Tag: Reaction
Time for something completely different
For years now, Sony has been criticised for its supposedly samey first-party software. You’ve probably seen that meme circulating on social media, which shows a trio of trees from God of War, The Last of Us, and Days Gone. It’s nonsense, of course, how do you even make different looking trees? But it...
Reaction Summer Game Fest 2024 Showcases AAA's Endless Winter
That's cold
Geoff Keighley clearly cares deeply about games, and we won’t hear otherwise. This is a man who started out as a journalist with a surging passion for the medium, and has fast-tracked his career in such a way that he’s almost become the unelected voice of enthusiast gamers. While that’s a title he’d likely shy away from,...
Reaction PS5 Livestreams Are No Longer Speaking to the Fans Who Built the Brand
Tough times
It’s been eight years since Sony’s outstanding E3 2016 press conference, where it hired a full-blown orchestra and introduced the rebooted God of War to the world. And it’s been nine years since arguably the greatest gaming livestream in history, where the holy trifecta of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Shenmue 3, and The Last Guardian...
Reaction Why You Shouldn't Worry Too Much About PS5's Year-on-Year Decline
Context is key
The games industry is caught in a tidal wave of negativity, and if you pay attention to social media, you may be forgiven for thinking the sky is falling. Sony posted a pretty positive financial report earlier this week, but the headlines that have come out of it run counter to that: PS5 declined 29 per cent year-over-year, is...
Reaction What Is Happening to the Video Games Industry and Why Are There So Many Layoffs?
The state of play
You could be forgiven for thinking the video game industry is collapsing, and you may be wondering why. Last week, PlayStation announced it was laying off over 900 employees and shutting its long-running London Studio, and it’s not alone. There have been thousands upon thousands of jobs cut across the entire industry, and...
Reaction The Problem with PlayStation Right Now
AAA troubles
PlayStation is in a precarious position. It’s imperative we don’t overreact: the global economy is, for want of a better word, in the gutter right now – and it’s sad to see layoffs occurring across a spectrum of industries, not just gaming. But in the aftermath of a disappointing earnings report and an enormous downsizing...
Reaction Xbox Is Bringing Some Great Games to PS5, But Rumours Will Remain Rampant About What's Next
Redmond firm fails to set out its strategy
More great games are coming to the PS5, and that’s never a bad thing. Microsoft announced during a highly massaged corporate message that it’ll bring four first-party titles to rival systems, although it wouldn’t name any names. Fortunately, the rumours have been so strong that we can surmise...
Reaction PlayStation's Finally Poised to Penetrate the Mobile Market in the Right Way
Phone stars
You may not like playing mobile games, but millions upon millions do. Estimates indicate approximately three billion people enjoy some kind of interactive experience on their smartphone, which is almost half the entire planet’s population. That’s a staggering statistic, and it’s not hard to understand why Sony would want to...
Reaction You Really Shouldn't Be Surprised Kids Want PS5, PS4 Game Currencies for Xmas
Sign of the times
Gaming is changing, and there’s probably no going back to the “good old days” at this point. For many of you reading this article, Christmas was very likely defined by the carefully wrapped boxes nestled preciously under your tree. You’ll all have your own memories, of course, but for this author it’s The Legend of Zelda:...
Reaction PS5's Success Is Not Luck, Because Sony's Spent Years Putting in the Hard Yards
This ain't a fluke, folks
PS5’s been posting some pretty exceptional sales results recently, and it’s sparked a reductionist form of commentary among enthusiasts. There’s a growing sentiment, much like during the PS4 era, that Sony’s record-breaking sales come down to little more than luck – an observation that obviously ignores all of the...
Reaction PlayStation Boss Jim Ryan May Have Been Disliked, But Leaves Big Boots to Fill
A hugely successful tenure draws to a close
The surprising revelation that Jim Ryan will retire as Sony Interactive Entertainment’s President and CEO at the end of March 2024 has been, perhaps predictably, met with glee from most corners of the wider video game world. In addition to courting controversy on a number of occasions, the British...
Reaction What Happens to PlayStation if Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard?
The question we're all pondering
Well, then – here we are. As perhaps even eternal optimists may have anticipated, US regulator the Federal Trade Commission has lost its case against Microsoft, meaning there’ll be no preliminary injunction to prevent its Activision Blizzard acquisition from closing before its 18th July deadline. And in dramatic...
