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[NightmareFarm]

The vast majority of Sony's catalogue during the 2010s and onwards like TLOU, Uncharted, HZD/FW, Death Stranding, etc are too story-heavy and realistic for a lot of peoples tastes. They used to have plenty of "fun" games like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter and inFAMOUS but now they rarely pump out those type of games anymore and even the ones they do(like Spiderman) still have the narrative gimmicks present like slow walking, investigation scenes, forced stealth scenes that bog down the game. There isn't much in Sony's library(or pretty much modern gaming in general besides indies) to scratch that simple fun game vibe anymore. That's all a lot of gamers want, we don't want just interactive movies when we could just watch an actual movie. And real life is depressing, why would we want games to be like that, gaming is supposed to be an escape from all of that.

On the other hand, Nintendo's exclusives have always been "gameplay first" and Xbox has plenty of fun looking non-cinematic games like Sunset Overdrive, Hi-Fi Rush, Killer Instinct and the newly released Palworld. For the first time, i'm tempted to grab an Xbox since their exclusives look vastly superior in 2024.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Avengers fuck him up

 

[mayham2199]

I feel like plenty of other companies are doing that. I prefer Sony keep doing what they are doing.

 

[rofif]

their games are gameplay focused.
They just have a lot of cinematic cutscenes on top of hours and hours of gameplay

 

[Punished Miku]

My personal taste would say, yes. But I don't know if the PS audience still feels that way honestly. Things change all the time and it's been 10 years since that was their focus. Those games might not sell as well now for all we know.

I'm curious to see how Concorde sells. Feels like it's focused on gameplay, and it's a new IP, and a new genre for first party we haven't seen in a while. We don't yet know how the game is just yet, but if it blows up it'll show that PS gamers are hungry for more variety. TLOU2 remastered sales show they are definitely still hungry for the trademark cinematic stuff Sony has mastered.

 

[nial]

Early PS5 era was full of those.

 

[NightmareFarm]

their games are gameplay focused.
They just have a lot of cinematic cutscenes on top of hours and hours of gameplay

Games like TLOU, Uncharted, GOW, HZD, etc are story focused not gameplay focused.

 

[Punished Miku]

Early PS5 era was full of those.

And they all bombed. But you're right.

We just don't know if they bombed due to system availability, or changing taste.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

 

[TropicanaTwista]

their games are gameplay focused.
They just have a lot of cinematic cutscenes on top of hours and hours of gameplay

This. I cannot stand this argument from people. Just because Sony games tend to have intriguing stories, and/or cutscenes unlike a heavy majority of games made nowadays, doesn't mean the gameplay is automatically ass. It is possible to have both. And imo, Sony games typically accomplish that.



Edit: Even thinking about this more, I don't even think OPs point is true at all. You listed Killer Instinct. That was a freaking launch game for Xbox 1 over a decade ago!!! Even sunset overdrive was years ago. What about Sony games like Sackboy a big adventure, or Returnal or the new Rachet and clank or Astrobot. It's kind of like you're making a nothing argument here.

 

[DonF]

i just want them to take more risks.

I want more gravity rush, and less slow walking press x to climb games.

 

[Mr Hyde]

I sure do miss the days of Puppeteer, Gravity Rush and Tearaway, but I'm not really bothered by Sony going the realistic route with cinematic action adventure games. The third party support are filling in the blanks in regards of missing genres. I also have Nintendo and PC to fall back on if I want to scratch that particular itch.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Games like TLOU, Uncharted, GOW, HZD, etc are story focused not gameplay focused.

Bruh fucking wat. Uncharted and TLOU are one thing but Horizon and GOW? You're on crack

 

[nial]

And they all bombed. But you're right.

We just don't know if they bombed due to system availability, or changing taste.

Looking at the sales of stuff like Ape Escape 3 or the entire Sly series, I don't think tastes have really changed that much as you believe. Pretty sure Rift Apart has already outsold all of those.

