to most frequently when I think on this, because Sony are showing no responsibility with the backwards and destructive direction they've steered themselves towards of late. They are the current rulers of the console market, holding the reputation for exclusive quality that makes their console the hot-button must have of the industry, even with the Series X being arguably more powerful. They are bumbling, and it's costing them piece by piece the supremacy which carried them for an entire generation. Someone needs to slap these guys in the face before they end up whittling away all the goodwill which is on the way to making them billionaires, because it's the industry underneath them which is suffering from their flounders. (Also, for the love of god grown-up about this whole cross-play issue; you're embarrassing yourselves!)

The 2020 Console shortage

It's all gone

We sit in a brand new age of shiny game consoles which have been promised to be more powerful than any box we've put in our living rooms before, easily outstripping anything that's predated in terms of raw power. Thus that just means that games companies have found a new excuse, this time in ray-tracing, to cap gameplay at 30 FPS when 60 should be basic industry standard at this point. But excuse that over-priced sales point for a moment, because the Xbox Series X (Can't believe the smoothbrains in marketing settled on that) and the PS5 (Can't believe the designers settled on that) can't even make it to the shelves of regular consumers this side of Christmas, thanks to a seemingly unsurmountable storage problem that has attacked everyone, no matter your petty console allegiance. Well, almost everyone. I'm far out of the range for any of this super powerful paperweights so I can pretty much wait until a year or so down the line, but for those that expected to get their box in to be the highlight of the holiday season on this, absolute dick of a year, sorry guys; you're fresh outta luck.

We see shortages with every generation, it's just the way things work around here. Manufacturers seem to go out of their way to "misread" the market for their consoles so that they can act all surprised and brag about how popular they are when their stock runs dry; meanwhile the public finds themselves left potless. Perhaps the most notable recent example was, in fact, the time of the Nintendo Switch launch where stock was running out literally seconds after being booked. I still have no idea how I managed to secure mine in the middle of all that chaos! But even then there seems to be something special about the Xbox and Sony situation that we're in now. These aren't just normal shortages and setbacks, this is a gridlock situation where there's a total wasteland of availability that's driving holiday shoppers to the absolute extremes of their patience. One can but wonder about what could have caused this, as weekly stock updates blink out of existence before people's eyes and the desperation starts to sink it's icy grip into our backs during this winter blitz. Lets speculate.

First is the most innocent example which proposes something of an extreme benefit of the doubt towards the multibillionaire companies who run this season. Perhaps these people just misinterpreted the growth of the market and didn't account for the increased amount of folk who were ready and willing to buy a new console out of the gate, thus under manufactured. Now, this is assuming that these folk who's literal jobs rely on understanding the way the market is heading have no idea about the correlation between consumer growth and demand (which would be a ridiculous thing to overlook) but we've seen companies in similar positions who forget how to tie their own freaking shoe laces so I guess this could remain a distinct possibility. But then, would this really fall into a category of 'Company is so big that they fell out of touch with the consumers'? Because this seems like basic inventory management meltdowns. I'd call this an unlikely excuse. Sure, Nintendo did just this; but they really are so out of touch to the point of genuine self-sabotage, the others are supposed to have firmer heads.

Secondly I bring together a theory that I think may hold some more weight, even if it's just blaming the go-to patsy of this god forsaken year. Coronavirus. Maybe the Coronavirus got the consoles. Wait, let me explain- We know that these machines aren't produced too long in advance to sale, probable more to secure intellectual property secrets than to wiggle in more development room; so given that, it's probably true that the workforce who would be making these consoles, wherever in the world these guys could secure inexpensive labour, is suffering from reduced turnout. (And you can't really manufacture from home) If numbers can't be provided to make the things then it would explain why production can't just be ramped up on a dime to get over this hump, it's logistically impossible right now; which sucks because Covid is also the exact reason why so many are at home right now and need something to keep them distracted. Of course, one might say in response that the vast amount of the building work is done by machines these days, but I'm sure there's a human element in there somewhere. (Packaging?)

