September 2016 PlayStation Meeting

One week ago the PlayStation Meeting took place in New York City. In it, Sony unveiled two new PlayStation products, both of which we already knew existed thanks to multiple leaks. The conference started with the announcement of a new slim version of the PlayStation 4, which is the exact same thing as a regular PlayStation 4 but smaller. The slim PlayStation 4 will be the standard PlayStation 4 going forward, so if you buy a new PlayStation 4 later this year it will likely be this model. The second product shown, which took up a majority of the conference, was the PlayStation 4 Pro, formerly known to us as the PlayStation 4.5/4K/Neo. This Pro model of the PlayStation 4 will have more processing power than a regular PlayStation 4, will be able to run VR games better, and is optimized to work with TVs that have 4K displays and High Dynamic Range (HDR). A few games were shown running on a PlayStation 4 Pro, but since I was watching the conference on a stream the quality of the image I was seeing wasn’t high enough for me to tell the difference between the 4K, HDR resolution and standard HD resolution. The conference ended with a price and launch date reveal for both the slim PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 4 Pro.

I’ve had some time to think over the conference and the products shown within it since last Wednesday, and I’ve come to the conclusion that for me this was largely a nonevent. Since I already own a PlayStation 4, there’s no reason to get the slim model. I also don’t own a 4K TV, and am not a graphics snob, so there’s little reason for me to buy the PlayStation 4 Pro. Honestly, the only thing from that conference that really caught my attention was some new gameplay footage from Mass Effect: Andromeda. The conference itself didn’t seem to have much showmanship or energy, and the audience hardly reacted to anything that happened during it. This whole thing might have been better done as some sort of announcement video on Youtube. Additionally, and I mean this is just a silly aside, for some reason whenever I look at an image of the PlayStation 4 Pro it reminds me of a tall stack of pancakes.

I am also increasingly questioning the wisdom of very the existence of the PlayStation 4 Pro. It is certainly a more powerful console than the PlayStation 4, but not by so much that it’s a giant leap from its predecessor (and it’s certainly nowhere near what Microsoft is doing with its upcoming Project Scorpio console). At the end of the conference I’m not sure anybody was really sold on the need to buy a PlayStation 4 Pro. If you’re on the few people that has a TV capable of 4K and HDR display then maybe you’d want this, but I very strongly suspect that there isn’t yet a big enough market of those individuals for the PlayStation 4 Pro to be a success any time soon. While Sony will eventually need to put out a console that does 4K and HDR eventually, they don’t need to do it just yet. Were I an executive at Sony, my input would have been to just wait another year or two, and then, after seeing exactly what Project Scorpio is, announce the development of the Pro, or maybe even the PlayStation 5, which would do 4K and HDR, but also come with significantly improved internal hardware. The standard PlayStation 4 is still selling very well, and I would advocate keeping that train running for a while longer.

My other major concern with the PlayStation 4 Pro’s existence is that it seemingly is a step towards making the console market closer to that of mobile phones, which have more iterative hardware releases. One of the major appeals of console gaming is that you can purchase a console at or near launch and then be set for the next five years or so, knowing that you’ll be getting the exactly same experience as other console gamers and that you won’t need to purchase new hardware until the next generation comes out. Having iterative consoles takes away that stability and reduces the value of a console purchase, and will inevitably split the PlayStation community when we start seeing games that are undeniably superior in every way on the Pro model as opposed to the standard PlayStation 4. Owners of the standard PlayStation 4 will realize that they are getting an inferior experience, and I don’t think they’ll be too happy about this. PC gamers, who don’t know any other life other than having multiple tiers of gaming experiences for individual games depending on the quality of their PCs, will no doubt hear this bellyaching and dismiss it as more whining from console gamer babies, and in all honesty that is an accurate assessment. But at the same time one of the main pillars of traditional console gaming is a more the level playing field between gamers in terms of what everyone gets from a game and iterative consoles are a step towards destroying that pillar. I really hope I’m wrong in this assessment, but at the moment I think this is an ominous sign for console gaming.

Suicide Squad

I saw Suicide Squad, and it was just ok. When it first came out I noticed it was getting bad reviews, but I had enjoyed Batman v Superman, which had also gotten panned by the critics, so maybe I would turn out liking Suicide Squad as well. I watched Suicide Squad with a friend of mine two weeks after its release, and at the end of the movie I walked out I could say that it wasn’t that bad, but it also wasn’t particularly good. Some things in the movie worked, and some didn’t. Though I won’t spoil the main plot of the movie, there are a few things I want to quickly mention.

