The Front Row

I have fond memories of it all and that’s why the ‘Obsession’ movie really brought some of that magic back. Because it was something that kind of struck the same similar style to those golden days of horror. After watching the movie recently. I wasn’t disappointed, it was great.

Stephen King and Welcome to Derry will be back and it’s going to be a prequel of a prequel. I imagine that it’s going to explore more of the entity and its interaction with the town of Derry. That means a lot of Pennywise lore is inbound with it jumping all the way back to 1935 when it returns for its second season run. So we have that to look forward to.

The Faculty from the 90’s. Does anybody remember that one? It’s getting a modern remake also. Original director Robert Rodriguez is attached to that project. I think ultimately, we’re going to be seeing a rebirth of horror, and that’s reflected not only in the commercial successes. Unlike other genres you can do really good horror on modest budgets.

Obsession turned a tiny $750,000 production budget into the highest-grossing horror movie of this century. That’s an amazing feat in itself and it just tells you how much growth there is in this genre. There’s a renaissance happening in the movie industry as they look to pull in people like me who enjoyed the golden age of horror. If we look at what Blumhouse are doing, they’re very much leading in that aspect right now, but at the same time, I am expecting to see other franchises of old make a resurgence based on how profitable these returns can be in this genre. That means another golden age of horror could be just around the corner as well.

I personally feel our ownership is shackling us in those ambitions and we’re living on the hype of a third place finish last season. It’s just not enough, and I am asking myself, with the level of business we’ve done so far. Is this squad going to be able to compete in the way we want them to as fans? I think the answer to that is a resounding no. But still, with the business done in the transfer market done recently no matter how unremarkable that is. There will still be pressure on Carrick to do better next season with what he has.

I am not dismissing the obvious need to have more bodies around the place as we battle in the Premier League, Champions League, and other competitions that we’ll play our part in. I think essentially the youth coming through will play their part in that and some of them are exceptional young talent. However, we still haven’t had the level of ambition matched with what ‘we the fans expect’ and that’s disappointing from a point of our ‘success’ last season.

It comes to a point where you want to ‘build on that’ not just make up squad numbers and hope for the very best. I obviously hope this season we really achieve the kind of success we need. But at the same time, it has me thinking, if INEO’s plan was to win the Premier League by 2028. Why isn’t their ‘words’ matching their ‘actions’ when our rivals are all improving?

Sure, you can look at all the data you want, and we do need the right players with the right attitudes to elevate our progress in the right direction. That progress though is never going to be something that is guaranteed, and especially if you do not learn from the mistakes of the past. As that ambition needs to be a mainstay in every transfer window.

That essentially means that they’ve taken away the options consumers had with physical media and there is a distinct possibility that they’re going after hardware next. If you think about it, we’re seeing crazy prices out there for your PS5’s and your XBOX and with no end in sight in terms of prices coming back down. There is an easy answer to this saying it’s because of chip prices.

We all know what’s going with AI and the costs involved with that. The proof in the pudding will be how your Sony’s and Microsoft’s offer the next generation and how they help to onboard you into the next generation. That means the harder questions need to be answered here and as I’ve elaborated on Bluesky.

The answer simply cannot be just cloud gaming. There has to be an ability to buy into the next generation hardware without needing to remortgage. And here lies the conundrum the gaming industry has to answer to consumers.

How are consumers responding to all this? Retro gaming is becoming more and more popular and if you’ve been enjoying AC: Black Flag as of late. If things don’t get better quickly you can expect even more pirating going on if you catch my drift. Not that I condone any such activity, of course. But the way some of these companies are behaving to fans that have been there with them since the beginning. Well, it’s distasteful, if not, a future that was bound to happen at some point.

However, gaming companies have an obligation to better communicate with their fans when things like this become front and centre of the experience of any platform. When gamers rights are being taken away so effortlessly, it’s no wonder why gamers are finding other ways to circumvent some of the frustrations they have even if they’re in a minority, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be heard.

Going digital isn’t the issue for the majority here. It’s the fact that many people will be locked into a single store with PlayStation. There has been no word on how they will handle the future relationship of consumer transactions. I personally do not think that answer will come until we are deep into that announcement of a reveal of the PS6.