But thirdly we have the more insidious reasoning, the one doing the rounds and making headlines this time of year; that this was all incurred by the folly of scalpers. Now in case you are unfamiliar with the term, Scalpers are essentially the caste of scumbags that Nintendo try their hardest to exclusively cater for in everything they do. It's a term used to refer to those that swoop in and buy up the stock of a sought-after product so that they can control the market and force up prices to an insane, illegal profit margin. Or rather, it would be illegal if they had an actual merchant's licence. (I believe in this position it's just heavily frowned upon.) And as of late they have been the absolute scourge of people trying to make the most of this holiday season.

More so than with any other console release I can remember, scalpers have come together to absolutely throttle the console market by hawking online retailers with bots that swoop up thousands in an instant to be resold at a frankly ludicrous mark-up. In fact, there's even a specific group behind this scum-riddled tactic who's name I won't even mention because they don't deserve the recognition. (And I can't be bothered to look them up) These guys have delighted in talking about their process and taunting on social media, whilst spinning some nonsense about how they have no regrets, and simultaneously attempting to claim that their cause is sympathetic because they have families and thus that makes it entirely fair for them to try and blackmail other families in the middle of a global pandemic. As you can imagine, I have pretty much no sympathy for people who aren't just bottom feeding maggots, but who are so delusional that they can't even accept that. Talk about pathetic.

As we currently sit now, there are supposedly actually empty storehouses which the teams over at Playstation and Xbox can do nothing about in a reasonable time frame, and in a way they themselves are partially to blame. Both companies have drastically scaled back their own physical storefronts to a point where for this generation you absolutely have to buy from a third party retailer. This means that the responsibility for the order is being placed in the hands of people that have no incentive to watch out for scalpers or bot-orders because they get paid anyway, the backlash doesn't land on them. Some retailers don't even have to deliver the product with any level of professional pride, or at least that's the excuse I assume that Amazon is using to justify the absolute spate of stolen consoles that have been the fault of their drivers. (I guess that's what you get when you encourage distaste through anti-employee practises; a disobedient workforce) The next gen is, then, certainly in a pickle.

Of course, at the end of it all these are just the problems of today and when these consoles start becoming more reasonably priced they'll likely become far more available too. Scalpers genuinely do their best when keeping their stock shifting so I'm sure that games consoles will be released from their grasp in notime, but the fact we've reached this state to begin with certainly doesn't reflect well on Sony or Microsoft. As I stand, looking about my dying 7 year old console which is my only viable means of playing Cyberpunk 2077 (Barring a surprise CPU upgrade) I find these trials and tribulations of the new generation as an inevitable rite of passage that early adopters most endure. But that doesn't make it any more embarrassing that all these generations down the line the most simple problems haven't been resolved. (and in some cases, they've become worse) Fix your stock, guys. And the framerates. Fix that too.

Uh oh, Godfall sucks

 Allegedly...

The PS5 is finally among us, which means that the age of the launch titles has now officially begun, and these are always interesting times as we see the deluge of games that touch upon what gimmicks the next console can do and see if it's interesting enough for future developers to capitalize upon. (Basically the difference between PS' Six-axis and Xbox Kinect's voice commands.) And right away I can say that from what I've seen, Bluepoint's Demon Souls' remake looks absolutely gorgeous. That seems slightly weird to say about a game set in an intentionally dreary and depressing world, but the developers have done such a great job sprucing things up to the point where Demon Souls looks positively delectable. Those moments in the firey world pop so well it gives me shivers. Of course, this is coming from someone who just recently started a playthrough of the entire DS franchise (I'm reaching the DLC portion of 2) so I'm definitely a little biased. As for the other big launch title (Excluding Spiderman, Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty... and Bugsnax, I guess.) Godfall appears to be everything I thought it would be.

Now to be clear with you all, I have not played Godfall. Nor, judging from what I'm seeing and hearing, will I ever, because it appears to be the sort of game built specifically to piss me off. (I'm sorry that I still haven't finished 'Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel', Gearbox, but I hardly find this as an appropriate recourse) As I recap, from the very first trailer I saw of Godfall I remarked on how unremarkable it looked. I don't know why, but literally everything about this game looked out-of-focus and without purpose to me. The shiny textures looked far too clean, thus losing that sense of realism, the visually impressive armours looked overdesigned, to the point where a visual that could have been cool just looks cluttered and impractical, and the dialogue from the trailer was just a single step better than faux gamer talk. (That doesn't make it good, just better than the absolute worst thing imaginable. Not a high bar.)

