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[GeorgPrime]

For the record, as gamers we are lucky in the year 2020 where the cost of phones have reached $1,500, tech and cost of living is an all time high, we get to choose from the most powerful systems ever released for the cheapest they have been in decades. You can prob thank Microsoft for that. This thread isnt meant to knock PS5 and its value, but rather to give perspective to those that think the $399 discless PS5 is better deal than the $299 XSS or $499 XSX.

The $299 XSS is underpowered (but still solid) but thats the point. Its targeted at budget minded folks or those that could care less about 4k. It also serves as a cheap secondary system, and a competitor to Switch. The true next gen systems are XSX and PS5, PS5 happens to offer a discless option for $100 less, but is it really saving you money in the long run? How many games can you afford to actually play on it?

Lets take a look at a theoretical 1 year cost for both systems:

• $399 discless PS5 + 5 first party titles + 1yr PS network $60 = $810
• $499 XSX + 5 first party titles + 1yr gamepass ultimate = $620 ($601 if you use all access financing which is zero down)

keep in mind the $620 you pay for XSX gets you hundreds of titles spanning gamepass and EA access, whereas your $810 on PS5 gets you what you only the 5 games you paid for (not counting the free games given on both services).

5 first party titles most people would want in year 1:
Sony: Demon Souls, Miles Morales, God of War, Ratchet, Horizon Zero
Microsoft: Halo Infinite, Hellblade, Forza Motorsport 8, Fable, Everwild

More points to consider

• Aside from this you get a disc tray with XSX which means you can buy and trade used games saving you more money. 3rd party games like COD, Watch Dogs Legion, Cyberpunk, Need for Speed etc could be traded once purchased on XSX, not on discless PS5.
• XSX is more powerful and there is a good chance 3rd party games will look and run better, so there is that.
• Lets not forget the XSX while $100 more, gets you a vastly superior BC model spanning thousands of titles across 3 generations, many of which are enhanced with 4x resolution and 2x FPS. On PS5, you get about 30 PS4 titles announced so far....
• Also, you get Xcloud which is included for free with gamepass ultimate, you get to play a large library of top rated titles on your mobile device adding even more value.

Bottomline, you will spend a lot more gaming on PS5, so don't let the $100 savings on a discless PS5 be the main reason you go with Sony, because in the bigger picture you spend much more and get much less. Obviously most gamers will go where their favorite games are, but if you are torn then this is something to consider.

Personally, I will get a 3000 series GPU, an XSX on launch with zero down and use gamepass to continue my games in my bedroom when im not at my desk. A PS5 for me perhaps when God of War and Horizon come out.

So you buy a Xbox One XS For 299 then?

 

[MoreJRPG]

The digital edition at 399 is hilarious because it's all for marketing. The only reason it's priced like is so Sony can say "Starting at 399!" that's it. They barely produced any digital editions as it is and those that they fooled to buy digital are screwed. You're locked into the digital storefront where Sony rarely puts stuff on sale except for the summer and Black Friday. Those physical AAA games that go 50% off after a month aren't happening. And with all the blatant lying from Jim Ryan who appears to be Don Mattrick 2.0 in the making, I wouldn't feel comfortable at all getting locked into their digital only ecosystem. The disc version is the easy choice 10/10 times.

 

[Heavy_D206]

I really wish MS had better first party games. I have Xone and GP and I just scroll thru the games trying to find anything that catches my attention. Forza Horizon is really the only game that got me hooked.

 

[quest]

I love how in a time of microtransactions publishers are pushing this increase. Definitely pushing the industry toward gamepass like services (for better or for worse).

70/80 dollar games + tax + microtransactions pushes shit over the line I think.

Pretty much if you had kids it's like the perfect value for games with 70 dollar games. Can't blame any family who goes this way 2 games for the kids to get bored with or 250 rotating games for the same price.

I really wish MS had better first party games. I have Xone and GP and I just scroll thru the games trying to find anything that catches my attention. Forza Horizon is really the only game that got me hooked.

If you're looking for Sony style games it will never be your thing. If you love western RPGs it will be the spot once avowed hits and the 3 rpg studios are cranking them out. There will be some fun variety to from studios like double fine that Sony used to do.

 

[CitizenX]

I love how in a time of microtransactions publishers are pushing this increase. Definitely pushing the industry toward gamepass like services (for better or for worse).

