PlayStation Studios |OT28| \o/ Respect Women's Rights. Fuck Jim Ryan.

[MrTomato]

I enjoyed death stranding for what it was, but the story was either really, really bad or really, really good, sometimes in the same scene. I guess the same could be said of the gameplay. However, I loved the online parts of the game, and I was addicted to building roads and bridges for other people.

I'd definitely play a sequel, and I think a few tweaks could be made to the formula to smooth over the rough edges.

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I think the overall story is good, interesting and pretty unique. But the storytelling definitely varies from charming (I remember really enjoying the scenes with Heartman) to terrible and cringeworthy (dialogue, unnecessary booty shots, tons of exposition in cutscenes).
I would love for someone else than Kojima to actually write the English dialogue, because he really isn't good at it. Feels like Anime writing with real people, which just doesn't jive imo-
He is an expert at creating original ideas, worlds + cool imagery and cinematography. Someone else should take care of the rest.

 

[Chaos Legion]

I just assume Sony will continue buying small independent studios. WBIE is maybe a big swing. Maybe something in the mobile space (if you notice, Yoshida highlighted that SPE is a minority owner of Scopely through the GSN Games sale).

I think at some point (although MS is blowing this up with having over 40 studios when ATVI closes), it's a bit unwieldy to have so many studios under SIE. Not sure what that point is, though.

 

[gt123]

These are just some of the recipts people have on the topic. Grubb is one of many who, through this screen grab and other statements that still exist, have made really bold predictions about Death Stranding 2 under the guise of insider status.

But when you compare the receipts and what is factual you'll find that many have absolutely zero inside info/sources.

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I mean the information you presented showed none of that.....

 

[quail_lad]

These are just some of the recipts people have on the topic. Grubb is one of many who, through this screen grab and other statements that still exist, have made really bold predictions about Death Stranding 2 under the guise of insider status.

But when you compare the receipts and what is factual you'll find that many have absolutely zero inside info/sources.

Click to shrink...

Again, I implore you to apply even the smallest amount of effort to detect when someone is giving an opinion or stating it as fact.

 

[Host Samurai]

Sony could get Capcom and SE for like a 1/3 of that :P

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And get lots more mileage out of them too without any bloat.

 

[gt123]

These are just some of the recipts people have on the topic. Grubb is one of many who, through this screen grab and other statements that still exist, have made really bold predictions about Death Stranding 2 under the guise of insider status.

But when you compare the receipts and what is factual you'll find that many have absolutely zero inside info/sources.

Click to shrink...

I just honestly think it's weird how you tried to go out of your way to get receipts to show a gotcha and get those insiders, even though what you showed proved none of that, if not the opposite.

I also think it's weird how I go out of the way to defend these insiders.

It's just pretty simple math to me. The rate at which someone makes accurate prediction is about how much I trust their information. So people like Tom Henderson and Jeff Grubb have proven to have accurate info time and time again, I will give their info a certain amount of trust. Based on the information you've provided just makes me assume that people who think certain insiders, who I trust, are unreliable, just are failing at differentiating opinions and insider information.

Doesn't mean I think everything they say is 100% true unless it's......Jason Schreier who is basically just an official confirmation of information to me.

 

[NediarPT88]

Didn't Dusk Golem said Death Stranding flopped?

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Dusk Golem info on DS was just a bunch of nonsense.

Still waiting for that Junji Ito & Kojima manga his source said it would be happening back in 2020...

 

[dancingphlower]

Nah, Sony could invest in a third person RPG and it would sell as much or more than those. Hence why they are moneyhatting FF and KOTOR.

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Sure but that won't change the gap in Bethesda-style RPGs

 

[GlamPrime]

I just honestly think it's weird how you tried to go out of your way to get receipts to show a gotcha and get those insiders, even though what you showed proved none of that, if not the opposite.

I also think it's weird how I go out of the way to defend these insiders.

It's just pretty simple math to me. The rate at which someone makes accurate prediction is about how much I trust their information. So people like Tom Henderson and Jeff Grubb have proven to have accurate info time and time again, I will give their info a certain amount of trust. Based on the information you've provided just makes me assume that people who think certain insiders, who I trust, are unreliable, just are failing at differentiating opinions and insider information.

