it's a shame people don't realize that the rationale to increase prices on hardware is in large part to subsidize sony's own idiotic missteps this console generation. all the losses it has taken on cancelled projects and studio closures must be immense and they are trying to steal that money back from average customers. don't fall for the trap and bail sony out for its own stupidity! the increased RAM prices is only part of the story here and doesn't justify eveything that is going on.
@Vyse_the_Legend are you suggesting that the performance output of the ps6 will be worse than the ps5 pro? that really doesn't make sense when talking about a new console generation. also, the ps5 pro was barely a performance step up from the base ps5 to be clear. i don't think it is possible to release a ps6 that exceeds the ps5 pro specs, while also maintaining a cheaper price point in the current environment.
all that could change in 24-36 months of course, but people seem to be confident about the damn thing releasing next year
@IntrepidWombat your comparison only illustrates how absurd the rate of inflation currently is relatively to the ps1 era. it makes the argument stronger against the $1000 console price point, not for it, since the value (purchasing power) of our money has decreased significantly. not sure if that was your intention or not, but it sounds like you were trying to justify the current console pricing as something not to be concerned about.
why would sony release ps6 in the middle of this mess? i don't understand why people are still sticking to 2027 release date. that would make it the worst launch in sony history since there is relatively no interest in new hardware, regardless of price!
if the ps5 pro is already $900, how can sony release the ps6 at a cheaper price point? wouldn't that give the impression that ps5 pro is BETTER than the ps6!!!? talk about a marketing blunder of epic proportions.
if anything, it would make much more sense to put out the handheld device within the next year or two and sit on the ps6 until it makes viable sense... be it 2 years or 5 years, it really doesn't matter at this point. sony can cancel or postpone its contracts with AMD — perhaps with a penalty of some kind — but let's not act like there is no way out for sony.
a decent computer can do 10X what a ps5 can (gaming, productivity and work related tasks etc) at only 3X the price. i wonder which device offers the better value? sony knows that there will be more people jumping ship from its platform to pc than ever before in the coming years since console gaming is becoming a luxury. this is probably why sony is going to take back its IP and hold it hostage on playstation consoles. i am in favour of console exclusives in principle, but not if it means you have to fork out $1000 for said console. the model just breaks down at that point and doesn't benefit anybody.
if sony thinks a handful of exclusive and noteworthy 1st party games (no more than 5-10 games in all honesty) will be enough to keep people on its platform next console cycle, regardless of the cost of entry, they are in for a big surprise. outside of the most hardcore fans with plenty of income in hand, they are going to lose a sizable portion of the user base. or, people will just stick with their ps5s and refuse to upgrade...
please stop with the damage control. it sounds very silly and disingenuous.
yes, there is a sensible solution. sony eats whatever cost increases that may be present, likely still turns a profit on the hardware (less than before, so be it) and encourages more hardware sales which in turn results in more revenue generated from software sales. is that really so hard to understand? let's not act like there is no other choice here but to keep increasing the pricing by a ridiculous sum... especially when part of this decision is directly linked to subsidizing the japanese market.
otherwise... higher hardware prices = lower hardware sales = smaller potential user base = reduced revenue from software. sony will lose more money with this strategy in the long run. i.e. they are shooting themselves in the foot....again and are only concerned with the short-term gains.
i'm glad this move will sabotage the ps5 sales. when we look back at this crappy console 25 years from now, there won't be too many people claiming its sony's "best" console (since it won't get even close to the ps4's total sales at this rate). thank god for that, because anyone with a brain knows this is sony's worst console generation ever... i've been calling it what it is for years now. sure, some of that is the result of external forces and bad luck, but MOST of it is due to mismanagement and complacency. these new price hikes are just the cherry on top for what has been a mess since day one. i don't see how things can get any worse for this console generation outside of sony shutting down even more studios and doing another price hike in a few months!
sony wants us to subsidize for the japanese market. that makes this extra scummy. no, how about sony subsidizes the console for ALL of its players like it used to? in exchange, it grows its userbase and generates massive amounts of revenue from software sales that far exceeds the losses on the hardware. this model worked for decades so why change it now? oh, because sony got comfortable, greedy and cocky again... well, that means the only way the ps6 succeeds is if the launch is an absolute failure and sony has no choice but to do a u-turn. i hope that is how it all plays out. we deserve better.
@Netret0120 imagine living in canada. US$800 amounts to over CA$1100 + 143 (tax) here in canada. sony will absolutely need to do territory pricing like they did in japan if they want to maintain a decent userbase. europe is in the same boat since the world's markets are all based on the rigged american dollar.
@NieR_Dark yup, i think it is in fact the first console generation where this has happened. prior to this, the switch was the first console that maintained its MSRP and never dropped in price for its entire 8 year run which was also bonkers. but obviously, the ps5 situation is far worse.
i'll say it again... with the ps6 just around the corner, it makes no sense to invest in a ps5 right now. even if you are like me and still having a blast on the base ps4, it's best to wait it out another year or two and just get the ps6 at this point — if sony gives you a reason to that is. i doubt there will be much of a difference price wise between the ps5 and ps6 either because sony is already nearing its max threshold with the absurd pricing that we have been witness to. no matter how good their marketing is, they won't be able to go beyond $750 for a base console and expect to sell any
also, its funny some people keep scapegoating the market conditions and hardware shortages for sony's stupidity and price gouging. keeping the prices firm would only mean sony makes slightly less PROFIT for themselves... a small price to pay to keep the sales steady and bring people into their ecosystem where they will exploit them on the software side anyways. but no, sony wants to maintain its profit levels exactly as they are above all else. even if it means destroying its brand and all the good will it has left, which to be honest, is already in low supply. this is no different than what the greediest companies on earth do: microsoft, epic games, EA etc.
