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[Men_in_Boxes]

I hope Sony learns from this that you CAN make great games that sell well that are smaller in budget and come out more frequently

AstroBot 2 as a PS6 launch title is basically guaranteed at this point

Now make Asobi bigger and have multiple teams/projects. Build them into the entire future of SCEJ from the ashes of what was shut down

Imagine Asobi taking on the Zelda series for instance?

People are crowning this game way too soon. We saw what all the glowing reviews did for Hi Fi Rush. Social media vibe and the real world often differ quite a bit.

 

[CherryFalls]

8 hour game where every moment is a joy, and you can replay many times >>>>> 50 hour game that gets boring after 45 minutes

 

[FoxMcChief]

You can beat just about every platformer under 10 hours. The special ones keep you coming back.

 

[GymWolf]

That's like saying Final Fantasy isn't an RPG because you don't create your own character.

A missing feature is not the same as core gameplay being different but ok, mario and astro don't play like a damn cartoony third person shooter with a lot of guns and upgrades, sure you have some platforming to do but it's super easy and basic, if it was more than that, i would not even buy the game because i don't enjoy platforming for more than a couple of minutes or hard platforming except when i'm forced in some metroidvania (and it's the part i enjoye the less)

And the rpg genre has been bastardized a lot in the past 10 years, people fight about what constitute an rpg or an action rpg or a jrpg nowadays.

 

[PropellerEar]

6hr game for $70 ... Sony are masters at this business

 

[Sethbacca]

6hr game for $70 ... Sony are masters at this business

Many of the most highly regarded games of literally all time are less than 10 hours and given the fact that we've been basically paying the same price for games for the last 30 years games are as cheap as they've ever been. I definitely paid more for some SNES and N64 games in the 90s. All of the classic Marios, Super Metroid, etc etc etc. Game length is not and has never been an indicator of quality. I'll take 10 hours of quality over 70 hours of filler.

Keep pushing for stupid long games with long development cycles and you're just asking for degredation of the gaming experience.

 

[foamdino]

Watching my boy play this now and it is an utter delight. We both have big grins on our faces with each new level. And the polish is so good.

Fantastic game, deserves to be in the running for goty

 

[twilo99]

Many of the most highly regarded games of literally all time are less than 10 hours

Right, like Hellblade 2 lol

 

[AyraSutoraifu]

Any chance it can go to 95 on MC?

 

[Sethbacca]

Right, like Hellblade 2 lol

I havent played it, so I'm not gonna attempt to speak to it. Seemed like an odd game for MS to make the flagship representation of this generation though given the niche nature of the first game.

 

[demigod]

6hr game for $70 ... Sony are masters at this business

What a failed attempt at console warring. Next time do some research so you don't make a fool out of yourself.

 

[demigod]

People are crowning this game way too soon. We saw what all the glowing reviews did for Hi Fi Rush. Social media vibe and the real world often differ quite a bit.

Difference is, PS fans actually buy their games unlike xbox fans who just plays it on gamepass.

 

[Thief1987]

I havent played it

Well, you can't because there is no game.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Difference is, PS fans actually buy their games unlike xbox fans who just plays it on gamepass.

That's true.

I still think the victory parade is being planned way too soon. If this thing doesn't crack 3 or 4 million copies (very real possibility) it's not going to push their Virtuous Cycle strategy very much.

 

[CherryFalls]

Team Asobi deserve so much better than their game being used as some tool for the console war nonsense.
Lets make it about passionate devs and their amazing games vs the shitty devs and their shitty games, rather than the xbox vs ps rubbish

 

[MistBreeze]

That's true.

I still think the victory parade is being planned way too soon. If this thing doesn't crack 3 or 4 million copies (very real possibility) it's not going to push their Virtuous Cycle strategy very much.

I know that this game selling well is important , but for me Sony releasing a 3D platformer of - Mario 3D game - quality is a victory in itself , and as a fan of 3D platformers this is enough for me

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

People are crowning this game way too soon. We saw what all the glowing reviews did for Hi Fi Rush. Social media vibe and the real world often differ quite a bit.

Nah, It's a masterpiece. Game will easily bring in $200M in revenue with a budget well below $100M. I dunno what you gain from crapping on this game. It's similar to the people that do nothing but shit on GaaS titles regardless of their quality. We should want good games, wherever they are, to succeed.

 

[Lionel Richie]

People are crowning this game way too soon. We saw what all the glowing reviews did for Hi Fi Rush. Social media vibe and the real world often differ quite a bit.

