In recent years, video game companies such as Nintendo and PlayStation have announced in advance what kind of streams viewers should expect, whether it’s focused on indie games, third-party titles, or specific games. , setting expectations for pre-recorded shows. This is a welcome change as it sets the right expectations for any upcoming Nintendo Direct or State of Play showcases. After all, no one expects to see a new Zelda trailer during the Splatoon 3 Direct.
Sony also did this with its latest state of play earlier this week, announcing that the show would primarily focus on PSVR 2, Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad, and some indie and third-party games. If the recent State of Play showcase is anything to go by, it’s that there’s a difference between setting the right expectations and letting your audience expect nothing at all.
Let’s start with PlayStation VR 2, which was just released to critical acclaim. After using it for a few hours myself, I can say that the technology underlying Sony’s latest VR headset is definitely something to write down. Still, a lot has gone into the game’s launch lineup, which consists of one new first-party release (Horizon: Call of the Mountain) and several readily available releases for rival headsets. It is
When PlayStation announced that it would be introducing five new PlayStation VR 2 games, expect at least one of them to be a showstopper meant to highlight the just-released high-end product. Instead, the lineup consisted of titles that could easily be inserted into the rest of the PlayStation VR 2 launch offering.
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When I spoke with my colleague Brian Altano to discuss State of Play, he aptly stated: It lacks most of the pleasant surprise elements found in Nintendo Directs. “
If the reveal of the new PlayStation VR 2 was a disappointment for you as it was for me, I think it’s a disconnect between what PlayStation sees as a surprise and what viewers expect to be a proper surprise. It has something to do with
For example, Nintendo ended the last Direct with Metroid Prime Remaster as Shadow Drop. Xbox’s developer showcase will feature the surprise release of Hi-Fi Rush, with a similar first-party oriented stream and the continued benefits of Xbox Game Pass (which Hi-Fi Rush was released with). kept pushing.
Sony prepared the audience for a showcase featuring five new PlayStation VR 2 games. The biggest surprise seems to have been a new VR title from Enhance, developer of Tetris Effect, one of my favorite games of his. It’s certainly an intriguing VR game, but I don’t think it’s capable of running a $550 VR headset on its own. Nor is the May release date something that current PlayStation VR 2 owners will immediately enjoy.
State of Play’s second headliner is Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League. The game has few surprises left before its May release date. The expanded gameplay reveal didn’t share any previously unknown information, and confirmed elements (that it will be a live service game with battle passes and gear levels) are more of a player than a point of excitement. was a concern for The reveal wasn’t even Warner Bros. The biggest thing comes a day after the company’s CEO David Zaslav leaked that Mortal Kombat 12 will be released later this year.
The reason the PlayStation State of Plays is where it is is both perfectly understandable and self-defeating. As the owner of one of the most popular gaming platforms, and the owner of an enviable first-party studio, Sony has to do double duty to make sure fans come to State of Plays with the right expectations. Announcing The Last of Us or Ghost of Tsushima. But by being wary of over-promising, Sony has created a series of showcases without surprises.At this point we’ll get much more from the PlayStation blog, and we don’t even need State of Plays. I think not.
One suggestion is to focus these shows more on one topic. If PlayStation wants to run the VR State of Play, it needs to go all-in. Likewise, if PlayStation wants to keep fans of third-party games up to date, it should dedicate an entire show to them. Even if the entire State of Play was dedicated to his one game, like Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, State of Play could still provide a meaningful update to the anticipated title. By concentrating on a single lane, Sony can manage expectations while delivering meaningful updates in either games or hardware. Hell, even the new PlayStation Productions show.
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State of Plays delivers a little bit of everything and doesn’t deliver a few headline items, so it can’t earn the same “must-see” designation as shows made by other console makers. But we know the format works, and if PlayStation can focus on what matters to players, it can compete with Nintendo and Microsoft.
Matt TM Kim is IGN’s Senior Feature Editor.you can contact him @lawoftd.