70/80 dollar games + tax + microtransactions pushes shit over the line I think.

Wait 2 weeks after relase they will be 1/2 off.

 

[TheGrat1]

I find the PS5 Digital a bit revolting tbh, ok i noticed a few days ago, Dark Souls 3 priced at 59.99 on PStore, funny i remember buying the disc for cheaper some months after release
They want to keep gamers controlled and limited to their store, what about finding some game on sale at a retail store?nope you have to buy it on digital silly.
Yes there will be sales and all that but i fear most people that buy their PS5 digital won't save $100 in the long run, some games will be cheaper others more expensive but there is no choice anymore for them.

Now you might think, well they are providing the consumer a choice between digital and physical, but by making one cost $100 less they are pushing the digital version and helping kill the retail market,good for Sony but i argue its bad for the consumers, there is no freedom anymore.

A very important point, with Xbox at least GamePass box provides plenty of content for a cheap subscription (and cheaper price for the box even if the specs aren't up to PS5) there is no such thing with PS5 Digital Edition, PlayStation store is NOT Gamepass,its not the same value unless they make big changes im very worried about this im hoping im wrong for everybody sake

You say you are worried, but there are people on this very forum who say they only buy digital anyway, even with the disc drive option. For them, a $400, no-disc PS5 does save them money. It is just an option. There is no need to fret over the little people deciding whick model to get. They can make the correct decision for themselves.

 

[PSNplanetcolony]

For the record, as gamers we are lucky in the year 2020 where the cost of phones have reached $1,500, tech and cost of living is an all time high, we get to choose from the most powerful systems ever released for the cheapest they have been in decades. You can prob thank Microsoft for that. This thread isnt meant to knock PS5 and its value, but rather to give perspective to those that think the $399 discless PS5 is better deal than the $299 XSS or $499 XSX.

The $299 XSS is underpowered (but still solid) but thats the point. Its targeted at budget minded folks or those that could care less about 4k. It also serves as a cheap secondary system, and a competitor to Switch. The true next gen systems are XSX and PS5, PS5 happens to offer a discless option for $100 less, but is it really saving you money in the long run? How many games can you afford to actually play on it?

Lets take a look at a theoretical 1 year cost for both systems:

• $399 discless PS5 + 5 first party titles + 1yr PS network $60 = $810
• $499 XSX + 5 first party titles + 1yr gamepass ultimate = $620 ($601 if you use all access financing which is zero down)

keep in mind the $620 you pay for XSX gets you hundreds of titles spanning gamepass and EA access, whereas your $810 on PS5 gets you what you only the 5 games you paid for (not counting the free games given on both services).

5 first party titles most people would want in year 1:
Sony: Demon Souls, Miles Morales, God of War, Ratchet, Horizon Zero
Microsoft: Halo Infinite, Hellblade, Forza Motorsport 8, Fable, Everwild

More points to consider

• Aside from this you get a disc tray with XSX which means you can buy and trade used games saving you more money. 3rd party games like COD, Watch Dogs Legion, Cyberpunk, Need for Speed etc could be traded once purchased on XSX, not on discless PS5.
• XSX is more powerful and there is a good chance 3rd party games will look and run better, so there is that.
• Lets not forget the XSX while $100 more, gets you a vastly superior BC model spanning thousands of titles across 3 generations, many of which are enhanced with 4x resolution and 2x FPS. On PS5, you get about 30 PS4 titles announced so far....
• Also, you get Xcloud which is included for free with gamepass ultimate, you get to play a large library of top rated titles on your mobile device adding even more value.

Bottomline, you will spend a lot more gaming on PS5, so don't let the $100 savings on a discless PS5 be the main reason you go with Sony, because in the bigger picture you spend much more and get much less. Obviously most gamers will go where their favorite games are, but if you are torn then this is something to consider.

Personally, I will get a 3000 series GPU, an XSX on launch with zero down and use gamepass to continue my games in my bedroom when im not at my desk. A PS5 for me perhaps when God of War and Horizon come out.

Series S is not next gen, so yea, a PS5 will cost more

 

[Jaybe]

umm you know you don’t own Game Pass games right?

 

[Sleepwalker]

In a purely theoretical scenario you'd be right, and there will be some people who will fall prey to it and buy several full priced games with no resale value.