 

[JaksGhost]

The vast majority of Sony's catalogue during the 2010s and onwards like TLOU, Uncharted, HZD/FW, Death Stranding, etc are too story-heavy and realistic for a lot of peoples tastes. They used to have plenty of "fun" games like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter and inFAMOUS but now they rarely pump out those type of games anymore and even the ones they do(like Spiderman) still have the narrative gimmicks present like slow walking, investigation scenes, forced stealth scenes that bog down the game. There isn't much in Sony's library(or pretty much gaming in general besides indies) to scratch that simple fun game vibe anymore. That's all a lot of gamers want, we don't want just interactive movies when we could just watch an actual movie. And real life is depressing, why would we want games to be like that, gaming is supposed to be an escape from all of that.

On the other hand, Nintendo's exclusives have always been "gameplay first" and Xbox has plenty of fun looking non-cinematic games like Sunset Overdrive, Hi-Fi Rush, Killer Instinct and the newly released Palworld. For the first time, i'm tempted to grab an Xbox since their exclusives look vastly superior in 2024.

 

[Aces High]

Yeah, something crazy like Vanquish.

 

[NightmareFarm]

I feel like plenty of other companies are doing that. I prefer Sony keep doing what they are doing.

I'd be fine if there was at least a more even split of gameplay/story focused content but with Sony it's like 90% Realistic story games, 10% Fun games nowadays.

I don't see many other compenies doing that other than indies and some eastern companies.

 

[Kssio_Aug]

I wholehearted agree. I had a blast with PS3, and was kinda disappointed with their change of direction since then.

But that's clearly a minority opinion, since their first party games are doing so well now, and people defend them with their teeth whatever you say. Also, a game that looks good on trailers and stuff works quite well for marketing.

 

[Bartski]

story focused content but with Sony it's like 90% Realistic story games, 10% Fun games

 

[Vick]

Games like TLOU, Uncharted, GOW, HZD, etc are story focused not gameplay focused.

Why is this kind of shit nowhere to be seen for every Final Fantasy, Evil Within, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Red Dead Redemption, GTA, Gears of War, Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed, Dead Space, etc. etc. that we get?

 

[nial]

I had a blast with PS3, and was kinda disappointed with their change of direction since then.

We need to stop pretending Sony didn't spend an entire generation shilling Uncharted and Infamous (all which I really like ).

 

[Bond007]

I mean of course- i love variety. I also love and prefer story based games.
Its all gameplay

 

[tmlDan]

true, Ratchet doesn't exist, neither does sackboys a big adventure.

Guess they gave up on those (clearly)

 

[Lucifers Beard]

I'd like them to revisit all the IPs that have been dormant like Warhawk/Starhawk, Killzone (especially for MP), Wipeout (where the fuck is this one, it's a solid bet for VR!) and that's just naming a few.

I like some of their third person action adventure games but Spiderman is boring, Naughty Dog are just spit shining new games and the SSM haven't made a peep since Ragnarok, which is fine since they just released DLC.

Let's hope state of play shows some promise, Rise of Ronin could be good but I'm not massively confident in the showing.

 

[NightmareFarm]

true, Ratchet doesn't exist, neither does sackboys a big adventure.

Guess they gave up on those (clearly)

outlier
noun [ C ]

UK

/ˈaʊtˌlaɪ.ər/ US

/ˈaʊtˌlaɪ.ɚ/

Add to word list
a person, thing, or fact that is very different from other people, things, or facts, so that it cannot be used to draw general conclusions:
People who live past 100 are genetic outliers, whose longevity is unreachable for most of us.

 

[nial]

Why is this kind of shit nowhere to be seen for every Final Fantasy, Evil Within, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Red Dead Redemption, GTA, Gears of War, Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed, Dead Space, etc. etc. that we get?

People don't set higher standards for third-parties, this is why you see them being fine with Capcom being a Resident Evil remakes-machine.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

These neither drive console sales nor sell over 10 million copies

 

[Kssio_Aug]

We need to stop pretending Sony didn't spend an entire generation shilling Uncharted and Infamous (all which I really like ).

