I’ve considered the Pro myself. But the financial argument is the main deterrence as far as I’m concerned.
Jumping into a console generation ‘late’ usually entailed getting the hardware cheaper & a large library of existing titles on the system… which were also discounted & cheaper. But that’s not the case this time as far as the hardware is concerned. If the PS5 Pro is something crazy (like $599+), then investing in that system a mere 4 years before we can assume a PS6 lands makes very little sense for me as a potential buyer.
I’d get a digital edition PS5 for 300, aka a ‘correct’ price point in my mind nearly 4 years after its release (i.e. it was released at 399 euros here). But I doubt that’ll happen. Current year Sony wants higher profit margins, i.e. as things stand, I’m priced out of the ecosystem.
I think for people moving on from Xbox hardware, PC is the better move. The ecosystem is still there, the app may have some play anywhere titles you own + Game Pass is still there if you were a sub.
“I will say, every decision we make today and tomorrow is for the better of Xbox." Every decision we make is to make Xbox stronger in the long run. It doesn’t mean everyone’s going to agree with every decision we make. But it is fundamental for how we make decisions.”
This quote doesn’t give me a lot of confidence tbh. For the record I would rather the Xbox team make the hard calls like putting some games on other platforms than risk having Satya slash their budget due to shareholder dissatisfaction, but it sucks that this is what it takes. Don Mattrick really did irreparable harm to the brand in 2013 didn’t he? It’s been 11 years of catch up ever since.
Yeah I’ll probably grab a Pro as a way to catch up on the PS games I’ve missed and as a way to play with PlayStation mates again now they’re finally doing PS5-only games so I can’t jump on the PS4 with them.
I’m not too fussed about the price, if I’m looking at £400 for a PS5 anyway then a hundred or two more for a bit more power / newer tech inside is likely the easier choice.
Also thinking on the games I can probably wait for the first party ones to drop into Plus Extra or go on sale.
Also not too worried if the PS6 then follows it not long after - I’ve never bought a PlayStation at release, I always go Xbox first then get one years later.
Saying that, PS3 I eventually resold it (I was loving local multiplayer with uni housemates and the PS3 had sod all and really expensive controllers), while the PS4 I got when too many of my friends had jumped ship.
I’m still nostalgic as I miss the days all my friends were on the 360, but now most have jumped - I’d hoped the Series consoles might be a resurgence and I didn’t like Sony’s moneyhatting at the end of last gen so was determined to hold off the PS5, but guess if I’m going to slip I might as well do it like a proper Pony and get a Pro!
My Xbox will still be my primary console though unless the game isn’t on Game Pass and runs considerably better on the Pro - as I really hate the stupid controller layout on PS, the paid cloud saves and the awful UI that changes every generation - and I’ll still be buying the new controller for Xbox (and maybe a new more powerful Series X if they do one), plus the next gen
Lol if you want to play on a big TV he isn’t - I love the idea of the Steam Deck but I like to play on big screens, and the cost of upgrading my gaming PC has gone up way higher than inflation in the last decade or two lol.
I built an entire cutting-edge gaming computer including monitor just over 15 years ago for less than my next graphics card is going to cost - and less than the motherboard/CPU/RAM bundle I’ll then have to buy to bring them up to standard next (then a new GPU a few years later no doubt, and then new MB/CPU/RAM - the cycle never stops!) and I’m not even going for the highest-tier stuff like I did back then.
I admit it is why the Steam Deck et al are tempting - but I really need them to release one with a dock that significantly boosts the power so I can get a decent upscaled 4K image
I honestly dont see how xbox fans can see at these past actions and say the console part of the business is not going to die. In my opinion xbox will be fine, the hardware wont.
I still think they’re all-in on Game Pass, which will go in one of two ways:
Game Pass growth = more users = more incentive for devs to port games.
Xbox = Game Pass only. Play other games elsewhere.
The latter might sound a bit dramatic right now, but it won’t be once all the hardware converges into generic game-boxes (or cloud) and you can play whatever you want by simply logging into your account. Much like PC with Steam, Epic, etc.
I think they’ll try to achieve #1. But if that doesn’t start panning out soon, they’ll shift to #2. The “old guard” will be up in arms about it (like they are about everything,) but at some point MS won’t care anymore. Catering to (mostly) old men hasn’t worked for years and gotten PlayStation into trouble with their finances. The key to growth are the kids on their phones and tablets and converting them to “real” gamers. (But they still won’t buy games. Hence, Game Pass.)
I think MS has made it abundantly clear that they’re not focusing exclusively on consoles anymore. People still fighting the “console wars” and claiming Xbox is dead are completely missing the point. Enjoy your consoles while they last (maybe 10 years,) but don’t worry about PlayStation outselling Xbox. Consoles don’t make any money and Xbox’s future is looking a lot clearer than PlayStation’s right now. Sony has just been limping along and copying everything MS has done for years now. They don’t seem to have any actual plan beyond “sell more consoles.” (Although they do seem to have finally realised that it’s not working anymore. I expect more changes with Jim Ryan gone now.)
How many Steam copies and PC GP subs do you need to sell of your games to replace the 30% cut of all games sold on your own platform and the all the Ultimate subs?
MS final objective in console is to put their app on PS and Ninty consoles. I have been saying that if the need to “sacrifice” the consolo to do that, they would do it without doubts. Will be interesting to see if they managed to do it.
Agreed, I’d absolutely love that - my Series X is currently more powerful than my PC (the upgrade costs are extravagant and I can’t justify it yet) so it’d be a major win if I could play some of my Steam games on it.
And Epic have given me so many free games over the years they might finally get played if it’s just them!
It might help the Xbox hardware too - if it became a “Steam box” you’d possibly get a lot of PC fans buying it
