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[Outrunner]

I mean, coming off their dominance in the PS1 and PS2 generations, it's hard to call clawing your way back to second place against a console that really only sold in one region a success. If disaster is a stretch, it's not much of one (though it doesn't touch some of Nintendo's disasters).

PS3 sold basically as much as Xbox 360, it was literally like a couple thousand less units. Yeah they hada rough start with the console, but it was hardly a failure or a disaster.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Ι'm also worried about the PS5.

The recent puritan approach to Japanese games and their refusal to allow cross-play when every body ales does shows Cockiness on Sony's behalf, and while that first one alone is a reason enough for me to jump ship, I think it's fair to expect from them some new cocky mistake.

It might not have to do with the console's architect this time... (in Fact, I don't think they'll ever do that mistake again.)
I don't think they'll price it to high ether...

It'll be something completely new and unexpected, like:

• Some extreme focus on Online-only or Cloud based games!
• A new strategy that focuses on kid-friendlyness, (thus the recent censorships)
• The abandonment of Retail games!
• A mandatory VR support! Or some other unwanted gadget.
• The closure of some old PS-store (PS3 or PSP) and halt of support for all your "purchases".
• Some complete lack of good 1rst party games, or complete absence of Variety in games.
• Them overlooking some current gaming problem (ex. High cost of Development) that the competitors took measures to deal with.
• ...or it could be none of the above and something truly unexpected.

The point is...
They are definitely in "Ready to screw up" mode.
Their recent actions are already trying my patience.

Not really seeing this really and again the IMHO overblown crossplay issue is nothing really different from what always used to happen in the console space and looking at this generation parity clauses, timed exclusives made look like full exclusives (crossplay awful, times exclusive good? Bah), 12 months ahead paper launches, etc... agreeing to disagreeing I guess.

 

[KiteGr]

Not really seeing this really and again the IMHO overblown crossplay issue is nothing really different from what always used to happen in the console space and looking at this generation parity clauses, timed exclusives made look like full exclusives (crossplay awful, times exclusive good? Bah), 12 months ahead paper launches, etc... agreeing to disagreeing I guess.

I'm not a fan of Cross-play ether. It's a useful tool to extend an online game's life (especially on struggling consoles), but I rarely play online, and when I do, I don't want to lose to some kid on PC because he uses a mouse/keyboard and cheats.
I've just meant to show you the big picture. Them denying crossplay, flipping the Japanese developers and giving less and less games on plus, is proof that they've got cocky with the success of the PS4, and they are more likely to make some stupid mistake.

 

[Ten_Fold]

Ps5 will do well probably, even if it’s prices at $500 (which I expect) I think Microsoft and Sony will be fine next gen, it just will come down to exclusives or what you prefer.

 

[Beerman462]

Its bad to spend 600$ on a console that will last you at least 5 years, but it's ok to spend 1000$ on a phone every 1-2 years... What a world to be alive...

People have different priorities. Also my phone goes everywhere I do, all day, every day. It's my camera, GPS, all in one communication device with a built in screen. I've dropped from over 4 ft a few times and stepped on it gravel once.

Having said that I think $500 for what is rumored for the PS5 sounds like a bargin.

 

[Lord Malachite]

Sony will be fine. Their first party lineup gives them a huge advantage and the Switch is not a threat but rather a companion. Xbox however lost a lot of mindshare this gen--not just from their disastrous reveal and launch but the lack of compelling exclusives.

 

[Romulus]

Gamers that spends a good deal of money on consoles will be trapped into their consoles by the end of next gen because the value will stack up too high.



No they didn't. That's the part you're not getting. In some cases, they gave out some earlier numbers, and that's it. What's Halo anniversary LTD? What's Reaches LTD? What's 4'S LTD? What's 5's LTD? We got Halo 3 numbers because they leaked and MS responded. We got early Halo 5 numbers because another source leaked them and MS responded.

How many LTDS from 360 first-party games can you list in this thread? Not many. You got Gears 3? No? Fable 3? No? How about like 90% of Kinect games? No?

It's a conspiracy because there's no basis to believe a word of it. It's a common poorly though out statement, MS has rarely given us full sales numbers for their first-party games and if they do it's usually earlier and then we don't hear anything after.