keep going sony, you are doing great! honestly, i cannot wait for sony to find itself in a really bad place again, like it did in the early days of the ps3. i want to see playstation hit rock bottom so that the executives are on their knees begging for forgiveness and doing everything in their power to win back its fans of yesterday. the cauky suits have lost their way and need to be humbled again.
i'll say it again... with the ps6 just around the corner, it makes no sense to invest in a ps5 right now. even if you are like me and still having a blast on the base ps4, it's best to wait it out another year or two and just get the ps6 at this point — if sony gives you a reason to that is. i doubt there will be much of a difference price wise between the ps5 and ps6 either because sony is already nearing its max threshold with the absurd pricing that we have been witness to. no matter how good their advertisting is, they won't be able to go beyond $1000 for a base console and expect to sell any
also, i find it funny that some people keep defending the market conditions and hardware shortages for sony's stupidity and price gouging. keeping the prices firm would only mean sony makes slightly less PROFIT for themselves... a small price to pay to keep the sales steady and bring people into their ecosystem where they will exploit them on the software side anyways. but no, sony wants to maintain its profit levels exactly as they are above all else. even if it means destroying its brand and all the good will it has left, which to be honest, is already in low supply.
keep going sony, you are doing great! honestly, i cannot wait for sony to find itself in a really bad place again, like it did in the early days of the ps3. i want to see playstation hit rock bottom so that the executives are on their knees begging for forgiveness and doing everything in their power to win back its fans of yesterday. the cauky suits have lost their way and need to be humbled again.
a korean mmo masquerading as the next big single player RPG — they sure fooled a lot of people. who knew the base ps5 version would be broken?
what i don't understand is why the publisher decided to launch this game simultaneously on all platforms when they clearly don't know what they are doing and needed more time? putting out the pc release (early access) first and then launching the console versions 12 months later would be the only sane thing to do... even then, the mmo trappings wouldn't satifsy most console gamers expecting a traditional single player experience, but at least the performance issues wouldn't be so prevelant.
@NonbinaryStarr the only reason it is even mentioned on this site is because it is a ps console exclusive (also on pc of course). outside of that, nobody even knew this existed.
most people didn't even know this game existed until a few months or weeks ago so the reaction is over the top. i couldn't care less about this game but i imagine the ps5 reviews will fare a lot worse than the pc ones, averaging in the low 70s or high 60s due to performance issues. the developer has been hiding (base) console footage for a reason.
won't there be a check box to just disable this feature (call it "AI rendering tech" for the sake of argument) but keep the legacy benefits of DLSS4 and other new features? so long as this is completely optional, people won't have to use it (hopefully).
attempting to push ps5 pro on people at this stage is a joke. people are claiming that ps6 is out next year for christ sakes. i'm skeptical of that, but whether the ps6 comes out next year or in 2028, does it really make sense to invest in a half step machine today when the real deal is just around the corner? the price will likely be in the same ballpark too! it almost feels like people have been seeking validation for their ps5 pro purchase because it has been so disappointing up to this point. well, it has certainly been a failure from a sales standpoint as well.
@KillerIsD34D agreed. but sony was foolish enough to release a dozen games on pc. They established culture and expectations around its games on the pc platform. nintendo was smart enough to not even flirt with the idea. it needs to be acknowledged that sony shot itself in the foot, yes?
sony made the mistake of porting its games to pc when it shouldn't have. that said, it is very odd if in the middle of the ps5 generation, sony is to stop the pc ports. that is quite alienating and disrespectful to those who supported 1st party on pc.
so... wouldn't it make more sense to transition back to ps exclusivity after the launch of ps6? as a supporter of exclusives as a means to protect the value of the brand, i do see the frustration sony is causing in the short term with its lack of foresight and poor handling of the situation here.
probably the worst take i have heard in a long time.
kamiya, i don't like wolves, so please remove amaterasu from okami 2 and replace her with a cat! this game needs to be catered specifically to me or else i cannot play it! thanks!
oh, please. as if i am going to believe the PR department and their definition of good or bad sales. that is subjective and dependent on their level of greed. all those games were profitable and successful in their own right. also, sega has botched all of atlus' games with terrible business practices including no upgrade paths for the complete editions and a truckload of MTX. people are truly fed up with it which might explain the (less than expected?) sales of the complete editions at the very least.
it's an interesting topic. if sony is serious about its exclusives going forward, i see no path other than de-listing its catalogue on pc entirely.
sony wants to bring in new users into its ecosystem. even at a ratio of 1 new psn user vs 10 software sales on pc is likely better for sony — that 1 new user brings a lot of revenue into sony's ecosystem (potentially hundreds of dollars a year in fact which exceeds the 10 software sales after a couple years. this is long term profit vs short term gains). it is not a simple topic because there are countless angles to analyze it from.
