The Hot Topic Returns

[shinymcshine]

IIRC I don't think that the first Parasite Eve even got a EU/UK release did it - so what we'd really need is a whole series release - I definitely played PEII on PS1 - well upto the point of having to put in disc 2, which was scratched to bits and wouldn't play - then I got loads of hassle from Choices Video shop about a refund / exchange as it was weeks after I'd bought it (and unsurprisingly they had none in stock).

 

 

 

[HandsomeDead]

2 hours ago, one-armed dwarf said:

I think it would be an interesting candidate for a remake cause it sort of started out as FFVII if it took place in Midgar, but before it was Midgar they were supposedly going to set FFVII in New York which sounds crazy. But allegedly that got turned into Parasite Eve instead, or the two concepts crossed up at some point (they talk about that here: https://www.polygon.com/a/final-fantasy-7)

 

The main thing around FF7 is that there was an intent to bring in new blood and reinvent the series so there were a lot of concepts that were potentially a FF7.  I'm sure Xenogears was also in the running (which would also be someone's answer to this question).

 

But I've said my opinion on remakes before, the remake question is just a Monkey's Paw situation and I refuse to engage with it anymore.  I even long for the time people just ripped off other games or made derivative sequels.

[Nag]

1 hour ago, Maf said:

Does the Gameboy and Pokemon count?

 

No matter what the question is... those two things will never count. 🤣

[radiofloyd]

Would love to play a FFVIII remake on the scale of the FFVII Remake. Ditto IX.

 

Otherwise, The Legend of Dragoon would be nice.

[Nag]

21 minutes ago, radiofloyd said:

Would love to play a FFVIII remake on the scale of the FFVII

 

Not if they turn it into whatever Final Fantasy VII is now, they'd only ruin it. VIII is perfect just the way it is... I'd happily just have modernised graphics. 👌

[one-armed dwarf]

I'd like a remake of VIII with that level of production but not that level of 'content', even though I really like Rebirth. But they've said before the whole reason they do it like that is there's too much work involved in putting all those locations in a single game at modern production values and scale, so it gets broken up into parts, which is why Parasite Eve makes a lot of sense cause it's like what if Midgar was the only part or something.

 

The other thing with VIII though is they would change that whole junctioning system, which is a part of the game I find more and more interesting when returning to it cause it's so free and open in how you choose to exploit it and how it interacts with everything else in the game. A good remake would go deeper with that, but I think they've said themselves they'd take it out entirely

[Nag]

 

Quote

Nag says... "With it being fairly obvious Microsoft will be releasing a portable gaming device sometime in the future, the upcoming Switch 2 reveal and increasing rumours of Sony reentering the portable space proper what are your thoughts on portable systems becoming the next battleground? Do you think these systems (if true) are a good thing or should we stick to boxes under the tv?"

 

[shinymcshine]

I think the big take away for me (from the NS) is that it's more about the type of game that is well suited to a handheld than having the power and resolution to give you those AAA blockbuster titles in the palm of you hand.

 

We're missing the relative 'simplicity' and pocket portability of the GBA SP and DS Lite - and the games developed specifically for them - and they are still my go to systems for gaming on the move (esp. over the cumbersome size and relative lack of battery life from the NS).

[Maf]

1 hour ago, shinymcshine said:

I think the big take away for me (from the NS) is that it's more about the type of game that is well suited to a handheld than having the power and resolution to give you those AAA blockbuster titles in the palm of you hand.

This is close to where I’m at with handheld gaming. Ever since the Switch OLED I’ve enjoyed playing handhelds more than I ever have. Like I played all the Pokemon games from Gameboy through to 3DS and loved them, obviously. But I was always playing them wishing I could play them on a TV. So I always liked handheld gaming, but only because there were certain games exclusive to handhelds that couldn’t be played anywhere else. It wasn’t about the device itself

What changed for me with the Switch was - as I’ve said so many times, the OLED screen is superb and combines so well with smaller, stylised games at 720p. Even though it doesn’t change the graphics, simple looking and smaller games are more suited to it, and by extension are nicer to play, and creates a better experience than playing Switch games on a over the top, 4K screen (headphones go along way as well because the Switch speakers are tinny and bad)

 

It’s like when people talk about movies and say “you have to see it on the big screen”. Playing Switch for the past 4 years has made me realise this idea applies to games - and the reverse is true, too. Actually some games are more suited to a smaller screen. Games are powered by technology, but the right presentation enhances games as well. Which by and large Nintendo does really well. Their games generally suit the format. 
 

Which leads on to the actual question and I think Playstation and Xbox are not in the position to do handhelds. Firstly I don’t think they make the type of games suited to handhelds, and the current economics seem to make it a struggle for them to support one console, mind about two.

 

Maybe Xbox makes their version of a Steam Deck where it streams, does Gamepass and if they do open up their platform maybe it can use Steam as well. But the idea that PS or Xbox are going to have a secondary device to support and they’re going to get in to handhelds the way Nintendo are - I just don’t see it making sense for them at all. They don’t make the type of games suited to handhelds and between Nintendo, Apple and portable PC’s, what do they offer that’s different?

