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should sony have released a cheaper PS5?

Hezekiah

Banned
I don't think that's true at all, not everyone has unlimited budget. They look at a mid level pc market now at $1000+ and decide a $500 console makes sense, this wasn't the case before.

If people didn't want a "nerfed" console, it flat out wouldn't sell. If you look at the reviews, the buyers of these consoles are 98% happy.
Nerfed is just a stupid way to describe it, do you call a Samsung s20 a "nerfed" phone vs a s20 ultra? Or a computer with a 2060 a "nerfed" computer vs a 3070?
Your just getting silly at this point.

It doesn't really matter if it would be less popular than the main skew, the idea would be to get more consoles overall in place.
A hardcore PC gamer just isn't going to suddenly turn to console gaming. I use both, but go online and plenty of people turn their nose up at playing on consoles and go along with PCMR. Some play games that aren't even released on console, or are much better played on PC (like RTS).

Not to mention there is the possibility of just holding on to your current card until you find a deal you want.

The Series S comes with serious compromises. Some people are willing to accept that. But many arent. Comparing it to a 2060 for example (on a platform where you have ultimate flexibility in terms of graphics quality and framerate) is plain weird. You seem to be using all kinds of mental gymnastics to get around the fact that the Series S is significantly less popular than the other next-gen consoles. Sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer....
 

Ozzie666

Member
As cool as the idea of the Series S is, I would assume a split production cost Microsoft in terms of producing more Series X, which most people wanted, lets be honest. Without the pandemic and limited supply, their strategy and approach was solid. Sony wasn't impacted as much with the only difference being the shell and the cd rom. So no, Sony shouldn't have made a cheaper nerfed version. Developing games for PS4, PS4 and PS5 is difficult enough, imagine throwing in something else.
 

Three

Member
I remember saying before launch that I'd pay $800 for a PS5 prior to release. Someone on here made it sound like I was being silly and not to give Sony any ideas on pricing higher than these Consoles should be 🤷‍♂️
They would have had a PS3 situation on their hands. Pricing is unfortunately a major factor to a systems success. I'm glad Sony didn't create a cheap low spec console like the Series S. It would have been the baseline for this gens developers.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
A hardcore PC gamer just isn't going to suddenly turn to console gaming. I use both, but go online and plenty of people turn their nose up at playing on consoles and go along with PCMR. Some play games that aren't even released on console, or are much better played on PC (like RTS).

Not to mention there is the possibility of just holding on to your current card until you find a deal you want.

The Series S comes with serious compromises. Some people are willing to accept that. But many arent. Comparing it to a 2060 for example (on a platform where you have ultimate flexibility in terms of graphics quality and framerate) is plain weird. You seem to be using all kinds of mental gymnastics to get around the fact that the Series S is significantly less popular than the other next-gen consoles. Sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer....

Not all pc gamers are 45. There is new gamers growing up and entering the market every year in large numbers. They have to start with something, and now it's a lot more likely they move towards a console than a couple of years ago.

As far as holding onto a card, sure some will do that, some won't.

The series S doesn't have nearly as many compromises as your post suggests.
It plays games, and it does it well.
The 2060 example was obviously completely missed by you and very convenient to call "mental gymnastics" and yet still have no real answer for the counter point that mid range products like the 2060 can run games at 1080p and still make gamers happy. The only one here in denial is you for some strange reason the existence of anything other than "the best" seems to threaten what you prefer.

I have all of the consoles, they all are good in thier roles. I don't really care which one is "most popular". They are all selling well.
 

Hezekiah

Banned
Not all pc gamers are 45. There is new gamers growing up and entering the market every year in large numbers. They have to start with something, and now it's a lot more likely they move towards a console than a couple of years ago.

As far as holding onto a card, sure some will do that, some won't.

The series S doesn't have nearly as many compromises as your post suggests.
It plays games, and it does it well.
The 2060 example was obviously completely missed by you and very convenient to call "mental gymnastics" and yet still have no real answer for the counter point that mid range products like the 2060 can run games at 1080p and still make gamers happy. The only one here in denial is you for some strange reason the existence of anything other than "the best" seems to threaten what you prefer.

I have all of the consoles, they all are good in thier roles. I don't really care which one is "most popular". They are all selling well.
No I didn't miss anything - on a PC you can adjust the settings pretty much to the nth degree until you're happy with the result. You can't do that on Series S. I'm guessing you're not a PC owner, or don't know much about PC gaming.

And yes you can play at 1080p with say a 2060, but you would also be playing with significantly better graphics settings. Not to mention the vast majority of PCs are going to have at least 16GB system RAM, plus video memory, not the paltry 10GB the Series S has overall.

