Game Cart: Is PSVR2 Too Expensive?

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eBay feed
Regarding the sneaky PlayStation VR2 price announcement, I have to say I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a scalper’s paradise. I wasn’t expecting it to be under £400 but over £500 is a big spend and with the scalping overlords you’ll be looking at least £800. In a way that’s OK with me, because it’s still not sure if Team Asobi is even making Astro Bot 2 and there’s no sign of Half-Life being ported either, so I can wait.

Unfortunately, I don’t see the public desperate to buy an overpriced one because it’s expensive without a scalper’s grubby mitts on it. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X were new consoles, which is more enticing than a still niche VR headset. That launch currently doesn’t scream “Buy me!”

If it turned out that a full Mario-sized Astro Bot was a launch title, I’d really think otherwise, but Sony seems to think that replicating a subatomic particle in the vacuum of space is a good way to distribute big news, like the launch of a upcoming product.
Wonk

Expensive driving
Nike kindly refunded a couple pairs of running shoes I bought last year that have started to wear out. The refund came to £539.98, practically the price of a PlayStation VR2. I’m so excited, I love my VR stuff.

The original PlayStation VR may have cost £350 but it needed an extra £50 camera and I’d argue a pair of £80 Move controllers to get the full experience, so the PlayStation VR2 isn’t too badly priced in comparison.

Anyway, roll on February, but in the meantime I have a Quest Pro that needs my attention.
MRHBK

GC: What did you pay for a pair of trainers?!

Crash course
Loving Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (already level 55) and I have all the trophies from the campaign, despite the game crashing on my PlayStation 5 harder than Cyberpunk 2077 did on my PlayStation 4.

The final story mission was a total crash fest and at one point I had to restart the mission to get past a buggy part of the level.

Now the multiplayer is out which seems pretty stable, with maybe three crashes in 20 hours.

I just tried to play Special Ops yesterday with strangers.

Every single game crashed.

The most annoying thing was completing the mission and getting three stars, followed by an immediate crash and now I have zero stars.

Anyone else having similar problems?

I don’t expect this on a PlayStation 5.
TommyFatFingers

GC: It’s not the console’s fault. Unless it’s broken in some way? We saw bugs in the game but never a crash.

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Locked out
I, like many others, have been banned from Call Of Duty. When I loaded the game on launch day, I was greeted with a message saying I was permanently banned. I appealed, as I have never committed any kind of crime, cheated or modified a game. The appeal was denied with little explanation beyond citing a reason of “unauthorized software and manipulation of game data.”

The claim is then permanently closed with no way to respond or reopen. Leaving me with £60 wasted on an unplayable game.

Has anyone found a way to fix this or found a solution?
Chris (Dreadlokk – gamertag/PSN ID)

Lara interrupts
I don’t like to see anyone out of a job but the thought of Embracer not being interested in mobile gaming and wanting to concentrate on console/PC is music to my ears. They seem like a strange company, that just came out of nowhere, but if that’s the kind of agenda they’re pushing, I’m all for it.

I never really liked the previous Deus Ex games, but if that’s what the developer wants to do and there are fans pushing for it, more power to them. That’s why a game should be made, not just because some faceless account says they need a new sequel.

If that Tomb Raider mobile game gets cancelled, it means we’ll be going a long time without seeing Lara again. Maybe that’s what the series needs, given the mixed response to the reboot trilogy, but I feel like they need to keep the name alive a little more than that. I can’t think what they could do though, as there is nothing obvious to remaster and my preference, of a remake of Angel Of Darkness, is probably too much work and money.
The boss

Very long game
RE: Foley. Microsoft plays a long game and has done so all along.

Sony also used to sell consoles at a loss.

However, it’s the Xbox Series X that’s the loss leader, not the S, that’s the one they’re reported to be losing a ton of money on.

However, they make money back from other parts of their ecosystem.

In Microsoft’s 2022 fiscal year, from July 2021 to June 2022, game revenue reached $16.23 billion, up from $15.37 billion in the previous fiscal period.

Hardly losing money I would like to point out here
Kiran

GC: Revenue is not the same as profit.

Not another top 10
RE: 10 PS4 Games That Are Better Than Expected. What’s up with The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2? There are much better games than those mentioned in the top nine.

The only one I agree with was Death Stranding. Ghost Of Tsushima was also worth mentioning. Ghost Recon: Wildlands and Breakpoint, Mafia 3, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, The Last Of Us 1 and 2 and Call of Duty. Assassin’s Creed, Spider-Man and Miles Morales. And, perhaps the last and least, LA Noire remastered.

Those are the best top 10 of PlayStation 4 games released for me.
Chris

GC: But wasn’t the feature a list of the top 10 games on PlayStation 4? It was a list of games that the reader thought were better than expected.

Non-game
Just saw an ad for Destiny 2 Lightfall and realized I have a (childish) grudge against the game. When Destiny 2 was on Game Pass, I downloaded it and paid for all the different season passes and really enjoyed it – hooked again after enjoying the first game when it was released.

Then, one day, I turned on the Xbox and found (without warning?) that I no longer had access to hardly any of the abilities, etc. that I did the day before, and it really pissed me off. I thought about buying the missing game item but just deleted Destiny 2 from my hard drive and never played it again. Don’t know if this is a common thing, or if I’m just being childish!

In hindsight it freed up more time for other games so it’s been good that way, but I sometimes miss the events they would have for Halloween, etc.

Speaking of other games, Beacon Pines was mentioned in the inbox the other day. I just finished it as it is on Game Pass and I think it’s worth a shot if the price isn’t too high. I’m not sure it’s a real game though. Interactive story, yes, but games maybe not (don’t know if there is an officially accepted definition of “video game”). There are only a few times you have to do something “gamey” and it’s just to get an achievement or two.

Continue like that.
WoDMaN

GC: If you can interact with it, it’s a game.

Inbox also runs
Why would EA think it’s a good idea to treat a Star Wars game like the launch of a new multiplayer? Did they only start promoting the movies a month before they came out? (Remember when there used to be Star Wars movies?)
Rep

I’m not the first to notice that the PlayStation VR2 lineup is pretty bad so far. Why is Sony spending all this time on such an expensive novelty, which doesn’t even have any decent games ready?
Taylor Moon

This week’s hot topic
This weekend’s inbox topic was inspired by reader Rackam, who asks what’s the oldest video game hardware you still use?

Most retro games are relatively easy to play on at least some modern devices, but what’s the oldest original hardware you still have in working order? How long have you had it and does it still work as well now as it did originally?

Do you prefer to play older games on the original hardware or would you prefer to play everything on the same machine? If you’re simply using older generation consoles, why haven’t you upgraded yet and when do you plan to?

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The fine print
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