PlayStation 5 - Next gen is expensive

[Down by Law]

13 hours ago, SeanR said:

 

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i don't think it's real...

 

 

"Happy 12th Birthday Alfie" 

[Hello Goaty ♥]

4 minutes ago, mansizerooster said:

Is anyone set on getting a digital PS5?

 

 

[David Kenny]

10 minutes ago, mansizerooster said:

Is anyone set on getting a digital PS5? Are you happy being at the mercies of the PSN's price-points? Do we think that Sony might overhaul their price/sales policies to make digital more attractive?

 

Also, getting an external HDD is going to be pretty much essential for both console versions, isn't it?

I haven't bought a game on disc for the PS4 since launch and have a digital library with hundreds of games in it, so it would make sense for me. But, we also use the PS4 as a DVD player so I'll probably still get the one with the disc drive in it.

[Steven]

 Buying the option not to get stiffed by Sony for a bit more cash up front works for me. You also get the digital one thrown in.

[AI]

42 minutes ago, mansizerooster said:

Is anyone set on getting a digital PS5? Are you happy being at the mercies of the PSN's price-points? Do we think that Sony might overhaul their price/sales policies to make digital more attractive?

 

Also, getting an external HDD is going to be pretty much essential for both console versions, isn't it?

 

External HDDs won't play PS5 games. PS4 games- no problem. I'm hoping I can just disconnect my external HDD on my PS4 and plug it into the PS5 without any issues.

[HarryBizzle]

All digital is a complete dealbreaker for me. I might get a Series S, but not if it's not got a drive in it.

[Sixkiller]

20 minutes ago, AI1 said:

 

External HDDs won't play PS5 games. 

 

I think they did say that expansion HDDs will be available, subject to meeting the required specs due to the whole SSD speed thing.  Basically just means they're going to cost more...

 

I've migrated to buying almost everything digital over the last couple of years.  I find that for the few releases that i want when they come out, by purchasing PSN credit online at discounted rates (plus benefitting from PS plus or EA access discounts on some) the digital pricing issues are mitigated somewhat.  I lose the opportunity to trade in, but you get such poor returns on some trade-ins I totally tapped out of that game some time ago, plus if I like a game, then i probably want to keep it in my library long-term.

 

But I'm still going to get the disc drive PS5.  Why?  Two reasons:

1) flexibility to still impulse purchase a physcial game for cheap

2) I've spent £200 on a Star Wars saga 4k Blu Ray set which is sat unopened due to not having a 4k Blu-ray player 

[footle]

1 hour ago, mansizerooster said:

Also, getting an external HDD is going to be pretty much essential for both console versions, isn't it?

 

For backwards compatibility sure. External HDD, even external SDD, aren't going to actually allow you to run PS5/Xbox Series X games: the necessary speed of connectivity isn't there across USB-3.

[Clipper]

12 minutes ago, Sixkiller said:

 

I think they did say that expansion HDDs will be available, subject to meeting the required specs due to the whole SSD speed thing.  Basically just means they're going to cost more...

 

I've migrated to buying almost everything digital over the last couple of years.  I find that for the few releases that i want when they come out, by purchasing PSN credit online at discounted rates (plus benefitting from PS plus or EA access discounts on some) the digital pricing issues are mitigated somewhat.  I lose the opportunity to trade in, but you get such poor returns on some trade-ins I totally tapped out of that game some time ago, plus if I like a game, then i probably want to keep it in my library long-term.

 

But I'm still going to get the disc drive PS5.  Why?  Two reasons:

1) flexibility to still impulse purchase a physcial game for cheap

2) I've spent £200 on a Star Wars saga 4k Blu Ray set which is sat unopened due to not having a 4k Blu-ray player 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-One-X-Factory-Refurbished/dp/B08DDP3BMY/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=xbox+one+x&qid=1598350500&sr=8-4

[pinholestar]

The expectation due to the minimal reduction in hardware production costs that the removal of the disc drive would bring seems to be that the digital edition is only going to be £50 cheaper. But if Sony price it aggressively and it’s closer to £100 cheaper then it could be really tempting.

 

A good 90% or more of the 150+ games I have on PS4 are digital and the only physical games I’ve bought in the last few years have been things like Battlefield and Red Dead 2 - games that I wanted on day one. Otherwise I’ve waited a while and the regular PSN sales have thrown up consistent bargains or at the very least impulse purchase prices.

 

The thing that’s really swaying me recently is that buying discounted PSN credit from online stores I was able to get The Last of Us 2 digital at release for about £48, so pretty much the same price as a physical copy. If that was something that I could do on the reg then I’d struggle to justify the need for a disc drive because I’d simply never use it. I don’t trade in or sell games generally and an all-digital future is inevitable at this point so buying the digital edition PS5 is something I’ll definitely consider.

