Games Inbox: What will happen for the PlayStation 30th anniversary?

1 week ago 2
PlayStation 30th anniversary logo
Will it be a happy birthday? (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

The Wednesday letters page wants advise on important US Nintendo Switch games, as one reader recommends Indiana Jones And The Emperor’s Tomb.

To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]


Renewed hope
I really hope that Sony put on a proper effort for the PlayStation 30th anniversary. Everyone knows they’ve been off the ball for the last two years or so and this would be a great moment to draw a line under all that and start acting like they care again. Seriously, Sony recently is like their mum told them they have to be in the games industry, but they don’t want to and everything is an absolute minimum effort because of that.

Nobody seems to have any real idea why but no one will care either, if they get their act together. Obviously, a super preview event with multiple new single-player game announcements would be the dream. But I don’t expect for a second that that will actually happen.

A new PS1 mini-console would be good too, but I think they’ve left it too late in the year for that now. I’ll settle for a plush PS1 I can use as a cushion but, to be honest, even that is probably expecting too much. Instead, I’ll just ask for one simple thing: hope. Hope that Sony will make an effort next year and this whole period in gaming can be quickly forgotten.
Grimpen


Back-up systems
I very much doubt the lawsuit against Ubisoft is going to work, for shutting down The Crew, but something really needs to be done about all these games just disappearing and becoming unplayable once the publisher has given up on them.

It’s ridiculous that it’s easier to play obscure Japanese-only NES games in the modern day than it is something that came out a couple of years ago. When a game is released it needs to have an offline mode built in, and if it’s online-only then it needs to have the ability to switch to fan servers immediately – have that built in from the start too.

Otherwise, it’s just not fair even selling the games to people. I’m sure Ubisoft has protected itself with the terms and conditions but it’s everyone, EA especially. I’m shocked that Nintendo, of all people, are the ones doing things reasonably, with the new offline-only Animal Cross mobile app. If Nintendo is beating you for pro-consumer features then you are doing very, very badly!
Focus


Evil elevation
I absolutely agree that Silent Hill 2 is a much better remake than I or anyone else expected, but for me it’s not the best. Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth are great but they’re just too bloated and I think they would’ve been better compressed into just one game, making the remake a two-parter and not a trilogy.

For me, the question is between Resident Evil 2 and 4. I love them both, but I honestly think 2 is the best one. It elevates the original much higher than 4 (because 4 is still fun even now) and had some great gore and basically felt like the game you imagined it could be back in the original PS1 days.

I really don’t know how they could do better than Resident Evil 2 and I’m not really sure that’s true of any other remake. I just hope they do Dino Crisis next. They can skip CODE: Veronica, just give me next gen dinosaurs!
Corsa


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Copying the copier
You suggested in your Indiana Jones And The Great Circle preview that, ‘there’s never been a genuinely good action title based on his adventures’. So no love for Indiana Jones And The Emperor’s Tomb? I thought it was an excellent and rousing Tomb Raider clone (oh, the irony) when I played it on the OG Xbox, back in the day.

It had a great mix of scrappy fisticuffs, puzzling, and platforming with a real globe-trotting feel highly reminiscent of Dr Jones’ cinematic adventures. It’s pretty old, so maybe the denizens of GC Towers never played it?
Meestah Bull

GC: It’s definitely the best up till now, but we still don’t think it’s very good. There was a very promising action game we saw at E3 in the mid-2000s, that was meant as a sister title to Star Wars 1313, with state-of-the-art visuals and physics. Like 1313 it got cancelled, although parts of it were recycled for the awful Staff Of Kings on Wii.


Another 84 reasons to go to Tokyo
Just back from Japan and wanted to share a hidden gem for gamers called 84, it’s in a secret location – you are met by someone who brings you to the location. It’s a bar/cafe run by a guy called Chokan, an ex-Nintendo employee.

It’s full of memorabilia, illustrations of game characters, many done by the original creators and a ton of other stuff. It’s in Shibuya and well worth a visit! You can check it out here.
Digdis121

Tokyo 84 images
We’re not sure who’s signed that poster (Digdis121)
Tokyo 84 Panasonic Q photo
That’s a Panasonic Q (Digdis121)


Space desert
‘The only thing we disagree with you about is the idea that there’s numerous alternatives; there are far too few space exploration titles for our liking.’

Seriously… I’m not going to write a list, but a quick Google search will list you dozens of space exploration games out or soon to be released.

Is this a water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink kind of thing?
DarKerR (gamertag)

GC: We’re honestly not sure what you’re getting at. Unless you’re going to count Star Wars Outlaws, the last decent space exploration game was No Man’s Sky, eight years ago. Even if you stretch the definition to Outer Wilds, that was five years ago.


US import
You may have already covered this one, but I’ve just noticed that the physical version of Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for the Switch is going to be a code in box in Europe.

I had been holding off from getting the game, as I wanted it on cartridge. Do you think it’s worth importing it from the US? If so, do you have any tips? Any help would be appreciated.
David

GC: We haven’t imported a game from the US in years, but perhaps a reader can help. The Nintendo Switch is region free, but DLC won’t work between regions. We don’t remember that compilation having any but it’s worth bearing in mind.


Paint it white
Just like Valve to take a page out of Sony’s book and offer us something that no one asked for or had on our minds. I don’t mean to sound impertinent, but did anyone rise and shine and think to themselves, ‘Valve have left us waiting long enough, we deserve more. The Steam Deck has provided us with countless memories, it’s time for a fresh coat of paint.’ We don’t need a sequel, or an update on how that sequel is going. Is it even in construction or is even an idea, at this point? I’m of course referring to the Limited Edition OLED model, that’s branded in white.

Whereas Nintendo are gearing up to announce their successor, obviously it wasn’t yesterday. Yesterday was the most pointless Nintendo Direct and it may well have been a tweet instead. But they’ve got something different in the pipeline. What is Valve doing? Releasing the same underpowered system, just with a paint job and an exclusive carrying case. For $679. Where’s an update on the Steam Deck 2? Or even a rough draft of a few central ideas?

Because I can safely say, Valve are leagues behind what Asus are offering and even Lenovo. Valve’s baseline model remains at 16GB RAM. Asus offer 24GB and that’s why I’m swaying for their offering. Because the Steam Deck, whilst still a fantastic system, is rusting like a skyscraper beginning to show its age.

When you even have Sony discussing a prototype of the PlayStation 6, before we are even halfway through the PlayStation 5’s life cycle, that’s embarrassing. I’ll say this to boot, I’ve heard Windows is a hassle to navigate on a handheld. I’ll accept that for what is offered. Not a system that has reached its final chapter.
Shahzaib Sadiq

GC: Sony hasn’t said anything about the PlayStation 6.


Inbox also-rans
RE: Very 20% off first CREDIT order, which can be used on Meta Quest 3 headset. Terms and conditions excludes consoles but someone has bought a headset and a Switch and the 20% was taken off both using the offer.
Goldenlay

I still can’t believe the Until Dawn remake was real. A remake? Of that game. Was it a tax write-off or something, because nothing else makes sense given what an obvious flop it’s been.
Freddy

GC: It seems crazy, but it can only have been because of the upcoming movie.


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The small print
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