The Tuesday letters page is shocked that Civilization 7 has turned out to be a disappointment, as one reader hopes Nintendo ditches the Switch sooner rather than later.
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The next new annoucement
Looks like we’re going to get some Elden Ring Nightreign news next week, including a release date, and I just wondered what everyone’s expectations of it are? To be honest it’s not something I’m very excited about just yet. It seems like a bit of a crash grab to me, just reusing bits from the original game and trying to make it into something new.
Not a very appealing idea to me but I guess it makes sense in today’s world, where most game are barely paying for themselves. And I would trust From to make something interesting out of a roguelike Dark Souls style game than I would anyone else.
I just want them to get on and announce something new. I want a Bloodborne remaster as much as anyone else but even that is going to delay them from revealing their next ‘proper’ game. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems so long since the original Elden Ring and I really want to see their first next gen-only game and how they evolve the formula further.
Bandito
Executive interference
I’m kind of startled that Civilization 7 has been getting negative reviews, even if they are technically kind of mediocre. That always seemed like one of those franchises where every sequel was good, because it was basically the same game and the developers were good.
So why am I not surprised that the culprit seems to be Take-Two pushing for DLC and dumbing things down for console releases that hardly anyone will buy? It’s completely put me off buying the game, except for maybe a discount on the complete collection a few years down the line.
People are talking about £80 or £100 becoming a new standard for games but it already is really. If you want to get a complete versions of Civilization 7 you’ve got to spend that sort of money but even then you’ve still got to wait months until it all comes together. Seems crazy to launch without the UK or Ghandi or any of the things I actually associate with the games.
Heathcliffe
Skeleton crew
I’m shocked at what a shell of a company PlatinumGames are now. They used to be one of my favourite developers, and I know they were GC’s, but now there’s literally no one left. The Ninja Gaiden 4 guy seems completely unqualified, to the point where I can’t really believe they’re still going.
I can only hope that they have a lot of up-and-coming stars and that they’ll step up to the mark now they’ve been given this opportunity but it sounds very bad. And they say they have a bunch of different projects underway at the moment? So who’s working on them, the tea lady? So sad to see this happen.
Menthol
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Tempting switch
Personally, I’ll be happy if Nintendo stops support for the original Switch sooner rather than later, as I’d prefer as few cross-gen games as possible. I know they always happen, with every console, but they’ve been a plague this generation, on the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. Even now we only have a handful of true current gen first party games and Sony in particular don’t seem to be in any rush to shift the balance.
We still have little idea how powerful the Switch 2 is, and whether it’ll be difficult for the original Switch to keep up with new games that are released, but I have trouble imagining it’ll be such a leap forward that Nintendo won’t be tempted to make the majority of games for the next few years cross-gen. I am just calling on them to not give into that temptation and to allow the Switch 2 to fulfil its full potential as soon as possible.
Onibee
Doing nothing
Many of Battlefield’s recent issues seem to have come from following noisy fan direction. There was significant destruction in Battlefield 1, but it proved problematic. Being able to blow a hole in a wall gives good tactical options but having most of the cover on the battlefield destroyed led to boring maps and even fewer ways of dealing with vehicles.
Other backfiring improvements have included very high numbers of players on a map, and increasingly devastating, impregnable vehicles (self-healing tanks, bombers, etc.) capable of being manned by single-players, but requiring two and usually more players to coordinate to take them down. Battlefield has been on a downward trajectory for some time, but I could still be persuaded to try it again if it gets a barrage of positive reviews.
Matt (he_who_runs_away – PSN ID)
PS: With Bloodborne do we actually know that its Sony that are reluctant to make a Bloodborne sequel and not FromSoftware? I could almost see why From wouldn’t want to (smaller player base, repeated IP).
GC: Nobody knows why Bloodborne is being ignored but From don’t exactly have an issue with ‘repeated IP’.
Illogical decisions
I’m going to go against the grain and say it is a good thing that Sony have asked the Bloodborne patch to be removed, as the new PlayStation 5 version will, of course, have this included. Otherwise, why do this now, all of a sudden?
They do seem to make a lot of illogical decisions, but they’re still in a market leading position. I often see comments from people who are surprised by how well the PlayStation 5 is doing based on the number of exclusives.
Fundamentally, if someone is buying a console for the first time, then their choice will partly be decided by what their friends have. All your friends play Fortnite, EA Sports FC, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Rocket League on the PlayStation 5, so you buy that.
Exclusives will sell a particular console, but multiformat games will also just sell consoles in general.
As I think even Phil Spencer pointed out (please correct me if I’m wrong), Microsoft lost the most important generation with the Xbox One. A lot more people bought the PlayStation 4 and built up their physical and digital libraries that generation. So, that laid the foundation for this generation for Sony to lead and decide against bothering to do many of the things fans have asked for, which nicely circles back to their contempt for Bloodborne’s fans.
NatorDom
GC: Phil Spencer did indeed say that.
Cable guy
Can anyone help? I have an ARC cable to connect my PlayStation 5 to my home 5.1 system for the sound. I have to bypass the system and plug the PS5 HDMI cable straight into the TV, as the 5.1 system is not 4K, so I would not be getting 4K images from my TV.
Where would I connect the ARC cable? Would it be 5.1 system to TV or to PlayStation 5. Please don’t suggest an optical cable, as that is not an option. Thanks all, hope someone can help.
captainbloodsnot (PSN ID)
Games are expensive
So I see the up to date figures for Nintendo have come in, and no surprise with the hardware numbers as we know what the Switch is doing and now where it’s going.
What does surprise me though, is looking through all generations of hardware, the software sales seem predominantly around ‘only’ 8-10 games sold per system (though there are some outliers).
I know there’s reasons, such as, say, the Switch being a secondary console/gaming machine to PlayStation/Xbox/PC, and maybe kids that have them and can’t afford much, but that seems a very small amount per system… let’s say in the Switch’s case, just over one game per year, per machine since it’s been out.
Maybe it’s because I collect physical Switch games (I have more than nine, but don’t want to be seen as bragging) that the number seems small, but can GC or another reader shed some extra light as to why the average is this number? Are these software sales physical only or does that include digital, as it even more baffling when you factor in digital sales of late (to me anyway).
Slideaway1983 (PSN ID)
GC: You’re talking about the attach rate and 8 to 10 is actually very healthy. There is no official data for the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S but the PlayStation 4’s was 9.6. Ordinary, casual gamers buy far less games than you might imagine.
Inbox also-rans
My guess for the first Zelda game on Switch 2 would be a remake of some sort. No one wants the third re-release of The Wind Waker and I don’t see the point of Breath Of The Wild when it’s so recent. A big budget Ocarina Of Time would be my preference but it’s probably wishful thinking.
Palinad
I’m still shocked how well the Mario Party games sell. Jamboree only came out at Christmas and it’s already at over 6 million?!
Loppy
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