But that was the past me, the present me can look at the game as it stands and see... I was mostly right. The textures aren't as bad as I remembered, but everything else pretty much stands. Visually, it must be said, the game looks super pretty in that 'it's the next gen so lets bump everything up' sort of way, but graphical fidelity is only half the battle with me, I'm afraid, I need some solid artistic intent too, and I just don't feel it's there. It's strange to say, because all the essential ingredients are there, from the colourful shrubbery to the large glittering courtyards to the epic sprawling dungeons, but all of it just feels so heartless and barren, and worst of all lacking in identity. If you were to take a screenshot of this game and take out the enemies and the player character it would be impossible to tell what game it was, (aside from through the cool next gen resolution) and even the genre would be a little murky. It would look sort of sci-fi fantasy maybe? (Actually, I guess that does sort of describe the game, doesn't it?)

In fact, this game sort of reminds me off titles like 'Killzone: Shadow Fall' or 'Ryse: Son of Rome'; they're these big polished up extravaganzas of visuals and effects which eclipse what the last generation was capable of in a way which makes the audience "ooh" and "ahh", but the substance isn't there to make the game itself stand out. Not to say that either of those games are terrible (they certainly aren't good) but I think you'd be hard-pressed to say that they stood out as particularly memorable games. Killzone had some gameplay issues and story failing whilst Ryse suffered from- well, mostly the same except the gameplay issues were arguably slightly worse and the story was at least enjoyably corny. So does Godfall improve upon either of those game's track records? Apparently not, if the reviewing public is to be believed.

Now before I go any further it's important that I clear up one thing, this game is a live service. (I honestly don't know why I never made a 'live service' tag given the frequency at which I mention them. It feels a bit 'too little, too late' now.) Now if you're a regular game consumer or just spend your time paying way too much attention to every game which comes out because you have literally nothing better to do, then you'll know two things about this game immediately from that fact alone. Firstly you'll know that there's an inherent lack of content at launch which the developers are already promising to start supplementing as time goes on, and secondly that the gameplay has a good chance of being really rudimentary to the point where it's starting to feel like people forgot that Destiny did so well because it's gunplay was literally impeccable. (Why does it feel like these Live Service games are getting worse with practice?) Oh, and both those points you assumed are true by the way, good job, 5 points to Ravenclaw.

This title is built around a hack-n-slash model which has a distinct and troubling lack of ranged combat. (Don't get me wrong, I usually prefer to be up close and personal in games like these but even I understand the importance of combat variety) As for the hacking and slashing, it's perfectly serviceable for a mid-range title from about 5 years back, but when this is a game advertised alongside Demon Souls, you can't stop me from laughing my butt off. Once again the ingredients are all undeniably there, there's a heavy attack, a light attack and some combo potential, but it all just doesn't come together in any manner you'd be able to get behind. I've been looking around and most all the criticism is the same, combat feels repetitive, enemy variety is lacking and... I'm sorry why do all these Live Service games end up all with the same issues as each other? How is that even possible? Maybe life is just a sick play written by George Lucas and his obsession with 'rhyming'. (I hear it's like poetry)

As for the heart of the game, maybe it's the Dark Souls in me speaking but I like to think we see that best reflected in story. I think that the right story has the potential to unite all the fragments of lore into a sweeping great chain through context given the right conditions, maybe not working as a solve all for every problem, but at least providing the glue that holds it all together. And yes, I know that not every story can be this intricately crafted thematic suite which covers the breadth and morality of the tale whilst simultaneously also touching on the gameplay; those are standards a little too high. But even admitting that, gosh does this goes storyline bore me, I mean seriously. I can barely read a synopsis without falling asleep, let alone watching it myself. It's just about a man who wants to 'become a god' with you (their sibling, I think) working to stop them, it's so barren it really feels as though literally no-one cared enough to devote their creative soul to the project. Apart from the concept artists, I think they really tried, they were just a little lacking in direction.

