It's a thread! (Games discussion, etc.)

[JG]

Yeah a real fall from grace.

[JG]

So where exactly are all the PS5s?

In the last 5 weeks only one major North American retailer, GameStop, has had a PS5 restock event - on June 24, selling a few thousand, maybe ten to twenty thousand tops.
Today, Best Buy will sell a few more thousand through their Total Tech program (an additional $200 added to cost)
Yet, Sony claims to have shipped nearly 300,000 units to North America in that time.

The general assumption was that retailers were building up stock to unload them to compete with Amazon's Prime Day, yet none except Best Buy have forward to indicate they will. And Best Buy's is only offered to a very limited subscriber base.

This means there are nearly a quarter million units that
a) never truly existed, undermining Sony's credibility
b) have magically vanished in transit, also undermining Sony's credibility
c) are being hoarded by retailers for future sales, namely Black Friday, harming software developers and customers

I have hard time believing (c) is true. Its bad business to turn down a sale now for a sale later as you don't know what your competition is doing and by late November they could potentially offer a better deal than you or have sold a unit to someone who would have otherwise bought from you. Any retailer with stock really should unload as soon as they have appreciable numbers to make it worthwhile, and especially during one of the busiest sales weeks of the year. Trying to build up stock for the next big sale many months away seems very foolish. And it hurts the software publishers who need PS5 consoles in the wild to sell their games, and the customers who wish to buy those games.

So this has led me to believe Sony is not being truthful in some regard. I personally think (a) to be true, that they aren't shipping as many as claimed or we'd see restocks more often and much more availability than what is actually the case. Assuming Microsoft's numbers are accurate, and the fact Series S has been widely available for months and the Series X is now available many places (Best Buy for example), then Sony's claim of having built five million more units isn't holding up to what is actually witnessed in the marketplace. Sony's PS5 claims are also vastly outpacing all earlier consoles, including the Nintendo Switch, which wasn't hard to find after 19 or 20 months either despite similar hype and a 20-millionish sales number. In all previous examples, once a console reaches about 13-14 million units sold, it is beginning to saturate enough to become generally available. PS5 is a full 50% past that point and yet restocks are still too rare and too small to justify Sony's alleged numbers. Its been drifting out of scale for many weeks now and the belief was that retailers were simply building up in preparation of Prime Day, but this no longer seems to be the case. If Sony is to believed, then over a quarter million PS5s have simply disappeared off the North American market in the last few weeks. Thats just a bit hard for me to swallow. The other retailers either need to come forward and release their supposedly large backlogs of inventory, or else Sony needs to answer for why their claims don't add up.

[Moge]

It's normal for retailers to hold off inventory during the holiday season, but anytime before then sounds a bit silly to me.

The Splatoon 3 Switch OLED model and Pro Controller are up for preorder in other regions, but not North America. I've seen speculation there won't be preorders and you'll have to buy on release day. Considering the consistent trouble Nintendo has run into with preorders (Xenoblade 3 SE crashing their online store, and N64 Controllers being nabbed as soon as they're available), i can see why they might go this route.

SquareEnix's release schedule for this year is really stacked. It's cool they're propping up so middle-tier budget games, which are seemingly in short supply these days.

[JG]

Busy year yes, but could have been even bigger. Of course, they've had a lot of projects run well over and be delayed a few times due to Covid-19 and overpromising. Some of those things from 2020 and 2021 are finally catching up.

Don't forget things that released earlier in the year like Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster, Triangle Strategy, and Dragon Quest Builders for Mobile.