Sure there are several exceptions but that's maybe like 2% of the entire FP Xbox library across the 3 consoles. Not to mention, again, Halo 5 is the best selling FP game on the Xbox One, and it being around 10 million would be good news, but as I said, the 5.5 was put out by another source and MS responded.

Halo 5 being the "best selling" FP game on Xbox one, but what does that really mean though, what else would even be an impressive competitor? It's not like PS4 where there's a handful of big sellers.

 

[Woo-Fu]

Pricing is relative, to a certain point. It will depend on how much the competition offers and what their pricing is to determine if Sony's is in the dangerzone.

 

[Raziel]

Now, we're nearing the end of the system's main life cycle (It'll still get supported years after PS5), and that dominance Sony held on to for the 8th gen is slipping. Microsoft has cleaned house on management, and has slowly turned the Xbox One into a solid product with a lot of great games.

 

[cartman414]

People forget inflation when comparing prices.

$600 in 2006 is the same as $765 today.

So $500 vs $765...hmmmm

People who say inflation often forget improving tech at lower prices, formerly known as Moore's Law.

 

[Von Hugh]

Where's the similar list of the PS4 games? Or are we just cherrypicking here for the dramatic effect?

 

[Geki-D]

I'm curious, does anyone actually know how much the PS3 & 360 sold per year? not their total but how much in year one each sold, then in year 2, 3 etc? Just to quantify how much of a "disaster" the PS3 was?

I really don't see how anyone can actually make this claim without knowing this info.

 

[Closer]

Sony will be fine. They got a rabid fanbase that buys everything they put out. I'm not concerned.

 

[Dontero]

I'd say with BC now confirmed Sony basically has it on lock down already. It will be around 100m PS4's sold by the time PS5 is released. Trophies, username, friends etc carried over from PS3. Now all your PS4 games do too as well for PS5... no-one will want to "start again".

If BC was ever important then PS3 should be outright winner from get go.
So BC is not that important.

What would be winner for Sony would be future compatibility where you can play PS5 games on your PS4 much like i can play Witcher 3 on my computer from 2011. IF PC can do it then i don't see reason why consoles can't do it. If phones can do it then there is no reason why consoles can't do it.

Rumor is that MS will be doing that and they will treat Xbox 2 just as better hardware rather than clear divide. For a while rumors went Sony doing the same thing but according to latest rumors they don't seem to go into that direction and they want clear divide.

 

[nowhat]

For a while rumors went Sony doing the same thing but according to latest rumors they don't seem to go into that direction and they want clear divide.

Which while was that? Here's a DF article from October 2016, right after Pro was announced, a choice quote:

What becomes clear is that Sony itself - perhaps unlike its rival - does not believe that the concept of the console hardware generation is over. Cerny has a number of criteria he believes amounts to a reset in gaming power: primarily, a new CPU architecture and vastly increased memory allocation. And of course, a massive revision in GPU power - Cerny refers to a 434 page, eight-hour PowerPoint presentation he gave to developers about the PS4 graphics core. It was a new paradigm for game makers.

By all of these criteria, PS4 Pro is not a new generation of hardware and there are no 400 page briefings.

However, this is clearly a new generation of hardware. But I'd like to see any quote (from a Sony representative, not some forum speculation) where Sony wasn't for console generations, their position has been quite consistent.

 

[Dontero]

Which while was that? Here's a DF article from October 2016, right after Pro was announced, a choice quote:

It didn't came directly from Sony. It came from Ubisoft execs who were discussing transitions and shifts in generations and how this creates issues for developers and doesn't really make any good sense in era where you can release your game on Android phone and that game can be played by most of android phones regardless if they are android 5-6-7-8-9 etc. It was specifically in context of playstation.

Unfortunately i don't remember which interview was that but it wasn't only one. There were two other pieces, one i think from GDC last year and some other one also discussing that issues. Key point is that all of them said that they were discussing this issues with Sony (and MS) and they were responsive to that.

Then Cerny and rest decided on what you pointed out that they stand firmly now in clear divide.

MS on other hand didn't say anything about it but with actions we see that they are going into that direction and we saw lately a lot of rumors about for example gamepass for Switch, for android etc. They just introduced gamepass lately to PC and in recent windows update they are effectively bringing full proper native xbox games to PC as test.

