Free-to-Play Juggernaut Genshin Impact Is Delisting and Shutting Down PS4 Version

I'm going to say it, people may not like hearing this, but it's about time we leave the PS4/Xbone era behind us, just think how much they could be holding back this gen.

If whatever PS4 players purchased didn't transfer to PS5 version, i bet they're gonna be pissed lol.

I'm just glad i didn't played or even spend a single cent on F2P gatcha games like this.

@Oram77 The move is normal for big companies who wants to make big budget games with all bells and whistles.

But for indies who made small budget / retro games like Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, Shinobi, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, etc etc, i think it's okay for them to stick with PS4 for another 2-3 years.

Heck, some indies still make games for Sega Genesis / Mega Drive like Yuzo Koshiro did with Earthion.

@Oram77 I know right. Folks are talking PS6:and next gen but we still haven't put last gen to bed. I find that slightly absurd to be honest.

I also think this is one of the reasons I found current gen to feel less exciting than previous times.

@PuppetMaster Pretty sure they will be able to transfer their data over to the PS5 as it will be on the game servers, The first Descendant has also delisted the PS4 version stating it was holding the game the back.

@RiverGenie Exactly, we can't possibly start talking about PS6 era while last gen is still in the room.

Some of us can't afford a PS5, the cheapest ones are still £330. And there are still great indie games coming out on PS4.

@Lowdefal Like I said above about The First Descedant de listed the PS4 version because it wouldn't be able to handle the upcoming world raid bosses and the sheer amount of enemies that will be on screen. I'm not trying to come over as elitest or whatever, just saying that last gen is starting to hold everything back.

Once gta online and fortnite shutdown, that will get probably 95% of the remaining PS4 players to move over to PS5.

@PuppetMaster everything is tied to the HoYo account, you can log in on any supported device and everything is there.

Performed absolutely fine on my PS4 Pro when I tried it but god, did the fans kick up to hurricane force levels!
All the hallmarks of badly optimised code as the game ran without issues and, lets face it, the graphics and gameplay were hardly pushing the CPU/GPU...

If it can run on the Switch, it can run (probably better) on the PS4 - this is a commercial decision.

I almost wept... tears of pure joy! Until I saw it was only the PS4 version. Damn.

@AgentMantis @Oram77 Okay i guess that's a good news for PS4 players.

I suppose no Switch 2 version then. Would look weird if they started supporting it now on Switch 2 after saying PS4 simply can't run it. Though maybe no PS4 means they have more resources to devote to Switch 2? Would still be a bad look though.

I still feel like Nintendo has something against Hoyoverse. And it's not just the Gatcha as Switch 2 has Fortnite and Disney Speedstorm. But no Hoyoverse after all these years, after THRY said GI was coming to Switch way back in 2020, makes me put on my tinfoil hat.

Bummer for the PS4 players. I hate when stuff gets dropped like that, but I suppose it was going to happen sooner or later. Maybe Sony will have some decent holiday sales on PS5.

Another reminder that all the money you stick into an online game could vanish one day, if you aren't willing to upgrade an entire console.

@rjejr “ And it's not just the Gatcha as Switch 2 has Fortnite and Disney Speedstorm”

Those aren’t gacha games, you pay money and you get what you want in those games… you aren’t endlessly spinning a wheel in the hopes you eventually get what you want like with gacha. There are actual no gacha games on Nintendo system. There are a few games with gacha like systems like Xenoblade Chronicles 2. But actual no full gacha…

@sanderson72 Genshin never made it to Switch 1. We're not sure when that decision got made given the long radio silence on that front, but technical reasons are the presumptive reason (given a certain Lego game killed the other likely excuse). Can't say Switch 2 chances got completely killed (we don't know exactly just how much more a base PS4 is holding things back than a PS4 Pro), but I'd estimate the shots just got longer...

@AverageGamer That does add a wrinkle to my thinking, thanks. I've only ever spent $8 on Fortnite once years ago to buy the self refilling pass, I had PSN store credit, haven't spent any money on the numerous other free to start games I've played, so I suppose I never examined the differences that closely.

So I may actually be on to something that Nintendo doesn't like Gatcha games. Well at least until they figure out how to make money from it themselves.🤑

@shiningpikablu252 " Can't say Switch 2 chances got completely killed (we don't know exactly just how much more a base PS4 is holding things back than a PS4 Pro), but I'd estimate the shots just got longer..."

Grant, if any of these games was gonna come to Switch... They wasn't going to use the console/PC fork of the game. They would use the mobile/ARM version of the games. You won't port a x86 to ARM, you port ARM to ARM. Switch 2 should have no probably running any modern ARM code at max settings.

PS4 support being drop isn't surprising. PS4 is the weakest x86 version of the game, and the support just isn't there vs say supporting a lower tier ARM version since the mobile code will still be viable in the future due to low cost mobile phones still releasing on the market.

There must be something else going in the back ground other than just performance reason for Genshin to not to come the Switch. None of the major other gacha have release on the platform, and for a system that is that did as well as the Switch... that is very strange. Star Rail hasn't even released on the Switch, and that not open world, and more linear Persona turn base style game play.

Not sure what kind of frixel/SFX deadweight would no longer make PS4 feasible for a cel-shaded game that runs on seven-year-old phones, but the five-years-in-the-oven Switch port becomes all the more topical with one less button-equipped option in Genshin's platform range.

@Oram77 "this gen" (assuming you mean last gen's PlayBox systems since this one literally just began with another hybrid console) mostly wasted its specs on redundant fluff anyway, so I can but welcome it being "held back" from more pursuits of the 50k500fps kind.

@rjejr if Nintendo had something against MiHoYo, the port would have never been announced in the first place. It looks much more like the company just clogged their pipeline with two new freemiums on top of Genshin's already released versions. As for Nintendo making money from gacha games, Fire Emblem Heroes' longevity alone indicates they already do, and the likes of Nintendo Badge Arcade and Pokemon Shuffle (which also lasted almost as long as their platform) date all the way back to 3DS.

@AverageGamer Speedstorm's own racer/crew capsules would have news for you, but Switch has had a veritable ton of other character gacha freemiums, from the already gone Dawn of the Breakers and Onigiri to the recent/ongoing Guardian Tales and Bleach: Brave Souls. Pokemon has what, at least three freemiums on the console by now? Plus other segment juggernauts like Warframe.

@nhSnork “ Speedstorm's own racer/crew capsules would have news for you”

That must have been something new they add…

“ Capsules were first introduced in the 7th Season.”

Ah. Yup. They completely changed their system post beta, post early access, and almost a year after free to play launch… So, my information is outdated as I dropped the game season 5-6.

Freemium games doesn’t make a game a gacha… I was strictly talking about gachas. And not just freemium purchases your character micro transactions games. Games where literally base core concepts rely solely on rolling for characters (Genshin, Honkai, Zenless, ArKnight, Wuthering Waves… etc)

Bleach: Brave Souls is recent release for switch so I didn’t release that came to the platform.

Things must be really bad on PS4 for Hoyo to actually shut down a revenue stream like that. PS4 players must be spending less these days.

Sounds like they have big plans if they're raising the minimum entry and willing to make so many players to migrate. But I'd imagine dealing with a loud PS4 is already a pain enough and you can probably transfer accounts. It also just makes sense because all of Hoyo's other games are on PS5-- if not a great deal of announced gachas out there. I even saw that they're raising the requirements for mobile.

The PS4 version DEFINITELY deserves credit for helping it's start though. I mean people were livid at Sony and literally destroyed their PS4s over this game before launch...

which means they had a head start lol