While the PS5 is a very impressive piece of kit I'm struggling to find a reason to buy one. The XBox Series X (and the much rumored Series S which might get unveiled later this month) does seem on paper at least to be the more powerful hardware but Sony has been in that position before. When the first Playstation came out it had to go head to head with Sega's Dreamcast which was the superior machine in every way but one, games. Sony is banking on that same strategy to carry the PS5 to success but this isn't 1998, it's 2020 and there are not only WAY more games on the market but many more ways to play them. If Sony thinks just making AAA blockbuster games is the key to making the PS5 a runaway hit they might be in for a rude awakening.
Not only is the XBox series X backwards compatible in ways the PS5 is not but Microsoft also has the far superior subscription service. Microsoft is betting that the superior infrastructure combined with better hardware is what will finally put them back on top of the console wars. Sony seems to be playing the same old game they always have been, make a banging console, release the hottest exclusives and keep everything that is Sony, Sony. Microsoft on the other hand is making their entire library available to anyone willing to shell out $15 a month, whether they own an XBox anything or not. On top of that, with the announcement that Halo Infinite will have crossplay with PC and free multiplayer you could be forgiven for thinking Microsoft doesn't want you to buy their console at all. And maybe that's the point.
Phil Spencer famously stated that they don't consider Sony and Nintendo to be their competition, they're playing the long game against Stadia and whatever other streaming services might come after it. To that end they're releasing XCloud in the coming weeks and bolstering their Game Pass service to make both as inclusive as possible to gamers. Sony's push for exclusivity made it the undisputed champion of the last generation but following that strategy may prove to be a short term gain, long term loss. Much of Microsft's promises are as yet unproven so it's anyone's guess how they will all pan out. But the world we live in is a much different one from even six months ago. If any strategy is doomed to fail it's the old tried and true one. Microsoft might just be future proofing the Series X against a fundamental shift in gaming habits that leave consoles on shelves collecting dust. Sony... isn't.
PS Now is an okay service, I am a subscriber and have made use of it for several months now. But streaming the games fucking blows. Thankfully, PS Now lets you download most of its titles but not all of them. Not only that but the library is somewhat lacking. There are no new releases and even many of their most popular titles from years gone by (Resistance Fall of Man comes to mind) are M.I.A. from the service. If you want those titles you have to go to the PSN store and hope it's available there and pay a premium for them. With Gamepass you don't have to do any of that and you can also play Microsoft's hottest new releases day/date. Sony not only doesn't do that but have been quite vocal about NOT offering their latest software on PS Now or PS Plus. Sure PS Plus gives out free games for every month but aside from that I fail to see why the service is worth the monthly price tag, especially now. The final nail in Sony's coffin might just be the newest announcement that the dualshock 4 will only work on the PS5 if you're playing PS4 games. What? I suppose we're going to have to re-buy those same games as well? Time will tell how backwards compatibility is going to work with the PS5 but those of you who have a stack of PS4 discs might be left out in the cold.
At Tesla we have a quote posted on some of the bulletin boards: "The most dangerous words to innovation are; 'That's the way we've always done it.'" I can't help but feel like that quote is going to haunt Sony all throughout the PS5's lifespan.