 

Phil Spencer basically confirmed Xbox will make a handhelds except it’s “years away”. Why is that? it would not be that hard for Xbox to make one. They have all the resources. I think the reason it’s years away is because they can’t figure out where a Xbox handheld fits in to market - and an even larger question where does Xbox as a whole fit in the market right now

 

And even though PS has the Portal I think that only exists because the PS5 is so popular and companies are beholden to make new things around an existing success. It’s almost irresponsible for them not to try sell add-ons to the PS5. But I think there’s no way Sony returns to the Vita or PSP style device. It didn’t work when the market was simpler and less crowded and they can barely get one game out a year for the PS5, how do they support a PSP2 as well?

 

I think handhelds might be in one of their strongest spots they’ve ever been in and I still think the Switch 2 is going to be a huge hit. But the only “battleground” in the handheld space right now is in Portable PC’s like Steam Deck and ROG Ally’s, etc. I just don’t think there’s room in the market for more, and there’s a fundamental clash of suitability between what PS and Xbox are good at and what succeeds in the handheld space 

[mfnick]

I like the option of being able to play a handheld when my OH is watching something shit on the TV. But really I just don’t get on with handheld gaming. There’s something about it where I’m always easily distracted, I’m never as comfortable and I just don’t get engrossed in the experience and lose myself in a game at all while handheld. 
 

If I was just doing some overworld grinding in a JRPG for example it’s spot on. But if I want a more fulfilling experience it’s got to be on the TV for me. So personally I want them to still focus on the actual console and just have something like a Portal (but one that actually works) as an option. 

 

[Maryokutai]

Two separated SKUs is off the table these days, I think when people talk about handhelds from Sony and MS they're thinking of devices like the Steam Deck or the Rog Ally that allow you to play the same kind of games you would on a console/PC on the go. Right now I don't really see the appeal, but maybe in the future when technical evolution becomes so incremental that there won't be a massive difference between console and handheld outside of maybe resolution, then yeah, for some people it might become a more interesting alternative than the big box under the TV. But that might also end up being more of a fan product than a true mainstream appealing success like the Switch, because you wouldn't be able to have the best of both worlds without buying two presumably rather expensive devices.

 

Plus the aforementioned issue with the software lineup itself. Nintendo can release Mario Wonder and it will work as well on TV as it does as a handheld experience, but would someone want to play Last of Us 3 on a handheld? And would Sony shift to build more games specifically designed around that format? Press X for doubt, considering they already were trying super hard to get 'PS3 experiences' on the Vita. They've always fundamentally misunderstood the core idea of a handheld.

 

It's an interesting evolution to watch though considering handhelds were looked at as some second class gaming devices for a certain period of time (those people have no idea what they missed). 

[spatular]

I play the switch docked most of the time, do have handhelds but mainly to play exclusives. So if Sony/ms are making handhelds that just play the same console games then they probably aren’t for me. Although I’ll still want them because I’m an idiot.

[Metroid66]

It's news to me about the Microsoft handheld. I quite like a handheld for travelling and such but I wouldn't buy a Sony or Microsoft one. There's no point. Since they're both supporting pc, why not just get one of those handhelds that supports windows.

 

I've only had a pc for about a month but I've already got games on about 5 shopfronts, with some wonderful older games that would probably work great on a small screen. I'll probably be looking for something late next year.

[DANGERMAN]

I use my Steam Deck around the house all the time. The Switch never gets played on the TV nowadays because it's not up to it, so that's a handheld device too. I'd even be up for a Portal if they were cheap. I like being able to just pick up and play

 

I keep saying that I don't really see us getting new consoles in the next year or so (proper follow ups to the Xbox and PlayStation I mean). I don't see how they can get something meaningfully more powerful than the Pro for the price of a PS5. If the manufacturers want that new console bump, then a lower power handheld that can run the same games has a place, I'd certainly be interested

[Nag]

 

Quote

Nag says... "With the PlayStation celebrating its 30th birthday what are some of your lasting impressions of the brand? Were you there from the beginning or have you jumped ship from another platform and in your opinion are Sony travelling in the right direction to enjoy another 30 years of dominance? "

 

[shinymcshine]

It was a bit underwhelming in some respects - as I was a PC gamer around that period (having left consoles at the Megadrive) - and titles like Resident Evil and FFVII just didn't really enthuse me as much as the critical reception of those games might have suggested.

 

But then something like the rocking soundtrack of Gran Turismo or later the innovative use of the dual shock for Ape Escape really brought things around, and whilst I kept on with the PC for things like Elder Scrolls (upto Oblivion) and CRPGs such as Baldurs Gate 1&2, the ease of an under TV console was back !

