Is PlayStation 5 Really Entering 'The Latter Stage' Of Its Lifecycle?

[@gg_regoire]

The issue is that this generation still feel like ps4 pro pro or xbox one XX

[@valentinvas6454]

I agree. It's 2024 and it doesn't feel like we've gotten that many "next gen" feeling games.Most current gen only games feel like they are just about 10-20% more detailed in terms of graphics compared to the latest last gen games. Spiderman 2 and Alan Wake 2 at least made use of the super fast SSD with insane loading times on top of the great graphics but how is Redfall and Starfield current gen only while Cyberpunk, Forbidden West and Red Dead 2 are either crossgen or last gen. I wonder if new games after 2024 will be more innovative or we'll have to wait for the PS6 generation to have a bigger leap in gameplay mechanics. Dragon's Dogma 2 looks promising so I'm looking forward to that.

[@samal90]

one thing to note is that "next-gen" games take 5-6 years to make now. This is why we might only see games that truly feel next gen starting this year or so. If you think about it, any big AAA game that starts development now, will only come out during the next-gen console lifetime beyond 2028. This is why I feel TES 6 or the next Witcher game might only come out on PS6 and next xbox console.

[@5persondude]

I feel like the generation never even started in the first place. Honestly I’m kind of shocked as to how the PS5 or XSX have sold so much

[@lbpk5786]

I bought a PS5 day one and feel satisfied. I've enjoyed a decent number of exclusives such as Ratchet and Clank RA, Horizon FW, GT7, FF16, GOWR, Spiderman 2, etc. Also, I sold my PS4 Pro to get it so I only spent $200 while still being able to play my PS4 games at higher fps.

[@jameswatson5807]

It is the pandemic that has made time feel odd.

[@dragons_red]

Becasue both systems have last gen back compat, that's why they sold

[@TapMyButtons]

I agree; we just got our first PS5 exclsuive at the end of 2023 and all of the other 1st party games were cross-gen. Majority of third party games are still cross-gen too and I dont think others will follow until the next COD is PS5/PC/Series X only

[@CeceliPS3]

Normies and consoomers will buy everything with a big smile on their faces.

[@danielgrezda3339]

Honestly, if this generation is the one that forces companies reduce budgets and increases production AA and larger indie games, it will be one of the best generations. Japanese companies have been good at splitting recourses between AAA and smaller titles for years and their industry isn't shutting down studios and killing thousands of jobs.

[@YungRamo]

hard agree, current AAA game development is not sustainable. Everyone loses

[@gettingbett]

*sigh The Asian gaming market is weird, where you port Smartphone Games to Switch... But yes, I support the Nintendo Approach. Keep the focus small and Polish your games.

[@cinemapigeon4898]

A nice soft correction. Helldivers 2 and Palworld prove you can have engaging and solid games made on relatively smaller budgets.

[@Minarreal]

You mean the next one, because this cycle is clearly a lost cause now. And I have my reservations overall. To me, it just seems that GAAS will take greater priority (even moreso for the likes of Sony) and others will go full Sony, like Square Enix has been hinting lately.

[@cinemapigeon4898]

@@Minarreal If it's well executed, GaaS is a nonissue. Sony had plenty of really good and popular multiplayer games during the ps3 generation. Killzone, Resistance Fall of Man, Uncharted 2/3, Warhawk, etc.. From a consumer perspective, a good GaaS game is a fun multiplayer game you get to play for many years. Nobody is complaining (well I'm sure someone is) about Rocket League (2015), Rainbox Six Siege (also 2015), Fortnite (2017), etc... still being popular high played games. Those are all live service games. Now of course only a small number og GaaS can be successful at the same time, and gamers can only play so many games at once, so it's a fierce market, but from a business standpoint they're money printers. I think the goal should be good games that just happen to be live service as opposed to Skull & Bones or Suicide Squad.

[@87crimson]

This generation should last a decade. Tech is improving at a snail's pace and more power hungry than ever. Also games take longer than ever to be released.

[@colinparks619]

Not strong enough hardware power , a massive amount of people moving over to pc as the consoles are too weak

[@tomdaniel5297]

​@@colinparks619bahahaha

[@Deliveredmean42]

Games taking longer to make can be avoidable. Especially if you remove the whole "Open World" aspect and return to the 8-12 hours experience. Something that devs make the same mistake for a while. Plus, not giving players AA 30 e 40 dollars games is a huge factor for the abysmal amount of titles on Sony's and Xbox's side.

[@219SilverChoc]

@@colinparks619 what unoptimized piece of shit game is telling you that lmao

[@puffyips]

Since it’s only going to get worse I think It’s fine rn

[@myenemysenemy1043]

I’ve had a PS5 for just over a year and it still feels like it just came out 😂

[@chrisbrown113096]

Gaming industry is officially in the MOVIE industry. Nothing but remakes and remasters with “nostalgia” just like how movies are right now.

[@PooFace2030]

All entertainment and culture in the west has plateaued. It’s all rehash or mish mash of old ideas. I don’t think there will ever be a new renaissance.

[@BleakVision]

Even worse, AAA titles insist on being CINEMATIC!

[@Dregomz02]

That's why there are no point in buying new consoles or even upgrading the pc.

[@JohahnDiechter]

There has always been a glut of remakes in the film industry.

[@zeniktorres4320]

I wish there were more remasters like Tomb Raider Remasters just released,. Never played these before and thoroughly enjoying these. Bring on the remasters. BTW, older movies are better.

