Latest news with #GameCentral
Metro
3 hours ago
- Business
- Metro
PS5 is more profitable than all other PlayStation consoles combined
Despite being a stunted console generation, the PS5 is Sony's most profitable piece of gaming hardware, and by a considerable margin. Between the lack of games which push the hardware and the unfufilled promises around its technical capabilities, the PlayStation 5 era might go down as the worst console generation ever. The problems have been amplified by Sony's push towards live service games, most of which have either been cancelled or removed from existence – leading to large gaps in the release cycle, amongst Sony's first party studios. Sadly, while the PlayStation 5 has been disappointing when it comes to actual games, it's easily Sony's most profitable console ever. As revealed in the company's business meeting earlier this week, and highlighted by analyst Daniel Ahmad, the PlayStation 5 generation has earned Sony $13 billion (£9.6 billion) in profits since the console launched in November 2020. When you tally up the profits of prior generations, this is higher than all of Sony's prior consoles combined. The original PlayStation and PlayStation 2 took in $3 billion and $2 billion, respectively, while the PlayStation 3 lost Sony $4 billion, and the PlayStation 4 gave the company a $9 billion boost. When tallied together, including the losses, it comes to around $10 billion in cumulative profits. 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. Another slide in Sony's presentation breaks down where the PlayStation 5's profits are coming from, with a key part being the increase in spend across services like PlayStation Plus and 'game content'. Sony held its Business Segment Meeting today. Here are some key takeaways regarding its PlayStation business. The PS5 generation has generated $13 billion in profits. This is compared to the $10 billion cumulative profit generated during the PS1-PS4 generation (RIP PS3). — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) June 13, 2025 When compared to the PlayStation 4 generation, the average life-to-date spend per PlayStation 5 console on content (physical and digital games, and add-ons) has increased by 21%. More Trending Spending on services, which includes PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Network, has increased by 63%, while peripheral spend has jumped up 27%. As part of these service profits, Sony states 38% of PlayStation Plus subscribers are now paying for the Premium or Extra tiers, up from 30% two years ago. This is rather discouraging, because it means Sony has little incentive to change its current strategy – even as it continues to fumble with games like Concord and Marathon, the latter of which was recently delayed indefinitely. The big problem for Sony might be when it comes to convincing players to jump to the inevitable PlayStation 6, which Sony recently stated is 'top of mind' at the company. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. 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: Every Nintendo Switch 2 launch game reviewed – all 25 games so far MORE: Switch 2 third party games sold 'below our lowest estimates' says publisher MORE: Metroid Prime 4 advert on London tube confuses everyone with 'out now' sticker
Metro
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Every Nintendo Switch 2 launch game reviewed - all 25 games so far
Nintendo's new console already has two dozen games available, but reviews have been sparse, as GameCentral gives an overview of everything that's currently available. It's been over two weeks since the Nintendo Switch 2 came out and it's only now that we can bring our coverage of the launch to a conclusion. For no adequately explored reason, Nintendo didn't send out review units until the day before launch, so no outlet was able to prepare reviews beforehand and even now it's only the high-profile ones that have been covered in any detail. This has not pleased third party publishers, who have lost out on coverage they originally expected to help promote their games, and there's some launch titles that we're never going to get around to playing. What we've done though, is to try and draw a line under things and offer links to our full reviews, mini-reviews for ports we have played, and a brief description and Metacritic score for those we haven't. There are only four Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives games so far – two from Nintendo and two from third party publishers – but many of the other games do have some new Switch 2 features, like mouse support or new modes. None of that makes much difference but what is encouraging is that the majority of the third party ports so far have been very high quality, and surprisingly close to the PlayStation 5 versions. Nintendo – £74.99 (physical) or £66.99 (digital) 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. The most high-profile launch game by such a degree that it has a staggering 95% attach rate in some regions. It's as clear an example of a console killer app as there's ever been but it's not the flawless creation that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was, with a