In my opinion Sony learned wrong lesson from their key moment back when PS4 was properly announced. Remember ? Back then Xbox wanted to get rid of used games etc Sony was rumored to do exactly the same but they saw what happened and they run away with hilarious conference where all they needed to do was to say you can play used games (and sold you PS+ now being required to play online btw).

I think what they learned was that people want normal console. What they should learn was that people don't want to be screwed. IDK if MS will actually go that way but if they do and there are strong rumors they will they will have instantly total market of 10s of milions at start of next generation and probably last MS generation while Sony will have to again start from 0.

MS is playing gamble here but that gamble might work in the end.

 

[Raven117]

$500 is 2020 isn't even in the same realm as $600 in 2007. Not. Even. Close. Do people not understand that $500 is not the same amount of money that it was back then? Inflation is a real thing and it works both ways. There's not some super secret agreement where Sony pays the same price for parts that they did in 2007 or before, prices go up for them too.

This isn't 1999 or 2010 even, we're getting a lot more power, well-rounded power too with no glaring weaknesses like the PS4 with its crap CPU(even at launch) or the PS3 with its shit GPU/memory allocation and terribly awful architecture for coding. God forbid Sony wants to give us a powerful machine and not take a loss on every machine.

Thank you. Goodness some people truly don’t have a clue when it comes to marketing and pricing.

 

[nowhat]

I think what they learned was that people want normal console. What they should learn was that people don't want to be screwed. IDK if MS will actually go that way but if they do and there are strong rumors they will they will have instantly total market of 10s of milions at start of next generation and probably last MS generation while Sony will have to again start from 0.

I think forward compatibility is something of a two-edged sword. From Microsoft's perspective, I can see why they're going with it - they're blurring the lines between Xbox and a Windows PC even further. That probably makes sense for them, treat the Xbox just as an affordable gaming PC and how much you're willing to spend on the hardware determines the visual fidelity. Also if you are developing on/porting from Windows, the engine/game probably is already well suited for various graphics options, so that's a bonus.

On the other hand, one of the main selling points for consoles from my POV is a fixed hardware target. Knowing what you're up against means you can optimize far more than in PC space - these mid-gen refreshes have complicated things a bit, but to have two major hardware iterations to optimize for, that's definitely more complicated. The people who really go deep into the hardware are mostly the first-party studios, granted, but with forward compatibility there'd be basically three options: a) just disregard the previous generation, b) make sure the game runs well on all platforms, or c) spend less time/polish on the previous gen (who cares if it runs like ass on previous hardware). Out of those alternatives, b) is the most costly, so that's right out. c) could be really damaging to the brand. So personally, I think option a) is reasonable.

But as you said, we'll see which strategy pans out. I can see both sides of the argument.

 

[pawel86ck]

100$ is not some huge price difference, and if PS5 will be more capable because of that (SSD instead of standard HDD, faster CPU, more ram, etc.), then I'm fine with 500$ price point.

I bought PS3 at 599$ and xbox x at 499$ and both consoles were affordable for me, but of course depending where you live average salary looks different making 500$ price point look cheap (countries with average 2500-3000 euro salaries) or expensive (400 euro salaries). IMO PS4 was underpowered making PS4 generation more like PS3.5

 

[Ozrimandias]

As just mentioned above.
Price is just one factor to make a console fail.

Ps3 Failed in many areas, and plus, the market has changed since then.....the industry is more receptive in high end software.

 

[Zannegan]

PS3 sold basically as much as Xbox 360...

I know. In fact, I was under the impression that the PS3 actually surpassed the 360 by a slim margin at the end, hence the "clawing back to second," bit.

That said, you're talking about the company who had held a commanding first place for the last two generations, faltering out of the gate with a console design that was sold at a deep loss initially. Just matching or narrowly edging out Microsoft in terms of units sold for a distant second behind Nintendo could be seen as pretty disastrous given where they were the generation before. I still don't know if they made a net dime from that generation. *shrug*

 

[Vawn]

PS3 level disaster?

Why do some people act as if the Xbox 360 was the most successful console of all-time and the PS3 was a miserable failure? They were always neck and neck.