[@idolnash13]

Many people do not realize the next generation consoles have already been put for almost 4 years already

[@devilmikey00]

I've seen a lot of people misinterpreting this on purpose. All they've said is they've crested the peak sales and that now were in the back half of a consoles life span which for a console that's been out 3.5 years is completely normal. The problem with the PS5 is that it didn't really launch in 2020 because no one outside of scalpers was actually buying them until late 2021/2022. That combined with a VERY thin exclusive library so far (of which a lot are available on PS4) makes it feel like this generation hasn't even begun so hearing it's in its "latter half" is jarring even when it's completely normal if you just step back and think about it. We still have 3-4 years of PS5 left. Sony just needs to get it's studios actually releasing games so we all don't feel like this thing is still at the starting line.

[@yewtewbstew547]

Thin exclusive library + a lot of the good ones they did release were cross gen with PS4. Or remasters. Unless they start cranking out new IPs in the next few years, the PS5 is going to be in a weird spot I think. It's hyperbolic to say it has "no games" but... compared to previous generations it's definitely lacking.

[@Facundo776]

Nobody will be buying the PS6 if this generation continues as its right now. Almost every game is cross gen, except for just like 2 or 3. If boundaries aren't pushed in this gen, why bother buying the next one?

[@bose5160]

Tack on the fact that it now takes half a decade or longer for developers to make these games...

[@blkjesus8252]

@@bose5160wouldn’t be mad if they released new consoles every decade

[@Dezzyyx]

@@Facundo776well because at some point the PS5 will be too weak to run the newest games, so you'd either have to get the PS5 Pro or the PS6 so the gap isn't too wide. I'm thinking about which option would be best myself, get the Pro and wait for the PS6 Pro next, or skip the Pro and wait for PS6. If a Pro happens that is

[@michaellynch9550]

If by final stages, you mean 3 to 4 years then yes

[@ryutenmen]

You must understand the way the corporations works since in this case - Sony, is working with the public. They never announce things if it weren't in their interest, so they are looking for their gains first, and in this sense, to make the public accept their plans they are using the "Overton window" method. "Overton window" is used to in steps to prepare the public into eventually accepting what otherwise would be unacceptable if announced fully at first stage. Along with the progressively stages, they are also using specific words, this is why they didnt used specific terms, only the generic/vague "Latter stage" which can mean anything, but the public minds will get accustomed with the idea of "toward finish". After that, they'll announce something specific and imminent and it wont scare the public. In the end stage, the public will even accept the otherwise unacceptable idea.

[@duncanself5111]

"latter half of the console cycle" and Sony specifically said this because the PS5 will be entering its fifth year

[@D00BIESNACKS420]

PS5 released Nov 2000. That's not even 3.5 years ago. ​@@duncanself5111

[@syncmonism]

If enough people refuse to buy a PS6, then developers will be forced to keep making games for the PS5. Given how powerful the system is, I think it would actually make sense for the life of the system to last longer and to overlap more with the next system. This was a big investment for a lot of people, and there's honestly no good reason to not keep supporting the system, especially given how long it could take for sales of the next system to get anywhere close to the number of PS5 consoles that have been sold. One of the things about PC gaming is that most games will work even on very old PCs (with some games being better designed to work on older hardware than others). I don't see why they can't do more multi platform releases for the next gen and previous gen for a longer period of time. The current gen is a big improvement over the previous gen because of switching to an extremely fast SSD architecture, which should make it easier to have good cross generation support for a lot of game development.

[@ryutenmen]

@@syncmonism My attention jumped straight to the end of your comment, to the "extremely fast SSD". The "mighty" PS5's SSD is not a compelling argument anymore, because today not only that SSD in not extremely fast, but it's writing speeds are baffling slow(somewhere between 200 and 300MB/s).

[@eamonndoyle4753]

The trouble is half of a new consoles life still caters for the previous console, so we're generally only experiencing real next generation games around 3yrs after the console is released. It should be no more than a year at most.

[@damazywlodarczyk]

This is the first time it has been so.

[@desmondbrown5508]

I don't think it's ever going to go back to where people immediately jump to next gen without a large period of intersection. Especially not anymore. Prices keep going up for these consoles for end users and the differences in perceived quality are thinning. If/When there is a next gen console, I don't see how we won't still have a 3+ year adoption period, with pricing the way it is and the actual "value" people perceive always diminishing.

[@devinsills6053]

@@damazywlodarczyk Wasn't that the case with the PS3 and 360 as well? For so long so many games released on those systems for 3 years. Shadow of Mordor was on PS3 and 360 Watch dogs was them as well Diablo 3 Thief The evil within Metal gear V the phantom pain which came out closer to 2016 (the later half of 2015) And the list goes on. So really, it's not like this is a new thing and that the PS5 and series x generation was a waste. Why didn't you feel the same about the PS4 and series x?

[@Vincornelis]

The best hope for shorter cross gen is more production capacity so they can get more systems out more quickly and parts actually getting cheaper again over time which hasn't happened this time. As a result there weren't enough early adopters due to a simple lack of supply or any promise of an acceleration of the adoption rate that an immenent price cut would provide making it very hard for developers to justify going current gen only.

[@damazywlodarczyk]

@@devinsills6053 But there were also a lot of ps4 exclusive games back then. Now, between sony and microsoft, in 3 years, it's up to 10 games.

