Thats not bad at all really if its (nearly) everything - that equates to a permanent discount of £35 on a Pro (which is near some of their sales). Obviously you have to compare base prices / offers at the time, but its not a bad standing offer.
Edit: presumably it stacks on sale prices so if they were offering a pro for £50 off to start with, the final price would come down to £617.50, just over £80 off.
@Oram77 Sorry, I should have added that I do think Sony are in a bit of a Catch22 situation. Region lock a subsidised console and risk slightly upsetting other markets (which have just seen price rises) vs improving flagging sales in Japan.
@themightyant I agree that advertising the Pro would be somewhat unnecessary, and I agreed with Sammy that the audience will seek out info. My point was that marketing is far more than just advertising - the release of information was very incomplete, and they could have done far more to please the enthusiasts without blowing a lot of money on advertising. DF had been to see some games running on Pro, true, but they also had a lot of questions.
I still think Sony could have done a teardown video on Youtube, by some knowledgeable guy who could describe the key enhancements as he went. I also felt the short announcement video somewhat wasted Mark Cerny - and I'm thinking back to both his presentation on PS5, and the Pro one he did (or was released) after launch. To me, marketing is about far more than simple advertising, and I don't think they 'catered to the intended audience' very well just talking about the "big 3" (I think thats what they called it).
In the same way I think it bad marketing that when they do SoP's they don't always indicate whether a game is Pro enhanced (which most admittedly are).
On the Astro side of things, I had it pointed out to me that this was part of an investor report. Unfortunately, as you say, this was proliferated far and wide by the media, and mostly ended up quite negative towards Sony. I personally think that on hearing the news and opinion pieces, Sony could have done more to 'settle' the userbase, again coming from the point of view that good marketing on this scale is about far more than simple advertising.
@belmont It was a problem for console producers at the time, as TV NTSC compatibility wasn't guaranteed until after the PS1 launched I believe. Thankfully TV's moved on to support all ouputs (I think they still support 50hz now).
My point was only that there was an additional tech reason back then, but that doesn't apply here.
@SeaDaVie Thats what @cainhurst94 was replying to me about - I couldn't remember where this statement was made.
My 'position' being that even this being the case, this statement was broadcast far and wide through media such as pushsquare here. It cast quite a shadow on what Sony were doing - and it's here that marketing should have responded in a positive way - "we may not have any of our CURRENT major IPs launching in the next year, but....." . Ie that marketing at this level should be more than just advertising.
@cainhurst94 completely agree with your last post to me.
@OldGamer999 The person I was replying to was referencing the 90's - im sure you could get TVs in the UK that supported PAL and NTSC (I think mine did), but it wasn't guaranteed, so they needed 2 types of console - 1 that supported PAL output for UK (and possibly other regions), and 1 that supported NTSC output.
All TV's for a long while have supported various refresh frequencies - your PS5 will even tell you what your TV supports.
@Oram77 I agree - I just think this dispels any notion that they are locking to Japanese for any form of cost saving, so its all coming from subsidisation.
@belmont Just going off memory, at least part of that was due to the way in which UK TV's worked differently. PAL worked on 50hz NTSC worked on 60hz I believe some TVs supported both.
I'm sorry, I have to agree with the sentiment that this is not a good look.
Firstly, I understand that this is a good thing to boost sales in Japan, and that Nintendo has done similar. I also understand that cheap consoles bought in Japan could be sold worldwide, though doesn't the PS5's price vary across different markets anyway once currency is converted?
But, I can't see how a unique region locked SKU is going to be much cheaper to manufacture, so they are doing this via subsidising. If it were cheaper to make, why aren't they doing a cheaper English only variant for UK/US.
@get2sammyb @cainhurst94 I probably am confusing to some degree what was said by execs - I find it very difficult to remember who said what, when; and Astro probably wasn't considered a Major IP by most.
I think the perspective Im looking at it from is that marketing (in large companies) is more than just advertising (which they can be very good at indeed - I did say I liked the advertising in the above article, most of it is very cool). Marketing should also be there to step in if some exec says something that the company would rather they hadn't, or if something is said/done that upsets the userbase / shows the brand in a not so good light eg in the Astro case, "we may not have ..., but we do have ..." .
Maybe I'm being a bit unfair considering Xbox's marketing this gen...
Sammy - On the Pro front, I agree with you about the sort of person being likely to seek out info - so minimal advertising is needed, but that info has to be there. There were still a lot of gaps in things like Specs, and the fact that it was 2Tb was almost forgotten (I think you guys did an article to highlight the fact). DF appeared to do a lot of their marketing, but they didn't know much more than most. If I remember correctly, no one knew much about the 'boost' functionality either ie what it could do for non-enhanced games (this was a major weak point imo for the PS4 Pro). I would say that that the sort of person interested in Pro, is the sort of person thats going to be interested in this sort of thing, as well as 30min tech-lite presentations by Mark Cerny (which was released after launch), teardowns, etc. They didn't need massive production values - just a knowledgeable guy disassembling a unit, and talking about it as they did so.
Not all of Sony's marketing has been fantastic this gen. I may think this gen is probably the best yet overall, but I cannot say that for their marketing, particularly in the last few years.
For example:
I love my Pro, and think it's an excellent console, but the marketing of it was abysmal at best - including their poor examples that didn't show how much it can improve games, and limited technical details until after launch.
Also, their 'No major IP's this year' when they had Astro launching - even if you don't consider Astro a major IP, the messaging here was appalling. (*)
A number of their other statements have felt a little bit tone deaf - though that is significantly preferable to lies.
