The Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5)

[Heat_Fan89]

Heads Up people!!! If you want a PS5 Pro they are easy to be had without jumping thru hoops. On my PS Store screen, Sony flashed a QR code which directs you to their website to add to your cart. The PS5 Pro 30th Annv is unavailable currently but the PS5 Pro is easy peasy to get if you want one.

You can either preorder directly from the PS Store main page or from the Sony Direct website. Launch delivery is Nov 7th.

 

[hovscorpion12]

Is this for the stunning 30th anniversary edition?

I wish. Gone in seconds.

 

[hovscorpion12]

Heads Up people!!! If you want a PS5 Pro they are easy to be had without jumping thru hoops. On my PS Store screen, Sony flashed a QR code which directs you to their website to add to your cart. The PS5 Pro 30th Annv is unavailable currently but the PS5 Pro is easy peasy to get if you want one.

You can either preorder directly from the PS Store main page or from the Sony Direct website. Launch delivery is Nov 7th.

Very pleasantly surprised. Close to 12 hours later and availability is still good.

 

[Taustin Powers]

Not surprised at all. At that price point, the Pro is a tough sell for many people.

 

[Ethosik]

Hopefully the fiasco of Concord will encourage Sony to refocus on developing first party titles with great story telling. The world doesn't need more Fortnite or COD wannabe titles with season passes and micro transactions.

Astro bot is my game of this generation so far. It’s so good!

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Very pleasantly surprised. Close to 12 hours later and availability is still good.

They are still available for preorder. So either Sony was expecting high demand and made a lot of them available (which if that’s the case, then kudos) or they are not selling so well at this point.

The more I look at the 30th Anniversary PS5 Pro, the more I can’t help but think it’s equally as bad as the regular Pro. Apart from the exclusivity, you don’t get a disc drive and you are forced to buy the premium controller.

 

[Quotenfrau]

The graphics are incredible, it makes the best use of the DualSense controller and the gameplay is right up there with Nintendo's best.

it's even better than Mario (at least my kids say this)

 

[Macalicious2011]

They are still available for preorder. So either Sony was expecting high demand and made a lot of them available (which if that’s the case, then kudos) or they are not selling so well at this point.

Pro consoles have never been a blockbuster success. The majority of prospective customers already own a base console. In the case of the PS5 Pro. It's very expensive. If you own a base PS5 with an optical drive upgrading to a PS5 Pro is expensive. You can sell your PS5 to store for £250 but then you still need £548 for a PS5 Pro with an optical drive. The incentive to buy the PS4 Pro and One X was 4k resolution. PS5 pro's improvements are not as spec sheet friendly.

Compared with the base PS5 and Series X that launched during covid, we live in different times now. High interest rates make credit expensive and there's less disposable income because people commute now and spend time outdoors.

However I expect sales to pick up a bit as the visual improvements are made more apparent in comparisons. Most importantly, sales will likely jump int he lead up to GTA6 because there are millions of PC, PS4 and Xbox One owners who will need to buy a current gen console in order to play the game.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Pro consoles have never been a blockbuster success. The majority of prospective customers already own a base console. In the case of the PS5 Pro. It's very expensive. If you own a base PS5 with an optical drive upgrading to a PS5 Pro is expensive. You can sell your PS5 to store for £250 but then you still need £548 for a PS5 Pro with an optical drive. The incentive to buy the PS4 Pro and One X was 4k resolution. PS5 pro's improvements are not as spec sheet friendly.

Compared with the base PS5 and Series X that launched during covid, we live in different times now. High interest rates make credit expensive and there's less disposable income because people commute now and spend time outdoors.

However I expect sales to pick up a bit as the visual improvements are made more apparent in comparisons. Most importantly, sales will likely jump int he lead up to GTA6 because there are millions of PC, PS4 and Xbox One owners who will need to buy a current gen console in order to play the game.

