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Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation 5 is entering the latter stage of its life cycle

 

 

Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation 5 is entering the latter stage of its life cycle. Sony's latest console only launched in November 2020, and a new mid-generation model was released in November 2023 with upgraded storage and a modular design that allowed players to add an Ultra HD Blu-Ray Disc Drive to digital-only versions of the console at a later date.

As the average duration of a console generation is about 6 years, this refresh made sense three years after the console's original launch. In an interview with Bloomberg, Sony senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka stated that “looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle” as the company expects the sales pace of the PS5 hardware "will start falling from the next fiscal year" which begins April 2024 and runs until the end of March 2025.

The PlayStation 5, along with the Xbox Series X had a difficult launch, both releasing during the COVID-19 pandemic and having online-only launches as a result. This led to a combination of manufacturing constraints reducing the number of consoles being made, and scalpers using bots to quickly purchase many that did go on sale with the intent of reselling them at incredibly inflated price points. Therefore, many gamers didn't acquire a current-gen console until some time into the console generation when these issues were overcome.

While there were titles such as the Demon's Souls remake that launched alongside the PS5 as a current-gen exclusive, others that were marketed as huge selling points for the then new-gen device, such as Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales also received PS4 releases, and the cross-gen releases continued for years with other major PlayStation exclusives such as God of War: Ragnarök. It's only been in recent years that players have begun to experience more of what the PS5's hardware can do, with PS5 exclusive titles such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 using the SSD to overhaul how fast travel can work in an open-world game, practically removing loading screens entirely and enabling players to travel to any point on the map without the need for specific waypoints.

Therefore, while Sony is most likely looking forward to the PlayStation 6, it hasn't showcased much of what its current-gen console can do, and would need the next console to be a significant improvement to encourage those who already bought a PlayStation 5 to upgrade. As for when the PlayStation 6 could launch, this could be around 2026 based on Sony's latest comments and its calculations for the mid-generation refresh, suggesting that the company is looking at a 6-year run for the PlayStation 5, one year less than that of the PS4, which launched in 2013, 7 years before the PS5.

Source: Bloomberg

[The_King]

SINGAPORE: From battling sea monsters to looting merchant ships for treasure and forging a pirate empire, the first major video game developed by Ubisoft Singapore seemingly has it all - but does it? 

Skull And Bones was officially launched for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Friday (Feb 16) by Ubisoft Singapore, more than a decade after development first started in 2013. 

The Economic Development Board (EDB) told CNA on Thursday that “Ubisoft Singapore received a grant from EDB in 2016 to lead and develop an ‘AAA’ game title from Singapore". 

A "AAA" game is informally used to classify video games produced and distributed by a publisher, which typically have higher development and marketing budgets than other tiered titles.

Franchises like Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed fall under this category.  

Ubisoft Singapore started work on its first original intellectual property (IP), following the success of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag in 2013, and was eventually announced four years later.

However, creating the open-world pirate game, which reportedly cost US$200 million, has not been smooth sailing, with several delays, a reboot and the loss of three creative directors. 

CNA takes a look at the long-awaited pirate video game, and what the launch of Skull And Bones could mean for Singapore’s gaming industry. 

WHAT IS THE GAME ABOUT

Players take on the role of a shipwrecked pirate who, starting with nothing, strives to become the "greatest pirate of the Indian Ocean" through plunder and barter.

An open-world fantasy game set in the 17th century, Skull And Bones players can craft and sail a variety of ships to build their armada. They must also navigate the currents and weather, keep their ships and crew in fighting shape and gather resources and fight battles on the high seas.

"Skull and Bones is set in an open virtual world where players can sail alone or create a gang of pirates with your friends and, together, terrorise the trade routes of the Indian Ocean," said Ubisoft creative director Justin Farren.

At an earnings call Q&A held last week, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot expressed confidence that the game will "deliver in the long run".

“You will see that Skull and Bones is a fully-fledged game,” he added. “It’s a very big game, and we feel that people will really see how vast and complete that game is." 

He also defended its price tag - the standard edition retails for S$79.90 (US$60) - stressing that it was a "quadruple-A game".

Skull and Bones was originally intended to be a spin-off of the pirate-themed Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, before becoming a standalone game. (Image: Skull and Bones Game)

STORMY SEAS

Skull And Bones was originally intended to be a spin-off of the pirate-themed Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, before becoming a standalone game.

