The Thursday Inbox is not happy with the news coming out of Ubisoft at the moment, as one reader has a new Xbox Lockhart theory.
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What to expect
So today’s the day, eh? Microsoft’s big day is upon us, the moment they open up about their games and… why am I getting the sense I’m going to be completely disappointed? It’s becoming pretty clear that all they’re going to talk about is Halo Infinite and maybe a few others, and are still going to leave tons of details out of that if they’re not even going to mention multiplayer.
I can’t even begin to imagine why, given how little time there is till the console and game is out but it seems pointless to expect much more. And before it seems like I’m just ragging on Microsoft, Sony has been just the same. Not only did they offer very few details about any of their games they purposefully tried to hide some, like Spider-Man not being a full game.
Like many, I’m very wary of blaming too much of this on the coronavirus. Working from home doesn’t force you to hold back news or forget to mention important details. For some reason Sony and Microsoft have convinced themselves that the less they say the better and I very much doubt that’s going to change today.
Gifford
Software only
I’m currently playing Ghost Of Tsushima and really enjoying it. It’s everything I expected it to be. But! Has anyone noticed the load times?!
If this game is anything to go by then the PlayStation 5 SSD is going to be insane.
You can literally fast travel halfway across the map in under 10 seconds! It’s unbelievable. I mean, by the time the hint has appeared on the loading screen, your back in the game. Wow!
RamboSi (PSN ID)
GC: Between it and The Last Of Us Part 2 it seems obvious Sony has been doing a lot of research into loading. Except… proving you don’t actually need a SSD to speed it up seem an odd lesson to teach people just before the PlayStation 5 comes out.
Short sleeves
I’ve been following the next gen build-up with interest and I’m intrigued to see what happens next. I’m still hoping Sony or Microsoft have something big up their sleeves but the closer we get to launch, the less likely that seems to me.
I did have a thought the other day, about what Microsoft’s plan could have been, that ties in with Phil Spencer talking about success not necessarily meaning selling millions of new Xbox consoles this year. And it solves the weird issue of no Xbox Series X exclusives. Could they not launch Xbox Series X as the way to play all next gen games offline in 4K etc., but use console streaming to bump existing S and X consoles to the same standard, as long as you’re subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate? A bit like Stadia Pro with the 4K Chromecast?
They’d still sell new consoles to the usual early adopters and people with slower internet speeds but offer a really cheap way in with an Xbox One S and a subscription. Could that be what Lockhart is? The real answer will almost certainly be the more predictable less powerful and cheaper console, but I wish it was this instead.
BestJonnyT (gamertag/PSN ID)
GC: Yeah, you already know the answer here. Lockhart is almost certainly just the next gen equivalent of the Xbox One S.
Next gen reality
The recent images of the Sony demo kiosk and Sony’s denial that it’s related to PlayStation 5 is interesting. There’s actually one way that they could be telling the truth. It could be for PSVR2.
There’s very little reason to think that they need to have such a large setup for a simple machine demo, unless that’s related to the sweet spot for 3D audio. To me it seems unthinkable that the lead up to the release of PlayStation 5 will have nothing about the future of console VR, especially as it’s the main difference between Sony and Microsoft right now. In fact, I’ve been expecting an announcement about it to land right around the Xbox game reveal event since they announced it.
I’ve also wondered if that’s the real reason behind GTA 5 being so prominent during Sony’s game event. Not long to go now to find out!
Carrigagulla (gamertag/PSN ID)
Don’t blink
Well, it seems that the Big 3 (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony) are all watching one another and waiting for someone to make a move. Obviously, Sony and Microsoft have their next gen consoles coming out, but I’m sure Nintendo plan to release Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 as close to those launches as possible.
Regarding the new consoles, we’re also still waiting to hear about pricing and what games will be available at launch. Actually, the more I read about the new consoles, the more disenchanted I become. We’re now hearing that players will need to choose between frame rate and resolution. Which is what PC gamers have been doing for a long time, and isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does highlight that this new gen will feel like the smallest step up from the previous. Of course, there’s diminishing returns regarding graphics, but even the talk of ray-tracing and non-existent loading has started being played down.
From an economics perspective, this new gen will be very interesting. The pandemic has forced more people to find ways to spend time at home, including gaming. Although many of us face an uncertain future with regards to employment, I know plenty who have saved a lot of disposable income over the past few months due to not having to pay for daily transport. Those savings could well end up funding a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X for many.
Matt
PS: Slightly heartbroken that Deadly Premonition 2 fell so short of the first. Is SWERY still working on that game set in an English village, where people turn into cats?
GC: The Good Life? Yes, he is. And he seems to have been doing so for a lot longer than Deadly Premonition 2, so hopefully it won’t seem so rushed.
