I mostly game on PC and wanted a PS5 for the exclusives like FF7 remake, horizon series, spider man, etc. But now it looks like PS exclusives have either been or will be ported to PC, which makes...
I mostly game on PC and wanted a PS5 for the exclusives like FF7 remake, horizon series, spider man, etc. But now it looks like PS exclusives have either been or will be ported to PC, which makes the PS5 kinda redundant. I’ll probably sell it.
The console economic model never made a whole lot of sense to me to be honest. They sell the machines at a loss so they can sell the games at a profit, but if the games are so profitable... Why...
The console economic model never made a whole lot of sense to me to be honest.
They sell the machines at a loss so they can sell the games at a profit, but if the games are so profitable... Why not just... make games?
I think that question is starting to become more and more present in the minds of the people who run these companies, and as such we see a lot more games that would have been exclusives 10 years ago being ported to PC.
I'm guessing it probably has to do with the fact that capable hardware is so much cheaper nowadays than in the console gaming hay days, and AAA game development is so much more expensive. Porting games allows them to sell more copies, and their business model becomes a lot less reliant on lock-in. I think it's a pure win for consumers if console manufacturers start having to compete mainly on the capabilities of their hardware and the OS of their platforms instead of game exclusives.
It’s not to sell games, it’s because as a platform you make a percentage of all game sales. They get 30% from any virtual sales and a smaller percentage from licensing from retail sales. That was...
They sell the machines at a loss so they can sell the games at a profit, but if the games are so profitable... Why not just... make games?
It’s not to sell games, it’s because as a platform you make a percentage of all game sales. They get 30% from any virtual sales and a smaller percentage from licensing from retail sales. That was the innovation Nintendo had with the famicom (vs atari, which gained no revenue from 3rd party)
There are still those who prefer consoles over PCs due to uncomplicated, single-task nature and lack of common PC troubles like driver issues, including a decent number of computer-savvy people...
There are still those who prefer consoles over PCs due to uncomplicated, single-task nature and lack of common PC troubles like driver issues, including a decent number of computer-savvy people (including those working in IT or software dev) who buy consoles just so they don’t have to fight another computer after work.
There are also a decent chunk of people who can’t justify purchasing a desktop or gaming laptop due to cost or space restrictions but yet enjoy gaming. The latter is more of a factor in some markets than others — in Sony/Ninetendo’s home in Japan for example, much of the population has doesn’t own a computer or at most have a light laptop and smaller apartments make desktops cumbersome (that said, PC gaming has started making inroads there thanks to modern powerful-yet-not-gigantic gaming laptops and handhelds like the Steam Deck).
So while exclusives are on the decline, I think there will continue to be enough people buying consoles to justify continued development of consoles for the foreseeable future.
Honestly I think they could increase console prices. I buy them because I don't want to build another PC for my TV. Call me lazy but the whole plug and play without administrative overhead is a...
Honestly I think they could increase console prices. I buy them because I don't want to build another PC for my TV. Call me lazy but the whole plug and play without administrative overhead is a big selling point to me and it's cheaper than if I went out and sourced my parts or had to keep upgrading two PCs to keep up with whatever new tech is coming out.
Honestly? The value proposition of a console nowadays is fairly non-existent. You get an underpowered computer at a fairly hefty price point. Even the God of War exclusive is now coming to pc....
Honestly? The value proposition of a console nowadays is fairly non-existent. You get an underpowered computer at a fairly hefty price point. Even the God of War exclusive is now coming to pc. With ultra wide support and unlocked framerates making it even better than the console version.
The only real benefit I see is that you play it from a more relaxed position on the couch versus at a desk.
Really? I think it's the reverse. Gaming PCs are really expensive. Few households have desktop PCs anymore, so it'd have to be a separate box just like a console. It doesn't really make sense for...
Really? I think it's the reverse. Gaming PCs are really expensive. Few households have desktop PCs anymore, so it'd have to be a separate box just like a console. It doesn't really make sense for someone to buy a discrete gaming PC if they don't already have one.
They don't have to be expensive. Graphics are sort of plateauing. My previous gpu (a 1080) could, up until recently, run newer games decently well. You don't need a 4090 to run most newer games at...
They don't have to be expensive. Graphics are sort of plateauing. My previous gpu (a 1080) could, up until recently, run newer games decently well. You don't need a 4090 to run most newer games at 1080p@60fps and when consoles are arbitrarily locking frames to 30fps you have to question why you'd buy a device that's so limiting.
Aside from gaming, a PC does so much more too. I'd absolutely recommend more people to look into building their own desktops.