Are you a shareholder? Then just enjoy the game (if you want and it interests you obviously, don't CONSOOM blindly because the scores are good).

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Nah, It's a masterpiece. Game will easily bring in $200M in revenue with a budget well below $100M.

I don't think +100 million gets anyone excited in PlayStation brass. PlayStation is in the needle moving business now. This reads like a nice single for PlayStation (still a win) but the analytics say go for the long ball now.

I dunno what you gain from crapping on this game. It's similar to the people that do nothing but shit on GaaS titles regardless of their quality. We should want good games, wherever they are, to succeed.

You miss a huge difference. Everyone crapped on Concord - I tried to provide an alternative viewpoint which was rare. Everyone crowing Astrobot - I try to provide an alternative viewpoint, which is rare. It's the "One of us. One of us" vibe you should be resisting.

Also, I genuinely think this game is awful. You could hook me up to a lie detector and I'd pass it with ease. Game critics and social media don't influence me as much as many.

 

[mckmas8808]

That's true.

I still think the victory parade is being planned way too soon. If this thing doesn't crack 3 or 4 million copies (very real possibility) it's not going to push their Virtuous Cycle strategy very much.

3 or 4 million in what time span? This year?

 

[Astray]

Dude I'm getting into the Lost Triangle levels and whoever came up with those is a damn demon.

 

[Astray]

Also, I genuinely think this game is awful. You could hook me up to a lie detector and I'd pass it with ease. Game critics and social media don't influence me as much as many.

People who are used to garbage can't appreciate steak.

You should be staying completely quiet after hyping Concord so much. Nevermind commenting on Astro Bot.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Also, I genuinely think this game is awful. You could hook me up to a lie detector and I'd pass it with ease. Game critics and social media don't influence me as much as many.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I don't think +100 million gets anyone excited in PlayStation brass.

It should. A few games that make $100M with a lower budget and high quality means more reliable stream of profit that collectively adds up and diversifies their lineup. It's a better strategy than making 12+ GaaS games where many flop, imho. GaaS should be consolidated to only a few projects with really high budgets that know they'll do well.

Also, I genuinely think this game is awful. You could hook me up to a lie detector and I'd pass it with ease. Game critics and social media don't influence me as much as many.

That's fine you think it's awful, you have terrible taste and are dead inside if so.

 

[PaintTinJr]

That's true.

I still think the victory parade is being planned way too soon. If this thing doesn't crack 3 or 4 million copies (very real possibility) it's not going to push their Virtuous Cycle strategy very much.

I think it will do much better than that, and yes our copy arrived today and my youngest has lit up our old ZD9 with some of the best looking pixels to ever grace the screen from any game. It is visually arresting in the nicest of ways, and will age beautifully like Super Mario Sunshine's visuals.

If someone told me this was already using PSSR on PS5 upscaling from lower resolution to let them do the volume of fx and interactive particle/object interactions those visuals are at and physics modelling at whatever the resolution and frame-rate the game is, I wouldn't disbelieve them.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

3 or 4 million in what time span? This year?

I don't know enough about game budgets to give a definitive number.

All I'm saying is that I'm skeptical this game will make waves with anyone at PlayStation making long term strategic choices.

Rift Apart sold 4 million lifetime copies.

Astrobot reads like "What if we target 4 million lifetime copies with a game that costs half as much as Rift Apart?"

That's a solid single. It's great to get on base. A sure win. But analytics today is all about home runs. Maybe it goes on to sell 10 million lifetime and becomes a double / triple. Time will tell.

 

[Reaseru]

Concord widows just can't cope with Astro Bot's successful reception.

By the way, how was Concord's funeral today? How many people appeared? 30, 50 ?

 

[Killer8]

People are too obsessed over game length. It's what has led to the open-world bloat fests that nobody finishes.

Quality over quantity. It's a 94 on the critic sites right now.

Do you want filet mignon or McDonald's? A Ferrari or a Honda? 5 minutes of Gal Gaddot sucking the very soul out through your urethra or a slampig who can "go for hours"?

It's your choice.

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

6hr game for $70 ... Sony are masters at this business

Ah..... I'll buy it at a high price.

 

[Tg89]

People are crowning this game way too soon. We saw what all the glowing reviews did for Hi Fi Rush. Social media vibe and the real world often differ quite a bit.

Hi Fi Rush is sitting at an 87. Numbers might not seem far off but in game review context, 87 is common compared to a 94. It would be the 20th best reviewed game this year.