And Forspoken has been delayed again (to January) though its rumored to be near ready. The delay seems solely to get more PS5s into players hands before its launch. Neither Sony nor SquareEnix want a repeat of Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart - an apparently fantastic game but with too small of a market (though it did get good saturation of PS5 owners.) SquareEnix can't afford the financial hit and Sony doesn't want to lose months of exclusivity while the market size remains pitifully small compared to forecast.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D is also still officially on tap for 2022, but no release date set. Which is odd because its a remake and the May 2021 Dragon Quest show seemed to indicate the graphics rework was completed so no one knows why its being held up - it could drop very suddenly without much lead time. One rumor I've heard is that SquareEnix realized (too late) that there wasn't much market for it, especially outside of Japan, since players who want to experience the story get the current SNES-based remake version for mobile or consoles, and that instead of releasing it with poor prospects, they may be sitting on it until they have a larger DQ series announcement to make (DQ12 release date, DQB3, a DQ9 remake, etc.), and release the game digitally same day or shorter thereafter when interest would at a peak.


Speaking of controllers, when are we going to be blessed with that controller countdown of yours?

[Moge]

I'm too lazy to make a fully detailed list of my fave controllers, so i did the next best thing and made a tier list. I didn't come up with the category names btw. Just grabbed the best template i could find on the tier list maker site and went from there.

The three controllers at the top each serve a valuable function for me. The N64 Controller, or rather the NSO N64 Controller, has left a very strong impression on me the past couple months since i bought it. Hands down, it has the best dpad i've ever used on any controller, and thus has been a game changer for me when it comes to fighting games. I'm not usually big on 6-button pads like the Saturn, but the N64 controller's 6-button  button layout has made me a believer in that style. The Pro Controller is the most well-rounded controller and the most comfortable to hold. You can find a better gyro though on the Duashock 4 and Dualsense, and the the NSO N64 dpad is leagues ahead of the one on the Procon. Last but not least, the Dualshock 4 (specifically the version 1 model) is another great all purpose controller.  It has made PC gaming so much more enjoyable when using its touchpad to navigate the desktop and navigating point-n-click adventures.

[JG]

I'm confused by the Playstation ordering. You find PS1 controller comfortable but not the second and third models? I found PS controllers to be horrific until they remolded the curves at the bottom of each palm-busting handle with the PS4 model.

I will concur that PS4 controller's touchpad is the best addition to a controller since the SNES gave us a diamond-shaped button arrangement and shoulder buttons (something every controller has now copied.) Steam Deck copied the touchpad idea and its been a savior to the device to allow it to play some of the games.

I did not like the Sega shoulder buttons. Genesis 6-button shoulders has too little resistance and movement so it was hard to tell if you were actually pressing anything or not (almost like loose pieces of plastic on the top of the controller.) Saturn's controller shoulder buttons were poorly shaped. They got it right with the Saturn 3D controller that came with NiGHTs into Dreams but too late to help. And then the Dreamcast finally had good shoulder triggers but moved everything else way too far to the sides to be any good solely to implement that silly VMU idea.

I rather like the Xbox360 controller. Though if it got "Standard" based on the large, hefty size of the battery back on the bottom side, I can understand. It was always in the way of my fingers - Xbox One did it better with a battery case more naturally shaped into the controller.

The only ones I've not tried on your list are the two original Xbox controllers (passed me by) and PS5. My local Best Buy was without a PS5 display model for an aisle endcap for a long time; its got one again but still no controllers hooked up to it: its just running a demo movie disc. Technically I've not used a Series S/X controller either, but they don't look terribly different than Xbox One. (My Best Buy wisely decided not to use up floorspace for a S/X display after dedicating too much for the Xbox One early in its lifetime.)

