4452d ago
thedude444452d ago (Edited 4452d ago )

Good for sony,

i give them my full support in my gaming dollars when i can because they actually make tons of exclusive games, dont charge me a dime to play online, and ive been going strong with this 60gb for 4 years.

coryok4452d ago (Edited 4452d ago )

more people should look at it this way

free online (seriously, before this gen, online was always free, then here comes along one platform and charges for it? seriously, why do anyone support that?) lots of money spent on developing games as apposed to microsoft who spends their money, not on games, but on marketing? cmon man, again, why would anyone support that?

you can either support a platform holder who invests money into making a platform that has lots of games available without charging you ridiculous fees (such as online) or you can support a platform holder that charges their customers for every little thing while not putting any of that money into actually making games

whichever one is the better business model will probably be adopted by its competitor next gen so others should probably think pretty hard about this. do you want free online or dont you? do you want to have lots of games being developed or dont you? its the consumers choice

thedude444452d ago

you know it would be great if all platforms had free online, my friend was going to buy a ps3 and asked me how much is it to play online? i said it was free, and he mentions ps+ and theres no way it can be free, and i was kind of shocked right there, i was like how crazy is this gen where we think its acceptable to pay to unlock content from a disk you paid for.

4452d ago
MaxXAttaxX4451d ago (Edited 4451d ago )

I know a lot of people will try to justify XBL with "lots of features".

But the thing is, >online play< ITSELF should be available for free to all owners. And charge for all the other features separately.
Dreamcast did it. PS2 did it. PC has been doing it forever.

Then again, Microsoft would lose A LOT of subscriptions because being ABLE TO PLAY GAMES online is what most want anyways.

DigitalRaptor4451d ago

@ NathanExplosion

You summed it up perfectly. If Microsoft made online play free, whilst keeping the rest subscription based, at least 50% of their subscribers would be gone *like that*.. at LEAST 50%!

Can you see the problem there?

sikbeta4451d ago

Sales dropped 50%, you're telling me that's good?

And then some gamers actually believe this gen can keep going, the market is asking for new consoles asap!

darthv724451d ago

not so sure about that. While i would like to see a free online across the board, there would still need to be a level of online play that is tiered to the paid members.

We can almost see that will happen on a per game basis from the likes of EA and activision. PC side of free play has limitations in game types and player counts depending on the game you play. Console online could go that direction as well.

Meaning that ps plus members would get complete access to all the game maps/tracks and player count where as free members would be limited. That would not go against sony's original statement that the core of online gaming would be free.

To make up some revenue, sony can simply create these new perks for paid members. They are already paid members so to them its just part of the membership. Those who arent members could still game online but just not in the same manner as the members only.

No doubt sony has been thinking this long hard since psn was first discussed. The success of live gave them a model to work with but lack of the same level of dedicated structure like MS has lead them to decide they couldnt very well charge for the service the way it was.

The fact MS was always a paid service, there was nothing to hide. They didnt have to create the silver level but for those that just like to get demos and buy content that is sufficient for them.

Should MS make online free for the silvers? Sure, but if they did they would most likely impose some kind of restrictions to hours of play or something that differentiates that level from the gold. They would never give up the cash cow that is live gold.

We can already see that the holdout for sony in garnering more plus members is the fully free online. They are adding new features to plus members here and there but you know its got to be killing them to keep online the way it is.

They know it can make $$$ but dont want to piss off the millions who arent plus members. Those that are, things stay the same or actually could get better as it would separate the really dedicated online gamers from the casuals.

_Aarix_4451d ago

Who cares about the fee for xbl and psn. If you guys have such a giant problem with it then get a ps3. Wait -_- you have one? Well then whats the probelm?

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4451d ago
KratosWitAGun4451d ago

still got my PS3 phat 80 gig for 3 years now

xXtremeHDGamerXx4451d ago (Edited 4451d ago )

you lucky bastard mine stopped working : (

izumo_lee4452d ago

We have 3 successful consoles this gen so i can care less what Sony, Microsoft, & Nintendo say about sales. Nonetheless since a Sony console has been the majority of my gaming for over 15 years i will support them.

Thatguy-3104452d ago

Well said. I grew up with Sony consoles and I will support them no matter what. Can't wait for what they bring out next gen.

undisputed4452d ago

I grew up with Nintendo, Sega, and Sony.

