Gaming

Games Inbox: Sony PS5 reveal preview, Star Wars: Battlefront 3 hopes and Nintendo Switch leaks


Will the PlayStation reveal event live up to the hype? (pic: Sony)

The Monday Inbox looks at Microsoft and Sony’s different approaches to exclusives, as a reader asks about your favourite Japanese video game.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

One-upmanship
So here we are, on the cusp of finally learning something about the next generation. Probably less than five months before they’re released. That’s crazy, but it’s been a crazy year and at least now we have a time and date to look forward to. But… what if it’s another disappointment? What if this is the equivalent of Microsoft’s ‘gameplay’ reveal? It already is in terms of purpose, whether it is in terms of content.

I don’t think gamers can take another wet squib, not with no E3 and so little information or things to get excited about recently. I would hope Sony understands that and I think they do. Or rather, I think they will have gone over all Microsoft’s recent mistakes (and successes) with a microscope and making sure everything they do and say will be seen as one-up on Xbox.

How many games will be shown, who can say, there’s no way to guess but logically the thing to do now was to show off some games that are only possible on next gen, to prove that Sony’s attitude towards exclusives is correct (I’m not saying it is, just from their perspective it must be). After the Unreal Engine 5 demo that should be quite the sight. I’m hope that then next gen will begin this week.
Coffey

Two and done
So with EA stopping making new content for Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and it free on PS Plus I guess that officially draws a line under what I think we can call a troubled game. I will insist it is a very good game though. I’m sure many people will avoid it even when it’s free because of its reputation but the updates since have bene great and the game itself was always good, it’s just the way they were going to use loot boxes that was the problem – but microtransactions never got turned on so it was never an issue.

The loot boxes are still in there, which makes player progression a pain but they managed to finesse the system enough that it took out a lot of the randomness and worked really well. I really recommend everyone give it a go as it has some of the best graphics of the generation and even stuff like the spaceship mode is very good.

Which brings me to the other point of my letter: I hope they don’t do another one. That may seem at odds with what I’ve just said but Battlefront 2 was and is great, so let’s move on. Let’s see what this Project Maverick thing is and get some kind of Mandalorian bounty hunter game going. The only problem with success is it tends to put a stop to innovation, so now that victory has been snatched from the jaws of defeat let’s move on to bigger and better things!
Kimble
PS: A don’t for a second think EA, or any publisher, would think like this.

Japanese curios
Do any other readers have a favourite Japanese game or game franchise that has made little impact in the West (or has not even been officially released outside of Japan)?

I know Mother 3 has a big word of mouth fan following and I hope it does get an official release someday, however the game series I would really like to see properly localised in its entirety is Ganbare Goemon. SNES Legend Of The Mystical Ninja is good (despite the annoying renaming of the main characters) but the three sequels are superb.

I suspect it’s unlikely but I would love to see a compilation package released featuring full, decent translations.
John

GC: Considering it’s published by Konami we think ‘unlikely’ is probably an understatement. But we like the idea so we adapted it for this week’s Hot Topic, minus the obscure aspect.

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

Preserve and improve
Backwards compatibility is great to preserve the medium, making it easier to play games from yesteryear. Nobody wants to buy a console (original Xbox for example) just to replay a game they loved as a kid, so backwards compatibility solves this problem.

I don’t use it every day, but for sure a few times a year I replay a classic from my childhood, in the same way I sometimes rewatch movies I loved as a kid.
Jez

Hope springs eternal
For Switch owners eager for any news of new games, hopefully we are gearing up for some announcements. Apparently, Amazon France have put up some tentative placeholders, for both third party and first party games, which may mean some announcements are imminent. Or not.

As ever with this kind of thing it’s best not to make presumptions until they happen. Anyway, here’s the story.

GC: That seems pretty tenuous, but hopefully June is the month that things start to happen.

Always a chance
The reason I believe the Xbox/Sega team-up rumours is that it’s dumb, which, unfortunately is exactly the sort of business decision Microsoft seems to love. I know some people think they’re unfairly picked on but I completely agree with the Reader’s Feature about them still being the underdog. Although to be honest that’s a fairly generous phrase to describe their position at the moment.

