Gaming

Games Inbox: Switching PS4 to Xbox Series X, PS5 backwards compatibility, and Resident Evil strategy game


Will you be switching sides next gen? (pic: Sony)

The Wednesday Inbox looks at the good and bad of recent next gen news stories, as another reader praises Codemasters’ F1 2020.

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

Very lucky
I’ve been a PlayStation gamer now for nearly four years, I switched from Xbox a while after all my friends made the switch back when PlayStation was first released. Although I still own an Xbox One S it’s hardly ever used but really enjoyed it. I’ve been watching both battle hard with pre-release teasers and talking about specs.

I tried to pre-order a PlayStation 5 when the Argos release went live but failed. Yeah, the pre-ordering process was a shamble, but it still never put me off. I just thought I would wait until after Xmas for it, as there is no rush in getting it. The day Xbox pre-orders went live I was lucky enough to nab the Xbox Series S (not the best but will update it next year) as I only really want to play Forza, Halo, and Gears to start and see how it compares to PlayStation .

A few days later I had an email saying Very had the PlayStation 5 back in stock and was able to nab it up. I already have Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War pre-ordered to start with. I cannot wait for the like of Gran Turismo 7 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake part 2 to be released.
Anon

False memory
Sorry, but I just don’t get it, GC. Surely all the developers are still going to continue to make as much current games as possible for the PlayStation 4 because, especially with 100+ million PlayStation 4s out there, there’s still a hell of a lot of money to be made! Wasn’t it the same for the PlayStation 1 and 2? The games were still being made for them way after they both got superseded?

And also, for all those people who can’t afford the next gen yet or won’t be able to get a next gen consoles due to the pre-ordering system why is it so wrong for all these gamers not to be able to have the choice of the latest games released for them to buy and play even without faster load times and ray tracing, etc.?
JAH

GC: No, it wasn’t the same for the PlayStation 1 and 2 – or any other console when it comes to first party games. Multiformat games are usually cross-gen for a year or two into the next generation, but that’s not what people are arguing about.

Turn-based Evil
After watching the latest Resident Evil 8 trailer I got to thinking about just how diverse the series has been – from fixed camera and slower-paced games to lightgun games through to the current first person shooter incarnation, but I realised that they’ve never really delved into strategy games. There’s a few types I could see them doing, from Tower Defense style games to ones like XCOM 1/2 (actually I’ve never played either games, would that even work as a Resi game?)

Maybe there’s an obscure strategy mobile game they’ve released that I’ve forgotten about, but the series just seems ripe for even more experimentation even if they end up being cheaper, indie-style titles)
HIBT

GC: An XCOM style game in the Resident Evil universe would work extremely well but, as you say, Capcom has never attempted anything like that.

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

Very lucky
I’ve been a PlayStation gamer now for nearly four years, I switched from Xbox a while after all my friends made the switch back when PlayStation was first released. Although I still own an Xbox One S it’s hardly ever used but really enjoyed it. I’ve been watching both battle hard with pre-release teasers and talking about specs.

I tried to pre-order a PlayStation 5 when the Argos release went live but failed. Yeah, the pre-ordering process was a shamble, but it still never put me off. I just thought I would wait until after Xmas for it, as there is no rush in getting it. The day Xbox pre-orders went live I was lucky enough to nab the Xbox Series S (not the best but will update it next year) as I only really want to play Forza, Halo, and Gears to start and see how it compares to PlayStation .

A few days later I had an email saying Very had the PlayStation 5 back in stock and was able to nab it up. I already have Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War pre-ordered to start with. I cannot wait for the like of Gran Turismo 7 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake part 2 to be released.
Anon

F1 Manager
Thanks to reader Charlie Ridgewell for his review of F1 2020. Agree with everything he said there. One thing I would have liked to have seen from the My Team mode is the chance to just manage the team without doing the actual driving. As he made clear, if you’re playing it ‘properly’ it is incredibly intense (as it should be) and sometimes it would be good to take a bit of a step back, just make decisions, and not have the second-to-second pressure of a race!

You should also have the option to turn off Jeff the mechanic too (he’s never once told me anything useful and speaks over my mates on the headset when we’re playing online).

I’ve got my fingers crossed that for F1 2021 on the next gen they’ll make it VR compatible – racing games are built for VR surely? Might get a pedal and wheels too then…

On a different note, started Zelda: Breath Of The Wild this weekend. About six hours in. There’s been one great moment in a shrine where I had to roll a dropped ball through a maze using motion controls, failed a few times, then realised I could just flip the whole maze over to its flat side and roll the ball to where I wanted much easier. Apart from that though, it’s not really grabbed me yet.

Climbing seems to be really important but is just a tedious chore, and the early side quests haven’t seemed that interesting (find 100 crickets?). Not ‘best game ever’ material for me so far, but I’m off this week and will be spending a lot of that time playing through it – expecting it to improve!
Julian

Quick transfer
The price of storage for the new Xbox Series X has been in the news. Not surprising as £200+ is a lot of money.

However, I’m not sure the situation is actually that bad. You will be able to store data on an old USB hard drive and transfer the games onto the SSD to play them.

A quick google shows the max transfer rate is 5Gbps and if anywhere near that could be achieved I could transfer a 100GB game in only a few minutes.

If I’m missing something I’d really like to know (perhaps a reader could reply) as I wouldn’t want to pay for the £200 external drive.