Doesn't mean I think everything they say is 100% true unless it's......Jason Schreier who is basically just an official confirmation of information to me.

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Those screen grabs have been doing the rounds on social media since DS2 was confirmed. I don't follow Grubb as I mentioned before.

You can defend whom and whatever you choose. There are a lot of "Insiders" who through various statements and sound bites from podcasts who have said, for definite, their sources confirmed that there wouldn't be a sequel.

As I mentioned earlier in this OT, there are journalists who leak press releases in regards to sony press statements. But when it comes to actual insiders, I think there are two.

Mr Khan and Mr Shinobi

When the other 44K chime in with "I heard" or "My sources told me" my natural, innate, and go to stance is

But that's just me.

 

[BrickArts295]

Didn't Dusk Golem said Death Stranding flopped?

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5M copies sold by Mar 21.
So possibly 3-4m on PS4 before DC on PS5. I assume it most likely broke even, the game was developed surprisingly fast and Koji Pro has 80 devs. I think the only expensive parts were the actors but even then I don't think they weren't all that expensive aside from Norman and maybe Mads. And if it flopped I don't think Sony would have greenlighted a Director's Cut 🤷‍♂️

Edit: Death Stranding was profitable and recouped costs; profit secured for next title - May 2020
Yeah DS most likely turned a profit after 5 months.
And it did well on PC too:

In April 2021, publisher 505 Games' parent organization Digital Bros announced in a financial that the PC release had generated €23 million ($27 million) in revenue as of December 2020, making it the company's highest-grossing game in 2020.

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[Deleted member 887]

And even more people get to experience the game thanks to the new service. I hadn't bought DS yet., but I'll get to play it for free now.

 

[Vito]

5M copies sold by Mar 21.
So possibly 3-4m on PS4 before DC on PS5. I assume it most likely broke even, the game was developed surprisingly fast and Koji Pro has 80 devs. I think the only expensive parts were the actors but even then I don't think they weren't all that expensive aside from Norman and maybe Mads. And if it flopped I don't think Sony would have greenlighted a Director's Cut 🤷‍♂️

Edit: Death Stranding was profitable and recouped costs; profit secured for next title - May 2020
Yeah DS most likely turned a profit after 5 months.
And it did well on PC too:

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Yeah, I guess Dusk got it wrong.

 

[Uzupedro]

 

[Ludi_Ludere]

Dusk Golem info on DS was just a bunch of nonsense.

Still waiting for that Junji Ito & Kojima manga his source said it would be happening back in 2020...

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Isn't Dusk Golem the person who also said that the PS5 struggles to hit 1080p60 with third-party games?

 

[shadowman16]

Isn't Dusk Golem the person who also said that the PS5 struggles to hit 1080p60 with third-party games?

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Specifically with RE8. But I think it was 4K 60FPS... or a combo of the above. But it was a bizarre outburst that was... childish to say the least and not based in the reality of the subject. Especially as: a) RE8 was still very much in development at the time (shocker - optimisation isnt something worked on first) and second - turns out the game actually ended up running really well when it was released. Really well.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

Isn't Dusk Golem the person who also said that the PS5 struggles to hit 1080p60 with third-party games?

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Yeah he commented entirely too prematurely about a snapshot in time which didn't reflect on anything of the final product. Very odd.
And he said he posted the hearsay to try to balance out the news cycle because Xbox had like two negative headlines at the time.
Thanks I guess.

 

[gt123]

Those screen grabs have been doing the rounds on social media since DS2 was confirmed. I don't follow Grubb as I mentioned before.

You can defend whom and whatever you choose. There are a lot of "Insiders" who through various statements and sound bites from podcasts who have said, for definite, their sources confirmed that there wouldn't be a sequel.

As I mentioned earlier in this OT, there are journalists who leak press releases in regards to sony press statements. But when it comes to actual insiders, I think there are two.