You are trying to justify a product that is a hard sell no matter what. I looked at the list of enhanced PS5 Pro games and either a) they look good enough already on my PS5 or b) I have no interest in those games. The list is also quite small so there's that.

 

[Bacong]

You are trying to justify a product that is a hard sell no matter what. I looked at the list of enhanced PS5 Pro games and either a) they look good enough already on my PS5 or b) I have no interest in those games. The list is also quite small so there's that.

people buy graphics cards that cost twice the price of a Pro. it's not as if Sony is releasing this product without a strong idea of how well it will do.

 

[Marshall73]

Is this for the stunning 30th anniversary edition?

Grey monolith is stunning? Wtf.

 

[Marshall73]

Let’s see if the PS5 Pro sells better than the last $699 console, the 3DO. And if it does sell well then expect massive inflation across the console market from Nintendo and Xbox as this will be the signal that consumers will shell out double the money for hardware. $699 switch 2 incoming

 

[Heat_Fan89]

people buy graphics cards that cost twice the price of a Pro. it's not as if Sony is releasing this product without a strong idea of how well it will do.

OK but Sony also thought they had a strong idea on how well the PSVR2 would do and they stopped production months into its launch because few were buying it, because of its price and games available. I'd wager that graphics cards can do so much more than the best videogame console. And high-end graphics cards will produce graphical details and performance, a videogame console can only dream about. GPU's are also used for things other than playing games.

I'd rather sink my money into an RTX 4080 Super or an RTX 4090. Even better, wait for the new RTX 5000 Series GPU's vs paying Sony $800+ (console+drive+stand) for a slightly better version of a console I already own.

 

[Pezimak]

people buy graphics cards that cost twice the price of a Pro. it's not as if Sony is releasing this product without a strong idea of how well it will do.

But those graphics cards are also many times more capable than a Sony console. The real reason the Pro costs 700 is the Japanese currency, its value has plummeted and hasn’t recovered.
I‘m sure the new Pro will have better graphics, but not sure it’s worth the extra cost. At least Sony managed to make it and still keep it smaller than the OG PS5, unlike the brick PS4 Pro.

The Switch 2 is rumoured to cost between 4 and 500, an increase but not terrible, but they will apparently use an LCD screen to help control costs.
What is a concern is next gen PS6, how much will that cost? 700? More?

 

[Ifti]

Astro bot is my game of this generation so far. It’s so good!

This is getting good reviews from everyone who has played it. I did play Astro's Playroom that came with the PS5 and thought it was OK as a showpiece game. Just picked up Star Wars Outlaws and didn't think much of it so sold it within a few days for the same as I paid - may have to pick up AstroBot instead - either that or Space Marine 2, which I wait for Assassins Creed Shadows.....

 

[Ethosik]

But those graphics cards are also many times more capable than a Sony console. The real reason the Pro costs 700 is the Japanese currency, its value has plummeted and hasn’t recovered.
I‘m sure the new Pro will have better graphics, but not sure it’s worth the extra cost. At least Sony managed to make it and still keep it smaller than the OG PS5, unlike the brick PS4 Pro.

The Switch 2 is rumoured to cost between 4 and 500, an increase but not terrible, but they will apparently use an LCD screen to help control costs.
What is a concern is next gen PS6, how much will that cost? 700? More?

Nah I am going to push back a bit on this. It doesn't matter how much you spend (I have a 4090, 4080, 4080 Super all available). If the PC port is bad, the experience is MUCH better on consoles. Plus some of the PC ports have HORRIBLE micro-stutters and shader compilations. I don't care if I can achieve 300 fps in 4k resolution when I experience a micro-stutter during gameplay it frustrates me more than a stable 60 fps or even stable 30fps. This is the one thing I absolutely HATE about PC gaming.

My experience with Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PC was completely ruined and the worst experience I ever had gaming. My BASE PS4....yes the original PS4 was able to play the game more FLUID than my top end PC did. Lower quality and resolution sure, but it was fluid gameplay and that is all that matters.

