Will Planetside 2 find new life on the PS4?
The first round of beta codes for Sony Online Entertainment’s PlayStation 4 version of Planetside 2 has been sent out as the game prepares to move to the console two years after its release on PC. Will a new platform breath new life into the game’s shrinking user base, or will it be the last hurrah for a dying game?
Planetside 2 is a rare breed of game that belongs to the small MMOFPS genre. The series is known for its large scale battles, which can feature hundreds of players fighting between two to three opposing factions.
Planetside 2 was first released in 2012, nearly a decade after the release of the first game. The game is free-to-play, but players can spend cash to unlock weapons and alternative armor skins, as well as on temporary experience boosts and other benefits. Overall, the balance between players who spend money and those who do not is relatively even, although non-paying players will find it takes far longer to unlock new weapons and skills.
Unlike MMO games like World of Warcraft, there is no endgame in Planetside 2, and while captured bases can have short term benefits for a faction, the captures constantly shift back and forth across the map as population balance fluctuates and new players join the fight.
PS2 on the PS4
Planetside 2 was initially supposed to launch on the PlayStation 4 at the same time the console was released, but delays pushed back the development of the game by months. With Planetside 2 just now entering closed beta, it will likely be several more months before the game is officially released on the PlayStation 4.
The beta will feature a small fraction of the total game world, with only one of the four continents available at first. Despite earlier claims that the PlayStation 4 version would run at “max settings,” the developers have confirmed that it will be locked to 30 frames-per-second.
The buzz surrounding a console release could be good news for Planetside 2, which has previously had to merge servers due to shrinking player populations. Whether or not an influx of console players will be enough to keep the game afloat is yet to be decided.
If you would like to sign up for the Planetside 2 closed beta on the PlayStation 4, visit http://www.planetside2.com/ps2onps4.
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