The Thursday letters page wonders how many dedicated gamers there really are, as a reader asks what will be at the 2024 PlayStation Showcase.
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Game of the quarter
I’d have to agree with Angry_Kurt and say that Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown as the best game of the year so far is a good call and on the mark. I played the demo and saw enough that I liked, so I bought the game as soon as it was heavily discounted. At the moment it’s just over £20, so it was a no-brainer. It was a toss-up between that or The Mobius Machine, which GC reviewed recently, which scored lower on the review and is around the same price point now.
What’s more, I watched the breakdown of its performance on Digital Foundry and even if you’re playing on a Switch it’s running at 60fps at 1080p docked. If you’re lucky enough to have a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X it’s up to 120fps at 4K. All versions across the board are well tuned so you’re getting a great game at a good price.
Nick The Greek
Logical conclusions
Not really any new information, in the story about what people were playing last year, but to see everything laid out like that… it’s hard not to be worried about the future of gaming.
The small number of people playing and appreciating the video games we talk about everyday on the Inbox is demoralizing and shows that for many ‘gamers’ all video games means is an excuse to go online and talk to their friends.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but it means the number of people that like more complex or unusual games is much smaller than we probably think. You can’t even say it’s always been like this, and we just didn’t know either, since so many of the most popular games are free-to-play live service games.
It’s not hard to see what conclusions a bean counter looking at these figures would come to…
Lempton
Catching up
The 3DS was a good handheld console, for the time, but I’ve always felt Nintendo have always fallen behind with graphics and power, as it’s so-called competitors. Which I personally think they haven’t ever caught up.
Nintendo have had some very good games, but sometimes feel like they are still stuck in the 90s to the early 2000s.
Rob
GC: This letter certainly seems like it’s stuck in the 2000s. The 3DS outsold its rival, the more powerful PS Vita, by over 60 million consoles.
Invisible improvement
I find it interesting some people can’t visually see the difference between 30fps and 60fps. I notice the difference immediately, and I’m not a pro gamer. You can easily put this to the test without a video game.
If you change your TV setting to smoothing/motion flow, it changes the standard frame rate from 24/30 to 60/120 on modern TVs. The result is a ‘soap opera’ effect. It’s extremely jarring. But unlike video games, it’s unnatural. I find it hard to believe nobody could notice the difference with this simple experiment.
30fps in games can be mitigated with good motion blur. Without it, the frame rate is very noticeable to me.
Anon
Summer occasion
If Silent Hill 2 becomes the most thrilling thing at PlayStation’s summer display then we are in trouble. Maybe it’s the only one we know about for sure, especially with all the leaks, but what does Sony have in store?
They are aware that the Xbox summer display was well-received last year, so will they have a response that really tries to compete? What do they mean by no major releases until next year and does that leave room for smaller things like Astro Bot and this Concord live service game?
I don’t know for sure, but I am also hoping for an announcement about the new boss for PlayStation. With no big games for 12 months and no leader, is it any wonder people are losing faith?
SDA
2024 plan for the future
So I’ve chosen to have a gaming spree and speed running marathon in 2024. Here is my progress so far. I think I’m doing pretty well. Just finished up Forspoken. It's not a bad game at all. Frey is an okay character. Overall, I can’t wait to add more to my list. Here’s to a great journey ahead.
Shahzaib Sadiq
Video games I’ve completed in 2024
(1) Batman: Arkham City (Steam Deck)
(2) Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Steam Deck)
(3) Ghost Of Tsushima (PS4)
(4) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4)
(5) Fallout 4 (Steam Deck)
(6) Far Cry 4 (PS4)
(7) Doki Doki Literature Club! (Steam Deck)
(8) The Elder Scrolls 4: Skyrim Special Edition (Steam Deck)
(9) Dishonored (Steam Deck)
(10) Horizon Zero Dawn (Steam Deck)
(11) Forspoken (PS5)
Successful Fallout
Since this Fallout TV show actually looks good and will probably be a hit, will we also get an Elder Scrolls show? That is basic TV/movie executive logic: if one thing is a hit, then create something similar.
The Amazon Lord of the Rings series is terrible and I don’t really like House of the Dragon either, so there’s room for a not-so-serious fantasy show that also wouldn’t necessarily be that expensive (Skyrim is basically just Vikings with the occasional dragons). I’d watch it.
Clarke
Slim chance
So, recently, my phone decided not to recognize my SIM card anymore. Which was a lot of fun. I had to go to the store of my local provider to get it fixed. It's EE. For my many sins. Who am I kidding? They’re all pretty much the same.
After a lengthy process, I somehow managed to survive the barrage of aggressive sales talk, even though it took me a few days to sort things out. Yes, days. But they did make me a tempting offer. They offered me a PlayStation 5 to take home as part of some kind of installment plan. About £31 a month, I think.
I couldn’t take advantage of it at the time, as I didn’t have enough credit on my flexi plan… or something. Blue sky thinking. Outside the box. Be a strawberry. Get it while stocks last; blah, blah, blah. Hubba, hubba, hubba – who can you trust?
Now, you might say that this ends up being more expensive in the long run. It might. I haven’t inquired about that. That being said, I’m on benefits and am long term mentally ill. My chances or even ability to escape the poverty trap is… slim. Slimmer than any PlayStation Slim. Ha ha.
This might be my only opportunity to upgrade to a next generation console. I want Mortal Kombat 12(1), Tekken 8, Baldur’s Gate 3, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and maybe even Dragon’s Dogma 2 when it's on sale. It seems like it's only valued at about £25. I really enjoy a good character creator.
So… is that a good deal? Has anyone else taken advantage of this?
DMR
Inbox also-rans
When will Sony announce they’re buying Arrowhead? I’m really enjoying Helldivers 2 and the recent updates have been great too, they’re really doing everything right at the moment.
Soldat
Will second GC’s review of Pepper Grinder. Bought it because it was inexpensive and due to the Drill Dozer connection and it has not let me down. Definitely the best indie game I’ve played this year.
Focus
The small print
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