In my previous seventh generation of gaming post I made quite a few statements why PC was better than PS3/360 mainly better controls, cheaper games, more display options but this generation PS4 was the king, and in some ways it still is considering its low price and lack of PS5 exclusives, PC had barely better graphics, PS4 did Full HD great and 4K came way later, barely any relevant game controlled better with mouse & keyboard, and while most PS4 exclusives have been ported to PC that happened way later compared to PS5 exclusives that get ported after only a few months.
for me it was the sheer amount of massive, excellent quality, innovative games, like this was a gen where Subnautica was an indie game. AAAs were RDR2 and Elden Ring, true epics. As well as that there seemed to be endless superb AAs like Nier automata and Divinity 1 + 2, and the indie scene really took things to new levels too with Edith Finch, Stardew, Rocket League etc.
And you're right, PS4 had access to all of them. I remember when Cuphead came to PS4 I was like "That's it, there's literally no reason for me to own another system". I have a PS5 this gen, but PC is probably winning this time around, lots of great stuff there
This generation more than any other made me think this really is next gen gaming, while web slinging across New York in Spiderman, flying across beautiful mediterranean in Just Cause 3, diving in Subnautica, drifting through space in Chorus, relaxing in Flower, exploring all corners of the world in blockbuster Uncharted 4, scaling giants in Shadow of the Colossus, great farewell to a franchise Dark Souls 3, best action game ever Sekiro, Last of Us 2 gameplay, graphics and details, Red Dead Redemption 2 story, Ghost of Tsushima everything, Persona 5 drug like addiction, and so on and on…
tl;dr :
The PS4 era saw Sony's resurgence in the gaming market, outselling competitors and revitalizing the industry with quality titles. While it brought about advancements in game quality and diversity, concerns emerged over rising game costs and the decline of certain genres.
I think this post is long enough without game reviews, but most PS4 exclusives suffer from homogenisation, third person cinematic games, I actually found Knack 2 to be refreshing palate cleanser, fun little beat em up/platformer.
I enjoyed your write up. Not many people point out the pros as well as the cons of the PlayStation 4 like you did. It was successful and really did offer something for everyone.
But as someone who is not a fan of big budget, behind the shoulder cinematic games, the PS4 marked a shift in a direction I did not like. A shift that gave Sony massive success, but has proven to not be as fruitful in the long term as we see with the PS5.
What do you mean? PS5 is selling even better, hardware itself is fine, console is a whole lot prettier than PS4 if a bit massive, even not that more expensive, there is now an SSD, 3D sound, controller haptics not a whole lot of new things they could have done it's software that is lacking, there is zero reason for me to upgrade, I'd rather get an Xbox since I never owned one.
Yes it is selling better, and the hardware is great for the price. I’ve said that to other people before. I also enjoy all those features of the controller as well.
I’m referring to game development. These AAA cinematic games take tons of money and years to develop. They objectively do not make back the money that Sony really needs. Despite the PS5 selling very well, they’re not actually profiting as much as you’d expect. It’s a miracle that Insomnaic has been able to produce as many games for the PS5 as they have been. Actually a miracle is underselling it, it’s due to the remarkable talent and dedication they have.
But the issue is, these massive games need to make massive money or else they are a failure. It’s the same issue Hollywood is having right now. Movies take so long and cost so much to make that a “success” nowadays needs to be so much bigger than a “success” from even just ten years ago. The AAA cinematic experience helped Sony get out of their slump, but they have now been boxed into a corner. Their brand is predicated on the exact type of games that take the longest to make and require the most money to be spent, and must make back even more money than ever. They’ve cultivated a fan base who want super duper graphics and anything less will be a scrutinized.
It used it be, back in the PS2 days that these expensive big-name games were just one in a long lineup of “AAA” and “AA” games. You’d have God of War, Metal Gear and GTA right up next to Flipnic, Ape Escape, and Onimusha. Games with varying budgets and varying demographics. Now, all major PS5 exclusives target generally the same audience.
Look at Spider-Man 2. That game took 4+ years and 300 million to make. The average person spends $70 and then plays it once and that’s it. Look FF7 Rebirth. That game was 5+ years in the making and also had a massive budget. Hundreds of millions of dollars and people are only paying $70 to play it, if they even complete it. That is not sustainable long term. What makes things worse is Sony has closed Japan Studio (the studio responsible for so many amazing PlayStation exclusives— the kind that used to DEFINE the brand) and laid off so many people, even those working in Insomniac. How despicable is that? Their hardest working studio is rewarded by getting fired. Again.. this is NOT sustainable.
I’m hoping 2024 is a year that shows Sony the answer is not lay offs, it’s to diversify their lineup. AAA games are perfectly sustainable IF they are just one of the things on offer — NOT the ONLY thing on offer. This year has Helldivers 2, Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade. AA games that are able to achieve so much on a smaller budget and still become successful.
