The Thursday letters page isn’t sure what to think about PlayStation’s new leadership, as a reader asks whether Silent Hill 2 has been a success.
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Model collection
As many have said, we currently still know very little about the Nintendo Switch 2. At the very minimum we have no idea what the extra button does but for all we know there could be other secrets of the hardware. But it occurred to me that no one’s asking a fairly obvious question: is the console the only model?
I don’t think Nintendo has ever offered two versions of a console at launch before, but there’s a first time for everything. Maybe the dubious success of the Xbox Series X/S will put them off but since the console is very similar, in looks at least, to the original maybe they want to make it seem more different by having more hardware options?
The obvious one is the model we saw and a Switch 2 Lite from the start, but I know fans would welcome an OLED version or one that had a more powerful dock that could increase the frame rate and resolution. Too many options? Perhaps, but we don’t actually know for sure Nintendo isn’t planning something like that.
Belfry
Silent success
I see that the Silent Hill 2 remake has sold over two million copies now which seems… okay? Not that great? I’m not really sure. It certainly doesn’t sound like a blockbuster but hopefully Konami is happy with it. I’ve no idea what they were expecting but since we only rarely get sales figures, how are we to judge these things?
I am a little wary that we’ve not heard of Silent Hill f in a long time, as that always looked like the best one, before we knew the remake was actually good.
I especially hope this doesn’t put Konami off games in general. We’ve got the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake coming up, but I don’t know how that’s going to go over with new players. I just wish they’d get a move on and make a new Castlevania, it seems crazy that we’ve not had a peep about that in decade or more.
If I was going to be optimistic I’d say that the Switch 2 reveal would be a good thing to hold that back for, but that’s probably me clutching at straws.
Andy
GC: One million sales is generally considered the minimum for a triple-A to be considered a minor hit, although naturally that’s dependent on the budget. We don’t imagine Silent Hill 2 was that expensive so two million is okay and more than the original managed.
The perfect balance
So, PlayStation leadership has changed again and now it’s some guy that we’ve never seen talk in public and no one seems quite sure what he does. I can’t say I like the look of that Hermen Hulst guy but I’m not sure some anonymous suit is any better.
For me the perfect games company boss was Nintendo Satoru Iwata. He was a sensible grey-suited businessman, who seemed to know what he was doing and wasn’t constantly spouting his mouth off, like a certain Xbox boss I could mention. But he also had a sense of humour and would appear in videos and everyone seemed to like him.
He was serious in his work but approachable and seemed to genuinely love games and the people that make them – without having to constantly be pretending he was down with the kids. The perfect balance. So sad he left us too soon.
Luther
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Console endgame
There’s something almost poetic about the fact that in order to become the biggest games company in the world Microsoft had to give up any hope of ever outselling the PlayStation. What was it Thanos was told? ‘In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love.’
Microsoft are number one but they’re really just Activision with the logo rubbed out. Nothing wrong with that but I don’t know anyone that would claim to be a fan of Activision, just Call Of Duty. So I don’t know how much fan loyalty Microsoft can count on in the future.
I do agree their recent Developer Direct was good but I’m pessimistic enough to think this current altruism won’t last. As soon as the bean counters realise that none of these more arty games are selling they’ll soon put a stop to it. They may not even have greenlit them in the first place, if they’d known what we now know three or four years ago, when these games were first started.
Focus
Sign of success
People paying £800+ for tickets to play the Nintendo Switch 2 early, even though it’s a scam? Yeah, this this console is going to be big. And I’m glad of it. I’m not necessarily the biggest Nintendo fan but they’ve earned the good will by sitting down, shutting up, and just releasing lots of good games.
That’s why you’ve seen attitudes to Xbox mellow a lot in the last week or so. Have a good Direct with interesting looking games and no Phil Spencer and suddenly people are feeling a lot more positive about the format.
PlayStation’s turnaround would be even faster, because people want to like them and support them, but I’m not sure what to think about the new CEO. Except it’ll probably change nothing.
Bootles
Waved off
If Nintendo really is planning one last big fanservice game for the Switch (I doubt they are, to be honest, but let’s roll with the idea) my choice would be Wave Race 64. I am still astonished by that game and how nothing since, despite the massive improvements in graphics, has ever felt so real and exciting.
Even just the GameCube sequel was quite a big step up in visuals, but the game was nowhere near as fun as the original. I really don’t know why and the fact that it’s never been equalled or bettered suggests nobody else does either. I’d love to see Nintendo give it another go, although I doubt it’s anywhere near the top of their list of things to do, even as a farewell gift.
It’s interesting how at the time the game was more a tech demo than anything – there was certainly nothing like it on the PlayStation – but you don’t really get that anymore.
I guess nobody wants to pay £70 for a short and sweet tech demo, although as I remember at the time N64 carts were £50 or more, so like a reader said the other day, things haven’t really changed that much. Wave Race 64 certainly hasn’t, it’s just too good.
Lawson
Stock alert
Just a quick message to say that a couple of rare amiibo are in stock on the UK Nintendo Store. Joker from the Persona games and Jigglypuff from Pokémon.
Andrew J.
PS: I wanted to get Legacy Of Kain on standard physical PlayStation 5 but they sold out completely. They have got stock of the Collector’s Edition still but they are $150 plus postage and tax on Limited Run Games! I don’t know why they did not print more of the standard edition for PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox, and PC because they would have made a lot of money. None of the collectors’ versions for all those platforms have sold out, but the standard has sold out for all platforms.
There is no I in team
It’s interesting to me that there are so many different indie studios that have ex-BioWare and ex-Bungie staff (seriously, sometimes it seems like there’s half a dozen for each) and yet none of them ever seem to amount to anything. There are others too, from big companies like Blizzard and CD Projekt, but I’m not aware of any of them having any great success.
Maybe they’re just all unlucky but I think this shows that it’s never about the individual but about the people. It often seems a shame that the games industry doesn’t really have any famous developers, like there would be in movie or music, but on the other hand I think it’s probably unfair to pick out one person when it’s clearly the whole team that makes the magic. And when it changes even just a little bit then suddenly the game quality changes drastically.
That’s why I have a lot more faith in something like Hideki Kamiya’s new studio, because it’s staffed by mostly ex-Platinum people – not just him and a bunch of strangers. But even then, it’s still not exactly the same team so I don’t think you can expect the same results.
I don’t think there are many non-indie games made nowadays by less than 50 people and it often takes much more, so the idea that one person is influential enough that they can be given the majority of credit for it seems unfair to me.
Cranton
Inbox also-rans
I would happily shop at a Supermarket Mario. I imagine the shopping karts must be extra special.
Roz
If Nintendo manage to make real-time strategy games a hit again, by having their controllers work like mice, I promise I will buy every console model they ever make, just to reward them!
Calzone
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