Playstation The Official Playstation 5 Thread

I remember a few years ago there were talks about Apple acquiring Sony would be interesting to see how much a deal like that would cost
it would probably cost Apple Sony's whole net worth/market cap, if there is a difference between the two. with a quick Google search, that sits around $108 billion.
 
the Series S is the lower tier Xbox console this generation, but it's still higher performing than the Xbone X. But the Series S launched at $300. How could they make the Series S so affordable if performance keeps making the hardware more expensive?

In that case it's because the Series S was downright crap in performance for the time it was released. As I said they can keep the price point but it just won't mean as big technological leaps as the price/performance I'm talking about is measured by the current state of technology at release. We are no longer in a time where consoles can compete with PC in terms of performance even at launch, and if they keep aiming for the same price the gap will likely continue to increase. It sort of speaks for itself when equivalent Nvidia graphics card prices have roughly doubled in 10 years (less than that, really) but consoles are still being sold at pretty similar prices.

the Series S is the lower tier Xbox console this generation, but it's still higher performing than the Xbone X. But the Series S launched at $300. How could they make the Series S so affordable if performance keeps making the hardware more expensive?

some would argue it's about bullying them for power, since their products are so highly coveted by their fan base. this is the video that I am referencing. it's a bit of a long watch so I don't blame if you don't wanna waste your time on it, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it


I think that video is made with quite the uneducated view, and I feel like it's trying to vilify a government in a situation where it's actually working to the benefit of the consumers, i.e. the people. To me it comes across as little more than a poorly hidden Apple fanboy video.

The video pretends like this is the first time it's happened that a big company is forced to open up or change due to anti trust laws, but it's of course far from the truth and companies like Apple and Microsoft wouldn't be where they are today if a company like IBM hadn't been forced to open their platform. Google has been hit with similar things in more recent years as well so it's definitely not just Apple that's being targeted, it's just what's news right now.

The idea that Apple couldn't allow side-loading of apps on iOS is also ridiculous. They clearly don't need it for security because you've been able to do that for a long time on OS X, so that argument is not valid even within the pure Apple context. You also can't say that they have to get that big percentage of app sales to survive because Google, Microsoft, etc, all have always allowed sales on the side without them getting paid and that has always worked. With Google and Android, being the closest comparison, the company isn't even making money off the sales of the hardware like Apple do (well, there are the Pixel phones, but it's pretty minor in the scope of things), yet Google makes it work.

To me this is a clear cut case of the consumers being protected.

part of me wishes that Apple could just buy Sony one day because that would give PlayStation the buying power that Xbox has. GTA becoming first party, like how CoD is now first party on Xbox, could be a reality that way. surely they must have thought about it, when looking into the video game industry and they see their current own biggest competitor Google fail with the Stadia, and Sony currently leading the competition within the industry...and I feel like the PlayStation brand would fit in well within Apple's ecosystem too.

I wouldn't want to see that. Primarily because I want more big actors rather than a few owning everything, but also because I'm not fond of Apple's business practices (not that Sony are great with Playstation either). I certainly don't see console prices staying low under Apple either. They are masters at cranking up prices to generate huge profit margins so selling consoles at a loss, as often happens in the beginning, doesn't seem like their cup of tea.
 
In that case it's because the Series S was downright crap in performance for the time it was released. As I said they can keep the price point but it just won't mean as big technological leaps as the price/performance I'm talking about is measured by the current state of technology at release. We are no longer in a time where consoles can compete with PC in terms of performance even at launch, and if they keep aiming for the same price the gap will likely continue to increase. It sort of speaks for itself when equivalent Nvidia graphics card prices have roughly doubled in 10 years (less than that, really) but consoles are still being sold at pretty similar prices.
dang...so how far apart are the Xbone X, and Series S in terms of power? Is it like, the same as the Gamecube and the Wii? because the latter's lack of power in comparison to its competition is the reason why it lost out on so much third party support. I dunno if it was in this thread where I said it, but remembering that the Series S is even a thing makes me worry about how much Rockstar might have to hold back with the development of GTA6.
I think that video is made with quite the uneducated view, and I feel like it's trying to vilify a government in a situation where it's actually working to the benefit of the consumers, i.e. the people. To me it comes across as little more than a poorly hidden Apple fanboy video.

