Even the worst PSP games show just how versatile Sony’s handheld platform was, with a range of bad RPGs, sports games, and more
The worst PSP games might be awful to play, but even these broken relics of the past show just how versatile Sony’s handheld platform was. You could pretty much guarantee that movie adaptations and some questionable licensed games would make up the majority of the bad games on older platforms. The PSP has terrible games ranging from anime adaptations to sports games, RPGs, doomed ports, and pretty much everything in between, with some poor ideas and some that really just didn’t need to exist on a handheld – not in the mid-2000s, at least.
A new PS5 update is rolling out in Sony’s beta test system, and it adds some features that fans have requested for years
A new PS5 update is rolling out in Sony’s beta test system, and it adds some features that fans have requested for years. One of them is the option to finally mute the system startup “beep” sound that’s told the entire house you’re playing video games since the PS3 launched in 2007.
The PS5 now (finally) supports Dolby Atmos 3D audio devices as well, including sound bars and compatible speakers, and it’s easier to add friends to parties without having to go through group controls,
On the accessibility side, you can designate a second controller as an “assist controller” and use it in conjunction with the first controller. This feature only works with DualSense controllers, though – not with PS4 DualShocks connected to the system.
Another new feature is support for larger SSDs, up to 8TB. The previous size limit capped out at 4TB, which sounds like a lot until you consider that PS5 game file sizes have been steadily increasing. If you play live-service games such as Genshin Impact or Final Fantasy XIV on the system, those TBs disappear pretty quickly.
You can check out the full list of new changes on the PlayStation Blog. Access to these features is, as always, limited to members selected for the beta program. They may take several months to roll out for everyone.
Sorting through the worst PS1 games is a trip through the worst ideas, action games, and licensed spinoffs that lived on Sony’s console
Sorting through the worst PS1 games is a journey through the past, a different time of game development and marketing where nearly anything could get approved, and did, and failed miserably. The competition for worst PS1 game is strong, with candidates ranging from the niche first-party games that get quietly brushed under the rug, to bold ideas too ambitious for their time, and some just straight-up awful games that make you wonder whether anyone actually bought them. There’s a Hooters game, for some reason. HBO Boxing tried and failed to revolutionize sports games, and there once was a Star Wars fighting game that barely even functioned and sits, quietly ignored, beside the PS1’s better-known Phantom Menace and Jedi Battles.
The Steam Summer Sale may be over, but Sony’s PlayStation Summer Sale is just getting underway with discounts on the best PS4 and PS5 games
The Steam Summer Sale may be over, but Sony’s PlayStation Summer Sale is just getting underway. The annual sale cuts prices on some of the best PS4 games and PS5 games, from Sony’s first-party favorites, including The Last of Us Part 1 and Horizon Forbidden West, to third-party stalwarts including Red Dead Redemption 2, and even a selection of new games that haven’t gone on sale much so far in 2023. If you’re itching for something new in the lead-up to Spider-Man 2, now’s a good time to get it.
The PlayStation Summer Sale runs through Aug. 16, 2023, and if you’re a PS Plus subscriber, you can get a few extra discounts as well.
As the case surrounding Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard rolls on, the company has come to an agreement with PlayStation.
The past few months have seen several major developments as Microsoft pursues its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The FTC initially filed an injunction against the deal, preventing it from going ahead, however, last week saw a US Judge block that injunction, allowing the deal to proceed in the US.
The UK’s CMA now remains the only opposition to the deal, and we may hear more from them soon. But in the meantime, one of the central arguments against the deal going ahead seems to have been resolved.
Among Activision Blizzard’s many IPs, none is more valuable than Call of Duty, the military first-person shooter worth an estimated $31 billion in 2023, and Sony has been staunchly against the series becoming exclusive to Xbox and PC. Xbox has been making plenty of ten-year deals with various companies, like Nintendo, to keep CoD on other platforms, but until now, Sony and PlayStation have been notably left out.
We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.
This has finally changed, as the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, announced via Twitter that the two publishers have “signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard”.
There isn’t currently any official confirmation as to the nature of the deal, but industry insiders expect it to be a ten-year deal, similar to those Microsoft has previously made. If this is the case then PlayStation players can rest easy knowing CoD will remain on their preferred console until at least 2033.
The new accessible PlayStation controller, PS5 Access, has had its release date and price announced.
Sony’s new accessibility controller, Access, will launch worldwide on December 6, 2023. It’ll be available to pre-order on July 21, and will cost $89.99. This controller was originally announced in January as Project Leonardo before being officially dubbed “Access” this past May.
It’s a circular controller that is designed to be placed on a flat surface and can be used entirely with a single hand. Sony has built it specifically to help gamers with motor disabilities who struggle to comfortably hold a traditional controller or don’t have full use of some limbs.
The shape allows all the buttons to be pressed easily with a single hand, without requiring too much dexterity in the fingers. All of the buttons can be detached and re-attached in whatever configuration the user wants, meaning each person can customize it to suit their needs – plus different stick caps for the analog stick.
