GamingEvents & ConferencesConcord and Astro Bot look great, but are a symptom of the weird year PlayStation and the PS5 is havingWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamingEvents & ConferencesConcord and Astro Bot look great, but are a symptom of the weird year PlayStation and the PS5 is havingWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: PlayStation)
PlayStation’s hotly anticipated May State of Play dropped with as little warning as we’ve grown accustomed to with showcases of this ilk. Honestly, I’m not sure what I was expecting from it, beyond my own selfish wants to see more titles like Marvel’s Wolverine and whatever any ofSony’s other major studios are working on. While it featured some fantastic-looking games, some release dates, and a handful of fresh reveals, the showcase at large felt symptomatic of the unusual year the PS5 and PlayStation is having.
The showcase comes after PlayStationmade some serious changes to its business, canceling several unannounced projects, making heavy layoffs, and closing the PlayStation London studio altogether. It followed that with making leadership changes, promoting two PlayStation veterans to thenew SIE CEOsto replace the now long-departed Jim Ryan. With all of those changes, Sony vowed it would unveil its new “long-term vision” and the important role SIE will play in it, but so far, it feels like more of the same.
(Image credit: Sony)
Hermen Hulst, as part of the vision, said the plan is to have"at least one tentpole single-player launch during the holiday season" every year. If we go with the current confirmed dates from last night’s State of Play and previous announcements, it feels bizarre thatAstro Botwill potentially act as that single-player focus for 2024. While I’m a huge fan of the little fella and its whimsical platforming ways, it’s notexactlyreaching the same audience as the likes ofGod of War,Horizon Forbidden West, or any other of its core single-player IPs.
A slower Sony year
(Image credit: Insomniac Games)
That shouldn’t really come as a surprise though, as PlayStation has been fairly upfront about its lineup for this year. Sony Group president Hiroki Totoki said back in February that Sonywouldn’t be releasing any “major existing franchise titles"before April 1, 2025 (sorry Astro Bot). Instead, the focus was on giving studios time to develop the next wave, and a continued push into live service titles, which is clearly where Concord comes into play.
The new IP from developer Firewalk Games marks a new FPS era for Sony, which hasn’t really had its own first-party FPS series for some time now. Concord looks like it’s Sony’s answer to Overwatch - a 5v5 multiplayer FPS, complete with a roster of heroes to choose from and a weekly vignette drop to give more backstory to each of them. In fact, it’s so unashamedly Overwatch that you’d imagine Blizzard’s hackles were immediately raised.
The full package
(Image credit: PlayStation)
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(Image credit: Sony)
What is clear though is thatPSVR 2isn’t exactly a priority for Sony. Over a year after launch, just twoupcoming PSVR 2 gamesfeatured in thePlayStation State of Play. Behemoth from Skydance - responsible for brilliant virtual reality title The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners - looked impressive in the way it simultaneously channeledSkyrimand Shadow of the Colossus, but could only muster a ‘Fall 2024’ launch window. Alien: Rogue Incursion should have been a headliner as the first Alien VR game, but the 53-second ‘gameplay trailer’ wasn’t dark, unimpressive, and didn’t actually feature much gameplay. PlayStation’s not exactly screaming ‘You must buy this peripheral for the holidays’ in the faces of its most engaged audience with that duo, especially not with PSVR 2 still retailing at almost full price, bar theoccasional almost-tempting dealand the PSVR 2 games costing nearly as much as a AAA PS5 title.
So overall, a mixed bag for the PlayStation State of Play against a backdrop of a turbulent industry. It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise really, but with Concord and Astro Bot leading the way for first-party PlayStation’s next six months it’s certainly not the 2024 I expected.
TOPICSSummer Game Fest
TOPICS
CATEGORIESPS5PlayStationPlatformsPlayStation
CATEGORIES
PRODUCTSPS5Summer Game Fest 2024
PRODUCTS
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3
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4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”