As The PS5 Enters Its Latter Half, It Pales In Comparison To The PS4

The PlayStation has always been the go-to gaming console for millions of gamers and has had success across its many iterations. The PlayStation 2 took strides to become a phenomenal console and the best-selling console of all time. Following up on this premise, the PS4 was undoubtedly, the single most important console for video game advancements.

Back when the exclusives war between Sony and Xbox was at its height and the PC master race was always one step ahead, it was the exclusives on the PS4 that shifted both players and expectations towards the console. We had Uncharted 4 competing against high-end PCs, The Last Of Us hit us with realism never before seen, and God Of War 2018 revived the legendary franchise from the dead. The PlayStation 4 was something else.

However, The PlayStation 5, the latest version of the product developed by Sony, has been mediocre at best compared to its older counterpart. While it has advanced features like haptic feedback, 120 Hz Refresh rate, and the capability of displaying 8k Video, the console doesn’t have an issue in the hardware sector, but rather in its game catalog.

The Underlying Problem

Don’t get me wrong, the PlayStation 5 is an amazing experience, for the few games it offers.

Fundamentally there is nothing wrong with the PS5, as a gaming console the PS5 provides very high levels of performance and graphical fidelity while keeping its appearance futuristic and cool. It makes the Playstation 4 look like an old piece of furniture, both visually and in performance. While the PlayStation 5 wins at almost everything against the PS4, the one thing it falls flat on is the exclusives.

The PlayStation 5 has seen its fair share of exclusive Titles such as God of War Ragnarok, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Final Fantasy XVI, and the recently released Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. These Games are excellent and fun to play, but they still feel repetitive compared to the Titles of the Playstation 4 era. Most of what we have today are sequels, new IPs are rare to see, and even rarer to play.

The PlayStation 4 had some of the best titles of all time under its belt, such as Uncharted 4, God of War 2018, The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, and BloodBorne which is unrivaled even among the Souls games, I would argue that it is one of the most meticulous titles ever created. These games utterly destroyed their competition and defined genres for years to come.

In comparison to the PlayStation 4, PC games of that time had ray tracing and other graphical advantages. However, because of the unique combination of exclusive titles and performance, the PS4 still managed to overshadow them and dominate the gaming industry. Instead of unique and industry-breaking Titles the Playstation 5 has its catalogue filled with sequels and remakes of older PS4 games.

The Wasted Potential Of The PlayStation 5

As mentioned before the PS5 is not short of the latest and groundbreaking features and rivals even the latest high-tech computers. But its potential is being wasted by both game developers and Sony who have not released major titles other than re-releases and sequels. Of course, we have Ragnarok, Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart, and Returnal, none of these were game changers, simply put they were just great experiences, that’s about it.

As the average duration of a console generation is about 6 years, and as the PS5 crosses the 4-year mark, Sony, made a big reveal about the future of the console. According to Sony’s Q3 2023 earnings report, the PlayStation 5 will be entering the latter “half” of its console cycle, not the latter “stage,” which Bloomberg originally reported. The PS5 was launched in 2020. In an interview with Bloomberg, Sony senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka stated the following:

Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle.”

In these four years, the Playstation 5 still has not realized its full potential and the only thing holding it back is the lack of implementation. Naughty Dog, one of the most renowned game developers, has only released Remakes of their previous games. They have yet to reveal any new IP for the PS5. This also comes with the news of them “delaying” their stand-alone Last Of Us Title.

Similarly, Santa Monica another well-known game developer has contributed towards the lack of unique titles on the PS5. They have also followed the trend of developing sequels to their existing IP such as the God of War Ragnarok. Although the sequel has its merits, it still lacks in some ways as compared to God of War 2018.

However, Indie games have had some success on the platform. These independent games provide an alternative to the mainstream games but also contribute significantly to fixing the diversity of games on the PS5. The Outer Wilds, Rollerdrome, Sifu, Disco Elysium, and very recently Helldivers 2 are some of the games that have had success on the platform and add some much-needed variety and excitement to the gaming experience.

Conclusion

In summary, The PlayStation 5 is a spectacular gaming console that can forever change the gaming industry. Unfortunately, the console has not yet achieved its full potential due to its lack of support and dependencies. In addition to that statement, the console has several exclusive titles, but they do not meet the expectations of their predecessors.

As of yet, only a handful of titles like Astro’s Playroom were able to capture the magic and utilize all available tools at the disposal of the PS5. The console will undoubtedly benefit from some groundbreaking titles that can demonstrate the console’s high capacity and offer gamers that stunning and ideal video game experience, that is, if Sony can provide any.