Steve Bitto

We rented Logan from our local library. I was a little disappointed by it. Definitely not a bad movie (especially compared to the X-Men universe as a whole) but my expectations had gotten a little lofty considering reviews/opinions.

That was me talking to them on Twitter yesterday via PSLS! I feel like a celebrity!

Just Superhot VR for me this month!

Desperately searching for the Farpoint PlayStation Aim VR bundle though. From what I understand, they aren't restocking and have discontinued the bundle. The standalone controller isn't available either. Headscratcher @Sony.

Yeah, pretty much this. E3 really is not a fan event. At all. In a way, it almost feels disingenuous for the ESA to open it to the public knowing full well that E3 does not necessarily operate like fan-oriented events like PAX and PSX. They kind of glamorize the whole thing for gamers when in reality, it doesn't necessarily stack up to peoples' expectations in their head (if they're attending as a regular person).

Definitely. I heard people were waiting like 5-6 hours to play games. Why even bother at that point?

As a huge PlayStation fanboy, I think you'd be insane to pay to go to E3 when you can just pay to go to PSX. PSX is way more fan-oriented specially PlayStation fan-oriented. Even from a third-party perspective, you're going to get way more hands-on time at PSX than E3.

I have two lists: Games to Play (That I Own) and Games to Buy. 

I try to limit both to games I will legitimately play. I find that this limits my impulse buys a ton. Also since I know what I still need to play, I don't mind waiting until great deals on the Games to Buy list. 

We're going this week! Can't wait!

Are they available separately?

I've always wanted to play the series but was waiting for 999 to come to PlayStation Vita/4. Already have Virtue's Last Reward (I think it was free with PS Plus ages ago). 

Abzu and Tales from the Borderlands are great entries for PlayStation Plus but unfortunately I already have both.

Enjoy gang!

Totally agree. I wouldn't be surprised if sales on recent Telltale games were on the decline because of Telltale engine fatigue (maybe except for Batman?). I did hear that the CEO recently stepped down, and he was one of the main people that kept pushing for the current engine to keep on being used in every game, so maybe they'll finally move to another one soon.

The erratic episodic release schedules have been detrimental too. One of the main benefits to an episodic series is that there is a regular release schedule. Lately, Telltale releases have been all over the place. People lose interest quicker than ever these days and I think that could catch up with Telltale soon.

Haven't heard much praise for GotG. I feel like we're reaching that point where Telltale needs to overhaul their engine and formula or entire series will flop. 

Just did a comparison earlier, they're the same thickness as Blu-ray cases and slightly smaller in length but otherwise they're basically that same standard, just not as wide.

 

As far as software sold, I remember seeing a chart somewhere but I forget what the source was. I'll see if I can track it down. From what I can remember, Zelda is the only one over 1 million sold (which makes sense given that nothing else was a big AAA title) but the other games and indies were selling respectably (1-2 Switch was at 300k, I believe, and Bomberman was in third and is supposedly the best-selling Bomberman to date?).

Thanks! In that case, good on them to save space!

It's also promising to see other software selling well. I was a little worried when I first saw a >90% attachment rate for Zelda. I was wondering if the initial Switch bump was exclusively Zelda diehards but it looks like that it's more just a reflection of how great the game is. The next few months will be telling.

Do they save shelf space though? I saw some at the store and they look taller and thicker than bluray cases.

Not sure how I feel about them switching up the case size. On one hand people might like to see something different but on the other bluray cases have become the standard for entertainment. Will people view these as "less than" because they aren't the same as PS4, Xbox One and everything else on the shelf? Similar to other aspects of Switch, I think the moment you have to explain any of this to someone you're losing a fraction of sales. 

Outside of Zelda, how has the Switch software sold?

It can't be as good as it seems like it might be....

I'm considering Spider-man and Headlander. I really enjoyed Headlander when I played it back at PSX 2015. With so many big releases though (including NieR: Automata which I have but haven't played), I'm kinda leaning towards holding off.

Yeah, that's definitely part of the issue.

 

I wonder if subscribers would approve of a plan where they just put out 1-2 games a month, but they're games that are really high quality; either big AAA titles or first-party titles that might be a few years old, or higher end indie titles that have gotten great reviews and sold a lot.

 

It'd also be kind of neat if they had a plan for about half price where you can keep playing the free games you've accumulated so far through PS Plus, but not get any of the new ones every month.

Honestly, just discussing it right now and trying to come up with ideas myself I've come to the conclusion that they could never make everyone happy. If they included more popular games, more people would have already bought them. If they included popular indies, people would still ask for AAA. If they give away 10 titles a month, I'd be sad that I can't get to the majority of them.

I guess the way it's set up now there's a good variety of games and a good chance that you'll get your money's worth on 5-6 genuinely good-great games a year. 

In general, not a terrible line-up, per se, but there's really nothing for me there.

 

Severed is supposed to be really good, but it doesn't look like my type of game. Already have Tearaway Unfolded and still need to play it. Disc Jam looks interesting but I'll probably never get around to it. Earth Defense Force 2025 and Lumo could be interesting but same thing. And then I'll probably never touch Under Night.

 

I'm starting to wonder if I should continue subbing to PS Plus. It's not that it isn't a great value, but I'm personally just not making as much use of it these days.

My biggest issue with PS Plus is that they give away too many games. With a backlog as deep as mine, I'd be lucky to play even one of the six every month.

I'd probably enjoying playing one of the Marvel games again but that's too much for them. I'll wait until they drop lower.

This is the perfect time to release a game like this. Heading into summer when things quiet down before the early fall. People have time but also don't want to spend loads of it inside. 

I wasn't sure if I'd get it but now I definitely will. Why not?

I preordered one with the hopes to sell it for more. Considering it took a few days for preorders to get eaten up, I'm not too hopeful. I'll probably end up returning it.

Personally, I think the price point of the competition will hinder the Switch quite a bit. With PS4 Slim and Xbox One S both available for equal or less, I don't see people adopting the Switch as their main console. Like I predicted before, it'll sell better than Wii U but far less than Xbox One or PS4. Only 20-35 million consoles lifetime. 

I seriously love this list. I bash Nintendo a lot but Jason always has a way of making me question what I'm missing. 

I really enjoyed Abzu and Batman although both could have been better. Abzu with a little more attention to narrative, Batman with a little more attention to technical issues.

Kicking myself for not picking up Song of the Deep a week or two ago. Insomniac has earned my support and I should give it.

As long as you play both before ZTD you're golden. In fact if you aren't big on puzzles there's a phone app for 999 that cuts out all puzzle bits and lets you just experience the story. It's great for catching up quick since ZTD and VLR are way more user friendly about going through multiple paths for the true ends, but 999 really isn't. Hopefully they fix that with the new ports, but there's a chance they can't/won't.

Nice! I will definitely check that out because I really don't want to wait!

Great list! I loved Severed sooooo much! 

Should I wait to play Zero Time Dilemna and Virtue's Last Reward until 999 comes to PlayStation?

This list sums up how great it was to be a PS4 owner this year!

I finished Telltale Batman last week. I enjoyed it but thought it was a bit overrated. Honestly, I'm kind of over the whole superhero origin story thing.