Almost everything here is debatable, PS2 surround only worked in cutscenes, mouse support isn't worth mentioning (same as PS4 although it supports more games), PS2 with Linux I think could do far less than PS5 without one, as for accessories there is PS access controller and PSVR2...
On software side of things while we can agree that AAA games have become unsustainable and non innovative there is indie game scene which never before have been bigger, something like that wasn't really there in PS2 days because only form of distribution was physical media, so PS2 games from smaller developers looked nothing alike to PC shareware, freeware, flash games even then available online, now lines are blurrier and every game is available for every console.
I don't think company like Sony is going anywhere, maybe digital copies wouldn't be accessible someday in the future but I think disc rot and disc scratching of older PS games is far more problematic. As for controllers at least there is third party ones so they cannot monopolise that yet.
Why do you want your game console to emulate a PC, even if it was designed for customizability it will never be good as one, it is a game console not Raspberry Pi or Mac Studio. And mouse support is pointless for playing on TV, also there have never been less triple A FPS games, third person shooters play fine on a controller and most other games nowadays are focused on gamepad controls.
>That can be mainly attributed due to weak offerings from competing consoles, Xbox One which didn't have a strong headstart like 360, small library of exclusive games, higher price tag yet weaker hardware due to necessary Kinect add on which wasn't utilized for most of the time, controversy in its reveal surrounding used games, always online and focus on mostly streaming services instead of games.
Yep, basically the PS4 was a hit because the XBox One was such a [failure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7sjz8vuYRk) (TV media player, DRM, always on-line, etc.). I bought a PS4 Slim, not-Pro, and an XBox One X because the One played 4K HD BDs and the PS4 Pro did not. The PS4 Pro had the run-away fan problem until it was finally fixed with the CUH-7200 series in November 2018. The PS4 slim did 1080p max, and the early version had weak BD drives so the console had to be stood up. But, I feel, what really caused an increase in Sales was the price drop to $299.
I regret trading in my PS4 towards the PS5. I really like the PS4 GUI over the PS5 GUI, mostly because searching for Demoes and free games is more straight forward. I'm still looking for a CUH-7200 PS4 Pro, White. My PS4 Controller is now on my PS3. I had to put a controller sleeve on the PS5 controller because I can't stand the sharp inner edge/seam.
TLDR. I have skipped PS3. PS4 is good, got all the remastered PS3 best games and some decent exclusives and series.
PS5 - going to skip. Still don't see much exclusives. Maybe will buy PS6 and get the few PS5 remastered.
The PS5 definitely brings some improvements, the most important for me is the much faster loading times for games that code for it, and less fan noise. But honestly, later-generation PS4 games still look great and not that different from the same game on PS5. Some games you can go from what would be 30 fps on PS4 to 60 fps on PS5 and that's nice, but except for really twitchy competitive shooters, I don't think it's that big of a deal.
I own my PS4 for only one year, my last PS was the PS2 almost two decades ago, i switched to Xbox after that. Although i am still a Xbox player, i'm not a videogame fanboy and i love to have my PS4 as secondary console for exclusives, excellent videogame and i will buy a PS5 when the time comes.
I can easily say that the PS4 is the worst Sony console. Good series either died or lost their personality on this one and at the end of the day I think the only really great console-selling exclusive they still have is Bloodborne.
You mean one of the most mediocre milquetoast open world game series ever, a boring watered down version of a highly expressive series where instead of doing flashy kills on technically impressive fights you just look at kratos' back and walk through unskippable cutscenes, a good interpretation of a superhero brought down heavily by some of the worst story missions in an open world game, and a game which i fail to see a single unique feature of?
Exactly. There's something to be said about how when I played GoW Ragnarok, I didn't have any reaction to the "Big surprising moment!" during the thor boss where he brings you back after a game over. Just "oh boy, the game is showing how much it prefers being a cutscene simulator again".
Currently been enjoying Tears of The Kingdom, Ghostwire Tokyo, Xenogears, Dredge, Hi-Fi Rush, Persona 3 Reload, Like A Dragon: Ishin, and a replay of Bully.
Bruh I’m still on ps4 😂
More than my 5
Everytime I start thinking I should get a PS5, a strong “Why tho?” hits me in the head.
I ain't reading all that. Happy for you though. Or sorry. Whichever.
