Thursday, May 16, 2013

You've got my attention, Sony Japan Studio--now show me some gameplay

Earlier this month, the folks at Sony Japan Studio revealed that they're working on a new title: Panopticon.

A two-and-a-half-minute teaser trailer for the game was released this morning and can be seen below.

What kind of game is it, and which system is it being made for? I have no idea, sadly--although it seems that information may be shared (likely on the game's official site) on May 21.



Until then, all we have are guesses and speculation. Personally, I have a feeling Panopticon is yet another Monster Hunter clone and, as such, will grace the still-struggling Vita, but I hope I'm wrong.

(I'm OK with it potentially being a Vita game, by the way. The portion of the prognostication above that concerns me is the part about it possibly being a Monster Hunter clone. I'd much rather it be an RPG or even a straight-up action title.)

What do all of you think of the teaser above? Did it catch your attention, too, or put you to sleep?

23 comments:

Steve Pixel said...

Nice trailer, but yeah i does kinda smell like a Monster Hunter clone (actually a Gods Eater clone), but hopefully we'll be wrong. Like you, I have zero interest in that type of game, but we seem to be in the minority these days.

thegaygamer.com said...

I wouldn't say I have ZERO interest in this type of game, Steve, but I would say that they're being a bit overdone on Sony platforms as of late. Why not try something else? Or even try them on a Nintendo platform? It just seems weird seeing MH clone after MH clone hitting the PSP, Vita and even PS3 to an extent...

Steve Pixel said...

Well it looks like MH has abandoned Sony, and I don't think they've had a really successful substitute for it on Vita so far. In fact (if you don't count backward compatibility), I don't know of any real clones on the system yet. Soul Sacrifice is the closest I can think of. Considering MH single-handedly revived the PSP, I'm sure Sony wants to get some of those gamers playing the Vita. Sure it's conservative for them to do that, but it's a pretty conservative industry these days unfortunately.

thegaygamer.com said...

Huh. I thought Soul Sacrifice was the definition of a MH clone? Granted, I don't know as much about SS as I should, so maybe I just jumped to an erroneous conclusion. (Wouldn't be the first time!)

As for Vita ever receiving a suitable substitute for MH: I have a feeling that's unlikely to happen. Sure, it's possible, but it's even more possible it won't, I think.

A better idea might be for Sony and third parties to try to find success on the system with other genres.

Like you said, though, the industry's in the middle of a rather conservative period, so looking for the "sure thing" may be all we can really hope for at this point.

Steve Pixel said...

From what I've read, Soul Sacrifice actually has a plot. Crazy idea for an RPG, huh?

michaelstearns said...

This game probably isn't Shadow of the Colossus with a grapple hook, but I would be down for that if it existed.

thegaygamer.com said...

Ha! I didn't know that. Of course, I'm not sure I know how much of a plot there is (or isn't) to the MH games either. I really have to try a MH sometime soon, BTW...

thegaygamer.com said...

I actually thought the same thing while watching the trailer, Michael! For some reason, though, that thought was immediately followed by, "Nah, they wouldn't be making a Shadow of the Colossus clone..." If they are making such a game, though, I'd be down for it, too--no question!

michaelstearns said...

What is the distinction that makes it look more like Gods Eater than Monster Hunter? The nuances are wasted on me, I'm sad to say. :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, isn't God Eater another MH clone, Michael? That's what I thought, at least. Granted, MH is the only series of the bunch that I know anything about, and even then I wouldn't claim to know too much about it :)

Steve Pixel said...

Gods Eater is science-fiction, Monster Hunter is prehistoric (dinosaurs). Otherwise not much difference.

michaelstearns said...

Oh, I guess there's that! :) Thanks for clarifying.

Zaphod65 said...

For a brief, shining moment I pretended it was a bizarre new chapter in the Valkyria Chronicles series. Then I wept for a moment and got over it. lol
It certainly screams Vita, though. I want to know more.

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, that would be great, wouldn't it? :( Actually, I'm pretty sure another Valkyria Chronicles game would push me to buy a Vita--despite the fact that I've yet to play any previous VC games. (I know, I desperately need to get a PS3 soon.)

thegaygamer.com said...

Yes, thank you, Steve! (Sorry, I can't help but respond to EVERY DAMN COMMENT THAT'S POSTED HERE.)

apricotsushi said...

Color me interested! I wouldn't mind if it were a Monster Hunter clone, and I certainly wouldn't mind something else to play on my Vita... It definitely seems like more of an action title at this point, but it's really hard to say! I'm definitely excited to learn more.

thegaygamer.com said...

Yeah, I'm excited to learn one way or the other, too, Anne. BTW, are you still glad you picked up a Vita, or are you feeling any buyer's remorse?

apricotsushi said...

Hm, well, I think I've mentioned it before, but I mainly bought the Vita because we needed people to cover Vita games for VGW. From that standpoint, I don't feel remorse, as so far all of the games I've gotten for it have been reviews copies, aside from P4 Golden (which I haven't even played yet). Plus I had a PS+ account already, so I got Gravity Rush and a few other things for free.


It's a great piece of tech, but if I hadn't been reviewing things, I could see myself being unhappy with the current selection of games. I can't really think of all too many must-have titles, and I'm still playing a lot of PSP games, so I likely would've been happy just using that for another year or two. Plus, all the must-have stuff coming out these days, in my mind, is on the 3DS!


Long story short, though, I guess I am pretty happy with it, overall :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Good! I was hoping that would be your answer :) Hopefully when all is said and done, the Vita will have a nice enough catalog of games--at least enough to spur me to buy one myself :)

retr0gamer said...

Looking forward to this one. I'm pretty sure it's the Siren/Gravity Rush team behind this and they always make interesting games.

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

To anyone here who hasn't seen Sony's new info revealed on May 21, the game will be called Freedom Wars, is on Vita, and will be a "multiplayer action" game.

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks for updating folks, MH2882! I can't say I like the new title much, but I'm glad to hear it's a Vita title. Looking forward to seeing more of it!

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

From some of the screens on it's website (http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/title/freedomwars/) it appears to be a third person shooter.

Also I forget to give credit to joystiq for the info on my previous comment. I also got the link for the Freedom Wars site from them.