It goes deeper than just the physical aspects though, as there is also customizable UI to let users further alter their experience with the console. It can even be paired with a regular DualSense controller to either work as one single controller, or play collaboratively.
Limited Run Games is bringing two classic PlayStation game franchises back for modern platforms, including Switch and PC
Limited Run Games is bringing two classic PlayStation game franchises back for modern platforms, including Switch and PC. The publisher announced a Tomba remake and a revival of the Gex trilogy during its annual summer showcase and said both projects are rebuilt in Carbon Engine, Limited Run’s internal development engine, and Tomba will feature a remixed soundtrack from Harumi Fujita, who composed the game’s original score.
Limited Run didn’t say whether Dana Harvey, Leslie Phillips, or Danny John-Jules will reprise their roles as Gex.
Neither project has a release date, though the Gex remastered trilogy and Tomba will launch for PS4 and PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Since it’s from Limited Run, you can pretty much bet there’ll be a physical version of each and probably a collector’s edition as well.
Tomba was a PlayStation 1 exclusive, a quirky platformer that follows a wild young pink-haired man on a mission to recover a family heirloom from evil pigs, who he bites into submission and throws into bags.
Gex is a bit more rooted in its own time. The trilogy of platformers stars a smart-talking gecko who rattles off endless celebrity jokes and ‘90s pop culture references and is, himself, a riff on Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond. Even some of the levels are ripped from classic movies and TV shows of the time.
How well that lands with today’s audiences, we’ll just have to wait and see.
During Xbox’s FTC hearings, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan called Game Pass destructive said publishers told him they aren’t fond of it
During Xbox’s FTC hearings, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan called Xbox Game Pass “value destructive” and said that publishers told him they aren’t fond of Xbox’s subscription service (thanks IGN). Ryan made the comments during his deposition, much of which was sealed, though he didn’t say which publishers told him this or how it factors into Sony’s concerns over the Xbox-Activision deal.
“I talked to all the publishers and they unanimously do not like Game Pass because it is value destructive,” Ryan said during his recorded statement.
Ryan didn’t clarify if literally all the publishers told him this when asked, though Yakuza maker RGG Studios told GLHF in an interview earlier in 2023 that the series being available on Game Pass was invaluable in exposing it to new audiences.
Ryan also called the subscription service unprofitable, though whether that’s true is a bit of a mystery. Xbox head Phil Spencer said in a report to the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority that Game Pass led to a decline in market value, though Microsoft also reported $3 billion in profits in 2022 just from the subscription service.
Whatever the situation with Game Pass’ profit-making potential and value to publishers, Microsoft is raising Game Pass prices in July 2023, but only for console.
PlayStation’s Jim Ryan unveiled Project Q, a new kind of PlayStation handheld that’s built around streaming
PlayStation’s Jim Ryan unveiled Project Q, a new kind of PlayStation handheld that’s built around streaming PS5 games. If you were hoping for a PSP or Vita successor, it looks like this ain’t it.
The new device is set to release sometime later in 2023, though – as with Spider-Man 2 – Ryan didn’t announce a specific date or an expected price point.
PlayStation’s Project Q features an 8-inch screen in between two halves of a DualSense controller – essentially a Backbone with DualSense sides. Ryan said Project Q will support all DualSense functions, so you’ll get the same haptics as you would while playing with the regular controller. How those features might affect battery life – and what the battery life might even be like – Ryan didn’t say.
In fact, Ryan didn’t really say much about Project Q at all – whether it uses Remote Play, if it supports all games, or whether streaming will be tied to higher tiers of the PlayStation Plus subscription. There’s not even an accompanying post on the PlayStation Blog to provide further information.
Ryan said there’s more information to come, though when that might happen is unclear. Perhaps Sony will share more after the hubbub around Summer Game Fest fades away.
A May PlayStation State of Play presentation is happening after all, and it sounds like quite a few PS5 and PS VR announcements are in store. The May State of Play will air on May 24, 2023, and Sony said in a PlayStation Blog post that it will last a little longer than an hour, with a range of reveals and updates in store.
How to watch the May PlayStation State of Play
The broadcast goes live on May 24, 2023, at:
4 p.m. Eastern
1 p.m. Pacific
9 p.m. British Summer Time
You can watch it on PlayStation’s Twitch and YouTube channels, and as ever, Sony will host the video-on-demand after the event ends, with individual trailers for everything shown as well.
Some of those teased reveals include “several new creations” from some of PlayStation’s first-party studios and a selection of games from third-party partners. Speculation is already swirling that this showcase is when we’ll finally see the long-rumored Metal Gear remake from Konami. Sony didn’t indicate which third parties might have games shown during the presentation, though Konami teased several series announcements for 2023.
While Square Enix already took the spotlight during a Final Fantasy 16-centric State of Play, it’s possible the RPG maker might have even more to share, since the game’s highly-anticipated launch is right around the corner – June 2023.
