Multiplat AFL 23 - PS/Steam Releasing May 4, Xbox TBC

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

WHEN CAN I PLAY? READ BELOW:

• PlayStation (Physical): Thursday 4 May
• PlayStation (Digital): 8:01am AEST Thursday 4 May
• Steam: Currently 8:01am AEST Thursday 4 May, may be moved to 12:01am AEST
• Xbox (Digital or Physical): TO BE CONFIRMED, unlikely to be 4 May

Spoiler: Specific Big Ant quotes about the release:

Those that pre-ordered PS versions will be able to play on Thursday, disks will have already been mailed by retailers, they will also be available in-store.

Steam will also be available Thursday.

Stating the obvious, we are still having issues with XBox.

Seriously, anyone that looks hard knows there’s issues - why do you think there are so many exclusives for a particular platform that are not marked as exclusive, but are only on that platform.

If I took that road, life would have been a lot easier.

Xbox digital and retail will release at the same time - that is not a decision we get to make.

It applies now and I will no doubt pay a price.

Spoiler: Other Quotes

Re: commentary team

Spoiler: Other Quotes

Hamish is still there, Daisy didn't make it into the final version of the game.

We added Gary and increased the workload of Harf.

Re: game availability/release dates

I can never give 100% guarantee about anything in the future, but as it stands today, the statement I am prepared to make it that all stock that is at retailers on 4 May will be available for sale.

As to the amount that will be there for sale, and whether it is enough, that is a question I cannot answer.

It will be made digitally available on the various platform holder electronic stores.

Clarifying, the game will not release prior to 4 May 2023.

I am vague as there is one platform that has had sufficient stock at retailers and the other has not, and I cannot name them (contractual reasons).

The game will not be further delayed because of the numbers of units in stock.

Re: Steam listing

I've already put in a request for the screenshots to be replaced with current ones, they'll probably only be there for a day.

As much as the feedback has generally been positive, these are old, meant to be placeholder only and were not meant to go live.

Re: playing lists

All playing lists are accurate for the 2023 season.

Re: content creator footage

This is all prior to day one patch (as some have noted updates like numbers etc are apparent)

Re: Career mode

A head's up on Career mode.

At the AFL 23 Launch night I mentioned the non-team based Individual Career Mode in an interview with Dean (Twistie3). As alluded to at that same event, we were working with the AFL and AFLPA to include as many past legends in the game as possible.

The great news is that we have received approval for far more AFL legends than were previously envisaged, but this has meant that we had to make the tough decision to divert resources away from the Individual Career mode development. The individual Career Mode function will not make it into AFL 23, Career Mode will be entirely team based. I expect this mode to be include in future iterations of the game.

Re: microtransactions

You do not have to make purchases, things can be earned.

Re: general development

So fundamentally flawed, in so many ways, it’s bananas.

We are doing AFL as it’s a passion project, without us doing it there would not be one being made.

So much more upside with making games that are played internationally, let alone one that will not even be played in every state in this country.

 

[Lesnish]

As it should be;

Looks like there is a limited crowd in that screenshot.
Does that suggest crowd sizes can vary or am I reading too much into it?

On SM-S901E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[jdobs95]

I wonder if they ended up getting VFL Park in the game

 

[orazio ray]

Think this is a bit ambitious. I'm pretty sure FIFA is 30fps on PS4/Xbox One with half the number of players on field. It's 60fps on PS5/Series X.

But it would be nice to have all this confirmed sooner rather than later. Same with PC specs.

EDIT: Actually FIFA is 60fps on the old consoles, only difference seems to be resolution. My bad.

yeah all good. my fifa is super smooth on my ps4 so every time i switched to evo it was sad the difference.

 

[bdawwg1021]

Any reason as to why the logos on the wing are on the opposite sides?

Jesus christ

 

[jdoggdrool]

Alphabet stadium;

Kardinia Park looks great! Thanks for sharing, Ross BigAntStudios

 

[imwinningagreatwall]

Goalkicking challange mini game online leaderboard?

 

[DaveM303]

Looks like there is a limited crowd in that screenshot.
Does that suggest crowd sizes can vary or am I reading too much into it?

Why is there doubt that there will be varying crowd sizes in the game?

 

[rjforman364]

Alphabet stadium;

I'd love to see a screenshot of Punt Road Oval's digital debut!

 

[Sewelly101]

Looks like there is a limited crowd in that screenshot.
Does that suggest crowd sizes can vary or am I reading too much into it?

On SM-S901E using BigFooty.com mobile app

I'd like some sort of slider in the pre game options to control this, I think its gonna be similar to Cricket 22 in the way it works though. I think in this scenario, they've reduced the crowd to showcase the coloured seats

 

[pattymalone00]

Alphabet stadium;

only a little thing but isnt the roof meant to be linked not seperate roofs...?!?

 

[DaveM303]

Jesus christ

It's a pretty significant issue actually. If the field logos are facing the wrong way, then the TV camera angles will either have upside down field logos, or the "broadcast side" in game will be on the opposite end to real life.
Should be an easy fix though.