Of the ones I'm familiar with that aren't on your list:
Sega Saturn 3D: Nice
Virtual Boy: Standard
Atari Jaguar: Could do without (not comfortable, but the idea for a large number of extra buttons in the middle with an insert card-specific to each game wasn't all that bad of an idea; would have allowed more keyboard-based games to be ported from PC without redesigning the user interfaces into clunky menu options)
Google Stadia: Could do without (underwhelming; feels like a slightly larger PS4 controller, which is good, but everything "clicks" when pressed)
NEO*GEO (the large arcade-style pad): Could do without (very clicky joystick and poor responsiveness)
NES Max: Could do without (the floating d-pad replacement was unusual, but it made for a good challenge to use in games I'd beat with the normal controller)
Turbo-Grafx 16 / PC Engine: Unusable (basically a copy of the NES controller but with the d-pad and buttons even lower on the device, when higher was the preference and more properly executed by SNES)

I noticed no handhelds or mobile devices on your list (excepting Switch and Wii U) but they are all generally terrible, in the range of Could Do Without to Unusuable due to tiny size. I'd give Game Gear a Standard though, since it was large enough and had its d-pad and buttons on either side of the screen (something it took Nintendon't way too long to figure out)

[Arizona]

The analog stick Playstation controllers are heavier, so I can understand that. They feel different.

I thought the Playstation 2 controller was the best for the longest time, but in more recent years I kinda fell out of love with the D-pad. It may simply be that mine is finally worn down after all the years or that I've since experienced more options. These days, I use a Nintendo Switch controller (through a Brook adapter) for PS1/PS2 games and usually the Neo Geo Pad 2 for strictly 2D gameplay. I chose the Switch controller over, say, an Xbox one since it has button-y, low throw triggers rather than full-on gun triggers - more appropriate for PS1/PS2.

The original Wii classic controller is an abomination, with the practically unusable tiny secondary shoulder buttons and analog sticks with no grip - it made me understand just how necessary grips are for using analog sticks. The D-pad and buttons are great, but with all that extra faff that is essentially useless, it's a dumb controller. The Pro version fixes all the problems, though, with the added grips and proper shoulder button setup, and I'd rank it among the best controllers. Although I'd say it's best for games of a certain era, and anything more modern you might as well go Xbox or Switch. Maybe games that use analog sticks but are more D-pad dependent.

I actually really like the Joycons, the low throw sticks are nice to have for a lot of games. The D-pad buttons don't bother me as much, although I can understand the frustration with them (they're either good enough or the analog sticks work for a lot of modern 2D fare, but you really do need a proper D-pad for other games). The one really bad part is the Minus button being practically unreachable and potentially physically painful to use.

I seem to dislike the Dual Shock 4 more than most people. The spongy triggers are awful to me and I hate the "liar" D-pad (it appears good for fighters or whatever else, but it seems to drop diagonals). I also don't find the sticks as comfortable as Xbox controllers. The one thing I do kind of like is how the Touchpad serves as a giant ACTION button for some games, although this awkwardly gets mapped to View (Select) button on Xbox for some multi-platform games. I would be curious about DS4's revisional differences, although I don't envision myself grabbing another model.

[Moge]

I like the Digital Playstation pad a lot cause it's been boiled down to the essentials. It has almost all the buttons of a modern controller without all the fluff weighting it down, like the 2 analog sticks, rumble motors, etc. It's the apex of 2D controller design, although I'm still not a fan of the segmented dpad after all these years.

The Dualshock 4, while the build quality is underwhelming, has an impressive feature set to make up for its deficiency. The touchpad, the gyro (that's actually more advance than whatever Nintendo's using in their controllers.), the highly sensitive analog sticks, the touchpad having multiple clickable buttons, the optional back buttons... it's the ultimate couch controller for PC use.

[JG]

I do wish Nintendo gave more than 24 hours notice on these, but surprises are certainly their thing now.