[@aboveaveragebayleaf9216]

I actually like smaller linear games. Give me more games like bioshock or deadspace. I don't need every single game to be open world, and I often think it doesn't add to the game.

[@Kabodanki]

It show how journalism can shape narrative

[@Daniel-or3vf]

GTA6 might be the only saviour of significance for gen 9 AAA. Even that will likely be on PC a year later most likely.

[@TylerMBuller12]

Ya I feel that is most likely going to be the case. Honestly rdr 2 on last gen is the only game that felt truly next gen.

[@tylerhill40]

Elden Ring called.

[@andreaporcu8419]

@@tylerhill40Elden ring is on ps4 and doesn’t look or feel next gen at all

[@mmo5366]

Not having AAA major first party games is kinda weird. Like, sure, the hardware is not new, but normally about now is when proper native games will finally be appearing, not disappearing.

[@cpaek72]

Go back to custom chips. Once Ps5 and XBOX went over to AMD, the feeling of a generational leap just disappeared. Everything is now a PC. Remember when consoles used to leap over pc's and vice versa?

[@mitsuhh]

PS5 is still a leap over desktop PCs. PS5 loads games so much faster.

[@acardenasjr1340]

​@@mitsuhhto be fair, the majority of PC gamers are built to handle high framerate 1080p rigs, based on Steam stats of user res.

[@DanielLopez-ob9jz]

the 360 and ps3 were not exactly more powerful in any respect. Custom chips won't fix the issue either. It just makes it harder for devs.

[@thegr8rambino]

Yea that way each console would really give off a unique experience (hopefully)

[@sumomaster5585]

with ps4 we already got ver good looking games, at this stage adding a bit more won't make a difference....and now we already have fast SSDs so they can't use that card on ps6 either...

[@Dense_10]

If they gonna be releasing cross gen titles, why even buy the PS5? Just call it PS4 Pro Pro

[@ZidaneSteiner]

I feel bad for the kids growing up with these. There's no cultural classics that they will be nostalgic over decades from now.

[@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu]

To be fair, they said 'later half'. Its now the fourth year of ps5 so if it it is now in its 'later half' then that is an 8 year life span of ps5. Which is pretty standard for a console

[@CJP.-pq3kr]

To be MORE fair. There was a shortage of consoles and this is the longest cross-gen game period of all-time. Your point is moot.

[@dampelps]

We’re living in the moment where everyone is still waiting for that next gen experience which was promised but instead all we have is endless remasters and only few original games. #9thConsoleGenSUCKS

[@Wobbothe3rd]

Blame AMD for their inferior hardware.

[@H4GRlD]

Hey, don't be so pessimistic! We also get games being upscaled from 480P! 😂 Console lifecycle is just insanity. They should release a new gen every 3 years and provide another 3 years of cross gen.

[@kenroyforrester156]

​@H4GRlD the worst comment I've ever seen on the internet

[@H4GRlD]

@@kenroyforrester156 If this is true I really envy your way of living man. Should I apologize for a joke or how should I proceed next? What is appropriate for your internet? But to be a bit more real, do you think a machine that was sold with a 8K sticker on it should be allowed to use an internal resolution of 720P and below for games 2-3 years later? I know this aspect is more on the devs / publishers (eventually it's Sony and MS who is not doing proper QA with enforcing some kind of baseline) but what I said in my previous comment (even if it was meant as a joke) was a fact actually. So please take your time to elaborate on why you found it the way you expressed yourself. I'm curious. Why would you expect a machine to last for 10+ years including crossgen support while it costs less than a mid range graphics card at release? How is this reasonable? I mean it could be reasonable if platform providers are selling these with a loss (like what Meta is doing in the VR space) I don't understand how this is not feasible, since the console business model is all about subscriptions and monopoly on the storefront, so in the end everything is more expensive compared to pc gaming except for the device itself.

[@kenroyforrester156]

@H4GRlD No but you are talking as if it's only the console's fault developers aren't doing what they should anymore they just want to brute force every single game with no optimization no nothing the fact that this gen not only consoles have suffered from this type of thing but pc also its not about power all the time take your time and optimize your game. The consoles are ok but the developers are lazy

[@azradesh2337]

It feels like it’s just starting

[@Vriess123]

There's been almost no exclusive games

[@MannyRiberaOriginal]

Gaming in general is reaching its latter stages. Releasing a ps6 isnt going to reverse this pattern.

[@gipgap4]

Honestly, you can write off 2020 and 2021 due to Covid19, chip shortages and people subsequently struggling to acquire the current generation consoles. As such, this generation is two year to three years old for me.

[@NotoriousRKB]

it never felt like it started because we had so many years of cross gen games. Its like this current gen has never received a chance besides a select few games

[@devinsills6053]

Wasn't that the case with the PS3 and 360 as well? For so long so many games released on those systems for 3 years. Shadow of Mordor was on PS3 and 360 Watch dogs was them as well Diablo 3 Thief The evil within Metal gear V the phantom pain which came out closer to 2016 (the later half of 2015) And the list goes on. So really, it's not like this is a new thing and that the PS5 and series x generation was a waste. Why didn't you feel the same about the PS4 and series x?

[@trancepower1205]

Yeah but don't forget this generation started when Covid started which f**ked everything!

[@ПавелПовх-з3у]

@@devinsills6053 this is like fifth year of this generation, and we still get most of the games released for ps4, while allready in 2015, which was the third year of that generation, most games struggled to run on ps3. Shadow of mordor ran terribly with cut off features, mgsv is simply a miraculous port, diablo 3 is 2012 game, it was made before next gen existed. Imagine if in 2017 games like Horizon zero dawn, Resident evil 7, evil within 2 or shadow of war were still released on ps3.