Thatguy-3104452d ago

I grew up when Sony dominated the gaming scene. I will always stay loyal to them because I grew up with the franchise they created. Same can be said about the ppl that grew up when Nintendo was dominating the gaming scene and similar to kids growing up now with Microsoft xbox360.

sikbeta4451d ago

I grew up with Nintendo, then switched to PlayStation, last gen supported the 2 companies and this time I only have a PS3, next gen = when Nintendo launch it's new console, I'll buy it and I hope Sony is not stupid enough to launch last like they did this gen, or I don't know if by the time PS4 hits, I'll care about it anymore...

baodeus4452d ago

yeah i grew up with Atari, but i don't stay loyal to anyone. I go where the games are. I was more on ps brand last gen, but i like x360 more this gen. It could flip flop depend on what next gen gonna bring.

Why stay loyal to console?

YodaCracker4451d ago (Edited 4451d ago )

Same for me; last gen I owned a PS2 and a GameCube. I never even bought the original Xbox. This gen, I owned all three, but the Xbox 360 got the vast majority of my playtime, and I eventually went on to sell my Wii.

_Aarix_4451d ago (Edited 4451d ago )

Idk but over 85% of n4g users are attached to a certain platform/company. I think we all know what it is.

Me..it was
genesis, playstation 1, ps2/gamecube, xbox360/ps3/wii

izumo_lee4451d ago

Why stay loyal to console?

Think of it as in sports. We have a favorite team that we cheer for through the ups & downs. We feel pride when they do well & are upset when they do not. It is all about the passion that we have for that team that continues to lead us back to them.

I started gaming in the 80s with the NES, i was a kid with no clue what i was doing. I continued to have fun though so my parents bought me a new system when it came out. As i got older & was able to save money for myself the first system i bought on my own was the PS1 & lets just say i never looked back.

Some people follow the games & that is cool but for me all my gaming memories were on a Sony console that i worked hard to buy. And it continues to be worth every penny.

That is why i stay loyal to a console.

baodeus4451d ago (Edited 4451d ago )

@izumo lee

The point of being a gamer is to play games. The console is only a medium for that purpose.

Games define the console, not the other way around. When you talk about nintendo, you hear about Mario or Zelda. When you talk about ps, you hear about GT/UC. When you talk about xbox, you hear about Halo/Gears. People would buy the console to play these games right? Do you ever hear anyone saying they buy these games so that they can play it on that console?

If you don't have a console, you can still play games on other medium. But if you don't have game, well then the console is just a useless piece of hardware.

I can see being a fan of games (like you like RPG, JRPG, TPS, FPS, etc.....for example), but i don't understand the reason for being loyal to a console.

When people care more about a console, they getting further away from being a real gamer.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4451d ago
TheUnbiasedLion4452d ago

bugs me when people put can care less or could care less (it implies you actually do care about what they say)
I couldn't care less is the right way to say it. Not trying ot be a grammer nazi(cause i suck a spelling and punctuation) but you made your whole comment sounds like you care a lot about the big three.

On a related note good for sony though representatives usually say their words carefully to make it sounds good. As long as sony keep doing what they are doing and their vita is amazing then i will be a happy bunny.

Drekken4451d ago

I came here to say this. +Bubb for making me take less effort.

If you could care less there is obviously room for less caring which implies YOU CARE.

jessupj4451d ago

I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets irritated by this. John Clease sums it up nicely.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Knight_Cid4452d ago

i am happy they dont talk about sales.

To me its like talking about salary

its unbecoming of a gentleman

Megaton4452d ago (Edited 4452d ago )

I always imagine the Sony person writing these NPD responses pulling a bottle of Jack out of his desk drawer before starting, pouring himself a glass and gulping it down before pouring another and loosening his tie.

How many more months are we gonna hear about this mystical "momentum" they're building? Seems like they've been droning on and on about some momentum that only they can see for years now.

Guy has the balls to mention the Vita pre-orders, too. If they were really good they would have bragged about specific numbers. You'd have pre-order numbers worth bragging about if you knew how to advertise your products, Sony.

I normally avoid NPD/sales threads like the plague, but I get really tired of a lot of the things Sony does. Kaz needs to whip them into shape.

undisputed4452d ago (Edited 4452d ago )

For once, in everyone's life...can they just admit that all three are here to stay? Stop this crap and play games already.

What the hell did you expect Sony to say. 'Oh, we're doing bad and we're doomed'? Apparently, you must be a market chair analyst or something.

thedude444452d ago

yeah i agree, this sales competition is nuts. seriously...i avoid discussing such dumb things but its like 2 race car drivers saying...forget the speed and performance, how much of these do we sell? makes no sense.

Megaton4452d ago

I couldn't possibly care less about sales. I simply had the urge to comment on the ludicrous PR responses they keep releasing in the wake of less-than-stellar circumstances. They don't have to say anything at all, which would probably be a better look on them.

undisputed4452d ago (Edited 4452d ago )

Sony's focus has always been games. Not waving around the biggest stick when it comes to sales. If you expected anything different from them, then you've got the wrong company.