strangely underutilised open world environment that doesn't spoil the experience but does make you wonder what else Nintendo has planned for the game, in terms of future DLC. Score: 9/10 (Mario Kart World Switch 2 review) Nintendo – £7.99 Not necessarily the worst game Nintendo has ever made but certainly the dullest. This well meaning interactive exhibit describes, in painstaking detail, what the Switch 2 can do and how it works. This can be quite interesting but the minimalist presentation and thoroughly un-entertaining mini-games make it a slog to get through, even if it is very cheap. Score: 3/10 (Welcome Tour Switch 2 review) Konami – £44.99 We're not even going to get into how Konami seems hellbent on rebooting every single franchise it owns except Castlevania, but we were actually quite excited to see the return of Survival Kids (aka Stranded Kids, aka Lost In Blue). The original was one of the very first survival games of any kind but sadly this new game is a highly repetitive co-op puzzle game, that's trying to channel some of the madcap fun of Overcooked! but doesn't really get close. Score: 5/10 (Survival Kids Switch 2 review) Shin'en – £13.49 The original F-Zero was a launch game for the SNES in Europe but while there still isn't a brand new game, the Switch 2 did get GameCube classic F-Zero GX, as well as this: the latest entry in the Fast series from tribute band Shin'en. They've been making F-Zero clones for over a decade now and while they still lack the nuance and finesse of Nintendo's games they're still a lot of fun and the graphics in Fast Fusion are very impressive for a budget-priced game. Score: 7/10 (Fast Fusion Switch 2 review) CD Projekt – £59.99 The most high-profile third party game for the Switch 2 is a port of Cyberpunk 2077 and its expansion Phantom Liberty. CD Projekt Red has taken a lot of care over this one, utilising all the Switch 2's features, including optional motion controls, and putting out a version of the game with a superior performance to the PS4 Pro and in some cases even comparable to the PlayStation 5 edition. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition un-scored review EA – £44.99 Apart from being one of the best games of the year – and one of the best co-op games of all time – the Switch 2 version of Split Fiction is very instructive in terms of what should be expected of third party ports in general. For a start, it's the only current gen-only game available at launch. And while that's not a particularly good indication of the Switch 2's power, given that Split Fiction isn't a very graphically demanding game, it's still impressive that it works as well as it does. It's capped at 30fps when docked but it looks almost indistinguishable from the PlayStation 5 version. It's also notable for having the same online features as the other versions, including cross-play, and the ability to GameShare with the Switch 1. This is a strange feature, because the game isn't available on Switch 1, but Donkey Kong Bananza seems to have the same option. As you might expect, the Switch 1 version doesn't run nearly as well as on the Switch 2, but it is playable, and this is presumably going to become a relatively common feature for Switch 2 games. Score: 9/10 (Split Fiction PS5 review) Warner Bros. Games – £49.99 If the functional but compromised original Switch port for Hogwarts Legacy was miraculous for simply existing, this Switch 2 version is a notable, welcome upgrade. The improved visual detail and loading times, while naturally not comparable to the PlayStation 5 (here's our full review of that) and Xbox Series X, now look easily in the same league as the last gen versions – if not better. The main advantage of the Switch 2 version, if you casually ignore anyone who has played on a PC this century, is mouse controls. You can jump between the dual analogue setup and mouse functionality by flipping one Joy-Con on its side, and it transitions seamlessly between them whenever you want. There's a mouse sensitivity slider which you can attune to your speed and, after some adjustment in nailing down the spell configurations with the buttons twisted sideways, it quickly became our preferred way to play. The big question is whether that justifies the £49.99 price tag. Considering the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions can be picked up relatively cheap these days (around £20), we'd recommend going for those instead, for the most polished wizarding role-playing experience. If Nintendo systems are your only option though, this is a substantial improvement over the original Switch port in every way. Score: 8/10 (Hogwarts Legacy PS5 review) Capcom – £34.99 (Years 1-2 Fighters Edition: £49.99) Since it's also available on PlayStation 4, this isn't quite the miracle port it first seems but it's still hugely impressive. To a casual observer it looks almost identical to the PlayStation 5 version and while careful comparison shows it has less effects and the resolution is clearly being upscaled, the important thing is that multiplayer matches are all 60fps. That's a big achievement for a launch game, especially as it supports rollback netcode and cross-play. The latter is