The video pretends like this is the first time it's happened that a big company is forced to open up or change due to anti trust laws, but it's of course far from the truth and companies like Apple and Microsoft wouldn't be where they are today if a company like IBM hadn't been forced to open their platform. Google has been hit with similar things in more recent years as well so it's definitely not just Apple that's being targeted, it's just what's news right now.

The idea that Apple couldn't allow side-loading of apps on iOS is also ridiculous. They clearly don't need it for security because you've been able to do that for a long time on OS X, so that argument is not valid even within the pure Apple context. You also can't say that they have to get that big percentage of app sales to survive because Google, Microsoft, etc, all have always allowed sales on the side without them getting paid and that has always worked. With Google and Android, being the closest comparison, the company isn't even making money off the sales of the hardware like Apple do (well, there are the Pixel phones, but it's pretty minor in the scope of things), yet Google makes it work.

To me this is a clear cut case of the consumers being protected.
I'm glad that you see it that way. Jon Prosser is well known in the tech industry for reliable leaks, but like in this video, I don't always agree with the opinions he might be putting out there about the tech industry itself. He even put in a quote from Steve Jobs where he says "I don't see why you have to change, just because you get big..." Apple is almost like a superpower, alongside Google, Tencent, Microsoft, and Amazon...all these companies that have trillion dollar net worths, or multi-trillion dollar net worth shouldn't be getting away with their practices just because of the power that they have.

A lot of the times they have been getting away with it, but I don't know if the the EU has been on the people's side and that is why they made these mandates press upon Apple. Or, if it's because they just don't want Apple having that much power. I would like to believe it's what you said, that it's a clear case of consumers being protected.
I wouldn't want to see that. Primarily because I want more big actors rather than a few owning everything, but also because I'm not fond of Apple's business practices (not that Sony are great with Playstation either). I certainly don't see console prices staying low under Apple either. They are masters at cranking up prices to generate huge profit margins so selling consoles at a loss, as often happens in the beginning, doesn't seem like their cup of tea.
oh yeah, that would certainly be a probable possibility in this hypothetical scenario. but I would like to believe that Apple would acknowledge that they're not experienced in the video game industry and would be "laissez faire" with an approach if they acquired Sony, and continued letting them operate the way they have been. They wouldn't want to end up like Google with their Stadia, and right now Google is one of if not Apple's main competitor.
 
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dang...so how far apart are the Xbone X, and Series S in terms of power? Is it like, the same as the Gamecube and the Wii? because the latter's lack of power in comparison to its competition is the reason why it lost out on so much third party support. I dunno if it was in this thread where I said it, but remembering that the Series S is even a thing makes me worry about how much Rockstar might have to hold back with the development of GTA6.

I don't remember the specs exactly anymore, I just looked into that when the consoles were released and then it's only come up when the Series S has caused problems by forcing developers to make sure things run on inferior hardware, making sure the dual generation release in the beginning becomes a thing for the entire generation on Xbox. I think that was a big misstep, but then again the Series S has sold a lot more than the Series X so maybe it had some point.

I'm glad that you see it that way. Jon Prosser is well known in the tech industry for reliable leaks, but like in this video, I don't always agree with the opinions he might be putting out there about the tech industry itself. He even put in a quote from Steve Jobs where he says "I don't see why you have to change, just because you get big..." Apple is almost like a superpower, alongside Google, Tencent, Microsoft, and Amazon...all these companies that have trillion dollar net worths, or multi-trillion dollar net worth shouldn't be getting away with their practices just because of the power that they have.