@LowDefAl you aren't wrong, but doesn't change the fact that sony's game development influnece out of japan is a drop in the bucket next to all the other publishers... even more dire when you consider that asobi is a relatively new studio under the umbrella. people are generally most interested (and concerned) about the working conditions of game development as it has a toxic reputation. people are reading this article from the perspective of gaming afterall.
the fact that sony has a fraction of developers working in japan compared to its competition most likely inflated the survey results in its favour to be honest. if this survey included all arms of these publishers (worldwide) sony wouldn't be near the top.
but there are only TWO studios working out of japan for sony... or under 400 staff members combined. small sample size relative to the other publishers.
o, right. this was one of the most unnecessary remakes of all time. all people wanted was a ps5 performance patch for the original ps4 game and yet... i wonder who did the market analysis for this project? i guess he got fired with the rest of the team.
gosh, capcom has a foundation here for a new breath of fire game by the looks of things. why is the company so afraid of reviving it? sad to see them putting out 3 monster hunter spinoffs with a traditional battle system and yet won't even acknowledge breath of fire exists
if they are going to market the next xbox as a console, despite it being a pc, they are going to lose traditional customers expecting a console price point. to make matters worse, this box that they put out will not have even a fraction of the upgrade potential of a real pc, resricting people in the process.
why pay the price of a pc and receive hardware that is severely restricted from upgrading? too many conradictions here. this is looking like a product without a target audience and will be another failure for microsoft.
now if they market it as a pre-built pc, they may fare a little bit better... but the problem is, when people see xbox hardware, they automatically think of the traditional xbox consoles they grew up with. this is an impossible task for the marketing team and the mainstream will not be able to comprehend it.
not a chance modern day sony is keeping that content in the remakes. and just because the minigames were apparently designed by women (i don't believe that either), has absolutely no bearing on the decision to cut it out. i don't know why that point found its way into the conversation since it's not the objectifying of women that is the issue here. it's that the mini games were always out of context with the rest of the game and felt gimmicky!
but let's be real, the remakes are going to aim for ultra realism from a production standpoint... a silly sex minigame is going to feel very disconnected from the experience. weird, jarring and stupid is how i would describe it in the original release. are people realy going to cry a river about this?
i'll support smaller games from sony if they are actually good. sons of sparta is certainly NOT competent on any level. asking people to support this game is a very bad take since you are also in effect supporting mediocrity that we can all do without. shouldn't we be encouraging publishers to make better games?
sony is probably using AI to target various users based on their playtime and trophies as well. they will go after those who are most vulnerable to frivolous spending and offer them the better prices. everyone else can pay more because sony says so. disgusting. sony needs to be sued over this.
actually, no i'm not. i even went back to the 2022 article that was linked to this one to find my own comment and how i felt back then. nothing but concern about the news of nagoshi partnering with netease! even back then, you could not rely on these suits and investors to stay true to their word and see the project through until the end.
this news sucks. the game was looking like a more serious yakuza title which i can get behind. please, stop working with chinese conglomerates to fund your games! there is no passion for the artform nor any respect for the creatives over there.
hate to say it, but i'm expecting netease to shut down quantic dream. many people forget that netease acquired them a while back. with no news on star wars eclipse for years now, i'm really getting nervous about this one.
just another contrarian trying to stand out from the noise. i call bs. even if sony was fine with the escalating RAM prices and isn't concerned about the ridiculous price tag of the ps6, there is a lack of interest for new hardware from the mainstream marketplace — that is not something sony can remedy. the only thing that can fix that is time and improvements to the economy. if sony were to release the ps6 next fall, many units would be sitting on store shelves and in warehouses, costing sony money in many other ways... it would get to the point where they would have to cut the price by 30% or more just to clear inventory before demand stopped altogether.
what happens in the early days of console releases, when adoption rates are low? oh, right, developers get nervous about making exclusive software that doesn't have a large enough audience to make the game viable! so we would just go through 4 more years of ps5/ps6 cross gen releases without any ps6 exclusives? that is what got us into this mess with the ps5 in the first place... and with sony now backpeddling on pc releases... sony wants to give people a reason to own the ps6 and that will require exclusives! you first need to sell a crap ton of ps6's to make that a reality...
so no. the interest and hunger just isn't there right now.
@Markatron84 it's a fair point. there are some gamers out there such as yourself who are loyal to the pc space and will never leave, but it was never sony's intention to cater to the pc market if there was no potential for crossover. sony had hoped that more pc gamers would invest in a ps5 because bringing players into the playstation ecosystem is far more valuable than a handful of software sales on pc. the experiment failed judging by the poor revenue generation from the pc ports... and i assume retaining ps5 players (who left in favour of pc) has become a problem as well.
where was this article 5 years ago? myself and many others were fighting against the grain, trying to get the message across that porting to pc would hurt the "value" of the playstation brand. there was a lot of pushback but now we know how misguided sony actually was.
if sony does go through with this, the anticipation for ps6 will indeed increase. instead of trying to convince people to pick up a ps6 (rather than stick to their ps5 or pc), sony can rest easy knowing that people actually have a better use case for the hardware instead of treating it as an afterthought.
right, so after 5 years of going in the wrong direction, sony is suddenly listening to the fans' concerns about the brand?
i don't buy that argument. sony hasn't listened to the core fans about anything this entire generation and couldn't care less what we think. sony is scared of steam machines and its pc ports have been a big disappointment. that is what this reversal is about. i'll believe it when i see it.
now, if only sony could learn a lesson or two about service games, get its pricing back down to earth and create some games with fresh ideas again...
good riddance. you will not be missed. highguard. publishers, take this as a sign to stop investing in trash that only has a 1% chance at success perhaps? but if your shareholders demand it, then by all means, keep burning your resources away...