Mr Khan and Mr Shinobi

When the other 44K chime in with "I heard" or "My sources told me" my natural, innate, and go to stance is

But that's just me.

Click to shrink...

Okay, but you're still the one that posted it here to prove the "insiders" wrong. And it wasn't proof of anything.

Okay, but again, you didn't provide any of that here.

I mean, again, you don't have any proof of that, you're just saying things like you have information. Any journalist that was constantly leaking press statements would no longer be getting press statements, especially with how strict Sony is. Also I would think if there's any company not giving press information early, it's Sony. I can't remember the last time that the press had articles pre-written to coincide with Sony news launching. Maybe some Digital Foundry stuff?

I mean I agree with your list, but they aren't usually leaking stuff very often either, but yeah they have my highest trust. I have zero idea why Jason Schreier isn't on your list when his track record is basically 100 percent and he's the most well-regarded games journalist.

Again, the math is pretty simple. Do they get alot of stuff right? Yeah? Okay, I give them some amount of trust based on that.

Like I get the annoyance of their being so many people acting like they're insiders, but I think it's fairly easy at this point to filter out who is atleast somewhat reliable. I also get how it's annoying to hear the whole "I heard this" talk all the time from certain people, so I guess I get it.

But I feel like this is a pointless conversation to have because I think you believe what you believe so it is what it is, I just would hope when you're trying to rebuke information that it comes with some proof, but you also don't have any reason to believe anything some insider says online. I just feel like these leaks should be taken for what they are in every individual case.

 

[TheRealTalker]

I think at one point Sony will acquire a publisher. It is a matter of if not when.

But I also think they aren't interested in some bloated pub either.

If they can find a small one that is optimal and efficient then great, other then that they'd likely buy a key part of a pub and trim/spinoff/avoid the rest.

Much like how they acquired DelightWorks gaming division and the rest of DelightWorks that was health, fitness, golf, etc... continued to run as its own company while the gaming division now under Sony was changed to Lasengle .

 

[GlamPrime]

Dusk Golem got banned from some forum for pushing false info because he wanted to change a narrative, right?

I've never seen his predictions but I'm pretty sure he's an "insider" who admitted to trying to create a narrative via false info.

Or did I get Dusk confused with some other insider?

 

[DominusArmanius]

Can we trust Dusk Golem with those leaked images, then?

 

[the-pi-guy]

I think at one point Sony will acquire a publisher. It is a matter of if not when.

But I also think they aren't interested in some bloated pub either.

If they can find a small one that is optimal and efficient then great, other then that they'd likely buy a key part of a pub and trim/spinoff/avoid the rest.

Much like how they acquired DelightWorks gaming division and the rest of DelightWorks that was health, fitness, golf, etc... continued to run as its own company while the gaming division now under Sony was changed to Lasengle .

Click to shrink...

I could see it going two different ways, buying a publisher or buying up a dozen studios.

A lot of publishers I feel like might be too big or have too much baggage.

 

[beau_beaumont]

I think the overall story is good, interesting and pretty unique. But the storytelling definitely varies from charming (I remember really enjoying the scenes with Heartman) to terrible and cringeworthy (dialogue, unnecessary booty shots, tons of exposition in cutscenes).
I would love for someone else than Kojima to actually write the English dialogue, because he really isn't good at it. Feels like Anime writing with real people, which just doesn't jive imo-
He is an expert at creating original ideas, worlds + cool imagery and cinematography. Someone else should take care of the rest.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, the bad stuff is really, really bad, but I really liked BB's backstory, and for every absolutely stupid piece of dialogue, there was an cool idea or plot development that would interest me. I think he needs a co-writer or some other collaborator, which is part of the reason I was so excited about silent hills when del toro was also involved. A lot of death stranding felt like a first draft that might have been polished if another set of eyes had seen it before it was made.

 

[sazz]

Can we trust Dusk Golem with those leaked images, then?

Click to shrink...

Yes, his information about certain subjects is questionable, but on the other hand his information with anything Capcom has been pretty flawless and also Konami DMCA struck the photos which is a sure way to confirm it's real

 

[hey it's that dog]

Dusk Golem got banned from some forum for pushing false info because he wanted to change a narrative, right?