Persona 3 Reload was the same issue. Got it on PC, faced micro-stutters, refunded and got it on my PS5 instead. At least that game is 4k60 on PS5.

Even Switch emulation on the best hardware available results in shader compilation sometimes. Consoles just have the fluid gameplay down pat in that regard.

 

[Pezimak]

Nah I am going to push back a bit on this. It doesn't matter how much you spend (I have a 4090, 4080, 4080 Super all available). If the PC port is bad, the experience is MUCH better on consoles. Plus some of the PC ports have HORRIBLE micro-stutters and shader compilations. I don't care if I can achieve 300 fps in 4k resolution when I experience a micro-stutter during gameplay it frustrates me more than a stable 60 fps or even stable 30fps. This is the one thing I absolutely HATE about PC gaming.

My experience with Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PC was completely ruined and the worst experience I ever had gaming. My BASE PS4....yes the original PS4 was able to play the game more FLUID than my top end PC did. Lower quality and resolution sure, but it was fluid gameplay and that is all that matters.

Persona 3 Reload was the same issue. Got it on PC, faced micro-stutters, refunded and got it on my PS5 instead. At least that game is 4k60 on PS5.

Even Switch emulation on the best hardware available results in shader compilation sometimes. Consoles just have the fluid gameplay down pat in that regard.

There is PLENTY of criticism over the performance of console ports of games, plenty, also it is stated Sony’s exclusives run MUCH better on PC like God Of War Ragnarok, so whilst you may have experienced ‘micro stutters’ in a handful of games, it does not seem to be the general consensus.

I would hardly use a console emulator as a benchmark either.

Yes some games run poorly on PC but you are stretching to twist that narrative to making console ports somehow superior across the board when they most certainly are not.

Anyway my original point still stands, a high end PC GPU is far far more capable then a games console, your comment relates to the quality of the ports themselves. Personally I think developers have become incredibly lax and lazy in their efforts to port some games across different platforms, including big expensive projects. It’s the same old release a buggy game to meet deadlines and please share holders, then patch it later so it actually works mentality.

On a side note I gave Space Marine 2 a good go on my PS5 last night, and it is getting better, still think it looks like an Xbox One game though, very reminiscent of Gears Of War solid feeling and quality to it, certainly doesn’t look current gen. And it did have one utterly pointless part where you have unlimited ammo and health in a squared of area to seemingly kill a few monsters, not even a boss fight, to progress the story?

 

[Ifti]

I prefer console versions simply because I want to play a game - not mess about with settings etc to squeeze the most out of it. My gaming sessions are generally quite short, as and when I get time, so I don't want to waste that time messing with settings

 

[Macalicious2011]

I wouldn’t generate about whether pc or consoles run games best. It varies by game. Some are better optimised for pc and others are better optimised for console. I have refunded games on my Series X because of a bug or split sceen multiplayer working intermittently.

Likewise there are titles that I prefer on my Series X because it runs them quieter compared with my my PC which is more powerful but poor optimisation unneccessarily pushes my 4070ti super to 90% utilisation.

Then there are UE games that show micro stutters on both my console and pc.

 

[Ethosik]

There is PLENTY of criticism over the performance of console ports of games, plenty, also it is stated Sony’s exclusives run MUCH better on PC like God Of War Ragnarok, so whilst you may have experienced ‘micro stutters’ in a handful of games, it does not seem to be the general consensus.

I would hardly use a console emulator as a benchmark either.

Yes some games run poorly on PC but you are stretching to twist that narrative to making console ports somehow superior across the board when they most certainly are not.

Anyway my original point still stands, a high end PC GPU is far far more capable then a games console, your comment relates to the quality of the ports themselves. Personally I think developers have become incredibly lax and lazy in their efforts to port some games across different platforms, including big expensive projects. It’s the same old release a buggy game to meet deadlines and please share holders, then patch it later so it actually works mentality.

