There were a lot of great games released in 2023, but Baldur’s Gate 3 received huge acclaim from critics and players, and it can already be called the main project of the year, although the results are still being summed up. Most of the Game of the Year awards went to Baldur’s Gate 3, as did many of the Best RPG titles of the past year. But players seem to be spending more time in Starfield, which has been heavily criticized since its release.
With so many live-service games to choose from it can be incredibly overwhelming to decide what to play these days.
Gta from 2008 can at times have ten times the player count than suicide squad 2024.
gtaiv
https://steamdb.info/app/12...
SS
https://steamdb.info/app/31...
There is a pool of players that want to be milked bdsm style that pool is not growing as fast as the amount of players that are needed to support so many of these live service titles. The limited time crap is also a chore for alot of users like how diablo 4 forces user's to max out a character every 3 months to get the new gear.
I have 300 hours in the game, and while I see why it isn’t for everyone, I never played a game with such freedom and attention to detail. The world feels alive in a way I have personally never experienced.
On a side note, my wife has never liked video games, but I got her to try this one. She now has 150+ hours in the game. It took 17 years, but I can now share one of my favorite hobbies with her. Amazing game!
I think GaaS proves not every game needs to be GaaS. Sony’s finding this out the hard way.
I mean, that’s like picking on the special needs kid. MS hasn’t been doing so hot since they launched that sh*t show of an Xbox One. In their defense their exclusives coming up look a lot hotter than say Concord, Marathon, or whatever that GaaS Heist game Sony has.
My point was less console wars and more that GaaS is the most volatile of all models of games to produce. Jim Ryan made it an initiative to double down on them. I see far more failure than success and yet these scum bags keep pushing it almost out of spite for most of them not being supported. It’s pretty revolting to be honest. There’s literally ONLY one reason GaaS exists and it’s pretty damn greedy reason.
What did Sony find out with the 12 million sales of Helldivers 2? And we didn't even find out yet with Concord as it hasn't released yet.
And is every PS5 exclusive this year GaaS? Check your math on that.
First off, pull your head out of Sony’s ass. There’s no math to check. I said Jim Ryan’s focus on GaaS. So, work on your reading comprehension skills.
While we’re at it, since I know this is going to twist into an Irrational discussion, let’s just table this for when Concord releases. I get that it’ll ruffle fanboys feathers.
I only name dropped Sony because of their GaaS focus and, well you’re on this site quite frequently, let me know the ratio of Concord negativity articles to the positive ones…
I’m also shocked at the support for GaaS. This is why we’re at this point in the industry, though.
@crimson
Who is supporting GaaS?
I'm just pushing back on your statement that "every game is GaaS". Which is obviously brain dead looking at the single player games Sony published or had exclusively released so far this year compared to live service. And after Concord there's Astro Bot and Silent Hill 2.
And Helldivers 2 is clearly the game the devs wanted to make and Firewalk is a self proclaimed multiplayer game studio so they wouldn't have made a game you wanted to play anyways.
So take your head out of your own ass and stop with the hyperbole.
First off, “the every game as GaaS” was staying on the same line as the article title, “proving that not EVERY game needs to be live-service.”
I mean, holy sh*t, why get a wild hare up your a** over that? You saw me mention Sony, which I did over Concord’s reception and the fact that they have plans for more GaaS, and you totally go into defensive fanboy mode.
“Who’s supporting GaaS?”
Literally brings up how successful Helldivers 2 is.
It’s like impossible to discuss anything with fanboys because as soon as they pull away from swallowing Sony’s gravy they’re so out of touch with any negative fact over their precious brand that it just turns into a sh*t show to have any sensible discourse.
Facts: reception to GaaS games are mostly negative than positive.
Facts: More GaaS fail over GaaS games that do succeed.
Facts: Concord is getting poor reception
Facts: Sony has a bunch more GaaS in the pipeline.
So, yea get your head out of Sony’s ass and learn to interpret and comprehend what’s being said instead of losing your sh*t and claiming hyperbole. It’s super f*cking annoying.
You're just a baby that throws tantrums when a game genre comes out that you don't like.
And when you see one be unpopular you claim they all are so they stop making it like a child without considering there are people that like these kind of games and would like new ones. I don't like them. But i'm not a narcissist to go out and demand people stop making that type of game.
You have the same mentality as the executives that closed down Japan studio. "They don't sell, nobody likes them, spread the devs to other studios to make games that people actually like and buy."
Sony had one break records and one that might bomb. That won't stop them from making more. So keep seething.
What? Live service is there to milk money. Even if BG3 had 5 mil concurrent players it still wouldn't generate any extra money, that is the point of live service and for u to not own anything. BG3 being popular will sell more copies sure but this is not the point. And this is one of the best and biggest game in recent history of course it will have good numbers, it is relatively new too. I get what you are getting at but you are kinda brute forcing your point. Kinda of a no brainer take anyway tbh
What dumb sh!t article and thinking is this that concurrent players means a thing worth talking about? It has zero influence on how much lifetime money these companies make. Bg3 sold millions of copies at 60 dollars a pop and made bank. Having a bunch of players later on revisiting the game does little to say anything other than ppl like to play it. If the numbers go down compared to a live service game it makes no difference.