So is it fair to say Godfall sucks? Well somehow it's turned into one of those games that folk out there have really latched onto, so I suppose not. I've even seen reviews that have gifted it in the mid-range tier whilst admitting that the only thing which makes it so is the graphical fidelity, which doesn't quite compute to this guy over here. We are talking about a game here, right? Shouldn't the gameplay, be a priority? (Oh wait, is this secret game reviewer speak! Like how '7/10' means "This game sucks but we're too scared of being denied our access rights to rate this any lower"? Big if true.) I dunno, but if there's one thing I'm taking from this it's that my gut is better at reading things then I initially thought, so I'm just gonna go ahead and do some back patting, don't mind me.

What exactly does 'the new age of gaming' mean?

Those old-time stars.

We are in the time of renewal across pop culture. So much is being reused and remade in the image of what we consider to be 'the future', that no one so much as bats an eye anymore when Disney announces another live-action remake, or Capcom revives the Resident Evil movie brand. Perhaps this is because stagnancy is a sign of death, so part of us is glad that things are forever shifting and renewing. And why do I talk about this today? Because I wish to discuss this topic's relation to the coming console generation and what that means for the future of gaming as a whole. Which does inherently mean that everything I discuss will be entirely opinion based; so take with with as many grains of salt you need to make a meal.

Now the gut reaction to such a query would likely be something of the lines of "Why do we have to discuss that, it's obvious what the next console generation means. It's kind of in the name." But that is exactly why I feel it's worth going over because this console generations seems poised to be fundamentally different from those before it. Firstly, in previous generational switches there was usually an inevitable point in which new games would cease coming out on the older gen console and would then be exclusive to the newer console. This would be justified, of course, by the way how all the newer gen titles would lavishly exploit the new graphical heights of the introduced consoles and thus mostly be glorified tech-demos. (Yeah, the game itself could 'feasibly' fit on some of the long-running consoles of the time, but would they be able to render that same number of hair follicles along Nick Ramos' jaw? Thought not.) The big companies would often support and encourage this trend as soon as possible by dropping previous gen support the second the next console came out, cold turkey, and developing all first party titles with the new hotness.

Now, this may still be the stratagem as far as Sony is concerned, they've been deathly quiet of a late, but Microsoft have come forth to assure everyone that this won't be the case for them. I did cover it a few weeks back, but just as a refresher: Microsoft have vowed to maintain first-party game support of the Xbox One for at least 2 years into the Xbox Series X's life cycle, proving that their old console won't immediately become a wasteland. (Of course, that doesn't change the fact that all the cool console exclusive titles are still on PlayStation, but 'baby steps' I guess.) What this does mean, however, is there will be a reduced draw to run to the new console in it's incubation period where it will most certainly be over-priced. Suddenly, such a prospect weakens the step from this generation to the next and makes it a question of whether or not there is need for a new generation right now at all. Sure, all the 'slick new graphics' can only be caught on the 'newest gen' but honestly most people know that graphical fidelity most often means diddly squat in the grand scheme of things. (I''m still unsure if this choice will hurt the Xbox SX's launch or help it.)

Another big change, and the inciting factor for writing this blog, would be the dissolution of the concept of 'exclusivity' regarding these upcoming consoles. (I know this is kind of an expansion upon the previous point but bear with me.) One the biggest reasons for spending the big bucks in order to hop to the next console is the big fear of missing out as well as to save oneself financially folly in the future. That initial FOMO will push people to drop their money on the next new game, which is great for third-party developers as they will usually do their best to support the last gen and current gen markets in the knowledge that those who purchase the weaker version of the game will eventually emigrate to the new console and, (if they liked the game enough) be forced to buy the game again on the fresh hardware. This has been the unspoken way that it has always been for years now for every single developer aside from those who work on the Just Dance games, because those fools haven't touched the base code in so long that the software still gets ported for Nintendo Wii. (Who still buys the bloody Wii version?)

