September 2024 PCG Article Discussion Thread

[Johnway]

"With 2,516 games, the United States is the top video game setting worldwide, followed by Japan (860 games) and Canada (672 games).
New York is the city where the most video games are set (479 games)"

The Cities Where The Most Video Games Are Set - Guide Strats

One of the best things about video games is the opportunity to escape from reality for a little while. Indeed, one British survey found that, for over a third

guidestrats.com

quite an interesting article. Kinda expected that US/Tokyo would be the main places namely the main developers were from US/japan. We sort of grew up watching movies in the 80-90s being set in those countries. The power of culture i guess. plenty of beautiful locations in those countries. Would have loved to see more Hong kong/ shanghai. Sleeping Dogs did a fantastic job getting the feeling of hong kong even if it was a shell.

 

[Colif]

Crew 2/Motorfest move looks more like a sales push, as I wonder how many people didn't buy Motorfest based on their actions with the Crew? Why buy anything off them if you can't play it after servers are gone?

I downloaded the demo of Motorfest but never really looked at it past that. That would explain why they emailed me about Season 2 starting & a 70% discount... yep, it didn't sell well, did it Ubisoft?

 

[Pifanjr]

Shogun Showdown review

A true warrior strives for perfection.

www.pcgamer.com

I played the early version on itch.io and really liked it, but I'm still surprised it got a 90. I would definitely recommend it if you like games like Into the Breach or Tactical Breach Wizards.

 

[ZedClampet]

Diablo 4 has made over $150M from microtransactions, achieved over $1B in lifetime revenue

That's a lot of malfeasance tokens.

www.pcgamer.com

I guess the narrative that Diablo IV was a failure is wrong.

And we can't count the locations of sports games that aren't played anywhere else. You can't honestly tell me you are tired of Madden being set in the US. But you've come up with a small list that is dwarfed by the number of games not set in the US.

 

[Colif]

Whales keep it alive. Just like most online games, just need to find people that are willing to spend stupid amount on your game. Helps to give them a new supply of victims to keep them spending, so need to promote game as good to as many people who don't know better.

 

[neogunhero]

Starfield: Shattered Space deep dive promises cosmic horror, politics, up-close fights with giant alien spiders, and other things we could all do without

The first story expansion for Starfield arrives on September 30.

www.pcgamer.com

Looking forward to this. I still think Starfield has good legs, just bad execution. This DLC seems to be going in the right direction for this game. Bethesda always seems to have pretty good DLC because they tend to focus on the base games core strengths, and usually its storytelling. For example, I found FO4’s Far Harbor storyline way more intriguing and captivating than the base games, and the fighting sections felt more tense and action packed than most of the base game. I’m hoping to see the same here. Not sure if I will buy the season pass yet, gonna wait for a few more patches and to see how the DLC reviews.

 

[Pifanjr]

Starfield: Shattered Space deep dive promises cosmic horror, politics, up-close fights with giant alien spiders, and other things we could all do without

The first story expansion for Starfield arrives on September 30.

www.pcgamer.com

Looking forward to this. I still think Starfield has good legs, just bad execution. This DLC seems to be going in the right direction for this game. Bethesda always seems to have pretty good DLC because they tend to focus on the base games core strengths, and usually its storytelling. For example, I found FO4’s Far Harbor storyline way more intriguing and captivating than the base games, and the fighting sections felt more tense and action packed than most of the base game. I’m hoping to see the same here. Not sure if I will buy the season pass yet, gonna wait for a few more patches and to see how the DLC reviews.

I'm very excited to play Starfield's GOTY edition, which I assume will have most of the kinks ironed out. Though there is only one particular issue that's a deal breaker to me currently, which is that you can encounter exact copies of POIs on different planets and that POIs spawn on planets/locations where they don't make sense.

 

[neogunhero]

I'm very excited to play Starfield's GOTY edition, which I assume will have most of the kinks ironed out. Though there is only one particular issue that's a deal breaker to me currently, which is that you can encounter exact copies of POIs on different planets and that POIs spawn on planets/locations where they don't make sense.

That is very annoying and I don’t expect that to be changed whenever the GOTY does eventually come out. It’s more of a design choice than a bug or missing feature. Starfield isn’t their greatest game but its combat and storytelling are really good, and worth investing time into. However don’t be an idiot and buy the game full price like I did.

 

[DXCHASE]

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/space-marine-2-devs-will-adjust-veteran-difficult-to-make-it-slightly-more-fair-but-they-really-dont-want-to-do-an-fov-sliderand-you-can-just-forget-about-shoulder-swapping/

I see that one of my complaints when talking about SM2 is being looked at. Its really annoying to play the difficulty solo as it is,i mean i was completing objectives but i ultimately stopped in favor of the pvp until they add the UW support and ill take this too since im playing at that level of difficulty.