Playing at 1080p or less at 30 FPS isn't 'next gen' to me, and I'd wager that's the same for a lot of people - that's why for months and months now all over Europe you've been able to go into Amazon and buy a Series S whenever you want.
 

MikeM

Member
They would have had a PS3 situation on their hands. Pricing is unfortunately a major factor to a systems success. I'm glad Sony didn't create a cheap low spec console like the Series S. It would have been the baseline for this gens developers.
Not if they had the current PS5 at $499 then a Pro at $799 or something.
 

Lysandros

Member
I am quite baffled that there are so many posters already wishing for PRO models. Guys, are you sure that you like 'consoles'? It's been only a year and these machines aren't even close to being decently used yet. If you are such a fan of upgrades stick to PC and upgrade as much as you want, money doesn't seem to be a problem for you anyway. Personally, i can only hope that there won't be any mid-gen upgrades this time and developers will focus their effort to extract as much performance as possible from these 'fixed hardware' boxes.
 
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Yep, I think so. It is kind of on the much more expensive side. I mean you also get to play the same games on much cheaper gaming platforms. Well, what do you guys think?
 

Trogdor1123

Member
I'm just assuming all chips would come from the same wafers. Unless Sony manages to obtain more wafers I don't see how it can't impact the production of the larger chips.
A fair assumption. I guess it would depend on how it was cut down. The s has a cheaper chip than the x I believe?

either way, I don’t see the value in doing it myself. One sku is best sku
 
I mean I wish Microsoft offered a discless Xbox series x, I’m never going to buy a physical disc and there are too many negatives in regards to only using a S as imy main gaming system. With that said I love my XSX

I am selling my PS5 with disc drive though because there are no games coming out anytime soon that I want.
Here’s hoping Sony see the success of the Series S and produces more digital editions around the time the next Spider-Man comes out.
 
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skit_data

Member
Here’s hoping Sony see the success of the Series S and produces more digital editions around the time the next Spider-Man comes out
As long as their Standard Edition (that is actually profitable on a per unit basis) is selling like it does, I really doubt they see the need to change the SE/DE split. If anything they could probably lower the split for the DE and make profit on every single unit sold rather than 9/10 units sold.
 

lordrand11

Member
If you can't afford $399, you can't afford a PS5.

Simple as that.
If you can't afford price gougers, you can't afford a PS5 or XSX.

It's as simple as that. There is going to be quite a bit of overlap between those who have the money to buy it right now and it's availability. Money isn't the issue right now.
 
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They could have made PS5 cheaper by dropping features (tempest engine and ray tracing being the easiest), and they could drop those for a mid-engine version along with some other downclocked specs for sure. That and nuking the integrated SSD they have, and instead just have one m.2 slot, populated with their SSD, that later on could be upgraded. (I believe they can go that route for a price reduced version now that such m.2's exist).

But that didn't make business sense for Sony, seeing they were market leaders last gen. Microsoft needed the argument of being cheaper and going head to head they couldn't, which is why they came up with Series S.

What I think both companies could have done, is wait a full extra year to release, and increase specs accordingly.
 
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Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
I think it would be benificial later on.

Sony are quite cautious and have a "if it aint broke dont fix it" approach to there strategy.

Jim Ryan said:

One thing that can be said is that if you look at the history of the game business, creating a special low priced, reduced spec console is something that has not had great results in the past. We’ve considered that option and seen other executives who have attempted this discover how problematic it is.

Which is interesting because there has never been a two seperate spec strategy at launch, it seems the executives Ryan was talking about were not successful, which does not mean its not possible.
I think sony would of liked to do a cheaper less powerful PS5 but they already had there work cut out for them with 1 next gen spec and PSVR2. Making 2 different systems for launch would require significantly more company resources. Its a balancing act.

The visual advantage a single sku will have this gen will not be an advantage, because developing for 2 skus will actually provide some advantages over the 1sku approach ( because devs will have to scale with a lower resolution for the seriesS it may mean higher resolutions for xbox exclusives on the xsx)
 
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Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
I hate different versions of consoles so no and that includes pro, be it weaker or better. I want one version only so the devs can work only on one version of the game

This cross gen is horrible, no need to add some more
The switch has proven that a weaker spec does not shunt the vision or visuals of a game.
 
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reksveks

Member
It is true and he shouldn't have to provide evidence because it's common knowledge that doing for multiple spec machines slows down development. That's been the case for decades.
Given the fact that Microsoft and most 3rd party publisher are developing for PC, the additional increase in time isn't that great.
 