Roadmap will soon be required
The curtain has closed on what was, in this author’s partially informed opinion, probably the strongest Xbox Showcase in recent memory. This wasn’t a total knockout on par with some of PlayStation’s best ever E3 presentations – is such a thing even possible now we’ve effectively transitioned from live...
Reaction Sony's PS5, PC Live Service Strategy Won't Work If It's All Samey Shooters
PlayStation did nothing to assuage fans' fears
We’ve been one of the few publications defending Sony’s live service strategy because we don’t think the idea is inherently bad. A lot of fans treat the booming Games as a Service segment as a genre, but it’s important to underline that it’s a business model instead. In fact, there’s...
Reaction Sony Flubs First Proper PS5 Presentation in Over 18 Months
PlayStation falls at the first hurdle
The online response to the first PlayStation Showcase in well over 18 months is apoplectic, and while enthusiast gamers are notoriously unhinged, it’s not entirely unexpected after a dreadfully disappointing livestream earlier today. It became clear about 30 minutes into the event that this was going to be...
Reaction Sony Continues to Fumble the State of Play Format
We've been here before
The curtain has closed on another State of Play, and this wasn’t a vintage one, to put it politely. In fact, at the time of writing, just 21 per cent of you said it was better than okay in our Push Square poll – a statistic we can’t imagine the bigwigs at PlayStation will be particularly impressed with
Reaction The Game Awards Finally Fulfils Its Potential
The Keighley to success
For a few years now, we’ve argued The Game Awards is just about as good as it can be – after all, there’s a ceiling to how engaging an industry awards ceremony, organised by an independent third-party, can possibly be. It’s clearly an expensive production that needs funding, and so the advertisements aren’t going...
Reaction Sony Poised to End 2022 without Major Press Conference
Show and tell
Sony is poised to end 2022 without a major press conference. Before we elaborate, it’s important to clarify what we mean here: we’re excluding shorter livestreams like State of Play or major events the platform holder has participated in, like Gamescom Opening Night Live or Summer Games Fest. We’re referring specifically to...
Reaction PS Stars Is Overdue Yet Appreciated, But There's Lots of Room to Improve
Star studded
The console landscape is changing. While the PS5 – despite all of its pandemic-induced inventory issues – remains one of the fast-selling formats of all time, the so-called “network effect” that determined previous generations is eroding. With crossplay surging in popularity across many of t
Reaction Sony's Struck State of Play Gold Not Once, But Twice in a Row
Two for two
So much for lowering our expectations, eh? Sony's latest State of Play — broadcast on the 13th September, just to be clear — was another near perfectly paced and packed showcase. Sony itself had framed the event as a kind of lead-up to Tokyo Game Show 2022, which kicks off this week. We were promised updates on ten PS5, PS4, and...
Reaction Publishers Are Getting Worse at Nintendo Direct-Style Livestreams
Tune out
Publishers need to better understand their audiences before hosting insipid livestreams. While we’re hesitant to criticise companies too hard – after all, we’re not owed semi-regular broadcasts from the likes of Ubisoft, EA, et al – the reality is that these Nintendo Direct-inspired marketing drops are getting worse. It would appear...
Reaction PS5 Price Hike a Sobering Sign of the Times
But Sony needs to work harder to justify costs
As energy bills skyrocket and grocery prices soar, we greeted today’s PS5 price increase news with a shrug: of course it’s gone up. The reality is that everything is getting more expensive, from essentials like fruit and vegetables to luxuries like your Netflix subscription – why would video games...
Reaction Meta Quest 2's Price Hike Will Have PSVR2 Relieved or Rubbing Its Hands
VRy interesting
As Sony slowly continues to peel back the curtain on its PSVR2 headset – revealing a selection of neat new user interface features earlier in the week – Facebook made the unprecedented move of increasing the price of its Meta Quest 2 headset overnight. The standalone device, which originally released over two years ago, will now...
Reaction WTF Is Going on with The Last of Us PS5?
Naughty Dog needs to respond to leaks
We’re getting déjà vu, because once again The Last of Us series is subject to another damaging leak. How this keeps happening to Naughty Dog’s flagship franchise is hard to understand, but the very real reality is there’s well over a month until The Last of Us: Part I launches, and we’ll have probably...
