I’ve pre-ordered a PlayStation 5. Yeah, as someone who primarily plays on Xbox, that kind of surprises me too, but stay with me here. I have every intention of getting an Xbox Series X at some stage, but my existing Xbox One X isn’t that old and with nothing that essential coming to the Series X at launch (that isn’t also coming to Xbox One) I did feel there was little reason to upgrade just yet. Over on the PlayStation, Sony seem to have delivered a bit more next-gen excitement this time and games like Spider-Man Miles Moralis , Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart and Demon’s Souls look great and show off what is possible with these machines (ray tracing, super-fast loading) … and when put simply, my PS4 is getting rather old and sounds like a jet engine when in use. I am looking forward to playing PS4 titles like The Last of Us Part II on it with faster loading and more stable frame rates.
I’m under no illusion that next-gen isn’t going to entirely knock my socks off this side off Christmas or well into next year but I wanted an upgrade to my PS4 and also enjoy keeping up with technology developments. Entering a new generation is always exciting and boarding that ship is something I love doing. Also technology gimmicks like the haptic feedback on the new PS5 ‘dual-sense’ controller will be fun to explore, even if in the long/run it’s a feature that will get used less and less (I’m guessing).
There’s still some element of the unknown here, how games will perform and what features they’ll have (and not have), and how third party games will compare between PlayStation and Xbox. Xbox has a lot of promise still, what with all the new studios they’ve acquired and the consumer-friendly services they’re offering. I just don’t feel we’ve really seen much games-wise to truly excite (Halo Infinite’s delay went along with aiding my decision to hold off on Microsoft’s console right now). Either way us gamers have much to look forward to in the coming years and the rivalry between the big console names will deliver some great games as a result I’m sure. For now though PlayStation 5 will be my starting point.
Roll on November 19th.
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For the first time in a few generations, I’m not jumping on board on Day One. I know that the Covid situation has hurt Sony and Microsoft’s plans, but this is the strangest next-gen I’ve ever known. Neither platform has managed to really distinguish next-gen from current-gen and neither have a ‘killer app’ game. The days of the Nintendo 64 and Mario 64, or the original Playstation with Wipeout and Ridge Racer, or indeed the original Xbox and Halo, are distant memories. I really think they would have been better hanging fire on launching the new consoles until next Spring, if only to allow developers enough time to really polish the new games.
When I do jump into next-gen I’ll be sticking with Microsoft, I’m in the Gamepass ecosystem and absolutely love it. I bought only one game on disc this year -Doom Eternal- and most everything else I’ve played was on Gamepass. But I think I’m still about a year or more away from buying a Series X. My Xbox One X is only two years old and is perfectly fine, and will play all the new games hitting Gamepass just like Series X will, for ‘free’ on my console with the only distinguishing feature being loading times and a few visual bells and whistles. The reasons to jump gen when my console is only two years old and perfectly fine just aren’t there like they used to be with past generations (i.e. the only way to play a new Halo etc). I think Microsoft are to be congratulated for how they are approaching this but it does seem so strange.
I suppose going over from Xbox to Sony justifies you getting into next gen now because it negates those arguments when sticking with Xbox, as at least you’ll get games you couldn’t otherwise. I’m sure you’ll love it and I look forward to your posts about it.. I’ll be interested to see any photos you can take of how big the console is and how it fits in your set-up, it looks absolutely huge from what I’ve seen but I’m sure thats necessary to fit all that horsepower under the hood.
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Yes, I will be reporting back on my first impressions of PS5. Hmm, your comments given me plenty of enthusiasm for future posts! I totally get your reasons to hold back, it’s the exact same reason I’m not jumping on Series X just yet (my Xbox One X is about same age as yours). Thanks for your comment!!
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