vitally important in terms of ensuring a steady supply of opponents and while Nintendo's online infrastructure won't be put to the test until there are more Switch 2 owners in the world, it seems to work fine right now. Switch 2 still seems the least appropriate console for a fighting game, given the Joy-Cons have no D-pad and we don't think there's a fighting stick for it yet, but beyond that this really has no drawbacks. There's the question of whether Capcom will give it exactly the same support as the other version but it's already got the current DLC available for it, so hopefully that means they're not just going to abandon it after launch. Score: 9/10 (Street Fighter 6 PS5 review) IO Interactive – £54.99 Another third party game that seems like the last thing you'd expect on a Nintendo console, but surprisingly this one runs worse than either Street Fighter 6 or Split Fiction. World Of Assassination is essentially all three modern Hitman games combined into one, so there's a ton of content available, as you try to take out your targets in as inventive a manner as possible. Hitman has long been one of the best examples of sandbox gameplay in a mainstream video game, where you learn to exploit every inch of a level, and the characters within it, to complete your mission in increasingly unlikely ways. There's no question that this is a great game, but the problem is that this is not the ideal way to experience it. The frame rate is uneven and while this isn't a straight action game there's a constant sense that it's only barely managing to work on the Switch 2. The occasionally blurry visuals are also less impressive than other launch ports and while some of that may be fixed with a patch, it's clear this is a fairly compromised port. Score: 7/10 (Hitman 3 PS5 review) Sega – £44.99 The Switch 1 version of Sonic X Shadow Generations is undeniably the worst one, if only for its locked frame rate of 30fps. Fortunately, the Switch 2 version is a solid revision that's almost on par with the PlayStation 5 version, which we reviewed here. Both the Sonic and Shadow portions run at a consistent 60fps and visually the graphics don't seem any worse than the PlayStation 5 version – although some textures, like Shadow's chest fur, look a bit blurry in places. The cut scenes also don't reach 60fps, even on performance mode, but that's the case for the PlayStation 5 version too. This also all applies to handheld mode, but everything looks a little blurrier for some reason, especially when boosting, making it the less ideal option compared to playing the game on the TV while docked. The biggest issue, is the fact that Sega isn't offering any sort of upgrade path for Switch 1 owners, meaning you've no choice but to pay full price for the Switch 2 version. Score: 8/10 (Sonic X Shadow Generations PS5 review) Sega – £44.99 Most of these third party games don't have any extra content, beyond maybe a few extra motion controls, but Yakuza 0 goes further by adding new cut scenes and a brand new online multiplayer mode. That sounds good in theory but it's easy to see why the cut scenes were deleted from the original version and the multiplayer mode adds up to very little. The game itself is still one of the best entries in the series though. Score: 7/10 (Yakuza 0 Director's Cut Switch 2 review) Capcom – £32.99 We were very frustrated by Path Of The Goddess when it was first released last year, as while we loved the unique art style and use of Japanese mythology, the promising mix of action and strategy was not all we hoped. You control a warrior named Soh as you fight demonic monsters emerging from portals all around the game world. To seal the main one in each map you need to escort a priestess to it, while organising villagers to protect her in what could generously be described as a real-time strategy. The problem is that the strategy elements are shallow and underplayed and while the game is fun and interestingly weird, it really doesn't add up to much. We were interested to see how the mouse controls work, but while they're fine on a technical level they're really not necessary, given how little of the map you can see at any one time. Score: 6/10 (Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess PS5 review) 8-4 – £20.99 The first two chapters of the follow-up to Undertale had been released before the Switch 2 launch but the third and fourth (out of a total of seven) were kept back until now – although they're also now available on PlayStation and PC. The NES style graphics don't look like much and, to be honest, the role-playing battles do get repetitive, but the storytelling is just as engaging and subversive as Undertale. We'll give the game a full review when all the chapters are out (the current four still only add up to about 14 hours) and we could easily see the score increasing by that point, but don't be put off by chapter 1 as it's easily the worst, especially in terms of repetition. It's not the plot that's important in Deltarune but the bizarre range of characters and the surreal situations you find yourself in. Although at the heart of it all is a very pacifist ideology, that celebrates the power of love and the need for