[@devinsills6053]

@@ПавелПовх-з3у this is the 4th not 5th year

[@ПавелПовх-з3у]

@@devinsills6053 thats semantics, its the same year as 2017th. 2020 is first year, same as 2013, then 2021 is 2014, 2022 is equal to 2015, 2023 is 16th year, and now is start of 2014, or 2017.

[@Embrace_the_darkness]

It started to end before it even began

[@alangreenway6695]

The question is does replacing the PS5 with a more powerful PS6 make sense for producing budget sustainable games AND subsidising the cost of the next machine to the consumer? Sony need to pivot to tempering customers graphical expectations, or making one tier of graphics for a console, and another for PC.

[@billhighwind]

I bought a PS5 yesterday, just to play FF7: Rebirth.

[@He_isI]

Welcome!

[@JFinns]

I considered that but will play it on PC at 1440p 120fps like I did FF7R. Unless I hear it's another cutscene simulator with major characters being revived so the story no longer has any impact, then it's a skip.

[@billhighwind]

Kind of a quick fix for me. No clams for a PC rn. @@JFinns

[@yanceyboyz]

120fps @ 1440p with stuttttter.....pc ports are dead to me, I'm so sick of these shader comp issue's. Hardware moves forward, price goes up and software goes backwards. Brilliant.

[@DP12321]

So weird to buy a new console to play a remake. 9th gen is barren.

[@ИлияКетипов]

Here’s a perspective: if PS4 is supported 4 years after the PS5 launch, PS5 may be supported 5,6 or even more years after the PS6 launch. The cross gen window should increase even more. So PS5 will be supported for allot more years to come in theory.

[@fcukugimmeausername]

Yes, I agree.

[@Victorcolongarcia]

I want a new WIPEOUT! We need more AA games and less 200 mill productions

[@fitnessabcvideo]

I stayed on PS4 and Ragnarok being on PS4 was my marker to stay and I'm glad I did, I missed absolutely nothing on the PS5...AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM, sand box games and games as an online experience only has done huge damage to game buying habits on the ps5. Also, sand box games are boring.

[@onceuponatimeonearth]

I think certain news outlets and people confuse 'latter' with 'end' for sensation and clickbaiting.

[@DanKeatis]

Church of the End of Days Saints sounds pretty metal, though!

[@Facundo776]

Boundaries are not being pushed this gen. At this point PS6 will just be more of the same. I really can't understand how Last of Us Part 2, Arkham Knight and many more have been done with the shitty PS4 hardware, and they can't make something outstanding with the PS5 hardware which is miles better than the previous gen. I really don't understand if its laziness or budget.

[@hurricane7727]

Lol. The Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League is More S#####ier then. It's Final Boss Fight is the Same as a Previous Boss Fight

[@Facundo776]

@@hurricane7727 but what does Suicide Squad boss boss fight have to do with this and pushing the boundaries of the PS5?

[@hurricane7727]

@@Facundo776 It's final boss fight is the worst I would say in gaming sense. It's just a rehash boss fight. On the Ps4 we fought Brainiac in Injustice 2 who has a Unique Moveset

[@lordspalse0062]

Ps5 games are simply ps4 games with slightly better graphics and worse framerate

[@TheUballe]

I'm in the final stages of taking this dump.

[@alneri1249]

The "latter stage" words were used as a commercial move to make the PS5 look 'outdated' and build the hype for the PS5 pro coming in September.

[@jamesadd4566]

From a business standpoint, ps 5 is entering the latter stage but ps 4 just officially ended two years ago which makes people feel it ended quite faster than the previous gen console. Looking at ps 5 exclusives games there is really not much which is another reason that people don't feel ps 5 is entering the latter stage.

[@HatedJared]

The PS5 is just the PS4Pro Pro. I have completed more PS4 games than PS5 games the last 3 years.

[@James-os9ku]

Exactly , the real PS5 will be the PS6. The corporate marketing machine can make people believe in things that simply don't exist.

[@lordspalse0062]

I have 490 ps4 games and 10 ps5 games and I got my ps5 1st January 2021

[@Vincornelis]

That fact that we're halfway through the generation and half the playstation studios haven't released a single new game or even announced one is frankly obscene. What's the god darn hold-up? It was not uncommon for studios to release 4 or even 5 games in a console generation as recently as the PS3 days and that was a system we've been told time and time again was notoriously hard to develop for. So why is it taking so much longer on a system that is literally a glorified PC. It doesn't even make any business sense. Every year you're not releasing a game is a year you've lost money.

[@MisterMuslim000]

game development is harder right now because the technology is focused on making better looking games instead of easier development you can make 3 ps3 games in the same time you make 1 ps5 game

[@Vincornelis]

@@MisterMuslim000 Developers have been pushing graphics hard since forever. It never stopped them releasing regularly in the past. Naughty Dog released 4 games during the PS3 era each one pushing the cutting edge of graphics for it's time. Same for tons of other studios who had roughly 2 to 3 years between games and made clear leaps in that time. That is the ideal pretty much all studios should strife for but simply aren't because their ambitions budgets, crew sizes etc... have just gotten too big for their boots.