RydarGaf

Member
Given the fact that Microsoft and most 3rd party publisher are developing for PC, the additional increase in time isn't that great.
Yeah sure, let's pretend like the time gap in between Halo 5 and Halo infinite wasnt six years lol 🙄

Compare that to Halo 4 to 5 which were targeting one machine spec.
 

reksveks

Member
Yeah sure, let's pretend like the time gap in between Halo 5 and Halo infinite wasnt six years lol 🙄

Compare that to Halo 4 to 5 which were targeting one machine spec.
It's almost as if you didn't read the comment properly also the fact that the gap is greater isn't proof of causation.
 

IC3M@N FX

Neo Member
I could imagine that Sony could bring out a cheap PS5.
In the form of an HDMI Dongle and Dual Sense Controller as a PS5 Cloud for $ 100 €.
That would make sense if the rumors about Project Spartacus were true.
 
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oldergamer

Member
Don't make me laugh...

People spend more than 1000 dollars (much more) for tvs and smartphones or notebooks and none of these things endure for 7-8 years, they are lucky if people keep these things for more than 3-4 years at best, i'm not wealthy and i still change my oled tv\pc\smartphone every 2-3 years.

If you consider gaming such a shitty type of entertainment compared to watching a movie or calling someone what are you doing in an enthusiast gaming forum?

Watching a movie doesnt cost 500. You cant compare essential purchases to non essential. Smartphones are essential. Tvs are essential.

Hardcore gamers spend that. But the moment you go beyond the hardcore you have millions of people that wont jump in until price drops.

It also seems like you dont get the argument. The people in this forum ARE hardcore gamers!

Gamers are just cheap fucks nowadays, deal with it.

Deal with what??? You're arguing both sides of the discussion now?
 
The fewer specs to optimize for, the shorter dev time/better the games.
That could lead to making games at a faster pace, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to better games if the specifications aren’t as powerful. Better specs aren’t needed for a good game, but more power can always improve a game.
 
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THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
I'm predicting PS5 will outsell Xsex/s by 2:1 again this generation. So no, Sony doesn't need to gimp their current gen just to follow their losing competition.

Ms doesn't care how many boxes it sells as long as it hits critical mass on gamepass between cloud, pc and xbox. Your measure of success this generation could be fataly flawed.

With the shortages, it doesn't really matter.
But in a normal selling environment, not having cheaper box might really have hurt sony. (Especially if series S went to $249 or $199 in the first year or 2)
I mean imagine a Christmas this year with 20 million units of series S available for $199 and a year of free gamepass? It would have flown off the shelves.

We will never know now.
 
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GymWolf

Member
Watching a movie doesnt cost 500. You cant compare essential purchases to non essential. Smartphones are essential. Tvs are essential.

Hardcore gamers spend that. But the moment you go beyond the hardcore you have millions of people that wont jump in until price drops.

It also seems like you dont get the argument. The people in this forum ARE hardcore gamers!



Deal with what??? You're arguing both sides of the discussion now?
You know that you can buy essentials tv and smartphone for much cheaper than 1000+ dollars right?!

But people spend those amount of money because they want the latest piece of tech, having the latest iphone or sony oled is not "essential".

So my example stands, people is willing to spend a large amount of money for something that is not essential and that endure FAR less than a console because nobody keeps a smartphone or television for 7-8 years.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
No. I also think the digital is pointless market segragation.
make it 450-500 and it's a good price. Over 500 it's getting a bit too steep for comfort... it's a console not a stupid pc gpu to cost 700usd... so 1500usd
 

skit_data

Member
That could lead to making games at a faster pace, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to better games if the specifications aren’t as powerful. Better specs aren’t needed for a good game, but more power can always improve a game.
Not necessarily better games, but if devs have more time to implement fun mechanics and improve on gameplay within a given time frame or budget instead of having to optimize for different platforms the game has a higher chance of being better. In the end its about time and money.
 

DrAspirino

Banned
Is there something special about the Series S that makes it much easier or faster to make? Or is it simply easier to find because there's not as much interest in it?



Yup. Them and Nintendo.
Not only is Ps5 more expensive than Series X for some reason here, but Xbox also offers regional pricing on games.
And stuff is even cheaper on PC, it's one of the main reasons I wanted to go with PC before the prices of GPU went crazy.
1) Xbox series X , like PS5, requires "perfect" APUs from the wafer, which means a "low yeld" (like PS5). However, if an APU is not perfect, they simply limit the core counts in the microcode and call it a day. That, plus specially built wafers can effectively get more Series S APUs available than PS5 wafers. In fact, all these AMD custom motherboards that are found in the wild are actually PS5 APUs that didn't make it.

2) Yeah, Xbox has regional pricing at least here in South America, so it's actually cheaper than PlayStation (in consoles and games).
 
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