PlayStation has absolutely dominated headlines this week as its tiered PS Plus service was rolled out in countries across Asia. That meant various details Sony hadn't previously confirmed gradually started to make their way out into the world. Throw in an official briefing on all things PlayStation three days later, and rumors that a PS5 Pro could be here as soon as 2023, and suffice to say we don't blame you for thinking absolutely nothing outside of the Sony bubble happened in gaming this week. Believe it or not, it did, and we'll be recapping all of the biggest PlayStation stories, as well as a few others, below.
PlayStation Plus Subscription Confusion
The PS Plus rollout has been somewhat of a mixed bag, both for Sony and its subscribers. Visual enhancements for the classic games included with Premium, good. Asking subscribers to pay back discounts if they want to upgrade from Essential, not so good. That's what some subscribers were claiming they were being asked to do early in the week, and then an email from Sony support appeared to back up those claims. Enter PlayStation with the official word on whether those with stacked subscriptions were effectively being punished for being savvy, and the company claims it was all down to a “technical error”.
More PlayStation Adaptations
As touched upon above, PlayStation news continued to filter through later in the week thanks to a briefing from Jim Ryan. News that half of the studios' new games will be on PC and mobile and PC by 2025, and also that more of its IP is being turned into TV shows. As had already been rumored, God Of War will be turned into a TV show. Joining that list, which already includes Twisted Metal and The Last Of Us, is Horizon Zero Dawn and Gran Turismo.
Pro Next-Gen Consoles In The Next Two Years
18 months on from the launches of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and chip shortages have made sure the consoles are still notoriously hard to come by. Nevertheless, Sony and Microsoft appear to be pushing on with whatever comes next. In this instance, something tech company TCL Technology has referred to as half-gen consoles. In other words Pro versions of the latest PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and apparently they could be here as soon as next year. The company cited between 2023 and 2024 at a conference this week. Probably safe to assume two years from now rather than one, but you never know.
Lots And Lots Of MultiVersus Leaks
The MultiVersus hype has officially begun as the very first people have been able to get their hands on it and take the latest Smash-inspired game for a spin. Turns out it's pretty good, and has the potential to become even better if some of this week's leaks come to fruition. Some of the characters from different universes that can be pitted against each other already make MultiVersus incredibly unique. However, potentially coming to the game in the future are Eleven from Stranger Things, Gizmo from Gremlins, and Ted Lasso, because why not? That roster is going to be stacked, and some of those fights are going to be really, really weird.
Vice City Voice Actor Passes Away
Legendary Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta passed away this week, and fans have been paying homage to him on social media ever since. What you might not have realized until now is that Liotta lent his voice to the iconic GTA character, Tommy Vercetti. Vercetti is the main character in GTA Vice City, a game that was thrown back into the forefront of people's minds at the tail end of 2021 as it was part of Rockstar's Definitive Edition, a collection of three GTA games that first launched 20 years ago. Remember Liotta this weekend by sticking Goodfellas on and firing up Vice City for a few hours.
Xbox Turned Down Marvel Exclusivity
Marvel might well be the biggest business in all of entertainment right now, regardless of the medium. Which is likely why whoever at Xbox turned down the opportunity to make Marvel games exclusively for its platform almost a decade ago is probably kicking themselves. It was revealed this week that the VP of Marvel Games approached both PlayStation and Xbox, offering them both the opportunity to exclusively house its games on their platform. Xbox turned the offer down in favor of focusing on its own stuff, while PlayStation took a punt. Since then it has created two Spider-Man games, a third is on the way, and it will also have exclusivity over Insomniac's Wolverine.