Certainly covered: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, Bayonetta 3, Mario+Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Harvestella, Dragon Quest Treasures, Sonic Frontiers
Likely covered: Splatoon 3 DLC (if its going to have any), Mario Kart 8 booster pack (upcoming waves), Neir: Automata, Persona 5 (with at least mentions of 3 and 4 coming next year), New Tales from the Borderlands, Return to Monkey Island, Dorfromantik, No Man's Sky, Blanc
Possibly: Advance Wars Re-boot Camp (rescheduled date), Disney Dreamlight Valley and upcoming DLC, Minecraft Legends
Unlikely: Dragon Quest Heroes 1+2, Yokai Watch 4, Midnight Suns

Rumors of the surprise drop(s) at end of presentation: Metroid Prime Remaster, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Don't hold your 'breath' for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel name or release date though

I personally put stock in the Metroid Prime Remaster being likely, with the Zelda games as much less likely. Wise marketing would suggest a Zelda-specific direct in November or December with a lot more acclaim and heads-up to properly announce the new game's title and release date. When they are ready to announce it they'll probably give more than 24 hours notice. Included in such a Direct could be the unveiling of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance sections of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pak, allowing the two Oracle games and Minish Cap to finally be brought forward to newer hardware (leaving only the three DS games - Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, and A Link Between Worlds - as not playable on Switch)


EDIT:
+ Likely covered: Super Mario Bros movie. Too much coincidence. September 13th is the 37th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.' release in Japan. They are about 6-7 months from release, which is when trailers for most movies drop. They revealed the cast in an earlier Direct so the trailer would be nothing new. And they have a worldwide audience. While its possible they combine the Mario+Rabbids, Mario Kart DLC, and movie bits into a Mario-centric mini-segment, I believe the movie trailer will be the closing segment of the Direct instead to avoid breaking up the game coverage in the middle of the presentation.

[JG]

As usual, rumors and speculation more wrong than right.

No mention of Pokemon (outside the Stadum games coming to NSO expansion pak), no mention of Dragon Quest Treasures, Sonic Frontiers, Neir: Automata, Persona games, Borderlands, Monkey Island, Dorfromantik, No Man's Sky, or Blanc, despite all these games coming out in proper winter. About half the stuff covered was well into 2023.  Maybe winter releases in Japan, but that's not how Nintendo of America advertised it.

No details on the Super Mario Movie either. The Metroid Prime remaster apparently a hoax or at least deep into 2023. Apparently no more Zelda remakes either.



Here's the breakdown:

Fire Emblem Engage
- a new proper Fire Emblem series entry, allowing new characters to equip rings to call upon the powers of previous characters like Marth
- January 20, also available in Divine Edition

It Takes Two
- allows single system co-op or two Switches either local or online
- November 4

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
- Early 2023, port of a game already available in Japan

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 DLC Wave 2
- Ino, a new hero who appears Mechonis-like, similar to Fiora from XC1
- swimsuit outfits
- October 13

Spongebob Squarepants: The Comsic Shake
- TBD 2023

Fitness Boxing Fist of the North Star
- boxing fitness game
- March 2023

OddBallers
- another crazy Fall Guys-style knock-out style party game
- Early 2023

Tunic
- puzzle adventure
- September 27

Front Mission 1st: Remake
- November (but did not specify day)

Front Mission 2: Remake
- 2023

Front Mission 3: Remake
"Future"

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
- characters will grow older and appearance changes with age
- Summer 2023

Splatoon 3: First Splatfest
- September 23-25, with more free updates to come

Octopath Traveller II
- Same concept as first with 8 characters with intertwined stories, but paths change depending whether actions taken during day or night
- February 24

Fae Farm
- another farm simulation RPG like Story of Seasons/Rune Factory except characters are faeries
- Spring 2023

Final Fantasy Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line
- February 16
- Paid DLC will add songs from SaGa, Neir, Octopath, and Live A Live series

Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
- October 20

Rune Factory 3 Special
- yep, another one of these farming sims
- TBD 2023

NSO: N64 additions
- Pilotwings 64, Mario Party, Mario Party 2, Mario party 3, Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Statium 2, 1080 Snowboarding, Excitebike 64, Goldeneye will be coming up soon
- Goldeneye adds online multiplayer

Various Daylife
- appears to be the Bravely Default series replacement
- Today

Factorio
- management simulation game to make a large factory city in which to make a rocket to escape the planet you are stranded on
- October 28

