Sony try to disrupt Nintendo Switch 2 launch with surprise PS5 State of Play
Sony has announced a new PS5 presentation for this week and they've timed it to happen just hours before the Nintendo Switch 2 launch.
You'd think with the Nintendo Switch 2 launching in just a couple of days, other companies would wait for the hype to die down before pushing their own games.
So, it's genuinely shocking to see Sony not just announce a new PlayStation 5 showcase for this week, but schedule it for Wednesday, June 4 – the night right before the Switch 2 launches.
It's very clearly been done on purpose, in an act of antagonism that is very unlike Sony in the modern era, and harkens back to the bad old days of their PlayStation 1 and 2 rivalries.
As is often the case for Sony's State of Play events, those of us in the UK will need to stay up until 10pm BST to watch it, with the showcase set to last approximately 40 minutes.
There was talk of Sony having something planned for June, with rumours pointing to it being one of these smaller scale State of Plays rather than a larger E3 style showcase.
40 minutes is a decent amount of time for a flurry of game reveals, but past experience points to them mostly being from third parties rather than Sony's in-house studios.
The last State of Play from February was actually very good though, after a string of disappointing presentations, with highlights including the announcement of Returnal successor Saros and a trailer for the new Onimusha game from Capcom.
As for what could be shown at this week's showcase, it's anyone's guess. It could be new footage for Ghost Of Yōtei, since that's out this October, or an update on one of Sony's live service projects like Marathon or Fairgame$.
Maybe Sony will give the people what they want and announce a new God Of War; something that has been rumoured for several years now.
Whatever the case, it's hard to imagine Sony having anything that will be significantly more exciting than the launch of a new Nintendo console. More Trending
While the two companies are competitors at the end of the day, we can't help but find the timing of this showcase is disrespectful on Sony's part. What's for certain is that it isn't accidental.
It's also wildly pointless since no one's going to cancel their Switch 2 pre-orders at the last minute to save their money for a PlayStation 5 or whatever new exclusives are announced.
Plus, a significant chunk of the viewing audience will want to own both consoles anyway.
That is unless Sony has some monumental announcement planned, that is going to change the status quo, but if that was the case they almost certainly would've made it a full showcase and not just a State of Play.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
MORE: PlayStation Stars loyalty programme is closing but Sony promises replacement
MORE: Marathon delay predicted as concerns mount over the future of Bungie
MORE: People shouldn't complain about £80 games says ex-PlayStation boss
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
Brits warned over summer party gadget that can fry your phone and BREAK your camera – it can even damage your eyesight
PARTYGOERS have been warned over a popular dancefloor gadget that could 'ruin' their smartphone cameras this summer. Laser lights are a common feature at weddings, concerts and festivals. 5 5 But poor management of them can break your pricey smartphone. "I was at a party last night and the DJ had a laser light of some kind, whilst filming a friend... I noticed the image went all grainy and [a] pinkish/purplish colour," one Reddit user said. "I immediately stopped recording and quit/restarted the camera app, hoping it was a glitch but the image was still the same. "I then tried restarting my phone and also tried another camera app but the camera seems to have been ruined." The Reddit poster, u_JohnnieWalker-, says they own an iPhone 14 Pro, and shared images of what their camera looked like after the laser shined on it. Everything through the lens is fuzzy and awash with colourful hues. It might seem artsy and fun, if the issue wasn't permanent. Party lasers can fry camera sensors in smartphones because they are intense beams of light that can heat up the sensor. While it is uncommon, this can happen. They don't just damage smartphone camera sensors either, but traditional photography cameras too. Apple interview with Greg Joz Joswiak on new artificial intelligence, screening, hold assist, carplay, liquid glass and ios updates Sony urges customers to not directly expose their cameras to laser beams. "They may damage the image sensor and cause the camera to malfunction," the camera maker writes in a support page on its website. "If you're in an environment with a laser display, whether indoor or outdoor, with direct or indirect exposure (bouncing laser beams of a reflective object), the damage to the camera CMOS sensor is still severe. "This damage can also occur if your camera is off but not covered by the lens cap." Party lasers are not typically pointed into crowds, or at eye level, out of precaution. While the concentrated beams of light can damage cameras, they can also cause permanent eye damage when exposed for a long period. 5 LiDAR sensors found in newer cars can also cause the same invisible, but permanent damage. These sensors, which can detect objects and estimate distances, are used in automated driving and some safety features. A video that went viral on Reddit in April, from u/Jeguetelli, showed a Volvo EX90's LiDAR system ruining the smartphone filming it. Colourful specks start appearing on the screen, as the LiDAR sensor appears to be "frying" the camera in real-time. In both instances, the colourful specks and hue the camera adopts after laser damage will be there forever - unless you take your device to the repair shop. LiDAR sensors work by shooting a constant stream of infrared lasers out into the world, which a computer uses to 3D reconstruct the car's surroundings, including any nearby objects. While humans can't see these laser beams, camera sensors are very sensitive to them. iPhone tricks to try today Here are some of the best... Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen, then tap in the bar and type a currency (like €200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency Check if you're due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you're down to 80% capacity. If you're below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier
