Let me start by stating that I want one. I am lucky enough to be able to afford all consoles and the only thing that may keep me from owning a PS5 this fall is if I'm unable to secure a pre-order. I want to experience the dual sense controller. Even if it's a gimmick, I like to have variety in my games as it's a serious hobby for me and I'm sure that God of War and Horizon will add some special controller features in addition to the fact that those are great games that I enjoyed in the current generation. So it's a buy for me, as a secondary console, just for the exclusives.
That being said, since yesterday, every time I hunt pre-orders and see the amount above the greyed out buy button being the same as for the Series X (which I managed to pre-order) I can't escape the feeling that I may be overpaying. The XSX is technically more powerful, I think that is beyond doubt. What was making the PS5 a no brainer at the same price regardless, let's be honest, was its superior (future) game library. It didn't matter too much, at least for a hardcore gamer like me, that Sony wasn't investing in a susbscription service a la Game Pass. They were committed to generations and we thought we were getting Sony's exceptional exclusives from day one. That was enough to maintain the public's interest sky high and obviously justify the prices that they unveiled a week ago.
Quite a few things have changed since. Sony has sneaked cross platform in on us without saying a word about it, they're inviting us to pay twice in order to double dip (Spider man) and most importantly, Microsoft now has the superior first party catalogue. Some games are generation defining. The Elder Scrolls is that kind of game and Starfield has the potential to be one too. Fallout is very close behind and so is Doom.
I mean the FPS genre now almost unanimously belongs to Microsoft: Halo (no need to bash it anymore, it's only one of the many standout shooters MS has), Wolfenstein (anyone's seen the DF breakdown of the New Colossus?), Doom Eternal, Quake, Rage, Dishonored, Prey, etc.. Those are ALL the most technically advanced shooters in the business. Never mind that anything Dice or Respawn makes is now coming early to Xbox owners.
MS has also had the racing genre on lock for at least a decade now and it's not about to change. The best western RPGs are now in house for them also. And the best part is that when I buy an Xbox with All Access for 25 bucks a month, the price of all the games I've just mentioned is already included.
The question now is what exactly justifies buying a PS5 at the same price as an XSX, without even the option to pay in installments with 0% APR credit? I can't play the games on my phone or tablet (remote play doesn't even work inside my house), the good ones come out every 2-3 years (6 years between Sucker Punch's last 2 games, 5 years between Naughty Dog's last 2 games, although the next GOW seems to be early), meaning that for most of the time I will be left to play multiplat games that very likely will look and run better on the XSX.
I'm trying to be objective here but short of also adopting the Netflix model in a hurry or buying Capcom or EA in the next few weeks, how does Sony justify charging way more (if you include the price of games) for less (fewer options to access the games, lower performance on most of them and at least less quantity since the quality verdict is not out yet for next gen).
I don't want Sony to enter the kind of financial hardship that would leave Microsoft as the sole main player with Nintendo and Google on the sidelines. I'm afraid that Sony's current business model, if maintained throughout the generation, will leave them a shell of what they were. Brand recognition and traditional loyalty only take you so far. Once people start realizing that Starfield is not releasing on Sony's console but their child wants it and there's this little toy like box that plays it and costs half the price of the PS5 and I don't even need to buy the game or any other game, the perception will change. Once enough people start commenting about trying the latest FIFA and Battlefield weeks before people on Playstation, without paying anything extra, word will spread. And again short of making the type of unprecedented investments that MS has just splashed and threatens to continue throwing, a price cut is the fairest gesture that Sony can make right now towards its customer base. It would prove that they are reading the market objectively and not taking anyone for granted. If they don't, the market has a way to speak back with its wallet when value perception significantly changes, even if it sometimes takes a while.
This gen will be interesting.
That being said, since yesterday, every time I hunt pre-orders and see the amount above the greyed out buy button being the same as for the Series X (which I managed to pre-order) I can't escape the feeling that I may be overpaying. The XSX is technically more powerful, I think that is beyond doubt. What was making the PS5 a no brainer at the same price regardless, let's be honest, was its superior (future) game library. It didn't matter too much, at least for a hardcore gamer like me, that Sony wasn't investing in a susbscription service a la Game Pass. They were committed to generations and we thought we were getting Sony's exceptional exclusives from day one. That was enough to maintain the public's interest sky high and obviously justify the prices that they unveiled a week ago.
Quite a few things have changed since. Sony has sneaked cross platform in on us without saying a word about it, they're inviting us to pay twice in order to double dip (Spider man) and most importantly, Microsoft now has the superior first party catalogue. Some games are generation defining. The Elder Scrolls is that kind of game and Starfield has the potential to be one too. Fallout is very close behind and so is Doom.
I mean the FPS genre now almost unanimously belongs to Microsoft: Halo (no need to bash it anymore, it's only one of the many standout shooters MS has), Wolfenstein (anyone's seen the DF breakdown of the New Colossus?), Doom Eternal, Quake, Rage, Dishonored, Prey, etc.. Those are ALL the most technically advanced shooters in the business. Never mind that anything Dice or Respawn makes is now coming early to Xbox owners.
MS has also had the racing genre on lock for at least a decade now and it's not about to change. The best western RPGs are now in house for them also. And the best part is that when I buy an Xbox with All Access for 25 bucks a month, the price of all the games I've just mentioned is already included.
The question now is what exactly justifies buying a PS5 at the same price as an XSX, without even the option to pay in installments with 0% APR credit? I can't play the games on my phone or tablet (remote play doesn't even work inside my house), the good ones come out every 2-3 years (6 years between Sucker Punch's last 2 games, 5 years between Naughty Dog's last 2 games, although the next GOW seems to be early), meaning that for most of the time I will be left to play multiplat games that very likely will look and run better on the XSX.
I'm trying to be objective here but short of also adopting the Netflix model in a hurry or buying Capcom or EA in the next few weeks, how does Sony justify charging way more (if you include the price of games) for less (fewer options to access the games, lower performance on most of them and at least less quantity since the quality verdict is not out yet for next gen).
I don't want Sony to enter the kind of financial hardship that would leave Microsoft as the sole main player with Nintendo and Google on the sidelines. I'm afraid that Sony's current business model, if maintained throughout the generation, will leave them a shell of what they were. Brand recognition and traditional loyalty only take you so far. Once people start realizing that Starfield is not releasing on Sony's console but their child wants it and there's this little toy like box that plays it and costs half the price of the PS5 and I don't even need to buy the game or any other game, the perception will change. Once enough people start commenting about trying the latest FIFA and Battlefield weeks before people on Playstation, without paying anything extra, word will spread. And again short of making the type of unprecedented investments that MS has just splashed and threatens to continue throwing, a price cut is the fairest gesture that Sony can make right now towards its customer base. It would prove that they are reading the market objectively and not taking anyone for granted. If they don't, the market has a way to speak back with its wallet when value perception significantly changes, even if it sometimes takes a while.
This gen will be interesting.
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