Sony @ Gamescom 2013 "Remember, Remember, 2 Weeks in November..."

[Chaos Warp]

Was anything new announced at the Q&A?

[Dobkeratops]

Was anything new announced at the Q&A?

 

Well, they confirmed Jak 4 is also coming to Vita. Neat I guess, tho ultimately pointless for me since I can just remote play the PS4 version.

[Chaos Warp]

Well, they confirmed Jak 4 is also coming to Vita. Neat I guess, tho ultimately pointless for me since I can just remote play the PS4 version.

Nice try.

 

I was asking for the real news. 

[Chooch]

If Naughty Dog actually cares about that series at all I would assume that the as-of-yet unannounced PS4 game they're confirmed to be working on is a new Jak. Not that I really care, personally.

[Dobkeratops]

If Naughty Dog actually cares about that series at all I would assume that the as-of-yet unannounced PS4 game they're confirmed to be working on is a new Jak. Not that I really care, personally.

 

Seriously speaking now, ND said they tried going back to it and it just didn't work, at least at the time.

[RK64]

Well of course a new Jak game from Naughty Dog wasn't working as they were making it "realistic" to try to bounce of there success with the Uncharted formula, which really doesn't work to well for a Crash-esc platformer at heart.

 

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Sanzaru were to make a Jak tittle (they took the Sly Series from Sucker Punch and did a better job then them with Sly 4, so them doing the same with a potential Jak tittle would make since).

 

The stuff answered at the Q&A was a leak of Maramusa Rebirth coming to EU and some new trailers of already announced games (lesser ones like Invisibles). Nothing big sadly.

[Chooch]

I hope you aren't implying that Thieves in Time is somehow better than Band of Thieves or Honor Among Thieves.

[RK64]

I hope you aren't implying that Thieves in Time is somehow better than Band of Thieves or Honor Among Thieves.

 

I'm implying that Honor Among Thieves was a much weaker compared to Band of Thieves and the original Sly Cooper; it felt rushed, the other characters distracted from the Sly gameplay and the hubs were much smaller than Band of Thieves. I was saying that Thieves in Time had none of those issues and is by far the best game in the Sly series (outside of the original, loved its Crash-esc feel ). Band of Thieves was a great game, but I felt that Thieves in time took that formula and perfected it (mostly, the last level felt underwhelming and the final boss was disappointing).

 

Wasn't saying Sucker Punch did a bad job with the series, but I felt Sanzaru did a great job improving what SP did with Band of Thieves.

[Dobkeratops]

Let's not fight now, everybody knows Ratchet is the better franchise. I think Sanzaru is busy now with Sly PS4 tho.

 

 

So here's the start of the conference with the UI:

 

 

I am pleased to know you can access a XMB menu on top of the main UI page which contains all of the options and stuff.

 

It was a pretty classy way to begin the conference by showing the interface along with livestreaming, spectating, joining and picture sharing features directly through actual gameplay. No doctored trailers, no smoke and mirrors, just the working thing.

 

Also Shu as baller as always on his comfy chair.

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

Give up? Answer in spoiler.

 

PS4 launching in 32 Countries.

Xbox One launching in 13

 

Oh yes and... trailer for that creepy baby game.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry18sfkqzTg

[KrazyBean]

LOL, Sony really love kicking Microsoft in the teeth.

[Chaos Warp]

Reminds me of the old days where companies would take direct shots at each other and I love it. 

[KrazyBean]

Reminds me of the old days where companies would take direct shots at each other and I love it. 

 

"Sony does what Microdon't" LOL, the new generation of "SEGA does what Nintendon't"

Edited August 21, 2013 by KrazyBean

[Chaos Warp]

"Sony does what Microdon't". LOL, the new generation of "SEGA does what Nintendon't"

"Why would you Xbone yourself when you could play on a Playstation?"

[Chooch]

I'm implying that Honor Among Thieves was a much weaker compared to Band of Thieves and the original Sly Cooper; it felt rushed, the other characters distracted from the Sly gameplay and the hubs were much smaller than Band of Thieves. I was saying that Thieves in Time had none of those issues and is by far the best game in the Sly series (outside of the original, loved its Crash-esc feel ). Band of Thieves was a great game, but I felt that Thieves in time took that formula and perfected it (mostly, the last level felt underwhelming and the final boss was disappointing).

 

Wasn't saying Sucker Punch did a bad job with the series, but I felt Sanzaru did a great job improving what SP did with Band of Thieves.

You felt that the other characters in Honor Among Thieves distracted from the core gameplay but you didn't mind playing as the several horribly neutered clones of Sly littered throughout Thieves in Time? I find that amusing.

 

The hubs in Honor Among Thieves are all just as large if not larger than the ones present in Band of Thieves as well, so I think you might be mixing the two games up. Maybe a few of them are smaller? It doesn't really matter to me ultimately given the various improvements the game has over Band of Thieves. Including, but not limited to, all of Bentley and Murray's new moves.