Uncharted at the time was much more tongue in cheek. Uncharted 4 tone is much more serious, and it's pacing is much worse than U1~3 thanks to the amount of cut-scenes and walking sections. InFamous was also super fun to play... I wouldn't say that Second Son suffered the same issue as Uncharted, but it just wasn't nearly as fun to play either.

 

[NightmareFarm]

These neither drive console sales nor sell over 10 million copies

It would broaden Sony's appeal to people who don't care about movie games. Those people currently have no incentive to get a PS5.

 

[midnightAI]

Forgetting Astrobot already? We even got it free with the PS5

 

[Magic Carpet]

At least turn down the Drama in the games.
When was the last time you saw a Sony character laugh?
Smile?

 

[hinch7]

Xbox exclusives look vastly superior in 2024.

Meanwhile.. FF7 Rebirth releases in a months time.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

It would broaden Sony's appeal to people who don't care about movie games. Those people currently have no incentive to get a PS5.

as you said, they already did that, i think today´s market is way competitive (PC and Mobile are stronger markets) and the quality of indies is way higher. The oportunity cost of having 20-50 devs working on something different than "movie games" is too high. Sony better seek partnerships/talent

Kena, Stray, Stellar Ass, and shit like that.

 

[Aion002]

I completely disagree with you...But I just want to say that if you want to buy an Xbox, you should.

Life is too short, just enjoy what you want.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Like it or not its the kind of public they've built. I too would like to see a motorstorm but alas...

Just get the xbox as you want, life is too short. Or immerse yourself in third parties, plenty of great stuff there too.

 

[Danjin44]

This gen I care faaaaaaar more about 3rd party games compare to Sony's first party.....So I get good variety.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

i'm tempted to grab an Xbox since their exclusives look vastly superior in 2024.

im afraid you gotta wait until next year, champ.

 

[Vick]

Personally, the real issue with heavy focus on narrative boils down to quality of writing in a best case scenario, literal activism and propaganda in the worst. So I for sure get some people wanting to distanciate themselves from it for the time being.

Yeah, something crazy like Vanquish.

Eh..




But speakinbg of GoW, I do agree to a certain extent because Ragnarök did nothing for me in the end as a sequel also because of those completely out of place and super long walking sections.
And I truly with all my heart wish studios as a whole would stop taking inspiration from Naughty Dog as they proved one too many times they're the only one who can make those structures work.
I love to play Naughty Dog games and yet despise with all my heart any walking simulator or shit like A Plague Tale you would need to pay me obscene amount of money to make me waste my time on.

People don't set higher standards for third-parties, this is why you see them being fine with Capcom being a Resident Evil remakes-machine.

I sure do see some of those same individuals praising the crap out of RE4R though.. or even Alan Wake 2, or be excited for Hellblade 2.

 

[YCoCg]

Puppeteer, rain, Gravity Rush, etc all bombed though, they even released Gravity Rush multiple times and it still bombed.

 

[tmlDan]

outlier
noun [ C ]

UK

/ˈaʊtˌlaɪ.ər/ US

/ˈaʊtˌlaɪ.ɚ/

Add to word list
a person, thing, or fact that is very different from other people, things, or facts, so that it cannot be used to draw general conclusions:
People who live past 100 are genetic outliers, whose longevity is unreachable for most of us.

But they're not outliers, they're common games within the portfolio

 

[Hypereides]

I agree, but you'll be met with ferocious resistance from "fans" (read: fanboys) who act complacently in whichever direction Sony goes. I still recall vividly how some here cheered for the closure of Japan studio. Sony used to have some really neat ideas that were years ahead of their time. Shame they abandoned that approach...

That said, like some have already mentioned, you'll find some compensation in what third parties (primarily indies, A and AA) have to offer if you look around.

 

[midnightAI]

For the first time, i'm tempted to grab an Xbox since their exclusives look vastly superior in 2024.

Couldnt even wait one more day to see their state of play huh?

 

[NightmareFarm]

Meanwhile.. FF7 Rebirth releases in a months time.

