Games Inbox: Should PS5 games go multiformat?

The Friday letters page worries about GTA 6 interfering with the launch of the Switch 2, as one reader looks forward to Two Point Museum.

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Semi-multiformat
Interesting to see Sony’s attitude to Lego Horizon Adventures on Nintendo Switch, where they don’t want to publish it and instead get someone else to do it. It seems petty (and a complete waste of time and money) but also very much like the sort of thing you’d expect from Sony.

However, unlike Xbox games appearing on PlayStation 5 I don’t there’s much of an argument for putting PlayStation 5 games on Xbox Series X/S. Not only does Sony not want to do anything to legitimise Xbox, the console is doing bad enough that they don’t lose much by just ignoring it.

However, the Switch 2 is potentially a very different situation. Assuming its not a Wii U style disaster, but is another very successful console, then I don’t see any reason not to bring all PlayStation games to it. The Switch 2 will never have as good graphics as the PlayStation 5, so Sony can still say they’re the best place to play their games, but there would be a lot of money to be made on a Nintendo console.

I don’t know if Sony are too proud to go that route – maybe Lego Horizon Adventures was just Lego’s idea – but it makes sense to me.
Korbie

Course correction
That new trailer for Dragon Age: The Veilguard was a hundred times better than the reveal one. I don’t know how anyone could possibly have thought that was a good idea. I mean, kudos to EA reversing direction and realising the mistake, but how does something like that happen in the first place? Who thought Dragon Age fans want the game to look like Overwatch?

I realise they’re probably trying to attract new players, but I can’t see anyone being won over by a trailer when the actual game looks nothing like that. So many times we see these mistakes from publishers, where they’re the sort of thing any fan would see from a mile off but somehow the game makers just stumble right into it. The only difference this time is at least they realised their mistake quickly.
Andy Mane

Growth market
Nice to hear there are so many horror games coming out this October but I struggle to understand what the point of a remake of Until Dawn is. The word has become so misused lately, maybe they just mean remaster but even then… is anyone such a fan of Until Dawn they can’t just play it on PlayStation 4 and be happy?

I remember the game as being one of the best-looking on PlayStation 4, so I bet it still stands up now. It just seems like another needless remake trying to copy the success of Resident Evil. But really, Until Dawn isn’t even on the same planet in terms of popularity.

Sony will waste all the time on money on a project like that, when they could’ve easily made a smaller indie game, or two, instead. It’s funny how companies are constantly complaining about a lack of growth and yet they’re obsessed with pointless nostalgia – which only works on existing fans.
Kingsley

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Opposites attract
The thing I worry about regarding the Switch 2 is that it releases around the same time as GTA 6.

That game is going to be a black hole concerning everything games related and if the rumours that GTA 5 will appear on the next Nintendo console are true, it will be pathetic.

I, like many others, have played GTA Online to death on PlayStation 3 and have no intention of going back due to the invisible/invincible/exploders. Cheaters saturated the servers, unless Nintendo can do something to stop them.
LeighDappa

GC: GTA 6 could be awkward timing, but we doubt anyone’s opinion of the Switch 2 is going to be shaped by whether GTA 5 is on it or not.

Charm offensive
While not a hype-filled E3 presentation of old I’ve just read over at the informative, and not as boring as it’s made out to be, PlayStation Blog site that the charming looking The Plucky Squire will release day one on PS Plus Extra and Premium on the 17th of September.

With Squire on the 17th, Astro Bot on the 6th, The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom on the 26th and the recently released Thank Goodness You’re Here! I find my gaming self pantless and charmed into oblivion.

Another indie game that’s not announced for last gen Sony and Microsoft consoles even though it’s out on Switch, so would run no problem.
Simundo

Obeying the rules
I see there’s disagreement as to what Xbox game is coming to PlayStation 5 next, but everyone seems to think that something ‘big’ is definitely coming. Forza Horizon reviews a lot better than any of Xbox’s other games, including Halo, so it definitely makes sense, especially as there’s nothing that similar on PlayStation 5.

I really do think Microsoft needs to explain its thinking with multiformat games though. I don’t care about their in-fighting, I just want to know what the rules are. Is it X number of years or months before any game comes to PlayStation 5? Is it just completely random? Are some franchises totally out of bounds?

Sounds like Microsoft probably doesn’t know the answer at the moment, but they should decide and stick to it. Once they can explain their thinking, and it doesn’t seem like they’re just making it up as they go along or just reacting to what other people are doing, I think they’ll be in a much better position.

Even if they decide to just not do multiformat any more that’d be fine, as long as that was a clear and permanent decision. I think this scattershot approach is doing them more harm than they realise, as it not only upsets existing Xbox owners but it makes potential new ones not trust that there’s any kind of plan.
Dunkem

Still kicking
There is one week left to back the spiritual successor to Chibi-Robo!, called KoRobo, on Kickstarter. They are $5,000 away from the goal. They are also using Campfire to run a separate crowdfunding campaign at the same time, for the game for backers from Japan.
Andrew J.
PS: Cocoon is currently on sale on the Xbox Store for £12.59. I was going to buy it physically on PlayStation 5 (it’s also out on Switch physically) next month but because it is on sale on Xbox Store I got it from there as I had £10 rewards voucher, so it only cost me £2.59.

I was going to buy Planet Of Lana on PlayStation 5 a while ago because it was being released on there, then the month before it was on PlayStation 5 it was on sale on Xbox then, so bought it on Xbox.

GC: Cocoon is great, but we weren’t so impressed by Planet Of Lana.

In space no one can hear you sneak
I am definitely looking forward to Alien: Romulus and I’m interested to see how the comparison to Alien Isolation is going to turn out. Excellent game and I think it was when GameCentral interviewed Sigourney Weaver it was one of the most memorable interviews I read.

It was the first Alien movie which was so creepy and made an industrial spaceship so scary to navigate that, along with Event Horizon maybe, it put horror into the depths of space and made it so tangible and visceral.

The sequels up to Alien 3 are also top tier and decently made, especially Aliens. Even though I saw that first, and creepy as any good horror film, there are so many amazingly designed weapons that hordes of xenomorphs are just melted to bits. But I so loved the special and visual effects in Aliens and Alien 3.

But when I saw the original Alien movie a few years after Aliens, it was the much slower-paced creeping of a monster tracking and hunting people down which was a great way to depict such a dangerous predator.

So that is how I like my more stealth-like games, instead of shooting them all with a space marine’s fully charged assault rifle. Alien Isolation may have had its faults here and there, but you can’t deny it did the job and the character you play is good enough to care about emotionally.

One last good thing, which the new Alien: Romulus film has to fulfil, is the classic thinking all’s okay and right with the world but, as in Alien and Aliens, a sneaky xenomorph is still around. Well, you know what happened if you see the films, but definitely interested to see if the new film lives up to the best films from this awesome franchise.
Alucard

Inbox also-rans
Count me as hyped for Two Point Museum. What I have read so far all sounds great and the reveal trailer showed that the series’ signature humour is going to be present and correct alongside the excellent gameplay. I really enjoyed Two Point Campus and Museum has the potential to be even better.
Pigfish2 (PSN ID/NN ID)

I would absolutely love a Sega Vs. Capcom game. Just like Nintendo does Sega characters better than Sega does, I bet Capcom would too. It’d be even better if it was pixel graphics, although I know that’ll never happen.
Homer3

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