empathy without ever seeming mawkish or patronising. And while also paying homage to old school Japanese role-players and having a cracking soundtrack. Score: 8/10 Sega – £34.99 Sega has been the most prolific supporter of the Switch 2 so far, with three launch titles, all of which have been reasonable efforts. We only reviewed the original crossover between puzzle games Puyo Puyo (better known to Mega Drive owners as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine) and Tetris but we're not too shocked to find that the sequel is pretty much the same. It's stacked full of options, including a story mode, the chance to play both games individually, and the all-important crossover mode. This mixes the rules from both games and since they're similar enough it works pretty well, as your screen becomes filled with tetriminos and… whatever Puyos are supposed to be. There are lots of other modes beyond just that, including one that adds minor role-playing elements, so it's perhaps no surprise that the only other thing they could think of for the Switch 2 version is a new 2v2 option. Apart from that, a resolution bump, and mouse controls (which don't work at all well) this is the exact same game that's already available on the Switch and, like Sonic X Shadow Generations, there's no upgrade option, if you already own the previous version. Score: 8/10 Hamster – £14.99 A new Ridge Racer used to great every new console release but while that tradition has lapsed in recent years (there hasn't been a proper new Ridge Racer in over a decade) we did get this port of the original arcade game for the Switch 2 launch – although it's also available one Switch 1, Xbox, and PlayStation. As simplistic and shallow as it is, the game is still as much fun as ever, with this version also adding a time attack mode and allowing for rewinds and VRR support. Score: 8/10 Nintendo – £66.99 (upgrade pack: £7.99) One of the best games ever made gets a mild remastering for the Switch 2, which ups the resolution and raises the frame rate to 60fps. There are no other graphical improvements, so some of the texture work is looking a bit long in the tooth, but the smoother gameplay does make a real difference. There's also a free mobile app that can help you locate any Korok or shrines you missed. Score: 10/10 (Breath Of The Wild Switch 2 review) Nintendo – £66.99 (upgrade pack: £7.99) The sequel to Breath Of The Wild gets the same treatment on Switch 2, with improved frame rate and visuals but no other significant changes. That's not a complaint though, especially as the upgrade for both remasters is surprisingly cheap, and completely free if you subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. The mobile app also has an extra function for Tears Of The Kingdom, allowing you to share Ultrahand creations via a QR code. Score: 10/10 (Tears Of The Kingdom Switch 2 review) 2K – £59.99 (upgrade pack: £10.00) Take-Two didn't send out review copies for this game and given there's only two reviews on Metacritic we're guessing that was the same for everyone. It's a shame, because the PC-orientated design is perfect for showing off the Switch 2's mouse controls, but we've no idea how well it does or doesn't work. The Metacritic scores are 60 and 70 though, so that doesn't sound too promising. Mind you, the original PC version wasn't great either and while that will likely change over time here's our launch review. Koei Tecmo – £57.99 To be clear, these last few games we didn't chase up for review copies, because we knew they'd be low priority, and we didn't have time to look properly at them. Nobunaga's Ambition is a long (incredibly long – it started out on PC in 1983) running series of grand strategy games, most of which weren't released in the West until quite recently. We don't know how this one is but it has a Metacritic score of 81. Square Enix – £33.99 While Square Enix has already announced that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming to the Switch 2 their only launch game is this considerably lower profile remaster. The original was pretty good, and felt more like old school Final Fantasy games than any of the modern entries in the series, but it was a 3DS game so there's only so much this remaster can do; especially as it also has to battle with a terrible story and voiceovers, which prevented the original from becoming a true classic. The current Metacritic score is 84. Hello Games – £39.99 The frustrating thing about all this is that there's no master list of available titles for the Switch 2 and Nintendo has made no effort to highlight third party titles, so it's been difficult to even draw up a list of titles that were released on June 5. One of the last to be announced was this new version of space exploration game No Man's Sky, which we've not played but has proven very popular, if the eShop charts are anything to go by. There're only three scores on Metacritic so far (it takes four to get an aggregate), of 90, 90, and 100. Marvelous – £59.99 (upgrade pack: £10.00) Although this spin-off from the Harvest Moon/Story Of Seasons franchise was out for the Switch 2's launch it also released the same day on Switch 1 and PC. We haven't