470°

Sony's clever Killzone 3 experiment: Is this the future of gaming?

Six weeks ago Sony released a trial of the Killzone 3 multiplayer experience. The trial has pumped new players into the KZ3 community and offers the chance to buy the multiplayer experience without the single player campaign. Is splitting 'AAA' games and selling them in parts good or bad for the industry?

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gamejudgment.com
gameplayingfool4420d ago

Splitting 'AAA' games into chunks and selling them online? I didn't really think of it this way, but the dude raises some good questions. I guess, considering most people never finish single player, there is no real reason not to. Interesting...

jimineyscrickets4420d ago

I was pretty skeptical of the idea, but this has made me rethink. I love KZ3, and if this brings new players and strenghtens the community, maybe its good. Cya online!

Outside_ofthe_Box4420d ago (Edited 4420d ago )

"strenghtens the community"

Sony did this to make the very last bit of profit they could from KZ3. KZ3 overall is a huge CoDfication and Casualization failure. KZ2 still remains the best tactical console shooter this gen. Any Killzone fan will tell you this and any hater will of course say otherwise.

KZ3's online has very little people playing it while KZ2 has more people playing it than KZ3 which shows you how much better KZ2 is than KZ3.

pixelsword4420d ago (Edited 4420d ago )

@outside_ofthe_box:

I don't know if that's true about more people playing 2 over 3 (probably still making it to General lol), but I must admit that as a whole I did enjoy K2's multiplayer over K3 in terms of the Warzone. The boards were made for super grindingly-hard-bullets-in-yo- gullet-and-kick-you-into-grand m a's-casket-killzone-style gameplay that made you feel really good about being adept at playing the game. The sniper being able to track you, the partial switching of classes, the dynamic spawn points, the dark and grey look and feel is an experience unto itself.

Killzone 3 has it's bennies too: hackable turrets, stronger aerial support, orbital strike, harder to break the saboteur's/sniper's cover; but it is inferior in a few ways. The gameplay is easier, the dynamic spawn points are gone, There's no basic soldier, and you can't take cover behind the fixed turrets. It's still fun, but not as "punch in your face" fun that Killzone 2 had (Heck, have you ever played the first Killzone online? that was hard too).

In terms of Ops though, Ops has me hooked and is the redeeming factor that Killzone 3's online has. I only wish that GG made more Ops boards.

CarlitoBrigante4420d ago

Killzone 2 multiplayer was the best online experience I had this gen. KZ3 didnt live up to my expectations multiplayer wise, they changed so many things that were so good in KZ2.

BloodGracht and Radec Academy will be the best maps ever!

JoGam4420d ago

Its a GREAT idea. The way I see it. There were some people who just wasnt ever going to buy KZ3 but because they released the multiplayer side of the game and gave it a great price point, some of those people went out and bought it. I even know some people who traded the full game in the past but bought the multiplayer game from PSN. I think its great to do this when a game may have reached its selling point.

SilentNegotiator4420d ago

It's a good idea so long as we don't start seeing games split in half (MP/SP) sold for $40 per piece or something.

I really fear what new techniques the next generation will bring to make games more expensive and restrictive.

Muerte24944420d ago

I wish they would offer most games like that. I mean I haven't touched Killzone3's single player since I bought the game. While slightly disappointed with the direction they went in with the MP, i still enjoyed it. This can also combat the used games market.

n4gisatroll4420d ago

The single player had some beautiful moments. The jungle was stunning, imo.

Virtual_Reality4420d ago

DUST 514, another example of AAA F2P and exclusive for PS3.

RedDead4420d ago

Ok again....KZ3 multi is NOT F2P. It's just a Trial. You can't play after level 10, the trial ends. That was simply clever wording by Sony. And a complete **** up by Gametrailers.

pixelsword4420d ago

I think you can play, but you can't advance in rank. I could be wrong, though; since I bought the game and really don't care about the restrictions.

Gamer19824420d ago

Indeed you stop ranking up after lvl 10. You can continue playing. But higher lvl players will frustrate you thus encouraging you to buy.

fatboyfsx4414d ago

@ Gamer1982

Once you level up to 10 you can no longer play unfortunately, but it is still an awesome free trial demo. Not to mention $15 including all the maps ($10 for all maps) is an amazing deal! I am extremely glad they did this, I hope to see it done with more games.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4414d ago
snipes1014420d ago

As long as they don't increase the price, I'm fine with it. Sell me the single player part (the part I play most) for half the price ($30) and the multiplayer for the other half ($30).

