PS5 can still be a great console but it won’t be because of Sony – Reader’s Feature

Sales of the PS5 and PS5 Pro are more or less the same as the PS4 (Sony)

A reader suggests that Sony’s peculiar attitude towards the PS5 does make sense and it’s all to do with what more casual gamers want and expect from a console.

I read with interest a recent Reader’s Feature that talked about the PlayStation 6 being a chance for Sony to wipe the slate clean and start again, hopefully more in the style of the PlayStation 4. I think that they are probably right, in terms of Sony’s reputation for first party games, but I think we need to remember that that is not the be all and end all of consoles.

One of the reasons the PlayStation 5’s sales have not suffered, despite Sony’s poor management, is that it has had virtually no competition from Xbox. There are already almost no current gen exclusives of any importance and sales are so bad for the Xbox Series X/S that it wouldn’t even matter if there were.

With the Switch unable to play current gen games this has led to the PlayStation 5 being the undisputed market leader for triple-A games, without raising a finger and despite not having even half as many quality first party games as last gen.

What this means is that if you played a triple-A game on a current gen console then the odds are it was on the PlayStation 5. Elden Ring, Baldur’s Gate 3, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Resident Evil 4 remake, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Monster Hunter Wilds, Deliverance: Kingdom Come 2, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Call Of Duty, EA Sports FC… if you’ve enjoyed a big budget third party game this gen you’ve probably done it on the PlayStation 5.

This is where I feel there is a bit of a disconnect between what hardcore gamers think of Sony’s current attitude and them not realising that it has had little to no impact on their success. Most people don’t actually buy consoles for their exclusives (Nintendo excluded) which is probably one reason why Sony felt comfortable reducing their output.

I’d love to know what the exact stat is, but it wouldn’t surprise me if fully half of all PlayStation owners only buy one to play EA Sports FC and Call Of Duty/free online shooters. Which also explains Sony’s push for live service games, which is not necessarily foolish in terms of the idea, just incompetent in terms of how they’ve executed it.

For many people PlayStation is video games and even though games like The Last Of Us and God Of War get a lot of attention, which probably makes people feel better about owning a PlayStation 5, they’re still only a drop in the ocean compared to the sales of multiformat games with vastly less critical acclaim.

The opposite is true too. Returnal might have won a Bafta and been GC’s favourite PlayStation 5 game, but it barely sold a million copies. No one played it and most PlayStation 5 owners have probably never even heard of it (I loved it, by the way).

So I think that’s why Sony is happy to be aloof and uncommunicative, because they’re winning by basically doing nothing, so why say anything to draw attention to it or upset people? It might be maddening to us gamers that they won’t acknowledge the change in policy, but from their point of view that can only be a bad thing.

As far as the average gamer is concerned the PlayStation 5 is a good console with great games, it’s just their criteria for what makes a great game is very different from more hardcore gamers. Likewise, their idea of whether a console is value for money or not is different. They never wanted the PlayStation 5 to be anything more than it is and they’re not disappointed at all.

By reader Rankin

For some people games like EA Sports FC are all they want (EA)

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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