played it, but we've never been impressed with the series and its attempts to mix farming with dungeon crawling – so both aspects are usually very shallow and repetitive. Maybe Guardians Of Azuma is different though, as it has four reviews on Metacritic, adding up to a score of 80. Konami – £44.99 If nothing else, this wins the award for the longest game name this year, and the Switch 2 already has a number of contenders for that accolade. We've not played these particular remasters but we imagine they're identical to the ones released last year. Suikoden 2 in particular is an all-time classic and we've reviewed it many times before, as it's one of the best role-playing games of the PS1 era, with some interesting strategy elements. Level-5 – £52.03 More Trending Seriously, what is going on with the length of these game names? We haven't played Fantasy Life I, but it's from another franchise we've never been impressed by. A sort of cross between Final Fantasy and Animal Crossing, the idea is that you lead a relatively mundane life in a fantasy world, taking the role of not just mercenary and mage, but also a cook and woodcutter. Or at least that's how it was in the one we played. There are only three reviews on Metacritic, for 80, 90, and another 90. Epic Games Now this one we have played, for the obvious reason that it's free-to-play. Maybe it's just how the algorithm has us pegged but we've seen more advertising for Fortnite on Switch 2 than anything from Nintendo – and not without reason. The game runs extremely well on Nintendo's new console and the demographic for the two must match up exactly. It's not clear if player numbers will ever be revealed but we expect Fortnite to prove very popular on Nintendo's new format. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. 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: Metroid Prime 4 advert on London tube confuses everyone with 'out now' sticker MORE: Games Inbox: What is the hardest video of modern times? MORE: NetEase game Blood Message may have the best video game graphics ever
Metro
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Switch 2 third party games sold 'below our lowest estimates' says publisher
The Nintendo Switch 2 may have had a hugely successful launch, but sales for third party games are lower than anticipated. The Nintendo Switch 2 is the fastest-selling console in history, with over 3.5 million units sold within its first four days, but its success hasn't trickled down to third party games yet. While Mario Kart World was the main attraction at launch, the Switch 2 has arguably the best third party support of any Nintendo console yet – with the likes of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, Split Fiction, Yakuza 0 Director's Cut, Hogwarts Legacy, Street Fighter 6, and others. When compared to the dire third party line-up for the original Switch launch (Just Dance 2017, Shovel Knight, Super Bomberman R, and Skylanders: Imaginators), it's a substantial improvement – but this hasn't translated to a significant boost in game sales. According to figures collated by The Game Business, 62% of Switch 2 physical game sales in the US on launch week were for first party games, which doesn't include the Mario Kart World bundle. As for the UK, 48% of Switch 2 physical game sales on launch week were for first party games, excluding the Mario Kart World bundle. However, if you do include bundle, this percentage jumps up to 86%, leaving only 14% for third parties. While you might be raising an eyebrow at the emphasis on physical sales, of the games which were released both digitally and physically, over 80% of Switch 2 game sales came from physical retailers – so it's a fair reflection of the overall picture. 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. When you compare these figures to the original Switch launch, it is a small improvement. According to Circana figures, 81% of US physical game sales were from first party games on the Switch when the console launched in March 2017, while it was 89% in the UK. This suggests third parties have fared slightly better during the Switch 2's launch. However, according to the report, most third party Switch 2 games have sold in 'very low' numbers. An unnamed third party publisher described the numbers as 'below our lowest estimates'. This perceived improvement is also undercut by the fact the Switch 2 had far more physical games available at launch. The original Switch only had five, whereas the Switch 2 had 13 in total, so the losses for third parties are higher overall, as they had a larger presence. As for the potential reasons as to why this has happened, it's a complex mixture. Nintendo didn't release Switch 2 consoles to press until launch, which prevented outlets from posting reviews of these games until after the fact. Speaking to The Game Business last month, one unnamed PR boss said the 'lack of independent critical validation is going to make it very hard for us' and they may have been 'better off waiting a few weeks'. There are other factors at play too. The Switch 2 is expensive, and when Mario Kart World is the main attraction, many people have perhaps ignored the third party