GRMember

You know.. It's such a shame that a game could have exploration, puzzles, easy to pick up but tough to master combat, AND a cinematic presentation.

When they could just do what 99% of other 3rd person games do and load it full of terrible fetch quests, poor AI, clunky cameras, inconsistent fidelity, generic music, and uninspired character designs.

Such a missed opportunity.

I'd recommend the last Saints Row. Feels more your pace.

Not sure why anyone's surprised.

It's not just a PSN thing.

It's a "everyone who wanted to play this did so on PS4 or 5". The original God of War was on PS4 exclusively, meaning tons of PC gamers with far more advanced systems had a reason to hold off.

There's literally 3 tiers: introductory (PS4), upgraded (PS5) and advanced (PC).

No one's waiting 22 months for a slightly improved version.

I can't not address the "real topic" (a nice little article so yet another member of the gaming media can rant about the PS5 and the Pro). PS5 saw MASSIVE scalper activity.

This is being done PURELY to combat that by placing every single facet of the first push on Sony themselves.

Sure, Amazon could have had it Day 1.

But remember how OG PS5 was being scalped SUCCESSFULLY at over 1200$? Yeah, not great either.

And if this can cut down on that aspect of the Pro's launch, I say it's a smart idea.

The point I was making is, sure. Horizon 2 and Ragnarok DO have PS4 versions.

But if a person is buying a PS4 in 2022-2024, that's not on Sony.

That's a consumer that's looking for a deal.

That's just not what PS4-5 Pro was EVER positioned as.

They are luxury consoles.

And acting like they should have been just 100-150$ more than the original is ludicrous, as much as the gamers that advocate for piracy if they can't get their way (and just re-releasing games isn't just copy pasting. These retro games have music licenses that expire, companies that get bought up, and artists who were commissioned for the OG release and must be re-negotiated with in order for it to release again).

Not every release is for every consumer.

If you JUST bought a PS5 in the last 6-12 months, hell even if you bought it Day 1, the upgrades aren't going to be worth it for most gamers.

Unless we're only talking about the gamers obsessed with FPS and 8K resolution, but those gamers are on PC already anyways.

And we can say "better off building your own PC" but gamers play consoles because of the actual plug and play. The ability to allow the system to deal with drivers and the OS on its own.

The ability to utilize a controller based experience.

If you're a mouse and keyboard person, if you like customizing your hardware, consoles aren't for you and we should stop pretending like any console is swaying a PC gamer (75% of whom participate in disc imaging and piracy anyways) whose abject moral stance isn't really something anyone should cater to in the first place.

Firstly, Nintendo better have BC with Switch 2, which would make most of their recent releases even more pointless, if we're actually talking about consumer appeal.

Secondly, for those who waited for the Pro, thinking that inflation hadn't made it considerably more expensive, I laugh at how a 40% increase on the regular PS5 (it was 25-30% for PS4 Pro over 7 years ago and PS4 didn't have multiple price increases during its lifespan).

Third, the concept of a "system exclusive" no longer has much merit.

Every Xbox "exclusive" also has a Day One PC version. Every Xbox game Day One game is apparently not worth purchasing, and games like Horizon 2 and God of War Ragnarok aren't worth purchasing a PS5 for. Despite the fact that most of these games came out AFTER PS5 came out.

If a gamer makes the decision to buy a PS4 for these games, it's not really on Sony.

The games came out on older systems due to Sony trying to combat what were then stock shortages.

Meaning, for anyone who bought a PS4 early, sure. They could wait for more games before buying said new system.

But the PS4 is almost 9 years old and showing it's age in multiple ways.

The second factor here is that Pro is confirmed by multiple official channels as having 2TB of onboard SSD.

Basically meaning a 1.2TB increase PLUS the expansion bay for an optional M.2.

Which adds AT LEAST an additional 120$ to the inherent value proposition. Add that to the original price of 450 (say 425 for digital) that's 545 for base stats. But they're not base stats either.

Nintendo just had their second worst quarter since Switch launched.

And PS5 still sells at 2-2.5x what Xbox sells at.

Unless an Xbox speckled with green paint is "headline worthy" in your book.

So 250$ extra for the Pro.

Seems on par for this sort of announcement, to be blunt.

The PS5 released at 400$ (digital) and currently sits at 450$ recommended.

So if the regular PS5 has gone up, chances that a notably improved console wouldn't be similarly priced.

Then again.. A headline like this suggests gamers are idiots who can't save their money.

Then again, if 700$ in a month isn't affordable, you're overpaying on your rent (because you choose to live somewhere you can't afford to) and likely never committed yourself to getting a better paying job.

Hence, feeding the stereotype that "games are still just for kids". Frankly, an adult that takes a regular vacation, invests, and never made excuses about their career should be able to afford this on one paycheque.

But if not, here's finances 101: save 200$ a month until then and make it happen.

It's 700$. Not a new house.

Really, Ali?

More than 10 publications, 40 YouTubers, and 30 Redditors have posted similar frustrations (and all with pretty high engagement) but that's apparently just "one or two" people to you?

The fact is, you're ignoring a massive design flaw, something that wasn't an issue in say.. Dragon Age Inquisition (a game that came out 8 years ago and is now less than a fifth the price of Black Myth).

Games are play tested for things like this, this was ignored by them AND the developer, and despite releasing at a AAA price point, you're just ok with it because.. Well, you're ok with settling for bad game design as long as most of the game is fun.

Maybe if you were more discerning with your gaming purchases, you'd see it's something that degrades the experience, but I guess I'll take your advice and not care about what a "PLAYER" thinks.