The bit that I still can’t believe is the companies they bought while on their ‘spending spree’. What a bunch of second-stringers and nobodies! Even Obsidian is just a poor man’s BioWare. It ‘s that which gives me no hope in their games line-up. That and the insistence on concentrating so much on Halo and Gears of War, even though it’s clear nobody cares anymore.

As the reader said, they had to change Gears’ name just because everyone thought the acronym was a God Of War! What I also agree is that we need strong competition for Sony, which Xbox is not providing right now. We’ll see what Sony reveals on Thursday but them messing up is the only chance Microsoft now, I don’t see them having any positive effect on their own success, they can only benefit from Sony’s mistakes.

Lucky the games industry makes those all the time, so in that sense Xbox is definitely still in the game.
Rinser

Guiding influence
In my opinion Microsoft will be wasting a lot of money for exclusives from Sega. Sega can’t seem to be able to reinvigorate any of their franchises. Microsoft also isn’t able to give real constructive direction, as say Nintendo does with a lot of the studios it works with. I would point to Rare and look where they are after being taken over by Microsoft.

That’s why I think Sega’s best bet is to be taken over by Nintendo if people want to see the Sega of old, which is pretty ironic.
Alek Kazam

Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here

Opposite approaches
It was interesting that on pretty much the same day Sony said they believe in console generations, and have no interest in making their PlayStation 5 games run on PlayStation 4, Microsoft boasted that thousands of games will be playable on Xbox Series X at launch and it will be the most compatible console ever. It’s a reminder there’s significant differences in each next gen business plan.

Both approaches have clear advantages and are appealing. Game Pass and backwards compatibility, along with Project xCloud are parts of the formation of an Xbox brand Microsoft want to see on many devices, of which the Xbox Series X is just one. Which should put them in good stead for a streaming-only future, where console generations no longer mean anything and services do.

But for the next gen specifically that means games will have to run on less powerful hardware for a while, most notably Microsoft’s exclusives. It’s hard to believe Halo Infinite’s design won’t be limited by having to run on Xbox One. Which is why it’s so tantalising and exciting to see what Sony has to offer this week for games that will be PlayStation 5 only.

Whichever approach is more appealing to you I think what’s nice is it looks very promising that each will successfully deliver their next gen vision to the pillars of belief they have so far stated. Unlike Google with Stadia, who haven’t delivered on their pitch for a streaming platform yet.
Simundo

Inbox also-rans
An updated version of the System Shock 1 Remastered demo is now available on Steam and GOG until the 15th June. I am a Kickstarter backer, backers can still download the demo after the 15th June.
Andrew J.
PS: Showdown Bandit is free currently on Steam, hopefully it will still be free when this letter is printed on Monday.

So then, Sony is now going to start fighting back on Thursday? I’m going to be honest, I’m a little excited. Just think, to name a few games that could be there: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Days Gone 2, Bloodborne 2, and The Last Of Us Part 2. Can’t wait.
David

Speaking of Sega, Anyone seen how much certain Saturn games are going for on eBay? Panzer Dragoon Saga (sealed PAL version) is £2.5K!
Anon

I knew someone would say Final Fantasy in the weekend Hot Topic. I would definitely recommend Final Fantasy 7 Remake as a great jumping on point. It’s the one mainline entry that I’d say anyone could enjoy.
Gingster

This week’s Hot Topic
The question for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by reader John, and asks what’s your favourite Japanese-made video game?

It can be any game on any format, obscure or an all-time classic, as long as it was developed by a primarily Japanese team (the publisher is irrelevant). Do you usually know where your games are made and does that affect whether you’re interested in them or not?

What do you think are the most common strengths and weakness for Japanese-made games and how do you expect them to adapt to the next generation?

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: Classic video games you’ve never played

MORE: Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Classic video games you’ve never played

MORE: Games Inbox: Microsoft and Sega Xbox team-up, The Last Of Us Part 2 apathy, and Zelda: The TV Show

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