Yesterday was an event that many had anticipated for a long while, myself included. A look at Sony’s next generation console that had been shrouded in some mystery, a strategic move that is currently playing out leading up to the holiday season. It’s Sony against Microsoft in a battle to sway gamers to part with their hard earned cash and probably bring their friends along for the ride too. Sony’s PlayStation 5 stream was definitely a step up to Microsoft’s empty promises of showcasing gameplay a few weeks back. The stream started with the iconic Sony boot screen and I was hit by a wave of nostalgia.
PlayStation has been part of my life for a long time and there are moments when I look over my catalogue of games that I’ve gone through over the years. These titles are now thought to be retro and it feels somewhat surreal to say the least. Sony did a great job of showcasing the various titles, some new and some very familiar franchises. It was great to see that game studios were ready to develop for the PS5 and it wasn’t much of a surprise that GTA V would be getting yet another release on the console. Although, I am a little worn out and will be holding off to see if the sixth instalment to the main series will make an appearance down the line. Ratchet and Clank made an appearance and that hit right in the feels, it’s always been one of my favourite games and also reminded me of Jack and Daxter, I hope Naughty Dog revisit the duo again one day. Gran Turismo looks great as ever but I have grown out of touch with the racing sim over the years. Spider-Man: Miles Morales was perhaps the highlight of the stream and is going to be a kickass launch game.
We can applaud Sony for showing at least part of their hand as pricing is still under wraps and the digital version is another unpriced offering at this point in time. Its Microsoft’s turn to turn up or take bow. However, an overall feeling of underwhelm is hard to explain. The showcased games are not one’s that I feel I would go out of my way to pre-order at launch and perhaps graphical or online innovation is needed to make me really go wow. I am interested to see if Resident Evil 8 will really without load times, but again, I am not yet compelled to feel overly excited about the next generation of gaming. Perhaps the next wave of VR will also sway my opinion, but no sign of that just yet.
The consoles aesthetic reveal itself left many scratching their heads too, the memes have started rolling in but the cat is out of the bag now and Sony will have to embrace the love and hate until a redesign inevitably comes along in a few years post launch. Next gen is coming, it’s not that exciting but we may see some pleasant surprises along the way. Prepare your wallets in the meanwhile.
You can check the stream here if you missed it, what do you think of the PS5?