[Sixkiller]

3 minutes ago, Clipper said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-One-X-Factory-Refurbished/dp/B08DDP3BMY/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=xbox+one+x&qid=1598350500&sr=8-4

 

that would be £180 for a 4k blu ray player, whereas it looks like the disc drive will cost me £100 extra on the PS5.  I've also not got enough UHD HDMI ports on my telly, and have a wife that complains enough about there being one console in the living room, let alone two 

[footle]

18 minutes ago, footle said:

 

For backwards compatibility sure. External HDD, even external SDD, aren't going to actually allow you to run PS5/Xbox Series X games: the necessary speed of connectivity isn't there across USB-3.

 

For example NVME external over USB3.2 - 1000MB/s - so a factor of 3-6 out, ignoring cooling.

 

https://blocksandfiles.com/2020/08/21/wd-nvme-my-passport-ssd/

[PaB]

1 hour ago, mansizerooster said:

Is anyone set on getting a digital PS5? Are you happy being at the mercies of the PSN's price-points? Do we think that Sony might overhaul their price/sales policies to make digital more attractive?

 

Also, getting an external HDD is going to be pretty much essential for both console versions, isn't it?

I’m already virtually all digital only

Version is certainly on the cards for me . I haven’t bought a physical game for ages . Sales are normally pretty great.

 

feels good man . 

[rafaqat]

1 hour ago, mansizerooster said:

Is anyone set on getting a digital PS5? Are you happy being at the mercies of the PSN's price-points? Do we think that Sony might overhaul their price/sales policies to make digital more attractive?

 

Also, getting an external HDD is going to be pretty much essential for both console versions, isn't it?

 

If you are ok with waiting 12-18 months then you can pick up Sony First party titles in digital sales for 20 quid ish or less.  In which case it would be fine.  I'd consider it.  I do have PS4 discs but I think I have come to realise that I just like the idea of them rather than play them.  If it's only 50 quid cheaper then I'd just buy the disc version to still give me the option of cheap discs.

[Ran]

I am not super bothered about physical media but I don't trust the platform holders with the possible eventuality of having their customers locked into their own stores with no alternatives, so I'll be sticking with the disc option if I can afford it. 

[pinholestar]

8 hours ago, mansizerooster said:

Also, getting an external HDD is going to be pretty much essential for both console versions, isn't it?

 

This is probably the first generation since the PS2 where you could say that there are no glaring compromises that have been made in terms of the power of the new consoles. They’re both gonna be absolute beasts. With the single caveat that the small capacity SSDs are the one major reservation I have about these new consoles.

 

They can say what they like about not having to reproduce the same assets multiple times in the game files and whatnot but games are still going to easily be 100GB+ next gen. Game file sizes may not get significantly bigger but I’d be amazed if they actually got smaller. Those drives will fill up very quickly indeed and 1TB+ NVMe expansion drives are gonna cost a fucking fortune for at least the first few years.

 

Sony’s analysis may have shown that most people only play a few games at a time but on enthusiast forums like this one I’m quite sure many of us like having a big selection of games sat on the dashboard ready to dip in and out of depending on our whims.

 

I’ve always got multiplayer shooters like Battlefield, Apex Legends, Destiny etc. sat there ready to go for when I want to shoot some mans, as well as regular chill out games like Cities Skylines, No Man’s Sky, Elite Dangerous, Red Dead Online etc. I know these specific examples could be held and accessed via back compat on my current external PS4 drive, which is fine, but there’ll be an equivalent range on PS5 before long and it would be a genuine detriment to my game playing habits to have to forgo being able to dip in and out as I do now.

 

In other words: expansion drives are going to be pretty much essential and Ken Kuturagi’s imploration to get a second job is more pertinent than ever.

[MansizeRooster]

With the external HDD, I was figuring it would be used purely for storage of PS5 games, not for running them. So, if you want to play a game not on the internal drive, you'll make space on the (presumably full before long) internal drive, copy from the external, then play.

 

Doing that must be faster than installing from scratch via Blu-ray or download.

 

[footle]

Sony’s analysis could say that most keen PS4 users keep 15 full fat games available at all times on their console. They’d still claim they only used four, because expanding the amount of storage in a cost effective way at this time in the PS5 isn’t happening.

 

see also the 360 useless edition that was released at launch, because HDD were too expensive to hit the right price point.

[Alex W.]

I’m not sure that Sony or Microsoft are going to be sufficiently bothered about that to have an “archive” option. That Seagate has exclusive SSD expansion modules on sale on day one certainly suggests that it won’t be an option on Xbox.

[Alex W.]

1 minute ago, footle said:

see also the 360 useless edition that was released at launch, because HDD were too expensive to hit the right price point.

The execs in charge at that time still gripe about how much of a pain in the ass the Arcade version was, in terms of having to support it and get developers to support it. If they had any idea how much the PS3 was going to cost they definitely wouldn’t have bothered.

[metallicfrodo]

8 minutes ago, Alex W. said:

I’m not sure that Sony or Microsoft are going to be sufficiently bothered about that to have an “archive” option. That Seagate has exclusive SSD expansion modules on sale on day one certainly suggests that it won’t be an option on Xbox..