I think that's overstating it. I have a 3060, which while not a high end card still cost $300, more than a switch and like 3/5ths of a PS5, and it struggles on many of the latest titles. I bought...
I think that's overstating it. I have a 3060, which while not a high end card still cost $300, more than a switch and like 3/5ths of a PS5, and it struggles on many of the latest titles. I bought a PS5 purely for FF7 Rebirth and I've been rebuying some games on there just because they run quite a bit better. When you add in a CPU, case, RAM, and so forth you're way over the PS5's cost.
Aside from gaming, a PC does so much more too.
I mean,to only if you want it to. If the person doesn't already have a PC, I don't expect them to have those needs. Like sure, that GPU can be used with premiere, but they don't edit videos, it's backwards to suggest they start editing videos to make sure of the gadget they bought.
Summary The 97 million active Playstation consoles are split evenly between the 11 year old PS4 and the 4 year old PS5. Between the two systems Playstation owners have clocked 3.8 billion hours of...
Summary
The 97 million active Playstation consoles are split evenly between the 11 year old PS4 and the 4 year old PS5. Between the two systems Playstation owners have clocked 3.8 billion hours of gameplay. PS5 owners are responsible for the majority of those gameplay hours (PS5: 2.4 billion, PS4: 1.4 billion).1
PS5 also leads in Life-to-Date spend with PS5 owners averaging $731 on games, add-on content, services, and peripherals between 2020 and 2024. In the first 4 year of the PS4's lifecycle the average PS4 owner spent $580.2 The PS5 beats out the PS4 on peripherals (+34%), services (+57%), and add-on content (+176%) while losing on full-content games (-12%).
My Thoughts
Not much to add here but thought it could prompt some interesting discussion. I had a PS4 I barely played, maybe 100 hours total. Picked up a PS5 last year because I could and I wanted to pay BG3 on the couch. It's the console I'd played the most since my OG PS1 by far. Playstation+ has been a game changer for me and I find myself picking up games based on what I've enjoyed on the subscription service. For example, played God of War for free, then bought God of War Ragnarok.
1: The timeframe of reference is unclear. Could be either LTD game play comparing first 4 years of both consoles, or gameplay accumulated on each console 2020-2024. I would hazard it is the latter
2: Using the midpoint of LTD (PS4: 2014, PS5, 2022) $580 2014 USD is equivalent to $718 2022 USD.
Given that all of the big PS5 exclusives have largely also released with PS4 versions, I don’t blame anyone. I bought one and it hasn’t been worthwhile at all compared to my PS4.
Given that all of the big PS5 exclusives have largely also released with PS4 versions, I don’t blame anyone. I bought one and it hasn’t been worthwhile at all compared to my PS4.
It definitely feels like the PS5 has yet to hit its stride on exclusives, even just on Playstation. I believe that there’s a decent chance that the release of the next-gen Switch (which is rumored...
It definitely feels like the PS5 has yet to hit its stride on exclusives, even just on Playstation.
I believe that there’s a decent chance that the release of the next-gen Switch (which is rumored to be dramatically more powerful than its predecessor) will be the event that starts to tempt devs to drop PS4s as a target. Currently the Switch is the weakest console, and if you’re supporting that you may as well support the substantially beefier PS4 too, but an updated Switch could switch things up and position the PS4 as the weakest console. Instead the new Switch and/or PC handhelds like the Steam Deck will be the new baseline.
Most of us could think of a handful of issues surrounding the PS5 launch that probably influenced the company into releasing exclusives on PC but maybe I'm just extrapolating. My thoughts, for...
Most of us could think of a handful of issues surrounding the PS5 launch that probably influenced the company into releasing exclusives on PC but maybe I'm just extrapolating. My thoughts, for now, are that there were no resources available to sustain a stable launch of a new generation of consoles, leading to where we are today.
While the numbers seem to indicate an increase, OP (and the article) point out that the difference is negligible when adjusting for inflation. Again, maybe it's just a marketing strategy and we will never see their games on PC again but I find it alarming that the adoption of the new console is still this low.
Interestingly, I had a similar experience with PS subscription service as @Notcoffeetable and found some good titles back when I had a PS4 but made the transition to PC from there; the extensive library and "free" online services for multiplayer games is too convenient and is hardly justified for consoles.
I grew up a PC gamer and prefer it, still maintain a gaming/dev system. There are a couple lifestyle changes that have transitioned my game time to the console: My main gaming friend stopped...
