PlayStation finally got to have their big 2021 presentation, and it wasn’t just an incredible show in its own right; it was arguably the show that ‘won’ E3 2021 nearly three months after that show ended.
Sony is working on PS2 emulation for the PS4
What exactly is Sony up to with emulating PlayStation 2 games on the PS4? A report this week from Wired confirmed that the company is, in its own words, “working on utilizing PS2 emulation technology to bring PS2 games forward to the current generation,” but it seems that the PlayStation 4 already has this capability (at least in part), and Sony has done nothing to publicize it.
This far into a new generation of console, do we really need PS2 emulation? There’s more than enough to play on the PlayStation as it stands today.
Couple that with the fact that every studio seems to be re-releasing their older titles as “HD remakes” and I feel like we have signs of not only an industry that’s afraid to take a chance on new IPs but a fanbase that is supporting it.
Replaying all the old games from your childhood past, which in all likelihood the majority of people will try for a brief period of time before switching back to newly released titles, is just that: it’s past. Move on.
PS Vita successor doubtful, Sony blames mobile gaming
Shuhei Yoshida, the worldwide studios chief for Sony Computer Entertainment, told a panel this weekend that “the climate is not healthy” for a successor to the PlayStation handheld, thanks to the saturation of mobile gaming-ready devices and the nature of the games they play.
Not totally surprising but sad nonetheless. Sony was never really able to find their footing in the mobile space within North America.
I’d argue that the company could have certainly competed with the growing number of mobile devices on the market had they taken the necessary steps. What those might be, I’m not a 100% sure and, clearly, Sony isn’t either.
Odin Sphere HD remaster coming to PlayStation consoles
Michael McWhertor for Polygon:
Vanillaware’s side-scrolling, fantasy action-role-playing game Odin Sphere is coming back next year in remastered form, publisher Atlus announced today. Odin Sphere: Leifþrasir, a high-definition re-release, is bound for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in January.
I like the idea of remastering games that many people, myself included, maybe didn’t have a chance to play when they were initially released.
I always heard great things about Odin Sphere and I’m really looking forward to trying it myself after all these years. The game looked gorgeous when it came out, I can only imagine how much better it’ll look in the remaster.