PS5: 10 Ways Sony Are Letting EVERYONE Down
Sony are throwing away an easy win.
In terms of pure sales figures, the PlayStation 5 is an undeniable runaway success - and releasing as it did during one of the most logistically challenging periods of modern human history only makes it that much more impressive.
Yet with the PS5's honeymoon period long over and the console now approaching the mid-way point of its projected seven-year life cycle, it's time to be real about the console's failings - or rather, how Sony hasn't fully capitalised on its potential.
Despite Sony having an enormous amount of player goodwill from the hugely successful and acclaimed PS4 era, to date the PS5's tenure has been more than a little underwhelming.
Even with the mighty hardware under the hood, the console doesn't quite feel like it's hitting as hard as it should be, in turn causing Sony to effectively leave a ton of money on the table.
Even with 2023 being arguably one of the best years in gaming ever, it's tough not to feel like Sony is resting a little too eagerly on their laurels and, in turn, doing gamers a major disservice...
10. Safe, Formulaic First-Party Output
Now, it would be patently ridiculous to declare that Sony's first-party output is bad or anything close to it - they have cracked the formula for delivering extremely polished, mega-budget AAA tentpole games almost every single time.
But the key word here is "formula", with the overwhelming majority of the PS5's first-party titles painting within incredibly familiar - if certainly popular - action-adventure lines.
Take well-crafted yet familiar sequels and spin-offs like God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure, alongside "original" new IP like Ghost of Tsushima and Forspoken which, again, deliver exactly what's expected.
These types of glossy known quantities tend to sell best, of course, but where's the innovation?
The PS5 is in dire need of its next Death Stranding - and no, Death Stranding 2 doesn't really count - a fiercely unique experience that strays far from the typicality of open-world action fare, or at least offers a fresh spin on it.
Again, most of Sony's AAA output is at the very least solid, but when you strip away the cutting-edge visuals, gameplay and genre variety has scarcely changed or evolved in years.