I grew up a PC gamer and prefer it, still maintain a gaming/dev system. There are a couple lifestyle changes that have transitioned my game time to the console:
My main gaming friend stopped playing as much for medical reasons. Usually we play FPS, 4X, RTS games which play best on a PC (I cannot play FPS games on a console). Started playing more Character Action/Adventure stuff which the console is more amenable to.
My partner moved in several years ago. Though she is not a gamer she enjoys watching gameplay. She appreciates hanging out and doing her own thing while I use the TV. This means I don't really like spending much time secluded in the office when I have the option of being around her.
Clearly none of this is a PS5 over PS4 advantage. Most of what I play are actually my PS4 discs. I guess the PS5 wins out because I don't like having multiple consoles set up. I keep the Switch connected and the PS5. The PS4 is boxed up in the closet. I guess if BG3 is the only reason I replaced the PS4 and BG3 cross-platform saving is why I tried PS+.
Which drives home the points made by others. Lack of PS5 exclusives has slowed PS5 adoption. Early supply issues kept PS5s out of people's hands during the main hype cycle and publishers are likely hesitant to sign PS5 exclusive deals when so many PS4s remain active.
The PS4 was my first non-Nintendo console. I got it in 2019, because the large library of single-player games appealed to me. It's my least used console (I like handheld gaming), but I'm pretty...
The PS4 was my first non-Nintendo console. I got it in 2019, because the large library of single-player games appealed to me. It's my least used console (I like handheld gaming), but I'm pretty happy I got it.
The PS5, meanwhile, just... Doesn't feel like it's really started. The pandemic just slowed down production and development, on top of a massive shortage at the release. Then the games that have been developed are often multi-platform, so I can play them on my Switch or Steam Deck.
None of the exclusive titles grip me. I think part of it is just that I don't like the general direction of recent AAA games, a large number of which are either multi-player, live service, or else just... Incomplete, honestly. My tastes lean towards indie titles, and most of those aren't console exclusive.
So, between that and the lacking library of exclusives, there's just no reason for me to upgrade. I doubt I'm unique in that regard.
My PS4 is mostly used to play apex legends, and it's really the only game I play on console. All other games I play on my steam deck, since I'm not that big into other AAA titles. I think the PS5...
My PS4 is mostly used to play apex legends, and it's really the only game I play on console. All other games I play on my steam deck, since I'm not that big into other AAA titles. I think the PS5 is wasted on me...
I think PS5 is pretty disappointing. There are definitely diminishing returns now with each new hardware generation but it seems that some of the features are only partially baked due to how...
I think PS5 is pretty disappointing. There are definitely diminishing returns now with each new hardware generation but it seems that some of the features are only partially baked due to how expensive some components are. The controller is great, the graphics are great, but there are still some annoying limitations.
The main issue for me is that all the games need to be installed to the hard drive. But the hard drive is too small to hold many games so you can only keep a few there at a time and you have to think about whether you want to replay an old game after reinstalling it. You can expand the drive but this is expensive and still isn't big enough to hold a lot of games.
You can add a relatively inexpensive external drive but you can only run PS4 games from it.
This is less important but the system is also very ugly to me compared to the earlier playstations.
I assume the install to internal drive is because there would be little reason to have an SSD if you're going to be constrained by optical disc read times. The game streaming is adequate and...
I assume the install to internal drive is because there would be little reason to have an SSD if you're going to be constrained by optical disc read times. The game streaming is adequate and avoids the install step when available. I haven't run into storage issues but I yeet games off my drive very quickly when they're beaten or sit unplayed.
At the very least, internal storage upgrades are officially supported (unlike the PS4) and the storage format is just a plain old M.2 NVMe SSD like you’d put in a regular PC (although midrange to...
At the very least, internal storage upgrades are officially supported (unlike the PS4) and the storage format is just a plain old M.2 NVMe SSD like you’d put in a regular PC (although midrange to high end models are required due to the cheap ones being too slow). This generation’s Xbox requires a proprietary SSD-based storage card which is kind of stupid.
Though expensive, there are 4TB and 8TB drives that can be bought which is enough for quite a number of games.
I mostly game on PC and wanted a PS5 for the exclusives like FF7 remake, horizon series, spider man, etc. But now it looks like PS exclusives have either been or will be ported to PC, which makes the PS5 kinda redundant. I’ll probably sell it.
The console economic model never made a whole lot of sense to me to be honest.
They sell the machines at a loss so they can sell the games at a profit, but if the games are so profitable... Why not just... make games?
I think that question is starting to become more and more present in the minds of the people who run these companies, and as such we see a lot more games that would have been exclusives 10 years ago being ported to PC.