It was revealed by Ubisoft Singapore at the E3 video game event in 2017, with a launch date set for the fall of 2018, only for production headwinds to mar its release. 

Ubisoft announced that the launch date was delayed by a year during the E3 event in 2018. The following year, the game was again pushed back until sometime after March 2020, and then to April 2021.

Current and former Ubisoft developers, and those with knowledge of the game told gaming website Kotaku in 2021 that Skull And Bones "never had a clear creative vision behind it, suffered from too many managers vying for power, and was plagued by almost annual reboots and mini-refreshes".

Skull and Bones was revealed by Ubisoft Singapore at a video game event in 2017, with a launch date set for the fall of 2018, only for production headwinds to mar its release. (Image: Facebook/Skull and Bones Game)

Three of its creative directors also left the project along the way and by 2023, Skull And Bones had suffered a total of six delays.

“The period that a game is worked on for, it doesn't necessarily equate to the final quality (of the game),” said Desmond Wong, CEO of The Gentlebros, a Singaporean game developer studio. 

Mr Wong, who also designs games, explained that a game that takes 10 years or more to make does not necessarily mean it is five times as good as one that takes two years to develop. 

“A game can go through a lot of revisions, and game development itself is a very iterative process,” he added.

“Based on what we understand in the industry, the triple-A moniker just means the budget level, the production budget of the game. 

“I think what a lot of people misunderstand is that the term triple-A does not equate to the quality of a game. It just essentially means the budget it took to make that game.”

EARLY REVIEWS 

Ubisoft held an open beta for Skull And Bones from Feb 8 to Feb 11, allowing players to explore the “different factions” in the game and complete certain campaign contracts. 

An open beta is an early release of a game for the publishers and developers to get feedback or fix any bugs before its official launch. 

There have been mixed reviews about the game, with its long development cycle being a major factor. 

 

“It’s a trip through uneven waters, marred by strange issues and inconsistent gameplay,” said gaming and entertainment outlet Polygon, adding that issues arose with character creation, while the game's protagonist had an inconsistent narrative. 

However, others lauded Skull And Bones for its interesting storyline and role-playing game features. 

“The story gets more interesting, as do the associated quests,” the GamesRadar website said, adding that it “does well to hide a lot of its more interesting content and quests later into the game".

Some Reddit users also talked up the game, saying that they were "having a blast" and the "lightning really adds to the atmosphere of being on the open sea". 

 

FUTURE OF SINGAPORE’S GAMING INDUSTRY

Singapore-based studio Fntastic announced its closure on Dec 12, just five days after the launch of its highly-anticipated game The Day Before flopped. 

Like Skull And Bones, the game was an open-world massively multiplayer online (MMO) game and reportedly was among digital distribution service Steam's most wishlisted games. It is now one of the 10 worst-reviewed games of all time on the platform. 

Skull And Bones could, however, help Singapore’s gaming industry chart new waters. 

According to data by market research company YouGov, three-quarters of the country’s population play video or mobile games, and among those aged 18 to 24, this jumps to 90 per cent. 

Last year, Singapore claimed its first SEA Games e-sports gold medal and also hosted the first Olympic Esports Week. 

The government has several initiatives in place, like the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) INVIGORATE and Games Solution Centre (GSC), to spur the development of games in Singapore.

“Singapore's gaming industry has enormous growth potential with 45 per cent of the world's gamers based in Asia,” Mr Chong Yang Chan, managing director at data integration and analytics company Qlik, told CNA last year. 

Mr Chong then pointed out that for a “nation of gamers”, there are a limited number of homegrown games.

“For Singapore game developers, scaling up highly playable games for an international audience remains the primary challenge,” he explained, adding that local talents should be nurtured and supported.

Skull And Bones might be a step in the right direction, according to Mr Wong.

“It's definitely a step-up because we've never had a triple-A game come out of Singapore before,” he said. “Even if it had a troubled development cycle, it is still something worth celebrating.”

Mr Wong hopes the game will succeed, as it could pave the way for future big budget games to be made locally. 

“We do have the talent and the skill set to make games like that. We just often don't have the budget or the resources to do so,” he added. 

“Whether the game does well ... it's not relevant to the fact that it's definitely the first of its kind and hopefully, it will pave the way for more to come in the future.”

Source: CNA/Agencies/at/rc(sn)

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Wow...... so real. If got money my dream set is for fighter pilot sim.