Sony is Set to Release More Games for PC

Sony’s full year corporate report was published over the weekend. Due to the global pandemic Sony estimates a ¥68.2 billion loss (£484 million) in revenue. Despite this Sony's gaming sales have done well. The PlayStation business now generates more sales and operating income than any other part of Sony:

Sony has announced that they want to gain a growth in active users and this means expanding more into other territories: 

"Targeted outcomes include growth in active users, stronger retention and a shorter cash conversion cycle, from which expanded cash flow can be expected. We will explore expanding our 1st party titles to the PC platform, in order to promote further growth in our profitability."

The company also stated that it's largest competition is the PC gaming market.

"Competition from online PC games and players from other industries is expected to continue to intensify. The fundamental growth strategy will be to innovate and evolve the PlayStation Platform. To this end, SIE intends to make proactive investments to reinforce content IP, and work to raise brand value, foster communities and user engagement, while enhancing DTC services that get closer to users." 

Exclusives are still at the heart of Sony's interest but it is possible that we will see titles like Spider-Man and God of War probably hitting the PC to gain a further revenue boost from non PSN gamers.

Warframe Play it For Free Forever

Warframe: PC - Shot by VPVibrancy

Lately on Instagram I have been seeing a lot of negativity in the community, which is understandable given the worlds current circumstances. I am seeing a lot of comments about a lack of variation in peoples, feeds, boredom and that people are in a rut with no new games. 

Today I am going to throw out the suggestion of trying out Warframe. It is free to play on PC, Xbox and PS4. It has a delightful captura mode that gives you settings to shoot your character, scanned villains and friends in. That's right, your friends!  What other game allows you to pause the game play and all zoom around taking shots. 

Warframe: PS4 Pro - Shot by VPVibrancy

Not only can the game can be played from start to finish with your first weapons and Warframe, but the story is vast and expansive. I didn't even get to the end of the story missions until I was around 120 hours in. 

Also, In a recent earnings report (via Gamespot), Leyou Technology - parent company of Warframe developer Digital Extremes - revealed that the company is planning to "expand Warframe to more platforms, such as the next-generation consoles and other devices".  Showcasing that any progress you make on your PS4 or XboxOne will be carried over to the next gen consoles via your gamertag login. 

Warframe: PS4 Pro - Shot by VPVibrancy

Warframe has been going since 2013 and with each update brings with it mind blowing amounts of free content. The latest introducing ship to ship battles. Previous instalments added larger more MMO areas which hold unique activities and offer custom gear building as well as new types of equipment and weaponry. 

Warframe: PS4 Pro - Shot by VPVibrancy

For those that haven't heard of the game before, you play the role of a Tenno, an ancient race of warriors, who must explore various planets and moons within the solar system to purge evil and uncover the long lost secrets of the race. 

Warframe: PS4 Pro - Shot by VPVibrancy

At first the game can seem overwhelming with the huge depth of customisation. But if you take it one step at a time you catch up as you need to. Across all platforms it is still very popular, its free and sits somewhere around 44gb. 

If you're bored and fed up this lock down, give it a try. 

Warframe: PS4 Pro - Shot by VPVibrancy

Death Stranding Delayed on PC

Death Stranding shot by Leonardoxangel

Due to the global pandemic we are facing Death Stranding will not be hitting the PC until the 14th of July. This month delay is due to the slower progress as the team are working from home. The increase in development time leads to a guarantee in quality, which is after all, what we all want.

Stay at Home: Game Craft For Free

A new sandbox building game from the creators of Robocraft, is now available for free during these hard times. 

From the 17th to the 24th of April PC users can download  Gamecraft for free. Within the game players build complete working games from blocks and parts without the need to code, using one of the most powerful sandbox building engines on the market. Build games in minutes and publish them to the cloud for others to play with the click of a button.

Click Here to get your copy!

Stay Home: Epic Gives Away 3 Free PC Games

Epic Games give away at least one game a week for PC users, this week there are three games to be downloaded. While not what most would deem VP worthy perhaps it will give you something else to do during lock down?

Gone Home is a first-person exploration video game developed and published by The Fullbright Company. It is a short but interesting romp set in 1995 where the player is in the role of a young woman trying to piece together where her family have gone and what has happened to them.

Hob is a curious small adventure game that tells a wordless story that you have to piece together yourself. While it is not hard to understand or follow the narrative it does require some work to piece together. Well worth a look its a great way to pass a few hours during lockdown.

