PlayStation's Remastering Blunders: Why Fans Are Furious!
Sony's Latest State of Play: A Hit and a Major Miss
Sony's recent State of Play announcement was a mixed bag. While some awesome new game reveals totally got fans hyped, the Horizon Zero Dawn remaster announcement caused a massive uproar. Why? Because Horizon Zero Dawn is already a gorgeous game; it looks fantastic on PS5 and PC (thanks to its 2020 port!). This decision, combined with a lack of remasters of much more desired titles, leads to one obvious question from fans; and that's the main reason for the intense controversy generated!
This isn't Sony's first remaster mishap either. The Last of Us Part II remaster just four years after its release, met with some mixed reception but mainly became accepted as the necessary investment given its high demand from the public. Yet the creative choices to invest in fairly recent games despite massive demands from many others for older, fan-favorite titles simply is hard for many players to accept, especially those wanting to enjoy the game they love even more than before.
PlayStation Games Desperately Needing a Remaster!
Remastering isn’t merely just another creative way to get more money; there’s an underlying necessity and justification involved: this becomes essential for game preservation, especially those critically-acclaimed, classic games which are rapidly disappearing from digital stores. That leads to an enormous demand to remaster a lot of games that fans desperately crave. Some popular titles consistently come up, including:
- Bloodborne: A remake is pretty much a guarantee to become financially viable! Its immense popularity from day one continues until now and there remains a huge player demand; and yet nothing is forthcoming from Sony, resulting in enormous discontent from fans. Even creating another sequel wouldn't hurt, but this isn't coming either.
- Infamous series: Another popular set of games is extremely desired for those remasters, which may be due to its critically-lauded combat mechanisms.
- Original Ratchet & Clank series: Even older classics could totally benefit. Those classic PS2 gems; upgrading them would please many fans. There are countless opportunities here!
These aren't simply niche titles. They’re critically acclaimed fan favorites with extremely large and vocal fanbases! This lack of attention for these extremely well-received and loved titles is astonishing for players, showing a significant level of misdirection on Sony’s priorities regarding game investments and shows serious disconnects.
So Why Is Sony Remastering These Games? Money Talks
Sony’s remaster strategy might seem really strange and bewildering; but those choices are driven by a simple factor: maximizing profit with lower risks. Remastering old games is extremely expensive; the time commitment to re-do many game assets, from ground-up requires enormously massive development costs! Remastering newer titles involves much less risk – since existing assets allow reduced work! The financial commitment gets considerably lowered. This is entirely rational and understandable; a low-risk strategy.
Another element: showcasing newer hardware capabilities! Those new PS5 and PS5 Pro's improved hardware are never going to really achieve much unless it is being used for pushing the boundaries! Those newer releases of well-received games showcase those technical possibilities without requiring fans to wait several years for an entirely new game specifically utilizing this updated hardware.
Conclusion: Remastering Shouldn't Come At The Expense of New Games
Those remasters, like Horizon Zero Dawn and Last of Us Part II were smart financial decisions for Sony – there was immense financial return after all! But are these smart for the fanbase, considering the lack of attention paid towards newer titles? Those choices aren't inherently bad— they are really useful updates for PS5 owners. Yet, this hasn't quite sat well; particularly those needing to see newer titles from critically acclaimed developers.
The overall situation surrounding remaster choices displays major issues; these aren't about creating great products for fans; these kinds of choices show financial priority as an important aspect— which shouldn't come at the expense of fan desires, even if this doesn’t impact finances too severely.