[@NxtDoc1851]

I agree for the most part. What's taking so long is the attention to detail in games. More realistic visuals, more believable animations.. etc. You get it

[@MisterMuslim000]

@@Vincornelis you missed the point. let me give you an example all ps3 games have hardware limitations like CPU, GPU, Memory and storage. now these limits are not the reason why games used to be developed at a much faster rate but a part of it. you see making a game like horizon forbidden west or spiderman 2 on the ps3 is impossible not just because of the graphics, but mechanically impossible a PS3 can't stream all of the data required for alloy to traverse a giant open world filled with thousands of moving objects or miles jumping into another map like when he chased black cat through the arctic. of course I am sure there is some genius who can make it work on the ps3, but if you do that the slow data streaming of the PS3 will force you to use lower quality assets in everything even the sounds won't be as good so to answer your question the reason why games used to take less time to develop is because they used less less detailed environments assets sounds designs everything. creating assets for modern games is such a headache like 10 times more time consuming.

[@MisterMuslim000]

@@NxtDoc1851 with the use of AI in the near future we might return to the old days of too much games to chose from

[@GMMXX80]

And we haven't gotten jack squat. Look at the PS3: Naughty Dog shipped Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and The Last of Us. Wow! Insomniac Games came through with: Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, Resistance 3, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, as well as Fuze, by far the most impressive lineup. Sucker Punch was acquired and shipped: InFamous, InFamous 2, and InFamous Festival of Blood. Guerilla was about the same with Killzone 2 and Killzone 3. Media Molecule was also acquired and released: LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2 and assisted a little with LittleBigPlanet 3 (still mostly done by Sumo). Formerly 989 but Sony Bend didn't do much on the PS3, but did Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the Vita. Polyphony took forever but shipped Gran Tourismo Prologue, Gran Tourismo 5, and Gran Tourismo 6. I considered Quantic Dream a first-party Studios in that era that shipped Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. San Diego Studio shipped an MLB The Show every year plus ModNation Racers. Poor old Zipper Interactive shipped a coupe Socom games and the amazing 256 player MAG. Santa Monica released a solid God of War 3 and God of War Ascension along with all of their smaller projects and I can't remember. Even David Jaffe finished a Twisted Metal and Drawn to Death as well as Kojima releasing Metal Gear Solid 4. The point is, the PS3 constantly has something coming that kept the anticipation alive. By PS4, it was really dying down and on PS5, what have the major Studios done? Naughty Dog has shipped a Season of The Last of Us TV series, Xbox was criticized for at their Xbox One unveiling and remakes and remasters. Sucker Punch? Ghost of Tsushima was on the tale end of PS4. Guerilla had done Horizon Forbidden West. San Diego Continues to deliver year-on-year. We got a God of War Ragnarok, that was essentially another PS4 game, as that's how it was intended to be played tearing a page from the ol PS2 Shu Yoshida bits of advice book. I think you can see my point. And the funny thing is, developers were griping and complaining and nearly killed the PlayStation brand with how apparently complicated the PS3 was to develop for it. Devs griped and wouldn't develop games or lazily develop them and everyone was mad at Sony and left for Xbox 360...... Yet, the PS4 and now PS5 were assembled and created to be very developer friendly and make their jobs a snap and......... PS5 is what we get. Nothing has come from Naughty Dog that has two teams. Neil Druckmann is single-handedly killing Naughty Dog with his inflated ego. Sony Bend..... Nothing since Days Gone. Not even a Syphon Filter. Media Molecule...... Dreams, then they gave that tech away to developers. Sucker Punch, how long has it been? Santa Monica has two teams at least. Insomniac, well, they're slowing down too. Marcus Smith wants to keep going and we've seen no Sunset Overdrive, strangely not even a remaster of that. Look at what's happening, and the hardware is supposed to be easier, more developer friendly....... And y'all nearly killed PlayStation a couple decades ago by griping and complaining. We now know it was laziness. This doesn't add up. Zipper Interactive is gone. Quantic Dream was bought up by some Chinese company. Jaffe just keeps giving up...... Clif Blezinski is looking for a job. He went to Microsoft with Gears of War...... Why not bring him on at Sony, rebrand the IP, follow the same methods and assemble his own PlayStation team and develop a Gears of War for PlayStation, he's got ideas and he's done it before. He lost with Law Breakers but ya live and ya learn. There's experienced talent that they're just letting slip by. This has been a massive disappointment this generation, we were treated much better, to a lot more, and better value for our money then than now. And if Sonys all-star team of first-party devs is suffering, then look at how bad Xbox really is doing, so much so to try and cover it up and seem like they have something, they acquired Activision to do all the work and bail them out. Why do we need a PS5 Pro or PS6 when we've gotten nothing on the PS5. Even the PS4 wasn't that great

[@happyjam92]

Most people haven't even been able to get a ps5 for the first few years unless they gave in and bought one from a scalper for a stupid price. There has only been a handful of ps5 exclusives games in the last year or 2. I expect to use my ps5 for the next 4-5 years still. Especially since most ps6 games will be on ps5 for the first few years if trends continue.

[@Tainoblazed]

This will be my final console. I’m building a pc after this

[@KingScotto.]

I bet they'll still sell another 50 million before the end of this gen

[@jameswatson5807]

No they are behind PS3 sales PS5 cost to much many cannot afford it.

[@colinbrydon7659]

@@jameswatson5807And it’s the worst generation and strangest without a doubt. Taken too long to phase out old generations.

