“Launching it next month with the current model…”: Xbox Insider Parris Lilly’s Concord Thoughts Are Echoed by Everyone Except PlayStation
It looks like Sony needs to implement some changes to its upcoming live-service title.
After the unprecedented success that Sony Interactive Entertainment managed to achieve with Helldivers 2, it only made sense for Concord to try something similar and continue the publisher’s winning streak in the live-service realm of video games. However, Firewalk Studios is not having the greatest luck with its first-person hero shooter game, as the general feedback has not really been as positive as Sony may have hoped for it to be.
During the days leading up to the beta test of the upcoming title, the publisher abandoned its pre-order conditions and decided to let PlayStation Plus members join in as well, supposedly because of a lack of player interest, but even after trying the game out for themselves, gamers do not seem to be completely on board.
Sony Interactive Entertainment Might Have to Reevaluate Some More of Its Concord Decisions
Community hope for the game already started to drastically decrease after Sony revealed more details and shared new footage about Concord at its State of Play event a couple of months ago, but since the beta test that took place last weekend, the glaring issues with the upcoming Firewalk Studios title have become more apparent.
SUGGESTED: All the Hits and Misses of PlayStation’s May 2024 State of Play, From God of War to Marvel Rivals
Catching the attention of personnel from PlayStation’s competitor platform Xbox as well, insider Parris Lilly made his thoughts clear about the current state of the game and listed down the potential solutions that could save it from being a complete nightmare of a launch next month.
For starters, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s decision to charge $40 for a hero shooter may have been the publisher’s very first mistake regarding the title, especially considering that most of the other successful games in the genre are usually free-to-play.
Where studios like Bungie and Electronic Arts offer their massively popular hero shooters, Destiny 2 and Apex Legends, respectively, for free, at least initially when one removes the in-game microtransactions, Sony seemed to believe that perhaps players would be fine with paying for another live-service video game by the publisher, as it has had an extraordinary triumph with Helldivers 2 just earlier this year.
Lilly suggests delaying Concord and making it free-to-play because if Firewalk launches the title “with the current model,” the game may actually be dead on arrival.
Parris Lilly and Other Fans Think the Game’s PvP Model Could End up Hurting It
One of the biggest strengths that Helldivers 2 has is Arrowhead Game Studios’ ability to present a compelling narrative to its player base, which may not have worked as well if the third-person shooter title was PvP instead of PvE.
That sentiment appears in Parris Lilly’s third major suggestion for Firewalk Studios, as he thinks that Concord should also have a PvE mode that builds on its sci-fi world and continues the story in a meaningful way to keep players engaged. Lilly is not the only one who wants Sony Interactive Entertainment to consider this option, as other fans have also pointed out that the upcoming title could fare much better if a co-op campaign was introduced.
The Xbox insider suggests that Concord definitely has the potential to be a better gaming experience since he liked what the gameplay offered during the beta, but if the game sticks to its PvP core, then there is not much that makes it stand out among the competition in a saturated genre.
For now, not many players seem interested in giving Concord a chance, but if Sony pays close attention to community feedback and implements the desired changes, then perhaps Firewalk Studios could become another household name just like Arrowhead.