I went with the digital edition still, however, this is why:

- I haven't bought a game disc since The Witcher 3 and I got TLOU2 as a gift, I traded that in though so all my PS4 library is already digital. (I rebought TW3 later on, digitally, with all the DLC for very cheap on a sale)

- I gameshare with a friend, effectively cutting the price of full games down to $30 on release date, or rather $35 now.

- Playstation store gift cards are consistently available for a 10-25% discounted price point on several sites.

- Depending on your region, the PS Store doesn't charge you digital sales tax.


So for me, in Ontario, Canada this is how a PS4 disc copy purchase looks like on release day:

- Buy online via retailer for $79.99 CAD (retail price for PS4, will be more for PS5) + 13% sales tax, comes out at $90.30
- Wait for delivery or drive to the store to pick it up (incurring a transport cost people are very willing to write off)
- Install the game after it finally arrives or I return to my house
- play

Final price: $90.30 CAD

With a resale value of anywhere between $30-$60 depending on where, when and to who you sell your used copy. If we average the resale value to $50, you come out as $40.30 out of pocket with the added hassle of having to find a buyer or going to trade it in.

This value will depreciate over the time the longer you hold the game though. If it's a multiplayer game or a yearly release franchise, by the time you're done it will be pretty much worthless.



This is how a digital purchase looks like on release day for me:

- Pick up $60 in US gift cards for around 20% less ($48)
- Use my friends US account to buy the game and split the value 50/50, no sales tax.
- Install immediately
- Play


Total cost: $24 USD or $31.5 CAD


This is not even taking into account that games can and will be heavily discounted on the PS store and then you can take that discounted value and spend even less via gift cards and game sharing. I've paid as little as $7-15 for some AAA games that weren't even that old at the time.


Both have it's merits, I just find it disingenuous to act as if people that go for the DE are retarded when there are plenty of avenues to save $$ and you can save $100 on top for the console.


It's also way easier to migrate from digital to physical than the other way around.


That's my humble $0.02 on this issue.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

The digital edition at 399 is hilarious because it's all for marketing. The only reason it's priced like is so Sony can say "Starting at 399!" that's it. They barely produced any digital editions as it is and those that they fooled to buy digital are screwed. You're locked into the digital storefront where Sony rarely puts stuff on sale except for the summer and Black Friday. Those physical AAA games that go 50% off after a month aren't happening. And with all the blatant lying from Jim Ryan who appears to be Don Mattrick 2.0 in the making, I wouldn't feel comfortable at all getting locked into their digital only ecosystem. The disc version is the easy choice 10/10 times.

Plus you get a 4k ultra hd blu-ray player

When you pay less upfront you always pay more on the back end

 

[Papacheeks]

I'll take quality over quantity every time. I only have so much time for games.

 

[killatopak]

For games I’m interested in playing Day 1, buying it on a PS5.

For games that I’m not sure about, wait for gamepass.

That’s my strategy for next gen.

 

[sendit]

The digital edition at 399 is hilarious because it's all for marketing. The only reason it's priced like is so Sony can say "Starting at 399!" that's it. They barely produced any digital editions as it is and those that they fooled to buy digital are screwed. You're locked into the digital storefront where Sony rarely puts stuff on sale except for the summer and Black Friday. Those physical AAA games that go 50% off after a month aren't happening. And with all the blatant lying from Jim Ryan who appears to be Don Mattrick 2.0 in the making, I wouldn't feel comfortable at all getting locked into their digital only ecosystem. The disc version is the easy choice 10/10 times.

Who cares? People have been locked to digital store fronts since the inception of Steam. I haven’t bought a single physical game since the PS3. The balance of people who buy digital versus physical has already been tipped towards digital purchases. This is only going to be more apparent with this upcoming generation.

 

[zcaa0g]

Quality First Party titles is what I care about.

You mean quality first party 3rd person titles and one racing game is what you care about. It's known as the 3rdPersonStation for a reason.

 

[angelic]

Ill stick with my ps4 pro and unplayed games.

Quoting myself for full hypocrisy, preordered disc version from Amazon yesterday.

 

[Dynasty8]

You mean quality first party 3rd person titles and one racing game is what you care about. It's known as the 3rdPersonStation for a reason.