Ib
- Spring 2023

Mario Strikers: Battle League 2nd Free Update
- Pauline and Diddy Kong added, as well as new gear and a new stadium

Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key
- February 24

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Wave 3
- Merry Mountain (Tour) and Peach Gardens (DS) courses to be added
- Holiday 2022

Nintendo Switch Sports
- golf added in next free update, up to eight players
- moved from Fall to Holiday 2022

Super Mario Bros movie
- coming spring, but no trailer

Super Nintendo World at Hollywood Studios
- opening 2023

Pikmin Bloom
- recap of the game released about a year ago

Pikmin 4
- short teaser video (no gameplay) but new mode to allow the camera to see from a Pikmin's point of view
- 2023

Just Dance 2023
- November 22

Harvestella
- Demo available today; save data can be transferred to full game
- November 4

Bayonetta 3
- new trailer showing more gameplay on Nintendo's Youtube channel later today
- October 28

Master Detective Archives: Raincode
- Spring 2023

Resident Evil Village Cloud
- Demo available today
- October 28
- Winter's Expansion DLC available December 2

Resident Evil Cloud, Resident Evil 2 Cloud, and Resident Evil 3 Cloud
- all by end of year

Sifu
- kung-fu action brawler
- November 8

Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII Reunion
- December 13

Radiant Silvergun
- Today

Endless Dungeon
- TBD 2023

Tales of Symphonia Remastered
If you guys missed this back in the GameCube/PS2 days, check it out as its considered one of the finest RPGs ever made and unquestionably the high point of the long-running Tales series - EDIT: though its also available on Steam for much less than it will ever be on Switch
- Early 2023

Life is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection
- September 27

Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song: Remastered
- December 1

LEGO Bricktales
- Fall 2022 (but no specific date)

Disney Speedstorm
- 2022 (no specific date)

Fall Guys: Season 2
- September 15

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
- Four player multiplayer, including numerous mini-games
- February 24

And of course, the news we've all been waiting for:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- May 12

---------------------------------------------------

Sony's State of Play is tonight (6pm EDT) but no way does it have as big of a surprise in store. It will likely cover the PS4/PS5 versions of many of the same games (like Octopath Traveller II) and be otherwise totally forgotten by the press for a few days. Sony really would have been better off waiting a few days because they can't follow this up.

[JG]

And here's the Sony response, which is.. much less impressive. Too much of it too far out (including at least one 2024 game) and the almost two minutes of watching a car being driven around in some kind of radioactive storm in Pacific Drive sucked all the energy out of the show.

Tekken 8
- PS5 exclusive
- no release date

Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge: Enhanced Edition
- PSVR2
- 2023

Demeo
- PSVR2
- no release date

Like a Dragon: Ishin
- remake seems to take lot of cues from Ghost of Tsushima
- PS4/PS5
- February 2023

Hogwarts' Legacy
- multi-console
- Haunted Hogsmeade's Shop DLC is PS exclusive
- February 10

Pacific Drive
- PS5
- 2023

Playstation Stars program preview

Synduality
- looked a bit too much like Titanfall to me (and that is not a good thing)
- 2023

Stellar Blade
- formerly Project EVE
- Sony's Bayonetta response
- PS5 exclusive
- 2023

Rise of the Ronin
- looks to be a more modern (Meiji-era) Ghost of Tsushima, but the mid-air double jump attack really ruined the realism
- PS5 exclusive
- 2024 (wtf!?)

God of War: Ragnarok DualSense Controller
- November 9

God of War: Ragnarok
- November 9

[Moge]

Squeenix has an unbelievable amount of games coming out. The company is definitely flushed with cash after FF14's wild success over the years. Not gonna downplay though that all their HD2D games have been selling well. It's rad to see so many revivals and experimental projects.