 

[johntown]

I'm not really concerned but then again I am mainly a PC gamer. A huge problem with the PS3 was the cell processor. It was notoriously difficult to develop for and was expensive.

The PS5 will be either x86 or x64 based which is very mainstream and development friendly. The only thing I could see as a deterrent would be price. All the other things ppl mention won't be an issue IMO.

 

[AlexxKidd]

If the PS3 was a failure then Microsoft has never released a successful console.

 

[Gamernyc78]

BC doesn't mean anything on the Sony side. It'll help but it's not going to lock anything. MS having a major head start with enhanced BC FP and TP favorites will lock a bit more down if they (likely) keep BC, and while it will do better it still won't lock that many down. BC is good but there's a lot of dealings with third parties to even get those games allowed to be in your BC program. BC with the PS4 ain't going to do much with 100 million people owning a PS4. The Pro doesn't help that either.

If Sony wants effective BC, they need to bring back PSX BC, and maybe find a new solution for PS2 BC.

Talk about reaching far. Very small minority give a shit about ps2 bc as well as older system bc. Don't be fooled by the vocal heads in here saying it's super important, whether they have it or ever get it won't make a dent. Please we all know this will be a lock whether or not Sony even offered bc at all, so offering it for ps4 and PSVR is just icing on the cake and keeping more ppl in. Their mindshare and eco system is just too consistent and strong.

Let's put things in perspective. Even when PS3 came out a year and a half later, for hundreds more Sony still dominated world wide sales almost every single month against the 360 until production was ended for that generation and they caught up eventually and tht speaks volumes. Best Microsoft will/can do is take back U. S. Region some months. As long as Sony keeps consistent quality, Microsoft just won't dominate. Sony brand in the console space is just too strong.

 

[LittleBusters]

Sony has beaten Microsoft three times. They'll do it again. They have nothing to fear because non English speaking countries don't want Xbox. Period.

As long as they don't do something silly like Cell again, or trying to win a format war, they have nothing to fear, PS5 will win Gen 9.

I always wonder about this anti-Xbox attitude, where does it derive from? Shouldn't we want more competition rather than glorify a duopoly(Sony/Nintendo)? Funny how Apple has no issues selling their stuff to Japanese people.

 

[Shin]

I always wonder about this anti-Xbox attidue, where does it derive from? Shouldn't we want more competition rather than glorify a duopoly(Sony/Nintendo)? Funny how Apple has no issues selling their stuff to Japanese people.

It's present with smartphones as well (Apple vs. Google), feeling strongly about something can lead to getting carried away.
For the rest it's better for the consumer in the end to have a more even split because companies are usually more innovative/competitive.
One sided races due to whatever reason/cause leads misuse of newly obtained power/grip in the market they cater to...

 

[Gamernyc78]

I always wonder about this anti-Xbox attidue, where does it derive from? Shouldn't we want more competition rather than glorify a duopoly(Sony/Nintendo)? Funny how Apple has no issues selling their stuff to Japanese people.

Where it derived from? You really are asking tht? I'll give you a hint...

-Rrod fisaco which was the worst console failure rate in history and later it was found out Microsoft knowingly sold faulty hardware to beat Sony to market
-Milo and kinect doctored videos and presentations tht in no way came to fruition and represented what we got in kinect
-Relying heavily on same established ips for years with little to no variety in exclusives or quality.
-Hyping cloud technology and Crackdown 3 to once again falter and give us a disappointment
-Xbox one being more exoensive and underpowered compared to ps4. And the very anticonsuner drm messaging.

I mean I'm not picking a side just answering your question. I finally bought an Xbox s after years of not buying anything Xbox after rrod situation. Some ppl don't forget. It's good they are righting the ship though and I like the competition.

I always wonder about this anti-Xbox attidue, where does it derive from? Shouldn't we want more competition rather than glorify a duopoly(Sony/Nintendo)? Funny how Apple has no issues selling their stuff to Japanese people.

 

[Afro Republican]

PS3 level disaster?

Why do some people act as if the Xbox 360 was the most successful console of all-time and the PS3 was a miserable failure? They were always neck and neck.

PS3 didn't sell 88 million. We don't have actual numbers on that and Sony won't even comment on it.