selection until they've maxed out Nintendo's kart racer. And by that point Donkey Kong Bananza will be out. Unlike the original Switch, the Switch 2 has backwards compatibility, with old titles – and including upgrades for some titles, so people have less reason to invest in brand new games. More Trending Combined with the fact that the majority of the Switch 2 third party line-up were ports of older titles, and the negativity around Game-Key Cards, it's easy to see why sales might have been lower than hoped for. Notably, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, one of the few games not to utilise Game-Key Cards, was the best-selling third party title on the system, beating launch sales for The Witcher 3 on the original Switch. It's possible this situation will be confined to the Switch 2's launch, and third party sales will pick up in the coming weeks, but Nintendo systems are synonymous with Nintendo games – which has only been amplified through the poor third party support in prior generations. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how things shake out when higher profile games hit the system, such as Elden Ring, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Star Wars Outlaws, and 007 First Light. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. 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: Metroid Prime 4 advert on London tube confuses everyone with 'out now' sticker MORE: Games Inbox: What is the hardest video of modern times? MORE: NetEase game Blood Message may have the best video game graphics ever
Metro
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Metroid Prime 4 advert on London tube confuses everyone with 'out now' sticker
An advert for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond claims it has already been released, fuelling hope for a surprise announcement. The Nintendo Switch 2 launch line-up might be lacking in first party titles, but the roadmap for the rest of the year could still make up for it. Donkey Kong Bananza is set to launch next month, while Kirby Air Riders, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond are all slated for 2025. However, the latter, which is a cross-gen release with the original Switch, still doesn't have a release date. For anyone anticipating Samus Aran's next gallivant through space, a new poster on the London Underground might just give you a jump scare. At the Oxford Circus station, an advert for Metroid Prime 4 is emblazoned with an 'out now' sticker – despite the fact it most definitely isn't. This has prompted wild speculation of an imminent shadow drop, and while we all like to dream, this is much more likely to just be an unfortunate mistake than a secret hint. The advert is part of a string of Switch 2 adverts across the tube station, alongside Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. The latter has the correct release date of July 17, while Mario Kart World has the same 'out now' sticker in the exact same position as on Metroid Prime 4's poster, suggesting it could be a copy and paste error. 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. Even if a shadow drop is unlikely, the poster does imply the game will be released over the summer (and that those not mentioned, such as Hyrule Warriors, are later in the year). The only other game advertised is Super Mario Party Jamboree TV, which is set to be released on July 27, so there's a chance Metroid could land in August. More Trending Metroid Prime 4 is set to launch on the original Switch as well as the Switch 2, but this advert doesn't make any mention of that fact. The upgraded Switch 2 edition will have mouse controls, HDR support, 4K resolution when docked, and run up to 120fps. It's unclear when Nintendo could announce the game's release date, but considering it recently just unveiled a Splatoon spin-off out of the blue, via its Nintendo Today! app, it could happen at any moment. Earlier this week, Nintendo dedicated an entire Direct presentation to Donkey Kong Bananza, where it revealed a young Pauline, new costumes, and a mode inspired by Mario Paint. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. 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: Games Inbox: What is the hardest video of modern times? MORE: NetEase game Blood Message may have the best video game graphics ever MORE: You can buy one of the best games ever for the price of an ice lolly
Metro
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