I feel so behind in the Xenoblade series. Haven't played since XC1. I've played every previous Xeno game before that, so I would like to catch up on the series someday.

My fave announcement of TGS were the Suikoden 1 & 2 remasters. I'm very impressed with the remastered graphics, and I'm even more impressed that Konami is shelling out for a new localization for each (the old ones were questionable). It's interesting to hear Konami wants to continue the series, but i can't imagine any future sequel would be good without the original creator, who's making their own Suikoden, Eiyuden Chronicles.

Happy to hear Pikmin 4 will be a reality. While it's definitely not one of Nintendo's bigger cashcow series, it's got so much charm that I'm glad Nintendo is still giving it it's due.

I appreciate all the new SF6 footage and news out of TGS. I've been salivating at the mouth to return to this series with rollback netcode. Those are the keywords: rollback netcode. SF4 and 5 were trash in that regard and netplay was always suboptimal. Thankfully, Japan has seen the light after the pandemic forced their fighting games to be played online exclusively, and they pretty much got bombarded with anger over how bad delay netcode is for fighting games. The biggest victim was Grandblue Fantasy Versus, which came out around when the pandemic started. The community for that game has never recovered, unfortunately.

[JG]

Squeenix has an unbelievable amount of games coming out. The company is definitely flushed with cash after FF14's wild success over the years. Not gonna downplay though that all their HD2D games have been selling well. It's rad to see so many revivals and experimental projects.

And yet, the series that literally invented a new game genre ("Block-build RPG" as SE calls it) is still awaiting announcement on a third game. Octopath/Triangle series is younger than DQB, but now has its third game coming (and fourth HD-2D game if you count Dragon Quest III which is already known to be in development but no release date yet)

On the plus side, Infinity Strash is now getting a worldwide simultaneous release, though the date is still unknown. It was previously not pinned for localization because SquareEnix didn't think the west even knew about Adventure of Dai. High hopes that this leads to the Dragon Quest X Offline localization.

I feel so behind in the Xenoblade series. Haven't played since XC1. I've played every previous Xeno game before that, so I would like to catch up on the series someday.

You're going to have to set aside a good chunk of time. These are loooong games. XC1 is around 150 hours I think. My Switch says it took me 202 hours to 100% XC2 last year (and that's using NSO to help cheat the Blade gacha system), and it was 230 hours for XC3 to credits and I still have three superbosses to finish as I'm nearing 250 now. But XC3 is so rewarding in the final chapter and post-game if you've played the first two - at least to the 2/3 point of first game and almost to the end of XC2. The last chapter wonderfully explains why you see features from the other games like the Mechonis' sword or Urayan titan's head, to name the two most obvious ones (there's a few dozen other locations that players may recognize, too.) It is truly epic, and if the series ends here as a trilogy, it would be a fitting conclusion.

Eiyuden Chronicles.

I really would have liked to have seen more of this. I even said so after the Microsoft/Bethesda 2021 show, for which they barely showed anything. They came back in 2022 and showed even less. (Just a title card as a free GamePass game as I recall.) It never got any detailed look in a Nintendo Direct, a State of Play, or whatever Microsoft is doing, which tells me the game really isn't as good as it looked for the brief bit we saw in 2021. The Metacritic and magazine reviews seem to indicate that it really is quite average.

Happy to hear Pikmin 4 will be a reality. While it's definitely not one of Nintendo's bigger cashcow series, it's got so much charm that I'm glad Nintendo is still giving it it's due.