Their SOP's also require significant work eg a quick slide before the trailer saying what type of game it is eg SP action adventure, MP, etc, as well as Pro Enhancement status.
I really like the 3D billboards above though, and the Astro controller/glider looks excellent.
Edit: (*) I had it pointed out to me that the "No major IP's this year" was part of an investor report, not really intended for gamers. This info though was reported far and wide by the media. On realising the negativity this was generating Sony could have released some form of "We may not have ... , but do have ..." statement / info to turn this around. My point being that marketing is often about more than just advertising.
Lies of P was amazing - like others have alluded to though, I hope they keep their eyes on Quality whilst expanding.
Lies of P was a very high quality game that launched in a great state - as soon as I had played the demo (which was also high quality) I pre-ordered, and as a rule I never pre-order anything these days, except Sony 1st party, until technical reviews or sometimes critic reviews are available.
@Porco I started gaming on the Speccy+2 and have been gaming ever since; through 8bit, 16bit, 32/64bit, and all the way up to now, and thats my view - these days I only generally play AAA, and AA. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but that does not make my opinion wrong.
@cainhurst94 8Gb ? - I thought there were multiple complaints about a recent RTX50 series GPU only having 8Gb of VRam, and that 12 was considered bare minimum if you want it to still be relevant in a couple of years time?
@cainhurst94 @Shepherd_Tallon I can be a bit 'picky' with games, but this is the 1st gen I can remember that I haven't had as much time as I want to replay favourites - due both to so many new games, and my 'want to replay" list being much larger.
@wildcat_kickz Fair point - I forgot fortnite, and you are quite correct, and I think quite correct in the caveat of its their engine. Lords of the fallen was a game I was interested in until launch, and that interest evaporated as soon as the first tech reviews were out. I had heard it was much better now, at least on Pro, but I can't say I have seen a definitive tech re-review recently (and people were until recently at least still complaining about various bugs). Thats one of the issues with releasing in a bad state, and fixing later - its pot luck if your game gets re-reviewed.
I completely agree with both points of your 2nd paragraph.
@RoomWithaMoose Personally, I think Sony's output has never been better - though I do agree it could have been a lot better without the live service push, and we had a year or so that was sparse.
For me GOWR (I enjoyed the 1st game a lot, but it plays far better on PS5, and Ragnarok is just better imo), the Spiderman games (again 1 was good, but MM was as good, and 2 is better), Astro bot and playroom, HFW, and GoY (a vast improvement in my eyes over GoT) have all been real GOTY level highlights. A number of others have also been very high quality including DS remake, and R&C RA.
I don't begrudge them the remakes either, as in general I think they have done them to such high standards.
@Balaam_ @ButterySmooth30FPS I like a good moan too! Lol. But at the end of the day, I try to take a more 'overall' viewpoint, and have been very happy.
Balaam - I quite agree with you regarding Sony games and PS3. Its likely less thought about regarding PS1/2 because there were a lot more 3rd party games that 'ended up' exclusive to 1 platform or another, for various reasons. Then Xbox360 came along and Sony needed to evolve.
@wildcat_kickz In a lot of ways, I agree with you, and still hope things will improve on this front (at this point I hear UE5 and just groan). You are also completely right that some dev teams ambitions seem to exceed their ability.
But, I don't think we have seen a game yet with locked 60fps performance and good, clean visuals - and certainly nothing that would suggest it was suitable for the type of game being suggested here. I think at first I thought like you, but as bad example piled on bad example, I just don't know how much is the devs and how much is the engine.
Unlike some, I think this generation has been quite possibly the best so far. Yes, there have been problems (eg Sony's LS push, the 'release broken and maybe patch later' attitude of some 3rd party games) , but overall I've been very happy.
The quality of Sony 1st party studio games, and the Pro (I like the mid gen refreshes), being 2 of my highlights.
Edit: and obviously 60fps, and SSD's have been real game changers figuratively and literally for this gen.
"It's hard not to be cynical right off the bat"
Particularly when they use UE5. It doesn't exactly show good decision making, using an engine that struggles to run on console in medium scale SP games at 60fps, for a "large scale" MP shooter where 120fps would be the ideal.
@Dogbreath I'm not saying things won't change for the worse with Xbox in the state that its in, but I don't see Sony as being particularly anti consumer at the moment, when taken as a whole. I have already said I don't see this Japan only special treatment as being a good look, but they are far from being a particularly anti consumer monopoly.
I also don't think they shot themselves in the foot - Sony can't be held accountable (or claim responsibility) for how Xbox have spectacularly self destructed.
@themightyant Maybe I'm wrong - I though I read 2-3x, maybe it was 2.5-3x - Its possible I heard it elsewhere or just having a, whats the phrase, brain fart!
I also hate the "this generation hasn't started" rubbish and often reply to the silly "but we haven't seen the FULL power of PS5" comments - when we saw that within the first year or so, and arguably day 1 with SMMM (well a few weeks later when they patched with RT at >60fps approx 90fps IIRC) & even DS remake to a degree.
I would disagree with the 4k120hz capable TVs. They may not be the norm now, but by even a couple of years into PS6 gen, I think they will be common. You could even argue that the sort of person to buy PS6 day 1 (or PS5 Pro now), are the sort that would already have these TVs, although thats probably only partly true. With 8k as a serious proposition seemingly a long way off, 120hz is (from a certain point of view) to PS5 gen what 4k was to PS4 gen. I don't know about adoption rates, but I know I bought a 4k TV the same year as a PS4 Pro, but I bought my 120hz (HDMI2.1) TV a good couple of years before my PS5 Pro (which I bought at launch). If only 25% use 30fps, its likely that even now (where offered) >60fps is more popular than 30fps - you just don't have proper stats yet as so few games offer it, and sometimes you need a Pro to even uncap. But this is the area consoles struggle far below PC, and a major point to differentiate the PS6 on.
