Days Gone 2: "It is the gamblers' fault that there is no successor"

Days Gone 2

Especially in the recent past there have been increasing reports of a possible successor to Days Gone or why there will in all likelihood not be one. Among other things, it could be read that the pitch for a Days Gone 2 was rejected by Sony. If it is up to the responsible Game Director John Garvin, the blame lies with the players or the consumers. In the latest episode of David Gaffe's podcast, he criticized the bargain mentality of many gamers, which in his opinion is one of the reasons why there will be no successor to Days Gone.

Days Gone Digital Standard Edition | Buy PS4 Download Code from Amazon "I have an opinion on a topic that your audience might be interested in - and it might upset them. If you love a game, get the hell out of it at full price. I can't say anymore, how many times I've seen players say, 'Yeah, I got it on sale, I got it on PS Plus or something. (...) God of War, what do I know, had millions of sales at the launch - Days Gone (buy now) not. I only speak for myself, I don't work for Sony. "

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Are bargain hunters preventing a successor?

Accordingly, Garvin points out that, among other things, the weak sales figures of Days Gone are responsible for the fact that Sony has so far not been able to bring itself to give the green light for a successor. If we follow Garvin's argument, it would appear that many players did not get the action adventure right away, but rather from sales campaigns or via PlayStation Plus, which logically has an impact on sales. Sony has not yet commented on this issue.

What do you think about it? Is the bargain mentality of some customers actually to blame for the fact that there is no successor to some games?

Source: Podcast by David Gaffe

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Cancelling Days Gone 2 is the best thing Sony have done all year – Reader’s Feature

Days Gone is going to PC but not a full sequel (pic: Sony)

A reader is less than upset to hear that Days Gone 2 has been cancelled and hopes that it will mean an end to the Sony formula.

The news emerged last week that Sony seems to have cancelled plans for Days Gone 2, after developer Sony Bend pitched the idea to them. As far as I’m concerned this is the most positive news Sony has had for months.

That does not mean I hate Days Gone, I just think it’s really boring. It’s passable, low rent video game entertainment and nothing more. There’s not a spark of originality or flair to it and the one unique aspect – the ability to have so many zombies onscreen at once – is ignored for almost the entire length of the story campaign.

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I know this because I played through to the end of it after borrowing a copy from a friend. Barely an hour went by when I wasn’t asking myself why I was bothering, but it’s mindless enough entertainment, in a very Assassin’s Creed kind of a way, and frankly I had nothing better to do during lockdown.

If you like Days Gone then fine, I’m not attacking you personally. But the game already exists and just because it exists does not mean it automatically deserves a sequel, whether it was successful or not. The way some people talk it’s as if the second someone makes an even halfway popular game they then have to spend the next 20 years making nothing but sequels to it, with anything else being considered a betrayal of ‘the fans’.

Reading interviews with Sony Bend it’s pretty clear that they didn’t have much experience with games that big and they themselves admit to running into problems. Part of the issue Sony seems to have had with the game is that it took much longer (and therefore was more expensive) than was originally planned. I’d argue that’s a positive thing though, as Bend have learnt now and can use that experience on their next game.

There’s absolutely no reason that game should be Days Gone 2 though. An open world game with zombies is possibly the most generic idea for a video game you could possibly come up with, just one notch above military shooter. And besides, most of the top creatives that made the first game have already left so even if they did make a sequel, it would likely have trouble replicating the same tone.

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There has been a lot of, entirely justifiable, criticism of Sony lately and one of the big concerns I have is that by sidelining Japan, and focusing more on American tastes, they’re going to make worse Days Gone’s biggest problem: it’s too formulaic.

The Sony formula isn’t quite as strict as the Ubisoft one but they’re both similar, with the majority of Sony first party exclusives featuring third person open world gameplay with some kind of angry middle-aged white guy; with amazing graphics, mournful music, and a generally dour and ‘adult’ tone. Occasionally they’ll mix it up a little and the protagonist will be slightly younger, or even a woman, but the template is still the same.

Don’t get me wrong, I love God Of War and The Last Of Us but it feels like Sony’s record is stuck. They found a formula that works and with Days Gone they showed the first signs of running it into the ground. Ghost Of Tsushima wasn’t exactly inspiring either, it literally was Assassin’s Creed but with better graphics and 10 year old game design.

The narrative at the moment is that Microsoft is outspending Sony, whose only way of fighting back is the fact that their exclusives are better. That is true, as of this moment, but it might not always be the case. And it definitely won’t be if all they make are open world sad dad simulators.

My hope is that the cancellation of Days Gone 2 shows Sony realises that and cancelled it, not only because the original wasn’t great but because it was too similar to their other games. If they recognise that and are making steps to rectifying the problem then they may be in a better position than people realise. And so the cancellation of Days Gone 2 could end up as the turning point that won Sony the generation.

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By reader Cubby

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.

MORE : Days Gone on PC gameplay footage shown but no mention of sequel

MORE : Days Gone 2 fan petition about to reach 10,000 signatures

MORE : Days Gone 2 would’ve featured co-op universe says original director

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