150°

With Larian Out Of The Picture, Will The Baldur's Gate IP Be In Safe Hands?

Huzaifah from eXputer: "With Larian Studios washing their hands of the IP, what is the ultimate fate of the legendary Baldur's Gate series?"

RaidenBlack29d ago

If anybody's gonna mention BioWare, then look at Archetype Entertainment, they're the new BioWare
or else
Obsidian is still a good choice but not independent anymore.

anast29d ago (Edited 29d ago )

No, WoTC is pivoting to mobile. They can use Larian's work to justify DnD Go and everyone will accept it.

RiseNShine29d ago

Short answer, nope. Long answer, f*ck nope.

robtion29d ago

Correct answer. Most people don't realise that the companies that are still making good games using common sense and a customer focus are generally not American. They are from Poland, Belgium, Japan, or other countries that have not yet become completely corrupted by 'extreme capitalism'.

Before you down vote me into oblivion I am not anti-american. I just don't like greed and corruption which unfortunately seems to correlate with power.

I would guess the next Baldurs gate will probably be filled with GaaS.

RiseNShine27d ago (Edited 27d ago )

This is simply not true, probably the most capitalistic company in the world is Ubisoft right now, actually claiming that we have to get used to not owning games and asking 130$ for the ultimate edition of star wars outlaws with paywalled day one exclusive DLC, and they are from France, which is a socialist country with all kind of public services for everything, so it's not something exclusive to America or directly related to highly capitalist countries.

Of course, communist countries like China don't have problems like this, since workers don't have rights to strike since 1982 and unions are affiliated to the national government, so you'll never hear of any labour rights issues on these non-capitalist countries, they simply can't make their voices heard on their working conditions, neither by strikes or independent unions, that's better for you i suppose.

Christopher29d ago

Honestly, we're talking completely new engine and none of Larian's built-in stuff with regard to environments and the like that they had from their past divinity game. No one is going to have that just ready to go. So, they need to shop for a dev studio that has a past game that shows what they want.

Obsidian doesn't have that, maybe the closest being Dungeon Siege 3 or Pillars of Eternity, but those are very basic, not as open, very little environment related and altering capabilities. So, we're talking a step way back on what Larian delivered. Zero scene experience to line up with what was done in BG3. Okay conversation tree designs, but still needs more complexity.

inXile has Wasteland 3 as a base model engine, and I think that's better than Pillars of Eternity from Obsidian. But, still needs to be more open world, more environmental effects, and a much heavier rules set adaptation. But, not a bad overall engine as a base, but still a ton of work. Zero scene experience to line up with what was done in BG3. Needs a ton of work on that entirely.

Tactical Adventure did the Solasta game. Really good and more accurate as far as 5e rules than BG3. But, again, if the expectation is similar to what made BG3 a big hit, engine isn't designed for moving the camera, is a bit outdated in graphics, doesn't have in-game scene elements, and needs much better writers/voice actors.

Owlcat of pathfinder games is another choice, even though they've recently moved on to WH40k licensed games. Again, though, the engine is the biggest issue here to match up, but it's a much better option overall than Tactical Adventure. Another question is writers/story telling, as much of their overall story telling bits are very limited with a lot of random worldbuilding elements that are just +\- of some attributes.

TBH, no matter who takes over, it's just not going to be like BG3 much like how BG3 isn't at all like BG1/2. And BG3 was so successful because of how much Larian was able to put in with their engine and how focused they were on players having ridiculous control over the story being told. I just don't see the next BG being the same and depending on what it is, it might be good but I'm not as big of a reach as BG3. It's way more likely players are going to go into BG4 (or its spiritual successor if it moves away from Baldur's Gate and into Neverwinter or something like Plansescape) expecting much of what is in BG3 with more options, new and older characters, and the same level of control over what they're doing. If it doesn't have that, regardless of who makes it, it won't be as successful, IMHO.

exputers29d ago

Yes, I completely concur.

As good and talented as inXile and Obsidian are in their own specific way of making their particular games, none of them have Larian's attention to detail, dynamic worlds, and reactivity, so even if they end up making a new Baldur's Gate, it's going to be a significant step-down in terms of gameplay if not narrative.