 

[Spukc]

A title to buy a ps5 for
Better then a LOT of nintendo platformers

 

[Tg89]

Dare we suggest that this could be GOTY 2024?

It'll have some competition but it's definitely gonna get a bunch.

SOTE is a very strong contender, still the best reviewed game this year, but some might disqualify it because it's an expansion (personally think that would be a mistake). FFVII, Like a Dragon, Balatro also make strong cases. Surely there will be one or two more games this year that exceed expectations and make some waves (Zelda previews were way better than anticipated as an example).

 

[DJ12]

Right, like Hellblade 2 lol

Hellblade 2 is only 10 hours if you fall asleep for 6 hours while playing and don't press up by accident while sleeping.

Astro Bot is 8 hours rushing through everything.

A subtle difference, but one that needs to be observed.

 

[mckmas8808]

I don't know enough about game budgets to give a definitive number.

All I'm saying is that I'm skeptical this game will make waves with anyone at PlayStation making long term strategic choices.

Rift Apart sold 4 million lifetime copies.

Astrobot reads like "What if we target 4 million lifetime copies with a game that costs half as much as Rift Apart?"

That's a solid single. It's great to get on base. A sure win. But analytics today is all about home runs. Maybe it goes on to sell 10 million lifetime and becomes a double / triple. Time will tell.

The bolded is what I think they are shooting for. Tony Gwynn is a hall of fame baseball player due to his insane ability to hit singles and get on base. Better than striking out 70% of the time and hoping for a home run like Jose Canseco.

 

[digdug2]

Astro Bot is not only a love letter to PlayStation history, it is a celebration of all things platforming. During this short time playing, I have caught glimpses of Super Monkey Ball, Super Mario Galaxy/3D World/Odyssey, Crash Bandicoot, Jet Set Radio, Ape Escape, and the list goes on and on. While it's a brand new game, it's super nostalgic and it's hitting the right notes for me in gameplay, visuals, and soundtrack. It brought me back to 9/9/99, firing up the Dreamcast for the first time and playing Sonic Adventure.

 

[Yoboman]

People are crowning this game way too soon. We saw what all the glowing reviews did for Hi Fi Rush. Social media vibe and the real world often differ quite a bit.

You are right but I don't think Sony and Team Asobi can have done more to set this up to succeed. 94 score, huge marketing campaign, basically having a pack in demo on every PS5

On the other hand HiFi Rush was shadow dropped, available on Gamepass and while good scores wasn't in best of the generation scores

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It should. A few games that make $100M with a lower budget and high quality means more reliable stream of profit that collectively adds up and diversifies their lineup. It's a better strategy than making 12+ GaaS games where many flop, imho. GaaS should be consolidated to only a few projects with really high budgets that know they'll do well.

I've read your posts for too long to know you don't believe this.

PlayStation operated under the AstroBot strategy (~60 person dev teams) for years and years. They moved away from it because the math wasn't mathing. You don't move away from working strategy.

You have a subconscious bias to want to believe this because you like these types of games. All the giant publishers in the industry, led by people who don't play games and therefor don't have a personal bias, have largely moved away from 60 person studios because they value math more than personal preference.

 

[Arsic]

Showed my 7 year old son a launch trailer to see if he wanted to play.

Said no.

Bought it for myself, and I have a son up for adoption now.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I've read your posts for too long to know you don't believe this.

PlayStation operated under the AstroBot strategy (~60 person dev teams) for years and years. They moved away from it because the math wasn't mathing. You don't move away from working strategy.

You have a subconscious bias to want to believe this because you like these types of games. All the giant publishers in the industry, led by people who don't play games and therefor don't have a personal bias, have largely moved away from 60 person studios because they value math more than personal preference.

I think a good strategy is 40% AAAA blockbusters, 40% lower budget experimental AA to AAA games, and 20% GaaS concentrated mostly with Bungie + some really high budget stuff like Killzone MP re-done for next-gen consoles. None of this destruction all starts. And obviously Concord was big budget but all the resources went to a lot of stupid shit like cutscenes.

 

[Bernardougf]

10/10 8-12 hr game all day over 40 hour open world ass cread bloated nonsense ...

And the gaas people shitting on Astro Bot.. dont you have a funeral to attend and pay your respects ? Remember.. no black because association between black and death is racist... . only purple and green suits.

 

[digdug2]

I think a good strategy is 40% AAAA blockbusters, 40% lower budget experimental AA to AAA games, and 20% GaaS concentrated mostly with Bungie + some really high budget stuff like Killzone MP re-done for next-gen consoles. None of this destruction all starts. And obviously Concord was big budget but all the resources went to a lot of stupid shit like cutscenes.