@twitchtvpat yea, it's likely sony will publish his new game as well, but i'm confident that he has free creative control to do whatever he wants with the current agreement, as we have already seen with the death stranding games. no typical AAA publisher would ever touch those projects if not for the kojima brand recognition. that said, i think kojma has had enough financial success now to self publish his own games going forward if he chose to... but with his current agreement and creative freedom with sony, there is no need to take the finanical risk in doing so (all this can change in the future of course). he has since acquired the IP of death stranding so he is certainly doing well financially. one thing is for certain: kojima productions will never be acquired by anyone and for good reason. even sony cannot be trusted to make the right decisions these days and kojima productions could very well be shuttered after a failed project under this iteration of sony managament had they owned his studio.
i'm content with how the franchise ended. far too many people are afraid of closure and feel the need to suck the life out of a franchise. there is nothing worse than poor revival projects when the franchise has already run its course. it looks desperate, lazy and is the polar opposite of what game designers should strive for if they take their craft seriously.
now if sony wants to bring back the key members of ready at dawn and complete the order 1886 trilogy, sign me up!
i'd have to imagine that part of sony's decision to backpeddle away from pc after this failed experiment is because of the steam machine — another console-like device that could steal part of its userbase away. sony is afraid of losing ANY percentage of its marketshare.
in addition, the idea of sony porting its games to pc would hurt the value of playstation, which it did. factoring in the costs to port its game to pc makes this revenue stream (for its single player games) unattractive since they are sacrificing players from their ecosystem. do the math and you wil soon realize that retaining a playstation customer in its ecosystem is FAR more vlauable than losing that customer in exchange for a couple software sales on steam.
it only makes sense to keep pc ports alive for service games although i wouldn't bank on sony having much success in that space anyways.
the games are already so cinematic and story focused. they don't lend themselves well to a live action adaptation because there is nothing left up to the imagination. the story has already been told in the best way possible. all of sony's live action adaptations are a fool's errand and don't need to exist...
thankfully kojima is smart enough not to be acquired by sony. 5 or 10 years ago, i would have said that would be an ideal situation for both parties. so much has changed. looking forward to one last stealth game from kojima. make the game of your dreams without any interferance from the suits.
capcom continues to have an identity crisis with this franchise and doesn't know what to do with it from both, the story and gameplay side of things.
resident evil probably needs two franchises run in parallel at this point — a true surival horror series that sticks closer to its roots (a complete reboot) and the over the shoulder, action oriented series. alternate between entries every 3 years with a different subtitle on the box to satisfy all the fans. problem solved. just don't be a jack of all trades and try to tie the threads of this 30 year old, mish-mash of a story any longer because that simply does not work well.
this game doesn't even deserve an article about it shutting down. nobody will miss it. also, it feels like most publishers don't want to generate revenue anymore and are totally content in losing money and shutting themselves down. it's like being in a high stakes poker game and going all in despite eveyone at the table knowing that you are bluffing. why did you get up in the morning and make the trip to the casino knowing that this would be your fate?
...and it has now fallen to 65... might need to update this article to reflect the terrible reception this game has had after giving it more time to simmer.
outside of moderate curisoity for wolverine and intergelactic , i couldn't care less about any of the confirmed projects from sony 1st party. half the sudios are MIA and likely YEARS away from releasing a game... this is a really sad, lackluster offering from sony.
@JPEGMakima you are certainly generalizing the number of people who shat on the look of demon's souls remake. it is considered one of the greatest remakes of all time, along with shadow of the colossus remake. it doesn't make for a strong argument if you take 3 toxic posts on twitter as the consensus as to how people feel about blupoint and its games.
Comments 2,813
Re: '$1,000+ Consoles Could Become the Norm': PS6's Price Touted to Touch Four Figures
it's a shame people don't realize that the rationale to increase prices on hardware is in large part to subsidize sony's own idiotic missteps this console generation. all the losses it has taken on cancelled projects and studio closures must be immense and they are trying to steal that money back from average customers. don't fall for the trap and bail sony out for its own stupidity! the increased RAM prices is only part of the story here and doesn't justify eveything that is going on.
Re: PS6 Could Be Cheaper Than Expected, Despite $1,000 Concerns
@Vyse_the_Legend are you suggesting that the performance output of the ps6 will be worse than the ps5 pro? that really doesn't make sense when talking about a new console generation. also, the ps5 pro was barely a performance step up from the base ps5 to be clear. i don't think it is possible to release a ps6 that exceeds the ps5 pro specs, while also maintaining a cheaper price point in the current environment.
all that could change in 24-36 months of course, but people seem to be confident about the damn thing releasing next year
Re: PS6 Could Be Cheaper Than Expected, Despite $1,000 Concerns
@IntrepidWombat your comparison only illustrates how absurd the rate of inflation currently is relatively to the ps1 era. it makes the argument stronger against the $1000 console price point, not for it, since the value (purchasing power) of our money has decreased significantly. not sure if that was your intention or not, but it sounds like you were trying to justify the current console pricing as something not to be concerned about.
Re: PS6 Could Be Cheaper Than Expected, Despite $1,000 Concerns
why would sony release ps6 in the middle of this mess? i don't understand why people are still sticking to 2027 release date. that would make it the worst launch in sony history since there is relatively no interest in new hardware, regardless of price!
if the ps5 pro is already $900, how can sony release the ps6 at a cheaper price point? wouldn't that give the impression that ps5 pro is BETTER than the ps6!!!? talk about a marketing blunder of epic proportions.
if anything, it would make much more sense to put out the handheld device within the next year or two and sit on the ps6 until it makes viable sense... be it 2 years or 5 years, it really doesn't matter at this point. sony can cancel or postpone its contracts with AMD — perhaps with a penalty of some kind — but let's not act like there is no way out for sony.