As would be expected from a film with such a large cast of characters, not everyone gets equal levels of screen time. While some like Deadshot and Harley Quinn get bits of backstory and character development, others like Katana and Killer Croc are kind of just there and only serve to fill up space. Jared Leto’s take on Joker is something I’m still undecided on, as while he does capture the classic psychotic traits we expect from the character, the Joker in Suicide Squad is a crime lord, which seems rather mundane for him. What I did like was Will Smith’s performance as Deadshot, and I would go so far as to say that he carries every scene that he’s prominent in. As someone who’s not into comic books, I had never heard of the film’s main villain, and though I’m told the villain is fairly well known in the DC universe, I think Suicide Squad might have been helped by having a more prominent, higher profile villain. Lastly, I find it very strange that members of the Justice League are MIA from the movie’s final confrontation. The situation the Suicide Squad is sent in to deal with has been going on for two days, and in the movie both Batman and Flash make cameo appearances early on, so we know that the heroes already exist at this point, so where are they? I think we have to assume that Suicide Squad takes place after the events of Batman v Superman, because otherwise it would make no sense that Superman didn’t notice what was going on and put an end to the crisis before things got worse.

100,000

Ok, so I did say in a certain post back in May that I wouldn’t do any other announcements related to this blog’s word count until the end of the year, but I feel the need to make an exception for this occasion. Late last month I again updated the tally of words published on this site so far this year and to my exceeding pleasure I saw that the total had risen above 100,000 words published. There are lots of writers out there who will hit the 100,000 mark in a much shorter timeframe than I did, but for me this is quite the accomplishment. As recently as last year such a thing would have been seen as madness in my eyes. I would have done a writing piece on this two weeks ago, but I already had the Activation series of posts laid out and didn’t want to move them around, so I’ve waited until now to make the announcement. A gif accompanied the last post on this blog’s word count, and today’s post will be no different. Join me in commemorating the occasion!

Now, aside from this post, I haven’t really done anything special to commemorate this milestone, unless you count the fast-food dinner I ate on Saturday. Being mostly a nondrinker I’m not going to go out and get plastered, and being unemployed I’m not going to dump a lot of money on something fancy, but I’ll think of something to do.

Activation, Part 10

Eight names. All eight names were now highlighted green. Somehow, someway, all of them were coming back. This had turned out better than he expected. At most he thought five of them would respond, and then maybe three or four might agree to come in. His planning from the preceding days had been under the assumption of only having that many of them operational, but now, now there were some real possibilities before him. Now they might not just hold the line - now they could think about going on the offensive. Other news had also been good. The facility would soon be operational again and the suits were being prepared for their wearers. He reclined his chair back slightly, savoring the moment. Victory was in no way guaranteed, but things were off to a good start. Out of the corner of his eye he now noticed a figure standing over his shoulder. Startled, his sat back at attention and turned to see that it was his superior. He gave him a status report and his superior nodded in approval. They exchanged a few brief remarks about the situation before his superior left. Alone again, he turned back to his screen. Eight names. Everything was now riding on these eight names. The first few of the eight would be arriving soon and once all of them were present it would be up to him and the others to get them ready as fast as possible. If they moved quickly there was even a slight chance that they could contain the situation before it got any worse. No, that was wishful thinking. This was going to be long, ugly, and full of death, just like everything else they had ever gotten involved in. A message appeared on his screen stating that the first of the eight was now here. Time to get started.

Activation, Part 9

He and his friends exited the shop and bid each other farewell. It had been a good day. For the first time in a long time he felt like he had found his place in the world. Here, a vast ocean away from his old home, he had started his life over. A new language, a new career, a new social group, a new everything. His friends and family had questioned his decision back when he left, and truth be told he wasn’t entirely sure of it himself at the time, but looking back now it was the best decision he had ever made. And yet, somehow, the past now hung ominously over him. He had gotten the message. How did they know where he was, how had they gotten his phone number, and why now? He had come out here to bury the past. Couldn’t they take a hint? He wasn’t going back. Not now. Not ever. Walking back towards his home, he approached a train crossing when the bells began to sound and the gates lowered. He could hear the train approaching, and it would be a minute before it passed by, so he pulled out his phone to check on social media. Scrolling through the timeline while the train passed took his mind off the message, but only briefly. Wait, what if they sent people out here to get him? No, they wouldn’t do that. They’re too small of an operation. They’d have to talk him into rejoining, and there was only one person who could maybe do it. The train passed, the bells stopped, and the gates lifted. He put his phone back into his pocket, looked up, and there, on the other side of the tracks, was another set of eyes staring back. It was him.

Activation, Part 8

From his viewpoint, halfway up the mountain, the city stretched out before him. Though he did not particularly enjoy hiking or other outdoor activities, he made an exception for climbing up to this one spot. Hardly anyone else came up here, and it was one of the few places he could think without interruption. Today was a particularly quiet day - there weren’t any mountain climbers or nearby hikers to break the silence. Good, he wanted to be alone. He had gotten the message. This would be the last time he came up here for who knows how long. The wheels in his head were spinning furiously with the possibilities of both what had happened to necessitate being recalled after all these years and what the future might hold. It had to be bad. They wouldn’t have sent the message unless they had exhausted other options, so they must be desperate if they were reconstituting the old team. Whatever the threat was, it clearly couldn’t be solved via traditional means. A cacophony of thoughts bounced around his head as he sat there and gazed out into the distance. Total chaos might have erupted inside of him had not an old voice spoken up - a familiar voice that had now awoken after many years slumber. The cruel, unrelenting inner demon that had driven him forward since childhood was once again speaking to him, bringing clarity to his mind. Answers would come soon enough, so for now he needed to focus on ensuring the success of the coming assignment. The first order of business: finding his old partner and talking him into coming back.