If you spent anytime on gaming Twitter in the past couple of weeks you'll know that a big company recently challenged that practice in a big way. That's right, CD Projekt Red have come out and revealed that for Cyberpunk 2077 they'll be offering upgrades from the Xbox One version of the game to the Xbox Series X version free of charge. "No one should be forced to buy a game twice" they proudly said, (or something to that effect) and that is sure to send quite the message across the industry given the eminence of that company and that particular game. (Afterall, it is destined to be Game of The Year.) There are still some questions that come regarding this magnanimous offer; such as if this is a limited-time deal or if it will be reflected for Sony's consoles, but whatever is decided this does lessen the need to migrate to greener pastures and further blurs the line between this generation and the next.

Then there is the question of when this new Console generation will land, because even that is in flux right now. Yeah we all remember the grand promises that this December will be 'dawn of the new gaming age'. Even if some folk 'like moi' are left feeling a bit disquiet about it approaching so rapidly. (has it already been 8 years? I'm sure it only feels like 7.) Microsoft have been very open about their plans to come in the holiday, whilst Sony may have mentioned it once in the plethora of bite-sized interviews that they do instead of actually attending any events and advertising. (These guys must think they're Rockstar at this point.) But as with many annual staples this in now in flux due to the unexpected rise of relevant factor.

Now I usually like to keep things light and at least mostly planted in the realm of fiction in this blog, but there's no escaping the fact that there is a rather deadly situation bubbling around the world in the Coronavirus or, more specifically, Covid-19. This little virus is poised to jump across the world to America soon, as experts have stated, and that has meant a great stamping down of events that could serve as hubs for spreading such a virus. (Due to the way that they draw in thousands of folk across the room to one sweaty place.) On the global stage this means that things like the Olympics are currently in limbo. (It may even be cancelled this year.) And on the gaming stage this means that Sony have taken this opportunity to preemptively drop out of every gaming event for the next 6 months. (You get the feeling that they've been looking for an excuse for a while, huh?) However, this could have an even more drastic effect on the length of our current console generation.

It's no secret that the majority of cheap labour is done in Asia with a good portion of the tech world being manufactured in China. Well as a consequence of that, Covid-19's appearance has thrown that manufacturing process in jeopardy as no one want to import at the risk of contaminating themselves or their workers with a potentially deadly virus. (Except, I presume, Amazon: who likely care so little about their staff they're probably already advertising replacements for them as they conduct the imports.) This has meant that a lot of the key components that would go into making the new consoles have had to be delayed, and if this outbreak doesn't improve or (god forbid) get's worse, this will push back the next console generation out of 2020. I don't think anyone can really blame the companies if that happen, either. It's certainly better to be safe than sorry. (And now one wants to buy their brand new console only for it to give them the Corona. That beer sucks.)

So with all of these factors that threaten to change the definition of one of gaming's longest held traditions, I poise the question to you; what does 'the new age of gaming' mean? Is it an evolution in the way that we enjoy our favourite pastime, or merely a manufactured event to periodically shove technology forward at the expense of the consumer? And with all these new events and situations that threaten to blur the lines between the current gen and the next, is it even a construct that is worth keeping around in the current age? I know it's rather cheap to just leave you with questions and no answers, but that's all I'm here for, baby!

Godfall

Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he's created?

The future is now, or rather, it will be by Christmas 2020 for that is when we will finally have the drop of Xbox Series X (Or whatever the final title ends up being) and the PlayStation 5, ushering in a brand new age of consoles. (An age where early predictions estimate the Series X as being a significant environmental risk due to energy drain. Sure hope your working on that one, Microsoft!) Recently the next gen has been on everybody's lips after the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in which Sony officially revealed the logo of their next console. (Spoiler: It's exactly what you think it is.) What folk didn't realize was that this logo did not actually debut with CES (Despite what was said at the expo) but was sneakily shown off a month early during the VGAs in order to tease a brand new title; Godfall.

Now, personally I'm not much of a fan of those first few games of a console generation. I remember 'Killzone' from back in the day and 'RYSE: Son of Rome'. Both beautiful games for the time, no doubt, (Heck, RYSE still looks good) but wafer thin on actual content and value for your buck. Such is the trend with 'launch titles' which is why I sighed when I saw this trailer when so many other people gasped in excitement. I see past the glossy visuals and overdesigned armour pieces and see the product for what it seems to be, a glorified tech-demo that wants to retail itself at full price. But perhaps I'm just being a Debbie downer and there's potential here that I'm not seeing; lets take a look.