CrimsonWing6929d ago

Probably not, but maybe… just maybe…

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220°

New PlayStation Handheld Reported Again, Supposedly Runs PS4 Games

Another leaker has claimed that a PSP/PS Vita style PlayStation handheld is in the works, and it'll supposedly support PS4 games.

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playstationlifestyle.net
anast14h ago

If this is true, it will crush everything for the price.

VenomUK1h ago(Edited 1h ago)

Needs to be a PS5 portable.

Cacabunga1h ago

PS4 native with PS5 remote play capabilities. Would be sweet.

And let PS Portal support cloud streaming for all PS+ games.

anast7m ago

Going off all the pricing behavior of Sony to this point. I'm willing to bet it will be cheaper than the Steam Deck. And when the price is revealed and I am right, send me a message.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 7m ago
crazyCoconuts1h ago

It would be a niche product like Portal. Not bad, but not mainstream. It's legacy PS4 right?

Kneetos58m ago

The switch 2 and next steam deck will be out by then and will likely be way more popular

anast4m ago

The switch 2 will be a handheld Series S for kids and the next steam deck will be ridiculously over priced for a bunch of aging CRPGS and F2P mobile style games.

-Foxtrot13h ago

If you had every PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP and PSV game then sure but I mean if it's just the PS4 why not just get a Steam Deck?

anast2h ago

You might be correct, but it depends on the price point. Also, most PC gamers wait years for Sony releases, so it might be better just to get the PS4 handheld.

crazyCoconuts1h ago

I'd be surprised if Sony reversed course and continued to put new releases on PS4. It would cannibalize their PS5 sales

MrBaskerville1h ago(Edited 1h ago)

If it supports your library, some people own more ps4 games than steam games. I know I do.

crazyCoconuts1h ago

I might buy something like this to play my old library but man those old games are cheap on steam. This console would have to be cheap to make sense. I don't see it happening

SegaSaturn66944m ago

Deck is very viable option given how good PS3 and switch emulation have become. Even new releases are chugging along at 30fps.

Lexreborn22m ago

To be fair, I have a lot of ps4 games I don’t have on steam that is can play on my ps5 but I choose to play ps5 games on my ps5.

I also haven’t rebought any of my PlayStation exclusives on PC because I own them on my ps4/5 and even the upgraded ways that rival the pc version. So, if I wanted to play them on my steam deck I would still have to buy them again which if I bought the 6 top games Spider-Man 1,2, mm, horizon, fw , GoW and ragnarok and GoT with LoU1,2. It would more then. Likely be the cost of this device.

So, instead of double dipping I would buy the handheld and if it has a playable sf6 that actually works online (steam deck is not functional) I think I would want it for myself

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2m ago
MeteorPanda2h ago

I still play my vita. The oled screen was too good for it's time. I obviously had to home brew it but playing my old snes/ps1 games on it is so good.

Skuletor2h ago

How many people will buy this at launch? As a Vita owner, I'd definitely hold back after how Sony's support for that turned out.
Also, PSP played near PS2 quality games, PS Vita played near PS3 quality games, shouldn't the next Playstation handheld be aiming for near PS5 quality?

MeteorPanda1h ago

the sadest thing on vita support for me was the removal of Close? The app that let you see local players and what they were playing. i made friends back in the day for co op that way lol.

I think it was privacy breaching? such a shame.

Skuletor1h ago

Vita had so much promise, I wonder what it would have taken for Sony to have been more supportive. GTA: San Andreas Stories would have probably brought more sales alone, if they could have gotten that. I was disappointed we never really got anything on the same level as Killzone: Mercenary after that game, which looked amazing running on the Killzone 3 engine. Would have loved to see new entries of PS IP like Infamous, God of War etc, Sony really dropped the ball and using proprietary memory cards that were ridiculously priced didn't help, if they were smart, they'd have sold them cheaper since they were mainly being used to store stuff people were paying for in their store anyway, lol.

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220°

Microsoft targets late 2026 Xbox Next launch with new COD game

Rumour has it that Microsoft has a new Xbox in the works, and its launch will coincide with Infinity Ward's next COD game.