On a side note I gave Space Marine 2 a good go on my PS5 last night, and it is getting better, still think it looks like an Xbox One game though, very reminiscent of Gears Of War solid feeling and quality to it, certainly doesn’t look current gen. And it did have one utterly pointless part where you have unlimited ammo and health in a squared of area to seemingly kill a few monsters, not even a boss fight, to progress the story?

You make it seem that I am alone or making some stuff up. Look it up. Shader compilations and micro-stutters is a BIG issue with Direct X 12 on PC on pretty much ~80% of all the most recent titles. Some games even have a shader compilation loading screen upon launching it to prevent this which I obviously prefer but some games do not implement this. God of War Ragnarok has major performance issues like 2 hours into it. It is widely reported it has issues later in the game. All Unreal games, which is most games these days suffer from the micro stutters and shader compilations. Just look up some guides on Digital Foundry and others on YouTube to see the issue.

I am much happier with $500 and even $700 purchase on console than I am pushing $3,000 on a gaming PC and facing these types of issues. When you are spending $500 and getting a decent experience, that is a lot easier to take than spending upwards of $3,000 and in many ways getting less of a good experience than the console variant.
It is a lot more difficult to handle. Why spend this much in the first place? Like I said, I don't care if I can achieve 300 fps in 4k ULTRA QUALITY if I face these shader compilations and micro stutters. I should not have this bad of an experience with such high end PC hardware. I will take the medium quality but fluid gameplay on consoles because they do not need to compile shaders.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was borderline unplayable with their micro-stutters. Digital Foundry said the same yet I had already refunded and played on my base PS4 before I knew to switch it back to Direct X 11. Either way I am much happier with my PS4/PS5 than PC gaming.

This isn't just something I am experiencing or making up. I have about a dozen of subscriptions to some good and popular youtubers.

 

[Ethosik]

I prefer console versions simply because I want to play a game - not mess about with settings etc to squeeze the most out of it. My gaming sessions are generally quite short, as and when I get time, so I don't want to waste that time messing with settings

Yes this exactly. I find micro-stutters and shader compilation FAR MORE problematic than the low quality and stable 30 FPS gameplay on consoles. I would take low graphical settings with stable 30fps over a PC that can run at 300 fps at 4k resolution but experiences micro-stutters.

 

[Pezimak]

You make it seem that I am alone or making some stuff up. Look it up. Shader compilations and micro-stutters is a BIG issue with Direct X 12 on PC on pretty much ~80% of all the most recent titles. Some games even have a shader compilation loading screen upon launching it to prevent this which I obviously prefer but some games do not implement this. God of War Ragnarok has major performance issues like 2 hours into it. It is widely reported it has issues later in the game. All Unreal games, which is most games these days suffer from the micro stutters and shader compilations. Just look up some guides on Digital Foundry and others on YouTube to see the issue.

I am much happier with $500 and even $700 purchase on console than I am pushing $3,000 on a gaming PC and facing these types of issues. When you are spending $500 and getting a decent experience, that is a lot easier to take than spending upwards of $3,000 and in many ways getting less of a good experience than the console variant.
It is a lot more difficult to handle. Why spend this much in the first place? Like I said, I don't care if I can achieve 300 fps in 4k ULTRA QUALITY if I face these shader compilations and micro stutters. I should not have this bad of an experience with such high end PC hardware. I will take the medium quality but fluid gameplay on consoles because they do not need to compile shaders.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was borderline unplayable with their micro-stutters. Digital Foundry said the same yet I had already refunded and played on my base PS4 before I knew to switch it back to Direct X 11. Either way I am much happier with my PS4/PS5 than PC gaming.

This isn't just something I am experiencing or making up. I have about a dozen of subscriptions to some good and popular youtubers.