The six strangest games Hideo Kojima made before Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2 is out soon but Hideo Kojima's gameography is full of weird games, from Penguin Adventure to a stock market simulator. It would be reductive to describe Hideo Kojima's video games simply as weird, but it's the obvious place to start. He's very much aware of how they come across, and plays up to the commentary about them, to the point where he was worried the upcoming Death Stranding 2 wasn't divisive enough. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, the sequel to the original 2019 hit, promises to be another bizarre experience, with a stop-motion animated puppet as part of its main cast, a villain wielding an electric guitar as a weapon, and a very blatant stand-in for Solid Snake from the Metal Gear games. With the sequel's launch right around the corner, we wanted to look back through Kojima's gameography and highlight the ones that stand out as the weirdest of the lot. This one deserves recognition not so much for its content but for the fact that it was designed to be played outside. That's because this 2003 action role-player for the Game Boy Advance had a light sensor built into its cartridge, with certain mechanics requiring you to make use of real sunlight, since the gameplay was all about fighting vampires. 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. It's certainly a novel idea, although anyone who owned a Game Boy Advance knows it's next to impossible to see what's on-screen when out in the sun. Also, it just flat out didn't work most of the time in the gloomy UK. Nevertheless, the game did well enough to justify three sequels, although the last one for the DS removed the light sensor. The first Metal Gear Ac!d game was already weird for being so far removed from the main series, as it merged stealth action with a turn-based collectible card game, while also setting up its own continuity. We have to give the point to its follow-up, though, since it's not even technically a sequel and is itself set in another separate continuity. If that's not quite nutty enough for you the PSP version came with a cardboard box called the *Solid Eye*, that you can look through to get a stereoscopic image. While he didn't direct this one, and instead served as producer, Kojima's influences are still all over this game, particularly in regards to its overly complex narrative. It was quite good, but unfortunately it's not available on any modern formats and the only other version was a Java ME port for non-smartphones. Penguin Adventure is only weird in retrospect, since it's Kojima's professional debut in the games industry and is so unlike anything else he's made since, being a platformer for MSX home computers, where you play as a cartoon penguin. A deeper dive unveils some humorously child unfriendly details, like one of the weapons being an actual gun and one of its multiple endings seeing the princess you're meant to save die. Despite its status as Kojima's first game, though, he downplayed his involvement in a 2014 social media post, saying he only worked on it for a short while and didn't contribute much beyond ideas for some of the boss fights and gimmicks. Even so, a penguin with a gun is still pretty weird. What makes Snatcher so strange is that there was truly little else like it when it came out. It's technically an adventure/visual novel, but Kojima's love of film meant it had a far more cinematic flair than its contemporaries. The influences it takes from sci-fi films like Blade Runner, Terminator, and Akira are laughably obvious, but this was many players' first real exposure to cyberpunk stories. Although it was a commercial flop, it's long since been vindicated as a cult classic. Perhaps the weirdest thing about it is that there's no modern re-release, although there was a radio play prequel that Kojima made with Suda51 and is, predictably, Japanese only. Although he didn't direct Zone Of The Enders or its sequel, Kojima is credited as the series' creator and certainly had a lot of influence over it, with a 2003 interview translated and archived by schmuplations stating he was responsible for its world and backstory. He also appeared to have enough creative control to be the one to scrap plans for a Zone Of The Enders 3, after the less than stellar HD collection botched remasters of the first two games. That's a shame as Zone Of The Enders is a fun giant robot sim, although its mechs are much zippier than you'd expect. More Trending Incredibly niche outside of dedicated fan circles, and growing obscurer by the day, Zone Of The Enders' story is perhaps even more impenetrable than Metal Gear's, with all the cut scenes and characters it throws at you; although the sequel wasn't quite so bad. Even some diehard Kojima fans may not have heard of this one and we wouldn't blame you, since it only ever released in Japan on the DS. You're not missing out, though, since this is no stealth action adventure but instead a stock market simulator. While Nintendo was busy with its blue sky strategy, of expanding gaming beyond the normal core audience, Kojima's response to games like Brain Training was what translates as Stock Transaction Trainer. It was a serious simulator, using real Tokyo Stock Exchange data, and successful enough to spawn two sequels. None of them were ever localised for the West though, probably because so much would need to be changed beyond just the dialogue. Or maybe Konami's US division just thought it was too weird. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. 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: Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima explains why he'll never retire MORE: Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear spiritual successor won't be out this decade MORE: Hideo Kojima put a secret stash of game ideas on a USB stick for when he dies