Whatever makes you feel better

 

[Piku_Ringo]

For the record, as gamers we are lucky in the year 2020 where the cost of phones have reached $1,500, tech and cost of living is an all time high, we get to choose from the most powerful systems ever released for the cheapest they have been in decades. You can prob thank Microsoft for that. This thread isnt meant to knock PS5 and its value, but rather to give perspective to those that think the $399 discless PS5 is better deal than the $299 XSS or $499 XSX.

The $299 XSS is underpowered (but still solid) but thats the point. Its targeted at budget minded folks or those that could care less about 4k. It also serves as a cheap secondary system, and a competitor to Switch. The true next gen systems are XSX and PS5, PS5 happens to offer a discless option for $100 less, but is it really saving you money in the long run? How many games can you afford to actually play on it?

Lets take a look at a theoretical 1 year cost for both systems:

• $399 discless PS5 + 5 first party titles + 1yr PS network $60 = $810
• $499 XSX + 5 first party titles + 1yr gamepass ultimate = $620 ($601 if you use all access financing which is zero down)

keep in mind the $620 you pay for XSX gets you hundreds of titles spanning gamepass and EA access, whereas your $810 on PS5 gets you what you only the 5 games you paid for (not counting the free games given on both services).

5 first party titles most people would want in year 1:
Sony: Demon Souls, Miles Morales, God of War, Ratchet, Horizon Zero
Microsoft: Halo Infinite, Hellblade, Forza Motorsport 8, Fable, Everwild

More points to consider

• Aside from this you get a disc tray with XSX which means you can buy and trade used games saving you more money. 3rd party games like COD, Watch Dogs Legion, Cyberpunk, Need for Speed etc could be traded once purchased on XSX, not on discless PS5.
• XSX is more powerful and there is a good chance 3rd party games will look and run better, so there is that.
• Lets not forget the XSX while $100 more, gets you a vastly superior BC model spanning thousands of titles across 3 generations, many of which are enhanced with 4x resolution and 2x FPS. On PS5, you get about 30 PS4 titles announced so far....
• Also, you get Xcloud which is included for free with gamepass ultimate, you get to play a large library of top rated titles on your mobile device adding even more value.

Bottomline, you will spend a lot more gaming on PS5, so don't let the $100 savings on a discless PS5 be the main reason you go with Sony, because in the bigger picture you spend much more and get much less. Obviously most gamers will go where their favorite games are, but if you are torn then this is something to consider.

Personally, I will get a 3000 series GPU, an XSX on launch with zero down and use gamepass to continue my games in my bedroom when im not at my desk. A PS5 for me perhaps when God of War and Horizon come out.

Uncle Phil is that you?

 

[Poop!]

The digital edition at 399 is hilarious because it's all for marketing. The only reason it's priced like is so Sony can say "Starting at 399!" that's it. They barely produced any digital editions as it is and those that they fooled to buy digital are screwed. You're locked into the digital storefront where Sony rarely puts stuff on sale except for the summer and Black Friday. Those physical AAA games that go 50% off after a month aren't happening. And with all the blatant lying from Jim Ryan who appears to be Don Mattrick 2.0 in the making, I wouldn't feel comfortable at all getting locked into their digital only ecosystem. The disc version is the easy choice 10/10 times.

It's the 20 gig PS3 all over again.

 

[Tomeru]

You cant put a price on enjoyment.

 

[NickFire]

From OP:

• $499 XSX + 5 first party titles + 1yr gamepass ultimate = $620 ($601 if you use all access financing which is zero down)

I don't know what a year of GPU costs, but 5 new games alone should be 300-350 depending on 60 or 70. And 500 plus 300 or 350, is not 620, even without gamepass.

 

[The_Mike]

The first reason I thought was because ps players pays 17 usd/20 euro more for games compared to Xbox Series X. That adds up quickly.

who cares, I'll pay more for better quality.

No you won't.

 

[veterangamerUK]

The digital edition at 399 is hilarious because it's all for marketing. The only reason it's priced like is so Sony can say "Starting at 399!" that's it. They barely produced any digital editions as it is and those that they fooled to buy digital are screwed. You're locked into the digital storefront where Sony rarely puts stuff on sale except for the summer and Black Friday. Those physical AAA games that go 50% off after a month aren't happening. And with all the blatant lying from Jim Ryan who appears to be Don Mattrick 2.0 in the making, I wouldn't feel comfortable at all getting locked into their digital only ecosystem. The disc version is the easy choice 10/10 times.

