After a one-week delay, the much-anticipated PlayStation 5 reveal event is now in the books.
Even though it had its highlights, it didn’t quite live up to expectations. Into the 1 hour 15 minute slot, Sony packed in the announcement of 20+ PS5 games and the reveal of the previously allusive console design.
While there was no mention of the price or a more specific release date, there was the revelation that Sony will be releasing not one but two versions of the PS5 – one a traditional console complete with disk tray and one digital only. While this is unsurprising given the gaming industry’s clear ambition to shift consumer behaviour towards digital downloads (likely due to the greater control over pricing offered on e-stores), the disk variant is the expected and most logical choice for most people. It’s not that digital doesn’t have its benefits – pre-orders and space saving being two big ones – it’s just that the ability to trade in games for cash and buy second-hand ones at highly discounted prices is still extremely common place. Moreover, there’s still many of us who love to build their collection of hard-copy favourites. Even after all these years, I still treasure my copies of MGS1 through V.
With so much to take in and process, I run down the top 3 takeaways from the event and explore what the future might hold for the PS5.
The game reveals were mostly disappointing
Perhaps the most underwhelming part of the event, and the thing that took up the most time, were the reveal trailers.
For starters, I don’t care what anyone says, flashing the Rockstar logo on the screen only to reveal a PS5 remaster of GTAV, was not only a cruel trick on everyone expecting GTA6 but also a sign of how much the industry has changed over the last decade. Gone are the days of companies focussing their efforts on developing new games. It seems their time is now spent re-releasing old content with shiny add-ons to truly milk the cow dry. Quite frankly, it’s a joke that the re-release of a 7-year-old PS3 game was the first thing showcased at an event that frequently preached about being the ‘future of gaming’.
Once the disappointment of GTAV had sunk in, Sony treated us to what appeared to be a sneak-peak at an all new Spider-Man game focusing on Miles Morales. Alas, most excitement faded soon after the event and was replaced by pure confusion. First, a Sony exec stated it was, in fact, an expansion contained within a remaster of 2018’s Spider-Man. Since then, Insomniac have clarified it’s a stand-alone game, not dissimilar to Uncharted: Lost Legacy in scope. From that perspective, Spider-Man: Miles Morales is going to build upon the solid foundation of the 2018 main title without being considered a full sequel. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is somewhat disappointing that we’re getting Spider-Man 1.5 rather than 2. Hopefully things will be further clarified in the coming months.
It could be said that much of the other games that were revealed fall into the categories of “niche” and “artsy”. Games such as Stray, Kena: Bridge of Spirits and the truly perplexing Goodbye Volcano High did little to whet my appetite for the new machine and did even less in demonstrating its graphical potential (more on graphics later). Whilst there’s certainly a market for these games, nobody is buying the console for them and they almost certainly fall into the category of “launch titles that look quite cool, but you likely won’t play”. I suspect their inclusion was to position the PS5 once again as a machine for gamers by gamers (after the disastrous launch of the PS3 as a multi-media machine). Ultimately, though, they ended up being more of a hinderance.
Luckily, the appearance of some higher budget new games and much anticipated sequels salvaged the trailer portion of the event. The reveal of Resident Evil: Village caught me off guard and was a welcome respite from the barrage of new artsy IPs. Perhaps the star of the show was Horizon Forbidden West. Luckily, it’s not a standalone expansion, but a full sequel to 2017’s Zero Dawn. Graphically, Forbidden West looked incredible, the best of what was shown without question.
The console looks great
I’ve often thought the original PS4 design to be the best and most enduring ever. It sits next to my TV looking more like an ornament than a console. With that in mind, I wondered how Sony would bring something new but equally as cool with the PS5. Remarkably, they managed it.
While it may look like a wireless router (you can’t unsee it!) or a concept from a 2005 YouTube video, the design is unquestionably better and more innovative than its rival – the Xbox Series X. This time around, the flagship colour scheme is white and black. In a nice touch, when the console is in its vertical position and viewed from the front, it appears to grow and branch out into a ‘V’ shape – the roman numeral for 5.
Many people’s immediate reaction was to question whether the console could be placed in a horizontal position. Thankfully, it can, with the disk tray sitting on the bottom left side of the machine when viewed from the front. About the disk tray, it adds a bulge to the side of the console that isn’t there on the digital only addition. It’s unfortunate, especially given how well the PS4 (and PS2, for that matter) integrated it seamlessly into its design. I suspect it may be a subtle attempt to sway people towards the digital version because it does feel almost intentionally negligent in the context of an otherwise meticulous design.
Graphics received less focus than previous launches
Growing up, part of the excitement of console launches was waiting to see how much the graphics had improved on the previous generation. For pretty much every console launch I can remember, graphics have been at the forefront of the showcase.
The PS5 reveal showed little of that. Yeah, sure, there were a handful of games that looked great. But none that were any better than, say, The Last of Us Part 2. I understand that it often takes a couple of years to unleash the true graphical potential of a new console, but usually there’s a particular title that’s shown off at launch (even if the release date is a couple of years away) to demonstrate that potential.
Oddly, it was almost as if Sony were going out of their way to show games that didn’t require detailed and realistic graphics. Of course, some of those games looked fun, but if it’s something I could be playing on the PS4, why would I invest in a PS5? It was a weird choice. Maybe the reason is that graphics have come such a long way in the last ten years, we’re now at a point where further developments are going to be more subtle. Admittedly, watching a YouTube live stream might not be the best way of seeing those subtleties.
From a hardware perspective, the PS5 is certainly packing the necessary gear to deliver the most graphically impressive console gaming experience possible. And while graphics are by no means what make-or-break a ‘good’ video game, it would’ve been nice to see more of what the future might hold.
What’s next?
For many, the next big thing on everyone’s mind is the price.
A dummy listing appeared on Amazon UK earlier this week pricing the console at £599.99. While Amazon have now said this was a dummy price for a dummy listing, it has set hares racing, nonetheless. With many lads out there trying to figure out how to attract a rich cougar to get them their PS5, I wonder about the kids who may be disappointed on Christmas morning due to such a steep price tag. Realistically, I expect the price to be in the £400-£500 range. Let’s hope Sony keep it on the lower end of that scale and reveal more exciting launch titles to justify the day-one purchase I’m so desperate to make.
Let us know your thoughts on the PS5 and the game you’re most looking forward to in the comments below…
Featured Image Credit: Sony (fair use)