Activation, Part 7

He finished his reading and closed his Bible. Though he had read through the scriptures in their entirety several times over during his life, recent events found him rereading them with particular intensity. He had gotten the message. The question before him was whether or not he would respond to it and agree to come back. He hadn’t forgotten what the project was all about and he knew what it would require of him. It was shady, ugly work - the kind he wouldn’t be proud to talk about. Could he do this? His readings were pushing him away from returning, but at the same time he remembered how he had been the only one in the project to voice objections to some of the things they did and had even managed to keep them from going off the deep end into the amoral abyss. He had been salt and light in a rotten, dark place. Perhaps that was his place in the world - the lone upright soul standing against the rising tide of moral decay. If he went back maybe he could do some good and once more be the voice in the wilderness calling the others to a better way. Then again, knowing the people running the project, as well as some of his former teammates, it might be a hopeless cause. Getting involved again would be dangerous, and wading through that much evil was sure to stain him in the process. The hours passed as he weighed both options. Refusing the call would keep him clean but felt like abandoning his associates, while going back could very well destroy him but had the small chance of rescuing others. Wait, maybe there’s a third option. He could go back, and if after awhile he determined it to be a fool’s errand, he could leave again. Ok, yes, that sounded like a good compromise. That’s what he would do.

Activation, Part 6

Rush hour brought the normal surge of human activity to downtown. Standing by the railing, he looked down on the river of employees, executives, and other wastes of space that passed underneath him and was disgusted by what he saw. Hypocrites, weaklings, and fools, all of them. He had been surrounded by incompetence and cowardice his entire life. Those too blind to see the world as it really was. Those too stupid to know anything. Those too weak or unwilling to do what needed to be done. But not him. He would not bound by their limitations - their shortsightedness, their impotence, their slave morality. Their world was devoid of purpose, meaning, value, and sanity, but they lived in willful ignorance of these facts. Fine. They can remain in their stupor if they choose, but he had a higher calling in life, and the time was nigh when he would fulfill that calling. He had gotten the message. There was only one thing that mattered in this universe, and soon he would have it again. This time, however, he wouldn’t relinquish it. The same ruthlessness and cognizance of reality that had consistently pushed him ahead of his peers would once again demonstrate his superiority. He was the best, he always had been. The king would reclaim his crown, and while he was at it he would settle the score with the one who had humiliated him all those years ago.

Activation, Part 5

It was another day with his parents. Another test of endurance. They didn’t think he had a real job, and were disappointed by his singleness. Every time they visited it was the same questions and lectures all over again. Why do you still work at that game company? You should visit more often. When are you going to find yourself a nice girl and start a family? You won’t get a wife until you get a better job. It never stopped. Every time he deflected their words as politely as he could. He knew they loved him, but they had an odd way of showing it. Today they were on a family trip to the zoo. A pair of pandas had just been brought in from China, and his parents had planned a day there along with some of the relatives. Gawking at animals in a cage had never made sense to him. His parents became distracted by activity over at the elephant exhibit and left him temporarily, granting him a moment’s peace. Looking for something to take his mind off the fact that he was stuck with them for the next five or six hours, he pulled out his phone and thought to himself that he could clear another level of his favorite game before they got back. He started the level, but didn’t get far before he was interrupted by the notification of a new message arriving. Switching apps, he opened the message, expecting something from his boss about the next work deadline. But it wasn’t his boss. He looked over to where his parents were. They were annoying at times, but with what was now happening this could be the last day he would see them for the foreseeable future. He got up and walked over to them. Time to be a good son and make the most of what might be their final day together.

Activation, Part 4

A new stack of paperwork dropped onto his desk. His boss was leaving on his normal two-hour lunch break, and needed it finished upon his return. He politely affirmed that the forms would be ready, and smiled as his boss walked out. When the door closed yet another spear pierced his soul. This was not how he imagined his life to be. Working at the law firm paid a decent wage but it was killing him inside. Looking at his screen, he refreshed his inbox, and six new emails showed up, all of them marked high priority. Of course they’re all high priority, because nothing around here is regular or low priority. His shoulders slumped, and he let out a deep sigh. Still, this was where he found himself, so until he could find a way out he would just have to deal with it. That’s when he felt a vibration in his pocket. A new message had arrived on his phone. He decided to quickly read it before getting to the paperwork and emails. Wait, is this it? His eyes grew wide. Yes, this was it. This was his salvation. Struggling to contain his excitement, he put his phone down, grabbed the stack of paperwork and feverishly set about completing it. These were the last forms we would ever be filling out for that man. He wasn’t coming in to work tomorrow, or the day after that, or ever again.