Gaming

Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Are you buying a PS5 console?


Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – were you impressed? (pic: Sony)

GameCentral readers discuss what they thought of the PlayStation 5 reveal event and if it’s changed their mind about getting the console.

The question for this week’s Hot Topic was obvious given Sony’s long-awaited reveal event but we wanted to know not just what you thought of it but whether it had changed your mind, one way or the other, about the PlayStation 5?

The opinions were very mixed, with some being pleased by what they saw but many disappointed or worried that subsequent revelations have made what seemed to be a positive showcase less impressive in hindsight.

Big fan
Long-time reader, first time writing in! I found the PlayStation 5 event to be pretty exciting overall, and it has definitely compounded my interest in the PlayStation 5 overall. I will be getting one at launch come hell or high water!

Was there a lack of innovation? Perhaps. I ask though, what are new console generations built upon? The foundation for any new generation is what came before, so why would Sony shy away from huge hitters like Gran Turismo, Horizon, and Spider-Man? Their pedigree is built upon the quality of their exclusives, and they were more than happy to show in-engine footage to give us a real taste of how they will look on our screens. This is unlike some terrible generic-looking pre-rendered target footage, as with Microsoft’s first attempt…

I also love the new design, although I am concerned about just how BIG the console is going to be. Game highlights from the showing for me? Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Destruction All Stars also looking really good! Hoping both are available at launch.
DevilsNeverCry (PSN ID)

Mild love
I think overall the PlayStation 5 reveal was fine, with something interesting stuff, but it’s the sort of showcase they should’ve had six months ago, no now. Of course they can just blame the coronavirus now but I think it’s pretty obvious that’s only had a fairly small affect on their business – after all The Last Of Us Part 2 was only delayed for a couple of weeks in the end.

The problem is that we’re less than six months away from the launch of the console and we still know very little about it. No confirmed launch line-up, no price, and no killer app. There’s no big reason to buy it yet and I’m surprised that Sony though a Spider-Man spin-off or vague promises of sequels to only mildly loved games was going to change anyone’s opinion.

I mean, Horizon and Ratchet & Clank are decent games but they’re not the sort of thing most people get passionate about. Sony needed that passion and I didn’t feel it..
Gosling

Console (price) wars
I liked the look of the PlayStation 5 console. I thought it was very stylish and different and I like that there’s going to be a digital edition right from the start. I think this could be Sony’s secret weapon actually, since they haven’t announced the price of either. That means they can still make the main console quite expensive and slash the price of the digital one to match whatever Microsoft do.

Everyone says that Microsoft can afford to sell at a loss but that doesn’t mean they want to. They’ll try to avoid it and make up the money elsewhere if they can. Well, Sony can make that money up too. Between PS Plus, PS Now, and whatever other new services they announce it’s not the hardware that sells, it’s the software and services – and on that count they already make more money than Microsoft.

So I expect there to be a price war, but only between the digital versions of each console. Which I think is fair enough really.
Kubluk

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

Too early
My impression of the PlayStation 5 reveal is that the console is launching too early and Sony are not ready. Ratchet & Clank was clearly designed to show off the console’s features but it doesn’t seem to be a launch title, which will completely miss the point. As GC pointed out, it uses everything, from the SSD to the new controllers, and in a way that none of the other games seemed to.

I know there’s no way that Sony will want to be too behind the Xbox Series X, given how things went with them and the Xbox 360, but considering Microsoft has only got Halo Infinite as well I think we’d all be better off if the next gen started next Christmas.

We’d all have more money, they’d have more games, and we might actually have some detailed information about what we’re buying for more than a couple of months before they’re released. Instead, the opposite is going to happen.
Jpence

Everyone’s taking ‘bout Bugsnax
There’ve been a lot of jokes about Bugsnax being the best game of the PlayStation 5 reveal but I think it totally was. It was the only one that got an emotional response out of me that was anything other than mild interest. It was funny, the gameplay seemed to be unique, and they’d actually put some effort into the trailer.

Compare that to something like the Horizon Forbidden West trailer which was very underwhelming even though I bet that game is actually very good looking. It told you very little, there was no big wow moment, and if you’d told me it was on PlayStation 4 I would’ve believed you.

There’s an art to a good sequel and I don’t think many of the games really got it. Everything just seemed a bit scrapy and rushed. A result of everyone working from home perhaps but I was pretty underwhelmed for most of it.
Colson

Tuning out
I’ll be honest I got bored of the PlayStation 5 reveal about halfway through and just switched off and read the news in the morning. When you open with GTA 5 (a PlayStation 3 game!) and a standalone expansion you know something’s gone wrong.

In retrospect it actually seems worse than thought, once you see the launch line-up, an the console itself is hideous.
Alfonso

Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here

Growing excitement
Horizon Forbidden West, Resident Evil Village, and Ghostwire: Tokyo are the most exciting. But saying that, most of the PlayStation 5 games that were revealed seemed interesting, and some very enchanting to see from a visual art form. Others were strangely magical, weird and wonderful like Kena: Bridge Of Spirits and Pragmata, which reminded me of a Hideo Kojima game and could be definitely something mind-bending in concept. Resident Evil Village, looked like Resident Evil 4, but much more epically frightening and foreboding, and with some very aristocratic looking vampire like royalty. Chilling!

The PlayStation 5 though was looking amazing and very stylish and thankfully not just black all over, but with a nice colour palette to give it a futuristic shine to it. The controller, which seems to be a hit with GameCentral and their viewers, looked so comfortable and a solid, good-looking piece of equipment. Like some of the advanced controllers on the market but better. No specs were given or even any loading of the disc or controller demonstrations. Though it was a pre-recorded event and only so much can be done in these types of shows.

The last exciting thing about the event was of course Demon’s Souls. The first of the Soulsborne games and the game which got me into this most favourite franchise of mine. What does the gameplay look like though! If I was to be honest, the original PlayStation 3 Demon’s Souls, had a more ominous and oppressive opening. The Dragon God at the end was far more terrifying in my mind than the remade opening scene on the PlayStation 5.

The fact that I will only be getting Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last Of Us Part 2, when the PlayStation 5 editions are released, are to me the icing on the cake for this machine but also the signal for me to then purchase the PlayStation 5. The PlayStation 4 games will be released first, and then it may be a while for the PlayStation 5 versions to be released! Presumably!

Either way, I am excited and currently getting through my backlog, to be ready for the future of games entertainment. The Microsoft show was good, the Sony Show was better. Fingers crossed for this one.
Alucard

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: Are you buying a PS5 console?

MORE: Games Inbox: PS5 launch line-up a disappointment, Xbox Series X killer app, and Cyberpunk 2077 delay

MORE: Games Inbox: PS5 launch games, Rocksteady’s next game, and Xbox Smart Delivery praise

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