BF 4 - will it impact PS2 population?

almalino · 2013-09-22, 09:49 AM

PS2 is the only multiplier game I play and enjoy for the last year. I switched from BF3 and never looked back. Just yesterday I invested another 22 Euro into PS2 boosts in addition of hundreds euro invested into SC before.

However , looking at new BF4 features like Commander Mode and highly destructible environments I have an itch to get it but then I know I will have no time to play PS2 then.

Also, I see that Miller population where I play is slowly declining week after the week. The only continent where is at least something happening is Indar and 2 other continents are completely deserted.

I'm afraid BF4 will make PS2 deserted as never before and this is sad.

Opinions?

ChipMHazard · 2013-09-22, 10:05 AM

It might, at the very least for a little while. It's something new for the PS2 players that are tired of not actually having any new content to play with. Don't think it will make PS2 deserted though, only PS2 itself can pull that off imo.
It's a fantastic looking game in its own right.

PredatorFour · 2013-09-22, 10:11 AM

I believe it will. They specifically wanted PS 2 to be like Battlefield. It's only natural imo that when battlefield 'x' comes out with a shinier look, most players will go to that instead.

almalino · 2013-09-22, 10:20 AM

The only fact that will keep me with PS2 from BF4 currently is my aging ATI 5870. I need to upgrade but I'm not sure I'm ready to invest 300+ euro just to play BF4 smoothly.

ChipMHazard · 2013-09-22, 10:24 AM

One thing that people might miss if they do start playing BF4 more is the scale of PS2.

almalino · 2013-09-22, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by ChipMHazard

One thing that people might miss if they do start playing BF4 more is the scale of PS2.

Indeed. Though BF4 is bringing things BF3 was missing from BF2 like commander mode.

I think BF4 is not a replacement for PS2 if we talk about Platoon game play. But I think there are only tiny bit of PS2 population is playing in platoons. Many other just play in small squads or even lonewolfing. Those could easily switch to BF4 and they will not miss the scale , in my opinion.

And if these people leave I am afraid it will be difficult to find good fights even on a most populated servers like Miller.

Yesterday in a pick time on Miller there were only 2 places on Indar with epic fights. All other continents are simply deserted. If Half of the players leave Miller for BF4 the game will become boring like hell with noone to shot at.

bpostal · 2013-09-22, 10:50 AM

There's still a large difference between what BF4 and PS2 are. My hope is that most of the micro-minded, progression driven players who focus mainly on BR, XP and cert gain per hour shift their focus to BF4.

Carbon Copied · 2013-09-22, 11:36 AM

The way I see it is PS2 has little going for it outside of what the franchise shooters can and already do offer; more players aren't exactly a selling point when the average encounter you're seeing in PS2 is on a no larger scale (I'd say 90-95% of the time) than that of a BF"x" map, plus the added boredom of nuances area to area.

Performance issues aside (I really do see performance as being the scape goat of most "oh well I left because" or "people are leaving because" arguments - this should be a non issue from the get go) PS2 should not have been released missing it's main trump card and thing it tries to sell itself with; large scale global warfare. If you release a good game that has a strong core centre piece mechanic (i.e hex/lattice conquest and locks) I'm pretty sure people will stick with it regardless of whether it sometimes runs like shit, balance issues here and there (and if they'd delayed these issues probably wouldn't be as severe but these are what if's). As it is performance is not AAA and the icing on the cake is theres nothing to say "you can't get this anywhere else".

Maybe later on they'll be able to convince players to come back because "things have changed and we've added feature x,y,z (read as: things that should have been in at the start, but sssh don't tell anyone)" but until then it's kind of devoid of selling points in the franchise wars. Which Taco Bell as we all know won.

wobblyone · 2013-09-22, 11:46 AM

I'm staying put.

I enjoyed BF3 despite the promise it would be a BF2 sequel. BF4 is more of the same, with Commander.
I know I would like BF4, but after playing PS2 it would be taking a step back IMO.

Emperor Newt · 2013-09-22, 02:13 PM

I doubt that it will be very noticeable as most of the players highly interested in BF4 most likely already left. Some surely will, but I guess that most dropouts out of PS2 will be because of PS2 and not because of BF4.

Rahabib · 2013-09-22, 02:22 PM

I never liked the previous bf games. I'll be trying the open beta however. I am getting bored of ps2 a bit. So for me, I will be cheating on ps2 at least to try out.

AThreatToYou · 2013-09-22, 02:39 PM

Every new game release even slightly relevant to PS2 will chip at the population a tiny bit. BF4 is probably going to be the same kind of deal; it'll make a tiny chip that we can make back with something like, I dunno, multi-core support.

almalino · 2013-09-22, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by Emperor Newt

I doubt that it will be very noticeable as most of the players highly interested in BF4 most likely already left. Some surely will, but I guess that most dropouts out of PS2 will be because of PS2 and not because of BF4.

Do we have a statistics on ratio of lone wolfs vs platoon players? Lone wolfels will be very interested to try BF4. I switched to PS2 because of it team play features. If BF4 brings back voice chat and commander mode this is very tempting.

Rivenshield · 2013-09-22, 04:28 PM

Of course it will. They chose to pander to the ADS console kiddies, and the instant something new and shiny catches their eye they'll wander off.

Taramafor · 2013-09-22, 06:45 PM

From what I hear BF4 will focus a bit more on team play. After watching a tank round tear through a building and having it collapse around a squad it's no wonder. On the other hand it's going to have weapon pickups mid games which is just too unreal tournament for me. It's like saying "Hey, forget what class you picked. Here's a shiny new weapon for a life." I like PS2 and I like UT and I like battlefield but mixing them is a huge immersion breaker for me. Anyway, I suspect people will drift to BF4 for a year or two then come back to PS2.

However, there is a battlefront game due out next year along with a new starwars movie and it is being made by the same people that make battlefront. And I know for sure I'll be playing that. That game along with BF4 could harm the PS2 population for a bit.