WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[westlondonmist]

Sony fully stopping physical games from 2028. I'm not surprised, for years the discs were basically a licence to download a game. But I suppose you at least had something tangible you could sell on or lend and also you had different places to buy from. This will allow them to control the price of games more especially as this essentially cuts out other retailers. I can only see other formats following suit sadly. 

[DavidB6937]

I was thinking it's a shame I won't be able to go look in CEX anymore but then I remembered their prices are shit anyway.

[Retro Red]

26 minutes ago, westlondonmist said:

Sony fully stopping physical games from 2028. I'm not surprised, for years the discs were basically a licence to download a game. But I suppose you at least had something tangible you could sell on or lend and also you had different places to buy from. This will allow them to control the price of games more especially as this essentially cuts out other retailers. I can only see other formats following suit sadly. 

It’s not going to stop there being other retailers apart from the PlayStation store, code in a box will still be available to buy (which has been a thing for years on switch 1 and now 2) albeit it absolutely kills the second hand market. 

[The King Of Swing]

5 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

I don’t want to post spoilers just in case, but the twist part way through the game is one of the implausible things the series has ever done. It totally ruined the game for me, alongside the spread of the random rule across the World in Triple Triad.

The revelation that all bar one party member, all lived at the same orphanage, but forgot due to reasons? Or is there something more wonderfully ridiculous in store for me? 

I'm enjoying the game but it definitely feels pretty half baked, at times when it comes to the writing. 

[TildeGuy~!]

Whilst never owning an Xbox ever but seeing every single new release going straight onto their subscription service, do we reckon PlayStation will do the same with plus? 

[RedTwoster]

44 minutes ago, TildeGuy~! said:

Whilst never owning an Xbox ever but seeing every single new release going straight onto their subscription service, do we reckon PlayStation will do the same with plus? 

I don’t think there’s a chance of that, if Xbox could reverse course I strongly suspect they would.

[The King Of Swing]

The way things are going this will probably be my last console gen. 

I'm not even opposed to digital games and most of my current playstation collection is digital but I still like having a choice.

Also I dread to think what a next gen system, is going to cost whenever we finally get to that point. Just doesn't feel worth it, anymore. 

Even just buying games themselves is feeling more and more like a luxury. 

I'm already sitting on hundreds (probably over a thousand, actually) of games, across multiple systems, many I've barely played. 

That back catalogue, will keep me going for years.

[Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz]

39 minutes ago, The King Of Swing said:

The way things are going this will probably be my last console gen. 

I'm not even opposed to digital games and most of my current playstation collection is digital but I still like having a choice.

Also I dread to think what a next gen system, is going to cost whenever we finally get to that point. Just doesn't feel worth it, anymore. 

Even just buying games themselves is feeling more and more like a luxury. 

I'm already sitting on hundreds (probably over a thousand, actually) of games, across multiple systems, many I've barely played. 

That back catalogue, will keep me going for years.

This is my exact thoughts to be honest. I have a XBOX Series X, PS5 and a Switch 2 and the latter is the one I have played the most and up until a month ago when I started to play GTA IV on the XBOX, I think that it is the first time I have switched that thing on since Christmas! 

I dare say that my backlog of games as well as the couple of games I have on pre order ( Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol 2 & GTA VI) not to mention the Nintendo games (Zelda, Mario ) coming out will keep me going for a very long time

I guess that the acid test for me will be when some next gen console game exclusive is released that gets rave reviews and that will make me want to rush out and buy the console, but given the rumours of pricing, it is going to have to be a very special game indeed.

 

[The King Of Swing]

So I'm 37 hours (disk 3) into Final Fantasy VIII. 

I actually have a weird history with this game. With it technically being one of the few games in the series I have "completed" however with VIII, I actually used one of those cheat devices (might have been an Action Replay) so in reality, whenever I return to it I remember very little outside of disk one and some of disk 2.

For example. 

Spoiler

I had no recollection of Edea, joining your party. 

Pretty sure disk 3 is the furthest I have ever managed playing normally and honestly I'm mostly having a good time. 

I can see why it's not as fondly remembered as other games in series, though.

VIII's intro alone is a pretty big drop in quality, compared to VII, lacking basically any of that games excitement. Imo, VIII doesn't really get going until a little while into disk 2 by which point I was finally hooked for real and not just pushing myself forward. 

The story is complete nonsense, but it still has that classic Final Fantasy charm, imo. And I've grown more fond of the characters as I've progressed. 

Also the draw/junction/GF systems are so easy to abuse, it's actually pretty funny. 

Currently sitting around 7/10.

Probably move onto IX, once I'm done. 

[Cousin Jim Bob]

On 7/1/2026 at 4:03 PM, DavidB6937 said:

I was thinking it's a shame I won't be able to go look in CEX anymore but then I remembered their prices are shit anyway.

They give decent trade in prices on games though. I bought Pragmata for the PS5 in there for £40, and I can trade it back to them for a £27 voucher. 

That sums up why everything going digital will be shit for consumers. I enjoyed Pragmata but it is a 12 hour single player game, that I was happy to have played, but it was a finish once and I'm done game. So £13 felt great to experience it, paying full whack £50 digital I might not have felt so good. And if I had bounced off it, then you are fucked.

[Merzbow]

CEX want constant stock rotation so charge more but offer a good trade in, aren't they one of the few companies not hit negatively by the downturn in economy/cost of living etc partially because of this? 

[The King Of Swing]

If we could actually trust the industry, going fully digital wouldn't be such a bitter pill to swallow. 

I still remember one of the biggest defences of going digital being cheaper games, due to the reduction in production costs. 

And we all saw how that turned out.

[The King Of Swing]

Dude what the hell. 

FFVIII 

Spoiler

I had no idea that GF Odin, gets killed by Seifer, only to be replaced by Gilgamesh later in the battle, who then immediately smacks Seifer down like a total punk. 

I almost burst out laughing. Tremendous, 11/10 Final Fantasy moment.

Don't want to be a triple post wanker. 

UPDATE. 

Holy shit. 

Spoiler

Adel was the first boss that genuinely kicked my arse. 

Was completely unprepared for any strats I read online which were all basically junction based, so had to come up with a way myself. 

Went as follows. 

Summon Cerberus as soon as possible, immediately cast shell and regen on Rinoa, then cast haste and shell on my party. 

Then it was pretty much a case of battering Adel with GF's while desperately trying to keep Riona and everyone else's HP up and not fucking up by accidentally healing Adel, which I'm embarrassed to admit happened more than once. 

Took a few attempts, one of which ended when Gilgamesh decided to show up and kill Rinoa, what a glorious prick. But got there in the end. 

Brutal but satisfying. 

 

Edited July 4 by The King Of Swing

[RedTwoster]

@The King Of Swing - Adel is a pain in the arse to beat. 

However, during my original run of the game, one of the final bosses had a long-winded summon move that dealt more damage than health my party had each time, and there was no way to tactically avoid it, meaning I had to start the whole fucking thing again as my final save did not give me the ability to go back and grind. Don't get caught out by that. If not for that one move that WILL happen in every run, everything else about the final bosses is very manageable. 

[Shirtie]

Anyone know of some good deals for Playstation Plus 12 months subscription? I can't seem to find any.