 

[Colif]

'PCs are difficult to set up', argues PlayStation co-CEO as he sticks up for his precious console's honour

Well, maybe you're difficult to set up, buddy!

www.pcgamer.com

Points and laughs

Too hard to set up? Right... its not year 2000 anymore.

wonders, whose side is article on?

It is with great frustration that I, as someone with nary a console in sight, must grit my teeth and admit: yeah, that is somewhat true. PCs are difficult to set up from scratch—either you shell out a nonsense amount for a prefab, or you engage in the world's most stressful version of a LEGO set, where you're not quite sure if you've aligned the CPU's pins right, or whether that loud click/clang was supposed to happen or if you've just wasted several hundred quid.

And then there's the updates, the weird OS features, fretting over kernel-level anti cheat and Denuvo, updating your drivers, and suddenly that $700 price point for the PS5 pro is looking pretty reasonable, if pricier than console gamers are used to. I mean, even here at PC Gamer, we describe a $800 build as penny-saving—penny-saving!

PC are not hard to make, not compared to 25 years or so ago. Watch a tutorial, kids can make them now. That and PC can do way more than just play games.

You shouldn't be agreeing with Sony that its easier to just buy a console than learn how to make a PC. When are we changing title of forum to PS5 Gamer?

GTA6 will only run at 30FPS on current gen consoles... they are so powerful. Why buy a $800 console based on old tech when a PC can be updated with better parts after purchase without the need to replace entire thing. PS5 Pro is only good for so long, then its land fill.

 

[Pifanjr]

Skyrim lead designer says it will be 'almost impossible' for Elder Scrolls 6 to meet fan expectations: 'Marketing departments just put their heads in their hands and weep'

Bruce Nesmith, who left Bethesda in 2021, knows a thing or two about rising expectations.

www.pcgamer.com

With every release of a Elder Scrolls (or Fallout) game there are people whining about how it's inferior to other modern games and to previous Bethesda games, but as far as I know all of their Elder Scrolls and Fallout games have been successful regardless.

Also, the only major complaint about Starfield I've seen that wouldn't also apply to previous Elder Scrolls and Fallout games is that the exploration sucks. It's missing that experience of wandering around and stumbling upon something interesting. I doubt they'll manage to screw that up for the new Elder Scrolls game.

So I fully expect people to complain, but I also expect it won't really hurt the ratings or sales too much.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Just as it looked like Palworld might escape Nintendo's gaze, the lawsuit has been filed: Nintendo is suing Pocketpair for patent infringement

The Pokémon-inspired survival game allegedly "infringes multiple patents".

www.pcgamer.com

They took their sweet time. Wonder if they were getting their case together all this while

Skyrim lead designer says it will be 'almost impossible' for Elder Scrolls 6 to meet fan expectations: 'Marketing departments just put their heads in their hands and weep'

Bruce Nesmith, who left Bethesda in 2021, knows a thing or two about rising expectations.

www.pcgamer.com

With every release of a Elder Scrolls (or Fallout) game there are people whining about how it's inferior to other modern games and to previous Bethesda games, but as far as I know all of their Elder Scrolls and Fallout games have been successful regardless.

Also, the only major complaint about Starfield I've seen that wouldn't also apply to previous Elder Scrolls and Fallout games is that the exploration sucks. It's missing that experience of wandering around and stumbling upon something interesting. I doubt they'll manage to screw that up for the new Elder Scrolls game.

So I fully expect people to complain, but I also expect it won't really hurt the ratings or sales too much.

I dont have any interest in most open world style games especially formulaic ones, but its obvious a lot of people just love wallowing in a big ass game. No point in whining about it too much, theres a lot of other stuff to play anyway.

 

[Johnway]

Just as it looked like Palworld might escape Nintendo's gaze, the lawsuit has been filed: Nintendo is suing Pocketpair for patent infringement

The Pokémon-inspired survival game allegedly "infringes multiple patents".

www.pcgamer.com

They took their sweet time. Wonder if they were getting their case together all this while

The interesting thing is that they're going for patent and not for copyright. But i suppose its taken this long for them to find a way to bring palworld down all the while they fatten the cashcow for payouts and other rewards.

Does nintendo have a point? not sure its fairly broad coverage, i mean, what if i replaced it with a net, cage or soul cube, card or dominca etc etc. But then again i suspect thats the point of a wishy washy role.

I've got no stake in either game (not a fan of pokemon or palworld) so i can sit back and watch the carnage unfold. As long as they don't go after persona anyway.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

The interesting thing is that they're going for patent and not for copyright. But i suppose its taken this long for them to find a way to bring palworld down all the while they fatten the cashcow for payouts and other rewards.

Does nintendo have a point? not sure its fairly broad coverage, i mean, what if i replaced it with a net, cage or soul cube, card or dominca etc etc. But then again i suspect thats the point of a wishy washy role.

Copyright or patent law isnt something Ive ever really looked into, especially since I guess this is also Japanese law?

I've got no stake in either game (not a fan of pokemon or palworld) so i can sit back and watch the carnage unfold. As long as they don't go after persona anyway.