I've never seen his predictions but I'm pretty sure he's an "insider" who admitted to trying to create a narrative via false info.

Or did I get Dusk confused with some other insider?

Click to shrink...

I don't think he made up any information, but I believe he decided to leak the fact that RE8 was running poorly on PS5 (way before it was finished) because he was trying to "balance" something out. Of course we can't verify whether it was a fact or not, but I don't believe he ever stated that he made it up.

 

[Broseph]

I think at one point Sony will acquire a publisher. It is a matter of if not when.

But I also think they aren't interested in some bloated pub either.

If they can find a small one that is optimal and efficient then great, other then that they'd likely buy a key part of a pub and trim/spinoff/avoid the rest.

Much like how they acquired DelightWorks gaming division and the rest of DelightWorks that was health, fitness, golf, etc... continued to run as its own company while the gaming division now under Sony was changed to Lasengle .

Click to shrink...

If they are acquiring anyone, it'll be Square Enix. Or as a surprise, I could see Ubisoft. Feels like an out of nowhere type acquisition like Bungie. But if they do buy a publisher, my money is on SE

 

[JoueurN1]

Season 3 of Love Death and Robots's episode "In Vaulted Halls Entombed" (out today) was created in Unreal Engine by Sony Pictures Imageworks with PlayStation Studios Visual Arts. (from the credits)

More info from an older interview with director Jerome Chen.

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trying to see if there's any GOW Ragnarok stuff

 

[Broseph]

I do think a publisher has to be bought at some point even if you have to commit to making the games multiplatform like Activision. It's just a necessity for the sake of being able to beef the subscription options. Studios like Haven won't really move the needle compared to devs that have established IPs like Final Fantasy or Assassins Creed

 

[TheRealTalker]

I do think a publisher has to be bought at some point even if you have to commit to making the games multiplatform like Activision. It's just a necessity for the sake of being able to beef the subscription options. Studios like Haven won't really move the needle compared to devs that have established IPs like Final Fantasy or Assassins Creed

Click to shrink...

I don't think Sony would be ever interested in UbiSoft due to how bloated they are and how much of a task it would be to integrate all of them into SIE.

Sony would likely rather expand their internal studios instead and look for new partners like they are doing with Deviation, etc..

 

[JasoNsider]

I think Deathing Stranding is just achingly bad. It's also probably the first time I've seen my partner feel buyer's remorse for a videogame, too. One of the first games she insisted on buying herself. It's just so terribly written, poorly paced, and even falls flat on gameplay. It feels like Kojima doesn't know how to check his ego sometimes and his studios works get sucked in and weighed down by it.

I feel like Kojima is truly great when his scripts are reigned in and he focuses on gameplay first. PT was the best thing he's ever attached his name to and MGSV, which mercifully allowed skipping almost all story via voice logs, is a close second. In short, he needs a strict editor/writing consultant.

Anyway, having said all that I always keep an open mind on follow ups! Great creators are especially good at self analyzing their weaknesses and will improve on their next work in meaningful ways (even if sometimes those ways are giving up control to more capable people). Here's hoping!

 

[Broseph]

I don't think Sony would be ever interested in UbiSoft due to how bloated they are and how much of a task it would be to integrate all of them into SIE.

Sony would likely rather expand their internal studios instead and look for new partners like they are doing with Deviation, etc..

Click to shrink...

I'm really just listing Ubisoft because it's the random publisher that I could see happening. That said, the size of them would make them a trouble but I think they're more likely than someone like Capcom. Really it's just about Sony's CEO talking about the importance of IPs. Only way to gain IPs quickly is buy them and Ubisoft does have many. That said, I think Square Enix is the obvious case for any publisher acquisition

 

[gamenéutica]

Ubisoft have Driver and The Crew, also they have the firs game from Sucker Punch: Rocket: Robot on wheels wich is a great game.
Also they have Rayman and Wach Dogs, two IPs with a lot potential.

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

In-game menu.

