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They're going to have a hard time trying to market that thing to people. As if I've said before, hardware and performance doesn't win people over anymore. It's expected. Not to mention the price alone will turn people away if its anywhere near $1,000. The real challenge will be player migration - getting people to migrate over to the PS6. There are still people who REFUSE to leave the PS4 and given recent events, it's going to stay that way. Same for the people with the PS5. There will be no incentive for people to crossover. I'm not paying $1,000 for a new console that's likely 5%-10% better than what I have. Simply living is beyond affordable right now. Shit is not cheap.

Their decision to end production of physical games has done more damage to the PS6 than they could've imagined. It's obvious by this point that the PS6 will be digital-only which not only fucks over people who collect physical games, but alienates a portion of their customers internationally. We haven't gotten to a point where internet is 100% globally. There are still countries that have zero or poor internet. How are they supposed to play and buy games now? Fuck them, I guess?

Then, there's the PS5 Pro which till this day I believe was unnecessary. The fact that the Pro exists is enough to prevent people from wasting their money on a PS6 especially when there will hardly even be a noticeable gap between them. If people need a new PlayStation, they'll like just opt for the PS5 Pro assuming it'll be a slightly (and I mean ever so slightly) cheaper option by then. It'll still have a disc drive until they stop producing them. And trust me, that's definitely going to happen.

The only thing they can rely on is games and if it's portable. But being portable won't help either. There are too many options plus they're not outdoing Nintendo in their own space. They tried before. That leaves games. And games will be VERY important next generation. They can't repeat what they did with the PS5. We were stuck in a global pandemic. The world literally stopped for a couple years. They can't reboot and remaster their way out. They'll need new games.

Given the current climate, gaming will be dominated by live-service and indies. Most of those games are available everywhere. All they'll have left is their doomed-to-fail live-service initiative and whatever PlayStation Studios is able to put out. Even then, things are bleak. Development cycles of AAA games are only going to get longer and more costly. So, you're likely not to see many AAA games coming next gen. They'll have to invest in any partnerships they can and/or go heavy with indies.

Even then, with they way things are, what game development studio in their right mind would WANT to be acquired now? You're telling me that a studio I and my team built over the course of several years can get shut down within the blink of an eye? And I have no say in it? Nah, fuck that. You buggin'. I'd rather risk being independent and failing because at least then I can end it on my own terms. I can only imagine the amount of distrust that studios have for publishers right now.

LINK

What we're seeing now is an industry imploding in on itself. The news about PlayStation discontinuing disc production is part of a long string of destructive decisions (including studio closures, layoffs, etc.) which could ultimately lead to another Video Game Crash. And aside from AI, PlayStation will to be at the forefront of it.

Not Xbox. Not Nintendo. PlayStation.

If that PlayStation 6 launches next year anywhere near or over $1,000 then it's a wrap. That's going to be a VERY humbling experience not just for Sony, but the entire gaming industry. There is no competition. Xbox is one more fuck up away from being slowly phased out over the course of a decade. Nintendo doesn't compete because they don't have to. That leaves us with PlayStation. And if you're the ONLY industry leader left in console gaming, you can do whatever the fuck you want.

Consumers and customers will remind you every single time: you need them more than they need you. And I think that's a hard lesson that will be learned in the next generation if the gaming industry doesn't course correct. Unfortunately, I think we've passed the point of no-return.

Games are going to be very important next generation. You can't wow people with hardware and performance anymore. It's expected now. You're going to see significantly less AAA games release. Live service, gacha, and indies are going to dominate. You see this happening now. This generation will be the end of traditional gaming.

— The female hooded figure, who I'm going to assume is Subject X for now, was the highlight of the trailer for me. For those who've either played or watched the story for KHX (or read through the secret reports in KHIII and the Character Files book), this is very interesting. As for WHO that is? I'm still holding on to that being Skuld, but we'll see. — As expected, the reason Light and Darkness manifested in Quadratum is because of the people from HU (Hearts' Universe). From what we know, Quadratum is a world governed by imagination and dreams so that makes sense. — This also could mean that we'll not only be dealing with the New Organization XIII (Organization VII, maybe?), but whatever faction or force that oversees Quadratum. It seems the existence of HU people poses a significant threat to Quadratum. — Another thing, there's definitely some significance to the Hooded Figures perched atop buildings and skyscrapers. Like a king or queen looking down from the throne in intrigue. — That scene from the 2022 reveal was updated (the one with Sora jumping on the car and striking the Kaiju Neo Darkside). — I wonder if saving the people in Quadratum from the Heartless will be part of the gameplay loop. Maybe there will be random encounters or side missions where you have to stop the Heartless from attacking people in various locations. This may also be how you meet new characters throughout the Quadratum portions of the game. — I wonder who Strelitzia is with in Shibuya. Subject X, maybe? Eh, the Hooded Figure looks to be taller than her so possibly the Master of Masters or Sigurd. — The guy in the suit... NightSkyPrince was saying he looked like Ardyn, which I can see. I went through the Dark Road character roster, and he doesn't look like any of them. So, potentially a new side villain akin to Maleficent maybe? — There is a shot after that with a character that looks like Noctis which, I mean, everybody looks like Noctis at this point. There was a tweet [LINK] where someone said he could be Vali. He looks like him a little bit. If that's the case, then maybe we'll see the upperclassmen here. If so, then Vidar and Vor better fuckin' be in this game. — Cor Leonis *ahem Luxord just chillin'. — The Master of Masters in a graveyard? And black feathers falling from the sky? Yeah, I can already hear the music lol. I'm joking but I wonder if the concept of "fallen angels" will be explored. The Master of Masters definitely embodies the concept of a fallen angel. — I see Hades is still torturing Donald and Goofy lol. — And now we get to another huge thing, YXehanort. So, this is the 14th life he mentioned. This opens up the door for A LOT things and I'm not sure how to feel about that yet. Then again, Quadratum is the afterlife. — A while back, I wrote a post about whether or not YXehanort would be part of a potential Quadratum trio. I hope that's true. I wonder how Sora is going to react to him though. I hope Nomura doesn't pull some "I lost/erased my memories" shit with him. — Combat looks more fluid and with some weight to it. Some people didn't like how light and floaty KHIII's combat was so this looks like a minor upgrade (still floaty though). The combat appears to be more Devil May Cry-like which I'm fuckin' with heavy. — Peep the keyblade in the intersection battle shots. That's definitely proof there are Disney worlds in this game, but I think they'll take a back seat this time. Much of the story seems likely to take place in Quadratum (I hope so). — The Kaiju Neo Darkside battle is going to be crazy. I can't wait to play it. I hope they include part of the battle in a demo (if we get one).

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!