Games Inbox: Will there be a 2024 PlayStation summer showcase?

The Wednesday letters page wonders what changes will be made to the next Resident Evil remakes, as one reader enjoys XDefiant.

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The new norm
So it’s getting late on Tuesday afternoon as I write this and there’s still no word on a PlayStation showcase or State of Play. At what point can we say it’s just not going to happen? Surely they wouldn’t do it on Friday night, so the only chance is for it to be announced today for Thursday, but I’m prepared to bet that won’t happen.

I think people got confused over the Corporate Strategy Meeting the other day and assumed that was the showcase but in reality nothing is planned. We should’ve guessed that really, given that Sony already said it didn’t have any big games out until next year.

I’ll be honest, I find it all pretty depressing. Sony at the moment feels like someone just winding down the last few weeks at work, before they give up and retire. Why they’re acting like that I still don’t understand but I find it increasingly hard to believe they’re suddenly going to burst back into life and things will go back to how they were. I’m afraid nothing is the new norm.
Gannet

Resident prediction
I see VGC and IGN (what is it with three letter acronyms?) have also agreed that the next Resident Evil remakes are Zero and Code: Veronica, which is about as much agreement as I’ve seen on these sort of things in a while.

I’m very pleased about Code: Veronica and couldn’t care less about Zero. Like the reader yesterday though I can’t help but wonder how much Capcom will change, in terms of both the game and the story. Resident Evil 3 was barely anything like the original and I suspect it’ll be the same for these two.

I mean, Code: Veronica has a section in the middle that’s basically just a remake of Resident Evil 1, right down to a copycat mansion and everything. I can’t imagine them keeping that, as it seemed silly even at the time, when it was basically just a tech demo.

I hope they get announced next month though, as I do love me some Resi.
The Colt

Brief discussion
So it seems like everyone has already stopped talking about Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and it’s only been out a few days now. I guess you can beat it in just a few hours, but you’d think people would have more to say about the graphics at least.

Then again, I’m not really sure people really care about graphics so much anymore. They like arguing about numbers and watching Digital Foundry as if they’re speaking English, but I think we’ve reached a point where graphics are ‘good enough’ and nothing else really matters for most people.

The problem for Hellblade 2 is that means there’s not really much to draw people in, even on Game Pass. It barely seems to have registered on Steam and all it’s going to get is technical awards when it comes to game of the year. If I was Ninja Theory I would not start Hellblade 3.
Benson

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Final gamble
I really don’t understand the debate around Call Of Duty on Game Pass. If Game Pass had been a massive success and Xbox consoles were outselling PlayStation 5s then it would make sense, but that’s not what happened. So, for most console players they’re either still going to pay £70 and get it on a PlayStation 5 or Microsoft lose out on those £70s but gain a ton of Xbox sales and Game Pass subscribers. It’s win-win for them.

Obviously not everyone plays on a console, so there’s also PC Game Pass to consider. PC players seem to love their Steam accounts and nothing will tempt them away. The only real reference point we have is Starfield, a game with mixed reception and also on Game Pass, yet even that still made it into Steam’s top 12 selling games in 2023.
Tim

GC: It’s not really a debate, people are just interested because it’s the last roll of the dice for not just Game Pass but game subscriptions in general.

Yearly ritual
I’ll give Activision one thing, I’m surprised and impressed they’re still managing to charge for Call Of Duty. Especially given Warzone is popular. I haven’t bought one in ages and I don’t know who would anymore. All my casual friends just play Warzone and I can’t imagine there are really that many people that are super invested in the story campaign that they want to pay £70 for it.

Someone’s buying it though, as even Modern Warfare 3 was a huge hit. I guess it’s just become ingrained in some people’s routine. Buy a box of Quality Street at Christmas, pick up a copy of Call Of Duty at the same time. Some things you just can’t give up.
Gonzo

The witching hour
So, a perplexing question. Why would you announce a Silent Hill Transmission and have it broadcast at midnight? Who thought it a magnificent idea to choose such a late time slot, where netizens will either be asleep for work or school? Where many people will not be aware of the contents of the event until the very next day?

Regarding the PlayStation Showcase, if that was announced, would midnight serve as a brilliant time slot? Where many would be unable to remain awake, without risking being let go from their jobs, for turning up late, because they stayed up for such an event?

I’m pleased, as are many fans, that Konami has announced something, which was a superb surprise, but it deserved an earlier time slot. That’s what I’m saying. Even Microsoft wouldn’t choose such a late time broadcast.

As for the event itself, I’m not expecting much, aside from the Silent Hill 2 remake. I expect an insidious disappointment. I have no interest in the upcoming film and I couldn’t muster up any excitement for Townfall if I tried. Silent Hill f, on the other hand, looks intriguing. But I still don’t see what it’s about, how it’ll play, and what is in store for us fans. I guess we’ll see at the event itself, but I won’t hold my breath.
Shahzaib Sadiq

GC: Sony’s E3 conference didn’t used to start until after midnight in the UK; many of these sorts of showcases don’t, including The Game Awards.

Defiant future
Seeing the success of XDefiant, I’d like to say I played it and enjoyed it too. The problem for any of these live service games though is that everyone has to be playing it all the time for them to be successful. That’s why so many die so early and even heavily hyped things like Helldivers 2 struggle after a little while.

I’m enjoying it at the moment but will I be playing it still in six months’ time? I don’t know and I think that’s the other problem: the game makers have no way to tell If something has that sort of longevity either, so it all ends being a massive risk and, potentially, a huge waste of money.
Coulthard

Premier league
Take-Two potentially making a new FIFA game is interesting, as it’ll go some way to addressing the dearth of modern football games. Thinking back to the PS1 era, we had multiple developers releasing new, distinctive games – from stalwarts like FIFA (from EA) to Actua Soccer, UEFA Champions League, This Is Football, and International Superstar Soccer.

Then things settled down into the regular FIFA vs. ISS/PES battle (which was a sales massacre but other than the PlayStation 3-era I always feel PES had the upper hand critically) which persisted until around 2022 when PES became the live service game eFootball and they stripped out all the fun offline game modes. So I’m interested to see what Take-Two can come up with and if it’ll be a real competitor to EA Sports FC (and not just in terms of who can stuff their game with the most microtransactions).

On a related note, PES 2020 was an outstanding game, which I still play to this day. There is no mode in gaming that grabs me quite like the Master League, which is basically a football role-playing game as you develop from a team of no-hopers, scraping through games and barely surviving to (hopefully) become world-beaters. Nevertheless, the squad lists are obviously outdated and it’s no longer listed on digital shopfronts like Steam, and was (scandalously) never ported to Switch.

With the aforementioned decimation of the offline game modes in eFootball, there is an excellent fan mod of eFootball PES 2021: Season Update which updates the squads, continues the offline games modes, is available for free on PC, and which can apparently be played on Steam Deck (not got that yet, but it’s easy to setup on PC). I won’t mention the name as I’m not sure of the legalities of it, but it wouldn’t be hard to find with some searching and it’s well worth it for frustrated PES fans.
Magnumstache

Inbox also-rans
The price of that Lego Zelda set is outrageous but I’ve got to say, I wouldn’t mind getting that for a Christmas present. The little minifigures are hilarious.
Focus

I agree that Activision is making an unusual amount of effort with this year’s Call Of Duty hype, must be that Microsoft money. That person trying to do an impression of Thatcher is terrible though.
Dogan31

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The small print
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