I guarantee I can find loads of videos stating the opposite sorry but you ARE REALLY stretching it to claim as fact '80%' of ALL recent games (how recent? Last 4 years?) run poorly on every PC compared to consoles. In fact I'd call that a straight up lie.
You want to justify your purchase fine, but don't make crap up either.

 

[Ethosik]

I guarantee I can find loads of videos stating the opposite sorry but you ARE REALLY stretching it to claim as fact '80%' of ALL recent games (how recent? Last 4 years?) run poorly on every PC compared to consoles. In fact I'd call that a straight up lie.
You want to justify your purchase fine, but don't make crap up either.

Please post some where there are micro stutters on PS5 that are NOT present on Windows. I have not seen anything related to your case.

I am not posting dozens of ENTIRE YOUTUBE CHANNELS here. So I do not appreciate you stating me "lying".

Horzon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War 2018 and Ragnarok, Spider-Man, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy XVI, etc I can see micro-stutters. That is a pretty good chuck of the PS4 and PS5 lineup right there.

I provided my proof, please provide yours so I can either educate myself on something that truly happened in a good way on PC or did not in fact happen if you don't provide it. Like I said, I subscribe to dozens of YouTubers with thousands to millions of subscribers. They all report generally the same things with recent ports.

Again, I am not talking about low quality, 1080p, 30fps gameplay on console vs the 300 FPS 4k gaming on PC. I have said so many times. I am talking about fluid gameplay. So if you have examples, please provide them!

The 1% lows are the killer for most PC ports that have been released. I can detect any form of micro-stuttering and it takes away from my experience. If you don't see them or don't care, that is great. But all the ones I listed above have no micro-stutter issue on PS5 when I have played it. General FPS drops in certain zones and areas are more reasonable to me than these micro pauses in the game. Games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom that have VERY noticeable FPS drops but its still "fluid".

I am not ruling out some odd bugs here and there that could be solved on PC by raw power output. It is strictly the micro-stutters and shader compilation that I am focused on here.

I am not trying to be mean here. But you call me a liar without backing up your claims. I backed up mine, so back up yours please.

 

[Pezimak]

I am not trying to be mean here. But you call me a liar without backing up your claims. I backed up mine, so back up yours please.

No you posted six random videos, when you’ve posted videos proving 80% of recent games, say the last 2 years, running better on PS5 then PC then you’ve proved your claim, until then you are lying.
If you stuck to the 3 or 4 games you were discussing you may have a point, but to make the same claim for hundreds of different games using different game engines made by different studios with no proof, no that’s lying.

 

[Ethosik]

No you posted six random videos, when you’ve posted videos proving 80% of recent games, say the last 2 years, running better on PS5 then PC then you’ve proved your claim, until then you are lying.
If you stuck to the 3 or 4 games you were discussing you may have a point, but to make the same claim for hundreds of different games using different game engines made by different studios with no proof, no that’s lying.

You think I am going to post 50+ videos in a thread here? Just look it up. I didn't say hundreds of games, we are in a PS5 thread, and PS ports from Sony are not a lot, we JUST got Ragnarok, still waiting for FF7 Rebirth but I bet that will perform bad like Remake did and XVI is doing now. I listed the ones I experienced issues with other than the videos, and that is pretty much the list of PS5 ports.

Again, provide proof that I am wrong. "You only provided 6 examples for your evidence therefore you are wrong" is not a good counter. You have yet to provide ONE.

Fine here is another one that I refunded due to performance issues on PC - Returnal.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/113dfr7

If I am being marked as a liar, then please tell Digital Foundry and others that are reporting these issues they are lying too. Not only is my experience the same as theirs, but they have the graphs and data to prove what they are saying.

Warhammer does things correctly by implementing a shader cache loading screen. But not many games do this.

And this is an issue with Unreal Engine shader compilations. Here is a video if you are curious with a recent update improving things but still not fixed. And this is the most used game engine around.

There is literally a hashtag for StutterStruggle and a lot of people face this issue.