I think your strategy opinion is spot on. If 40% of the budget is going to AA/AAA games, they will be getting a lot more bang for their buck. It's unfortunate that Concord absolutely tank right out of the gate, but I think that many people A) don't care about hero shooters B) are burnt out on them or C) just want to stick to established games, such as Overwatch.

As for Destruction All-Stars, I am glad that it was a PS+ game. It would have done worse because it was a tough sell. It was fun for about an hour, and then I never touched it again.

 

[tomato shrub]

People are too obsessed over game length. It's what has led to the open-world bloat fests that nobody finishes.

Quality over quantity. It's a 94 on the critic sites right now.

Do you want filet mignon or McDonald's? A Ferrari or a Honda? 5 minutes of Gal Gaddot sucking the very soul out through your urethra or a slampig who can "go for hours"?

It's your choice.

10/10 8-12 hr game all day over 40 hour open world ass cread bloated nonsense ...

This. And the people whining about the price like birdbrains... nothing drops quicker than videogame prices. So just wait two fucking months if you're that appalled by paying 70 bucks for a non-bloated campaign. I still replay Symphony of the Night, Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Resident Evil 2, Super Castlevania 4, Streets of Rage 2, etc. to this day. Because they are masterpieces with tight pacing and I can finish them in one and a half long afternoons - yet they still feel like full adventures without crappy bloat. When it comes to RPGs, I'll never have the time to replay something like Dragon Quest 11 ever again. Then there's Bloodborne and Chrono Trigger at 20 hours which is still an amount of time worth investing into a replay of such good classics. And guess what, it absolutely doesn't matter what I paid for them 10-20 years ago.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I think your strategy opinion is spot on. If 40% of the budget is going to AA/AAA games, they will be getting a lot more bang for their buck. It's unfortunate that Concord absolutely tank right out of the gate, but I think that many people A) don't care about hero shooters B) are burnt out on them or C) just want to stick to established games, such as Overwatch.

As for Destruction All-Stars, I am glad that it was a PS+ game. It would have done worse because it was a tough sell. It was fun for about an hour, and then I never touched it again.

Yeah, and it basically boils down to about 1-2 AAAA games per year, and 2-4 mid AA-AAA games per year, and a few tentpole Live Service games that get updated annually. That's a good healthy portfolio, imho.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I think a good strategy is 40% AAAA blockbusters, 40% lower budget experimental AA to AAA games, and 20% GaaS concentrated mostly with Bungie + some really high budget stuff like Killzone MP re-done for next-gen consoles. None of this destruction all starts. And obviously Concord was big budget but all the resources went to a lot of stupid shit like cutscenes.

You may think that's good strategy but the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Mets, the Braves, the Dodgers etc...do not.

Maybe they know baseball more than you and I...

Anyway, I should probably check out of this thread. Genuinely hope you fine folks enjoy Astrobot.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Got it installed and ready to go. Just need to finish my work day and then battle with my kids for who gets to play it first.

 

[fallingdove]

Let the Sony Freegunners enjoy their short game

10 hours is a short game now? What does that make Hellblade? A commercial.

 

[Dacvak]

I think the thing that distinguishes a 'pure platformer' from a more action/platformer like Ratchet and perhaps even Astrobot is that the toolkit you develop is focussed primarily on jumping.

Consider Odyssey - Mario has the single jump, longer jump, triple jump, reverse jump, stomp into a higher jump, ground cap jump, jump into cap toss into lunge and, finally, a wall jump. There really aren't many games beside Mario that place jumping and the rhythm around jumping at the core of the game.

Ratchet doesn't do that at all. You jump, hover and dash. The movement of your character owes more to third person action games.

Astrobot sits between the two, but for me, is still closer to a third person action game than one which focuses on jumping and movement.

I think that's a pretty fair assessment. The only thing I'd add is that Astro Bot seems to have a lot more stage/gameplay gimmicks, which are super fun.

 

[hemo memo]

A saw a group picture for the dev team on X and no purple or blue haired on site. Couldn't find it again.

 

[Dacvak]

Got it installed and ready to go. Just need to finish my work day and then battle with my kids for who gets to play it first.

You can probably take 'em.

 

[digdug2]

I think that's a pretty fair assessment. The only thing I'd add is that Astro Bot seems to have a lot more stage/gameplay gimmicks, which are super fun.

Agreed with the stage gimmick! I absolutely loved the pirate level.