A lot of the times they have been getting away with it, but I don't know if the the EU has been on the people's side and that is why they made these mandates press upon Apple. Or, if it's because they just don't want Apple having that much power. I would like to believe it's what you said, that it's a clear case of consumers being protected.

I don't think the enforcing of law that's going on right now is really lowering Apple's power much. They are still extremely rich and influential and I don't see that changing. The only way to truly do something about that would be to break up the company, which has happened in the past like with AT&T, but they aren't yet in a position where anyone is looking at such actions. What the EU is doing is just looking after fair business practices in accordance to the existing laws, and fair business benefit the consumers as it promotes competition, which is crucial for a healthy business environment.

We should all hope that governments keep business interests in check. While governments, like everything, have their flaws it's at least their job to work for the people. Companies exist to grow and make money so there certainly wouldn't be the same drive to create a good environment for people if we got to a world where huge companies were the leading power.

oh yeah, that would certainly be a probable possibility in this hypothetical scenario. but I would like to believe that Apple would acknowledge that they're not experienced in the video game industry and would be "laissez faire" with an approach if they acquired Sony, and continued letting them operate the way they have been. They wouldn't want to end up like Google with their Stadia, and right now Google is one of if not Apple's main competitor.

It's all hypothetical so it's hard to say, and I don't think we'll know in the foreseeable future as I don't see them making that move. Time will tell if I'm wrong there.
 
I don't remember the specs exactly anymore, I just looked into that when the consoles were released and then it's only come up when the Series S has caused problems by forcing developers to make sure things run on inferior hardware, making sure the dual generation release in the beginning becomes a thing for the entire generation on Xbox. I think that was a big misstep, but then again the Series S has sold a lot more than the Series X so maybe it had some point.
so what does this mean for a game like GTA6? will Rockstar have to hold the intensity of the development back so much that it might as well be playable on Ps4 & Xbone too? ugh...what is even the point of a Ps5 pro for this generation anymore
I don't think the enforcing of law that's going on right now is really lowering Apple's power much. They are still extremely rich and influential and I don't see that changing. The only way to truly do something about that would be to break up the company, which has happened in the past like with AT&T, but they aren't yet in a position where anyone is looking at such actions. What the EU is doing is just looking after fair business practices in accordance to the existing laws, and fair business benefit the consumers as it promotes competition, which is crucial for a healthy business environment.

We should all hope that governments keep business interests in check. While governments, like everything, have their flaws it's at least their job to work for the people. Companies exist to grow and make money so there certainly wouldn't be the same drive to create a good environment for people if we got to a world where huge companies were the leading power.
that all sounds good to me, and you've made a bunch of valid points. I'd like to believe the EU's intentions are for the betterment of the tech industry and for consumers overall. I absolutely am all for having governments keep businesses in check, I just don't know if I can always trust them to do that. if I did, then the governments would have immediately dispelled Microsoft's attempt at acquiring Activision. but they allowed it.
It's all hypothetical so it's hard to say, and I don't think we'll know in the foreseeable future as I don't see them making that move. Time will tell if I'm wrong there.
it will be a very long time that will tell whether we're right or wrong and it may never even happen in our reality! it's a fun thing to hypothesize but playstation is probably one of, if not Sony's biggest trademarks so I don't see them ever giving it away unless they themselves get bought.
 
so what does this mean for a game like GTA6? will Rockstar have to hold the intensity of the development back so much that it might as well be playable on Ps4 & Xbone too? ugh...what is even the point of a Ps5 pro for this generation anymore

Not for a PS4/Xbone but not that far off given the Series S. Granted you can scale down a lot of things quite well so it can work fairly well, but it would be better if they just had the baseline consoles to work with and then possibly something better, like the PS5 Pro. Baldur's Gate 3 had to delay their Xbox launch just because they couldn't get their split screen co-op to work on the Series S because it was too weak, and the rules are that you have to release the same features on both consoles.

