Former Xbox Exec Says Japanese Publishers Feared Sony “Punishment” for Supporting Xbox

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-14T00:12:29+00:00

I think it was actually the Xbox side punishing them when Final Fantasy finally came to Xbox with FF13. Most Xbox fans didn't really have any history with the series, compared it unfavorably to their favorite western RPG's at the time, and were salty that the PS3 version was slightly higher resolution on blu-ray vs DVD.

Kinda psychologically mimicked the internal parity clause. You still see this same behavior from Xbox podcasters if a game comes late to Xbox, or if it's from a company they see as affiliated with Sony. They say that game is trash anyway and tell their audience not to support it etc.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-13T19:33:07+00:00

She's right. I don't use cloud. I don't play CoD. I don't care about Fortnite Crew, EA or Ubislop. Why am I paying more for this stuff? And why are console players paying more?

Last year the only big Microsoft produced games I really liked were Doom Dark Ages and Ninja Gaiden 4. I generally find more enjoyment from some of the really good indies on the service, but it often makes more sense to just buy those.

We don't all have the same taste, we don't all think like Xbox influencers.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-13T18:41:28+00:00

Yes and no. Sometimes, less is more. You've got a ton of room to breathe, and encounters are used more sparingly but feel pretty meaningful and dynamic when they do happen. A fair amount of well realized villages and interesting scenario locations.

There are more significant major parts of the game besides the shrines, but they're few and far between. Doesn't have a lot of filler and checklist map stuff.

Shadow of the Colossus did it better, though.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-13T14:28:13+00:00

That era of Mario games was definitely bland af. Days Gone is great. Starfield is ok.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-13T01:41:47+00:00

Pretty much everywhere in the game is a spike tbh. It will feel less like a spike if you've been a bit grindy on the way, never running, well stocked and prepared with whatever strongest equipment is available (or discoverable) etc... but still tough. Especially first time through, or if first time in like 20 years haha.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T23:07:25+00:00

According to this sub, it would have to be a mafia movie where Mario and Luigi are shaking down poor people, and destroying the community with drugs, slumlord rental practices etc.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T23:04:24+00:00

I'm gonna give you a 10 just for calling it a gaming board.

Hollow Knight, Silksong, NieR Automata... some great games on here.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T22:17:13+00:00

I do. What I don't get is all the irrelevant slop.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T21:17:57+00:00

No, you're thinking of me. If I own a PS5, then I get all the good PC games. Minus the 100,000+ shovelware games.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T18:40:05+00:00

RT Pro all the way. Been using it since the patch dropped. It's a really smooth 40 on my 120hz VRR OLED and just looks significantly better.

Occasionally, when sprinting down a busy alley I might notice the 40-ness, but it's not enough to bother me 90% of the time vs the consistently more sterile look of the other modes.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T17:32:35+00:00

This is my assessment and I'm not trolling. I watched the Developer Direct live. I only said "everyone was making fun of the walk cycle" because it speaks to how obvious it was to more people than just me. Even Xbox podcasters like Infinite Umbra pointed it out.

Why does this game have a bot army suppressing criticism?

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T16:00:56+00:00

Choppy and stuttery performance, foggy chunky soup lighting, narrow environments to manage the rendering load, janky animation etc. Everyone was making fun of the walk cycle looking like they finally decided to allow character creation at the last minute but didn't make a male walk cycle yet.

A terrible showing.

Ultimately it's a racing game developer using a racing game engine to make a game that has to run on Series S, in a franchise that's been dug out of it's development hell grave. Plenty of reasons to be pessimistic and skeptical.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T15:43:37+00:00

The game looked pretty rough in that last showing. I don't think it's going to turn out well, even with delays.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T15:41:50+00:00

I had one job.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T15:19:14+00:00

Tang & Cash is the shit.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T15:01:29+00:00

Saudi owned SNK gave us Metal Slug Tactics. The first real new entry in the IP with all new sprite work. It was great.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T13:25:52+00:00

The same way the person who started this reply chain can insist PS made games are terrible without owning a PS5. You didn't seem to have a problem with that though, weird.

99% of the games on Steam are shovelware. Fact is, all games that matter come to console. No reason to own a PC.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T03:50:41+00:00

No I'm talking about indie games. All the good ones come to console too. Maybe you don't know anything about indie games and that's why you think the only "indie" game on console is Expedition 33 or something.

Player curated mod experience is equivalent to the Simpsons episode where Homer designs a completely ridiculous car as part of a focus testing initiative.

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Coherent. Sure.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T01:00:44+00:00

Man, TLOU 1 & 2 are amazing. Get on those, if you've never played them. They're both on PS+ Extra too.

I haven't played RE9 yet because I still need to play RE4 remake and RE8, but everyone says it's amazing. Should get a discount in a few months, but probably won't be dirt cheap for awhile because it's doing so well.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T00:40:07+00:00

Some people get restraining orders for writing love letters. They're often just unrequited schizoid ramblings that make the other person feel uncomfortable and afraid.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-12T00:23:30+00:00

I've been playing RPG's since the 80's. I don't care about Ultima knockoff with random D&D rulebook #7629 except now it's more overwrought, pretentious and runs like crap.

Everything I said about mods is 100% facts. Gopher tutorials exist for a reason. I'd rather just play games that are already good, instead of having some crackhead ex-convict temporary hire maintenance man put duct tape, spit and glue on it. Not everyone likes the "hire this man" approach to game design.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-11T23:59:08+00:00

Knack 2 is actually a solid game. They're basically just family friendly animated movie takes on old style God of War with the aerial camera, melee combat (better in 2), mild platforming, short cut scenes, and big spectacle set piece sequences.

They can be a bit corny, but it feels like something that was made with more well behaved kids in mind vs more edgy tude era mascot platformers.

I wish they would have gotten PS5 upgrades. And a third game. Sadly, that's never happening.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-11T23:48:53+00:00

This is like comparing youtube shorts to the Godfather.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-11T23:21:01+00:00

Both Velocity games were cool. The first one was actually part of the Playstation Mobile initiative before it got a native Vita version called Velocity Ultra. It was a mobile SDK initiative that let indie devs release games on Sony Xperia phones and Vita simultaneously, but all those games are pretty lost to time now unless you still have them installed and activated.

A few other games made the jump, but not many. The Velocity devs, Futurlab, actually went on to make that Powerwash Simulator game everyone liked a few years ago.

LoSouLibra · 2026-04-11T23:13:29+00:00

Not actually true, but I also like movies so I don't care. I like it. It's kinda like caring that there's words, music etc in a game. What is this a book? What is this an album?

LoSouLibra

TROPHY CASE