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should sony have released a cheaper PS5?

Azurro

Banned
I think they knew that when they designed it, doesn't change the fact it's smaller and cheaper.
I don't know why you keep saying "retard" it's not big or clever.

Why do you get so offended? The point of a next generation is a big leap in every aspect, that machine arguably kind of forgot to do that outside of loading if you compare it to a One X. When you compare it to its big brother...the selling point is the same performance at 1440p, yet most games barely hit 1080p, usually with lower framerates, and doesn't have the performance for new features like ray tracing. It even makes like more difficult for developers.

Given all this, I'm pretty justified calling it the special Olympics version...the one that if it were a person it'd accuse people of being low performance phobics...the one that is only for people that can't find the version they want and have to go get that...the retard version. ;)
 
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I feel like the PS5 digital was just a response to the Series S. Does Sony even make anywhere near the amount of digital PS5s to meet the demand of the lower price point? I believe they don't. I don't have evidence to support this so take this as purely opinion based off of Japanese sales. All I see is a tiny amount of PS5 digitals coming to market. If any company can be accused of making something just for marketing, it is Sony.
From the outset my opinion has been that console power has become stupid.
The point of a game console is accessibility for the majority. Both the PS5 and the XBOX series X are expensive for families. The series S is the only next gen console, which is available from retailers, at a console price point. As I said earlier, I believe the PS5 digital is just a sales gimmick.
I could speculate, looking at the design, and structure of the PS5, that the digital version was the original design Sony wanted to lead with, however, they feared the backlash of an all digital system and made the Frankenstein monster PS5 with the disk drive. The Disk drive PS5 is now where the majority of Sony's manufacturing power is being used as it is priced at the point which Sony originally intended for the PS5 range.

Having said that, the Series S is still expensive for the power jump from previous generations. I also think gaming consoles need to drop the push for 4k gaming as it is a ridiculous waste of power resources.
The sweet spot for console gaming is 1080p 60fps with better graphics and art. Not just 4k at 30fps. 4k assets have always seemed like nonsense to me.
 
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lillars

Member
i know we got the PS5 Digital but the only difference is there isn't a disc drive. i'm thinking of something like what the Series S is to the Series X. in addition to no disc drive: smaller ssd, less processing power acrossing CPU/GPU, lower resolution/fps.

we're well over a year into this generation and getting hold of a PS5 is still difficult. same goes for the Series X but the Series S is easy to get hold of. I know there will people coming in with "but xbox has no games hur duur" but if you put that aside the fact is that Microsoft has a next gen console that is easily available to access Gamepass and games like Forza Horizon 5, Flight Simulator, and Halo Infinite.

i'm holding off for a Series X but as time goes on i'm more and more tempted to just grab the Series S. if I were a PS fan and were struggling to get a PS5 then right now I'd love if there was a £250 playstation console.
I find the PS5 pretty damn cheap already... especially the DE with what it provides.
 
No. Sony has their own strategy that has been working.

I do think its really smart what MS is doing though. They will grab so many casuals with that low price. Most people dont care about specs.. Just look how successful the Switch is. You still get that portability with Xcloud too. When Series S reaches $250 and then $200 price point then people are going to snatch them up after they get their paycheck. And they would still have plenty of money left to pay their bills.
 

Justin9mm

Member
Series S is still available to get hold of tells you that no one really wants it. Otherwise it would also be out of stock.

PS5 releasing a cheaper console is not in line with their model. Microsoft made a cheaper console to make Gamepass even more accessible, that's it! Having an understanding of the gaming industry will tell you No, Sony should not have released a cheaper console.
 

Aenima

Member
No. Having devs focusing in a single sku or just a few skus for multiplatform games, is the way to go.

The only console that never sold out and has been always available to purchase in my country is the Series S. That shows that having a cheaper console with weaker hardware is not that enticing and end up being extra work for the devs, if they bother optimizing the game for the weaker console.
 

