I think the whole retcon behind Infamous Second Son would have been better received If either Delsin and the other conduits weren’t conduits at all but some other type of enhanced humans with powers or a new type of conduits that where somehow given a genetically modified version of the conduit gene that makes them immune to the RFI a couple of years after Infamous 2

I view Second Son as an alternate timeline to the end on Infamous 2 in where instead of the RFI killing all conduits it only killed the conduits in New Marais and unlocked the Conduit Gene in dormant conduits (like Fetch and Eugene). This would makes sense to the story and also explain why Delson didn't know he was a conduit due to never touching another one until the events of the game.

There is a Dead Drop in inFamous 2 between John and Wolfe called Bad Omen that pretty much confirms that Kessler knew John was The Beast. The Dead Drop goes:

John: “I was carrying the Ray Sphere out of the lab when Kessler stopped me. It was... strange. He said that I had an important destiny, that I'd accomplish great things.”

Wolfe: “I used to be a skeptic, but many of his predictions actually do come true.”

John: “I don't know... the way he looked at me... Made me want him to be wrong.”

My head canon is that Kessler knew John was The Beast and in Kessler’s timeline the plague didn’t exist and The Beast was a monster hellbent on destroying all life and the plague was a consequence of Kessler rushing production of the Ray Sphere. Like he didn’t care about the side effects as long as it was able to make Cole a conduit without killing him.

When the game first came out I was honestly surprised by just how much technology has improved in the Infamous universe in just 7 years until I remembered the First Sons

I heard originally there was supposed to be a sequel to the Infamous 2 bad ending which was supposed to be canon but I don’t know if this sequel was what Second Son was originally supposed to be. Imagine playing as a different version of Delsin fighting a much more powerful version of Evil Cole who would be a new Beast

Infamous second son holds a special place in my heart. First game I’ve ever bought with my own money on a system I bought. First game I’ve ever 100%, my cousin and I bonded over playing though the good/evil side and it brought me into the infamous universe. I do get where you’re coming from as it is a slap in the face to older fans.

I remember reading somewhere that apparently Sucker Punch were going to make the Evil ending of Infamous 2 canon. But only changed it because the vast majority of players picked the good ending. I have no clue why they thought it would be a good idea to ditch one likely good storyline for one with no foundation to build off of. Second Son ended up being the equilivent of trying to build a skyscrapper on air, with the same consequences.

I think Second Son would make more sense if it took place during the events of the first two games as some sort of interquel.

My pitch for a follow up to Infamous 2 would have been a prequel following Kessler in the original timeline

I think it's clear Sucker Punch themselves intended for it to be canon, because there was even the pre order bonus, Cole's Legacy, where Zeke plays a major role, interacting with Delsin, (albeit just over the phone).  And despite it's flaws that it does have, I do also consider it to be canon.

There actually is an explanation to this, though it's a throw away line in the Cole's Legacy DLC. They basically said something along the lines of the plague still existing, but it's turning people into conduits instead of killing them. Kinda stupid that you need a pre-order DLC that became available after 8 years of the game being out.

I always saw InFamous Second Son as more of an elseworld scenario and not a legitimate sequel to the second game. In any other light, it kind of makes Second Son look worse since InFamous 2 felt like a perfect bookend to the series.

I always assumed Infamous Second Son was a sequel to Infamous, not Infamous 2 if that makes sense. It ignores so much of Infamous 2, including it's ending, that it didn't happen, so it's a Second infamous 2, a Second Son of Infamous, rather than Infamous 3

Infanous 2 is such a good game that the best part of the game is the cutscene where cole and zeke just sit down and drink beers while ignoring their phones. This game really deserves more love honestly

I’m surprised you didn’t find Nate Fox’s old quote around the time SS was either announced or at E3. When asked about how it would continue after Infamous 2, he confirmed that it would take place after the Good Ending and noted how he actually wrote Infamous 2 to continue after the Evil Ending, with tons of new conduits allowing for more variety or something like that. They switched gears when they saw the PSN Trophy stats and discovered that more players finished the Good Ending over the Evil one

I don’t know the exact time and place he said it, but if I had to guess, I’d assume it would be IGN’s E3 2013 coverage of Infamous SS. I used to watch IGN the most out of all the major gaming publications back in the day, and somewhere along the way I remember hearing Nate Fox talk about Infamous 2’s ending and how they wanted to continue the Evil one but saw that the Good one was more popular according to PSN Trophies

I never understood is why they never addressed this plot hole which puts this entire game's existence into question after 8 years. They could have done so in comics, books, interviews, or any other media. I also understand the question as to whether or not the game is canon as it doesn't address the most important world event of the previous game.

The game release a full year before it was meant to, acoarding to Delsins voice actor. That's why the evil has a lot of reused stuff from the good karma to the point of not even changin Reggie final words and Agusting powers not having an ult nor a way to execute/reduce enemies

actually the evil karma ending was supposed to be canon for second son but they changed it to good karma cause that was the more popular ending.

Second son also doesn't work with Infamous 2s evil ending. Yes conduits are around still, but no mention whatsoever of the plague or the beast in the sequel, would be very strange to ignore the humanity ending threat in second son

So for one, Sony did rush the game. From what i have read it involves wanting to have exclusive IP's out already so it was between Second Son and 1886. I believe about 4 to 6 months were shaven off and then just said March 2014 when it was suppose to be for September or October closer to the fall season the game seems  to take place in, and yes that would create alot of flaws.

 Second, the developers did write themselves in a corner, that doesnt mean we can just and should just scrap Delsin and the characters we were introduced here when we still have also many questions Delsin story can answer. Celia is still out there and she was given information only Augustine knew as she uncovered details of the First Sons. This would set a perfect opportunity to redeem not only the writing but the the entire Second Son story. Third, Cole develpment was so well done because he had not only 2 games but a comic, a dope simple comic but dope.  Also,  Delsin has no ties to the Beast or Cole or Kessler. There is no need to connect them.  Cole Legacy definetly could have been more, but they do offer some reasons why some Conduits were alive.

I like to go by the idea that those that didnt edmit or produce radiation or huge waves it were not affected by the RFI, but yes Sucker Punch does need to go further into explaining why they didnt all die, but why take it out on Delsin himself?  Instead of your bad idea which is just bring Cole back, sorry thats not any better. Thats worse,  I see your bias with you just want Cole back. Which is fine but its not a better idea. Why not continue and finish off Delsins story and then move on from there. Celia can still re create the First Sons as she has knowledge of them and Darpa took Kesslers findings. They can easily use that and have some Neo First Sons who now work independently or with someone or some branch of the goverment or Darpa itself. Give is a Moya type character, have Delsin find and learn about the First sons which would help us the player have their story expanded and connect Kesslers findings, theories and ideas connect with Celia who should know about them.

Maybe this time we can have Zeke meet Delsin and have them build a bond, maybe have this new group create super Conduits that surpass even Cole or the beast. We learned that some Conduits can only fly, or levitate some can only shoot beams out their eyes, i mean you can literally have a group try to create some Superman that goes wrong, you can have two antagonist that connect to the past but nope lets bring Cole back. Also, Delsin potential in power is a waste to throw away. Again, SP messed...no Sony messed up by rushing this game but there is potetial and I understand its not canon to you and many hate it but i cant see how when Paper Trail adds so much real life and grounds the game and expands on the universe. I cant see how that doesnt make people appreciate how life works. While Delsin is being used as something to be ignored, other fucked up things are happening in Seattle. Great video and i respect and hope I dont sound so condescending, but I cant agree with . "SS was a mistake" lets bring COLE BACK. Like thats not dumb either. Anyways hope all is well. Cheers.