Godfall hit hard with a teaser trailer that actually shows off some rendering potential, although after Xbox Series X's first game showing (which we'll talk about in due time) this one did feel a little weak. Rather than get a good look at all the complexities that go into rendering human skin, what we see is a fellow clad in shiny, overcomplicated armour that is dripping in gaudy overlays, a monster-hunter style mane on the helmet and a flaming Pauldron; (Possibly the most eye-rolling character design I've seen all year) as he races down a pristine lavish hallway in the midst of what seems to be an earthquake. Eventually our man bumps into a couple more walking tin-cans, bringing that character count up to golden three that's favoured by games like Destiny and Division. (Guess this is a looter shooter then.) The group exchange some off-kilter banter that veers dangerously close to 'Faux-live player speak' and the camera pulls back on a gigantic hydra beast atop a gleaming golden tower and wreathed in dark storms. (How cataclysmic.)

Does any of this ring a bell for you? Because for me when I see this title all that comes to mind is Anthem which, in-case you've forgotten, is the title that was lambasted for being all style and no substance. We see it all here, (although thankfully without the 'faux player speak'. I don't think I'd have been able to keep my lunch in for that.) from the full-body suits of messy-looking armour to the three characters (likely representing the inevitable three character classes) and that final money-shot with a scary looking badguy that will probably be a disappointment in person. (At least this time we got see the monster inside the storm. They can't bait-and-switch us quite so badly this time around.) This game elicits pure skepticism from me and I would caution all those getting their hopes us to adopt a similar view of things.

To play devils advocate for moment, however, if we take all we saw at face value then this would end up being a perfectly balanced teaser. Let people see the world, smatter some establishing lore so everyone knows we're in some sort of apocalypse and give folks something to be excited for. All of my negativity for this title stems from crappy launch titles in the past, which is due to the short turnaround that those projects are often subjected to, however there is evidence to support that Godfall may not suffer from this issue. We started hearing about developers getting their hands on next-gen dev kits as far back as early 2019, and Godfall's Devs, Counterplay Games, haven't put out a game since the well-received CCG-Turn based hybrid 'Duelyst'. (Looks like it should be the name of a Silicon Valley start-up...) It is reasonable to assume that the team could have been working on this project for several years in order to get a quality product out for Christmas 2020, and I'm just being s superstitious jerk.

However there is another dimension of this title that should be considered, and that is the fact that this title has been described as being a "Looter-slasher". (Yeah, I knew this was the case when I wrote that earlier joke. I just wanted to look smart...) Any rational person should be seeing alarm bells ringing from that statement alone, because if there's one game type that no one can get right it's 'Looter Shooters/Slashers'. As we have discussed in other blogs, Looter Shooters need a lot going for them in order to be successful, not least of all interesting and varied loot. Destiny has had trouble pulling this off and that's run by the storied vets over at Bungie. Counterplay is made up of former Destiny Devs (and others, I'm sure) but that just makes me feel worse about this project's chances instead of better. Who's to say that they don't repeat their past mistakes? Will anyone remember to tell a good story and provide a decent amount of content to keep things feeling fresh? What the heck is The Darkness? All these are questions that I would levy at Counterplay if I had the chance.

The launch period of consoles are always a rough time as it is the point where everyone is doing their best to find their feet. The players are starting to get used to this new system, developers are adjusting to the new ecosystem and the big gaming companies are wondering how to quickly migrate their community. With all that shifted attention it can mean that too little diligence is paid to the games which launch in this time frame allowing for mistakes to be made. History proves that if a AAA reputation-carrying product is going to slip through Sony's QA, this is the period in which it will do so, and that has me worried. Justifiably so, I would say.

Ultimately, there won't be much more to say on this title until E3. Well actually, there might not be a truth to this title until the game launches, as Anthem taught us how studios are prepared and ready to lie their way through E3 when they need to. Punditry generally tends to be positive towards this title, however, and I wonder how much of it is genuine considered feedback and how much rides on the back of the hype train for the next generation. Maybe my pessimism is showing, but I'd just like to impart a pertinent Shakespearean adage to those that seem impressed by Godfall's visual fidelity and flairs; "All that glisters is not gold."