Re: '$1,000+ Consoles Could Become the Norm': PS6's Price Touted to Touch Four Figures
a decent computer can do 10X what a ps5 can (gaming, productivity and work related tasks etc) at only 3X the price. i wonder which device offers the better value? sony knows that there will be more people jumping ship from its platform to pc than ever before in the coming years since console gaming is becoming a luxury. this is probably why sony is going to take back its IP and hold it hostage on playstation consoles. i am in favour of console exclusives in principle, but not if it means you have to fork out $1000 for said console. the model just breaks down at that point and doesn't benefit anybody.
if sony thinks a handful of exclusive and noteworthy 1st party games (no more than 5-10 games in all honesty) will be enough to keep people on its platform next console cycle, regardless of the cost of entry, they are in for a big surprise. outside of the most hardcore fans with plenty of income in hand, they are going to lose a sizable portion of the user base. or, people will just stick with their ps5s and refuse to upgrade...
Re: PS5 Pricing Strategy Gives Flexibility for Deals if 'Things Surprisingly Get Better'
"There seems to be no sensible solution here..."
please stop with the damage control. it sounds very silly and disingenuous.
yes, there is a sensible solution. sony eats whatever cost increases that may be present, likely still turns a profit on the hardware (less than before, so be it) and encourages more hardware sales which in turn results in more revenue generated from software sales. is that really so hard to understand? let's not act like there is no other choice here but to keep increasing the pricing by a ridiculous sum... especially when part of this decision is directly linked to subsidizing the japanese market.
otherwise... higher hardware prices = lower hardware sales = smaller potential user base = reduced revenue from software. sony will lose more money with this strategy in the long run. i.e. they are shooting themselves in the foot....again and are only concerned with the short-term gains.
Re: Feature: PS5 Price - Why Does It Cost So Much in 2026?
i'm glad this move will sabotage the ps5 sales. when we look back at this crappy console 25 years from now, there won't be too many people claiming its sony's "best" console (since it won't get even close to the ps4's total sales at this rate). thank god for that, because anyone with a brain knows this is sony's worst console generation ever... i've been calling it what it is for years now. sure, some of that is the result of external forces and bad luck, but MOST of it is due to mismanagement and complacency. these new price hikes are just the cherry on top for what has been a mess since day one. i don't see how things can get any worse for this console generation outside of sony shutting down even more studios and doing another price hike in a few months!
Re: Japan's Cheaper, Language Locked PS5 Shielded from Outrageous Price Increases
sony wants us to subsidize for the japanese market. that makes this extra scummy. no, how about sony subsidizes the console for ALL of its players like it used to? in exchange, it grows its userbase and generates massive amounts of revenue from software sales that far exceeds the losses on the hardware. this model worked for decades so why change it now? oh, because sony got comfortable, greedy and cocky again... well, that means the only way the ps6 succeeds is if the launch is an absolute failure and sony has no choice but to do a u-turn. i hope that is how it all plays out. we deserve better.
Re: Sony Announces Gigantic PS5 Price Increases, Effective from April 2026
@Netret0120 imagine living in canada. US$800 amounts to over CA$1100 + 143 (tax) here in canada. sony will absolutely need to do territory pricing like they did in japan if they want to maintain a decent userbase. europe is in the same boat since the world's markets are all based on the rigged american dollar.
Re: Sony Announces Gigantic PS5 Price Increases, Effective from April 2026
@NieR_Dark yup, i think it is in fact the first console generation where this has happened. prior to this, the switch was the first console that maintained its MSRP and never dropped in price for its entire 8 year run which was also bonkers. but obviously, the ps5 situation is far worse.
Re: Sony Announces Gigantic PS5 Price Increases, Effective from April 2026
i'll say it again... with the ps6 just around the corner, it makes no sense to invest in a ps5 right now. even if you are like me and still having a blast on the base ps4, it's best to wait it out another year or two and just get the ps6 at this point — if sony gives you a reason to that is. i doubt there will be much of a difference price wise between the ps5 and ps6 either because sony is already nearing its max threshold with the absurd pricing that we have been witness to. no matter how good their marketing is, they won't be able to go beyond $750 for a base console and expect to sell any
also, its funny some people keep scapegoating the market conditions and hardware shortages for sony's stupidity and price gouging. keeping the prices firm would only mean sony makes slightly less PROFIT for themselves... a small price to pay to keep the sales steady and bring people into their ecosystem where they will exploit them on the software side anyways. but no, sony wants to maintain its profit levels exactly as they are above all else. even if it means destroying its brand and all the good will it has left, which to be honest, is already in low supply. this is no different than what the greediest companies on earth do: microsoft, epic games, EA etc.
keep going sony, you are doing great! honestly, i cannot wait for sony to find itself in a really bad place again, like it did in the early days of the ps3. i want to see playstation hit rock bottom so that the executives are on their knees begging for forgiveness and doing everything in their power to win back its fans of yesterday. the cauky suits have lost their way and need to be humbled again.
Re: Rumour: Dramatic PS5 Price Increases Incoming, Potential Announcement Tomorrow
i'll say it again... with the ps6 just around the corner, it makes no sense to invest in a ps5 right now. even if you are like me and still having a blast on the base ps4, it's best to wait it out another year or two and just get the ps6 at this point — if sony gives you a reason to that is. i doubt there will be much of a difference price wise between the ps5 and ps6 either because sony is already nearing its max threshold with the absurd pricing that we have been witness to. no matter how good their advertisting is, they won't be able to go beyond $1000 for a base console and expect to sell any
also, i find it funny that some people keep defending the market conditions and hardware shortages for sony's stupidity and price gouging. keeping the prices firm would only mean sony makes slightly less PROFIT for themselves... a small price to pay to keep the sales steady and bring people into their ecosystem where they will exploit them on the software side anyways. but no, sony wants to maintain its profit levels exactly as they are above all else. even if it means destroying its brand and all the good will it has left, which to be honest, is already in low supply.
keep going sony, you are doing great! honestly, i cannot wait for sony to find itself in a really bad place again, like it did in the early days of the ps3. i want to see playstation hit rock bottom so that the executives are on their knees begging for forgiveness and doing everything in their power to win back its fans of yesterday. the cauky suits have lost their way and need to be humbled again.