I don't think its GTA6 - I just can't think they would be giving this 'accolade' to any 3rd party game.
Maybe its Wolverine - we know what wizards Insomniac are, or maybe its Intergalactic.
Personally, I would guess its a game they haven't yet properly announced though, but its only a guess. They rarely announce games very early these days.
@Dogbreath I don't think too badly of Sony, and I don't see any need for an investigation.
To be fair, the only reason they have the market dominance they have now is because their main rival (Xbox) has been on a path of complete self destruction over a number of years. The Activision acquisition was just the last dozen or so nails in the coffin. Xbox wanted it for gamepass, a broken model (at least the day 1 aspect of it), which even Sony said was unsustainable. To get it they needed in excess of $70bn from their parent company, Microsoft, and in return have had various requirements forced upon them - including ridiculous profit margin requirements, and the effective loss of their own exclusives. All Sony had to do was offer a decent alternative.
I also think Sony will come to see PC and maybe even Nintendo as much more important rivals in the coming years.
However, Sony has to be careful as to how this Japan only console looks - they have a vast English speaking userbase - why can't they do a cheaper, English locked Console, if this is possible for Japan? They have singled out effectively 1 language / region for 'special treatment', which is not a good look.
@themightyant Apologies for not replying earlier - I received no notification of a reply from the site, and just happened to read your comment - it may be the way you inserted the quote, but I don't know.
I understand that we are at the point of diminishing returns, but the rumoured 2.5x performance seems very low compared to what we saw between PS4 and PS5. I will add that I'm sure I've read 2-3x performance, so without anything concrete, I would always tend towards the lower number.
This could of course all change - the architecture sounds good, but we have no clue on clock speeds.
We also have an engine - UE5, which is becoming more and more widespread even now, that seems to be very demanding even on current high spec PCs.
Obviously the big unknown is the part around architecture and ML that Cerny and AMD has been working on. It sounds really positive, but it also sounds like the PS6 will really depend on its use, and how early will/can its functionality be utilised properly (particularly if we are only 2 years away).
If all the PS6 can do is better graphics at 30 and 60fps, I really worry for it (the promise of RT will not work for some as that was promised for PS5) - 30fps has to be gone next gen, with 60fps Graphics modes, and 90fps+ Performance modes. The ball is in Sony's court, as the saying goes, to prove that this is a PS6, not a PS5 Pro Pro. And they will need the sales to 'kick-start' the generation properly.
To me, better but a bit later (late 2028 seems good to me too), is preferable - people say the main reason for 2027 is to coincide with Xbox's next launch, but at this stage I don't even think that should be a factor. I don't think too many will look elsewhere, unless Sony really messes up the PS6 launch, then anything could happen.
I will add that my ideal is a more powerful than usual Pro available at the start of the generation - yes, it might be expensive, but having it all gen, and not upgrading would offset this.
Stellar Blade is a very highly polished game on a technical level, particularly on Pro. One of the very best 3rd party games in this regard, and an incredible achievement.
But, I thought that overall, Lies of P was the MUCH better game (and also highly polished).
All I know is that I wasn't a big fan of Tsushima- I played it once when it released, but wouldn't again, and didn't buy the DLC.
It didn't click with me - I found it a bit boring, and I didn't like Jin, his story, or a lot of the side content. The graphics were also very 'muddy'.
I nearly didn't bother with Yotei.
But I'm glad I did. GoY is easily my favourite game this year, and probably one of my Top 10 this generation. A really fantastic game - one I will replay, and would instantly snap up any story DLC.
I'm still no where near convinced about that 2027 date - it just says PS6 will be far too underpowered or too expensive to me.
The PS6 needs to convince people to upgrade, on mass, from PS5 - Thats the main competition, not Xbox any longer. However, if they mess it up, thats when people may look elsewhere.
@Titntin The last Xbox I owned was a 360. It has been sad to see the path of self destruction they have been on, arguably since then - often through greed, but also through not listening to their real customers.
I wasn't being clever or nitpicking (I know you didn't think I was) - I just think Sony (or indeed Nintendo) shouldn't take credit, but see it as a "this is what can happen if" warning.
@Oram77
For me, this generation has been the best yet, with some really amazing games. I'm not against Sony/others doing remakes of a few games from last gen either. I also think the hardware - base & Pro, have been good. SSD's have made a real difference too.
Whenever I see these "its been a crap gen" posts, I have to really wonder what kind of rose tinted spectacles people are wearing.
I do have 3 major criticisms though:
1) I do have to agree that this gen would have been even better without Sony's LS push. I don't think their output has been bad, but it could have been even better.
2) The increasing habit of devs putting out unfinished/ unoptimised games really needs to stop before it seriously harms the industry (Day 1 sales are being damaged, with an increase in wait for sale mentality).
3) For sanity sake stop using UE5, or at least calm down using all its "features". (We still have 2 years to go yet!)
Sony would be mad to release the PS6 too early / too underpowered / with not enough games in place, with momentum like this. (The rumour of the next Xbox launching in 2027 shouldn't sway them).
I just checked the DF video - to make sure I wasn't talking rubbish and on (base) PS5 the performance mode drops res to 864p - which does indeed indicate around this or a bit lower at 30fps on Series S. Sorry.
Im hoping for a proper Pro patch too, for both this and SH F - then I will likely buy them both. I think, if they do one, we will be waiting until the new PSSR/FSR4.
