PlayStations

Image: Naughty Dog

One of the nice things about moving to New York City in 2023 is that I live in a place where cool things happen. So I’ve been going to more video game concerts, which were much more difficult to get to when I lived in the boonies. If you’ve never been to one, these shows fucking rule. I’ve even gone to shows for games like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth that I did not like, and Shovel Knight, which I hadn’t played in over a decade, and still had an incredible time. Now that PlayStation is holding its own concert, featuring music from The Last of Us, God of War, Horizon, and Ghost of Tsushima, I will finally get to go to a show featuring the scores of games I’m actually passionate about, and also Ghost of Tsushima. However, if we’re gonna call this “PlayStation: The Concert,” I have a big question for whoever’s putting the show together: Where is the retro PlayStation representation?

A Hot-Fix Is On The Way For MindsEye’s Frustrating CPR Mini-Game

PlayStation: The Concert is bringing the music of modern PlayStation to a city near you. The show seems to be making multiple stops in several states, so if you can’t make it to one show, look and see if they’ve got another nearby you can swing. Alongside the aforementioned games which are headlining the concerts, they’ll also feature some selections from Astro Bot, Journey, Uncharted, Helldivers II, and Bloodborne. All good picks if you were wanting to host a tribute to modern PlayStation, but I gotta say, I’m bummed we’ve got nothing that debuted on the original PlayStation or even the PS2. Yeah, God of War started on the second console, but the only games featured in the trailer for the show are from the Norse-themed reboot on the PS4.

Where’s my Parappa the Rapper medley? What about the sultry tones of a Sly Cooper song? You just put out a Ratchet & Clank game on the PS5. Why are we forgetting the games that helped pave the way for the big prestige blockbusters? The show’s three months away, so there’s probably not a ton of time to shift the setlist around to spotlight older games. But it does feel a little ahistorical, and odd considering the company’s Game of the Year winner, Astro Bot, was obsessed with that history.

Anyway, I’ll still show up because I’d love to hear The Last of Us’ music performed live. If you, too, would like to see the show, presales begin June 18 and 19. The full list of tour dates is as follows:

2025

Oct. 9, Williamsport, PA, Community Arts Center
Oct. 11, New York, NY, The Theater at Madison Square Garden
Oct. 12, Reading, PA, Santander Performing Arts Center
Oct. 14, Charlotte, NC, Ovens Auditorium
Oct. 15, Richmond, VA, Altria Theatre
Oct. 16, Baltimore, MD, The Lyric
Oct. 17-18, Washington, DC, The National Theatre
Oct. 19, Hartford, CT, The Bushnell
Oct. 21, Grand Rapids, MI, DeVos Performance Hall
Oct. 23, Huntsville, AL, Mark C. Smith Concert Hall
Oct. 24, Atlanta, GA, Fox Theatre
Oct. 28, St. Louis, MO, The Fabulous Fox
Oct. 29, Des Moines, IA, Des Moines Civic Center
Oct. 30, Kansas City, MO, Muriel Kauffman Theatre
Oct. 31-Nov. 1, Chicago, IL, Cadillac Palace Theatre
Nov. 2, Columbus, OH, Palace Theatre
Nov. 4, Huntington, WV, Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center
Nov. 5, Cleveland, OH, KeyBank State Theatre
Nov. 6, Louisville, KY, The Kentucky Center
Nov. 7, Detroit, MI, Fisher Theatre
Nov. 11, Red Bank, NJ, Count Basie Center For the Arts
Nov. 13-14, Boston, MA, Boch Center Wang Theatre
Nov. 16, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia Presented by Highmark