 

I'd be incredibly surprised if both didn't have an option to move installs around. Seeing as for example the XSX looks likes it's going to be running a very similar OS to the Xbone they'd actively have to remove the option.

[HarryBizzle]

They need to keep less fortunate countries (like America) in mind, where people still have unreasonable data caps. 

[Alex W.]

Just now, HarryBizzle said:

They need to keep less fortunate countries (like America) in mind, where people still have unreasonable data caps. 

They’re just going to tell those people to buy their games on disks.

[Pob]

If they supported external storage this generation, why wouldn't they do it for the next generation when it's going to be even more important? I understand that games won't be playable from a HDD any more, but local storage will still be a thing people ask for.

[FiveFootNinja]

Interesting to hear how many of you have moved quite heavily towards digital. The really like the idea of it but in practice I only ever buy things in sales and still buy a lot of physical games. I just think it's too expensive and I'm not willing to faff about with buying credit in various discounted ways to make it viable when I can SimplyGames/ShopTo/Prime something next day. 

 

It's a shame but I just can't justify giving Sony/Microsoft £60 odd for a digital game that I know I can buy on a disc for £45 (and then trade in/sell if I decide I want to). There is no justification for it either so I suppose it's a bit of a moral stance from my point of view, why should I pay them 30% more than a game shop when there is no production, packaging and shipping costs, and no third party retailer cut being taken. If the platform holders made main releases £30-35 digital vs £45-50 physical it would be a no brainer. To be honest it's much like how I feel about train travel in this country... how can a bog standard train ticket (for a train carrying 100s of passengers in relative discomfort) justify being 3 times the price of the petrol to just drive yourself somewhere in your own car on your own schedule. Economics gone mad.

[Fused gamer]

7 minutes ago, FiveFootNinja said:

Interesting to hear how many of you have moved quite heavily towards digital. The really like the idea of it but in practice I only ever buy things in sales and still buy a lot of physical games. I just think it's too expensive and I'm not willing to faff about with buying credit in various discounted ways to make it viable when I can SimplyGames/ShopTo/Prime something next day. 

 

It's a shame but I just can't justify giving Sony/Microsoft £60 odd for a digital game that I know I can buy on a disc for £45 (and then trade in/sell if I decide I want to). There is no justification for it either so I suppose it's a bit of a moral stance from my point of view, why should I pay them 30% more than a game shop when there is no production, packaging and shipping costs, and no third party retailer cut being taken. If the platform holders made main releases £30-35 digital vs £45-50 physical it would be a no brainer. To be honest it's much like how I feel about train travel in this country... how can a bog standard train ticket (for a train carrying 100s of passengers in relative discomfort) justify being 3 times the price of the petrol to just drive yourself somewhere in your own car on your own schedule. Economics gone mad.

 

I'm only getting the drive for 4k blu ray. I need my head seeing too.

[Alex W.]

44 minutes ago, Pob said:

If they supported external storage this generation, why wouldn't they do it for the next generation when it's going to be even more important? I understand that games won't be playable from a HDD any more, but local storage will still be a thing people ask for.

They’ve never offered a way to “archive” games like that though. The only platform that let you shift a game to slow archival storage and back again was the Wii. 
 

Depending on how the file system works on the new storage it might not even be an easy thing to do. And that’s before you get to the user experience headaches, of how to manage re-archiving a game that has been patched since it was last archived, the juggling act of archiving games off your SSD to free up space to un-archive a game from your SSD and the having to archive more games to make room for a patch.
 

It’s not an unsolvable problem but if Microsoft has decided that on day one they need to be selling an SSD card peripheral that has been engineered with special springs to ensure it’s thermally coupled to the console chassis, you can bet it’s a problem they don’t want to deal with.

[Len]

Definitely physical for me me so, like others, I can trade in the games and also not be at the mercy of their pricing. Simple really.

[instasis]

I'm leaning towards physical - but that's on the basis that a good chunk of my very small physical collection of PS4 games will work via BC. If they don't, then I may very well go full digital.

 

I'm also starting to get super hyped now. Having skipped the upgraded consoles this gen, and likely needing to get a new TV that supports fancy things as well, I'm expecting to see a significant step up from what I'm used to. It'll be less of an incremental step up and more of a leap. I've started to sell stuff to raise funds already.

 

Wish they'd hurry up and confirm price/date though. Starting to wonder if we're looking at a staggered launch like the bad old days.

 

 

[Mogster]

48 minutes ago, FiveFootNinja said:

Interesting to hear how many of you have moved quite heavily towards digital. The really like the idea of it but in practice I only ever buy things in sales and still buy a lot of physical games. I just think it's too expensive and I'm not willing to faff about with buying credit in various discounted ways to make it viable when I can SimplyGames/ShopTo/Prime something next day. 

Said faffing is basically exactly the same process. Go to ShopTo/Cdkeys and buy cheap credit, then use the credit on a digital game.

 

For me though, digital mainly means Game Pass and cheap games at sale prices. It's rare that I buy a game at launch.