Drawful 2 is one of many Jackbox games. It does what it says on the tin and supplies much hilarity in a simple fashion. Like Pictionary but with no undo function, it will have you drawing your prompts within 60 seconds for your party to guess what your creation is. Drawful 2 also introduces the ability to create your own game prompts, which with the right group of friends makes the game even better.

All three of these are worth a shot, especially as they are free. If you have a access to a PC these are all very low spec games and should run on most systems. 

They can be downloaded here.

A Demo With Photo Mode

Recently I downloaded Code Vein hoping to trial the photo mode. Half way through the demo I realised that it did not have one. A lot of games in this day and age do not have demos, let alone one that trials the games photo mode. I am not sure why, as we all know, photo mode makes for a great free advertising campaign. 

Bound by Wolfwithashield

Wolfwithashield recently started playing Bound (A PS4 exclusive) and uploaded some shots yesterday, which reminded me of the fun I had with the photo mode within it's short demo. The demo itself is not very long but showcases the games visual style, constant ballet action and unique dream-like quality perfectly. 

Bound Demo shot by me

If you fancy trying something new or just getting a few experimental shots off then I would highly recommend the demo. I bought the game soon after as it was on sale (and often is) but just the demo alone will be enough to showcase a few great virtual photography shots and mix things up a bit.

Bound Demo shot by me

If you are a PC owner I can also tell you that the new Resident Evil 3 demo not only has an injectable free cam, but also a huge amount of fan made mods. Possibly the most for any demo ever made. I have showcased and linked a bunch of them below. The time and energy the modding community put in the games is amazing. Resident Evil 2's mods made my game play experience stretch to a sweet 55 hours. Playing around with costumes, taking shots with the free camera and pushing myself to try some crazy hard challenges.

Not being able to play the game on release due to a lack of income, I have taken to embracing the demo with all of its mods. These shots are not edited, as to show you a true representation of the demos look. For fancier shots, check out my Instagram page. There are many mods beyond these, I just showcased some of my favourites. Browse Nexus Mods for more.

Resident Evil 5 Jill Outfit Components and Equipment.

by Puppet88

2B Model instead of Jill

by Vyaomo

Motivated VerJill + Katana

by Wiwilz

Jill's Classic Costume

by JTegh

Golden G19C Pistol

by SilverEzredes

Classic Nemesis has been removed 

but I am sure he will make a return.

Shirtless Carlos

by Tzarev

Bikini/Nude Jill

by AlphaZomega

Death Stranding Gets a Photomode and a PC release

Shot by Photography.black_and_white

Death Stranding is a truly unique gaming experience from the warped and brilliant mind of Hideo Kojima. There aren't many rockstars of the industry in this day and  age, but I think Kojima certainly qualifies. Death Stranding wasn't just one of the best games from 2019, but also deserves to be held as a game changer of its generation. It may not be for everyone but it is like no other game that has come before it, bridging the gap between gaming and cinema, in a surreal and twisted journey of a delivery man just doing his job.  Stunning, heart-breaking and an emotional roller coaster, Death Stranding has created shock waves that I hope never settle. Hopefully much like what I said about Hellblade in my other article, this will bring with it a dawn of new experimental, more artistic game development. 

Shot by Leonardoxangel

The good news is PC gamers will see Death Stranding land on the 2nd of June. Hideo Kojima has teased that the game also will boast a new photo mode, the absence of which caused PS4 users much frustration. This did not prevent the explosion of virtual photography content on social media. Clearly, you can take the photo mode from the game but you can't take the photographer out of the gamer.  Throughout this article you will see photographers shots of the game, both screenshots from cut scenes and in game shots. Of course there are those that refuse to shoot from cut scenes and claim it is not art. I am not here to debate that, just to embrace the beautiful creativity of the hobby. Each to their own. I believe whatever gives someone inspiration and drive to shoot new things and experiment with edits is a great thing.

Shot by Photography.black_and_white

Never fear though those of you that have the game on the PS4. Kojima himself hinted that it could also be coming to the PS4 in the form of an update.  The video he shared allows you to pan around a frozen scene, play with the aperture, change the levels of exposure, contrast, use filters, remove Sam from the shot and even change little BB's expressions and poses! The first virtual baby model!

Shot by Leonardoxangel

Steam and the Epic Games Store will both see the arrival of the PC version on the 2nd of June. Complete with the usual host of pre-order content. Unreleased soundtracks, a digital art book as well as different skins for things in game. If you'd prefer the steelbook edition, it contains all the same content but a slightly higher price margin. 

Shot by Photography.black_and_white