[DANGERMAN]

Similar to Shinymcshine, coming out of the 16 bit generation I moved more to pc for a while. Plus, to be frank, I had a 32X, and the PS1 didn't have anything better than Doom, Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing for years, so it didn't really appeal. Then it wasn't to my tastes the way the Saturn was/is 

 

In the spell we had one in the house we played a lot of Twisted Metal 2 multiplayer 

 

There's a reasonable number of PS1 games I've some fondness for, but a lot were played elsewhere. As a rule though I've no fondness for the PS1 as a machine, especially as it barely functioned half the time 

 

The PS2 ended up being a fantastic machine, same for the PS4 

 

 

[Nag]

I remember giving away my Megadrive to a younger family member and spending a year or so away from gaming (a mix of lack of cash and girlfriend at the time helped) a mate bought a PlayStation and I did play that quite a bit... the usual games Wipeout, Tekken and the big one Resident Evil. It wasn't until the release of Resi 2 that I finally got hold of the original machine... through store credit at Currys.

 

It's mainly the Resident Evils, Dino Crisis and Final Fantasy games that stick out for me on that machine... although I played it alot. After a stint on Dreamcast I returned to the Sony ship with Playstation 2 which was an amazing machine, skipped PS3 for various reasons and the rest is recent(ish) history.

[Sly Reflex]

I think for me the PS1 was more than a game console. It came at exactly the right time and penetrated the public consciousness in a way that changed the perception of games. That was such a shift back then and although you can look back on it now and see it for what it was, that way that Sony rehabilitated games from where they came from before they were infantilised during the Nintendo and Sega years has to be applauded.

 

I think at that time in my life I'd already heavily invested in games, and as an only child I spent a lot of time with people much older than me at whatever gatherings I ended up at, and games would only really be referenced in topics where someone would be like "My kid's birthday is next week and I got him this" before moving on. It was never something that was dwelled on much, I always remembered when it was brought up because my ears would prick, but as quickly as it erupted it would subside. People just weren't interested in talking about it. There's one conversation I remember having in the early 90's about the Amiga 600 and the game Pushover, the guy was clearly into it, but when my 10 year old pressed him on it it was sort of one of those occasions where it's like "I would like to talk about this, but I really can't this isn't the time or place". So it got swept under the rug.

 

Sony entering the fray altered all of that. I would see people lend games to each other a beer and a training session. People would talk about stuff. There would be a big folder going round where you could get pirate copies. Everyone knew multiple chip guys. It became something that was well out in the open and it wasn't just the maladjusted weirdo's like myself talking about it. Basically of you were a man between the ages of between 14 and 40 you were aware or taking part in it. I knew people in my social circle on the fringes that were a few decades removed from me that I would have conversations with that I would have never spoken to before, it broadened the social aspect of it greatly. And really it wasn't that the games changed all that much. They still talked about FIFA. They still talked about Racing or rallying. They still talked about cricket, all of which had representation in the previous generations, but this time it was marketed in a way that allowed that discussion in a social arena outside what it normally would have. It put it firmly back in normal peoples lives.

 

I was there nearly at the start. Outside the PS2 and PS5 I've owned everything Sony have put out, including both PSP and PSV. I think to one point where they seemed very anti establishment but professional, now they are sterile and glassy. They lack any sort of ID that I resonate with. Maybe that's just me getting old. I don't know. I don't feel like I need to own a PS5, or whatever comes after because the allure of paying for what is a limited and walled garden isn't for me. Maybe one day it will be again, I don't know. People come in and out of your life and it's the same for anything else. We've all fallen off a tv show and then gotten back into it. Sometimes that separation is permanent, sometimes only temporary. Time will only tell.

 

Despite all that, I am thankful that Sony did issue the paradigm shift. I think even if they didn't do it at some point someone would have instated it and changed that landscape, because it was all but certain it was going to happen. It's like everyone crediting The Beatles with pop music blowing up, if it wasn't going to be them it would have been someone else. All the foundations were there for it to happen, Sony just took the reigns and ran with it.

 

As for another 30 years of dominance? I am not sure that dedicated console gaming platforms will be a thing in 30 years. The first PS could play CD's and although that was just a little bonus I think it was a sign of things to come. We ended up with the added bonuses of being able to watch DVD/s Blurays and stream all sorts of services to each iteration that came out. Microsoft was right all along with the Xbox One, they were just way ahead of the curve. yes, you might be using those systems to play games, but people use them for so much more.

 

I remember back before the Xbox was released and reading an article in I think EDGE magazine interviewing Bill Gates and him saying that he wants a PC under the TV that basically routes all your entertainment though, and to me that's where consoles went bit by bit. However, I think that consoles are in danger of being cannibalised by cloud gaming now. They've tried to push this a few times now, we've seen several high profile failures and it's really only a matter of time before all these dreams of people playing AAA games on their phones become a reality. At that point, it's sort of out of our hands, quite literally. I am thinking that having any local machine will be a thing of the past, since all the computing will be done on their side.

[Metroid66]

Playstation has been my first call for most of my gaming life. Their 'essentials' are sort of my essentials, and I'd buy a console if there was no other way to play the next GoW, Ratchet, tLoU, etc. Unfortunately, for the brand, there is.

 

I've moved to pc, and it seems the perfect fit for me. I just wish I had access to the ps 2/3 era exclusive games without having to hook up old consoles and hating the way they run and look. I do know there's a way, but it's beyond my computing skills.