MikeM

Member
I hate different versions of consoles so no and that includes pro, be it weaker or better. I want one version only so the devs can work only on one version of the game

This cross gen is horrible, no need to add some more
I don’t mind this so long as the generation is done in 4-5 years.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Xbox Series S sucks

So does your post. So deep and full of points.

Realistically, if they had, it wouldn't matter much. With everyone making games for like 8 platforms, nothing would have changed for multiplatform games and the similar architecture makes it easy.
Even for exclusives, you know 99% chance they've started running/created a pc version along side the PS5 version even if they will release it later, so a 3rd platform wouldn't have been hard.
It doesn't affect them at all right now though, with the market the way it is. Had the generation played out like previous ones, it could have been very useful in a price war against the S.
 

HTK

Banned
Got any data around the average time to develop a game on pc vs console? using internal and external game engines? i wonder how you would remove pre-production work.


It's kinda like developing for PC, no?

I don't think anything on PC is quite as optimized as games made specifically for a console. There are just too many variables on PC.
 

MrFunSocks

Banned
I think more options is always better when games are all basically made on/for PC where they cater to much lower power than these consoles, and a version that's $100 cheaper than the DE absolutely would have sold lots of consoles, just as the Series S is doing.
 
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So here we have another one of the many "fake Sony threads"

Basically "Microsoft did something bizarre, so why don't Sony do it too in order to not make Microsoft look silly?" A microsft thread in disguise, if you will.

And we get these threads basically every month. I get it , you want to support Xbox, but just go and support your console instead of trying to ask the competitor to justify your console's business decisions.
 

Ev1L AuRoN

Member
The PS5 Digital is the cheaper model and is a great deal if it was readily available at MSRP. I don't like Microsoft strategy of having a lower-end machine, I just can't see the value on it. It is cheaper, yes, but the small SSD and power, for me at least feel pointless.
 

DonF

Member
it has been said more than enough. Sales say that no. The thing is flying off shelves. Why create an even cheaper one if they are already selling every single one, and people are paying even more (to scalpers).

They can keep this price as long as there is demand, and when there is not, just bundle a controller or a game. They clearly took the right choice.
 
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Orbital2060

Member
i know we got the PS5 Digital but the only difference is there isn't a disc drive. i'm thinking of something like what the Series S is to the Series X. in addition to no disc drive: smaller ssd, less processing power acrossing CPU/GPU, lower resolution/fps.

we're well over a year into this generation and getting hold of a PS5 is still difficult. same goes for the Series X but the Series S is easy to get hold of. I know there will people coming in with "but xbox has no games hur duur" but if you put that aside the fact is that Microsoft has a next gen console that is easily available to access Gamepass and games like Forza Horizon 5, Flight Simulator, and Halo Infinite.

i'm holding off for a Series X but as time goes on i'm more and more tempted to just grab the Series S. if I were a PS fan and were struggling to get a PS5 then right now I'd love if there was a £250 playstation console.
Maybe worth pointing out that they both have the same CPU - its only the GPU in the Series S which is lower spec from the Series X . So it can run exactly the same logic, which is the most important thing. Its basically a difference in 1) fidelity and 2) resolution. The X is designed to run apps at 4K resolution (or technically 8K) while the S is designed for 1080p -1440p resolutions. And then Digital Foundry has talked about issues with the memory allocation and memory bandwidth but I dont know how that has turned out and if there have been problems with optimisation because of that.

Its basically like how Apple went about designing the 5C and the 5S back in 2013 and the XS series are the first game consoles to launch with two tiers like that. Although the major difference there was the difference in speed between the A6 and the A7 CPUs. I remember having to wait a while for a 5S and the phone company offered me a 5C and I was like - no way just give me the fastest and strongest one! - but since then Ive had several budget phones and they work just fine. Its nice to have an option for a budget version, too.
 

bender

What time is it?
Should have released a more expensive one with a built-in PS3 launch unit for $999.99.