Same, popcorns out.

 

[Pifanjr]

I've got no stake in either game (not a fan of pokemon or palworld) so i can sit back and watch the carnage unfold. As long as they don't go after persona anyway.

My dream is that Nintendo loses and it encourages another developer to take on WB's patent of the nemesis system and win that too.

 

[Brian Boru]

They took their sweet time

Didn't they just? I thought we'd entered a different universe and they were letting it go.

I'll be amazed if such a blatant and shameless ripoff is allowed a free run tho

…

Wonder if they were getting their case together all this while

More likely waiting for a sizeable pot of damages to accrue to at least cover legal costs.

My dream is that Nintendo loses and it encourages another developer to take on WB's patent

Could become a nightmare quickly—what dev will approve a billion dollar game if 1,000 indies are going to copy-paste it on Day 2, ie after Day 1 patch applied?

 

[Pifanjr]

Could become a nightmare quickly—what dev will approve a billion dollar game if 1,000 indies are going to copy-paste it on Day 2, ie after Day 1 patch applied?

There are already a ton of indies that are just making low effort copies of popular games, I'm not sure what your point is here.

 

[Brian Boru]

not sure what your point is here

Point is eating original dev's revenue if an indie takes off like Palworld.

 

[Pifanjr]

Point is eating original dev's revenue if an indie takes off like Palworld.

WB would need to make more games that actually use the nemesis system for indies to steal any of its revenue though...

 

[Frindis]

If anything, Palworld is making Pokeman more popular.

 

[Colif]

Also, the only major complaint about Starfield I've seen that wouldn't also apply to previous Elder Scrolls and Fallout games is that the exploration sucks. It's missing that experience of wandering around and stumbling upon something interesting.

Shame only Fallout Game I can hold up that counters that argument is NV and Bethesda didn't make that.

the introduction of maps didn't help matters in Starfield, they only highlight the emptiness. It needs procedural generated events on planets, not 3 static points of interest. At least buggy gave players a way to get to them faster.

Expectations of what is possible in Elder Scrolls (whatever number is) are bound to be high. After how many years? Only game that would eclipse it is Half Life 3 which might cause a meltdown. You don't even need to say anthing, peoples imaginations will be do most of work for you... gl matching that

Better to show what is to come than to let people imagine what might be. Too many examples of games we can mention to show why you don't let hype get carried away.

Bethesda lucky they can sell games based on that as the bugs will be there as well...

 

[Johnway]

My dream is that Nintendo loses and it encourages another developer to take on WB's patent of the nemesis system and win that too.

yeah nintendo deserves to be taken down a peg. if it was copyright related? i might be slightly more sympathetic (but not a lot, considering how they behave). With a slightly vague/generic concept/game mechanic, i'm lot less supportive. its like the devs patented the Souls like mechanics or perhaps the self healing/double jump mechanics or (god forbid) someone had patented autorun or DOTA mechanics. it stops becoming about protecting someones ideas/patents and into shady anti competitor practices. We may have an influx of pokemon style games, but tbh there were will be so many only the very best /cream of the crop will be on the surface and pokemon, digimon et al will probably be there.


its not the first time its happened, just look at namco who ended the practice of being able to play a mini game whilst i installed a game. nearly a decade of waiting/staring an installation bar and making everyone's lives that bit more boring. All so that it can ensure that no one else can make money off it. If a company can't make ALL the money from an idea/market/product, they will happily accept that NO ONE can.

i suppose Palworld has the luxury to be on xbox, pc and PS, so can sell and target a larger audience. Pokemon is stuck on nintendo platforms and mobile and see them as threat.

 

[Zloth]

It's not PC Gamer, but this is a good article on Square and the faltering of the Final Fantasy brand.

 

[neogunhero]

February 2025 is now absurdly stacked with big games

The Assassin's Creed Shadows delay adds another huge action RPG to a month that's already stuffed.

www.pcgamer.com

Six major game releases all coming within a span of about two weeks in February. If this isn’t a plan for disaster I don’t know what is. There’s a lot of games that will have overlapping fans and players, so those who can’t afford to buy/don’t want to buy them all will have to pick and choose which is worth their money. One thing for sure is that Avowed is coming to Game Pass on day 1, so I’m excited to check that out. If I had to choose another one to play, that Assassins Creed game actually looks pretty decent…

 

[Brian Boru]

Six major game releases all coming within a span of about two weeks in February.

For those without the year's release schedule already memorized:

Civilization 7 — February 11
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 — February 11
Assassin's Creed Shadows — February 14
Avowed — February 18
Monster Hunter Wilds — February 27
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii — February 27

Yeah, that is a lot. I wonder is the AC pick deliberately on Valentine's?
He in Shadows: "Sorry honey, got a major migraine, probably last all week. I'll make it up to you next year, I promise."
She in Heaven: heaves big sigh of relief, goes back to Civ 7—hadn't been sure how she'd wangle out of the special date.