RustInPeace4420d ago

I'd say, with a $30/$30 price point, the SP MUST be at the BARE MINIMUM of about 10 hours long (as in straight through, beginning to end (not including finding collectibles and side missions if the game in question has those types of things)) and the MP MUST have some sort of "redeeming quality" if it is to last long & for that price point.
If CoD came out and offered ONLY MP @$30, it better not only be entertaining enough for consumers to come back to over and over, but ALL CURRENT PROBLEMS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ADDRESSED SINCE COD4 should NOT EXIST. And the way Acti/____(3arch/IW/Sledge/Rave n) handle their games, each side has its exclusive team to work on that part of the game (isn't that what they say they do now anyway?), so ALL hands on the MP dev side stick ONLY to that to ensure a QUALITY product once released (no more lag comp. or finding the lowest common denominator to run off of, no more clipping ala MW2s "Fuel" map or W@Ws under map clipping, hitboxes that ONLY overlay the character model & NOT some ghost box 3 feet from the target on all sides (the way they fixed the hitboxes from CS:S to the new CS:GO),... i could go on, but that's enough ranting, lol

THESONYPS34420d ago

Well we have been thinking about it for the future Gen alot. We would of done it at the begining of this gen but choose no to. We experienced it with the new ridge racer on the vita but have come up with new ideas. instead of paying alot for the game itself and having barely anything in it, why not just buy it from scratch. Like $3 for each online map or like $20 for campaign. The classes can be bought etc.. So now you only have what you want and if you do not like it then but the full game, just campaign or just multiplayer.

wsoutlaw874420d ago

It is a great idea to sell a game in parts on the psn. A large amount of people may only want online or single player. I do believe Fight Night Champions did this first however.

pain777pas4420d ago

I might give this a shot but I am a diehard KZ2 fan. Best FPS this generation KZ2. Believe it play it. I will give KZ3 a shot again but I hated the demo because if felt so COD. No weight to the movement. KZ2 is the best.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4414d ago
360GamerFG4420d ago

It came and it went and didn't change the industry. . .

sphinct4420d ago

I think any affect will come slowly and thru Sony first. If they find this successfully reinvigorated the community, why not do it with other games? If it continues to work, other companies looking to get more life (and $$) out of their games might follow suit.

Rendering judgment now seems not only premature, but doesn't take into account the way things work.

Now, of course, it may not work at all...but that remains to be seen.

pat_11_54420d ago

I'd love to see other developers adopt this model. It's a great way of revitalizing an older game.

TekoIie4420d ago

Didn't homefront do this first?

TheRealHeisenberg4420d ago (Edited 4420d ago )

CoD and Battlefield might as well follow this path.

Edit: TheSleepyGamer beat me to it.

PirateThom4420d ago

Truly, you may be the most pessimistic person that has ever existed.

360GamerFG4420d ago

Pessimism is a negative outlook or tendency to anticipate the worst. I'm not anticipating the worst, I'm looking at cold facts. The move didn't see a surge in sales or sustained growth in the killzone 3 community. I'm just sayin.

PirateThom4420d ago

And you've predicted it didn't change the industry, but maybe someone else will run with the idea and be more sucessful.

KonaBro4420d ago

Show me the reports on revenue gained since it was released. Oh? You can't? That's what I thought. "Cold hard facts" my ass.

pangitkqb4420d ago

@ FinancialGamer

Show us the sales data you reference. I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm saying you are making bold claims without supporting them.

sony hasn't released sales figures for the Multiplayer Experience, and common consensus in the Kz3 community, having played recently myself, is that there are definitely more people playing since the free trial went live.

I'm not against your opinion, but how can we take it credibly with zero evidence or numbers?

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4420d ago
sphinct4420d ago

Quoting Canadian Turtle Below:

"I actually bought the game all because of the free to play trial.

I mean, the full retail game."

That's food for thought right there.

sikbeta4420d ago (Edited 4420d ago )

As the "experiment" or as "the game"?

As the game, it's a shooter, you'd have to expect so much for that to happen :P

As the "experiment" don't have any idea, doesn't seem to brake any sales record or anything, but that can be because of the game itself, so we need to see more of these things happening to judge it well, the idea sounds good though :D

pixelsword4420d ago

@ FinancialGamer

1st person cover didn't change the industry, but it did change first person games this gen.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4420d ago
TheSleepyGamer4420d ago

I like the idea, it's actually one of the few decisions being made lately which actually benefits gamers.

If you like the multiplayer but aren't so fond of the single player experience then you don't need to pay extra and vise versa.

Maybe the next CoD (or seventy of them the way they get released..) can make use of this idea.

byeGollum4420d ago

I like the idea of selling SP and MP separately as an option.
games like Fight Night, I just want to play online. I don't need the offline content. That way you pay for what you use.

TekoIie4420d ago

I know this sounds strange but I'll like it if it is categorised in your trophies/achievements with MP and SP seperatly. So BF3 MP and SP are separated for achievements.

Burning_Finger4420d ago (Edited 4420d ago )

It's a good OPTION.

But some people still preferred all together in one single disc like myself.

Now, only if they stop that ONLINE PASS bull****.

pangitkqb4420d ago

Ya, and I think that really is the appeal. Those like you still have the option of the whole game on disc, and those gaming on a budget can get the portion they want for cheaper. Everyone wins.

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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.

exputers17d 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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techraptor.net
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.

CrimsonWing6937d ago (Edited 37d 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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