giphy.gif
 
I don't care about the PC marketplace, when I boot the console I expect to play the best version of the game I bought, hence why I play on consoles in the first place.
Hate to break it to you the vast majority of games hit PC as well as consoles. If you are playing on consoles you generally aren't getting the best versions of games regardless. The XSS has no impact on the reality of PC and console games.
it`s like people don`t realize that PC hardware has not been the game design deciding target platform for a good ~15 years now, which is why that analgoy is as pointless as it gets....
It doesn´t matter if there is a billion weak office PCs around, but it matters if the standardized target platforms have a chicken legged brother on which all games have to run, too.
You seem to be unaware that office PC aren't taken into account when it comes to low spec PCs being used to create games for. Check the Steam stats.

https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam

The GPU with the highest representation is the GTX 1060 a card weaker than what is in the XSS. Office PCs don't run Steam sir. Like it or not low end PCs will be setting the standard for games for the foreseeable future. Nvidia makes cards weaker than the RTX 3090 and the sky won't fall because of that. The XSS won't hurt anything either.
 
I feel like the PS5 digital was just a response to the Series S. Does Sony even make anywhere near the amount of digital PS5s to meet the demand of the lower price point? I believe they don't. I don't have evidence to support this so take this as purely opinion based off of Japanese sales. All I see is a tiny amount of PS5 digitals coming to market. If any company can be accused of making something just for marketing, it is Sony.
From the outset my opinion has been that console power has become stupid.
The point of a game console is accessibility for the majority. Both the PS5 and the XBOX series X are expensive for families. The series S is the only next gen console, which is available from retailers, at a console price point. As I said earlier, I believe the PS5 digital is just a sales gimmick.
I could speculate, looking at the design, and structure of the PS5, that the digital version was the original design Sony wanted to lead with, however, they feared the backlash of an all digital system and made the Frankenstein monster PS5 with the disk drive. The Disk drive PS5 is now where the majority of Sony's manufacturing power is being used as it is priced at the point which Sony originally intended for the PS5 range.

Having said that, the Series S is still expensive for the power jump from previous generations. I also think gaming consoles need to drop the push for 4k gaming as it is a ridiculous waste of power resources.
The sweet spot for console gaming is 1080p 60fps with better graphics and art. Not just 4k at 30fps. 4k assets have always seemed like nonsense to me.
No way it was a response to the Series S they were announced a week apart and manufacturing had already been underway for quite a while. Sony clearly wanted to make sure they had something to offer that was the typical console launch price. I think MS was likely surprised that Sony was willing to do a digital PS5 and be able to offer a true next gen machine for only $100 more than their much weaker option but it wasn't like they could do anything about it at that point.
 
Nah this is kind of useless.

The S is useless, the PS5 Digital costs almost the same and offer the complete experience (except putting the disk in the console).

If anything, MS should have released a disk less Series X instead of the S.
 

Haggard

Banned
You seem to be unaware that office PC aren't taken into account when it comes to low spec PCs being used to create games for. Check the Steam stats.

https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam

The GPU with the highest representation is the GTX 1060 a card weaker than what is in the XSS. Office PCs don't run Steam sir. Like it or not low end PCs will be setting the standard for games for the foreseeable future. Nvidia makes cards weaker than the RTX 3090 and the sky won't fall because of that. The XSS won't hurt anything either.
You seem to be unaware that there are millions upon millions of PCs with no dedicated GPU at all, and guess what, those don't matter either because 99% of games with a noteworthy budget are developed for consoles first and foremost.
The xss will require extra budget from every developer this gen because unlike PC xy, and that's the part you seem to have a very ...very....hard time understanding, games are required to run on it, and contrary to popular belief games aren't just scalable with a slider....
 
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JeloSWE

Member
The DE is a significantly more expensive machine. It literally serves no purpose other than to dupe people into thinking they are saving money, remove their choice, and gouge them on the back end.
Perhaps but I'm super happy with my DE version as I haven't liked physical disk for a long time. I preferer to have everything downloadable from the cloud with do physical stuff takin up place and the reality is that I never revisit old game, I don't bother with buying or selling used stuff either.
 