This particular team has never impressed me with their technicals, so I'm not going to hold my breath lol. But, maybe a different team could port to Switch 2 (I have no idea).
@Medic_alert You would think thats how it should work - and it really should. But this engine is just far too resource hungry for this generation of hardware, and for general use in my opinion - PS5 generally struggles with it, and you often end up with only just above 720p at 60fps. Series S will likely be limited to 30fps, and there is not much lower to go. Even very expensive PC's seem to struggle at times.
@Medic_alert They are likely having a lot of trouble getting it to work on Switch 2 as its UE5. In the ports Ive seen tested - which is admittedly not all of them - Switch 2 normally comes in between PS4 Pro and S2, but often much closer to PS4 Pro. Im not saying its not possible, but this team don't seem to be the most technically gifted from the evidence we have.
GoT never clicked with me - I think in part I just didn't think much to the story, however, GoY was an amazing game. If I had reviewed them both I would have given GoT a straight 6, and GoY a 9.5 - I vastly preferred Yotei in every respect.
Graphics isn't polled here - I played GoT on a PS4 Pro and found it underwhelming for its time and muddy looking. I played GoY on a PS5 Pro and found it to look excellent - a real treat.
@Leinad7 An Xbox PC makes much more sense than them doing another console (which I believe would just not sell at all).
However, I don't see it selling enough to encourage separate optimisation from normal PC code.
I also don't expect it to be a massive upgrade on PS6, particularly in actual real world performance, even if it looks good on paper. The price point being rumoured is not really high enough given that without a closed ecosystem they will need to profit on the hardware alone.
@TrollOfWar Agree that optimisation in general has gone downhill fast this gen, except Sony 1st party studios which are generally outstanding in this regard (including where they 'loan' their engines eg DS2, a game I have no interest in but it was technically excellent).
Maybe I should have said, in relation to 3rd party exclusives, that there is hope that it will be better optimised on PS, than if they were launching on multiple systems.
@UltimateOtaku91 I think developers need some serious holding back! Series S has been good for PS5 users this gen, and I think S2 may help a lot as we go through the last few years of this gen.
My feeling is that as we get into next gen either 3rd party AAA's will start to either just not launch on S2, or only offer severly reduced versions on S2 - much like S1 in this generation. Maybe I'm wrong - the PS6's capability over PS5 (based on limited info) does not appear to be even close to the difference between PS4 and PS5.
Certainly the new PS handheld is going to hold back developers ambitions on PS6 - its only roughly half as powerful as a PS5. That is of course if it sells well, otherwise its support could evaporate fast. PS5 cross gen is likely to last much longer too, complicating matters even further.
Comments 2,733
Re: PS Plus Members in the UK Now Get Money Off Purchases from PlayStation Direct
Thats not bad at all really if its (nearly) everything - that equates to a permanent discount of £35 on a Pro (which is near some of their sales). Obviously you have to compare base prices / offers at the time, but its not a bad standing offer.
Edit: presumably it stacks on sale prices so if they were offering a pro for £50 off to start with, the final price would come down to £617.50, just over £80 off.
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Single Player Campaign Is Being Torn Apart
Sounds like quite a mess!
Edit: We just need a review in the style of Monty Python, because "its all getting very silly"!
Re: Here's Why Sony Is Making a Japan-Specific PS5 Console
@Oram77
Sorry, I should have added that I do think Sony are in a bit of a Catch22 situation. Region lock a subsidised console and risk slightly upsetting other markets (which have just seen price rises) vs improving flagging sales in Japan.
Re: Sony Flexes Its Almighty Marketing Muscle with PS5 Promos Around the World
@themightyant
I agree that advertising the Pro would be somewhat unnecessary, and I agreed with Sammy that the audience will seek out info.
My point was that marketing is far more than just advertising - the release of information was very incomplete, and they could have done far more to please the enthusiasts without blowing a lot of money on advertising.
DF had been to see some games running on Pro, true, but they also had a lot of questions.
I still think Sony could have done a teardown video on Youtube, by some knowledgeable guy who could describe the key enhancements as he went.
I also felt the short announcement video somewhat wasted Mark Cerny - and I'm thinking back to both his presentation on PS5, and the Pro one he did (or was released) after launch.
To me, marketing is about far more than simple advertising, and I don't think they 'catered to the intended audience' very well just talking about the "big 3" (I think thats what they called it).
In the same way I think it bad marketing that when they do SoP's they don't always indicate whether a game is Pro enhanced (which most admittedly are).
On the Astro side of things, I had it pointed out to me that this was part of an investor report.
Unfortunately, as you say, this was proliferated far and wide by the media, and mostly ended up quite negative towards Sony. I personally think that on hearing the news and opinion pieces, Sony could have done more to 'settle' the userbase, again coming from the point of view that good marketing on this scale is about far more than simple advertising.
Re: Here's Why Sony Is Making a Japan-Specific PS5 Console
@belmont
It was a problem for console producers at the time, as TV NTSC compatibility wasn't guaranteed until after the PS1 launched I believe. Thankfully TV's moved on to support all ouputs (I think they still support 50hz now).
My point was only that there was an additional tech reason back then, but that doesn't apply here.
Re: Sony Flexes Its Almighty Marketing Muscle with PS5 Promos Around the World
@SeaDaVie
Thats what @cainhurst94 was replying to me about - I couldn't remember where this statement was made.
My 'position' being that even this being the case, this statement was broadcast far and wide through media such as pushsquare here. It cast quite a shadow on what Sony were doing - and it's here that marketing should have responded in a positive way - "we may not have any of our CURRENT major IPs launching in the next year, but....." . Ie that marketing at this level should be more than just advertising.