[@jameswatson5807]

@@colinbrydon7659 They have no choice these games cost over 100 million to make, the problem is making a game on PS5 exclusive that fails to sell in great numbers. They loose money instead of making a profit PS4 has a huge base it makes sense for now, this is the new normal. This is far different from the 32 bit era when games were cheap and quick to make, we got Tomb raider every year. Games are taking 4-5 years to make.

[@pieterbalk-ht7kq]

This is the most dissapointing generation so far.

[@hermit1255]

I'd love next gen consoles to give me a reason.

[@Triannosaurus]

PC gaming took over so quickly. I remember being the very niche audience building my own PC to game 15 years ago.

[@Censorshift]

Generation wise, it’s probably the worst I’ve encountered since I started gaming back on the Sega Megadrive. Not necessarily a hardware issue, more of a lack of enjoyable experiences and ones that aren’t 1000 hours long or live service BS

[@James-os9ku]

Yep , I agree. I started gaming on the Sega Master System 2 and not at any point has it ever been remotely this bad. It's so disappointing. But when you take an evolutionary perspective on it, it makes sense that there's plateaus , stops and starts , I'm not justifying it but it is inevitable at some point. Eventually it'll iron itself out you'd imagine.

[@OliversMovies]

“Quote, unquote” ~proceeds to misquote statement~

[@vincento7129]

What I don't understand is how development costs (and time) could have ballooned so much in just a couple of years. Budgets in the X360/PS3 generation were like 40 to 50 million dollars tops for a triple A game? The development cost for the first Gears of War were apparently just shy of 15 million dollars. The Mass Effect games were huge, yet three were released in just a couple of years at far lower budgets than any current triple A game. Now we're looking at 200-300 million dev cost for a triple A game for PS4 and PS5 generations (e.g. The Last of Us 2, Spider-man), with far fewer triple A games released per generation and far longer dev times, ever since the XOne/PS4 generation (which had architectures that were more like PC's than previous generations). Yet the visual and gameplay differences with the previous generations seem relatively small. It feels like recent Hollywood blockbusters such as Indy 5 and Ant-man, where you're wondering where all the budget went.

[@nvc.]

This is why i like Nintendo, they know their market they are ok with it, and are focused on making good games and profit from them instead of focus only on growth and market share and being the biggest platform or whatever.. they are their own thing, they care their fans and people that want that good vive games and that's it

[@1moblin2]

PlayStation 2 was the only console to just keep going none stop for about 14 years from 2000 - 2013 or 2014 until Sony stopped selling them & the crazy thing is that stores were still selling the few millions of PlayStation 2 consoles that were left in Sony's warehouses uncounted for is just unreal...the latter half didnt even apply to PlayStation 2 because it kept going & selling non stop which was pure insane selling literally a little over 158 million.....nintendo switch might even beat PS2 soon but switch will never & i mean NEVER be able to sell nowhere near as long as amazing PlayStation 2 have done

[@doctorknow]

The bottom right guy is too ESG compliant for my taste.

[@n64fan60]

I still don't have a current generation machine.

[@UToobin75]

Microsoft: "We can't cost reduce the Series X." The Series X was on sale for $350 just recently. The big three can always eat the cost to better benefit consumers no matter what they may say. Only difference now being that they have lulled consumers into accepting inflated price points, and younger gamers don't remember how things used to be so they don't have anything to compare it to.

[@jameswatson5807]

They cannot eat the cost or else they will make no profit, it is a business at the and of the day.

[@acardenasjr1340]

Manufacturing cost vs consumer pricing on available stock are totally different things 🙄

[@UToobin75]

@@acardenasjr1340 Yes I realize that, and I also realize (as mentioned in the video) how cost of parts hasn't gone down but has actually risen makes price cuts a much more daunting prospect. But despite Sony's recent statement how they're unlikely to cut the price of the PS5, Microsoft just recently exhibited that steep discounts on existing stock, no matter how brief, are entirely possible.

[@UToobin75]

@@jameswatson5807 It's been done to great success in the past to gain wider spread adoption. But that was during a time when they could rely on proprietary software sales to pick up the slack, and since there's really not much worth playing, times have changed. Though unlike the PS5/Xbox Series, since Nintendo generates the majority of game sales via first-party titles, Nintendo is actually best poised for a price cut on hardware. But seeing as how the MSRP of a base Switch hasn't changed after seven years on the market, we've come to see the big 'N' adopt a very shrewd for-profit business model where even if they could, they won't.

[@dos4gwexe-s7x]

This "gen" did not even happen.Proof: tell me a game that would make you buy a ps 5 to play, and you couldn't play elsewhere because it was too technically advanced, or had features defining a technological leap. Where is the leap? The difference? The word "generation" for this iteration is abused imo.

[@hurricane7727]

Agreed. Psp at least had New Games on it making you want to play it.

[@Ghosthound_X]

John watch out your tv is on fire!!!

[@artybrigmans27]

ps5 sales are slow because there's no true exclusives period, why should i buy a console if games for it end up on pc in the end? Exclusives make sales not hardware itself? watch on ps2, switch.

[@AutomaticSnake]

This generation does not exist. Modern game consoles came out 2013, these are just an upgrade. Almost all my games on PS5 Series X are last gen or cross gen, almost all lol.

[@SylvainThuret]

At an insane price point 4 years after launch and with one truly original next gem game in its roster, the PS5's lifespan is already a fraud.

[@msd5808]

Considering the PS4 is still going...

