Cliff Notes – Would you buy a PlayStation that was a PC?
- The potential shift towards a PC-like architecture for future PlayStation consoles could reduce hardware R&D costs, allowing Sony to focus more on game development.
- As PC gaming gains popularity and streaming becomes a preferred method for casual gamers, a PlayStation designed as a ‘PC in a box’ may align with market trends.
- The success of the PS5 Pro’s pricing raises questions about the viability of traditional console models, suggesting that a PC-based approach might be a strategic move for Sony.
Games Inbox: Would you buy a PlayStation that was a PC?
Should Sony embrace a PC future? (Sony/Metro)
The Thursday letters page is surprised that Nintendo Switch 2 stock is relatively easy to find, as one reader looks forward to Hellblade 2 on PS5.
Box it up
Hearing about the rumours of the next gen Xbox being basically an ordinary PC makes perfect sense and is not a surprise to me. I think it’s the only logical move left for Xbox, even if I’m not sure how they’re going to make any money from it if Steam and the other stores are going to be on there.
PC gaming is quickly taking over, so my question is whether the PlayStation 6 could also be a ‘PC in a box’. It may sound crazy but a few years ago, so too would the idea of Sony games appearing on PC. I really don’t see what the argument would be against it, especially given how expensive the PS5 Pro already is.
Making the next PlayStation, or at least the PlayStation 7, a PC means Sony don’t have to spend nearly as much on hardware R&D and can instead concentrate on making games. Something that they don’t seem to have had the time or money for this gen.
I think especially as streaming starts to take off, as the preferred casual method for playing games, it will only be the PC that is left as an alternative. It’s sad in a way but, personally speaking, as long as the games are still good I don’t really care that much.
Purple Ranger
Doomed highlight
I’ve just beaten Doom: The Dark Ages and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think your review was accurate but since I was playing it for free on Game Pass the faults didn’t really bother me. However, I have to comment on the story, or rather the fact that Bethesda chose to highlight as one of the most important new features of the game.
It’s a complete non-event: boring and cliched, with no characters of any interest. Even the game seems to lose interest because there are very few proper cut scenes in the second half, not that that’s a problem. None of it is a problem, really, because who wants a story in a game like Doom? So why did Bethesda make so much of a fuss about it?
If it had been good that would’ve been one thing. If there’d been a lot of cut scenes that would’ve been something else. But it was just nothing. I really don’t understand why they ever thought to mention it.
James
Speed of Mercury
Is there a chance you will review Blades Of Fire, please? I’m very interested in MercurySteam games; I love both of their Metroid games and I’m that one person that liked all three of their Castlevania games (yes, Lords Of Shadow 2 was unfocused and padded out, but I loved what it got right so much).
Your reviews are the ones I trust the most so if you do have the time I’d appreciate it, the few I’ve seen have been quite mixed.
Thank you, keep up the excellent work.
Beastiebat (PSN ID)
Currently playing: Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, Metroid Dread, and Elevator Action -Returns- S-Tribute
GC: Thank you. We’re trying to get it done but we’re a bit behind this week, due to staff holidays and press events.
News update
There’s a couple of things I’ve not seen yourselves or any readers mention lately, so I thought I should bring them up.
The Sea Of Stars DLC is out now!
It’s absolutely free too, which seems crazy because it looks quite substantial. I’m looking forward to playing it this weekend when I have more time.
Another thing I’ve not seen mentioned is that Hogwarts Legacy on Switch 2 can be bought at a huge discount if you own the game on Switch. Around £10 reportedly.
You can even buy the game on Switch in the sale now and then buy the Switch 2 version, costing under £30 in total, it seems, which is a great deal.
It’s not an upgrade as the Switch 2 game isn’t a port.
Keep up the great work! I don’t write in much, but I still read every morning. I finally prefer this than the Teletext days now.
Fatys Henrys
GC: Thank you for your patronage.
Old and new
Excited to hear some actual news about the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel and that it will feature at least one whole new city. However, I hope that the game features both the whole of Night City and the new one. Strangely, I can’t think of any sequels that do that. With GTA, they don’t include the previous game and the new one, and I’m not sure anywhere else does either.