Well they did make that 3DS game, which is technically the fourth game already. I thought the game was fine, but a bit of a disappointment being entirely 2D on a device capable of 3D. It didn't have the same feel as the earlier Pikmin games. And it looks basic compared to 3D games like Ever Oasis, which features a similar group of tiny-beings exploring a land with human-like objects of much larger scale than themselves (such as a water pitcher)

One rumor I've readabout Pikmin 4 is that it may be an attempt to keep Amiibo in production. With Smash Bros soon to end its run of Amiibo, and only a sputtering of non-Smash Bros amiibo like Samus and EMII, Zelda with Loftwing, and some Kirby characters (Kirby, Metaknight, Dedede), they need some games from which they haven't already yet fished dry of Amiibo. There was a Pikmin amiibo a few years back (I have it) with all five types climbing a stone, but a Pikmin 4 could give them the possibility of five individual Pikmin, a bulb monster, and whatever new hero is introduced. I don't buy it as THE reason for making the game, but its a solid plus-factor.


Nice to see you come out of the Splatoon 3 cave for a bit. See you again in a few weeks?

[JG]

Google announced yesterday the shutdown of the Stadia gaming service will go forward on January 23.

Of course this means all the games available on this service will go dark then, and that's the peril of streaming game services. On the bright (and unexpected side) Google is entirely refunding all hardware and software purchases, but for players who made progress in these games, that progress will be lost when they have to move to other platforms to continue playing the same game.

Amazon and Apple are no doubt paying close attention as they may have to follow suit with Luna and Arcade.

Of course, I still don't understand why Google didn't just make a small Android system emulator to plug into the TV and play (and download) Google Play Store games. Thats what I'd rather have: a way to play the games only available on my tablet or phone on a TV. Take Dragon Quest VIII for example: right now its only available for Android and iOS - it hasn't been ported to modern consoles and only recently as a 3DS game (which is no better really than a tablet, only its been discontinued and its digital storefront closes in March)

[Arizona]

Completely unsurprising nobody went for the service run by a company known to drop support for projects thrown together after a cocaine binge.

It is surprising they're refunding everything up to the hardware, though. I've heard apparently you can access the save files and at least some of them to work on Steam, so I guess it worked out for early adopters.

If I'd known it'd be refunded later, I would've picked a system up for the controller. I'm curious to know how those are...but, you know, not that curious...

[JG]

I got a Stadia Premiere for $20 or $25 (forget which) on Black Friday last year, primarily for the controller. Premiere set at this price was basically the same cost as a Chromecast, but adds the controller.

The controller is below average - basically all the bad things about older Playstation ctrollers (too wide and bulbous in the palms, too slick to grip well) and no outstanding features to make it attractive. I like the RT and LT triggers, but the L and R shoulder buttons and dpad are very "clicky" sounding. Its "fine", but the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Switch Pro controllers are way better - and the PS4 controller is similar in comfort but more refined (i.e., quieter)

[JG]

It's getting to be about that time of the year when Black Friday sales deals start appearing and offering good games at cheap prices that players may have passed on when new and full price.

Sony effectively confirmed rumors of retailers hoarding the PS5 over the last few months with their sales announcement earlier this week, claiming they'd manufactured 6.5 million PS5s in 2nd quarter but have only sold 3.3 million in 3rd quarter (and only 5.5 million all year.) This indicates that several million units have not been sold to consumers, and logic concludes that retailers will finally be unloading them during Black Friday. Sony needs them to if they expect to reach 18 million unit sales from April 1, 2021 to March 30, 2023. Assuming an even split for the first two quarters, this means 1.65M sold in 2nd quarter. Assuming 3.3M for 1st quarter 2023, that leaves 9.75M to be sold in 4th quarter 2022. Retailers would probably need at least 11 million in stock to be sure of reaching the 18 million target by March, since Q1 hardware sales are usually depressed. Thats a lot of units so its going to be everywhere. (And if we don't see it everywhere then no way Sony gets close to 18 million and we're going to continue to see more lousy down-ports of PS5 software to PS4 throughout 2023.)

Early indications are that the Xbox Series S will be heavily marketed. Microsoft has bundled a free copy of the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II with it to help get it off retailer's shelves, as people don't seem to be as interested in the Series S as the X.