[@pronoun171]

Never been happier to skip a console generation. Impossible system to get due to supply chain during it’s first 2 years, no games, higher price point for games and raising the price for online play. Sony is the king of taking a previous generation of success and destroying the good will of they build with players 😂

[@australienski6687]

I hope Sony's next console doesn't look like R2D2 had an abortion.

[@lazycouchman]

I still haven't seen enough reasons to upgrade from my PS4. Graphics don't mean anything to me at this point, and there aren't enough exclusive games (whether it be next gen only or console specific). Too many downsides like the higher cost of games/consoles. On the PS side of things the user interface looks like a huge downgrade from before and I hate that new controller and console look. I know that we've got plenty of good new games coming out, but games take so much longer to make now and the AAA space has mostly become awful for me. Indie games are great, but it's obvious that game development has changed a lot in the past 10 years for the worse in many ways. It's not that there aren't any good games, just that we get far less games, less experimental games, and less double or smaller to mid size games. All while the switch is doing great, but I hate how badly so many games perform on it lol

[@nicolemonrue]

Ive only had my ps5 for a year...took 2 just to get one

[@ivalterbaptista2305]

I skipped this console gen and plan on skipping the next. No point on spending money on a console when I have a decent pc and almost all the games released end up on pc down the road anyways.

[@blackraven85_1]

Who let Alex in this conversation? The dude doesn't know that Stellar Blade was using a real woman as a model.

[@quajay187]

If Sony Interactive just goes back to making good fun games instead of worrying about political messaging...then they will be fine. And so will gaming in general. Same goes for M$... but there is much less hope for them. Edit: Oh also, this will be a little crass but it's the truth...🤷 'Returnal' simply did not sell well mainly due to featuring an unattractive and ambiamorous MC. Especially pasted right on the cover.

[@He_isI]

Why is gaming journalism spinning this narrative?

[@CoolaDiamond]

It depends on the support by Sony. If it can't play games anymore, then, it is dead. I'm still gaming on my ps4.

[@Lucromis]

The PS5 seems to be slower on exclusives than the PS3… and there is less reason to own one over a PC.

[@econosopher]

They never said latter stage, they said latter half.

[@roasthunter]

I think Covid and supply shortage caused a massive issue, now people view the PS5 as no longer next generation and with rumours of replacing it people might start holding back buying it, plus it's still quite expensive with all the inflation the governments dump on us by printing billions/trillions.

[@BearfootBob]

It's entering second half of its run. If you want a PS5, looks like waiting on the refresh (November) at this point is a good idea. It will be a modest but nice improvement in visuals, and with Spring/Summer approaching most people won't be playing video games as much anyway.

[@jamiehav0k62]

final stages? damn thers still games coming out on last gen, feels like this gen never really took off.

[@Lott.Z]

Still waiting for the start of tglhe ps5 generation

[@BroodingPsycho]

I'm so glad you guys mentioned Returnal in such a way. This game has reignited my love for games. I was burnt out. I wanted aomething cutting edge but different enough, and I've never played a rogue-type game before. Seriously but only is it Sony's best game so far this generation it's one of their best games, period. I feel like people forget about it. This game alone justifies buying a PS5 imo.

[@fcukugimmeausername]

I didn't know what to do in that game :\

[@lordspalse0062]

I respect your opinion. However to me the game is unprecedentedly overrated and exhilaratingly boring.

[@BroodingPsycho]

@@lordspalse0062 exhilaratingly boring is a bit of an oxymoron isn't it?

[@SS-yx5hm]

Returnal is the game I was really interested in when it was announced because of how different it looked and played.I don’t have a PS5 yet only because I still have backlog of ps4 games in the pro. I will definitely pick one up in the near future especially when there is a discount or price drop.

[@lordspalse0062]

@@BroodingPsycho yes. I was so pissed with the game but was so occupied I couldn't stop playing, while simultaneously wondering what I was still playing the game for. I almost thought I was possessed 😀😀

[@Shehryar89]

Pandemic and silicon shortages should extend this gen by 2028.. However, the push from RTX in graphics today requires next gen console to come early. Considering all the factors next gen would best start after Fall 2027

[@pedjanedeljkovic7021]

The games are still coming out for last gen, current gen hasn't even started yet!

[@Kneel2ThaCrown]

It's funny hearing "end of life" speak for a console when up until a year ago I was still using my base PS4 lol

[@usul573]

The PS4 is still in production and the PS4 is still getting new games.

[@jacklynch5853]

What we are all witnessing is the gaming industry transition into the dystopian future. High prices for production. No ownership for consumers. No originality in the content. Consolidation and dilution of culture. This is the new norm. Gaming as we've known it is dead. OBEY.

[@_n8thagr8_63]

Diminishing returns in full effect. 16\32bit to 3d - Huge Ps1 to Ps2 - Huge Ps2 to Ps3 - Huge Ps3 to Ps4 - Pretty Good Ps4 to Ps5 - Iterative Jump then we combined rampant inflation, the weakening dollar, software outpacing hardware--we're in the less than-ideal-timeline lol

[@gettingbett]

I think the jump from PS3 to PS4 was smaller Hardware-wise, but developers did not adopt to the PS5 and made tons of cross-gen games.

[@sklynexd]

PS5 is a huge jump over the PS4, every game is 60 fps and does support 30 fps mode if you want. The games also look amazing.

[@julien2231]

​@@sklynexdit is not a huge jump..