 

[jon0011]

...and a few other random animations in that trailer (oscar Allen? going for a mark as his opponent is running off 5m in front of him).

Agree that this is a strange one. Would love to know why that's happening. Maybe it was captured from a two player game and the other player was spamming the mark button?

I think it's pretty obvious to be honest that Allen was the forward leading for the kick that was coming in and May has jumped into his path and stolen it whilst Allen has gone into his marking motion/animation. Just like in real like if Allen was leading for a kick he would jump thinking he was about to take the mark, only to then have an intercepting May cut across.

Just requires some logical thinking.

 

[SugarShane]

Brick and mortar video game stores are pretty obsolete these days. JB survives because it's an electronics store and EB (and Gamestop in the US) has adjusted to be basically a merchandise store these days.

They're kind of coming back. Kmart and Target stopped doing gaming because they were more often than not selling games at a loss to get people in the shop. Big W are still hanging on.

 

[crowsflag2030]

Why is there doubt that there will be varying crowd sizes in the game?

Just a guess but there could be restrictions from the AFL on not having low crowd numbers in game. Like for a Gold Coast North Melbourne match BA might not be allowed to make crowd numbers so low that the stadium is only 1/3 full, just an example. Also, no one really knows how it would work if implemented into the game. Do crowds vary based on fixture, a team's performance (manager/player career), the time the game is played etc.

 

[pOleK]

The crowds and grounds look great. It'd be great in future instalments if the crowds have concentrated supporter areas instead of being spaced out. Like the away side has a pocket of their colour behind the goals that are clearly visible or Grand Final day where the stadium is patterned out in sections for each team. Another one I noticed on the weekend was the pocket of Swans supporters on the far HFF down in Geelong. Similar to what they do in FIFA with the corner pockets of the away fans and it just adds a bit more to the immersion.

 

[Etto]

Will you have the ability to change what foot you kick with while attempting a set shot?

BigAntStudios

 

[Carltonblazingblues]

Went in to EB games today still no Xbox Copies

 

[jdoggdrool]

Went in to EB games today still no Xbox Copies

If they need one week lead up for it to be sold, that would mean there's two business days left for the XBOX copies to arrive. Initially, I was hopeful we'd get it sooner than May 4, but now I'm getting a bit concerned.

 

[footyfreak_]

Next week… hopefully

 

[FearTheBeard13]

If they need one week lead up for it to be sold, that would mean there's two business days left for the XBOX copies to arrive. Initially, I was hopeful we'd get it sooner than May 4, but now I'm getting a bit concerned.

Lets just wait and see. I really don’t think May 4th was chosen as the new date if Big Ant couldn't reasonably guarantee the stock would arrive on time. It also sounds like some stores have had Xbox copies and some haven’t (based on earlier posts)

 

[magpienato]

We're just over a week away now without gameplay. Sure the screenshots of the stadiums look great but it's an entirely different thing to actually see how the game plays which is the main aspect that makes or breaks these AFL video games over the years. Like what logical reason is there not to show gameplay? As much as you may want to downplay it, it really does come off as if you're trying to hide something.

Either way, my optimism for this game has really flatlined and it's slowly becoming apparent that even if this game does launch on the 4th of May it's going to be buggy mess in the same way Cricket 22 was.

 

[RG16]

Went in to EB games today still no Xbox Copies

If I worked at EB/JB I wouldn't be telling people if we had it out back

 

[RU_]

When I asked the young bloke at my EB, his awkward denial led me to believe they do have it, just waiting for the go ahead.

 

[DaveM303]

We're just over a week away now without gameplay. Sure the screenshots of the stadiums look great but it's an entirely different thing to actually see how the game plays which is the main aspect that makes or breaks these AFL video games over the years. Like what logical reason is there not to show gameplay? As much as you may want to downplay it, it really does come off as if you're trying to hide something.

Either way, my optimism for this game has really flatlined and it's slowly becoming apparent that even if this game does launch on the 4th of May it's going to be buggy mess in the same way Cricket 22 was.

This is getting really tiring. It's been explained a million times now that the bulk of their marketing will be done close to and after the game releases, and that we WILL see gameplay before the game releases. Can we please talk about something else now?

 

[pOleK]

The crowds and grounds look great. It'd be great in future instalments if the crowds have concentrated supporter areas instead of being spaced out. Like the away side has a pocket of their colour behind the goals that are clearly visible or Grand Final day where the stadium is patterned out in sections for each team. Another one I noticed on the weekend was the pocket of Swans supporters on the far HFF down in Geelong. Similar to what they do in FIFA with the corner pockets of the away fans and it just adds a bit more to the immersion.

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Just a follow-up with the crowd thing, with the number of different kits in the game that were shown at the launch event, it'd be amazing if there was like a small percentage of fans in various kits in the stands.

Like a random generator for what the NPCs wear. Something like 60% wearing home kits/20% away kits/10% clash kits/10% random kits from the alternates and one-offs in the game. Just small details