Games Inbox: Could Sony leave the video game industry?

The Monday letters page wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, as one reader hopes for a Switch 2 reveal in early January.

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PLEASE NOTE: This will be the last inbox of 2024, before returning to normal service on Monday January 6. There will, however, be plenty of exclusive features between now and then, including our Top 20 of 2024 and a preview of 2025. In the meantime, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Expect the unexpected
While Xbox is the obvious choice to lose the next generation, if it’s going to be just Nintendo and one other, I don’t think people should be too quick to take that for granted. Remember, Microsoft is a much bigger company than Sony and they’ve invested so much money into Xbox at this point that I’m sure it’s become a sunk cost mistake for them. That is, they think that after spending so much, they shouldn’t stop now.

I think for Microsoft it’s just a waiting game. They can sit back and make money from Call Of Duty and other Activision games, then when streaming is stable enough to become mainstream, they will totally dominate that technology and Sony won’t stand a chance.

I don’t necessarily think this will happen with the next generation, but I don’t know when Wi-Fi and everything will suddenly become more reliable. I’m not saying it’s likely in the near future, but I could easily imagine a future where PlayStation gets pushed to third place and Sony gives up and leaves the industry. It seems implausible now, but Xbox went multi-format about a year ago.
Tackle

Before oblivion
I’m not against one Oblivion Remake but I wish Bethesda would remake Morrowind instead. I never played it properly, because by the time I discovered it, after Skyrim, it was already old and I found it almost unplayable.

I often see older fans of the series say that it’s the best because it has deeper role-playing gameplay, but it’s very hard to appreciate it if you weren’t there the first time, I think.

I guess the reason they don’t do it is because it would be a lot of work since the game is so old and there’s barely anything they can keep. They should probably change the UI, controls and everything else too. I wish they would, I’d like to play it properly but after a modern makeover.
Carter

Preview
If people leak the Pro Controller along with everything else for the Switch 2, I don’t think Nintendo has any choice but to announce the console ASAP. Either way, early January always seemed like a good choice, but now I think it’s a choice Nintendo has to make.

It’s a bit of a shame that the design is ruined this way, but, as one reader said, maybe it’s best to get the fact that it looks the same out of the way first, because it’s pretty disappointing. Not that I think they should have changed it for the sake of it, but you always expect something different from Nintendo.

I’m glad the secrets of the new buttons haven’t been revealed, nor those of the new games, because that’s what’s most important.
Glottis

Warning sign
I don’t blame gamers for the lack of inspiration in this list of best-selling games, but it’s definitely not a sign of a healthy gaming industry. If no one is buying new games, then you have to ask yourself what’s the point of making them?

You can tell publishers have already asked this question, because that’s essentially what it’s all about doing only live games. I really don’t know how we can change things now, because playing the same game forever is how a generation of kids now view games.

So even if Fortnite or Minecraft or whatever falls out of fashion, something else similar will fill the void and everything else will still be left out of the appeal. The answer must be to spend considerably less on making new games, but does anyone really want the next God Of War or Call Of Duty to be made by AI?
Cod

Portable massif
RE: Kobold. I played Throne And Liberty, which is a free-to-play MMORPG. It plays great on my ROG Ally, so I imagine it will perform the same on the Steam Deck.

The game is open world and the quests are much more engaging than I imagined. Although you’ll have the most fun being part of a guild, I enjoyed the time spent soloing through the main story.
Wallace

X marks the spot
I’ve been playing games for over 40 years now and to this day I have to admit, I still struggle with X, Y, A, B or the PlayStation configuration X, O, and the rest I don’t. can’t type.

In the early 90s, the SNES came out with four buttons on the face of the controller. Each button was colored differently, which helped with knowing which button to press as well as the Xbox controller. The GameCube controller was a godsend, as you could tell by feeling which button you pressed.

I bought Bayonetta 3 on the cheap the other day and I just can’t figure out the different buttons I have to press, in fact I had the same problem with Bayonetta 2 on the Wii U.

I’m sure I’d enjoy it a lot more if I knew what I’m doing, instead of just pushing buttons and hoping for the best.

It’s actually really irritating not being able to figure it out, but I’ve been playing long enough now to know what I’m doing?

Does anyone else have this problem? Is this a trait of dyslexia?

That said, I enjoy crushing monsters in Bayonetta 3, even if I’m just trying my luck.
highway 77

CG: It seems like you have more problems than forgetting which button corresponds to which button? All Bayonetta games have easily accessible tutorials that you can practice in, which will teach you the basics and various combos.

Zero to hero
GC, you and your team have been doing this work since the good old days of teletext and I’ve never seen anyone ask this question, so here goes: are there any games you’ve reviewed that scored lower at 3 and then after a few updates and free DLC got past the 8 rating or do you just review the games once and then move on?
David

CG: This is a particularly specific question. We can’t think of any DLC that has improved our view of the parent game so much. Cyberpunk 2077 is the most famous example of a game improved since launch, but we’re not sure if that’s the sort of thing you mean.

The year that was
It’s been quite a year, with many ups and downs, but it’s always good to know that the compassionate world of gaming is stronger than ever.

This compassion extends to the many job losses in the video game industry, the importance of which this year’s Game Awards clearly highlighted. It’s the development teams that give us these great games and without the hard work and dedication of these people, we wouldn’t be in this great place when it comes to game selection.

The Game Awards emphasized throughout the show the importance of respecting designers and creators and how horrible it is to fire these people. It’s good to know that there are people willing to help unfortunate workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, empowering them to re-enter the career ladder with developmental careers that suit them.

I thought the games overall were great as usual, my favorites being, interestingly enough, the DLCs: Shadow Of The Erdtree and Alan Wake. But with Indiana Jones, Silent Hill 2, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard still taking up my time right now, it definitely shows the high level of games available to us gamers. I’ve actually had less time to play indie games because of the triple-A games available this year.

Next year looks good, but probably not 2024, but if Death Stranding 2 comes out, then it will probably be my game of the year for me! I think there will be announcements made regarding next-gen consoles and perhaps a release date for Switch 2. But we’ll see all that, because I’m in absolutely no hurry about this news.

But all is well when it comes to this year’s games. I wish the wonderful viewers of GameCentral and GC the best Christmas this holiday season and a very Happy New Year. May all your gaming wishes come true and stay safe and healthy. Time for 2025.
Alucard

Inbox also works
I just read that the creator of Dead Space proposed a new game to EA and was told no. After seeing that Silent Hill 2 didn’t seem to sell much, are we also ready to call this latest survival horror revival a failure?
Zeiss

CG: We’re sad to say that’s probably true.

Merry Christmas everyone! Hoping to hear news about Switch 2 and GTA 6 as soon as possible next year!
Cranston

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