However, it cannot stay as the status quo. Because no matter how great PlayStation Studios games are. Gamers are becoming more price conscientious. If things do not get significantly better across the board with that, I think a lot of these platforms have stopped listening entirely as well.

Well, they’re going to find that it can work both ways unless they provide real acknowledgement that’s not just based on sole greed.

They amassed so much success through the previous leadership there where you all amassed big digital libraries in that generation that they now think they’re virtually untouchable. It’s now becoming clear that this isn’t solely a physical media battle anymore. It’s about who is going to provide the better digital storefront and consumer protections going into a future where this future is inevitable anyway. I think the physical games debate was sadly lost when more and more consumers chose this way. Those that are annoyed right now, have every right to be, but at the same time, Sony are looking to a future of next generation gamers where digital and cloud gaming are prominent, while also, trying to amass huge revenue streams with live-service games.

For us older gamers that have been around since the very first PS1 and first XBOX. It certainly feels like the future of the gaming industry is moving into a period where there isn’t going to be as much in terms of risk taking. Could that mean the golden era of gaming that we all grew up with is now over? Maybe for us, but gaming is going to continue to have its place. It’s just going into a direction that we’re becoming increasingly irked by.

We don’t have to like what is happening around us, but it’s also important that we make sure that we do our bit to raise the level of awareness for consumer protections where it’s needed. Because that’s now our future battle with everything going digital. We’ve lost the battle with physical media.

It’s clear, we have to win the war with consumer rights by making sure that when we buy into something in the future, we’re doing so, on the principle where there are better protections in place around that. Because it’s more important now than it ever has been with the way gaming is going. We need the right protections in place, because as of right now, we’re not being served in the best way, and to enjoy gaming again, and the sense of ownership we all need over our libraries that has to be moved forward.

All I can say is, pick your next platform of where you game carefully. It’s not going to matter to the vast majority of consumers. But if it matters to you, it’s worth standing up for.

If any platform needed a PR win it’s XBOX. If they even considered pushing this forward on their storefront and leading in respect to consumer rights. They could potentially get a big upwind and that might even persuade Nintendo to take a look at their own store to make things better there.

If anything, what a turnaround it could be if Asha plays her cards right with this one. It could choose to lead on something that hasn’t been more important than it is now, which is important within their eco-system as they have a massive say with PCs. Or, they could choose to not listen and make consoles a place where consumers feel they have no protections at all. We’re at a pivotal moment here and it’s going to be interesting what the future presents to us.

I will however, always fight for consumer rights on both accounts. I foresaw the issue with Sony throughout this generation while I was using their platform and how the leadership were going more silent as time went on. I asked myself, do I really want to continue ‘as is’ in an eco-system where prices could be set to whatever Sony felt like, that is completely closed off to other opportunities?

I saw the opportunity of Play Anywhere and moved platforms, because I knew it was going to be a big feature not only for XBOX, but for PC going into the next generation. Ultimately, it saddens me just how many people do not realise the ‘control’ Sony has over them. They can dictate the prices, they’ve even mapped out what they intend to do by fully making the most out of every PlayStation Plus member they have.

The future plan is to monetise you for every penny you have. It’s becoming more about what Sony can get out of you than what you’re able to get out of them. Because let’s face it it hasn’t been a great generation compared to the likes of PS4. Of course, digital is the future, but when did anybody have to accept that their options are to be taken away?

Surely, if Nintendo can find ways, then Sony ‘the market leader’ can as well. It just sets a dreadful precedent if you’re defending their actions.

Of course, none of us know what the future of PS6 will hold and how their platform policies will be in terms of the markup and store costs. That’s all to be revealed at a future date. But at the same time, it’s the people who are raising their voices and fighting back which are fighting for a future based on consumer rights and one which maintains a balance.

That’s why you have Microsoft doing a proposed physical to digital conversion scheme for their games. I suspect this is going to continue to be a topic that will be raised. It’s not going away, and to be honest, even as an all-in digital gamer, I want to see PlayStation actually stick to their PS4 promise.

You know, the one that was celebrated and had every Sony fan build up a collection of 100’s of games within a closed-eco system that is becoming more and more draconian. It’s those sort of policies that Sony has which has rightfully got everybody discussing the whole issue around that.

PlayStation cannot be allowed for this to go unanswered. They need to provide a statement that says how the future of digital looks on their platform. We’re talking game pricing, and ultimately a better way that has consumer protections in place. If they do not do this.