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

Of Course Someone Remade the Absurdly Realistic Unreal Engine 5 Train Station Demo in Dreams - IGN

Someone has already remade the absurdly realistic Unreal Engine 5 train station demo inside PlayStation's Dreams.

www.ign.com

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I think Deathing Stranding is just achingly bad. It's also probably the first time I've seen my partner feel buyer's remorse for a videogame, too. One of the first games she insisted on buying herself. It's just so terribly written, poorly paced, and even falls flat on gameplay. It feels like Kojima doesn't know how to check his ego sometimes and his studios works get sucked in and weighed down by it.

I feel like Kojima is truly great when his scripts are reigned in and he focuses on gameplay first. PT was the best thing he's ever attached his name to and MGSV, which mercifully allowed skipping almost all story via voice logs, is a close second. In short, he needs a strict editor/writing consultant.

Anyway, having said all that I always keep an open mind on follow ups! Great creators are especially good at self analyzing their weaknesses and will improve on their next work in meaningful ways (even if sometimes those ways are giving up control to more capable people). Here's hoping!

Click to shrink...

I think Kojima believes his own hype, and now that he has no co-writers or co-producers and no oversight and does everything himself, there's nobody to pull him back from the brink when he gets an extremely stupid idea. Which, unfortunately, is most of his ideas nowadays.

 

[Gabaghoul582]

Can we trust Dusk Golem with those leaked images, then?

Click to shrink...

Personally I'm skeptical of him especially with that "RE8 is performing poorly on PS5" nonsense. On top of that, the rumor of "3 SH projects in the works (remake, sequel, episodic spin off)" has been a thing since before covid.

 

[Host Samurai]

I'm really just listing Ubisoft because it's the random publisher that I could see happening. That said, the size of them would make them a trouble but I think they're more likely than someone like Capcom. Really it's just about Sony's CEO talking about the importance of IPs. Only way to gain IPs quickly is buy them and Ubisoft does have many. That said, I think Square Enix is the obvious case for any publisher acquisition

Click to shrink...

Capcoms IP's are way more prestigious and they have a bigger catalog full of them that span decades. UBisoft has Prince of Persia and Rayman as their only series outside of Splinter Cell that hasn't been run into the ground yet. Their biggest meal tickets have been Assassins Creed and Far Cry and it seems the well is drying up on those series as Capcom has so many huge IP's to cycle through that every sequel feels special because they don't do annual games outside of Resident Evil if you count the remakes, which is like a different brand.

But yeah, this is Sony we're talking about, and they do sometimes make questionable decisions.

 

[Deleted member 887]

Dusk has their sources and is clearly privy to some sort of information. But I feel that is primarily with capcom games. His twitter is positioned around horror so I can see him getting information on a new SH. It seems these rumors have been out there for a while.

But I wouldn't much pay attention when he wades into sales talk or the actual performance on games.

 

[SolidSnakex]

The success of that Evil Dead game is a good example of why Sony's likely fine with letting Factions cook for as long as ND needs it to. It's better to get a multiplayer game right from the start so that the team can start building off of it instead of spending months trying to fix it while it's potentially bleeding users. And if that means a long dev cycle, then so be it.

 

[Gavalanche]

Personally I'm skeptical of him especially with that "RE8 is performing poorly on PS5" nonsense. On top of that, the rumor of "3 SH projects in the works (remake, sequel, episodic spin off)" has been a thing since before covid.

Click to shrink...

Regardless of poor judgement calls regarding how well a game runs or maybe not understanding technology or whatever, he clearly has access to information. He knew a lot about each of the Resident Evils before they came out, he knew about Monster Hunter and when it would roughly be revealed, etc etc. He has been right about a lot of stuff in the past, I just wouldn't listen to him when it comes to technical information is all.

 

[Heazy]

Did anyone else get the email about red dead online demo purchased?

Came through whilst I was sleeping and I have 2FA on

 

[Broseph]

Capcoms IP's are way more prestigious and they have a bigger catalog full of them that span decades. UBisoft has Prince of Persia and Rayman as their only series outside of Splinter Cell that hasn't been run into the ground yet. Their biggest meal tickets have been Assassins Creed and Far Cry and it seems the well is drying up on those series as Capcom has so many huge IP's to cycle through that every sequel feels special because they don't do annual games outside of Resident Evil if you count the remakes, which is like a different brand.