Re: Crimson Desert (PS5) - A Generational Open World Buried in Early Access Cruft
a korean mmo masquerading as the next big single player RPG — they sure fooled a lot of people. who knew the base ps5 version would be broken?
what i don't understand is why the publisher decided to launch this game simultaneously on all platforms when they clearly don't know what they are doing and needed more time? putting out the pc release (early access) first and then launching the console versions 12 months later would be the only sane thing to do... even then, the mmo trappings wouldn't satifsy most console gamers expecting a traditional single player experience, but at least the performance issues wouldn't be so prevelant.
Re: Mini Review: 1348 Ex Voto (PS5) - An Intriguing But Disappointing PS5 Console Exclusive
@NonbinaryStarr the only reason it is even mentioned on this site is because it is a ps console exclusive (also on pc of course). outside of that, nobody even knew this existed.
Re: Jim Carrey Confirmed to Return for Sonic the Hedgehog 4 in New Teaser Trailer
disappointing end to carrey's career
Re: Crimson Desert's Mixed Reviews See Dev's Share Price Drop Almost 30%
most people didn't even know this game existed until a few months or weeks ago so the reaction is over the top. i couldn't care less about this game but i imagine the ps5 reviews will fare a lot worse than the pc ones, averaging in the low 70s or high 60s due to performance issues. the developer has been hiding (base) console footage for a reason.
Re: Nvidia Says You're All 'Completely Wrong' About Its Controversial AI Upscaler DLSS 5
won't there be a check box to just disable this feature (call it "AI rendering tech" for the sake of argument) but keep the legacy benefits of DLSS4 and other new features? so long as this is completely optional, people won't have to use it (hopefully).
Re: 'This Is Finally Living Up to Its Promise': PS5 Pro Owners Thrilled with PSSR 2 Upgrade
attempting to push ps5 pro on people at this stage is a joke. people are claiming that ps6 is out next year for christ sakes. i'm skeptical of that, but whether the ps6 comes out next year or in 2028, does it really make sense to invest in a half step machine today when the real deal is just around the corner? the price will likely be in the same ballpark too! it almost feels like people have been seeking validation for their ps5 pro purchase because it has been so disappointing up to this point. well, it has certainly been a failure from a sales standpoint as well.
Re: 'No One Is Buying This on PS5': PC Port Begging Already Unbearable as Sony Switches Strategy
@KillerIsD34D agreed. but sony was foolish enough to release a dozen games on pc. They established culture and expectations around its games on the pc platform. nintendo was smart enough to not even flirt with the idea. it needs to be acknowledged that sony shot itself in the foot, yes?
Re: 'No One Is Buying This on PS5': PC Port Begging Already Unbearable as Sony Switches Strategy
sony made the mistake of porting its games to pc when it shouldn't have. that said, it is very odd if in the middle of the ps5 generation, sony is to stop the pc ports. that is quite alienating and disrespectful to those who supported 1st party on pc.
so... wouldn't it make more sense to transition back to ps exclusivity after the launch of ps6? as a supporter of exclusives as a means to protect the value of the brand, i do see the frustration sony is causing in the short term with its lack of foresight and poor handling of the situation here.
Re: Tell Us if You Love or Hate Stupid Never Dies, the Most Divisive Action RPG Coming to PS5
it is more of a musou game than an action rpg? i like the art direction and use of colour but the gameplay looks like an afterthought.
Re: Resident Evil 2 Director Says Requiem Needs a 'Non-Scary' Mode for Fraidy Cats Like Him
probably the worst take i have heard in a long time.
kamiya, i don't like wolves, so please remove amaterasu from okami 2 and replace her with a cat! this game needs to be catered specifically to me or else i cannot play it! thanks!
Re: SEGA's PS5 Games Get Good Reviews, So Why Aren't You Buying Them?
oh, please. as if i am going to believe the PR department and their definition of good or bad sales. that is subjective and dependent on their level of greed. all those games were profitable and successful in their own right. also, sega has botched all of atlus' games with terrible business practices including no upgrade paths for the complete editions and a truckload of MTX. people are truly fed up with it which might explain the (less than expected?) sales of the complete editions at the very least.
Re: Hypothetically, Could Sony Stop Its PS5 Ports from Running on Xbox Helix?
it's an interesting topic. if sony is serious about its exclusives going forward, i see no path other than de-listing its catalogue on pc entirely.
sony wants to bring in new users into its ecosystem. even at a ratio of 1 new psn user vs 10 software sales on pc is likely better for sony — that 1 new user brings a lot of revenue into sony's ecosystem (potentially hundreds of dollars a year in fact which exceeds the 10 software sales after a couple years. this is long term profit vs short term gains). it is not a simple topic because there are countless angles to analyze it from.
Re: Sony Rated the Best Big Game Company to Work for in Japan, Beating Nintendo, Capcom, More
@LowDefAl you aren't wrong, but doesn't change the fact that sony's game development influnece out of japan is a drop in the bucket next to all the other publishers... even more dire when you consider that asobi is a relatively new studio under the umbrella. people are generally most interested (and concerned) about the working conditions of game development as it has a toxic reputation. people are reading this article from the perspective of gaming afterall.
the fact that sony has a fraction of developers working in japan compared to its competition most likely inflated the survey results in its favour to be honest. if this survey included all arms of these publishers (worldwide) sony wouldn't be near the top.
Re: Sony Rated the Best Big Game Company to Work for in Japan, Beating Nintendo, Capcom, More
but there are only TWO studios working out of japan for sony... or under 400 staff members combined. small sample size relative to the other publishers.