However the PS3 was a disaster, not in sales, but in everything else, Sony literally was thought to be heading toward the end for like 3 years straight, they were closing down divisions, tons of layoffs, changing what they were producing, selling buildings, and more. (Also how did the 360 only sell 1 million in 2.5 years after it was announced at 84 million in summer 2014? Just the two holiday months in 2014 make up around half of that in JUST The US.)


However, Sony did manage to prevent that and got the PS3 to build enough momentum to stop losing money and put out the successful PS4.

 

[Afro Republican]

Talk about reaching far. Very small minority give a shit about ps2 bc as well as older system bc. Don't be fooled by the vocal heads in here saying it's super important, whether they have it or ever get it won't make a dent. Please we all know this will be a lock whether or not Sony even offered bc at all, so offering it for ps4 and PSVR is just icing on the cake and keeping more ppl in. Their mindshare and eco system is just too consistent and strong.

Let's put things in perspective. Even when PS3 came out a year and a half later, for hundreds more Sony still dominated world wide sales almost every single month against the 360 until production was ended for that generation and they caught up eventually and tht speaks volumes. Best Microsoft will/can do is take back U. S. Region some months. As long as Sony keeps consistent quality, Microsoft just won't dominate. Sony brand in the console space is just too strong.

The 360 literally proved the Sony brand isn't that strong. The reason why the PS3 caught up was because the 360's European efforts were cut because they wanted to focus on Japan (the first 3 years) and tripled down in America because they were expecting to be able to complete kill the PS3 there even though they were already far enough ahead to be the winner (hence why around 50% 360 sales were in NA). Its one of the reasons why in some European countries the Xbox One was ahead of the 360 for quite some time, but MS never really followed that up and the XBox One collapsed. Also the tier 2 European countries basically had the PS4 a year later so those were doomed from the start.

 

[Chiggs]

Personally, I think they're headed for a massive PS2-sized success.

 

[mejin]

The 360 literally proved the Sony brand isn't that strong.

playstation will have another 100M console and it isn't strong brand?

 

[Vawn]

However the PS3 was a disaster, not in sales, but in everything else,

Lol, kay.

 

[Chakan]

now with rumors of the PS5 being $500, which while not as bad as the $600 monstrosity of the PS3

PS3 was US$ 500 and 600. There were two models at launch....20GB and 60GB.

Honestly if they manage to launch at US$ 500, it'll be very good price for today's standards.

 

[LittleBusters]

Personally, I think they're headed for a massive PS2-sized success.

Essentially this is the end of 'generations' since all games going forward are backward compatible. More powerful hardware by itself does not constitute a new generation.

 

[Gamernyc78]

The 360 literally proved the Sony brand isn't that strong. The reason why the PS3 caught up was because the 360's European efforts were cut because they wanted to focus on Japan (the first 3 years) and tripled down in America because they were expecting to be able to complete kill the PS3 there even though they were already far enough ahead to be the winner (hence why around 50% 360 sales were in NA). Its one of the reasons why in some European countries the Xbox One was ahead of the 360 for quite some time, but MS never really followed that up and the XBox One collapsed. Also the tier 2 European countries basically had the PS4 a year later so those were doomed from the start.

You have to try harder. No distespect but thus argument is frivolous. My cooment stands

 

[Gamernyc78]

playstation will have another 100M console and it isn't strong brand?

Strong Xbox fan don't bother with reason. It's hilarious the gymnastics done.

 

[Outrunner]

I think Sony will be fine, their brand is strong enough with both hardcore gamers, casual gamers and even non gamers.

 

[Afro Republican]

Lol, kay.

It's funny seeing people forget just how bad Sony's position was as an entire company during the PS3 years. It was an actual catastrophe that people will continue to downplay for the console wars. It sales were saved but it was still a written loss just like the original Xbox. Just Sony wasn't big enough to actually handle the loss at the time.

playstation will have another 100M console and it isn't strong brand?

This is literally not possible. Next gen will have more expensive consoles and slower price drops. The PS4 just got to 100 million RECENTLY after 5 years with one competitor that dropped out and discontinued itself 2 years ago, and one that gave them a sliver platter at launch with a scandal and being $100 more, and gave a bunch of countries a year head start because of tiered releases.

