@s1taz4a3l: That makes sense. I'm sure both the game developers and HBO changed enough about the story to make sure it was immune to lawsuits anyway. I was being a bit over the top there. But I'm still pretty pissed off HBO picked up Last of Us instead of TellTale's story. That was the best version of The Walking Dead I've ever seen, and I liked the original Walking Dead series, too, so it had to do a lot to change my mind.

I have tried to like Last of Us since it came out. A few times a year I still take it out and try to love it all over again. I just can't. Maybe people who hadn't played through the Walking Dead video game could.

@ember_to_flame: I technically remember it, too. I remember it being one of those games where you run around in the dark with a flashlight.

@xikaryo: If you don't understand that not all gamers play games for the graphics, that's your problem. Most of the new games don't even take advantage of the PS5's graphics anyway. For example, Alan Wake II. Why would I the PS5 even matter? You're playing with 2005 graphical interfaces and in the GD dark with a little flashlight. Thrilling.

Why did Playstation make the PS5? They can't even move on from the PS4. Only one game on this list is a PS5 game. The rest I could just play on PS4.

"By some estimates, more than 7,000 jobs were lost this year alone. All the while, major gaming companies made massive profits in 2023, and there has been a renewed discussion about the overall health, viability, and sustainability of game development at large."

There's a simple explanation for this. Those "massive profits" are fabricated. When gamers read that a game is selling well, they want to play it. Other online media companies do this, too (see: Netflix). Everyone's watching! Everyone's playing! So if you see 7,000+ jobs lost across the board, you can bet the sales numbers are a lie, just like all those 90+ critic's ratings on Metacritic are a lie. Games like Street Fighter 6 were universally loved by "critics" but universally hated by gamers. It's all hype. It's all fake.

The PS5 has been a solid last-gen console. New game mechanics are non-existent. When they're not outright just remaking old games people played for decades, they're using RE3 interfaces for new horror games. Or throwing in another game like Alan Wake II where you walk around in the dark bringing up 2005 maps.

Executives are definitely greedy, but you don't do layoffs like that when sales are booming. You could decrease salaries, restructure, but you wouldn't outright send home developers unless something really, really went wrong with the PS5 and Xbox. So this isn't greed. It's aging gamers finally getting fed up with playing the same old thing and wanting something new. These companies are refusing to do that. My guess is sales and profits are way down, and they don't want to make that public.

None of the games on this list had a 90 or higher score according to actual gamers. Maybe that's why gaming companies are lying about their actual sales numbers and hyping things up with paid reviewers but laying off thousands of employees around the country. You lay off employees when sales drop, not when they're thriving.

People who bought the PS5 and Xbox Series S or X did so believing it was a next-gen console. Instead aging gamers are playing the same things they played 20 years ago. Four of the games on this list are remakes from other better years when things were new. Next-gen means next-gen. And the list of original games and series on the PS5 is pitiful.

If you take out the four ripped remakes, pretty much every year is first.

@Subterfuge: If it was such a fantastic year, can you explain why gaming companies laid off 9,000 employees? It's not greed because if your employees are doing a great job and your games are selling, you want them to continue. You still have to hire other people in their place to keep up with demand. Layoffs this big happen when there is no demand.

My guess is the sales numbers are as fabricated as that 93 critic's score for the Resident Evil 4 remake. It wasn't even close to a 93. Gamers correctly put it at an honest 8. The game was okay - it was Resident Evil 4 after all - but it was a downgrade in the areas they tried to replay it. If the remake had been the original, I wouldn't have wanted to play a remake. They somehow even managed to ruin the regenerator scene, one of the most iconic scenes in gaming history.

Layoffs this bad only happen when players say, "No more. I'm not paying $70 to play a game I just played 7 years ago." IGN and other Playstation/Xbox paid review sites can hype up games and say "best year ever" all they want. But those layoffs tell the reality: People are sick of playing remakes all the time, and some of the newer games have interfaces and mechanics straight out of 2011. I've found a whopping five total games I wanted to finish on the PS5. Those included the Resident Evil 4 remake (a 2005 game), Catherine (a 2011 game), Walking Dead: Definitive Edition (A game from 2012), Ghost of Tsushima (2020 game), and GTA V (a 2013 game). You might notice those are all games released while the PS4 was active.

There's nothing next-gen about the PS5 or the new Xbox. It's the same old thing, and gamers who grew up playing the PS3 and PS4 are aging. Throwing out perpetual remakes - especially ones as offensive as The Last of Us Part I/II - isn't going to work anymore. And it's hard to argue they are working given the state of employment in the gaming industry. Four of the games mentioned here aren't just last-gen games, they're games that came out when the Xbox 360 was a next-gen console. Either gaming changes or people aren't going to go back and play this crud anymore, especially games like Alan Wake 2 where it's the same old bullshit where you walk around in the dark with a flashlight looking at RE PS2 interfaces. My guess is companies are lying about sales numbers. Wouldn't be the first time that happened.

@Slannmage: Do you realize how silly you sound using the word "woke." That's code-word for "I'm 12."