But yeah, this is Sony we're talking about, and they do sometimes make questionable decisions.

Click to shrink...

Capcom is a private company and may not be for sale. A company like Ubisoft on the other hand may be looking to cash in with all these public publishers including them having higher valuations

 

[Nightengale]

Capcom is not a private company.

 

[Host Samurai]

Capcom is a private company and may not be for sale. A company like Ubisoft on the other hand may be looking to cash in with all these public publishers including them having higher valuations

Click to shrink...

Capcom is publicly traded.

 

[Chaos Legion]

Capcoms IP's are way more prestigious and they have a bigger catalog full of them that span decades. UBisoft has Prince of Persia and Rayman as their only series outside of Splinter Cell that hasn't been run into the ground yet. Their biggest meal tickets have been Assassins Creed and Far Cry and it seems the well is drying up on those series as Capcom has so many huge IP's to cycle through that every sequel feels special because they don't do annual games outside of Resident Evil if you count the remakes, which is like a different brand.

But yeah, this is Sony we're talking about, and they do sometimes make questionable decisions.

Click to shrink...

I love Capcom. My username is literally a (great) Capcom title.
I don't know if I would say that Capcom is leveraging its catalog of IP any better than Ubisoft is. More successful in tapping into MH and RE. But a far cry (no pun intended) from cycling through their IP's.

PS2 Capcom, they were cooking.

 

[Toriko]

I think Deathing Stranding is just achingly bad. It's also probably the first time I've seen my partner feel buyer's remorse for a videogame, too. One of the first games she insisted on buying herself. It's just so terribly written, poorly paced, and even falls flat on gameplay. It feels like Kojima doesn't know how to check his ego sometimes and his studios works get sucked in and weighed down by it.

I feel like Kojima is truly great when his scripts are reigned in and he focuses on gameplay first. PT was the best thing he's ever attached his name to and MGSV, which mercifully allowed skipping almost all story via voice logs, is a close second. In short, he needs a strict editor/writing consultant.

Anyway, having said all that I always keep an open mind on follow ups! Great creators are especially good at self analyzing their weaknesses and will improve on their next work in meaningful ways (even if sometimes those ways are giving up control to more capable people). Here's hoping!

Click to shrink...

MGS3 shits on most games released last gen. Its that damn good. Guy is a genius.

 

[the-pi-guy]

Capcom is a private company and may not be for sale. A company like Ubisoft on the other hand may be looking to cash in with all these public publishers including them having higher valuations

Click to shrink...

They're publicly traded, I think the bigger issue is that a large chunk is owned by the Tsujimoto family, and the family runs the company.

 

[Broseph]

They're publicly traded, I think the bigger issue is that a large chunk is owned by the Tsujimoto family, and the family runs the company.

Click to shrink...

Yea you're right I think I mistook the family business aspect for it being private. My bad

 

[Gravity Insanity]

Bought the Mass Effect Legendary Edition a few days ago. Never played this series and I can see I've been missing out. The gameplay in Mass Effect is really dated, but I enjoy the story. I put in about 6+ hours in Mass Effect 2 so far and everything feels so much better compared to the first game. I can see why Shinobi likes this franchise lol.

 

[Deleted member 93062]

Hm, was pretty hesitant of subscribing to PS+ Extra however after looking to buy a copy of Death Stranding, RDR2, and Returnal, it would just be cheaper to subscribe and play the games that way. I hope Sony can keep this level of quality with third party games and hopefully get Sifu/Kena and other indies day one.

 

[Josh5890]

Bought the Mass Effect Legendary Edition a few days ago. Never played this series and I can see I've been missing out. The gameplay in Mass Effect is really dated, but I enjoy the story. I put in about 6+ hours in Mass Effect 2 so far and everything feels so much better compared to the first game. I can see why Shinobi likes this franchise lol.

Click to shrink...

It is a great trilogy!