We'll see what Rockstar prioritizes this time around.

that all sounds good to me, and you've made a bunch of valid points. I'd like to believe the EU's intentions are for the betterment of the tech industry and for consumers overall. I absolutely am all for having governments keep businesses in check, I just don't know if I can always trust them to do that. if I did, then the governments would have immediately dispelled Microsoft's attempt at acquiring Activision. but they allowed it.

Yes, it will never be perfect, and it will vary depending on the government as views and laws differ, but that's why I'm always glad when something is done for the better of consumers. Interestingly enough the US Justice Department just sued Apple for having an illegal monopoly, so we'll see where that goes. I haven't read up on it much but it sounds like another step in the right direction.

it will be a very long time that will tell whether we're right or wrong and it may never even happen in our reality! it's a fun thing to hypothesize but playstation is probably one of, if not Sony's biggest trademarks so I don't see them ever giving it away unless they themselves get bought.

Yes, there's nothing wrong with a little speculation. You're certainly correct on that Sony won't sell Playstation by itself.
 
Not for a PS4/Xbone but not that far off given the Series S. Granted you can scale down a lot of things quite well so it can work fairly well, but it would be better if they just had the baseline consoles to work with and then possibly something better, like the PS5 Pro. Baldur's Gate 3 had to delay their Xbox launch just because they couldn't get their split screen co-op to work on the Series S because it was too weak, and the rules are that you have to release the same features on both consoles.

We'll see what Rockstar prioritizes this time around.
ugh. my thing is that for everything they optimize for the Ps5 pro, it has to be within the bounds of what's also possible by the limits of the Series S, which probably means they're really just gonna hold back despite the fact that this is the first GTA game in two generations. imagine how much greater the game could've been if they just didn't even keep the Series S in mind.
Yes, it will never be perfect, and it will vary depending on the government as views and laws differ, but that's why I'm always glad when something is done for the better of consumers. Interestingly enough the US Justice Department just sued Apple for having an illegal monopoly, so we'll see where that goes. I haven't read up on it much but it sounds like another step in the right direction.
ohhhhhh, whoa. I didn't know Apple got sued again. and for being a monopoly? why did the DOJ wait this long to do it? hahahaha. I just googled it real quick and it has something to do with "antitrust" but I don't really know what that means.
Yes, there's nothing wrong with a little speculation. You're certainly correct on that Sony won't sell Playstation by itself.
yeah speculating is fun. that's why this ongoing conversation with you has been so engaging!
 
ugh. my thing is that for everything they optimize for the Ps5 pro, it has to be within the bounds of what's also possible by the limits of the Series S, which probably means they're really just gonna hold back despite the fact that this is the first GTA game in two generations. imagine how much greater the game could've been if they just didn't even keep the Series S in mind.

It's a drawback for sure. I think this will mean that it's even more likely that the best looking games will be PS exclusive games in the end. Both because they are optimizing for one particular console (although the consoles and PC are much more similar today than before) and because they don't have to bother with the Series S but instead just look higher to the PS5 Pro.

ohhhhhh, whoa. I didn't know Apple got sued again. and for being a monopoly? why did the DOJ wait this long to do it? hahahaha. I just googled it real quick and it has something to do with "antitrust" but I don't really know what that means.

Antitrust is roughly about unlawful business practices and mergers. It's to maintain healthy competition on the market and avoid anti-consumer behavior. Obviously a wide field so the details of different cases can vary a lot. Companies still get away with plenty of crap but it's good to see the line being drawn somewhere.

yeah speculating is fun. that's why this ongoing conversation with you has been so engaging!

Indeed! And speculation is a natural part of being a fan of something.
 
