PS.. is it 5? I think we're on 5 now. PS5

damn, owned

I'm not sure if it's a great one, though, because in the US you can walk into a chain store like Target (not even GameStop!) and there's half an aisle of gaming keyboards, headsets, etc. now

this is the world we've created

You should see the sneaker selection.

sadly I order those directly from the app that gives me exclusive sneaker drops

I am the problem

i have a gaming keyboard in case yr wondering who the rest of the problem is; i even use the optional grey caps for highlighting the W/A/S/D keys lol

not a huge fan of the wacky LEDs thing tho.

(not tactical enough prob)

I do it find it funny that mechanical keyboards came into vogue, aka slightly nicer looking versions of the heavy clunkers every PC had in the '80s and '90s

I have no idea whether there's extended research on whether comfort and actual health concerns (RSI, etc) have been studied but the idea that keyboards with a long throw on keypresses and different levels of resistance seems like something people are definitely evaluating

That's part of the custom controller thing, too. Beyond the fact Microsoft and Sony also have ergonomic or alternative input controllers in various states of release, the "elite" controllers tend to have back buttons that can be mapped to one of the regular ones so you're not moving between actions repetitively in a way that's likely to hurt your hand, and the resistance and distance you're moving the triggers is configurable.

I don't think questioning the need for different control schemes and controller/button types is necessarily ableist, but a number of people are seeking out these things to address what they perceive as a better experience. I think that's just a subset of the market.

i like a nice functional proper keyboard, albeit mostly for work

it was specifically the 120 flashing keys gaming keyboards i was thinking about

I'm afraid led lights is just something we have to bear with now and luckily they can mostly be turned off

i'm definitely not somebody who should cast shade on other people's conspicuous luxury purchases

also the ergonomics argument is a good point i hadn't considered

Apparently -33% battery capacity?

I think the argument for that is people who care about elite controllers = people who care about input latency = people who are going to play wired most of the time anyway to eliminate that latency, so battery capacity doesn't matter.

i have a gaming keyboard in case yr wondering who the rest of the problem is

oh god so do I and I love it so yeah I've got no right to roll my eyes at anyone ha! It's got some crazy high polling rate and I honestly do feel the difference in input latency between this and a regular keyboard when I'm....playing pinball.

wireless controllers don't necessarily have less latency than wired, it's a clusterfuck

Football Manager finally hits the PS on February 1, goodbye world

xp I think you meant more latency, but the point stands

PSVR2 out tomorrow.

Wife recently said yet to a desktop hi-fi system so I am on a cool down for buying more toys for a few months. Anyone picking this up?

I can't seem to find it as a separate in the UK. Semi interested

Is the ps5 generally available yet? Or will I still be paying scalper prices

I think it's a lot more available than it used to be, so avoid scalpers. This VR rig, though ... I'll never buy in to this tech, ever, but just reading about it, it seems like a decadent joke. It costs as much or more than the PS5 itself, it's not backwards compatible with previous PSVR games, it doesn't work with PCs, it doesn't have built-in sound (requires earbuds), a lot of people write that it all but demands the optional $50 charging bay. And it's a big silly looking thing you wear over your head. Hard pass.

the cousin i mentioned upthread was playing with his over Christmas in an empty room and you could come and go, watch him crawling around, and he wouldn't know a thing. you'd also hear a clunk every now and again where he'd hit his head on the radiator.

Would encourage you not to write it off until you’ve tried it Josh. There is the obvious safety warnings of never wearing it around company so as to protect one’s pride and general social standing. But if you can manoeuvre around that issue, it’s a real trip. I had a go at super hot on a friends meta quest a few years ago and the instant immersion is crazy. GT7 and resident evil are big pulls to try this it for me

I just keep thinking about an ilxor admitting to me that playing Wipeout in the last gen’s vr made him insanely ill (please comment on this, bg!) and my desire to use a very competent vr rig to live in the world of Star Wars, and Horizon, and also maybe vom hard when they release a new wipeout

i have to admit the GT7 version looks crazy fun

Oh look who has a fancy new name!

it's normal and good to change them out every several years!

I’m riding this one into the grave!

same

(until the FBI come)

I've been me more or less since the start (even though I technically don't live in Chicago anymore).

Also, nope, never going to give VR a shot. Zero appeal. I don't even like to wear hats. Besides, I'm already immersed in stuff 24-7. Everywhere I look. Live free of VR or die.

Same goes for deck-building games.