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overclock3d.net
purple10117h ago

So that’ll be £1000 with a zen 5 cpu and god know what graphics card

Good one

Also now they have promised cod on nintendos systems, the switch 2 might become VERY popular as a cod console with the kids, tethering it to their 5g phones, or the schools WiFi hehehe

chicken_in_the_corn14h ago

Don't believe it. The documents from the FTC case say 2028 and that holds more weight than this.

ThinkThink13h ago

I think they are going to drop a handheld next year and a next gen console the year after. I think it'll be one sku though at launch

crazyCoconuts1h ago

Why would they expand the Xbox hardware footprint when their foundation is crumbling?
Creating a handheld would take a great deal of focus during a time where MS is struggling under the weight of their new game company acquisitions. Those handheld comments were just more Phil diarrhea of the mouth- nothing serious behind it, certainly not within a year

Zeref2h ago

A lot of things in that document turned out to be cancelled plans though. We should have seen the digital series X by now and the new controller.

crazyCoconuts1h ago

I'd put money on no Xbox console. It's over. 1:5 compared to competition and if the exclusives come to PlayStation it's only gonna get worse. Come this holiday PS Pro will be wooing all the power fiends that aren't in the PC camp just in time for GTA6.
By the time the next Xbox would be ready, they'd practically be starting over and the Xbox name will be trash. No exec will approve that risk and Satya will want to put this embarrassing L behind him.

Sonic18814h ago(Edited 4h ago)

Microsoft has a long ways to go when it comes to the gaming industry

ravens524h ago

This is another thing MS is doing that I don't like. Like chill, foster your teams and try to make the beginning of some good series on the already powerful series x. They are trying to rush this gen. It's coming up on four years. So this gens life will be 5 years and on the 6th the next gen will be released? Stupid. Makes no sense especially seeing how long everyone has supported the Ps4 and Xbox 1. Annoying.

OtterX3h ago

Yea, they have had terrible 1st party support for 2 gens now. Why would anyone rush out to get this new XBox, especially when they plan to bring the games they do have to Playstation? I love PS5 + Switch + PC. I don't see the point of an XBox console at all.

Reaper22_3h ago

Perhaps some people like playing games on xbox.

Sonic18812h ago(Edited 2h ago)

"I don't see the point of an XBox console at all."

You can play Xbox games on a smart TV in 1080p now lol as long it has the game pass app. No need for an Xbox

jznrpg19m ago

@Reaper22 but it’s less people as time goes on. That’s not sustainable. They clearly will get out of the console business it’s just a matter of when

Einhander19723h ago

So, Microsoft has sold less consoles than the previous gen the past two generations with this most recent generation falling off the most. And in this current generation the most popular console by far is the least expensive one. But they are going to try to push out another console that is supposedly powerful not the thing that actually worked for them a cheap game pass console...

And they are going to come out with this thing when the PS5 Pro will be on the market so it's unlikely that they will be able to make any significant power gains. Certainly not to the point that PlayStation 5 won't be able to play the games. Heck we see how long the PS4 has stayed relevant, PS4 games will still be getting released in 2026. And given their console sales track record no publisher under the sun is going to skip PlayStation to make games for xbox. And with the way Microsoft is positioning themselves as such a rival publisher I can't imagine many publishers really looking to prop xbox up. Heck we hear rumors of publishers skipping xbox for releases.

If this is actually true, this thing is DOA.

crazyCoconuts1h ago

Exactly. This will never make it out of the gate.
The proof will be if these rumors about more exclusives coming to PS. If they were planning to keep the hardware alive, they'd be hoarding those exclusives, because everyone knows you need exclusives to secure a platform

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80°

PlayStation Store Being Investigated for Anti-Competitive Practices in Poland

Polish headquarters of Sony Interactive Entertainment were raided by government authorities as part of an investigation into their anti-competitive practices.

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playstationlifestyle.net
PapaBop21m ago(Edited 18m ago)

This is precisely why discless consoles are a terrible idea. I made my money back on my disc based ps5 within the first two months when comparing the cost on the PS Store to what I paid for my physical disc versions. The last game I bought was Armoured Core 6 for £43.85 on ShopTo, still costs £59.99 on PS Store. Those savings soon add up.