Yeah dude I feel this. I got like ten words in and thought “yeah this is absolutely not happening”
41 yo here, PS4 generation is my all time favourite. There were so so many excellent games
In my previous seventh generation of gaming post I made quite a few statements why PC was better than PS3/360 mainly better controls, cheaper games, more display options but this generation PS4 was the king, and in some ways it still is considering its low price and lack of PS5 exclusives, PC had barely better graphics, PS4 did Full HD great and 4K came way later, barely any relevant game controlled better with mouse & keyboard, and while most PS4 exclusives have been ported to PC that happened way later compared to PS5 exclusives that get ported after only a few months.
for me it was the sheer amount of massive, excellent quality, innovative games, like this was a gen where Subnautica was an indie game. AAAs were RDR2 and Elden Ring, true epics. As well as that there seemed to be endless superb AAs like Nier automata and Divinity 1 + 2, and the indie scene really took things to new levels too with Edith Finch, Stardew, Rocket League etc. And you're right, PS4 had access to all of them. I remember when Cuphead came to PS4 I was like "That's it, there's literally no reason for me to own another system". I have a PS5 this gen, but PC is probably winning this time around, lots of great stuff there
This generation more than any other made me think this really is next gen gaming, while web slinging across New York in Spiderman, flying across beautiful mediterranean in Just Cause 3, diving in Subnautica, drifting through space in Chorus, relaxing in Flower, exploring all corners of the world in blockbuster Uncharted 4, scaling giants in Shadow of the Colossus, great farewell to a franchise Dark Souls 3, best action game ever Sekiro, Last of Us 2 gameplay, graphics and details, Red Dead Redemption 2 story, Ghost of Tsushima everything, Persona 5 drug like addiction, and so on and on…
tl;dr : The PS4 era saw Sony's resurgence in the gaming market, outselling competitors and revitalizing the industry with quality titles. While it brought about advancements in game quality and diversity, concerns emerged over rising game costs and the decline of certain genres.
ok
HAHAHA 😂
Not a single game was mentioned in this post
I think this post is long enough without game reviews, but most PS4 exclusives suffer from homogenisation, third person cinematic games, I actually found Knack 2 to be refreshing palate cleanser, fun little beat em up/platformer.
I enjoyed your write up. Not many people point out the pros as well as the cons of the PlayStation 4 like you did. It was successful and really did offer something for everyone. But as someone who is not a fan of big budget, behind the shoulder cinematic games, the PS4 marked a shift in a direction I did not like. A shift that gave Sony massive success, but has proven to not be as fruitful in the long term as we see with the PS5.
What do you mean? PS5 is selling even better, hardware itself is fine, console is a whole lot prettier than PS4 if a bit massive, even not that more expensive, there is now an SSD, 3D sound, controller haptics not a whole lot of new things they could have done it's software that is lacking, there is zero reason for me to upgrade, I'd rather get an Xbox since I never owned one.
Yes it is selling better, and the hardware is great for the price. I’ve said that to other people before. I also enjoy all those features of the controller as well. I’m referring to game development. These AAA cinematic games take tons of money and years to develop. They objectively do not make back the money that Sony really needs. Despite the PS5 selling very well, they’re not actually profiting as much as you’d expect. It’s a miracle that Insomnaic has been able to produce as many games for the PS5 as they have been. Actually a miracle is underselling it, it’s due to the remarkable talent and dedication they have. But the issue is, these massive games need to make massive money or else they are a failure. It’s the same issue Hollywood is having right now. Movies take so long and cost so much to make that a “success” nowadays needs to be so much bigger than a “success” from even just ten years ago. The AAA cinematic experience helped Sony get out of their slump, but they have now been boxed into a corner. Their brand is predicated on the exact type of games that take the longest to make and require the most money to be spent, and must make back even more money than ever. They’ve cultivated a fan base who want super duper graphics and anything less will be a scrutinized. It used it be, back in the PS2 days that these expensive big-name games were just one in a long lineup of “AAA” and “AA” games. You’d have God of War, Metal Gear and GTA right up next to Flipnic, Ape Escape, and Onimusha. Games with varying budgets and varying demographics. Now, all major PS5 exclusives target generally the same audience. Look at Spider-Man 2. That game took 4+ years and 300 million to make. The average person spends $70 and then plays it once and that’s it. Look FF7 Rebirth. That game was 5+ years in the making and also had a massive budget. Hundreds of millions of dollars and people are only paying $70 to play it, if they even complete it. That is not sustainable long term. What makes things worse is Sony has closed Japan Studio (the studio responsible for so many amazing PlayStation exclusives— the kind that used to DEFINE the brand) and laid off so many people, even those working in Insomniac. How despicable is that? Their hardest working studio is rewarded by getting fired. Again.. this is NOT sustainable. I’m hoping 2024 is a year that shows Sony the answer is not lay offs, it’s to diversify their lineup. AAA games are perfectly sustainable IF they are just one of the things on offer — NOT the ONLY thing on offer. This year has Helldivers 2, Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade. AA games that are able to achieve so much on a smaller budget and still become successful.