DaGwaphics

Member
100%

More options are good for everybody. Devs would probably have a heart-attack but I'd say the best scenario would actually be three boxes. $300, $500 and $1000 like HeisennbergFX4 mentioned.

Core software built for the mid-tier model with settings being lowered for the little console while the big brother cranked up the RT and all that.
 
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Malakhov

Banned
Hate to break it to you the vast majority of games hit PC as well as consoles. If you are playing on consoles you generally aren't getting the best versions of games regardless. The XSS has no impact on the reality of PC and console games.
Hate to break it to you but when I played fist party titles, I used to play the best version of the game before this shitfest started.
 

dano1

A Sheep
There is a chip shortage so making another console would only make things worse. The ones they have are doing just fine. Buy a PS4 if you want something cheaper. They play the same games.
 

sendit

Member
If the OP put as much time and effort in to this post in trying to acquire a PS5. He/she would most likely have a PS5.

However, here we are. Taking the easy route.
 

Flutta

Banned
If Series S was a hot item, maybe?
I’m no digital supporter but i think Sony made the best move here for both devs and gamers.
A better question would be if MS did like Sony and went digital - physical for its Series X? Would we still see the Series S being available everywhere?
 
No way it was a response to the Series S they were announced a week apart and manufacturing had already been underway for quite a while. Sony clearly wanted to make sure they had something to offer that was the typical console launch price. I think MS was likely surprised that Sony was willing to do a digital PS5 and be able to offer a true next gen machine for only $100 more than their much weaker option but it wasn't like they could do anything about it at that point.
You don't think Sony had any knowledge at all about the Series S? I may be stabbing in the dark but even game forums get leaks about stuff, surely a companies like Sony, MS and Nintendo know exactly what each other is doing at least a year before we do. Really, how hard would that information be to get for these types of companies?
Even if that isn't the case, the fact that both console makers produced an all digital console and a console with a disk drive is suspicious to say the least.
 
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The gap will look big but we are still 3-4 years out from when that will happen. I think it might be sooner for PS5 because games like Rift Apart already look amazing.

I'm confused, you think we're 3-4 years away from PS4/XB1 being dropped as a target platform?

They'll be dead before the end of 2022.

Most games in dev now will not launch on the last-gen consoles when they finally launch.
 
If anything, MS was caught off guard with the PS5 digital at 400$/€.

It only made the Series S a tougher sell since they were expecting to have a model 200$/€ cheaper than the PS5 main edition and ended up with a 100$/€ weaker and cheaper piece of hardware than Sony's 400€/$ console.

It's still incredible how we got a machine like the digital PS5 for only 400 dollars lmao..
 

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
Should have gone with the digital version plus a PS5Pro with 14TF . Would have sold as many consoles as they did today with a much higher average pricepoint. Im talking 899 or thereabouts.
 

skit_data

Member
If anything, MS was caught off guard with the PS5 digital at 400$/€.

It only made the Series S a tougher sell since they were expecting to have a model 200$/€ cheaper than the PS5 main edition and ended up with a 100$/€ weaker and cheaper piece of hardware than Sony's 400€/$ console.

It's still incredible how we got a machine like the digital PS5 for only 400 dollars lmao..
I think they got caught a little off guard too. As long as PS5 SE is selling gangbusters Sony will keep the SE/DE split low. When the market begins to be saturated with Standard Edition PS5s they can increase the production of the Digital Edition in order to put pressure on the market segment that might go for a Series S i.e the less hardcore market segment.

Right now they are just using the highly sought after and profitable Standard Edition to offset losses that might come with the Digital Edition in a few years. And the longer this insane demand is there, the cheaper production costs become and they won’t have to eat such a big loss in the Digital Edition when it’s time to increase its production. 4k TV adoption will probably further increase demand of the Digital Edition in relation to Series S.
 

RoboFu

One of the green rats
if anything this gen could have been a chance to bring back add ons. 😁

like if the series s had a port to connect a cheaper series x module with increased ram and then latter the mid gen refresh.

not practical but sooo much fun 🤩
 
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