Next gen there will be higher costs, the competition won't be dumb this time, and an influx of streaming services which will take marketshare initially even if they crash shortly a year or so after. People forget how the PS4 hit 100 million this gen and it wasn't ONLY because of the PS4 itself. It still took a long tome to reach it. Not a single console is hitting 100 million next gen because there are going to be less mistakes, but also more importantly, like 40 players involved. and I'm sure at least 4 of those dozens of streaming services will at least last till the end of the gen before dying. Then you have the micro-consoles coming back as well on top of that.

Also with PS and Xbox entrapping their core consumers into their ecosystem with all these crazy features we won't see too much hoping next generation, the main target for next generation are going to be the moderate gamers and the casuals. And casuals are unpredictable.

 

[hunthunt]

Sony wont make any mistake again with the release of the PS5, the days of Crazy Ken Kutaragi are long gone.

This will be a smooth generation change for them, it seems like they learned from Nintendo and are preparing all their big guns for the "5" launch window, and that is all that matters.

The Xbox will sell great too, probably similar numbers as what is doing today the Xbox one.

 

[DeepEnigma]

playstation will have another 100M console and it isn't strong brand?

Ignore his ‘ganda.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

After the red hot success of the first two systems, Sony went into the PlayStation 3 with an inflated ego and a $600 price tag. The bloated, over-designed, and needlessly difficult to program for nightmare that Sony arrogantly insisted you work two jobs for, destroyed the company's reputation and momentum in the console market, and with an initial lack of games to justify the tech, Sony had a hard time selling PS3s as they were regularly getting their ass handed to them by both Microsoft's Xbox 360 and especially Nintendo's Wii. They eventually turned ship around later in the system's life, but it's hard to deny that the first 3 or so years of the PS3 were a rough ride for PlayStation fans.

Now Sony is back on top with the PlayStation 4. Being an affordable, simple, and focused product that righted every wrong of the PlayStation 3, and took advantage of the floundering Nintendo and Microsoft, to dominate the console race for much of the generation. Now, we're nearing the end of the system's main life cycle (It'll still get supported years after PS5), and that dominance Sony held on to for the 8th gen is slipping. Microsoft has cleaned house on management, and has slowly turned the Xbox One into a solid product with a lot of great games. And Nintendo is back in the spotlight with the Switch, regularly selling on par with, and in many cases beating the PS4 each month in the US.

There are signs that Sony is starting to get cocky with their success with the PS4. First with new SIE management implimenting new puritanical content guidelines for Japanese developers, and now with rumors of the PS5 being $500, which while not as bad as the $600 monstrosity of the PS3, is still too expensive for a gaming platform. With this I'm worried Sony is going to end up right back at square one with the PS5, a disasterous reveal and launch that fails to make a splash. And if Sony doesn't play their cards right, developers could very well distance themselves from the PS5 and put more focus on the Xbox Scarlett and even the Switch to an extent. I don't want this to be the case, and neither do you, so I'm hoping Sony makes it out alright in the end, but I am a bit worried about the PS5 at this point. It may not be as bad as the early PS3 days, but it could very well be a disaster if Sony doesn't put their best foot forward, especially now that their contemporaries aren't as incompetent now as they used to be.

I read through this, and I'm honestly not sure where the worry is coming from.

1. Xbox has great games. Not trolling, but which games are you talking about? Small indie type games?

2. Nintendo selling more each month in the US. This is true. You are also comparing a system that is already sold close to 100 million and is near end of its lifecycle. Secondly, Switch and PS4 are not in competition at all. You know that NPD? Check the top 10 nintendo software. Tell me what you see on there and compare it to PS4 top 10 for literally any month.

3. The censorship on some of that stuff is so insignificant. Sometimes its honestly justified. Some of these anime girls are depicted as kids almost, nude ones that just have a tiny bit of smoke covering their private parts. So Sony has them add a little more. But I'll give you this one, even though some of those games are so obscure, I genuinely wonder who gives a shit and just want to yell the loudest, even though they have no interest in those games regardless.

4, Price. Anyone who thinks the next xbox won't be $500 is naive. Xbox One X released at $500

So with all that, devs are going to move away from the PS5 and go to the Xbox because Sony censored a tiny bit of nipple in some super obscure Japanese games and also because the PS5 will be $500, the same price as the next Xbox???