@cainhurst94 completely agree with your last post to me.
Re: Here's Why Sony Is Making a Japan-Specific PS5 Console
@OldGamer999
The person I was replying to was referencing the 90's - im sure you could get TVs in the UK that supported PAL and NTSC (I think mine did), but it wasn't guaranteed, so they needed 2 types of console - 1 that supported PAL output for UK (and possibly other regions), and 1 that supported NTSC output.
All TV's for a long while have supported various refresh frequencies - your PS5 will even tell you what your TV supports.
Re: Here's Why Sony Is Making a Japan-Specific PS5 Console
@Oram77
I agree - I just think this dispels any notion that they are locking to Japanese for any form of cost saving, so its all coming from subsidisation.
Re: Here's Why Sony Is Making a Japan-Specific PS5 Console
@belmont
Just going off memory, at least part of that was due to the way in which UK TV's worked differently.
PAL worked on 50hz
NTSC worked on 60hz
I believe some TVs supported both.
Re: Here's Why Sony Is Making a Japan-Specific PS5 Console
I'm sorry, I have to agree with the sentiment that this is not a good look.
Firstly, I understand that this is a good thing to boost sales in Japan, and that Nintendo has done similar. I also understand that cheap consoles bought in Japan could be sold worldwide, though doesn't the PS5's price vary across different markets anyway once currency is converted?
But, I can't see how a unique region locked SKU is going to be much cheaper to manufacture, so they are doing this via subsidising.
If it were cheaper to make, why aren't they doing a cheaper English only variant for UK/US.
Re: Sony Flexes Its Almighty Marketing Muscle with PS5 Promos Around the World
@get2sammyb @cainhurst94
I probably am confusing to some degree what was said by execs - I find it very difficult to remember who said what, when; and Astro probably wasn't considered a Major IP by most.
I think the perspective Im looking at it from is that marketing (in large companies) is more than just advertising (which they can be very good at indeed - I did say I liked the advertising in the above article, most of it is very cool).
Marketing should also be there to step in if some exec says something that the company would rather they hadn't, or if something is said/done that upsets the userbase / shows the brand in a not so good light eg in the Astro case, "we may not have ..., but we do have ..." .
Maybe I'm being a bit unfair considering Xbox's marketing this gen...
Sammy - On the Pro front, I agree with you about the sort of person being likely to seek out info - so minimal advertising is needed, but that info has to be there.
There were still a lot of gaps in things like Specs, and the fact that it was 2Tb was almost forgotten (I think you guys did an article to highlight the fact). DF appeared to do a lot of their marketing, but they didn't know much more than most. If I remember correctly, no one knew much about the 'boost' functionality either ie what it could do for non-enhanced games (this was a major weak point imo for the PS4 Pro).
I would say that that the sort of person interested in Pro, is the sort of person thats going to be interested in this sort of thing, as well as 30min tech-lite presentations by Mark Cerny (which was released after launch), teardowns, etc. They didn't need massive production values - just a knowledgeable guy disassembling a unit, and talking about it as they did so.
Re: Sony Flexes Its Almighty Marketing Muscle with PS5 Promos Around the World
Not all of Sony's marketing has been fantastic this gen. I may think this gen is probably the best yet overall, but I cannot say that for their marketing, particularly in the last few years.
For example:
I love my Pro, and think it's an excellent console, but the marketing of it was abysmal at best - including their poor examples that didn't show how much it can improve games, and limited technical details until after launch.
Also, their 'No major IP's this year' when they had Astro launching - even if you don't consider Astro a major IP, the messaging here was appalling. (*)
A number of their other statements have felt a little bit tone deaf - though that is significantly preferable to lies.
Their SOP's also require significant work eg a quick slide before the trailer saying what type of game it is eg SP action adventure, MP, etc, as well as Pro Enhancement status.
I really like the 3D billboards above though, and the Astro controller/glider looks excellent.
Edit: (*) I had it pointed out to me that the "No major IP's this year" was part of an investor report, not really intended for gamers. This info though was reported far and wide by the media. On realising the negativity this was generating Sony could have released some form of "We may not have ... , but do have ..." statement / info to turn this around. My point being that marketing is often about more than just advertising.
Re: Lies of P Publisher Neowiz Going Big with 5 Upcoming Games
@StitchJones
The DLC was in my opinion even better than the main game - and a decent chunk of content.
I found 2 new weapons (Claws and Bow) that I liked so much that I replayed through a NG+ cycle (inc dlc again).
Re: Lies of P Publisher Neowiz Going Big with 5 Upcoming Games
Lies of P was amazing - like others have alluded to though, I hope they keep their eyes on Quality whilst expanding.
Lies of P was a very high quality game that launched in a great state - as soon as I had played the demo (which was also high quality) I pre-ordered, and as a rule I never pre-order anything these days, except Sony 1st party, until technical reviews or sometimes critic reviews are available.
Re: PS5 Is the Second Fastest Selling PlayStation Ever in the US, Despite Price Hikes and Production Issues
@Porco
I started gaming on the Speccy+2 and have been gaming ever since; through 8bit, 16bit, 32/64bit, and all the way up to now, and thats my view - these days I only generally play AAA, and AA.
You are of course entitled to your opinion, but that does not make my opinion wrong.
Re: PS5 Is the Second Fastest Selling PlayStation Ever in the US, Despite Price Hikes and Production Issues
@cainhurst94
8Gb ? - I thought there were multiple complaints about a recent RTX50 series GPU only having 8Gb of VRam, and that 12 was considered bare minimum if you want it to still be relevant in a couple of years time?