The first 7R suffered from the aforementioned cinematic virus that plagues most modern sony titles. It's on rails, everywhere you go there is some slow walking, squeezing through rubble for 15 seconds or hold X button and wait sequence. Then half of the cutscenes are padding to bloat out what was originally 10 hours into the size of a full 40 hour JRPG. The original is better.

 

[midnightAI]

I agree, but you'll be met with ferocious resistance from "fans" (read: fanboys) who act complacently in whichever direction Sony goes. I still recall vividly how some here cheered for the closure of Japan studio. Sony used to have some really neat ideas that where years ahead of their time. Shame they abandoned that approach...

That said, like some have already mentioned, you'll find some compensation in what third parties (primarily indies, A and AA) have to offer if you look around.

 

[NightmareFarm]

Couldnt even wait one more day to see their state of play huh?

I do look forward to Stellar Blade but that's about it. Unless they also show Lost Soul Aside which I doubt.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

The vast majority of Sony's catalogue during the 2010s and onwards like TLOU, Uncharted, HZD/FW, Death Stranding, etc are too story-heavy and realistic for a lot of peoples tastes. They used to have plenty of "fun" games like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter and inFAMOUS but now they rarely pump out those type of games anymore and even the ones they do(like Spiderman) still have the narrative gimmicks present like slow walking, investigation scenes, forced stealth scenes that bog down the game. There isn't much in Sony's library(or pretty much gaming in general besides indies) to scratch that simple fun game vibe anymore. That's all a lot of gamers want, we don't want just interactive movies when we could just watch an actual movie. And real life is depressing, why would we want games to be like that, gaming is supposed to be an escape from all of that.

On the other hand, Nintendo's exclusives have always been "gameplay first" and Xbox has plenty of fun looking non-cinematic games like Sunset Overdrive, Hi-Fi Rush, Killer Instinct and the newly released Palworld. For the first time, i'm tempted to grab an Xbox since their exclusives look vastly superior in 2024.

I miss Sony's First Party output from the PS1 and PS2 days. They were fun and could compete with Nintendo back in the day. Now a days it's all realistic, cinematic games. If you like them that's fine but I wish they could diversify their lineup of first party games

 

[hinch7]

The first 7R suffered from the aforementioned cinematic virus that plagues most modern sony titles. It's on rails, everywhere you go there is some slow walking, squeezing through rubble for 15 seconds or hold X button and wait sequence. Then half of the cutscenes are padding to bloat out what was originally 10 hours into the size of a full 40 hour JRPG. The original is better.

And yet is bigger than all of Xbox exclusives this year as franchises go. Personally I'd rather play one high quality release than many others randos but that's just me.

 

[Danjin44]

Puppeteer, rain, Gravity Rush, etc all bombed though, they even released Gravity Rush multiple times and it still bombed.

If game industry only focus games with mass appeal that guarantees high sells then gaming industry becomes boring as fuck.

Did games like ICO sold high numbers? no but I'm fucking glad game like exist and I want to see more games like that......I want to see Vanillaware continue make game even tho their games dont sell COD numbers.

This is why I find Sony's first party selection this gen so fucking boring, it has become similar to modern Disney movies.

 

[Crayon]

You examples include ki, pal world, and sunset overdrive. You may be reaching. Demons' ratchet and returnal are all older now but ki and sunset are way back there, now.

There's a stereotype that the sony 'cinematic' games play bad or something but the ones I've played are among the best gameplay by western standards.

Like someone try defining a cinematic game. Can you do it without including rdr, Harry Potter, ass creed, etc? Because the way the term is applied seems highly selective.

 

[NightmareFarm]

I miss Sony's First Party output from the PS1 and PS2 days. They were fun and could compete with Nintendo back in the day. Now a days it's all realistic, cinematic games. If you like them that's fine but I wish they could diversify their lineup of first party games

Right, at least go 50/50.

And yet is bigger than all of Xbox exclusives this year as franchises go. Personally I'd rather play one high quality release than many others randos but that's just me.

Popular =/= High Quality