Sony Will Continue to Make PS4 Games Moving Forwards

Spider Man 2 for PS4 confirmed basically. Last Gen will never end at this point

Thats fine as long as you don't also forget the people who invested a lot of money for a NEXT GEN experience. Its still shocking how few games there are that are built only with PS5 in mind.

This is is either indicative that current gen isn’t that far ahead of last gen power wise or Sony cares more about the bottom line than rewarding people who have bought into the insane paywall that is PS5.

Either way, this sucks.

Pretty sure it's probably going to be all of the live service titles

Probably the live service games will release on PS4 also to bolster player count.

It definitely is holding this generation back. There's never been a situation like it before.

I'd rather the PS4 get left behind and devs focus on making better games for this new generation of hardware only. Making games with the PS4 in mind holds games back on the PS5 and that kinda sucks. The only games I'm okay playing PS4 versions of are retro compilations and retro inspired stuff like The Messenger and Shovel Knight. Who wants to play GoW Ragnarok on a base PS4?

There does come a point where you have to let go. It’ll only hold back devs’ creativity if they come up against limitations.

They should just officially rename the PS5 to "PS4 Pro Pro" because that's what it is

Jim : I believe in generati...what ? Still lots of money to be made ? Ok scrap that lets keep the money rolling in ..we can always say it's the series s holding everyone back

I'm not hugely concerned by this - its good that they will continue to serve the PS4 owning crowd.
Forcing your titles to be next gen only is usually done to force adoption of the new gen. In this gen, Sony has more customers for the new gen than they can supply, so its not needed for that.

This also allows households who might struggle a bit to hang on to their older console and still have some access to newer games.

The same people who will moan that Sony should move on and drop support, are also likely to be the ones critiquing them for not being more cost conscious and pricing people out. You cant hold both points of view?

I'm still hopeful we will see more PS5 specific software as well as continued PS4 support. I don't think it helps that MS have not shipped anything obviously next gen, so there's no pressure to match what the other platform are delivering. I guess time will tell.

I can't really blame them, I think I've got more friends who haven't upgraded yet than have. Either because of the availability, or money concerns nowadays,or maybe simply so happy with last gen that they dont feel the need to.
Though admiteddly a few showpiece titles might remove the last one.

We Believe in Generations, baby!

Edit:
Seriously, during the launch years of the platform, I didn't mind, in fact, I encouraged, all games run in prev gen. Games launched during that window tend to start their development in last gen hardware, and get upgraded for the next gen, so releasing last gen versions along them is perfectly sensible.

But 3,4, 5 years out? At that point you are actually holding development back.

To me this sounds like they are not happy with the software sales figures of PS5 versions of their games, and feel they need to keep selling these games to PS4 users to sustain their expected yearly sale figures.

It’s most likely their gaas games which absolutely makes sense.

I'm not surprised. Every Playstation has had a minimum ten year lifespan. The last PS3 game was released in 2020... 14 years after the system launch. Given Covid, the collapse of a reliable supply chain, global economic collapse, and a now real possibility of WW3 with nukes... I'd expect PS4 games to continue releasing until at least 2027 to 2030... assuming that hopefully people are still around to make them.

@Royalblues That's a considered response mate and typical of some fine replies from you I've read lately.
Needless to say I completely agree - even the bit about pointless remakes (even I draw the line at horizon )

I guess when Returnal (or any other 100% PS5 exclusive) comes to the PC you will see it Steam Deck verified and then you wonder why there is no PS4 version. In any case imagine seeing Spiderman 2 or Final Fantasy 16 in PS4. After the announcement of the PS4 version of Resident Evil 4 I guess everything is possible.

oof sony what are you doing?

thats like telling people dont buy a PS5

@IonMagi absolutely not that and wolverine have been very clear that they are only ps5 games

@stvevan supporting both their ongoing consoles like any good business would do

@dark_knightmare2 Have they? They also announced Miles Morales and HFW for PS5 first and then also added PS4 Versions. GT7 was supposed to be PS5 only too before they forced PD to also make a PS4 Version

As a PS5 owner, I've loved Ratchet and Clank for example as something that felt next gen. At the same time, we are way out in terms of usual gen arrangements. Approaching the two year anniversary of the PS5 and normally by this point in the lifespan we'd be seeing price drops and new bundles etc. Right now, people still can't walk into a shop and buy one. At the same time, millions of people still game daily on PS4... so what are they going to do.

Same issue with MS to a certain extent.

@Rudy_Manchego MS has dropped thd Xbox One for all their future Games tho

So they should. PS5/Ps4 are basically PCs... no reason they should not scale up or down up to a point.

Should not be artificial. If the game can scale make it happen.

Because of world events they couldn’t sell enough. This is the only reason. It makes me sad. But at least we are getting VR, which is true next gen for me.

@Dr_Luigi probably extended yeah, with every advance in power, game production time and expense increases, and that is probably at its limit really, from a cost to make view.
Maybe greater ai assistance will be the next big thing in video game production, though who knows.

@Agramonte The way weaker hardware still holds back though. A lot of stuff apart from pure graphics is determined by hardware and compromises need to be made you would not see without said weaker hardware. A dev from Remedy has spoken about this in detail at the beginning of the gen.