Re: PS5 Is the Second Fastest Selling PlayStation Ever in the US, Despite Price Hikes and Production Issues
@cainhurst94 @Shepherd_Tallon
I can be a bit 'picky' with games, but this is the 1st gen I can remember that I haven't had as much time as I want to replay favourites - due both to so many new games, and my 'want to replay" list being much larger.
Re: Rumour: Ubisoft Is Still Gunning for Live Service Success with New Multiplayer Shooter
@wildcat_kickz
Fair point - I forgot fortnite, and you are quite correct, and I think quite correct in the caveat of its their engine.
Lords of the fallen was a game I was interested in until launch, and that interest evaporated as soon as the first tech reviews were out. I had heard it was much better now, at least on Pro, but I can't say I have seen a definitive tech re-review recently (and people were until recently at least still complaining about various bugs). Thats one of the issues with releasing in a bad state, and fixing later - its pot luck if your game gets re-reviewed.
I completely agree with both points of your 2nd paragraph.
Re: PS5 Is the Second Fastest Selling PlayStation Ever in the US, Despite Price Hikes and Production Issues
@RoomWithaMoose
Personally, I think Sony's output has never been better - though I do agree it could have been a lot better without the live service push, and we had a year or so that was sparse.
For me GOWR (I enjoyed the 1st game a lot, but it plays far better on PS5, and Ragnarok is just better imo), the Spiderman games (again 1 was good, but MM was as good, and 2 is better), Astro bot and playroom, HFW, and GoY (a vast improvement in my eyes over GoT) have all been real GOTY level highlights. A number of others have also been very high quality including DS remake, and R&C RA.
I don't begrudge them the remakes either, as in general I think they have done them to such high standards.
Re: PS5 Is the Second Fastest Selling PlayStation Ever in the US, Despite Price Hikes and Production Issues
@Balaam_ @ButterySmooth30FPS
I like a good moan too! Lol. But at the end of the day, I try to take a more 'overall' viewpoint, and have been very happy.
Balaam - I quite agree with you regarding Sony games and PS3. Its likely less thought about regarding PS1/2 because there were a lot more 3rd party games that 'ended up' exclusive to 1 platform or another, for various reasons. Then Xbox360 came along and Sony needed to evolve.
Re: Rumour: Ubisoft Is Still Gunning for Live Service Success with New Multiplayer Shooter
@wildcat_kickz
In a lot of ways, I agree with you, and still hope things will improve on this front (at this point I hear UE5 and just groan). You are also completely right that some dev teams ambitions seem to exceed their ability.
But, I don't think we have seen a game yet with locked 60fps performance and good, clean visuals - and certainly nothing that would suggest it was suitable for the type of game being suggested here.
I think at first I thought like you, but as bad example piled on bad example, I just don't know how much is the devs and how much is the engine.
Re: PS5 Is the Second Fastest Selling PlayStation Ever in the US, Despite Price Hikes and Production Issues
Unlike some, I think this generation has been quite possibly the best so far. Yes, there have been problems (eg Sony's LS push, the 'release broken and maybe patch later' attitude of some 3rd party games) , but overall I've been very happy.
The quality of Sony 1st party studio games, and the Pro (I like the mid gen refreshes), being 2 of my highlights.
Edit: and obviously 60fps, and SSD's have been real game changers figuratively and literally for this gen.
Re: Rumour: Ubisoft Is Still Gunning for Live Service Success with New Multiplayer Shooter
"It's hard not to be cynical right off the bat"
Particularly when they use UE5. It doesn't exactly show good decision making, using an engine that struggles to run on console in medium scale SP games at 60fps, for a "large scale" MP shooter where 120fps would be the ideal.
Re: Sony to Stimulate Japanese PS5 Sales with Cheaper, Language Locked Model
@Dogbreath
I'm not saying things won't change for the worse with Xbox in the state that its in, but I don't see Sony as being particularly anti consumer at the moment, when taken as a whole. I have already said I don't see this Japan only special treatment as being a good look, but they are far from being a particularly anti consumer monopoly.
I also don't think they shot themselves in the foot - Sony can't be held accountable (or claim responsibility) for how Xbox have spectacularly self destructed.
Re: PS5 'In the Middle' of Its Lifecycle, Claims Sony
@themightyant
Maybe I'm wrong - I though I read 2-3x, maybe it was 2.5-3x - Its possible I heard it elsewhere or just having a, whats the phrase, brain fart!
I also hate the "this generation hasn't started" rubbish and often reply to the silly "but we haven't seen the FULL power of PS5" comments - when we saw that within the first year or so, and arguably day 1 with SMMM (well a few weeks later when they patched with RT at >60fps approx 90fps IIRC) & even DS remake to a degree.
I would disagree with the 4k120hz capable TVs. They may not be the norm now, but by even a couple of years into PS6 gen, I think they will be common. You could even argue that the sort of person to buy PS6 day 1 (or PS5 Pro now), are the sort that would already have these TVs, although thats probably only partly true.
With 8k as a serious proposition seemingly a long way off, 120hz is (from a certain point of view) to PS5 gen what 4k was to PS4 gen.
I don't know about adoption rates, but I know I bought a 4k TV the same year as a PS4 Pro, but I bought my 120hz (HDMI2.1) TV a good couple of years before my PS5 Pro (which I bought at launch).
If only 25% use 30fps, its likely that even now (where offered) >60fps is more popular than 30fps - you just don't have proper stats yet as so few games offer it, and sometimes you need a Pro to even uncap. But this is the area consoles struggle far below PC, and a major point to differentiate the PS6 on.