Tldr: concurrent players means nothing for single player games amd this article is a waste of time on what must have been a slow news day
It doesn't show player happiness either only a snapshot of ppl liking to play it at that point in time. It makes nonsense
***It doesn't show player happiness either only a snapshot of ppl liking to play it at that point in time.***
You really need to reread what you just typed phoenixwing. Number of people playing GaaS doesn't show profit either, btw. But, 100k people regularly playing a game, let alone a SP game with no season pass or the like, absolutely is a sign of player happiness.
TNS: "We're shining a light on a bunch of "bad" games that may've been left wanting when it comes to their critical or audience reception."
Good list I've had similar reactions to some games even ones on the list like the order and Callisto
Also I recently grabbed forspoken for, 5 dollars at a eb games Clarence sale and I am actually enjoying it more than I thought I would
Sometimes you just need to give critically panned games a chance
Oh gosh, good shout on Forspoken! Genuinely forgot about that one, and haven't got around to playing it. It's on my to-buy-in-a-sale list!
Knack was great ! Had a blast with the first one. Haven’t tried the second one though due to backlog
The Fight: Lights Out was also a game i enjoyed very much and highly detailed with great motion control when you understand how they work, which is what pushed people away from this game..
Both The Order and Calisto were harshly treated in my view. I am not saying they are perfect, but the were both really solid games. I personally really liked them despite acknowledging their flaws and coincidentally, got the platinum trophy for both games.
Evil West is another really fun game that's worth checking out for sure.
Forspoken was great. Never really understood all the criticism. 2nd best traversal in a game after Spiderman
Yeah gameplay wise I get huge infamous vibes with its combat starting out as low level eventually becoming a unstoppable power spewing killing machine with a wide variety of powers infamous is one of my favourite franchises obviously it's not the same but I love the combat of it so far.
I feel like we’re finally starting to see a sea change in how we treat our favorite games. Sure, we all acknowledge that a game can suck and we can still enjoy it. Hopefully this results in meaningful review scores. Personally, I find a lot of bad games are better if you blast through them on the easiest difficulty. Callisto protocol on the image is a good example of this.
I really liked Calisto, harshly treated for sure and I don't necessarily think it needs to be played on easy to enjoy it. It's not perfect, but it's not the car crash the media portrayed it as either.
I have said it before, but part of the issue is that there is a mind share going on in games coverage, with all the main outfits being personal friends and talking too each other. As such, there is a risk that everyone ends up sharing in the same opinion rather than thinking from themselves. I reckon that's why some games get a universal bashing when consumers actually like the game and equally, games get great reviews across the board and the game doesnt land with consumers.
Actually, I started liking FO76 after the wastelanders DLC ... it has been my guilty pleasure
other games I can think of Order 1886, Driveclub, Resident Evil 6 (only the Leon part), Alpha Protocol (pretty unique, needs a remake), XIII Remake (after patches), Medal of Honor 2010, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Homefront The Revolution, Enemy Front, Legendary The Box, Faces of War, Conflict: Vietnam, Conflict: Global Storm & Codename: Panzers – Cold War
Driveclub was genuinely a good game with a poor launch. Alpha Protocol is superb, just a few archaic design choices for the time.
I want past games with interesting setups/mechanics but having some flaws (due to crunch or budget) to be remade so that the gaming community can appreciate and enjoy them as was envisioned and intended by the developers. In contrast to a successful game being remade again just with prettier coat of paint.
Alpha Protocol tops that and I'll include FO:NV as well as an exception (it is popular but features were cut due to limited dev time). And also Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines I, Singularity, KOTOR II and maybe Daikatana.
There might be others which I can't recall atm.
I loved Enemy Front. I pre ordered it months prior and remember calling the store to check if it came out that day. The guy never heard of it but confirmed my copy was ready to pick up. Game was simple and basic in a good way. Didn’t have any tacked on extras. A simple mission and objectives in each level. Kind of reminded me of the first Crysis in a way
I loved The Order, ridiculous graphics for it's time and a very interesting setting, it was linear but not as bad as people say. Similar thing with Callisto Protocol, i admit that i played it a long time after release so maybe issues were fixed by then, but it was a fantastic Dead Space-like horror game with some of the best graphics i've seen in my life.
Yup, I am afraid to say I waited on Calisto and picked it up for around 30 quid. Once I played it on felt really badly for the devs because the game was really decent.
Thanks to the Starfield Creation Kit, the "Earth Restored" mod has transformed the Earth into a Pine Forest and filled the sea with life.
Grants to Bethesda and SF.
Starfield:: Mostly Negative (8,098)
Current Players: 13,487
30-Day Avg: 12,159.6
-663.3 -5.17%
all-time peak :330,597
Baldur's Gate 3: Overwhelmingly Positive (33,383)
Current Players: 224,236
30-Day Avg: 141,139.7
+9,331.9 +7.08%
all-time peak: 875,343
Only because of gamepass lol
Larian. Players had played 452,556,984 hours in Baldur’s Gate 3 by December 5, 2023.
Bethesda. Players had spent 534,823,944 hours playing Starfield by December 20, 2023.
It's in the article. Not like it matters, the salt will commence anyway.