People need to chill out and relax. Sony isn't going anywhere and neither are the other two companies. They'll bounce back eventually.

And thank you moparful for a logical comment.

Megaton4452d ago (Edited 4452d ago )

I never said anything about anyone going anywhere, and I completely agree that having better games, which they do, is more important than sales.

However, there's a balance. Best games in the world don't do much good if they're not getting you any traction with the all-consuming public. Sony isn't a gamer charity. If people stop buying their products they can't keep funding all those games.

@mopar - You're projecting and jumping to conclusions about me. "If you hate this, you must like that". I have great disdain for PR in general and if you're gonna bring up Microsoft, I have to say I hate theirs way more than Sony's. It's much more excessive and obnoxious.

Frankfurt4451d ago

You started following Sony in the last 13 months, then?

Because only 13 months ago Sony stopped bragging about every little thing and started the "momentum" angle. Spin spin spin it Sony!

moparful994452d ago

But microsoft boasting and proclaimins superiority at every possible turn is ok? You do know that these PR reports are intended to comfort investors and not stroke some misguided fanboy egos... The fact that you made an unecessary comment regarding sony's uncessary comments is very telling....

YodaCracker4451d ago

Ha! Like Sony wouldn't be boasting about their sales if they were performing like they did last gen with the PS2. Microsoft boasts because they have earned the privilege to boast by handily outperforming their competition month after month.

moparful994451d ago

Handily? So the ps3 hasn't been outperforming the 360 for the last few years? If not for microsofts bizzare ability to shift an insane amount of consoles during the christmas rush they would have seceded to the ps3 by now in terms of overall sales...

ZippyZapper4451d ago

So you're saying Sony, or it's fans, have never proclaimed superiority over anything this gen?

What was that about misguided egos?

Tito084452d ago

@ Megaton- At least Sony's response is more decent & acceptable... I'm not saying that Microsoft's response is any bad, but I find them saying mostly exactly the same thing over & over.. "Biggest In Xbox or Videogame History" or "XXX millions of dollars, more than any console in history"....

I mean, its great & all that, & it benefits them because let's be honest there's Xbox live, which they make a ridiculous amount of money, plus those Halo & Gears sales, also Call Of Duty.... But they have such good franchises like Crimson Skies, the Rare games, PGR(-They should of kept Bizarre), Too Human(I heard it was not that great though)... If they aren't meeting the sales as they expected, at least they tried, can't be relying too much on the same IPs!!!!!

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4451d ago
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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies14d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken14d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga14d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken14d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6414d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long14d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197214d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic14d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 14d ago
DivineHand12514d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91314d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer14d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit14d ago (Edited 14d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91313d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit13d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 13d ago
Christopher14d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6913d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit13d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal14d ago (Edited 14d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher14d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken14d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197214d ago (Edited 14d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic14d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2314d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218314d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder14d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts14d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

Show all comments (43)
80°

Sony May Soon Let You Decide How Much NPCs Talk In Games

Sony has patented to add multiple dialogue modes to let players switch between how many conversations with NPCs they want in the game.

blackblades20d ago

Sony is like the only ones outta the 3 that has atuff like like this pop up changing thing in ways.

just_looken20d ago

Sony in the past has always been first at bat with new ideas/tech but in the end never fully use it or just toss it away.

blackblades20d ago

I think they did use some but yeah most usually never happened but at least they thought about it. Sony seeks things like this and other, Nintendo seek different ways of playing going by there different controler designs and console designs.

just_looken20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

some of the other stuff sony want's/owns never used
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://www.eurogamer.net/s...
https://metro.co.uk/2023/03...
https://decrypt.co/114754/s...

monitor/adjust game difficultly as you play
https://www.techradar.com/g...

Sony nfts
https://www.theblock.co/pos...

Pay ai to play the game for you
https://thebusinessofesport...

Oh all the above last 12 months

I just imagine a evil scientist with test subjects when it comes down to sony recent patent reports.

Kaii20d ago

Will we get dialogue options that won't spoil puzzles in a matter of seconds? :p

280°

Judge rules in PlayStation's favour in $500m patent infringement lawsuit

Genuine Enabling Technology was seeking damages, claiming the tech allowing PlayStation consoles and controllers to communicate infringes its rights.

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
S2Killinit22d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

Crazy to think the savings from this lawsuit allows them to develop one AAA game.

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

21d ago
Profchaos22d ago

Sounds like patent trolling they tried the same thing against Nintendo with the same pattern.

Motion and control input traversing over higher and lower frequencies seperate from each other allowing the controller to do both

Pyrofire9522d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia22d ago

So to recoup the money Genuine is going to take on Nintendo or Microsoft next. I hate patent lawyers they are some of the worst bottom feeders out there.

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