PixlBit

LiS: Before the Storm Episode 3 is the game's fault. I had that same issue. 

I am struggling with Patrick's defense that he has been keeping up with new releases.

 I think that we are in a pretty good spot so far this generation.  I do have one concern in regards to the "death of single player."  Bethesda has been doing a good job of publishing single-player games.  Games that are really good, and always rank high on my list of favorite games of the year.  My concern is that they seem to be selling soft.  That doesn't mean that they aren't making money.  I wouldn't expect Wolfenstein II and Prey to sell Battlefront 2 numbers, but it would be nice to know that their sales are good enough to warrant more games in the series.    BECAUSE WE NEED WOLF III DAMNIT!   I think Bethesda has realistic expectations for their games, and probably budget better than EA because they keep putting these games out.

Games are also becoming more and more accessible.  That is fantastic.  Letting you change the difficulty whenever you want.  Mario Kart 8 has auto-accelerate and auto-steering.  Mario Odyssey gives you extra health with  Amiibo.  NieR Automata gives you the ability to burn through the game with specific chip-sets.  I love that you are given so many options to play the game however the heck you want.

also, the all-digital future is great.  The only physical games that I have gotten in the past 2 years were gifts, because it's easier for my in-laws to get me physical copies for my birthday...  or annual gift giving season.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had trouble following Patrick's line of thought there.

I, too, am very concerned about these solid single player games selling soft. Like I said in the show, I think some of it is expectation, but when you even have sequels to successful games like Dishonored and Deus Ex Human Revolution not selling nearly as well as their predecessors, well, that worries me. And yes, we NEED Wolfenstein III. I want BJ to kill Mecha Hitler on Mars, which opens up a portal to hell, which leads to BJ teaming up with the Doom Marine. And the Doom Marine still doesn't talk. And Sigrun is there. 

You used the term "annual gift giving". I love you.

I listened to that section of the podcast 4 or 5 times to see if I could understand what was going on.  in some ways it sounded like because TNC came out this year, going back to TNO means that you are keeping up with gaming...

Julian, BJ is the DOOM Slayer.

I was thinking that too, but after his character growth in TNC I don't want him reduced to a silent protagonist. I would love a scene where he has this impactful monologue about doing the right thing and stopping Demon Hitler (because there is a Demon Hitler in this fantasy game of mine), and the Doom Marine just stares at him silently.

I don't think I can remember a year in my video gaming history where I was actually frustrated by how many games I wanted to play. Like, there's so many. I literally am not sure I will have time to complete all the wants I want to. 

Which is why, while I'm still debating it, I might put Horizon on Story mode again, so I can cruise through. The only thing is, I also set Wolfenstein on the easiest setting after getting fed up with a certain boss (though I may have switched back to normal for the moonbase level) and felt like I hadn't REALLY experienced the game, because it did make it a bit TOO easy. And I love the satisfaction from finally figuring out how to take down a Corruptor-level machine in Horizon, but I just ... don't know if I have the time. I wish the elemental arrows and such did a bit more than they actually do, cause I'll go in with what I feel is the right equipment, and still feel some of this stuff is a bit of a grind. But then, I can just complete the story and leave the mechanically satisfying stuff for later? 

I'm also wanting to get back to Yakuza 0, because while Horizon is a fun challenge, Yakuza 0 is just FUN. And also frustrating when it comes to certain boss fights, but something about that game's setting and all the minigames and the characters grips me in a way Horizon doesn't necessarily. But Horizon's story just got interesting too. Just .. ugh. 

Not to mention, I also want to finish both Gravity Rush games I bought on sale, Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, maybe buy Tekken 7 for half-off, buy Nier Automata and Night in the Woods at some point, maybe What Remains of Edith Finch, and now Dragon Ball Fighter Z is coming out and I really want to support Arc Systems ... it's just too much, man. 

But then, Julian is right about buying games new. I think Horizon may be the only game I bought full price, and that's a shame, because a lot of stuff I bought on sale is stuff I like even more. But I did buy Horizon: Zero Dawn not being COMPLETELY sold on it knowing it would signal that new IPs can still be profitable, and if there's something I'll take a chance on, it's a new IP with robot dinosaurs. 

As for digital games, I hate to say it, because this is the same lazy-ass argument for TVs not having physical buttons (which actually does really annoy me when I can't find the remote), but ... damn do I hate having to switch discs to play certain games. I seriously wind up playing Sonic Mania or Shovel Knight Treasure Trove not because I want exactly that right that second ... but because I don't feel like getting up and moving two feet to switch out Crash Bandicoot and Yakuza 0. And aside from the fact my PS4 does load discs onto the system WAY faster than digital downloads, you're right that the physical stuff just isn't enticing as a value proposition unless you plan to resell or trade ... and at a certain point I have to be honest about what a hoarder I am when it comes to physical copies of video games. 

What I would like is to buy a physical copy of a game and ALSO have it digitally available once the disc is bought. I resent Sony telling me I can't own Arkham Knight because I don't "own" it when the disc is right there, and if movies allow you to own it three ways after buying them once, by Odin I want my games doing the same!

I do still hate the premise of "always-online" though. 

I TOTALLY agree with your lazy comment. I literally rebought Diablo III digitally because I like having it be just a button press away in case the need for loot arises suddenly (it happens). My girfriend took Horizon out of the PS4 to play something else, and when I found out it wasn't in the drive I went back to platinum Life is Strange instead of getting up to load the disc. 

One thing I forgot to mention that has been a problem a couple times with my digital games is when my internet goes out. I randomly got logged out of Xbox Live while playing Evil Within 2 and was INSTANTLY booted from the game, losing an hour of progress. Like, I understand you need to authenticate a game purchase, but does it have to do that the second you lose connection? This is a problem that needs to be sorted, and soon. At least by the time the next round of consoles come out.

Does it do that for every Xbox game, or only Games with Gold titles? I want to believe any full price digital purchase I made on my PS4 just exists on my PS4 to be loaded th

Actually, now that I think about it, this is an entirely different problem, because I bought Evil Within 2 on disc and that still happened. But it definitely happened with my digital copy of Agents of Mayhem. The Xbox suddenly asked if I owned the game and booted me when I lost internet connectivity.

Is that an Xbox-only issue though? I mean even if you tell me PS4 does it, I'm going to wonder if that's not just YOUR PS4, but I'm still curious.

This may just be an Xbox issue, and a recent one. When my PSN flakes (which is all the time), it keeps me from gaining trophies, but I can still play my games.