Metro
14 hours ago
- Metro
Unrivalled success has ruined PS5 and the PlayStation brand - Reader's Feature
A reader is convinced that the runaway profits of the PS5 have convinced Sony that doing as little as possible is the most reliable route to success. There's a popular meme that's lasted quite a few years now, that's usually applied to China and states simply: 'Does Nothing. Wins.' I don't want to get into the sphere of global politics but it's pretty clear what it means, in that China's influence continues to grow simply as a result of letting the US make mistakes, while it sensibly stays out of it all. I think you can probably see where I'm going with this, but replace China with Sony and the US with Microsoft and I think you've got a pretty good summary of the current video game generation. I've been thinking about the comparison for a while now, but it seemed even more obvious this week, when Xbox blundered its way through another vague and unconvincing hardware annoucement, while Sony did absolutely nothing… except reveal that the PlayStation 5 has been more profitable than all the other PlayStation consoles combined. If we discount the PlayStation 3 (which is the only one not to make a profit) I think I can say with some certainty that nobody is ever going to count the PlayStation 5 as their favourite Sony console. It's increase in power has been almost entirely unproven and the promises about it were pretty sketchy anyway. It's also had far less first party games than the PlayStation 4, despite that being the peak of Sony's internal development – the sort of thing you might have expected them to build on for their next console. Add in the disaster that has been their attitude towards live service games and you'd imagine that they are being badly punished for their inactivity, not to mention their unwillingness to discuss any of this in public. Instead, doing nothing has worked out incredibly well for them. Not discussing things in public, which is always a risk, is going great so why bother doing anything else? The lesson the PlayStation 5 seems to have taught is that the less you do the more profit you make. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. This is because Sony now makes so much money from PS Plus and microtransactions that it literally doesn't have to bother with anything else. With Xbox no longer being a serious rival in terms of hardware, most people play AAA games on a PlayStation 5 and so all those skins and cosmetics and other rubbish from super mainstream games like Call Of Duty and EA Sports FC are being bought on PlayStation 5s, with Sony getting a cut of all of it. The majority of Sony's profits are not coming from anything to do with the things core or hardcore gamers like, it's all casuals wanting to play multiplayer games online, while wasting hundreds on microtransactions and complaining that all other games are too expensive. Sony doesn't need to engage with less casual fans because they already making money hand over fist. In fact, ignoring fans seems to make more (much more) money than even offering the odd olive branch. You want to know why Sony is so obsessed by live service games? Particularly online shooters. It's because they need PS Plus for you to play them and they're easy to fill with cosmetics you pay for with microtransactions. They're the opposite of single-player games, which is why we're not getting more of those and yet Concord's failure barely seemed to phase them. Sony has not stopped making proper games entirely. Ghost Of Yōtei is out this year and clearly they can afford the odd prestige single-player game to show off with and win awards. That sort of thing helps make the PlayStation 5 look more appealing, but with no competition in terms of high end consoles there's barely any choice anyway – it's PlayStation 5 or Switch 2 now and I think it's pretty obvious what the average COD and FIFA player is going to go for. More Trending It's all pretty bleak and depressing really. Good games will continue to be made – this year has been great so far – but not by Sony, or at least not more than once a year or so. The PlayStation 5 has been ruined by its success and, just as everyone predicted, a single format future, with no serious competition, has made Sony complacent and lazy. Unfortunately, the future is now and it's not very good. By reader Ashton Marley The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@ or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email. MORE: Playing Gex again is a reminder of a simpler time for gaming - Reader's Feature MORE: Video games are great for my mental and physical wellbeing - Reader's Feature MORE: I'm going to say it: Mario Kart World is not as good as it should be – Reader's Feature
BBC News
14 hours ago
- BBC News
Where are Michael Jackson's giant HIStory statues 30 years later?
