160°

Mixture of derision and applause for Sony's PSN Welcome Back package

Sony Computer Entertainment has revealed what compensation it is offering to the PlayStation Network subscribers affected by the recent outage. Not everyone, however, thinks this package makes up for the inconvenience.

The “Welcome Back” package, which can’t be claimed until the PlayStation Store is restored (which will take “a little while longer”) grants PSN members two games from this list: LittleBigPlanet, Infamous, Wipeout HD/Fury, Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty and Dead Nation.

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ThePsychoGamer4744d ago

Looks like your N4G sony smear campaign is losing steam now, huh loner, Well not like it actually was working any ways, nore will it ever.

Dante1124744d ago

Hey, if he wants to keep doing that, let him do it. It's his life *shrug*

On topic, I'm personally happy about the deal. Free 30 day PS+ (Infamous 2 beta), free weekend worth of rentals deal in the video store, 2 free PS3 and PSP games, 100 free Home items, etc. Seems the others just want money.

TheFreak4744d ago

This is getting pretty sad man.

Menech4744d ago

There's a Sony smear campaign on N4G honestly?

Am guessing by that standard there's a Microsoft genocide campaign?

-Alpha4744d ago (Edited 4744d ago )

I can understand that some people are disappointed, but what do they expect?

It's a mathematical statistic that some users will have all of what is offered.

Sony is generous enough to offer 4 free games AND free movies (which I hope are actually good), as well as Home stuff, and 30-60 days of PSN+ (Cloud storage access is what I desperately need)

(In a way they are very smart: they are giving games that probably don't profit them anymore, yet using games that they can advertise (iNFamous is great advertising for iNFamous 2). iNFamous 1 sold I think 2-3 million, and out of a user base of 70 million users this should spike interest for inFamous 2 a ton.)

Best of all is that all games are quality titles.

All Sony had to do was offer identity protection and customer assurance. Everything else is gravy.

Tony P4744d ago

I do wonder if they couldn't have offered something more general like a a "free Sony game under X dollars", but hey.

I also don't like having to look at it as "smart" because that makes the offer sound very disingenuous. But business is business I guess.

If they go that route, maybe just offer a free copy of one of their MMOs with trial. That's a good shot at playing nice and signing up some subs.

Bell Boy4744d ago

but then the amount they gave would not be enough

MrBeatdown4744d ago (Edited 4744d ago )

"It's a mathematical statistic that some users will have all of what is offered."

The more games that are offered, the less and less likely it is that someone owns all the games. If they were to have upped that number to say, ten PS3 games, it would have provided a lot more people an extra option or two. They could have also offered things like additional months of Plus or discounts on other games as alternatives to the free games.

In the PS3 category, I have all but Super Stardust HD. I liked the demo, but it's a bit disappointing that a guy that had his PS3 for only a few months can get two full retail games, and as a long time PS fan, my only choice is SSHD, which is a three year old $10 PSN game. I don't want to say I'm mad or anything, but it is a little disappointing.

I don't see why they couldn't have thrown in games like Warhawk or Modnation Racers for PS3, as well as a few other less popular but quality PSN games to provide more choices. Hell, Wipeout was already a free PS+ game, and Dead Nation was half priced just a month before the outage. No matter what Sony offers, the choices of games you don't own are going to drop if you buy a lot of Sony games, but it sucks to see them not make more of an effort to minimize that problem.

I disagree with calling it "gravy" as if it's more than we needed. The last month has been a turd sandwich, so the gravy is kind of necessary. PSN is free, but the games like Socom 4 that I bought to play online were not. If I was to buy a PS3 that came with a "free" game, I would expect that game to work, and I would expect a replacement if it didn't, so to me, the same applies to PSN.

El-Fenemeno12134744d ago

It is just as I pointed out before. They wouldn't be able to cater to everyone. Since most sony loyalists already have the games being offered.

Mikeyy4744d ago

Im just looking forward to the free month trial of PS+

If the Cloud saving works flawless between my PS3 and my sisters PS3, then I will be a year long subscriber. Im sick of Lugging my PS3 around, or Using USB stick with trophies being disabled on the other end.

Hopefully its all seemless.

killerhog4744d ago

this isnt a bad deal. i dont get why people are complaining but i guess "whiners will whine". if you own any of those said games why not sell your hard copy and get the free version? there now you made a bit of some real cash. but fortunately for myself imma get me wipeout and dead nation.

developers (sony, indie, and others) lost money you honestly think they gonna hand out a "new" game they didnt even make profit off of yet?? come on people get real.

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150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers16d ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos16d ago (Edited 16d ago )

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken16d ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g16d ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing16d ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H916d ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola16d ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn66916d ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle16d ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg17d ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos17d ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola17d ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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ChasterMies37d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken37d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga37d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken37d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6437d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long37d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197237d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic37d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 37d ago
DivineHand12537d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91337d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer37d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit37d ago (Edited 37d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91336d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit36d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 36d ago
Christopher37d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6936d ago (Edited 36d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit36d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal37d ago (Edited 37d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher37d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken37d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197237d ago (Edited 37d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic37d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2337d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218337d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit36d ago (Edited 36d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder37d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts37d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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