It's a drawback for sure. I think this will mean that it's even more likely that the best looking games will be PS exclusive games in the end. Both because they are optimizing for one particular console (although the consoles and PC are much more similar today than before) and because they don't have to bother with the Series S but instead just look higher to the PS5 Pro.
yeah now that I think about it, Microsoft has been holding this entire generation back just because the Series S exists. I know PCs and consoles are more similar than ever before, but Series S is probably more similar to lower spec-PCs. Series X may be more powerful than the Ps5, but because Xbox games have to keep the Series S in mind, I think you're right that in the end Ps5 exclusive games are what're going to look best this generation.
Antitrust is roughly about unlawful business practices and mergers. It's to maintain healthy competition on the market and avoid anti-consumer behavior. Obviously a wide field so the details of different cases can vary a lot. Companies still get away with plenty of crap but it's good to see the line being drawn somewhere.
ah, so that's what anti-trust means. so the meaning actually is kinda down to earth and easy to understand I guess...it's about if consumers can trust the corporation or not! haha. it's the data collecting companies that bother me the most because not only do they not care about you, but to get to their bottom dollar they will literally sell you out.
 
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I'm glad someone is saying it. as someone who ain't that tech savvy, I don't understand it either. I didn't like the notion of pro consoles last generation and it seems superfluous more so this generation given the fact that developers aren't even pushing the limits of the current Ps5.

as for more Xbox games coming to Ps5, well...I guess that remains to be seen. the day Halo & Gears of War are announced on Ps5 is the day I feel like Microsoft will announce that they are stepping out of the hardware business
 
I generally don't care for a "pro" version. I'd rather wait for the neXt console especially if I already have the current console.

But if the PRO console has some serious advantages, then why not. People still have the option to purchase the non-pro console.
 
I think a lot of people should consider upgrading their TVs and audio systems (for Dolby Atmos positional audio and clear dialogue reproduction).

The Pro might do some great 8K/upscale but if all you got is a 4K TV it’s not worth it yet. Besides that you’d want a newer TV that can do VRR well and has higher peak brightness for HDR and darker black levels than even the TVs had from a few years ago when PS5 and the last Xbox launched. Not all TVs are created equal so do research first such as at Rtings. Without a good TV people aren’t even taking full advantage of the PS5.

 
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I think i will upgrade my Sony tv this year. Apparently its been shutting off by itself and I saw the red light again and of course when that happens, i can't shut off my ps4 properly. I already sent it before (not more than 2 years ago) to an official Sony service support which is just 2 blocks away but I cannot deal with trying to have the same tv be fiXed for the second time. Only for it to break again for the third time in less than 2 years.

I must have lucked out with that Sony Bravia TV. My Sony tv from the 2000s had a really long life. To that point I was still using it til in the mid 2010s. This current Sony tv, was just bought in Oct 2020 in comparison.

So it looks like I will have to buy a Sony tv first before a ps5. Grrrr.
 
I think a lot of people should consider upgrading their TVs and audio systems (for Dolby Atmos positional audio and clear dialogue reproduction).

The Pro might do some great 8K/upscale but if all you got is a 4K TV it’s not worth it yet. Besides that you’d want a newer TV that can do VRR well and has higher peak brightness for HDR and darker black levels than even the TVs had from a few years ago when PS5 and the last Xbox launched. Not all TVs are created equal so do research first such as at Rtings. Without a good TV people aren’t even taking full advantage of the PS5.

I still think 8K is a joke. There aren't very many 8K TVs around outside of Japan, and the GPU power needed just to push that many more pixels (4x 4k, 16x 1080p) for what effectively looks like slightly better anti-aliasing is a waste. Even the 4090 struggles to hit higher framerates at 8K, and the PS5 Pro won't even be half as powerful as that.

The only interesting things about the Pro's specs are the improved RT features and Sony's new supersampling tech, especially if it can be applied to older games. The ability to take PS5 games that run at 4K60 and bump them up to 120 with FSR3 would also be interesting, but I don't know how many people have HDMI 2.1 TVs (I don't).

The real selling point will be if they can bring Nvidia-esque RT features to Sony first-party titles, otherwise I don't see this outperforming the PS4 Pro, and that only accounted for 15-20% of the PS4's total sales.
 
