The shift away from physical media has been one of the most divisive topics in console gaming for years, and PlayStation sits right at the centre of it. The latest voice to enter the conversation is Kutaragi, the creator of the original PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, who has offered a measured view of a row that has split the community. According to the discussion, Kutaragi comprehends both perspectives of the debate. That even-handed position stands out in a conversation that tends to produce strong opinions on either side, with preservation-minded players on one hand and those who have embraced all-digital convenience on the other. What makes the current mood notable is how low it has fallen. The prevalent feeling regarding PlayStation among dedicated gamers is currently at a significant low, and the report points to a specific cause: the company’s choice to halt the production of disc-based versions of PlayStation titles beginning...
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Another month, another batch of games heading to PlayStation’s subscription service, and October’s line-up is once again prompting the question subscribers ask every time: is it enough? Nine new titles are arriving to PS Plus Extra and Premium this month, spread across the two higher tiers of the service. Premium sits on top of the stack with access to the widest catalogue, while Extra offers a large rotating library of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games without the streaming and classic extras. Because the two tiers serve different appetites, a month’s value often depends on which one you pay for. Premium subscribers tend to look for older and more experimental software alongside the headline additions, while Extra members are usually watching for a big, recognisable game they had not yet bought at full price. On that front, the line-up appears to deliver. The writer singles out Mafia: The Old Country as a rather significant...
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Earning a Platinum trophy is a strange kind of achievement. It carries no material reward and exists outside the game itself, yet for a certain kind of player the completion percentage at the bottom of a profile is a record worth keeping. This ongoing series looks back at the games that finally pushed a Platinum over the line. Entry number 39 is Stray, and the date achieved was 23rd July 2022. The writer describes it as probably the only game they have ever speedran for a trophy, which says something about how a single dangling objective can reshape the way you play. Stray is an unusual candidate for that kind of behaviour. It is a game built around atmosphere as much as challenge, following a stray cat through a densely detailed, neon-lit world. Its appeal lies in mood, exploration and the small, tactile details of moving like an animal, rather than in the combat...
Read MoreThe release calendar does not slow down for long, and the week of the 19th to the 25th of October is shaping up to be a busy one for PlayStation owners. By the current count, more than 35 games are due across PS5 and PS Plus, which is a lot even by the standards of a crowded autumn. Leading the pack is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, easily the biggest name on the list. The modern warfare sub-series has been one of the franchise’s most reliable draws, and a new entry is always going to dominate the conversation in the week it arrives. If you would rather not wait for the official launch, the campaign can already be experienced in early access, which gives eager players a head start on the story before the wider release. It is not a solo act. Final Fantasy Resonance brings a very different flavour to the schedule,...
Read MoreConsole pricing has rarely been a comfortable subject, and the next generation looks set to make the conversation harder still. According to the latest discussion, all expectations of the PS6 debuting at an acceptable price point seem to be diminishing daily, and the reason is not anything Sony has done wrong. The culprit is the broader economy, and specifically the way artificial intelligence has reshaped demand for computing components. This is described as a challenging economy disrupted by AI’s dominance over computing parts. Data centres built to train and run AI models consume enormous quantities of memory, storage and silicon, and that appetite competes directly with the supply that consumer hardware depends on. When demand for a component outpaces supply, prices rise, and manufacturers prioritise the customers willing to pay the most. Consumer electronics sit far down that queue, which pushes up the cost of building a games console. A machine that might once...
Read MoreNot every game gets a second life, but a survival sim that launched on Xbox One is about to receive one this holiday season. A free upgrade for Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is on the way, and it is set to transform the experience on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on December 8th. For the uninitiated, Ancestors is a survival game with an unusual premise. It casts the player not as a soldier or a hero but as an early hominid, tasked with surviving a hostile prehistoric world and, over time, guiding a lineage forward. It is often described as a creature transformation simulator, because progress is measured in evolutionary leaps rather than levels or loot. That structure makes it a natural fit for a technical overhaul. Survival games lean heavily on atmosphere, and atmosphere depends on dense environments, convincing lighting and believable wildlife. A version rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 has...
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