 

The original Sly Cooper, while fun, is actually quite flawed and (despite Thieves in Time's problems) I'd still say that it's easily the weakest game in the series. It lacks polish, it has an unbelievable amount of missions centered around one specific gimmick and/or mini-game (which once again brings into question why you have so much of an issue with the characters in Honor Among Thieves) and it's by far the most linear.

 

The series has always had an issue with genre roulette, but Honor Among Thieves is not the worst example of this.

 

Thieves and Time reeks of horribly wasted potential. As I mentioned before, the Cooper ancestors are mostly horribly neutered clones of Sly which one or two unique gimmicks (that usually aren't fun). There are only five costumes and none of them outside of the Jailbird costume (and maybe the Archer costume) are used in any meaningful or interesting ways.

 

The story falls flat thanks to both the selection of Cooper ancestors and villains themselves. Not to mention the ending is terrible. You talk about the finale of Honor Among Thieves being relatively sub par, but did you somehow forget that the final boss of Thieves in Time is nothing but a lazily put together QTE sequence? Give me a break.

 

Everything good about Thieves in Time is copy pasted from Band of Thieves and Honor Among Thieves with the exception of the clue bottles and that's not necessarily a good thing either when you take into consideration the fact that almost all of the post-game replay value is restricted being a monotonous collect-a-thon.

 

Everything new that they added in an effort to separate the game from its predecessors and make it feel like a true sequel just dragged the overall quality of the game down. I like the game, I really do, but the best game in the series? Hell no.

 

Shout outs to Penelope being shoehorned into the game a villain and Dimitri having no speaking lines. Man, that game's story pisses me off..

Edited August 21, 2013 by Chooch

[Badnik Mechanic]

The thing is, it's not really like the Sega Vs Nintendo thing.

 

Anyone remember when Microsoft launched the Kinect with Cirque du Soleil and they had 'that elephant?' And how Sony mocked it in their conference the next day? That was like the Sega Vs Nintendo marketing thing.

 

This though, this is different. We all remember the moment Sony won E3 this year right?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ-To7WJyWs

 

In that entire segment, the only time they even sorta directly hint at Microsoft is that 24 hours line right at the end. The whole segment whilst the exact opposite of what Microsoft had said the would do is basically them saying...

 

"This is our new console, here is our policy on game ownership, this is what we're going to do. Is it something you'd like to be apart of?"

 

Then we have today's bit.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLW1I8SJfDk

 

Just listen to what he's saying, he's talking about what the PS4 is going to do, the price to get it and how the consumer will benefit if they pick their system, as well as the responce from the consumer.

 

The only 'attack' on microsoft is the line "Whilst others have shifted their message."  but just listen to it in full and he has a really good point which is what I've been saying since Microsoft did their 180. Sony have stuck to their policy and plan, it's clear for consumers what they're offering, these no question or fear as to 'what if they change their minds?' Sony have shown nothing to suggest they will do that.

 

This isn't like Sega Vs Nintendo in terms of a kinda 90's mocking stance, these are genuine selling points that people should be paying attention to. Everything Sony have done since announcing the PS4 has suggested that they're ready and that they have a plan and policy in place. Can you say the same for the 'others' he was talking about?

[Wraith]

The things Sony are doing are things a company is supposed to be doing. It shouldn't be a selling point. It's common sense.

[Silencer226]

The things Sony are doing are things a company is supposed to be doing. It shouldn't be a selling point. It's common sense.

Common sense yes. But after what a certain other company did, why not ride that train out.

[RK64]

You felt that the other characters in Honor Among Thieves distracted from the core gameplay but you didn't mind playing as the several horribly neutered clones of Sly littered throughout Thieves in Time? I find that amusing.

 

The hubs in Honor Among Thieves are all just as large if not larger than the ones present in Band of Thieves as well, so I think you might be mixing the two games up. Maybe a few of them are smaller? It doesn't really matter to me ultimately given the various improvements the game has over Band of Thieves. Including, but not limited to, all of Bentley and Murray's new moves.

 

The original Sly Cooper, while fun, is actually quite flawed and (despite Thieves in Time's problems) I'd still say that it's easily the weakest game in the series. It lacks polish, it has an unbelievable amount of missions centered around one specific gimmick and/or mini-game (which once again brings into question why you have so much of an issue with the characters in Honor Among Thieves) and it's by far the most linear.

 

The series has always had an issue with genre roulette, but Honor Among Thieves is not the worst example of this.

 

Thieves and Time reeks of horribly wasted potential. As I mentioned before, the Cooper ancestors are mostly horribly neutered clones of Sly which one or two unique gimmicks (that usually aren't fun). There are only five costumes and none of them outside of the Jailbird costume (and maybe the Archer costume) are used in any meaningful or interesting ways.

 

The story falls flat thanks to both the selection of Cooper ancestors and villains themselves. Not to mention the ending is terrible. You talk about the finale of Honor Among Thieves being relatively sub par, but did you somehow forget that the final boss of Thieves in Time is nothing but a lazily put together QTE sequence? Give me a break.