Changing standards
RE: Grappes. I think a lot of people see the choice between performance and advanced graphics as a good thing because they’re informed and realistic enough not to demand a console that can ‘do everything without any compromises’. If the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 were currently claiming that all their games will run at 60 frames per seconds and 4K, as well as more advanced graphics and potentially game-changing hard drives all for under £1,000 each, I can tell you now that a lot of us would be extremely sceptical and suspicious. Especially when we hold that up against what the most advanced gaming PCs can currently do when all visual effects are at their max.
End of the day, what we’re currently seeing is a bunch of early games that probably don’t look much better than a lot of current gen games which, as you’ve suggested, is par for the course at this stage. But if you’re going to insist that sensibly priced consoles should be capable of the highest possible performance you’re also going to have to accept that all next gen games will just look like early to mid-gen PlayStation 4 games for the entire new generation.
For me, the most technically impressive games from the past generation have usually been ones that run at 30fps and well under 4K while pushing the boundaries of what’s graphically possible on consoles. Other people would rather the focus was on frame rate, etc. as games already look nice enough for them. That’s fine, and that’s exactly what the developers are now acknowledging.
An argument might then be made for the consoles not to be released for another four or five years but if everything without compromise is what you’re aspiring to, I’d recommend waiting for the Pro versions to release around that time. I predict you’ll still be left wanting because the highest possible performance standard will also have moved on, so those won’t offer the moon on a stick either.
Panda
New normal
Am I the only one that is very concerned that the next generation hasn’t even begun and we’re already being notified of compromises in how a game runs?
I would expect the new hardware to be able to play these first games without batting an eyelid, yet we are still going to have to choose between effects and resolution for some games. I hope it doesn’t become an industry norm.
Peter
GC: We’re afraid it almost certainly will.
Managing the news
The stories coming along about the culture at Ubisoft are pretty horrible, aren’t they? Even the fact that most of the main players have been allowed to resign rather than be sacked highlights the fact there’s a crappy culture still at play here.
Even worse is that it’s now been pointed out that the ‘leaks’ of games coming in the build up to the Ubisoft Forward event released at a time when further stories were coming out about further corporate and personal unpleasantness and were put out in an effort to suffocate and obscure the fair more serious stories and their coverage in the mainstream press. ‘Here’s a scoop on Far Cry 6 to publish rather than focus on the story of our head of design who likes to do all kinds of heinous stuff.’
Really, really rotten behaviour at a management level. I often try to see stories from both sides and try to see why people act the way they do, but here, with this particular company, there just isn’t a side that doesn’t show a toxic and destructive management system who purposefully covered up or ignored disgraceful behaviour. It seems they may have been a better bunch had they been taken over by Vivendi who – at the very least – would have introduced a new set of people in various roles.
I also think it may have been of benefit to them to at least acknowledge these issues at the start of the Ubisoft Forward event stream but they obviously didn’t deem it important enough.
Horrible, horrible stuff and I’m not buying a single thing from them until there’s public apologies and genuine new systems in place and new people taking over. Y‘know the type of new people who perhaps don’t think it’s funny to drug people without their knowledge. I get that Ubi will pay a lot in ad revenue to many, many gaming news and review sites but this story should be much, much larger than it is right now.
Thanks for covering the story GC and if you can also forward this email onto your PR contact within Ubisoft then I’d be really grateful.
Matthew
GC: We should point out that all that stuff about purposeful leaks is just fan speculation.
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Inbox also-rans
Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is currently £5.99 on the PlayStation store. Having read your review is it worth a punt at that price or is it still a no?
ameisa (PSN ID)
GC: As much as we love Wolfenstein in general, we wouldn’t recommend it at any price really.
I’d like to thank everyone for the suggestions regarding my question about audio set-up. I may have to invest in one of those HDMI audio extractors if the PlayStation 5 doesn’t have an optical port. Hopefully that will solve my issue!
StevenskiChan (PSN ID)
Next Up Hero and Tacoma are the free games on Epic Store from today at 4pm. Tacoma is the next game by the creators of Gone Home.
Andrew J.
I don’t know if anyone has seen this yet but here is Bloodborne in the style of a classic 2D Zelda. I was really impressed with this recreation and you can play both Father Gascoigne and The Cleric Beast. The creativity of some of the Solarus community is outstanding.
Anon
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Blitz, who asks what’s your least favourite aspect of modern gaming?
What gets you most upset about video games today and why? Is it unfinished games? The lack of variety and innovation in big budget titles? Maybe it’s performance issues like low frame rates or long load times? Or perhaps microtransactions, subscriptions, loot boxes, and other modern money-making schemes?
How serious do you consider these problems to be and have they ever put you off from buying a particular game or piece of hardware? And do you expect anything to change about them in the next generation?
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
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.
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