I'm guessing it probably has to do with the fact that capable hardware is so much cheaper nowadays than in the console gaming hay days, and AAA game development is so much more expensive. Porting games allows them to sell more copies, and their business model becomes a lot less reliant on lock-in. I think it's a pure win for consumers if console manufacturers start having to compete mainly on the capabilities of their hardware and the OS of their platforms instead of game exclusives.
It’s not to sell games, it’s because as a platform you make a percentage of all game sales. They get 30% from any virtual sales and a smaller percentage from licensing from retail sales. That was the innovation Nintendo had with the famicom (vs atari, which gained no revenue from 3rd party)
There are still those who prefer consoles over PCs due to uncomplicated, single-task nature and lack of common PC troubles like driver issues, including a decent number of computer-savvy people (including those working in IT or software dev) who buy consoles just so they don’t have to fight another computer after work.
There are also a decent chunk of people who can’t justify purchasing a desktop or gaming laptop due to cost or space restrictions but yet enjoy gaming. The latter is more of a factor in some markets than others — in Sony/Ninetendo’s home in Japan for example, much of the population has doesn’t own a computer or at most have a light laptop and smaller apartments make desktops cumbersome (that said, PC gaming has started making inroads there thanks to modern powerful-yet-not-gigantic gaming laptops and handhelds like the Steam Deck).
So while exclusives are on the decline, I think there will continue to be enough people buying consoles to justify continued development of consoles for the foreseeable future.
Honestly I think they could increase console prices. I buy them because I don't want to build another PC for my TV. Call me lazy but the whole plug and play without administrative overhead is a big selling point to me and it's cheaper than if I went out and sourced my parts or had to keep upgrading two PCs to keep up with whatever new tech is coming out.
Honestly? The value proposition of a console nowadays is fairly non-existent. You get an underpowered computer at a fairly hefty price point. Even the God of War exclusive is now coming to pc. With ultra wide support and unlocked framerates making it even better than the console version.
The only real benefit I see is that you play it from a more relaxed position on the couch versus at a desk.
Really? I think it's the reverse. Gaming PCs are really expensive. Few households have desktop PCs anymore, so it'd have to be a separate box just like a console. It doesn't really make sense for someone to buy a discrete gaming PC if they don't already have one.
They don't have to be expensive. Graphics are sort of plateauing. My previous gpu (a 1080) could, up until recently, run newer games decently well. You don't need a 4090 to run most newer games at 1080p@60fps and when consoles are arbitrarily locking frames to 30fps you have to question why you'd buy a device that's so limiting.
Aside from gaming, a PC does so much more too. I'd absolutely recommend more people to look into building their own desktops.
I think that's overstating it. I have a 3060, which while not a high end card still cost $300, more than a switch and like 3/5ths of a PS5, and it struggles on many of the latest titles. I bought a PS5 purely for FF7 Rebirth and I've been rebuying some games on there just because they run quite a bit better. When you add in a CPU, case, RAM, and so forth you're way over the PS5's cost.
I mean,to only if you want it to. If the person doesn't already have a PC, I don't expect them to have those needs. Like sure, that GPU can be used with premiere, but they don't edit videos, it's backwards to suggest they start editing videos to make sure of the gadget they bought.
I'm similar except I wasn't waiting to buy my PS5. With Sony moving more games to PC that will probably never happen now.
Summary
The 97 million active Playstation consoles are split evenly between the 11 year old PS4 and the 4 year old PS5. Between the two systems Playstation owners have clocked 3.8 billion hours of gameplay. PS5 owners are responsible for the majority of those gameplay hours (PS5: 2.4 billion, PS4: 1.4 billion).1
PS5 also leads in Life-to-Date spend with PS5 owners averaging $731 on games, add-on content, services, and peripherals between 2020 and 2024. In the first 4 year of the PS4's lifecycle the average PS4 owner spent $580.2 The PS5 beats out the PS4 on peripherals (+34%), services (+57%), and add-on content (+176%) while losing on full-content games (-12%).
My Thoughts
Not much to add here but thought it could prompt some interesting discussion. I had a PS4 I barely played, maybe 100 hours total. Picked up a PS5 last year because I could and I wanted to pay BG3 on the couch. It's the console I'd played the most since my OG PS1 by far. Playstation+ has been a game changer for me and I find myself picking up games based on what I've enjoyed on the subscription service. For example, played God of War for free, then bought God of War Ragnarok.