No idea if Series X will be widely available anywhere, but suspected (and needed) to be on par with PS5. With Starfield finally providing a unique first party game to the Microsoft platform in first half 2023, the holiday season is the time to get new Xboxes into people's homes. Whether Microsoft actually has 6-8 million Series X units to complement the Series S this season is the big question. Its going to be a bit of a missed opportunity if PS5 floods the market and Series X is absent. Microsoft's had all year to capitalize on Sony's missteps (along with Nintendo's delay of Tears of the Kingdom) and hasn't taken advantage though some bad decisions of their own (namely, a lot of underwhelming games and no exclusives)

Looks like Nintendo may be authorizing $30 first party games again this year. It was a major bummer to see a lot of games priced $30 in 2020 be a higher price during Black Friday last year. Target has already fired the first shot, announcing Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a $30 title during their Black Friday sale. No other games announced, but seems probable some games like Link's Awakening, Animal Crossing, Astral Chain, and some older games like Super Mario Odyssey would as well. I suspect Breath of the Wild would be in this group too, to give holiday buyers one last chance before Tears of the Kingdom takes over in May.

I am personally seeking a second PS5 controller. These are often discounted at holiday season but no ads have hinted at a discount yet. Most places specializing in electronics and video games haven't released their full ads yet though. I'm not really seeking any games since Dragon Quest Treasures arrives December 9 but I'll keep an eye out for a good deal on something interesting. I am a bit gun shy after last year's Avengers and Monster Hunter Rise proved to be disappointments to me (though Ghost of Tsushima was certainly worth it.)

[Moge]

Not interested in the Dualsense Edge? I'm looking to get an SSD for my new Surface Pro over the holiday season. Running into a lot of out-of-memory errors with these Adobe programs and having to constantly clean the fridge of my 128 GB SSD.

Even though my Surface Pro 8 isn't a graphical powerhouse, i've been thoroughly enjoying playing indies and emulated games on it. I was ready to pull the trigger on getting on a Steam Deck, but in the end i figured the Surface Pro would have more utility for all my digital art needs.

[JG]

No, a regular Dual Sense at a third of the price will do me just fine.

I haven't seen any worthy video games deals yet. Target, Walmart, and Best Buy's pre-Black Friday sales haven't really touched on them, focusing on either brand new stuff like God of War Ragnarok or junk games. Only the $30 Skyward Sword offer has been interesting but I already own it. We won't see the final ads for these players until next week, and may not see GameStop's until just before (over the last few years they have been the very last)

I have a Surface Pro 4. Its the basic model though, but even with the M3 processor and Intel 515 graphics it does well enough for some games. (The DQB2 demo worked just fine on it.) I can't add memory or SSD space to it though. Not that I need to, as I use it mostly for routine web browsing and for streaming TV or movie playback from Amazon Prime or Vudu when I'm away from home.

I also have a Surface Book 2 from work, but do not like it was much. Its certainly a more powerful device, but its a heavier unit and no kickstand for the detachable tablet part.

SSDs should be easily available and cheap everywhere this holiday season. I've been using Samsung EVO series SSDs in my computers since 2015 and recommended them, unless you want to pay more for the premium Pro series.

[JG]

Still no ads from the big video game sellers. Aside from the Skyward Sword offer a few weeks ago I haven't seen any game discounts of note. They haven't even advertised the new Pokemon games coming out Friday - not that I expect them to be on discount, but if I were one of them I'd at least put it in the ad to catch people's eyes.

Microsoft is indeed pushing the Xbox Series S hard, releasing a new Holiday version at a reduced price of $250. They were recently selling them at the normal $300 price with free redemption cards for Modern Warfare 2 but I don't know if they're still available. However, $50 off hardware is generally better than a free game you may not be interested in. And Target has pushed it a step further, including a $50 gift card with online purchase today through Saturday the 19th - that basically makes it a $100 difference to what it was just a few days ago - quite a deal.

No sign of Xbox Series S or PS5 discounts yet.