Reaction PS Plus’ Revamp Is Hours Away, But Sony Still Has a Game Pass Problem
Xbox showcase leans heavily on day one inclusions
Microsoft did its big annual E3 shindig today. Of course, it’s not E3 because that’s in a graveyard somewhere being pointed at by industry know-it-all Jeff Grubb. But unlike Sony, the Team in Green has decided to retain its Sunday evening summer showcase slot, so if you ignore the fact this was a...
Reaction Sony Kickstarts the Summer with Sizzling State of Play
All killer, no filler
Pound for pound, this was comfortably the best multi-game State of Play to date. No doubt. The content does the heavy lifting, of course – there won’t always be multiple titles with mass appeal to reveal – but this broadcast, modestly anticipated after past disappointments, was a handful of PS Studios additions away
Reaction Why You Shouldn't Worry About Sony's New Strategy
Additional investment is exciting
PlayStation is steering its business in a new direction, and gamers are renowned for their reluctance to change. A recent mid-term strategy meeting elaborated on Sony’s intention to look beyond its traditional walled garden, bringing its content to more platforms and mediums. This, as is perhaps predictable, has...
Reaction Sony's Positive PS Plus Reboot Proves the Value of Catalogues
A lovely library
Sony took its sweet time revealing the full extent of its PS Plus reboot – and, frankly, with only approximately 150 of All PS Plus Games confirmed, we’re still not getting the complete picture. According to the company, PS Plus Premium subscribers will get access to about 750 games at launch, so it still has plenty more to...
Reaction Sony's Biggest Problem Is Consumer Relations
PS Plus revamp reveal yet another example
Sony announced a rather exciting PS Plus revamp this week, but it’s a reminder that it’s forgotten the art of consumer relations. The organisation, which was unrivalled in this area during the early days of the PlayStation 4 era, seems utterly unable to effectively connect with its core customers right...
Reaction PS Plus, PS Now's Makeover a Necessary and Positive Step for Sony
But Sony still has plenty to prove
There was no way on God’s green earth Sony could convey today’s PS Plus paradigm shift without a hearty helping of criticism. Microsoft – the second largest company on the planet with a warchest in the trillions – has changed the game with its Xbox Game Pass business model, and there’s nothing that...
Reaction Sony's Bungie Buyout Means Little for PS5, PS4 Fans Right Now
Destiny unknown
Well, here we are again – another domino has dropped in the unstoppable march towards corporate consolidation. This time, though, our team has won: Bungie, the legendary creator of Halo and Destiny, is a PlayStation Studio! Except it’s not, but it also kinda is. The industry is weird these days so you’re going to have to stick...
Reaction We Need to Talk About Tiny Tina on PS Plus
Dragon weep
The reaction to PS Plus ebbs-and-flows depending on the lineup. For example, the vast majority of subscribers were pretty happy with Deep Rock Galactic, DIRT 5, and Persona 5 Strikers last month – all decent, recommended games. The response to February 2022’s PS Plus lineup, with UFC 4 and
Reaction Activision Blizzard Buyout Is Devastating for PS5, PS4
The end of an era
Is this the end of PlayStation? It’s always easy to get apocalyptic in situations like this, but it’s obviously not. Sony’s gaming division remains a wildly popular brand globally, and no single publisher can ever detract from that. Make no mistake, though, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $70 billion is a...
Reaction Can We Chill Out About Sony's Commitment to PS4, Please?
🙄
This week it was reported that Sony would produce a further one million PlayStation 4 consoles through 2022, and the Internet lost its mind. This agenda was partly pushed by an increasingly irritating media, with some of the headlines including Expect More Cross-Gen Games As Sony Orders 1 Million PS4s. There aren’t enough eye-rolling emojis...
Comparisons will be made
Such is the discourse among enthusiast gamers that Sony will either have to introduce an Xbox Game Pass competitor or Microsoft will have to pull the plug on its own before fans shut up about it. Despite breaking industry sales records, there’s a sentiment among the most engaged players on social media that PlayStation...
Reaction Sony Has Quietly But Confidently Grown Its First-Party Lineup
The company keeps it short but sweet
It's abundantly clear Sony isn't interested in making a big song and dance out of its business deals. Rather than saving acquisition announcements for the big stage at digital events, the company treats them more like "blink and you'll miss it" moments with a simple PlayStation Blog post and some comments from...
