Upon initial release, it wasn't. Took copying an already proven formula and making it accessible for a wider audience to succeed.

Maybe many of these title might be the next big thing but people's time when playing service games is limited. From the sound of a lot of what these games are, they are all already proven formulas but more modern.

Ignoring it's not Sony, the Foamstars game is actually something I'm surprised someone hasn't done before, as in a already proven but owned by Nintendo game but for other consoles. I'm impressed for SquEnix to do that as there is an audience on PC, PS and Xbox that don't have access to that style of game.

Overall, I thought it was a good show. Titles that stood out to me personally were:

Phantom Blade 0 (Looks very intriguing in terms of setting, story and gameplay, could be something quite special if it works as well as the trailer suggested)

Sword of the Sea (More games like Journey is always great, and when its by many of the people behind it, all the better)

Neva (Loved GRIS, already really into the visual style and animation, looking forward to seeing some proper gameplay)

Snake Eater (The best MGS getting a remake is obviously going to get my attention, curious to see how they do this one, what they keep and what they change)

Towers of Aghasba (Open world city builder sounds like it could be a lot of fun, going to keep an eye on this one)

Final Fantasy XVI (Nothing really new here, by far my most anticipated game of the year, so obviously I liked seeing it)

Alan Wake II (Should probably get around to playing the first game at some point, loved Control, so this should hopefully be great)

Spider Man II (Looks great, again need to play the first game at some point)

Besides the games listed, I thought it was interesting that it took this long for another big publisher to copy the Splatoon formula considering how successful its been for Nintendo. Usually the copycats arrive much sooner than that. Marathon could be great, but can't really say anything about it from the trailer.

So, more detailed thoughts:

INDIES

The emphasis on Indies was great I think. A lot of fun looking titles, even if I most likely won't play a vast majority of them. I think it was good to allow so many into the Showcase. I do want to highlight Phantom Blade 0 - this game looks clearly fake/ scripted/ QTE based; can't say I have any interest in this.

PSVR2

Unfortunately a very weak showing. Hopefully this isn't the extent to which Sony is supporting it and trying to get support for it. Otherwise, it's just going to become dead hardware soon. That said, RE4 looks nice, and Beat Saber dropping on PS5 is great.

HARDWARE

I'm a little irked Ryan couldn't bother to talk about the accessibility controller, but at least it showed up. The earphones are a nice tough, albeit I have zero interest in ear-in earphones. The streaming device is interesting. But if it functions only as a remote play device (and only over Wifi) only, I can't help but feel it's going to have limited appeal. I very much expect it to be upgraded for cloud (since Sony have mentioned they will do a push into cloud over the next few months at their business meeting thing). That said, they should really allow it to remote directly to the PS5; have it be used as a 2nd controller (with the screen turned off), and work on the PS4 too. Just kind of baffling really. 

3RD PARTY

Probably the highlight of the show. A lot of big games being advertised with Sony (even though MS wants to remind you they come to xbox too) that I think will have a strong impact on hardware for the remainder of the year. I think Alan Wake 2 looked cool, among other games. But that CG trailer for MGS3 was easily the worst thing of the show. Just a very unceremonious announcement, and very nothing. The collection trailer was equally very dull. 

1ST PARTY

Easily the most divisive part. Helldivers 2 being announced was good because it looks like a lot of fun. And Spiderman 2 juts looks incredible. Like wow, I've never played the first and I'm pumped for the 2nd. Will catch up with the series in due time. The CG trailers for Haven and Firewalk's games were unnecessary (they were better than MGS3 no lies). But I think they were there to pad out the games, and at least let consumers know that these partnerships are resulting in something (especially after the loss of Pixel Opus and the bad news at Deviation). And I have no issues with CG trailers as long as the vast majority of your showing is not that (which thankfully this showcase wasn't). 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I think it was an ok showing. Probably a 6 or 7. There was a lot of variety on display, and a lot of gameplay, so I think that helped. I'm surprised some games weren't shown, notably Stellar Blade and Convallaria, since they both release this year. That was very strange. I'm not surprised by the lack of either Death Stranding 2 or TloU Factions - I mentioned earlier on in the thread that I doubt either would show here, and they both make more sense for SGF. Kojima has a friendship with Keighley, and Sony I think are hoping for a lot of eyes on Factions (granted the showcase was well watched I believe). It also allows Sony to spread out announcements: Helldivers 2, Haven, Firewalk and then Factions all in 1 showing would've been too much imho.

On a final note: I actually think it would be better for Sony to do SoPs instead, and highlight each with a big upcoming game (like this could've been the Spider-man 2 SoP). But anyways, Sony knows how to market games so they should just keep doing whatever it is they are doing.

Paraphrasing, but the quote twintail is referencing, mentions "two or more major releases" each year. 

Splatoon has been done before Splatoon. Color Wars on Xbox 360. A china Mobile game tried to literally be splatoon. Ninjala was trying to be the next Splatoon but F2P on Switch.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.  It's one of my most anticipated playstation games as well, but it's not over until it's over.  I'm sure we will get some State of Plays throughout the year where it might be at.  Plenty of games get shown, and don't get shown again until its close to release. The game is still listed on the playstation store as a game you can add to your wishlist.

So... done and succeed? Time will tell on SquEnix then.

 Well only Splatoon succeeded so far. I'm wondering if it's just one of those games like Mario Kart or Smash Bros where only Nintendo seems to succeed at where the est of the industry fails to emulate it. Every so often had a good Kart racer not named MK but none had the success. (and Outfoxies predates Smash) We shall see but given it's SE and they have had at least 1 major bomb every year since 2018. This is likely their next one and shut down after a year.

After some sleep:

6/10 feels right. However, I completely understand the scores of 4/10 or 5/10. First party was a no show outside of Insomniac. I walked away with the impression that Sony's 2024 lineup is going to be barebones, and potentially the lightest year for their first party studios this generation. This showcase did a great job in filling out the rest of 2023 though. Helldivers 2 releasing this year is huge. I could see Arrowhead being acquired if this does well critically. It's going to be interesting to see how Sony handles the launch of this game.

Overall I'm not as down as many other PlayStation fans are. PlayStation Studios has a fantastic track record with what they're pumping out and that won't change because of CGI reveals. SpiderMan 2 is looking incredible, and with many improvements to its combat and traversal mechanics. The rest of the year is stacked with more avenues for announcements coming. At this point, however, I'm expecting 2024 to be the PS5's down year, similar to 2014 or 2015 for the PS4.

Considering Insomniac has released Spider-Man Remastered, Spider-Man Miles morales, Ratchet and Clank Rift apart, Spider-Man 2 will be out this year, and Wolverine has been announced, I don’t think that’s the case for every studio. Though there has been a lot of silence from other heavy hitters and we have just gotten speculation over the years of a few of the studios.