2026

Jan. 23, Springfield, MO, Juanita K. Hammons Hall for Performing Art
Jan. 24, Dallas, TX, Majestic Theatre
Jan. 27, Little Rock, AR, Robinson Center
Jan. 28, Sugar Land, TX, Smart Financial Centre
Jan. 29, Austin, TX, Bass Concert Hall
Jan. 30, El Paso, TX, Abraham Chavez Theatre
Jan. 31, Phoenix, AZ, Arizona Financial Theatre
Feb. 1, Las Vegas, NV, The Smith Center
Feb. 3, Salt Lake City, UT, Eccles Theater
Feb. 4, Boise, ID, Morrison Center
Feb. 7, Seattle, WA, The Paramount Theatre
Feb. 9, Portland, OR, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Feb. 10, Sacramento, CA, Memorial Auditorium
Feb. 11, Los Angeles, CA, Peacock Theater
Feb. 12, Costa Mesa, CA, Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Feb. 13, Riverside, CA, For Theater
Feb. 15, San Francisco, CA, Golden Gate Theatre
Feb. 18, Spokane, WA, First Interstate Center for the Arts
Feb. 20-21, San Jose, CA, San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
Feb. 22, San Diego, CA, San Diego Civic Theatre
Feb. 24, Denver, CO, Buell Theatre
Feb. 25, Omaha, NE, Orpheum Theater
Feb. 26, Minneapolis, MN, Orpheum Theatre
Feb. 27, Ft. Wayne, IN, Embassy Theatre
Feb. 28, Indianapolis, IN, Murat Theatre
March 1, Milwaukee, WI, Riverside Theater
March 4, San Antonio, TX, Majestic Theatre
March 5, Ft. Worth, TX, Will Rogers Auditorium
March 6, New Orleans, LA, Mahalia Jackson Theater
March 7, Jacksonville, FL, Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts
March 8, Clearwater, FL, Ruth Eckerd Hall
March 11, Raleigh, NC, Memorial Auditorium
March 12, Columbia County, GA, Columbia County Performing Arts Center
March 13, Wilmington, NC, CFCC’s Wilson Center
March 14, Orlando, FL, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts | Walt Disney Theater
March 15, West Palm Beach, FL, Dreyfoos Hall
March 17, New Philadelphia, OH, Performing Arts Center – Kent State University at Tuscarawas
March 18, Midland, MI, Midland Center for the Arts
March 19, Dayton, OH, Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center
March 21, Newark, NJ, New Jersey Performing Arts Center
March 22, Hershey, PA, Hershey Theatre
March 24, Toronto, ON, Massey Hall
March 28, Waterbury, CT, Palace Theater
March 29, Brooklyn, NY, Kings Theatre
April 7, St. Johns, NL, Mary Brown’s Centre
April 9, Halifax, NS, Scotiabank Centre
April 11, Moncton, NB, Avenir Centre

April 13, Montreal, QC, Place des Arts

Source link

Amidst Xbox’s multiplatform publishing strategy, Sony is reiterating its commitment to prioritizing the PlayStation 5. During a recent Sony business meeting and “fireside chat,” PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst stated the company is taking a “very measured, very deliberate approach” when it comes to deciding if and when a first-party title appears on other platforms like PC.

Sony has been porting many of its marquee titles to PC for years. Some of its more recent live-service titles, like Helldivers 2 and the short-lived Concord, released day-and-date on console and PC, while tentpole single-player games like God of War: Ragnarok or Ghost of Tsushima typically release on PS5 first and arrive at least a year later on PC.

When asked about the industry’s move towards multiplatform titles and how Sony is looking to protect the “value” of the PS5 console, Hulst indicated that Sony isn’t looking to change its current strategy.

“It’s important to realize that we’re really thoughtful about bringing our franchises off console to reach new audiences and that we’re taking a very measured, very deliberate approach in doing that,” Hulst said. “Particularly on the single-player side, our tentpole titles, they’re such a point of differentiation for the PlayStation console.”

He went on to say that Sony’s first-party titles are meant to be a showcase for the PS5 hardware, and that the company wants players to “get the best experience” from these titles playing on PS5.

“We’re very thoughtful about how and if and how we bring these titles to other platforms,” Hulst said.

It’s an approach that appears to be working, even as Microsoft doubles down on its multiplatform game strategy of releasing Xbox titles on PS5 with positive results. When asked about Microsoft’s strategy and whether or not it’s a good thing, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino said he believed competition in the industry is good and creates innovation, but that Sony is “confident and committed to our current strategy.”

In addition to discussing how its approaching platform exclusivity, Sony reiterated its commitment to live-service titles, with Hulst stating he doesn’t believe Bungie’s upcoming shooter Marathon will suffer the same fate as Concord.

Source link

PlayStation’s Concert Sounds Cool, But Needs More Classics

Don’t Expect PlayStation’s Current PC Port Strategy To Change Anytime Soon