If they launch an all-digital PS6 which I believe they will with a handheld without answering these concerns. It’s not going to be something fans just digest. Loyal fans deserve consistency and with that a platform they can entirely trust. If that is completely tainted based on what’s been happening recently.

It doesn’t matter what the statistics are on the physical to digital ratio. Fans that have trusted the PlayStation brand since the 90’s, entrusted them in the PS4 era as well, and they will ultimately remember how PlayStation behaved when all the fans wanted was answers.

However, the discussion online has been about how bad digital is but if the right protections are put in place and laws are made that guarantee our ownership via any platform we play on. Then ultimately, that solves a lot of issues in itself. For that to happen there is going to have to be an industry-led change.

The only problem with that is when Sony is the market leader, they themselves, set the prices of their locked store. You have very little wiggle room in terms of what you will pay for games. That seemingly has to change. If you’re not liking what you’re seeing from PlayStation.

Sooner or later unless change happens on that platform. You’re going to have to ask yourself the question. How brave are you? Because even if you own hundreds of games digitally. You don’t own nothing but a license and an opportunity to play that game using that platform until laws and protections are changed for the consumer.

It ultimately also poses the question. Was the Xbox One situation really all that bad or were they just ahead of their time? Do they deserve a second chance depending on what the Project Helix actually represents for the consumer going forward? As a consumer if you’re not truly liking the way things are going at PlayStation.

You have options. For the vast majority of people. They will be unfazed by this decision, but for the others. You’re going to need to be brave and find the right platform for you because if this decision stays as it is. A physical collection has now been rendered rather meaningless.

Not only that, the physical drives PlayStation sold and have amassed huge profits from, as a consumer, you have well and truly been hard done by.

Ultimately, where the gaming industry goes from here and what other platforms offer will be something you might want to watch out for. No platform is ever a saint and there are huge concerns at XBOX about how they’re dealing with their downfall since the XBOX One era. That downfall was based on like minded decisions and they’re still paying for it today. However, they still choose to be there for the consumer despite all the risks they’ve taken to take it to Sony which have failed.

Will you ultimately be brave enough to give them a second chance if they answer all your questions in the right kind of way? Whether that is through Project Helix or PC. Either way, the platforms are a viable alternative right now if XBOX can stop the rot from within and set itself up to go another round to win back the consumer.

The question to XBOX’s Asha is. How brave are you to give fans what they want? Something that Sony seems to have forgotten how to do. Because ultimately, this is your only chance to really align yourself and set the past right while meeting the expectations of fans today.

Now it’s going to be about who is the best company that serves the gamer for their own purpose. I think when you look at the Sony eco-system. You’re very much locked in and that’s very much the same with Nintendo. But at this point, Nintendo is a safer pair of hands than Sony right now in terms of what I have elaborated before. Xbox has the opportunity to now fully capitalise on their Play Anywhere program in terms of within their own eco-system, which in terms of being a digital focused world, it’s just friendlier than the other alternatives as of right now.

As for where Sony is going? I just cannot get behind it at all no matter how good their games are perceived to be. As a consumer. I want to see more digital protections being established if this is where the future is heading. Not only are we owed that as people who have supported these platforms since the 90’s. But at the same time, it just needs to happen because of the way we are being controlled as consumers. We need such protections. And that goes for any platform that people enjoy playing on where digital is ultimately the focus.

I stated in the past that I saw Play Anywhere becoming a big thing going into the next generation. It very much now has come to pass. Will that change the tide of battle with the consumer? Who’s to say, but looking at things, a consumer knows when they have a good deal. And this isn’t it, that’s why things need to change universally.

It’s all going to be about how much craftsmanship has been put in to make this the most realistic open-world experience going. That’s the least we can expect for the budget of this game right for single-player? How about GTA Online? I think the first bit of game-play we see is going to set the anticipation levels for that part of the game and what it truly could be capable of.

Will it be worth the price of admission and the hype? That depends on your expectations. But what is absolutely clear is that we’re going to see a lot of the best features from two of the best in the GTA series. It’s all going to be about how Rockstar has crafted that atmosphere, and ultimately, taken a franchise to the next level in terms of what current hardware is capable of as well.