Topic: PlayStation 5 --OT--

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So far, my issues have been as follows:

1 Front USB-A port wouldn’t charge controllers. Was fixed in system update, or at least, it initially charges now. I haven’t tested leaving the controller plugged in because I have a shorter USB-C to USB-C cable and prefer using that with the USB-C port on the front.

2 Ghosts of Tsushima Update 1.16 would download, but not install. I had to move the game from my external SSD to internal storage, disconnect the external drive, and then it downloaded and installed properly. I then reconnected the external SSD, and moved the game back to the external drive.

3 After moving GoT back to the external drive, I launched the game only for it to notify me of another update? But it wasn’t an update. It was... the rest of the game that had already completely installed. Yet for some reason it was now saying I need another 4 GB. And my download speed would continually drop to fractions of a megabyte per second. I would have to pause the download, then restart it for the speed to go back to normal. No other game has done this and no other system has had problems or any other device in my house. Connection test on PS4 claims 178 mbps.

4 Controller became unresponsive for about 10 seconds when accessing the Home menu toolbar in Astro’s Playroom. Only happened once, but it’s worth noting.

I should mention, however, that I have not had issues with any of the following:

1 Rest mode. It’s worked fine for me and I haven’t had any issues. I turned it off out of paranoia when I first got the system but then I decided if it has issues I want to know about it as soon as possible, because if it’s hardware related I need a replacement. Then again, I haven’t really played much of Spiderman or Demon Souls so, maybe I just haven’t encountered the issue yet.

2 External SSD. Yes, I had issues with GoT update, but that aside, the external SSD hasn’t presented any other problems. And since I found a way around that issue it’s been smooth sailing ever since.

So ya, I’ve definitely encountered a few problems thus far, but none of them have been too serious. That said, I hate how buying digital copies of physical games you have installed does not simply unlock the game. You have to delete that installation and re-download the digital version. Since I switched over to digital a few days after launch, I had to do this for about 15 games, and it was a pain after having already installed by disc. It’s also worth noting that save backups are now behind a subscription service paywall like Switch. You can still manually back up but you have to be a PS plus member to restore those saves or auto back up. Truthfully, I never had a problem with it on Switch because, to me, $20/yr for auto cloud backups is a fair trade off. And I feel the same way here- I’m not mad about them charging for backups with no other option. But I’m not sure I want to pay $60 a year for it yet. We’ll see how much I end up playing the system down the line. Since they seem to store your saves for quite a while it might be better to just pay for a month for $10 every year or so and refresh the backups. Then just pay to restore if you ever need it.

Thoughts On The System After 1 Week
As for the system itself, my biggest takeaways are that the system is fast and the HD rumble is great. In fact, the HD rumble is substantially better than that in the Switch Pro Controller. Of course, that’s probably because the rumble on that system was designed around using separated joycon. When playing that way, the rumble is just as impressive, and it has the advantage of directional rumble standing out due to each hand having its own joycon. Unfortunately, it was never that great in the Pro Controller. So I’m rather impressed they figured out a way to make it feel as good as it does in a traditional controller. I also don’t hate the triggers. Before launch, I was sure I would hate them and turn them off, but so far, they’re kinda neat.

And the gyro is top notch. This is my favorite aspect of the controller- the improved gyro. The magnetometer they’re using to keep it from drifting is groundbreaking. Rumble is nice- now we have two systems that offer better rumble. Triggers are neat little addition. And gyro is crucial- I refuse to play any game with aiming that doesn’t incorporate it. But the Achilles heel of gyro is the drift. Usually that’s not a problem when you’re using a Gyro analog hybrid control scheme because the right analog is still being used to turn the camera, and you’re only using Gyro to fine-tune your aim so drift isn’t really an issue. But depending how it’s used in some games it can be an issue, especially on Steam when mapped to always be on (not just when aiming). It’s for this reason I usually map it to only toggle on when I’m aiming down a sight. But with the magnometer countering drift and ensuring it stays oriented correctly without IR, that won’t be an issue anymore. And that is absolutely groundbreaking. I don’t know any other way to put it.

Gyro is the number one must have feature for me to even want to play a game with aiming. Playing without Gyro feels so archaic it might as well be two D-pads. So to me, making advancements with gyro technology FAR outshines everything else. This is huge. The caveat is that third parties don’t incorporate Gyro on PlayStation yet. Only Switch, and Steam thanks to their controller config where you can map it in 2 seconds. So it may not be a benefit on this platform but it will still be a benefit on Steam. And, I’m at least noticing a pattern of Sony 1st party incorporating gyro into their games (first it was Days Gone, then TLOU2, now AstroBot), and that is encouraging. It’s how gyro got popular on Switch- 1st party games used it, people tried it, discovered how amazing it is, then started demanding it in 3rd party titles. I’m convinced if it’s ever going to become mainstream on PS5, it starts with Sony using it in all their games. That’s the only way it’ll catch on enough for people to start demanding it from 3rd parties, many of whom are already experienced doing it on Switch (be it Assassins Creed, Saints Row, Metro series, Resident Evil, Sniper Elite, DOOM, etc) which means it won’t be a foreign concept to them.

If Sony can push gyro and get it to catch on, I swear I will drop PC gaming and move back to PS for multiplats. It’s not the only reason I moved to PC, but PS5 is such a great system, and I love how the HDMI CEC auto turns on the tv and switches the input like Switch does (something I could never get to work on my PS4), that I would gladly move to PS5 if gyro was offered (though I’d probably need a 4TB NVMe to hold all the games I would buy- I have used 7 out of 10 TB SSD storage on Steam thus far- but that’s fine, prices will come down over the years).