Re: The Until Dawn PS5 Remake Studio Is Officially Gone for Good
o, right. this was one of the most unnecessary remakes of all time. all people wanted was a ps5 performance patch for the original ps4 game and yet... i wonder who did the market analysis for this project? i guess he got fired with the rest of the team.
Re: Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (PS5) - Capcom's Monster Taming RPG Soars to New Heights
gosh, capcom has a foundation here for a new breath of fire game by the looks of things. why is the company so afraid of reviving it? sad to see them putting out 3 monster hunter spinoffs with a traditional battle system and yet won't even acknowledge breath of fire exists
Re: PS6 Rival Xbox Helix Could Cost as Much as $1,200
if they are going to market the next xbox as a console, despite it being a pc, they are going to lose traditional customers expecting a console price point. to make matters worse, this box that they put out will not have even a fraction of the upgrade potential of a real pc, resricting people in the process.
why pay the price of a pc and receive hardware that is severely restricted from upgrading? too many conradictions here. this is looking like a product without a target audience and will be another failure for microsoft.
now if they market it as a pre-built pc, they may fare a little bit better... but the problem is, when people see xbox hardware, they automatically think of the traditional xbox consoles they grew up with. this is an impossible task for the marketing team and the mainstream will not be able to comprehend it.
Re: 'I'm Pro Sex Minigames': Former God of War Dev Backs PS5 Trilogy Remake to Keep Controversial Minigames
not a chance modern day sony is keeping that content in the remakes. and just because the minigames were apparently designed by women (i don't believe that either), has absolutely no bearing on the decision to cut it out. i don't know why that point found its way into the conversation since it's not the objectifying of women that is the issue here. it's that the mini games were always out of context with the rest of the game and felt gimmicky!
but let's be real, the remakes are going to aim for ultra realism from a production standpoint... a silly sex minigame is going to feel very disconnected from the experience. weird, jarring and stupid is how i would describe it in the original release. are people realy going to cry a river about this?
Re: Opinion: God of War: Sons of Sparta Is the Smaller PS5 Game Fans Want, and I Hope We See More
i'll support smaller games from sony if they are actually good. sons of sparta is certainly NOT competent on any level. asking people to support this game is a very bad take since you are also in effect supporting mediocrity that we can all do without. shouldn't we be encouraging publishers to make better games?
Re: Some PS5 Users Really Are Paying More for Their Games on PS Store Than Others
sony is probably using AI to target various users based on their playtime and trophies as well. they will go after those who are most vulnerable to frivolous spending and offer them the better prices. everyone else can pay more because sony says so. disgusting. sony needs to be sued over this.
Re: Yakuza Creator's Promising New PS5 Game May Soon Be Sleeping with the Fishes as Funding Is Cut
i'm stunned!
actually, no i'm not. i even went back to the 2022 article that was linked to this one to find my own comment and how i felt back then. nothing but concern about the news of nagoshi partnering with netease! even back then, you could not rely on these suits and investors to stay true to their word and see the project through until the end.
this news sucks. the game was looking like a more serious yakuza title which i can get behind. please, stop working with chinese conglomerates to fund your games! there is no passion for the artform nor any respect for the creatives over there.
hate to say it, but i'm expecting netease to shut down quantic dream. many people forget that netease acquired them a while back. with no news on star wars eclipse for years now, i'm really getting nervous about this one.
Re: 'They're Not Going to Delay PS6': Hardware Leaker Says 2027 Still Likely After Xbox Helix Reveal
just another contrarian trying to stand out from the noise. i call bs. even if sony was fine with the escalating RAM prices and isn't concerned about the ridiculous price tag of the ps6, there is a lack of interest for new hardware from the mainstream marketplace — that is not something sony can remedy. the only thing that can fix that is time and improvements to the economy. if sony were to release the ps6 next fall, many units would be sitting on store shelves and in warehouses, costing sony money in many other ways... it would get to the point where they would have to cut the price by 30% or more just to clear inventory before demand stopped altogether.
what happens in the early days of console releases, when adoption rates are low? oh, right, developers get nervous about making exclusive software that doesn't have a large enough audience to make the game viable! so we would just go through 4 more years of ps5/ps6 cross gen releases without any ps6 exclusives? that is what got us into this mess with the ps5 in the first place... and with sony now backpeddling on pc releases... sony wants to give people a reason to own the ps6 and that will require exclusives! you first need to sell a crap ton of ps6's to make that a reality...
so no. the interest and hunger just isn't there right now.
Re: Opinion: Sony's PC Pullback Is the Right Move for PS5
@Markatron84 it's a fair point. there are some gamers out there such as yourself who are loyal to the pc space and will never leave, but it was never sony's intention to cater to the pc market if there was no potential for crossover. sony had hoped that more pc gamers would invest in a ps5 because bringing players into the playstation ecosystem is far more valuable than a handful of software sales on pc. the experiment failed judging by the poor revenue generation from the pc ports... and i assume retaining ps5 players (who left in favour of pc) has become a problem as well.
Re: Opinion: Sony's PC Pullback Is the Right Move for PS5
where was this article 5 years ago? myself and many others were fighting against the grain, trying to get the message across that porting to pc would hurt the "value" of the playstation brand. there was a lot of pushback but now we know how misguided sony actually was.
if sony does go through with this, the anticipation for ps6 will indeed increase. instead of trying to convince people to pick up a ps6 (rather than stick to their ps5 or pc), sony can rest easy knowing that people actually have a better use case for the hardware instead of treating it as an afterthought.