Re: PS5's Biggest Game Has Not Released Yet, PlayStation Boss Teases
I don't think its GTA6 - I just can't think they would be giving this 'accolade' to any 3rd party game.
Maybe its Wolverine - we know what wizards Insomniac are, or maybe its Intergalactic.
Personally, I would guess its a game they haven't yet properly announced though, but its only a guess. They rarely announce games very early these days.
Re: Sony to Stimulate Japanese PS5 Sales with Cheaper, Language Locked Model
@Dogbreath
I don't think too badly of Sony, and I don't see any need for an investigation.
To be fair, the only reason they have the market dominance they have now is because their main rival (Xbox) has been on a path of complete self destruction over a number of years.
The Activision acquisition was just the last dozen or so nails in the coffin. Xbox wanted it for gamepass, a broken model (at least the day 1 aspect of it), which even Sony said was unsustainable. To get it they needed in excess of $70bn from their parent company, Microsoft, and in return have had various requirements forced upon them - including ridiculous profit margin requirements, and the effective loss of their own exclusives.
All Sony had to do was offer a decent alternative.
I also think Sony will come to see PC and maybe even Nintendo as much more important rivals in the coming years.
However, Sony has to be careful as to how this Japan only console looks - they have a vast English speaking userbase - why can't they do a cheaper, English locked Console, if this is possible for Japan? They have singled out effectively 1 language / region for 'special treatment', which is not a good look.
Re: PS5 'In the Middle' of Its Lifecycle, Claims Sony
@themightyant
Apologies for not replying earlier - I received no notification of a reply from the site, and just happened to read your comment - it may be the way you inserted the quote, but I don't know.
I understand that we are at the point of diminishing returns, but the rumoured 2.5x performance seems very low compared to what we saw between PS4 and PS5.
I will add that I'm sure I've read 2-3x performance, so without anything concrete, I would always tend towards the lower number.
This could of course all change - the architecture sounds good, but we have no clue on clock speeds.
We also have an engine - UE5, which is becoming more and more widespread even now, that seems to be very demanding even on current high spec PCs.
Obviously the big unknown is the part around architecture and ML that Cerny and AMD has been working on. It sounds really positive, but it also sounds like the PS6 will really depend on its use, and how early will/can its functionality be utilised properly (particularly if we are only 2 years away).
If all the PS6 can do is better graphics at 30 and 60fps, I really worry for it (the promise of RT will not work for some as that was promised for PS5) - 30fps has to be gone next gen, with 60fps Graphics modes, and 90fps+ Performance modes.
The ball is in Sony's court, as the saying goes, to prove that this is a PS6, not a PS5 Pro Pro. And they will need the sales to 'kick-start' the generation properly.
To me, better but a bit later (late 2028 seems good to me too), is preferable - people say the main reason for 2027 is to coincide with Xbox's next launch, but at this stage I don't even think that should be a factor. I don't think too many will look elsewhere, unless Sony really messes up the PS6 launch, then anything could happen.
I will add that my ideal is a more powerful than usual Pro available at the start of the generation - yes, it might be expensive, but having it all gen, and not upgrading would offset this.
Re: Sony to Stimulate Japanese PS5 Sales with Cheaper, Language Locked Model
@get2sammyb
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this beg the question as to why they can't do similar with an English speaking model for UK/USA?
Re: Stellar Blade Success Helps Korean Games Thrive, Ex PlayStation Boss Believes
Stellar Blade is a very highly polished game on a technical level, particularly on Pro. One of the very best 3rd party games in this regard, and an incredible achievement.
But, I thought that overall, Lies of P was the MUCH better game (and also highly polished).
Re: PS5 Fans Say Ghost of Yotei Plays Better, But Can't Match Ghost of Tsushima's Story or Hero
All I know is that I wasn't a big fan of Tsushima- I played it once when it released, but wouldn't again, and didn't buy the DLC.
It didn't click with me - I found it a bit boring, and I didn't like Jin, his story, or a lot of the side content. The graphics were also very 'muddy'.
I nearly didn't bother with Yotei.
But I'm glad I did. GoY is easily my favourite game this year, and probably one of my Top 10 this generation. A really fantastic game - one I will replay, and would instantly snap up any story DLC.
Re: What Time Is PlayStation's State of Play Japan?
If its not in English I will wait and pick up the highlights here, and any trailers I'm interested in.
Re: PS5 'In the Middle' of Its Lifecycle, Claims Sony
I'm still no where near convinced about that 2027 date - it just says PS6 will be far too underpowered or too expensive to me.
The PS6 needs to convince people to upgrade, on mass, from PS5 - Thats the main competition, not Xbox any longer. However, if they mess it up, thats when people may look elsewhere.
Re: PS5 Sales Now Top 84.2 Million Units, Well on Way to 100 Million Milestone
@Titntin
Very true indeed - it was the reason I moved back for PS4, and stayed for PS5!
Re: PS5, PS4 Userbase Keeps on Getting Bigger, Attracts More Players Year-on-Year
@nomither6
Even crystal clear ones (glasses) can have that coating that dulls down the really bright spots lol.
Re: PS5 Sales Now Top 84.2 Million Units, Well on Way to 100 Million Milestone
@Titntin
The last Xbox I owned was a 360.
It has been sad to see the path of self destruction they have been on, arguably since then - often through greed, but also through not listening to their real customers.
I wasn't being clever or nitpicking (I know you didn't think I was) - I just think Sony (or indeed Nintendo) shouldn't take credit, but see it as a "this is what can happen if" warning.
Re: PS5, PS4 Userbase Keeps on Getting Bigger, Attracts More Players Year-on-Year
@Oram77
For me, this generation has been the best yet, with some really amazing games. I'm not against Sony/others doing remakes of a few games from last gen either. I also think the hardware - base & Pro, have been good. SSD's have made a real difference too.