And triple A devs aren't going to the Switch.

If anything, you should make this thread about the switch, and what its prospects are for third party games once next gen starts hitting.

Because sure as fuck, even a Switch 2 won't even be in the same universe as the PS5/XBOX 4 powerwise, nevermind Switch 1. So what happens there?

 

[AgentP]

BC doesn't mean anything on the Sony side. It'll help but it's not going to lock anything. MS having a major head start with enhanced BC FP and TP favorites will lock a bit more down if they (likely) keep BC, and while it will do better it still won't lock that many down. BC is good but there's a lot of dealings with third parties to even get those games allowed to be in your BC program. BC with the PS4 ain't going to do much with 100 million people owning a PS4. The Pro doesn't help that either.

If Sony wants effective BC, they need to bring back PSX BC, and maybe find a new solution for PS2 BC.

You don't understand the point of BC. BC at launch moves your playerbase from one gen to the other. That's it. What MS is doing is just to cover for lack of 1st party games to keep core peole from jumping ship.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Shit. I loved Phantom Dust, Voodoo Vince, Below, Sea of Thieves, and Crackdown 3. Apparently I like shit games. Thank you for showing me the way for I was lost.

 

[Romulus]

I don't even think ps5 needs BC to win next gen. I think the next xbox could have slighty more power, BC for every xbox, a competitive price and still lose by 20 million units. Great that sony does though.

 

[Romulus]

If the PS3 was a failure then Microsoft has never released a successful console.

I think when you compare ps3 to the other sony consoles, it was the standout in a bad way, not a failure. 88 million is really good. It was also my least favorite sony console by a huge margin to boot. I was not a fan of its exclusives with only a few exceptions.

 

[Musky_Cheese]

Santa> Blu Ray

Sony fails

 

[Arkage]

Bring up price without bringing up inflation is dumb.

Sony isn't going to release a console for over $756 dollars (equivalent to $600 in 2006).

While a $500 console for next gen is pricier than the PS4, it's still completely doable. It's only a ~$60 bump above the PS4 if you account for inflation, and the specs seem more than worth it.

 

[Pot Meet Kettle]

Considering Sony is showing Japanese developers the middle finger in various ways like scrapping an existing Japanese language approval process and making them work on California hours, to satisfy amorphous policies they can't even get in writing or agree on in the same week, but isn't quite showing the same treatment to Western developers, as well as telling CERO they don't matter, Sony might be preparing for a brusque exit from Japan.

The writing was on the wall years ago... Plans for cheaper first party games for the Vita in 2015 that would have targeted younger audiences or all ages were uncerenomiously shelved, and then some like Popolocrois and Wild Arms started appearing on mobile phones, or even the 3DS (in the case of one of both recent Popolocrois games) and the platform was killed off.
As for localization for CERO's violence guidelines, Sony told Japanese audiences they couldn't care less and just had players go through 30 seconds of black screen not wanting to spend anything but the bare minimum on them. The PS4 was still doing numbers lower than the fucking Wii U there. Then the Japanese Sony representative's statements about the censorship couldn't have been worse chosen for their branding there - he considers children are their general target audience. I thought he might be a Nintendo plant and can't be that stupid, but then again Sony used the same excuse in the West to justify their greed-motivated lack of crossplay.

Sony wants for whatever reason to sever their ties to Japanese developers and end up in the same position as Microsoft in Japan, thinking this might help their chances. They have defanged their Japanese inhouse development studios significantly for ... reasons unknown. That will cause them at the very least significant third party support.

 

[cartman414]

Bring up price without bringing up inflation is dumb.

Sony isn't going to release a console for over $756 dollars (equivalent to $600 in 2006).

While a $500 console for next gen is pricier than the PS4, it's still completely doable. It's only a ~$60 bump above the PS4 if you account for inflation, and the specs seem more than worth it.

And again, inflation is negated (mostly) by decreasing tech costs.

Spikes in cost are accounted for by new/exotic tech. The PS3 was $600 because of the Cell and Blu-ray (the cheapest standard Blu-ray player at the time was $1000).

PS4 was down to $400. An increase with PS5 could happen, but only because of transition to SSD.