Re: Sony Returns to PlayStation Exclusivity and Stops Single Player PC Ports, New Report Says
@themaladroit ps5 will be part of a cross gen strategy with ps6 and be supported until 2035 more like it.
Re: Sony Returns to PlayStation Exclusivity and Stops Single Player PC Ports, New Report Says
@Dr_ENT possibly. it doesn't look good for that studio unless they can turn them into a support studio rather than a porting house.
Re: Sony Returns to PlayStation Exclusivity and Stops Single Player PC Ports, New Report Says
right, so after 5 years of going in the wrong direction, sony is suddenly listening to the fans' concerns about the brand?
i don't buy that argument. sony hasn't listened to the core fans about anything this entire generation and couldn't care less what we think. sony is scared of steam machines and its pc ports have been a big disappointment. that is what this reversal is about. i'll believe it when i see it.
now, if only sony could learn a lesson or two about service games, get its pricing back down to earth and create some games with fresh ideas again...
Re: Highguard Permanently Shuts Down on 12th March
good riddance. you will not be missed. highguard. publishers, take this as a sign to stop investing in trash that only has a 1% chance at success perhaps? but if your shareholders demand it, then by all means, keep burning your resources away...
Re: PlayStation Visited Kojima Productions Lately, But What For?
@twitchtvpat yea, it's likely sony will publish his new game as well, but i'm confident that he has free creative control to do whatever he wants with the current agreement, as we have already seen with the death stranding games. no typical AAA publisher would ever touch those projects if not for the kojima brand recognition. that said, i think kojma has had enough financial success now to self publish his own games going forward if he chose to... but with his current agreement and creative freedom with sony, there is no need to take the finanical risk in doing so (all this can change in the future of course). he has since acquired the IP of death stranding so he is certainly doing well financially. one thing is for certain: kojima productions will never be acquired by anyone and for good reason. even sony cannot be trusted to make the right decisions these days and kojima productions could very well be shuttered after a failed project under this iteration of sony managament had they owned his studio.
Re: Opinion: If Sony's Doubling Down on Its Most Popular Franchises, Where's Uncharted?
i'm content with how the franchise ended. far too many people are afraid of closure and feel the need to suck the life out of a franchise. there is nothing worse than poor revival projects when the franchise has already run its course. it looks desperate, lazy and is the polar opposite of what game designers should strive for if they take their craft seriously.
now if sony wants to bring back the key members of ready at dawn and complete the order 1886 trilogy, sign me up!
Re: Rumour: Sony Backtracking on PC Strategy, Shifting Towards PS5 Exclusivity Again
i'd have to imagine that part of sony's decision to backpeddle away from pc after this failed experiment is because of the steam machine — another console-like device that could steal part of its userbase away. sony is afraid of losing ANY percentage of its marketshare.
in addition, the idea of sony porting its games to pc would hurt the value of playstation, which it did. factoring in the costs to port its game to pc makes this revenue stream (for its single player games) unattractive since they are sacrificing players from their ecosystem. do the math and you wil soon realize that retaining a playstation customer in its ecosystem is FAR more vlauable than losing that customer in exchange for a couple software sales on steam.
it only makes sense to keep pc ports alive for service games although i wouldn't bank on sony having much success in that space anyways.
Re: Here's Your First Look at the God of War TV Show
the games are already so cinematic and story focused. they don't lend themselves well to a live action adaptation because there is nothing left up to the imagination. the story has already been told in the best way possible. all of sony's live action adaptations are a fool's errand and don't need to exist...
Re: PlayStation Visited Kojima Productions Lately, But What For?
thankfully kojima is smart enough not to be acquired by sony. 5 or 10 years ago, i would have said that would be an ideal situation for both parties. so much has changed. looking forward to one last stealth game from kojima. make the game of your dreams without any interferance from the suits.
Re: Resident Evil Requiem (PS5) - Two-in-One Horror Not Quite an All-Timer
capcom continues to have an identity crisis with this franchise and doesn't know what to do with it from both, the story and gameplay side of things.
resident evil probably needs two franchises run in parallel at this point — a true surival horror series that sticks closer to its roots (a complete reboot) and the over the shoulder, action oriented series. alternate between entries every 3 years with a different subtitle on the box to satisfy all the fans. problem solved. just don't be a jack of all trades and try to tie the threads of this 30 year old, mish-mash of a story any longer because that simply does not work well.
Re: Yet Another Live Service Game Bites the Dust, But PS5 Players Get a Full Refund
this game doesn't even deserve an article about it shutting down. nobody will miss it. also, it feels like most publishers don't want to generate revenue anymore and are totally content in losing money and shutting themselves down. it's like being in a high stakes poker game and going all in despite eveyone at the table knowing that you are bluffing. why did you get up in the morning and make the trip to the casino knowing that this would be your fate?
Re: PS5's Retro God of War Game Gets the Worst Reviews in the Series
...and it has now fallen to 65... might need to update this article to reflect the terrible reception this game has had after giving it more time to simmer.
Re: PlayStation Studios: All Sony First-Party Developers and What They're Working On
outside of moderate curisoity for wolverine and intergelactic , i couldn't care less about any of the confirmed projects from sony 1st party. half the sudios are MIA and likely YEARS away from releasing a game... this is a really sad, lackluster offering from sony.
Re: Sony Goes Silent on Social Media as Fans Turn Feral Following Bluepoint Closure
@JPEGMakima you are certainly generalizing the number of people who shat on the look of demon's souls remake. it is considered one of the greatest remakes of all time, along with shadow of the colossus remake. it doesn't make for a strong argument if you take 3 toxic posts on twitter as the consensus as to how people feel about blupoint and its games.