[@The_Ostrich]

​@@sklynexd Delusional beyond helping

[@qT_p13]

I dunno man, moving from Hdd to nvme is huge. Then theres ray tracing as well.

[@jamesgreen2495]

Still waiting for PS5 to become affordable and next gen games. Need cheaper console not another console.

[@desmondbrown5508]

Yeah pretty much.

[@Hawkem68]

Keep waiting your not missing out

[@mitsuhh]

PS5 isn't dropping in price. Inflation.

[@3wA_TroCon]

This gen was a bad time to release a new console for 2/3rds the console market, financially. Don't forget the chip shortage & PS5 scalpers added to the rough early adoption during high costs of everything worldwide & inflation aside from the other reasons mentioned.

[@JFinns]

Considering the record sales of PS5 and now hard they were to get it's really hard to call it a bad time. Release a PS5 at $400 USD was a huge win in that time.

[@3wA_TroCon]

@@JFinns Yup. I'm glad playStation is fairing better now.

[@michaelr3583]

Its crazy bc most people couldnt even get their hands on one until early last year

[@cube2fox]

Once more game engines adopt ray traced global illumination with radiance caching (e.g. AMD GI-1.0, similar to UE5/Lumen or Snowdrop), current gen console games will use lighting that looks similar to full path tracing. Moreover, in the future more engines will likely support virtual geometry / dynamic LOD like in UE5 ("Nanite"), which means most assets can have unlimited detail with current generation console hardware. This means a PlayStation 6 will not support significantly better lighting or higher asset quality than PS5. Then PS6 games will mostly just run with higher resolution and frame rate. Many people will then wonder why they should update when the trailers for PS5-PS6 cross gen games look virtually identical. Many people don't care that much about resolution and frame rate. This suggests that the next console generation will be delayed, because there won't be a lot of reason to update in the foreseeable future. Moreover, cost per transistor isn't shrinking as fast anymore as in the past, which makes it hard to make a PS6 with a significant boost in TFLOP/s for a reasonable price.

[@exoticspeedefy7916]

With the Pro rumoured to be releasing it would indicate that we are at least halfway through the generation

[@bxnycrampage]

Sony need to bring the games and watch the system sell more. The system will sell after GTA6

[@travisstack5282]

The push for live service and these companies not knowing what they want to focus on is why.

[@thegr8rambino]

Exactly

[@Mopantsu]

I think the rumors flying around of a PS5 Pro are making people more hesitant in buying a PS5 and the slim looks a bit tacky compared to the first design.

[@MrRoundthetwist]

Yes it’s beginning the second half of its cycle I’m not sure why this shocks so many

[@BradJohannsen]

I'm so confused. Alex rips fans of Xbox for not accepting that games should be multiplat by calling them pathetic but here he is complaining that PlayStation doesn't have enough exclusives?

[@PhilippeCorthout]

Sales have peaked... because of the lack of real "next-gen" games. The first years were just cross-gen... and now... still lacking. When (or if) new games come, sales will increase again.

[@BleakVision]

I am not interested in movie style games. Sk there's little reason to get into this generation. Got so much retro stuff to catch up on.

[@danielweiss4498]

Given historical growth and continued investment in R&D, graphics cards could well be in the range of several hundred teraflops to one petaflop (1000 teraflops) of single precision (FP32) performance by 2028, at least at the high-end segment. Several factors will influence this development:

[@topherick]

This gen pushed me to go full PC so I don’t even know if I’m concerned about the console life cycles other than what Nintendo is doing.

[@TheWESTSIDE1967]

As a gamer/collector for the past 30+ yrs i have become more patient & am now reaping the rewards, i only got my new PS5 Slim at Christmas as a present from yours truly after buying for my son years earlier & waited & waited as he gloated about how good it was, so although it's in it's so called later yrs as we know technology moves so fast & a new pro PS5 is on the horizon im really not bothered about it being like the PS4 pro with hardly any real difference imo in gameplay or graphics as im just loving Demon Souls remake, & an old PS4 game called Bloodbourne in 60 fps, also have the collectors editions of Elden Ring, Resident Evil 4 remake & village & ODDWORLD along with Steelbook Wo Long, & Hades & Hell Let Loose, I'm in gaming heaven & im cherry picking all the reduced great games out there, i have spent thousands especially on that new released console over the years but it really does pay to be patient & wait & be a generation behind if you like, especially as like the Switch they later released the Zelda version which i also have along with my older white OLED version, also being a generation behind & playing older games makes you appreciate the games more as i have now with PS5, loving every minute of it

[@KhanArtist97]

Is it just me or was the ps4/xbox one also slow to start in terms of exclusives? If I remember correctly it didn’t pick up for Sony until about 2016 or so

[@scottwatson7844]

They’ve hardly released any truly next gen games, so if Sony are saying this I find that quite shocking and hugely disappointing.

[@richmoreno6479]

I can’t afford this generation of gaming. I’ll stay in emulation.

[@williamsaloka9043]

We have the 4pro and vr1, and just got the 5 and v.r.2 about a month ago. Both have lots of great games so, we'll just weather the storm and play the stuff that we have.

[@beatmonkey]

Oh god, a full length Astrobot would be so good! The PSVR version just had me going Wow... Wow... and smiling ear to ear. The PS5 one was wonderful whilst it lasted but gone too soon!

[@CJWest08]

PlayStation bored me so much I went and bought an Xbox, then finally just built a PC.

[@buzz0074]

Sony will probably release the PS5 Pro or whatever it will called before or alongside GTA VI.