Whenever I see these "its been a crap gen" posts, I have to really wonder what kind of rose tinted spectacles people are wearing.
I do have 3 major criticisms though:
1) I do have to agree that this gen would have been even better without Sony's LS push. I don't think their output has been bad, but it could have been even better.
2) The increasing habit of devs putting out unfinished/ unoptimised games really needs to stop before it seriously harms the industry (Day 1 sales are being damaged, with an increase in wait for sale mentality).
3) For sanity sake stop using UE5, or at least calm down using all its "features". (We still have 2 years to go yet!)
Re: PS5 Sales Now Top 84.2 Million Units, Well on Way to 100 Million Milestone
@Titntin
"they've oblterated their main rival"
I think their main rival this generation did a pretty good job of obliterating themselves! Lol
Re: PS5 Sales Now Top 84.2 Million Units, Well on Way to 100 Million Milestone
Sony would be mad to release the PS6 too early / too underpowered / with not enough games in place, with momentum like this. (The rumour of the next Xbox launching in 2027 shouldn't sway them).
Re: Silent Hill 2 Puts Incredible Survival Horror on More Platforms This Month
@Medic_alert
I just checked the DF video - to make sure I wasn't talking rubbish and on (base) PS5 the performance mode drops res to 864p - which does indeed indicate around this or a bit lower at 30fps on Series S. Sorry.
Im hoping for a proper Pro patch too, for both this and SH F - then I will likely buy them both.
I think, if they do one, we will be waiting until the new PSSR/FSR4.
This particular team has never impressed me with their technicals, so I'm not going to hold my breath lol. But, maybe a different team could port to Switch 2 (I have no idea).
Re: Silent Hill 2 Puts Incredible Survival Horror on More Platforms This Month
@Medic_alert
You would think thats how it should work - and it really should.
But this engine is just far too resource hungry for this generation of hardware, and for general use in my opinion - PS5 generally struggles with it, and you often end up with only just above 720p at 60fps. Series S will likely be limited to 30fps, and there is not much lower to go. Even very expensive PC's seem to struggle at times.
Re: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Beloved Soundtrack Snubbed in Prestigious Music Awards
Some whole games get snubbed, even at game awards - eg Hogwarts Legacy!
Re: Silent Hill 2 Puts Incredible Survival Horror on More Platforms This Month
@Medic_alert
They are likely having a lot of trouble getting it to work on Switch 2 as its UE5. In the ports Ive seen tested - which is admittedly not all of them - Switch 2 normally comes in between PS4 Pro and S2, but often much closer to PS4 Pro.
Im not saying its not possible, but this team don't seem to be the most technically gifted from the evidence we have.
Re: After GTA 6 Delay, Wolverine PS5 Doubles Down on Fall 2026 Release Date
I will be buying Wolverine Day 1 regardless of of its release date - it wouldn't matter if it released the same day as GTA6.
In regards GTA6 - if its not a good 60fps on Pro, I will not be buying it at all.
Re: Poll: Is Ghost of Yotei Better Than Ghost of Tsushima?
GoT never clicked with me - I think in part I just didn't think much to the story, however, GoY was an amazing game.
If I had reviewed them both I would have given GoT a straight 6, and GoY a 9.5 - I vastly preferred Yotei in every respect.
Graphics isn't polled here - I played GoT on a PS4 Pro and found it underwhelming for its time and muddy looking. I played GoY on a PS5 Pro and found it to look excellent - a real treat.
Re: Don't Expect Any PS5 Exclusives from Square Enix in the Future
@Leinad7
An Xbox PC makes much more sense than them doing another console (which I believe would just not sell at all).
However, I don't see it selling enough to encourage separate optimisation from normal PC code.
I also don't expect it to be a massive upgrade on PS6, particularly in actual real world performance, even if it looks good on paper. The price point being rumoured is not really high enough given that without a closed ecosystem they will need to profit on the hardware alone.
Re: Don't Expect Any PS5 Exclusives from Square Enix in the Future
@omadeli
I think DS2 used Sony's Decima engine from Horizon Forbidden West. I agree with what you are saying though.
Re: Don't Expect Any PS5 Exclusives from Square Enix in the Future
@TrollOfWar
Agree that optimisation in general has gone downhill fast this gen, except Sony 1st party studios which are generally outstanding in this regard (including where they 'loan' their engines eg DS2, a game I have no interest in but it was technically excellent).
Maybe I should have said, in relation to 3rd party exclusives, that there is hope that it will be better optimised on PS, than if they were launching on multiple systems.
Re: Don't Expect Any PS5 Exclusives from Square Enix in the Future
@PuppetMaster
When I think about it, I may actually have only bought 1 SE game this gen. Last gen, it was a lot more!
Re: Don't Expect Any PS5 Exclusives from Square Enix in the Future
@UltimateOtaku91
I think developers need some serious holding back!
Series S has been good for PS5 users this gen, and I think S2 may help a lot as we go through the last few years of this gen.
My feeling is that as we get into next gen either 3rd party AAA's will start to either just not launch on S2, or only offer severly reduced versions on S2 - much like S1 in this generation.
Maybe I'm wrong - the PS6's capability over PS5 (based on limited info) does not appear to be even close to the difference between PS4 and PS5.
Certainly the new PS handheld is going to hold back developers ambitions on PS6 - its only roughly half as powerful as a PS5. That is of course if it sells well, otherwise its support could evaporate fast.
PS5 cross gen is likely to last much longer too, complicating matters even further.