Weirdly, the only example I can think of that did that is Pokémon Gold and Silver, which had the whole of the map from Red and Blue (thanks to no less than Satoru Iwata himself). I’m sure there’s technical reasons it doesn’t happen usually but while the PlayStation 5 and beyond may no longer show much of a graphical improvement perhaps there’ll be able to do things like this more easily.
Kankor
The end of the beginning
So, after being reminded that my mother’s partner doesn’t like me very much I’ve cheered up with two lovely pieces of news. Stellar Blade is getting a sequel, very soon. It releases on PC next month. The second announcement is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 on PlayStation 5 in the summer. This is something I was highly anticipating. Just the graphics alone makes it worth the time. So, after this and Gears Of War also releasing on PlayStation I’m not asking if Xbox is truly dead. It’s a fact that Xbox is indeed only kept afloat by Game Pass.
This is only the start. Halo will release on PlayStation 5. Fable. Avowed. State Of Decay 3. Starfield. The list goes on. In hindsight this is deserved. Because of the Xbox One’s failure Microsoft lagged behind an entire generation and Sony raced ahead, never looking back. I never brought an Xbox One, actually. The PlayStation 4 was my choice in 2013 and after picking up the last one, at Argos in 2014. I never gave the Xbox One a second look.
Today, Microsoft are still suffering from their malignant decisions and it is thoroughly deserved. If I was Phil Spencer I’d cancel the upcoming handheld, because that is leading up to a fail, much more so than the Xbox One. Not even ASUS can save Xbox.
Shahzaib Sadiq
Direct from the source
I’m always fascinated by Nintendo’s Ask the Developers interviews, they’re so in-depth and genuine and I don’t think they get enough recognition. Nintendo’s reputation is of being secretive and distant, but Sony and Microsoft would never do something like this. They just have carefully worded developer quotes that were probably written by a marketing person anyway.
Who would’ve guessed they’ve been planning Mario Kart World for eight years or that they were already making Switch 2 games, based on preliminary specs, in 2020? I guess that’s the sort of time you need but it’s very interesting to get exact dates and to hear it from the horse’s mouth.
Onibee
In stock now
I’ve managed to bag myself a Switch 2 pre-order after you put your article up on where to buy it. I was going to hold off; eventually decided I can’t resist the temptation to play the new Mario Kart. But I think it will be a good long term investment and there’s no ruling out that there might be an eventual price increase of the unit, like there’s been recently with other consoles.
After I managed to get my pre-order done about a week ago or so I’ve visited some of those retailers, websites just to see how lucky I got managing to pre-order it in the first place. I’ve been able to see deals every time; different deals but there’s always been at least one available with Mario Kart or the Zelda pack or camera or SD card bundle. I’ve checked out of curiosity about four or five times and could have dropped on a pre-order again and again, so does that mean Nintendo is actually beating the scalpers? Or is it too expensive or is there a lack of interest?
I couldn’t for the life of me get an Xbox Series X day one, at the start of the generation because of the use of online bots, but it seems something has changed for the better with the latest Nintendo console release. That’s got to be a good thing for everyone, except the scalpers.
Nick The Greek
GC: It’s hard to tell but there’s no indication of a lack of demand, given analysts think Nintendo is being too cautious in its sales predictions. They always said they wanted no shortages at launch, so we guess their plan worked. It was probably helped by the fact that the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 came out at the same time, during Covid, and so were competing for manufacturing time and resources. By contrast, Switch 2 has a clear run at a quiet time of year for games.
Inbox also-rans
I had literally no idea that Fortnite wasn’t on mobile for the last five years. I would’ve figured that was its biggest format, but I guess you’re saying it wasn’t?
Mouse
GC: No, it’s one of the smallest. Apparently not even Fortnite fans want to play with touchscreen controls.
I would never, ever in a million years pay £80 for a video game. Even if I got it for cheap later, the fact that it was at one point that much would still put me off.
Gribbly