1: The timeframe of reference is unclear. Could be either LTD game play comparing first 4 years of both consoles, or gameplay accumulated on each console 2020-2024. I would hazard it is the latter
2: Using the midpoint of LTD (PS4: 2014, PS5, 2022) $580 2014 USD is equivalent to $718 2022 USD.
Given that all of the big PS5 exclusives have largely also released with PS4 versions, I don’t blame anyone. I bought one and it hasn’t been worthwhile at all compared to my PS4.
It definitely feels like the PS5 has yet to hit its stride on exclusives, even just on Playstation.
I believe that there’s a decent chance that the release of the next-gen Switch (which is rumored to be dramatically more powerful than its predecessor) will be the event that starts to tempt devs to drop PS4s as a target. Currently the Switch is the weakest console, and if you’re supporting that you may as well support the substantially beefier PS4 too, but an updated Switch could switch things up and position the PS4 as the weakest console. Instead the new Switch and/or PC handhelds like the Steam Deck will be the new baseline.
Most of us could think of a handful of issues surrounding the PS5 launch that probably influenced the company into releasing exclusives on PC but maybe I'm just extrapolating. My thoughts, for now, are that there were no resources available to sustain a stable launch of a new generation of consoles, leading to where we are today.
While the numbers seem to indicate an increase, OP (and the article) point out that the difference is negligible when adjusting for inflation. Again, maybe it's just a marketing strategy and we will never see their games on PC again but I find it alarming that the adoption of the new console is still this low.
Interestingly, I had a similar experience with PS subscription service as @Notcoffeetable and found some good titles back when I had a PS4 but made the transition to PC from there; the extensive library and "free" online services for multiplayer games is too convenient and is hardly justified for consoles.
I grew up a PC gamer and prefer it, still maintain a gaming/dev system. There are a couple lifestyle changes that have transitioned my game time to the console:
Clearly none of this is a PS5 over PS4 advantage. Most of what I play are actually my PS4 discs. I guess the PS5 wins out because I don't like having multiple consoles set up. I keep the Switch connected and the PS5. The PS4 is boxed up in the closet. I guess if BG3 is the only reason I replaced the PS4 and BG3 cross-platform saving is why I tried PS+.
Which drives home the points made by others. Lack of PS5 exclusives has slowed PS5 adoption. Early supply issues kept PS5s out of people's hands during the main hype cycle and publishers are likely hesitant to sign PS5 exclusive deals when so many PS4s remain active.
The PS4 was my first non-Nintendo console. I got it in 2019, because the large library of single-player games appealed to me. It's my least used console (I like handheld gaming), but I'm pretty happy I got it.
The PS5, meanwhile, just... Doesn't feel like it's really started. The pandemic just slowed down production and development, on top of a massive shortage at the release. Then the games that have been developed are often multi-platform, so I can play them on my Switch or Steam Deck.
None of the exclusive titles grip me. I think part of it is just that I don't like the general direction of recent AAA games, a large number of which are either multi-player, live service, or else just... Incomplete, honestly. My tastes lean towards indie titles, and most of those aren't console exclusive.
So, between that and the lacking library of exclusives, there's just no reason for me to upgrade. I doubt I'm unique in that regard.
My PS4 is mostly used to play apex legends, and it's really the only game I play on console. All other games I play on my steam deck, since I'm not that big into other AAA titles. I think the PS5 is wasted on me...
I think PS5 is pretty disappointing. There are definitely diminishing returns now with each new hardware generation but it seems that some of the features are only partially baked due to how expensive some components are. The controller is great, the graphics are great, but there are still some annoying limitations.
The main issue for me is that all the games need to be installed to the hard drive. But the hard drive is too small to hold many games so you can only keep a few there at a time and you have to think about whether you want to replay an old game after reinstalling it. You can expand the drive but this is expensive and still isn't big enough to hold a lot of games.
You can add a relatively inexpensive external drive but you can only run PS4 games from it.
This is less important but the system is also very ugly to me compared to the earlier playstations.
I assume the install to internal drive is because there would be little reason to have an SSD if you're going to be constrained by optical disc read times. The game streaming is adequate and avoids the install step when available. I haven't run into storage issues but I yeet games off my drive very quickly when they're beaten or sit unplayed.
At the very least, internal storage upgrades are officially supported (unlike the PS4) and the storage format is just a plain old M.2 NVMe SSD like you’d put in a regular PC (although midrange to high end models are required due to the cheap ones being too slow). This generation’s Xbox requires a proprietary SSD-based storage card which is kind of stupid.
Though expensive, there are 4TB and 8TB drives that can be bought which is enough for quite a number of games.