I still think 8K is a joke. There aren't very many 8K TVs around outside of Japan, and the GPU power needed just to push that many more pixels (4x 4k, 16x 1080p) for what effectively looks like slightly better anti-aliasing is a waste. Even the 4090 struggles to hit higher framerates at 8K, and the PS5 Pro won't even be half as powerful as that.

The only interesting things about the Pro's specs are the improved RT features and Sony's new supersampling tech, especially if it can be applied to older games. The ability to take PS5 games that run at 4K60 and bump them up to 120 with FSR3 would also be interesting, but I don't know how many people have HDMI 2.1 TVs (I don't).

The real selling point will be if they can bring Nvidia-esque RT features to Sony first-party titles, otherwise I don't see this outperforming the PS4 Pro, and that only accounted for 15-20% of the PS4's total sales.
yeah 4K has barely even become a standard, it's still 1080p in most places I think. while there is more 4K content out there now than there was 10 or even 5 years ago, I feel like it's still not that widespread. and even for current gen games I feel like a good portion of them don't output in 4K either. so talking up 8K doesn't really do anything for me.
 
4k, 8k, 32k...

Technology/trends change overtime. 10 years from now. There would be a lot of difference when it comes to what is standard, especially when Ps6/7 are in full swing.
 
4k, 8k, 32k...

Technology/trends change overtime. 10 years from now. There would be a lot of difference when it comes to what is standard, especially when Ps6/7 are in full swing.
I know trends change with technology overtime, all I was saying was that after full HD, the next resolution is 4K and it hasn't become as widespread as quickly as 1080p has. we had 4K 10 years ago at this point and in the present day, it feels like most of the content out there still has 1080p as the standard.
 
The power required to generate the necessary pixels in each resolution increase isn't linear, it's exponential. As I said, 8K is 16 times more expensive to render than 1080p. That's not even taking into account that most UE5 games run at sub-1080p right now, and use image reconstruction to upscale to 4K. That's why games like Jedi Survivor, Immortals of Aveum, Lords of the Fallen and FF7 Rebirth are such a blurry mess in their performance modes with poor image quality. Even the recent Dragon's Dogma 2 has heavy CPU requirements, and that's the key piece of tech that isn't receiving much of an increase in the Pro (a measly 10% boost at best).

There's also the fact that most movies are only finished at 2K or 4K, with seemingly only Christopher Nolan bothering to master his movies any higher than that. Shooting on film or higher formats doesn't matter if the mastering isn't finished at those higher resolutions. Even Dune: Part 2, which was shot at 6.5K and had special 70mm film prints made for IMAX was finished at 4K, so I'm not sure how much extra clarity was gained from that conversion process. The only films that have potential resolutions greater than 4K are ones that were shot on film and developed using a photochemical process, so only those that were shot on film and did not use a digital intermediate to color grade. Basically, anything before 2000.
 
yeah now that I think about it, Microsoft has been holding this entire generation back just because the Series S exists. I know PCs and consoles are more similar than ever before, but Series S is probably more similar to lower spec-PCs. Series X may be more powerful than the Ps5, but because Xbox games have to keep the Series S in mind, I think you're right that in the end Ps5 exclusive games are what're going to look best this generation.

Yes, I think that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is probably my favorite technical experience this far on the PS5, and it's certainly going to get better. It's especially noticeable when the PS5 has its unique storage solution so when people write for that properly everything loads really quickly, but when they don't it's relatively slow.

ah, so that's what anti-trust means. so the meaning actually is kinda down to earth and easy to understand I guess...it's about if consumers can trust the corporation or not! haha. it's the data collecting companies that bother me the most because not only do they not care about you, but to get to their bottom dollar they will literally sell you out.

Yes, on the surface it's pretty simple. One will get another idea if deep diving into the legal workings of it of course, but that's always the case with law. Yes, selling data has become huge and all to make it easier to read us and manipulate us so we'll be even more obedient customers.
 

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