The only VR thing I've tried was a Quest 2 and I do have to say the immediate experience is kinda incredible and transportive.

That said, I got super motion sick and could only hang for about 10-15 minutes at a time. The lenses fogged up really easily. Also could never give myself fully over to it because it seemed a tad too easy to bash into something in the room.

PSVR2 looks impressive though. I might consider it depending on how the library fills out. I'm more inclined to like flying or driving stuff, feels more natural. The FPS games I tried multiplied the motion sickness. A survival horror like Resident Evil would probably put me in the ground for multiple reasons.

There was a VR game I read about where every time you blink the enemies get closer.

Wondering if I should pick up the GOW bundle, since it's basically getting the game, which I'm only mildly curious about, for $10, while I wait for the HFW DLC.

If you don't have a PS5 yet, then sure, why not? Nu GOW 2 is supposed to be good.

Counterpoint: GOW 2018 is supposed to be good too, but it made very little impression on me.

Then buy the system and sell the GOW code to me for $10, lol. (I haven't played the second one yet.)

The haptic feedback is kind of underwhelming? Having really noticed the adaptive triggers either.

I felt that at first - compared to the kick of the PS4 controller it's quite a subtle thing, and I felt like all it was doing was buzzing gently in my hands. I'm a lot more used to it now, and it really has come into its own with games like Returnal and Demon's Souls

yeah, depends on the game.

Having should read haven't there. Playing GOWR BTW (sorry Josh!).

ha, np. my backlog is epic.

The haptic feedback is kind of underwhelming?

Returnal and Astro's Playroom are the best haptics games imo

I just bought Returnal from the sale but I played a little bit of Astro's Playroom and the haptics were still easy for me to overlook.

Yeah I didn't love the haptics in Astro for some reason

Clearly they are considering bringing in Team Cherry to help with the final push:

By Jason Schreier May 26, 2023

Sony Group Corp. has slowed down development on an upcoming multiplayer game in its long-running The Last of Us video game series as the creators reassess its quality and long-term viability, according to four people familiar with the project.

The team working on the game was scaled back after a recent evaluation, said the people, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. A small group remains on the project while the company reevaluates the direction. While the game has not been canceled, many of its developers have been moved to other projects.

Following requests for comment from Bloomberg News, Naughty Dog, the Sony subsidiary working on the project, put out a statement on Twitter saying that “we’ve realized what’s best for the game is to give it more time.”

The Last of Us franchise began as a video game in 2013, and the various releases have sold more than 37 million units as of December, according to Sony. It has since grown into a larger cultural phenomenon thanks to HBO's TV adaptation, which became one of this year’s biggest hits. The show, which tells emotional stories about humans surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, posted strong viewership numbers.

Naughty Dog has been developing the multiplayer title for at least four years. It started as a complementary mode to The Last of Us: Part II, the single-player game released in 2020, but the creators grew ambitious and decided to make it into its own game, Naughty Dog said.

Sony has invested heavily in “games as a service,” or video games designed to be monetized beyond their initial sales through ongoing purchases. As part of that push it asked another of its video-game studios, Seattle-based Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project’s ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment.

Single and multiplayer games generally require different skillsets to develop. Although Naughty Dog has found some success with multiplayer modes in some of its titles, the company is primarily known for developing single-player hits. Still, fans were excited for the project and raised questions after it was not present at a PlayStation video game showcase this week.

In the statement, Naughty Dog said it will continue to work on this multiplayer project as well as other games “including a brand new single-player experience.”

that’s weird.. i know someone on Another Message Board who has been working on that and like 6 months ago said it was basically ready.. he was very excited about it

This part sticks out:

Sony has invested heavily in “games as a service,” or video games designed to be monetized beyond their initial sales through ongoing purchases. As part of that push it asked another of its video-game studios, Seattle-based Bungie, to evaluate the games across its portfolio. Bungie raised questions about the The Last of Us multiplayer project’s ability to keep players engaged for a long period of time, which led to the reassessment.

So basically it's not that the game isn't close to ready or even any good, it's that Bungie more or less said it's not in a place to be exploited as a live service property. Which is kind of troubling.

Live service property means an ongoing monetary outlay from the studio, meaning you either need to figure out how to get waves of people to purchase a game or add-ons at full price, include monetization strategies inside the game, or both.

More like The More of Us, really

Slightly tempted to grab a year of PS Plus Extra for $75 but I barely have time to play the games I already have...