PS.. is it 5? I think we're on 5 now. PS5

Yeah who knows? You'd think if that were true they'd at least be hinting at it, given that that's just a hair over a year away.

In the meantime, so much other intriguing stuff. I don't play online, but if I did, Helldivers 2 looks like a hilarious blast (literally). And Remedy confirmed/announced that they are ramping up Control 2 and remakes of Max Payne, so maybe they are on track for 2025, too. (Btw, it is insane to even type "2025," it looks like a typo.) And leaks reportedly confirmed Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment are on their way to PS5. Maybe there won't be any major Sony stuff, but there is plenty of goodness out there.

BREAKING: PlayStation is laying off around 900 people across the world, the latest cut in a brutal 2024 for the video game industry

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) February 27, 2024

Lotta leaks about a proposed/planned PS5 Pro, which seems pretty silly. Apparently the specs look good, but so what? They still seem to be releasing games with an eye on PS4, and the PS5 exclusives are not only few and far between, but rarely even hit the benchmarks originally promised, like consistent 60fps or ray tracing. Me, personally, I don't care about ray tracing, and I can rarely tell the difference between frame rates, or at least it's not any more significantly more noticeable than the graphics differences between PS4 and PS5 games. The only incentive I can even conceive of to warrant an upgrade would be exclusives (plural) - games >>>> performance - and that seems highly unlikely in the short term (at least). So who is a Pro for, exactly, especially considering that Sony has been porting its exclusives over the PC?

a pro is for the hardcore fans who want the latest flashy console. the sort of people who have a subscription to Digital Foundry.
the ps4 pro seems to have sold roughly 20 million from a quick google, so the market is there.

I'm sure there is a market, just as there is for VR and that handheld thing Sony released. But both of those novelties answer the question "why," as they offer an exclusive function. But a PS5 Pro, I'm not sure it answers a "why" just yet, not least because the PS5 proper imo didn't quite justify itself, either (much as I like its slight tweaks over its predecessor).

there's not much of a market for the Sony VR by the sounds of it, there are reports that they've ceased production as the supply chain is choked with unsold stock. also they recently closed two studios who were working on VR games. next stop Vitaville!

Yeah, lol, sounds like no one really gives a shit. But in this case I meant a literal market. If someone wants VR, you need a VR set. If someone wants portable, you need a portable device. But from my perspective I'm not seeing what someone would want out of a PS5 Pro, given the PS5 itself ultimately didn't seem to fill a need. I suppose we'll see, or maybe not. I personally can barely discern stuff like ray tracing even when it's pointed out, and even the nerds at Digital Foundry could barely tell the difference between the upgrade PS4 version of Last of Us 2 and the native PS5 version. Maybe we'll have to wait for the PS6 edition Last of Us 2 Remastered-Remaster 2.

This is what pretty much every console upgrade will be from now on, imo, even the PS6. Most games do not require the advanced specs of even the base PS5. It's like an iPhone upgrade at this point.

I think that's probably right. A lot of current chatter is wondering whether the PS6 specs will enable 60fps for GTAVI (for those that care), but given the PS5 underdelivered on those sorts of promises I can't imagine full faith in similar promises going forward. (Hell, given Rockstars's track record, GTAVI will probably be locked at 30fps, lol.)

There is still the occasional game where playing the PS4 version on PS5 reportedly works *better* than the native PS5 version; that's supposedly the case with Elden Ring, right? Other than that the biggest difference I see between PS4 and PS5 games is loading times and, I dunno, the amount of foliage or whatever. For that matter, some of the best looking games on the PS5 are essentially from the PS4 era, like TLOU2 (four years old) or Horizon Forbidden West (two years old). I'm not sure how much the latest Spidermans or God of War improve on their PS4 predecessors, either, not least because there was nothing wrong with the PS4 versions.

Anyway, I'd prefer Sony spends its money on games rather than systems. I'd hate for them to set in motion some sort of fait accompli, where an underselling system convinces them to shift focus from consoles to PCs.

Games definitely don't have to be visually state of the art or whatever but I find it pleasant to play newer games on newer hardware and I think that's one of the motivating factors for a reasonable subset of game developers and players

Given that they don't sell PCs, I don't see that happening. The Playstation division is profitable, but it exists largely to help sell their home entertainment hardware. I think they'd offload or dissolve the Playstation unit before they'd shift to PC game development as their primary focus.

I dunno, it all seems kind of precarious right now. Isn't Xbox/Microsoft kind of a shambles? And there have been so many game industry layoffs. The focus (and failure?) of games as a live service smells of cash flow desperation. Or maybe just greed, who knows.

every industry that creates entertainment is in shambles! the movie studios are going nuts cutting back their schedules and wondering why they aren’t making a ton of money. probably because people can’t attend movies that aren’t released or not even filmed!

video games had some weird times with the pandemic both driving more gaming and diminishing the supply chain and no one’s figured out a balance

There are enough games. I don't understand the problem. Everybody has a huge backlog of unplayed amazing games. Everybody could just stop releasing games for like 2 years, give everyone a chance to catch up, work on really good stuff. Same for movies and books. Enough! I'm looking at the Forgotten Novels thread and it's like, there's no way to enjoy everything that already exists anyway. Don't stop forever, just stop for like... a little bit. Breathe. It's fine!

Most people just play Fortnite anyway

Yes!

I'd be fine with everybody putting a pause on releasing anything.

Well, GRR Martin should definitely finish up GoT before he croaks at least.

Though if he dedicates himself to developing the lore for all future From Soft games I'd be cool with that.

"developing"

If gta 6 is locked at 30 fps I will cry

lol that’d be good for us but everything is a huge engine of market-facing stock, unfortunately. I guess Sony could go all-in on library and indie game stuff for a year but they’d still have to be pumping money into things behind the scenes or we get nothing in the next few years. these things don’t immaculately spring from the forehead of PS5

also I am heading calstars’ copy is locked at 24fps for the cinema

That’s what I mean, just keep workin away at idk Gran Turismo 18 or whatever and give us a couple of years to 100% Disco Elysium

I like this line of thinking Tracer, long as I get Persona 6 in the next couple of years

Well, we've already discussed Sony announcing a long wait for new first party releases, I wonder if this means they are hoping their completion coincides with the release of the Pro.

but yeah, too many games, lol. I'm trying to stay disciplined with the stuff on my wishlist. The new Prince of Persia, Lords of the Fallen, Lies of P, Last of Us Part 1 Remake, et al. ... $20 or bust!

thank you for supporting the games economy

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/182/171/eb0.jpg

I think the only (non-Nintendo) game - new, used, physical or digital - I have ever paid full price for was "Elden Ring". It's a good question, though: if all games were $50-$70 and *stayed* $50-$70, how many games would I ever actually buy? A lot fewer, that's for sure. It'd honestly probably be an incentive to pay for PS+ or whatever.

aren't you buying three or four for every one you play, though?

For sure, that's the collector in me. But those three or four are usually $12 or less, new or used, which helps justify impulse purchases (if waiting for prices to fall that low can be considered impulsive, though many new or used PS4 games seem to be hovering around that price point anyway).

Money is finite, gaming is forever

I endorse your fiscal decisions Josh

(tips hat)

Maybe because reading one news article becomes a self-perpetuating algorithmic cycle of repetition, but I keep getting served stories about the PS5 Pro built around the premise: why?