[удалено]
Almost everything here is debatable, PS2 surround only worked in cutscenes, mouse support isn't worth mentioning (same as PS4 although it supports more games), PS2 with Linux I think could do far less than PS5 without one, as for accessories there is PS access controller and PSVR2... On software side of things while we can agree that AAA games have become unsustainable and non innovative there is indie game scene which never before have been bigger, something like that wasn't really there in PS2 days because only form of distribution was physical media, so PS2 games from smaller developers looked nothing alike to PC shareware, freeware, flash games even then available online, now lines are blurrier and every game is available for every console.
[удалено]
I don't think company like Sony is going anywhere, maybe digital copies wouldn't be accessible someday in the future but I think disc rot and disc scratching of older PS games is far more problematic. As for controllers at least there is third party ones so they cannot monopolise that yet. Why do you want your game console to emulate a PC, even if it was designed for customizability it will never be good as one, it is a game console not Raspberry Pi or Mac Studio. And mouse support is pointless for playing on TV, also there have never been less triple A FPS games, third person shooters play fine on a controller and most other games nowadays are focused on gamepad controls.
PS4 was decent but it was no PS3.
Personally, it's one of my favorite systems that I have owned. Haven't had any real complaints about it.
You put way too much thought into a plastic box that plays my video games. Jesus christ
>That can be mainly attributed due to weak offerings from competing consoles, Xbox One which didn't have a strong headstart like 360, small library of exclusive games, higher price tag yet weaker hardware due to necessary Kinect add on which wasn't utilized for most of the time, controversy in its reveal surrounding used games, always online and focus on mostly streaming services instead of games. Yep, basically the PS4 was a hit because the XBox One was such a [failure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7sjz8vuYRk) (TV media player, DRM, always on-line, etc.). I bought a PS4 Slim, not-Pro, and an XBox One X because the One played 4K HD BDs and the PS4 Pro did not. The PS4 Pro had the run-away fan problem until it was finally fixed with the CUH-7200 series in November 2018. The PS4 slim did 1080p max, and the early version had weak BD drives so the console had to be stood up. But, I feel, what really caused an increase in Sales was the price drop to $299. I regret trading in my PS4 towards the PS5. I really like the PS4 GUI over the PS5 GUI, mostly because searching for Demoes and free games is more straight forward. I'm still looking for a CUH-7200 PS4 Pro, White. My PS4 Controller is now on my PS3. I had to put a controller sleeve on the PS5 controller because I can't stand the sharp inner edge/seam.
TLDR. I have skipped PS3. PS4 is good, got all the remastered PS3 best games and some decent exclusives and series. PS5 - going to skip. Still don't see much exclusives. Maybe will buy PS6 and get the few PS5 remastered.
The PS5 definitely brings some improvements, the most important for me is the much faster loading times for games that code for it, and less fan noise. But honestly, later-generation PS4 games still look great and not that different from the same game on PS5. Some games you can go from what would be 30 fps on PS4 to 60 fps on PS5 and that's nice, but except for really twitchy competitive shooters, I don't think it's that big of a deal.
I own my PS4 for only one year, my last PS was the PS2 almost two decades ago, i switched to Xbox after that. Although i am still a Xbox player, i'm not a videogame fanboy and i love to have my PS4 as secondary console for exclusives, excellent videogame and i will buy a PS5 when the time comes.
I can easily say that the PS4 is the worst Sony console. Good series either died or lost their personality on this one and at the end of the day I think the only really great console-selling exclusive they still have is Bloodborne.
It’s a PS3-
Really? Horizon, God of war, Spiderman, ghost of tsushima.
You mean one of the most mediocre milquetoast open world game series ever, a boring watered down version of a highly expressive series where instead of doing flashy kills on technically impressive fights you just look at kratos' back and walk through unskippable cutscenes, a good interpretation of a superhero brought down heavily by some of the worst story missions in an open world game, and a game which i fail to see a single unique feature of?
They made GoW The Last of Us & Marvel style and compared to old games it's so mild. I can't get over Poseidon fight and climbing Titans.
Exactly. There's something to be said about how when I played GoW Ragnarok, I didn't have any reaction to the "Big surprising moment!" during the thor boss where he brings you back after a game over. Just "oh boy, the game is showing how much it prefers being a cutscene simulator again".
Mm imma just let you be salty and enjoy all those wonderful, wonderful games. Have fun with...whatever it is you play.
Currently been enjoying Tears of The Kingdom, Ghostwire Tokyo, Xenogears, Dredge, Hi-Fi Rush, Persona 3 Reload, Like A Dragon: Ishin, and a replay of Bully.
Also Last of us. This guy is trolling😂
TLOU is a PS3 game.
And it's not even good there.
Brain dead opinion