 

Everything good about Thieves in Time is copy pasted from Band of Thieves and Honor Among Thieves with the exception of the clue bottles and that's not necessarily a good thing either when you take into consideration the fact that almost all of the post-game replay value is restricted being a monotonous collect-a-thon.

 

Everything new that they added in an effort to separate the game from its predecessors and make it feel like a true sequel just dragged the overall quality of the game down. I like the game, I really do, but the best game in the series? Hell no.

 

Shout outs to Penelope being shoehorned into the game a villain and Dimitri having no speaking lines. Man, that game's story pisses me off..

 

...I said that the final level in Thieves in Time was sub-par and the final boss was bad, didn't knock anything about Honor Among Thieves there (I would say its final section with Sly is one of the best moments in the series). I just found it to be one of the best ones, that's all. I really liked the original due to its more old-school approach to things and thought Band of Thieves was a great game, but I just found Thieves in Time the most enjoyable out of all the games even with its flaws.

 

Sorry if you didn't like the game though, and I will agree with you about its story; it could have been much better. I never said the game was perfect, just thought that is the most consistent quality wise.

 

With your comment about Sly's ancestors baffles me; they still have the core Sly gameplay and they are more or less the best possible compromise; introduce new characters and have all of them play completely differently or give each of them a unique move all while having them share the same core mechanics as the main character. Besides, they added a nice winkle into the game and mixed things up all while not dampening the gameplay. I think of them as what Sonic's friends would play like if they were brought back into the series as playable characters; everyone sharing the same core gameplay but with each one having a unique move that separates them from one another.

 

Anyway, lets get back on topic and just respect different opinions

[The Kid]

This though, this is different. We all remember the moment Sony won E3 this year right?

 

Do you mean the moment when they largely said they'd keep the same policies and everyone took it as Sony taking this big stand for all the gamers out there? The moment where they were treated like heroes for simply not doing the same bullshit a competitor did? 

 

This isn't like the Sega versus Nintendo thing at all. The internet currently hates Microsoft with a passion. Sony is walking into the party and seeing everyone laughing at the drunk guy, thinking "Hey I bet everyone will think I'm cool if I laugh at him too". They're largely safe in any shot they take because the backlash they could possibly receive would easily fail in comparison to what Microsoft has already received in the last few months.

 

Every company has a "plan and policy" in place leading up to launch, the question is whether it pans out in the long run.

Edited August 21, 2013 by The Kid

[Badnik Mechanic]

Yes the camera work was that bad. Even Shuhei Yoshida has apologised for it.

 

"leaving Cologne for Tokyo, it was a lot of fun, thank you all (and sorry for the atrocious camera work in the stream)"

 

And best reaction to the conference from Giant Bomb...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f3mngsOoIQ&feature=youtu.be&t=22m15s

[Tani Coyote]

I'm going to be cynical here. I remember when Sony was tossing around the idea of used game bans too. They didn't go with it. My thoughts on why? Simply so they could let Microsoft do it and cash in on the massive market share loss Microsoft is due to receive. Wouldn't surprise me if, once Microsoft crumbled, Sony would consider such a thing as well. Fortunately I don't think Microsoft's due for a collapse in the gaming market, so much as a contraction... and that competition will keep Sony on its toes. It goes without saying Sony has knocked their teeth in simply by merit of staying the course. Microsoft is following in SEGA's footsteps of different approaches for different approaches' sake, and it's paying off just as handsomely.

Interesting trailers and such overall. I'm pondering who the two or three mascots of the PS4 will be, to continue the tradition.

[Teoskaven]

Knack seems to be a solid starting point to me: a complete new brand and reminds a lot of both Crash and the cartoony trilogy for PS2.

On the other hand, i don't think The Order: 1886 will be other then a stand-alone title, but who knows.

The rest are continuation of other series (Killzone, inFamous, etc.) or indie games, so i guess we have to wait. But i'm convinced that other series will have some announcements soon (first and foremost, God of War).

[Silencer226]

Knack seems to be a solid starting point to me: a complete new brand and reminds a lot of both Crash and the cartoony trilogy for PS2.

On the other hand, i don't think The Order: 1886 will be other then a stand-alone title, but who knows.

The rest are continuation of other series (Killzone, inFamous, etc.) or indie games, so i guess we have to wait. But i'm convinced that other series will have some announcements soon (first and foremost, God of War).

God of War is a pretty popular title but I'd really love it if the creators would make something different for a change. As for Knack, I hope it turns out good, its a game I'm picking up the day the console launches. And inFAMOUS Second Son just has my hyped, I love that series.

[Teoskaven]

Like i said, Santa Monica recently announced that they were working on a new IP in collaboration with the official Battlestar Galactica writer, so we have to expect something from that.

Overall, the PS4 is definetly something i will buy someday, but not at day one since my unfortunate financial circumstances and the fact that better titles will arrive later; but in comparison to the PS3, it seems that this console will definetly have a way better start, especially since Microsoft tripped over and over again.