Sony is already struggling to get people to upgrade from the PS4 to the PS5
Where is the proof in a statement like this? The PS5 has sold 84.2 million units in the past 5 years on market. The PS4 sold 86 millipn units in that same timespan and was lauded as a roaring success.
To be fair, I absolutely think that there is a group of people out there who still have a PS4 as their daily driver because they are super thrifty and don't mind playing games at 30fps. Most games received PS4 ports until last year, but even today many games still get PS4 versions.
I would say the fact that the PS4 could still be so relevant in terms of getting games (aside from AAA cause that ship has mostly sailed as of 2024) and yet has been almost matched by the PS5 despite that fact doesn't really imply that its in any kind of percarious situatuon. On top of that, the PS5 has managed to keep pace with its incredibly successful successor while never price dropping and having an absurdly expensive Pro model that alienated way more users than the PS4 Pro did.
If there truly is a super substantial audience of PS4 players who refuse to upgrade to PS5, they've been largely replaced in the sales demographics anyway.
Being idiot proof is the only selling point of consoles, and there are people out there who want to never have to waste time or effort figuring anything out in life. SteamOS is pretty much there, while providing all the consumer benefits of Steam and the open PC platform.
Valve said it will be competitively priced with entry level gaming PCs. Idiots on youtube are saying it will be around 1000 USD or more, which would only happen if inflation and ram prices skyrocket. That would squeeze and stall out the hardware market across the board.
This is like 3 year old hardware AMD has kicking around that they are going to mass produce for Valve who has enough leverage and cash to break even and bundle it with a controller for like 600.
It should be double the performance of the entry level Xbox Series S, and undoubtedly deflate the latest rubber balloon that Microsoft are trying to gaslight everybody into calling an Xbox. It should perform like a base PS5.
Depending on price, and even retail store presence; it could take off as the next big game console competitor. I think it's going to avoid being subject to console warriors who circlejerk over Sony hardware narratives, crying about how it is "holding back" gaming like the Series S was. PC hardware is already scalable and immune to that bullshit.
I think hitting 10 million units for it is totally doable before next gen shows up, and the failure narratives from crybabies will pivot and only focus on "Why not just build your own PC?" arguments, which are negated by the turn-key simplicity it is selling.
I'm sorry but a new box that performs only slightly better than a then 6 year old PS5 is exactly the reason I don't understand the appeal. Again this is a box that is gonna have to compete with the convenience and value crowd just 1 year in when the PS6 launches in 2027 (assuming all that speculation is true of course).
And yea I could see it selling 5-10m units max to a lot of PC enthusiasts that want a cheap rig elsewhere in the house and a handful of people willing to get into the PC space who view this as ideal for whatever reason. But aside from those two niches I really do not get the point.
I vehemently disagree with anyone who says that being idiot proof is the only selling point for consoles. In 2020/2021 you were not building a PC equivilant PS5 for $500. In 2022/2023 the gap closed a bit as scalping slowed down and some hardware got discounted but it still wasn't close. In 2024/2025 it is possible to hit that $500 price point and have specs that even slightly exceed a PS5, but again you lose out on that stellar console optimization that allows for a game to punch above its equivilant PC's weight.
If you bought a PS5 for $500 in those first couple years you are still playing AAA games at 60fps med/med-high PC settings (with exceptions like the rough FF7 Rebirth) at around 108pp/1440p with the option for 30fps 4k. You are not doing that on a $500 PC build from that era.
To put it another way, if you have bought every Sony system since the PS3 at launch full price you've spent $1500 total on hardware. Can you show me anyone easily keeping up with AAA over 20 years who only had to spend $1500 within the PC space? That number is more likely to be around $2.5k or so if we're talling mid-level. Maybe you disagree that consoles tend to be solid mid-level equivilant experiences though.
In any case, for someone thrifty that this already aging hardware would appeal to in 2026, what sounds better? A PS5 they can buy used for $200-250 for the past couple years and will likely receive extended support the same way a PS4 has? A PC that is only slightly outperforming PS5 priced at $500-600? Or the PS6 that releases in a couple years that all leaks and analysts speculate will be $600-650?
The timeline of it just doesn't make sense to me. For the PC user buying an alt setup, maybe they value how portable it is to bring a LAN setup around or fit it neatly in a living room so its worth not just building a second rig for the same purpose (plus again, convenience of a console-esque experience). For anyone with an ancient rig who has just been struggling with modern games it could serve as a thrifty upgrade path since they don't mind having hardware out of date and having to fiddle with some settings. I kind of fall into that category myself, but I don't bother with most modern AAA games on PC so my expected PC load is way lighter to begin with.
Idk we're talking in circles at this point but I appreciate your insight. I just really wish I could see the hype like so many people currently do. I think for raw gaming value a PS5 still wins out thanks to how cheap used ones go for. If you're ultra super omega thrifty even a PS4 that goes for $100-125 will play most games released in the last 12 years and most of those games are bargain bin cheap physical even when compared to cdkeys and steam sales. For anyone who cares about turn-key simplicity and convenience they're - in my experience - already too scared to download mostly turn-key emulators (many exist) or install turn-key CFW on certain systems to unlock their max value, so I don't think they're fully rational enough yo appreciate a turn-key PC experience anyways. Inevitably, it will be the slightest bit less convenient than a console anyway and the faintest whiff of that will send them running. Of course there are people who value simplicity but are still willing to take that extra plunge so its still worth bringing up.
Agree to disagree, I do hope that it clicks with me soon and this does well on the market, whatever Valve's goals are.