That's not right, I've often bought titles in a sale, not just the two times you mention

 

[veterangamerUK]

Plus you get a 4k ultra hd blu-ray player

When you pay less upfront you always pay more on the back end

HDR10 only. Dolby Vision included might have been an idea.

 

[Poop!]

You cant put a price on enjoyment.

I totally and 100% can.

 

[autoduelist]

It's true. Demon's Souls, Spiderman, Horizon, and my other favorite games don't cost any money on Xbox.

 

[Journey]

 

[FranXico]

You can save even more money by just buying an Xbox 360! Up yours Sony, look at these savings HAHAHHA!

"You want good games, we have a console for you..."

 

[Tomeru]

I totally and 100% can.

How?

 

[LittleBusters]

Honestly these $100 price difference over 7 years is irrelevant. People will buy anywhere from 10-50 games in that period for a total outlay of $600-$3000. Think about it. The price difference only matters to the VERY casual buyer, not the hard core gamer.

 

[Legenscary]

Obviously it's all about opinions and preferences, but to me I see it like this:

The Xbox S seems like a terrible purchase to me... Why would I want to start a new generation with the absolute worse hardware ? Generations last 10 years usually, you want hardware that will last the whole run, buying the cheaper alternative will only bite you in the long run... Might was well stay on last-gen stuff if you intend to be cheap about it, heck the Xbox one X is actually mostly better than the S right now... X is a better purchase, but it's alot of money for something that doesn't get any true exclusives.

I'm also not buying into the whole "Pay 10 bucks a month" model Xbox has... This does adds up to 120 Bucks are year of fees on top of live costs... And frankly if this gen lasts 10 years, you'll have given thousands
of dollars to Microsoft to play some kinda meh freebie first party titles and lame EA games filled with micro-transactions. Think most ppl can agree Xbox doesn't really have any exclusives, especially this gen where every single "exclusive" is coming to PC... So I'm really not seeing any reason to get an Xbox... Might as well play these games , plus all the other PC exclusives , on a proper gaming pc, especially since you get tons of discounts when buying PC games compared to consoles anyway. Again if Xbox had every single PC game on it it might be a good purchase to replace a gaming pc, but there's still tons of PC exclusives, so it's not like I'll be skipping PC anytime soon.

On the other hand, Sony's offerings appeal to me. The Diskless PS5 has the full power of the most expensive sku, so you're paying a reasonable price for the top harware. PS+ is still pretty cheap , especially if you buy your yearly subscription at a discount for like 35 Bucks once a year... And you'll still be getting your share of freebie games each months, plus the PS+ Collection service, which imho already has more games worth playing that Xbox will probably have exclusives in it's whole lifetime next gen. Again it comes down to exclusive... I'm buying hardware to play stuff I can't play elsewhere... Not to play worse PC ports that are more expensive to purchase. And while I'll admit it's a little annoying that nowdays stuff like Horizon / Red Dead / Death Stranding eventually makes it to PC, it's usually years later, and there's still tons of true PS exclusives not available elsewhere.

TLDR: If you want to play all games next gen , just buy a good gaming PC , a PS5 and a Nintendo console... There's not really any reason to get an Xbox , as the few "exclusives" it has are also on PC.

If you primarily play multiplayer/competitive shooters on high-refresh rate+low input-latency monitors there's no need to spend the extra money on the X or the PS5. The S will run these games at 120fps and most comp shooter fans use 1080p anyway so from their perspective there's no significant drop in quality. It's going to be easier to maintain higher FPS at 1440p than 4k which will makes it better for multiplayer games.

I'd be very surprised if the X or the PS5 are going maintain 120+fps in future battle royal games at 4k with 100+ players on screen. Far more likely at 1440p. That being said, you can always drop the visual fidelity settings on the X or the S, but if you're primarily playing COD or other multiplayer shooters spending the extra money doesn't really make sense.

 

[n0razi]

Who honestly buys all their games at full MSRP? 90% of my PS4 library was on sale for $10-12 or free through PS+. The day one price could be $100 for all I care.