Destructoid Checkpoint: The State of Sony

It’s an odd enough week in gaming, with subtle indicators that the culture continues to change. We had a week of game reveals, yet social media seems dominated by people talking about the things they didn’t like, and why. 

The easiest answer to miserable souls who can find no joy in gaming is to simply take a break. The consumer conveyor belt gets tiresome over time, and if you never give yourself some respite from it, you will grow less appreciative of things you usually enjoy. Remember, games are fun, and there are a lot of them; there is almost certainly something out there that you’ll like, even when a company dares to make a game that you won’t. 

The State of Sony

Sony held a State of Play this week, showing off a range of titles we can look forward to over the coming months and years. We saw a good chunk of Wolverine, some character reveals for Marvel Tokon, Rayman Legends Retold, the next Tomb Raider (which was also delayed), some traditionally spooky Silent Hill, Ace Combat 8, a new Stuntman game, more Control Resonant, Until Dawn 2, and the reveal of God of War Laufey, the next entry in the series, which will focus on Kratos’ wife.

It was a good slate of games, but the chat was bombarded with Destiny fans clamoring to let Sony know that they do indeed want Destiny 3. I was pretty hard on Microsoft at points over the last few years, where I felt the company was failing to properly understand the needs and wants of its playerbase, and I like to do the same with Sony so that folks can’t call me biased. The venture into a live-service focus was an abject failure, but it’s hard to escape the fact that the current inability to imagine seemingly any future for the Destiny IP is an overcorrection to that self-made problem. 

While people love to dunk on Marathon for low player numbers, a loyal following can keep a game alive for quite a long time as long as the structures in place to support that game are sustainable. Without knowing just how much Marathon costs to keep running, and how big the team is that is needed to move it forward, it’s honestly difficult to know right now what the future of Bungie really looks like. 

I’ve yet to see someone offer a viable future for Bungie that is not going to be Destiny (3 or otherwise), but it also seems that Destiny 3 is not currently in production at all. Unrushed, Destiny 3 would likely take five to six years to develop. 

On June 9th, when Destiny 2’s final update drops, it seems that the community gets their last chance to prove to Sony that the future of the IP is viable, interesting, and something worth investing in, but even then, it’s likely going to be a long wait until something new is on the horizon for those who sided with the Light.

Microsoft’s parity rule might be showing an interesting future for consoles

Microsoft’s parity rule has been an issue for some developers this generation. According to Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler, the jump to Xbox for No Rest for the Wicked will be delayed as they optimize for the Xbox Series S. 

The Xbox parity rule means that the console maker wants anything that ships on Series X to also be available on Series S. The only real exception was that Xbox would eventually let Larian’s cultural behemoth Baldur’s Gate 3 ship without feature parity on both consoles.

On one hand, it is understandable that Microsoft would want games that release on the more powerful console variant to also appear on the less powerful one. There is the chance that, were devs able to pick and choose what to develop for, the Series S might be left behind with regard to releases, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of folks who purchased it.

On the other hand, I honestly have a hard time believing that the impact would be all that much greater than it is now. I run a Series S as a media machine, and it’s a fantastic device for watching movies and shows, and couch co-op. 

It’s hard to know how many of the units are out there, as Microsoft doesn’t report those sales, but estimates indicate that almost half of the 35 million unit sales of the current generation of hardware are of the less powerful Series S.

This is perhaps the real secret revealed by the parity rule: people need a cheaper console. With reportedly half of Xbox gamers opting in at the lower price point, it implies a massive group of budget-conscious gamers out there that simply do not have the disposable income to engage with the hobby for the more premium products like the Series X or Sony’s offerings. 

With prices sliding ever upward, it makes you wonder what happens to those gamers if Xbox opts not to offer a budget console option next generation, although such a thing genuinely seems impossible given RAM and GPU prices at the moment. 

What’s happening, Destructoid?

Pedro Peres has been dealing with the death of Destiny. - “Devoid of most of its meaningful content after The Edge of Fate, Destiny 2 seemed to resign itself to mediocrity—a tragic fate for a game that excelled in a lot of what it tried. Instead of quickly backtracking on overwhelmingly negative feedback, a morose leadership let the community’s resentment fester, creating the image that it was either unwilling or unable to salvage the game. The end seemed like a matter of “when,” not “if.” “

Andrej Barovic spent some time with Chivalware, a roguelike developed by a singular human being. He likes it. - “It’s a simple, fast-paced, and incredibly satisfying experience. I had so much fun playing, I can’t even begin to describe it. The gameplay, combined with the retro-futuristic style and genuinely great soundtrack, results in a thoroughly impressive little gem of a game that I wholeheartedly recommend.”

And that’s it for this week!