In June 1995, a giant statue of Michael Jackson provided a surreal sight in the heart of London when it was floated on a barge down the River 32ft (10m) pop colossus was just one of 10 that appeared around the world to promote the superstar's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book fibreglass titans then followed Jackson on his global years later - and 16 years after his death - the King of Pop continues to attract controversy, but some of the statues still stand defiantly in unexpected corners of the world. How the King of Pop became fibreglass Jackson's double album was a mix of his greatest hits alongside 15 new tracks including Earth Song, which would spend six weeks at the top of the UK America, sculptor Diana Walczak consulted with the pop star to create a clay sculpture that was digitally scanned for the album artist Stephen Pyle, who had built sets for worldwide productions of The Phantom of the Opera, was asked by a Sony employee called Robbie Williams (not that one) to make 10 huge statues based on this album cover. He hired sculptor Derek Howarth to craft the statue in polystyrene sections, which Mr Pyle used to make moulds and fibreglass was assembled in Chris and Liz Clark's workshop at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, where they were painted to look like team worked without access to Ms Walczak's prototype, which led to them looking slightly Pyle says: "Making 10 statues in four months was quite the challenge, but thanks to Derek, Chris, Liz and the rest of my workshop team at the time, we became quite the efficient factory for Michael Jackson monoliths!"The fates of some of the statues is uncertain, and they may have been locked in storage or destroyed. But others have remained on show in some unlikely locations. A McDonald's in the Netherlands For many years, a King of Pop monument towered over a McDonald's car park in the village of Best in the owner Peter Van Gelder bought the statue from Sony at a 1996 charity gala for the Ronald McDonald Children's Fund."The restaurant had just opened and didn't yet have the big yellow M," he says. "It was my intention to put it down as an eye-catcher."Jackson fans began flocking to the spot, taking photos and playing his music. Crowds became so frequent that Peter had to fence off the statue to stop people climbing on year on Jackson's birthday, and on the day he died, it became a shrine, with fans gathering to play music, hang pictures and leave flowers. Things changed in 2019 after HBO's Leaving Neverland documentary levelled new allegations of child sexual abuse against Jackson. "In the Netherlands there was not such a strong reaction and my intention was to just leave the statue there," explained he said pressure from the fast food chain's US headquarters led to its removal and storage in a "secret location".McDonald's tells the BBC: "In 2019, following the documentary, it was decided to remove the statue."We felt and feel it is important for all guests to feel comfortable when visiting one of our restaurants."Peter hopes to donate the statue to a fan club, but due to its size a building permit is required. "Many have approached me but still no-one has been able to get a permit," he says."The years have passed since his death and I've noticed that the interest in the statue is decreasing... So the Michael Jackson statue lies resting under a tarp in an insignificant shed." A nightclub in Austria The courtyard of an abandoned club in a small town 18 miles (30km) west of Vienna is not the place you'd expect to find a towering effigy of the King of Franz Josef Zika won the statue in 1998 at a radio charity auction in aid of the Red Cross, and spent 150,000 Austrian Schillings (£9,300).He recalls: "The big problem was when I went home and had to tell my uncle, who was the family boss, and he said, 'You're crazy!'"Visitors to The Baby'O in Judenau-Baumgarten may have been surprised to find Michael Jackson in the smoking area, but Franz saw it as a great way to promote his club."There were also many bars next to the statue, so there was a party around Jackson," he says. Last year the club was forced to close after a new residential building was built Franz wants to find somebody to open a small cafe or pizzeria at the venue, but needs to get rid of the pop monolith said: "I've been trying to sell it for two years. I would be happy if I get €25,000 (£21,000) for it."I've had some interest from Sweden and some in Hungary, but the problem is people don't have enough money."What if he can't find a buyer? "We don't know. Maybe I'll send it to Mars. Elon will do this for me!" he laughs. A Swiss fairground For more than 50 years, an annual fairground event called Luna Park has taken place in Lausanne, is among these blinking lights and brightly coloured rides that another Jackson statue can be has been given slight refurbishment, with gold paint added to his faux military tell the BBC they bought it 2008 from a man who had purchased it from Sony years statue has not been displayed for a few years, but they do not say why - however they stress it is not for sale. A miniature town in South Africa When Jackson brought his HIStory tour to South Africa, he had one of the 10 statues with Miniland, which opened in Johannesburg in the 1970s to showcase the country in miniature, is now abandoned. Attractions have been removed and the miniature train no longer runs, but a repainted MJ monolith still stands, visible in Google Earth satellite Heather Mason of visited the park in recalls: "It was quite strange to see a giant blue Michael Jackson statue in the middle of Miniland, where the general theme is for things to be smaller than life, not larger than life. "But I certainly appreciated it! The MJ statue was the best photo op in the park." An Italian amusement park A fresh coat of paint and new pair of sunglasses have not made this fibreglass figure too June 2019, Europark Idroscalo Milano unveiled the "restored" statue after a Jackson-themed flash announcer told the gathered crowd: "This statue is dedicated to all of you, who keep on loving him through the years."The dramatic reveal came just months after the Leaving Neverland documentary.A park spokesperson tells the BBC the statue was purchased at the end of the tour but remained abandoned for many years before ending up in the said the titan had its face covered for a while following allegations of child abuse because park owners at the time "did not want to show that MJ welcomed children at the park, so it was transformed almost into a robot".Despite the work to restore and repaint the statue, the park's owners have now put the refurbished statue up for sale.