Reaction PlayStation Showcase 2021 Was Good, But Not Good Enough
Lopsided livestream leaves us wanting more and unsure when we'll get it
Prior to the PlayStation Showcase, we dropped a garbage time Soapbox, explaining that Sony couldn’t afford any dead air in its press conference today. But a bizarrely lopsided livestream had us sweating with ten minutes to go: the manufacturer had fallen into every single...
Reaction It's Time to Accept We Can't Predict PlayStation Anymore
The company's doing its own thing
We don’t have a clue what to expect from PlayStation anymore, and neither should you. A lot has changed over the course of the last generation, and Sony’s communication strategy – or, perhaps, lack thereof – is most prominent of all. The organisation was once talkative – chatty, even – during the early...
Reaction Messy Ghost of Tsushima Upgrade Makes PS5 for the Payers
Cough up
Sony may see itself as the premium platform in the marketplace these days, but it’s up for debate how long dedicated fans will continue to pay for the privilege of playing on the PlayStation 5. While the Japanese giant’s main competitor Microsoft continues to offer outrageous value through its Xbox Game Pass program, the PlayStation...
Reaction E3 Is a Relic Desperately Clinging to Relevancy
Let it go
E3 has been the event around which the video game industry revolves for nearly three decades now, but it’s time to admit it’s a relic that has long passed its sell-by date. There will be critics of this article that will point to the pandemic as justification for this year’s inept event, but such a response ignores the very real...
Reaction Xbox Game Pass Is the Thorn in PS5's Side
Jim Ryan, we have a problem
The curtain has closed on a very strong Xbox briefing, which saw its beefed up first-party roster – and a lot of timed exclusives – deliver the first real E3 2021 livestream of the year. The event has been on life support thus far, but with good pacing and plenty of content, Microsoft proved that there is still a...
Reaction Partnerships Show PlayStation Empowering Creators, And Avoiding an Acquisition War
Sony's direction
On the eve of a Microsoft press conference, it’s hard not to be wary of the dreaded ‘a’ word if you’re a PlayStation fan: acquisitions. Oh, the dreaded acquisitions. Xbox’s well-publicised buyout of Bethesda changed everything; all bets are off when it comes to the Redmond juggernaut now, and it has the luxury of deep...
Reaction Days Gone Was PS4's Black Sheep, But a Darn Good Open World Game
Freaker on a leash
A sequel to Days Gone, the Sony Bend survival horror open world, was pitched but never given the go-ahead. That’s according to a Bloomberg report, and it’s certainly corroborated by the departure of long-
Broken bat
“Putting into a subscription model on day one, for us, just doesn't make any sense,” Sony bigwig Jim Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz prior to the launch of the PlayStation 5, when asked about Xbox Game Pass. “For others in a different situation, it might well make sense, but for us it doesn't. We want to expand and
Reaction Sony's Storefront Closures Put PS5, PS4 Backwards Compatibility Efforts Back in Focus
It hurts to see PlayStation's history left behind
Alongside long overdue confirmation of the closure of its PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and PSP storefronts today, Sony noted that the changes will allow the organisation to “refocus our resources for PS Store on PS5 and PS4, which will enable us to enhance the customer experience even further”. It’s...
Reaction Why Did PlayStation Buy Evo?
Kings of competition
In single player focused communities like Push Square, esports get overlooked. But make no mistake, this sector of the market is enormous: BBC regularly hosts Rocket League and League of Legends tournaments live on its website now, while UKIE pegs the sector’s overall global revenue at $1.1 billion as of 2020 – and that...
Reaction What Next for PlayStation?
The state of play
It’s been a strange year for PlayStation, hasn’t it? Objectively, the organisation is arguably at the peak of its power right now: revenue is ridiculous, it’s raking in more award nominations than the rest of the industry combined, and
Reaction Japan Studio's Disbandment Is Disappointing, But Not Surprising
Sammy argues the writing was on the wall
Back in 2013, when Allan Becker – the former head of Sony Santa Monica – was convinced by then-Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida to run Japan Studio, he told Kotaku his ultimate ambition: “For Japan Studio to be relevant globally in two and a half years.” In the seven plus years since that...
Reaction Sony's New PS Store Is Actively Preventing Fans from Spending Money
Cash saver
Goodness gracious, the new PS Store is an absolutely flabbergasting heap of horse doo, isn’t it? Look, we understand: coronavirus, new consoles, complicated – we recognise that rolling out a new iteration of the PlayStation Store can’t be easy. But after the previous versions – which were also rubbish, for the record – we liked...