Keep up the good work GC.
Manic miner 100 (gamertag)

Recognised brand
I pre-ordered the Xbox Series X. Not only is it the most powerful console, its backwards compatible library is vast thanks to Game Pass. Most titles, including the backwards compatible library, will be enhanced with ray-tracing and HDR meaning crisp up-to-date graphics whilst giving your 4K TV a good workout at 60 frames per second on most titles.

Then there’s Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda franchises like Doom, Fallout, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls and many more, all available from Game Pass in amazing 4K 60 frames per second enhanced graphics, for no extra charge if you’re subscribed to Game Pass.

Then there is the exclusive situation. Yes, PlayStation has the monopoly on exclusives and has the best games but you pay through the nose for the pleasure of that service. If Bethesda’s future games are exclusive to Game Pass that changes everything. Rather than paying $70 per game you just download it at no extra cost from Game Pass. There’s no doubt PlayStation is popular and it’s the more recognised brand, but I know a good deal when I see one so Xbox take my money please.
Michael

Bricks and mortar
Having just bought a spanking new flagship 4K Philips OLED I really need a cutting edge gaming box that doubles as a 4K player to go with it. The Xbox 360 is now in my bedroom, along with the replaced TV. My son has the Xbox One X in his bedroom, so time to order the Xbox Series X for the main room.

I joined the online GAME queue for an hour, got the ‘transferring you to the site’ window and then the ‘site is down’ message. D’oh!

OK, let’s go old skool and walk in a store. No queues, no problems – in and out of my local Game store in five minutes.

Job done, now, how much is that expansion? How much?! This tech is expensive.
Andrew in Southport

Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here

Good and bad
It’s taken ages but there’s now a lot of next gen news to digest. Both good and bad.

Good. Console prices and capabilities. Most, me included, feared the worst but the prices are about as cheap as they could be.

Good. Performance boosts on current gen games. Loads of current gen games struggle on even the mid-gen upgraded consoles. It’s going to be great playing them with better frame rates, resolutions, and textures.

Bad. Sony charging 70 quid for a game. The Last Of Us Part 2, a massive Sony game, is £54.99 on the PSN store. I think we all expected maybe a £10 increase next gen, so for Sony to push to £70 leaves a bad taste. At that price I won’t be a day one buyer next gen and will have to wait for prices to drop.

Bad. Sony gating Spider-Man remaster behind a £70 purchase. Sony initially said the top 100 PlayStation 4 games would be playable at launch for PlayStation 5, rubbish to be frank. They barely mentioned after the recent reveal that they’ve now tested thousands of games on backwards compatibility and 99% work, brilliant. I think the lack of attention to backwards compatibility, plus the decisions made on Spider-Man means will we see plenty of PlayStation 4 remasters with a chunky price tag. I hope I’m wrong.

Bad. Microsoft’s launch window first party offerings, by which I mean none for launch but even more disappointing is how far away things like Avowed and Hellblade 2 look to be. A big question going into this gen for me was can Microsoft make first party games of the quality of Nintendo’s and Sony’s. I didn’t expect to have to wait years into the gen to find out.

Good. Microsoft committing to a different business model with Game Pass and big purchases like ZeniMax and offering up some decent competition to Sony. The subscription model has question marks on its viability and impact on game production but just having some competition is great. All the console manufactures have terrible rap sheets so would hate to see Sony not have to work a bit harder this gen, especially given the above.

Good. Sony’s first party launch window. Sony recently said they wanted to make sure they had a more consistent stream of first party games, as they felt there were to many big gaps between releases on PlayStation 4. Just confirmed and we know about for the first year and a bit is Demon’s Souls, Ratchet & Clank, Horizon Forbidden West, and now the new God Of War and most probably Gran Turismo 7. Very nice.

Number one good news. Demon’s Souls is a launch title and looks stunning. FromSoftware and Bluepoint are a marriage made in heaven. I picked up Demon’s Souls for £4 in a PlayStation 3 sale about five years ago. It ran terribly and so I decided to wait for a Dark Souls-like remaster. I’ve come so close to playing the janky PlayStation 3 version so many times. So glad I didn’t, as I will now be treated to easily the best thing shown for the launches.
Simundo

Inbox also-rans
When will the reviews for Cyberpunk 2077 be out? Can we expect a GC review before the release?
Mudassar

GC: The game’s not out for a month and a half yet, it’s far too early to hear about anything like that yet.

Anyone annoyed by the £70 price tag for some Sony digital games, you can buy £70 of PSN credit for £62 on CDKeys.com. It’s not much but it might help some people swallow that nasty pill.
ANON

This week’s Hot Topic
The topic for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Penfold, who asks how much do you expect to spend on video games this Christmas?

Given the launch of the new next gen consoles and the difficulties caused by the coronavirus do you expect to spend more or less than usual on games during the next three months? Do you have a specific budget for games and how strict are you about keeping to it?

In general for the year, have you spent more or less on games than usual and how will the next gen affect this? Have you been saving up for the new consoles already or will you continue to save so you can buy them next year?

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: Games Inbox: The Last Of Us Part 2 on PS5, Amazon Luna concerns, and Animal Crossing DLC

MORE: Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: Have you pre-ordered a PS5 or Xbox?

MORE: Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Have you pre-ordered a PS5 or Xbox?

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