@invictus4000 we won't be forgotten with an extra 10 pounds fee per game

I’m starting to think that my PS5 is a glorified PS4. Having PS4 versions of games doesn’t show what PS5 is truly capable of as they have to make games work on both. I have had every Sony console since day one. PS5 is starting to feel more more like the failed PS Vita (which I did love) at this point. Very frustrating decisions by Sony recently.

Probably a PC related thing, if games can run on a HDD PC it may be able to run on PS4. It'll be interesting to see the PC requirements for something like Returnal.

I must be misreading my calendar. It's not April 1st today is it?!??

Maybe it was a mistake to make a PS5. Probably should go into a new generation the phone way like Microsoft did with Xbox. So they should have made a PS4 Super Pro or a PS4 Pro 2. PS5 already feels like it's made for a new gen which hasn't properly started yet. So it feels like we are just playing games on it like it's still part of the PS4 generation only that it looks different

I'm looking the PS5 to be a brand new traditional gen with new games made for it that last gen can't run. But the way things are going, the PS5 is basicially just another PS4 that complicated things like BC, save transfers, which version of the game we play, etc.

I don't mind them making games for the PS4, especially if it's multiplayer but when it comes to single player games, I don't like that the PS4 will hold back the PS5

Absolutely ridiculous. I could accept the cross gen thing for the first 6 months or so of the PS5's life but now........ nearly 2 years later it's time to let the PS4 die gracefully

@Dr_Luigi what do you expect the generation transition should be then? More pixels, ram, processing power, etc. has always been the main difference between generations.

Im not overly concerned at this stage. But it does make me start to think about how long this generation might last though as this one has taken an awfully long time to get going. It will be interesting to see which titles Sony select for a cross-platform release

Real world economic issues will undoubtedly be a major factor here as people increasingly are either unable or unwilling to upgrade so Sony will need to identify alternative income streams.

I bet they will try to launch Spiderman 2 on ps4 if they can given the install base and popularity of the ip.

@dark_knightmare2
there are already games for ps4 until end 23- acceptable, no complaints. anything new should be ps5 focused now.

there has to be a cross over point.

with this statement sony is saying dont buy a ps5 right now.

So we all bought PS5’s for some rumbles in our Dualsense and slightly better graphics lol

@Dman10 it’s the PS4 Pro Pro 🤣

Even less of a reason to get a PS5. I thought Ragnarok would be the last PS4/5 exclusive but it seems like they are priming us for Spiderman 2 and beyond to be on both consoles

So after all that fuss at the start of this generation.
It looks like Xbox and their studios will be releasing new generation only games first that should take full advantage, we hope 😂
Redfall, Starfield and Forza, all maybe next year.

There has been more twists and turns this generation from Sony and Microsoft than I have ever known from all other generations combined.
What a PR world we live in.

As a PS4 Pro (with SSD) owner, I'm happy with this.

If I was a PS5 owner, I'd be very miffed.

By the time anything decent drops on the 5, hopefully the remodelled (less hideous) version will be out and available in shops. In the meantime, no rush, it seems...

@stvevan how when even cross gen games are infinitely better on ps5 not to mention all the other benefits it provides. I have both next gen systems and I feel they were both worth it even though I feel Xbox’s first two years has been pretty bad game wise

They must still have pretty strong player engagement to keep this up. I generally don't have a problem with cross-gen for the most part. However, with the recent news around the Horizon 1 remake along with the TLOU1 remake, it's a fair question to ask "Why the heck did I buy this thing again?"

It looks even worse when you consider Plague Tale Requiem, a NEW game built only for current gen consoles from a way smaller publisher and dev team comes out in just a couple weeks...and it's only $60.

@Dezzy70 @IonMagi

Microsoft still has to make games for the XSS, that has the Tflops of a PS4Pro.

They have to scale all the games down to 4Tflops and 10meg of ram on the XSS

So in theory all Microsoft games will be "held back" because they need to run on the lower spec XSS (That is not even a 4K machine) for the entire lifespan of the XSX (that is complete nonsense)

You cant make a hardware theory for PS and then toss it out the window for Xbox and PC.

Its depressing that 2 years on we are still getting last gen games with PS5 ports. I really hope Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine aren't on PS4 as well and are PS5 exclusives.

@Colour There's a huge difference in hardware so it's not that that's the problem. The PS4 was considered underpowered when it came out almost a decade ago. The PS5 is up there with high level (if not the highest level) gaming PCs.

As Digital Foundry said, back when the PS4 came out, if you wanted a PC that could run games on the same settings, at the same FPS, you'd only needed to have spent $100 on the graphics card. To do the same now with the PS5, it'd be one of the better current graphics cards.

@Agramonte XSS is able to play certain Games at 1440p at 60 FPS, something a PS4 Pro is not able to lol. They also announced a few weeks ago that they will release an Update which gives Devs more RAM to use which will make more Games able to play at this Resolution and FPS. Sony is still making Games for the Base PS4 in 2024 which has...how many Tflops again?

@dschons

That is not across the board. I can run a game from a 3080 all the way to a steamdeck that is a freaking Linux machine

Some work - and others cant scale that low. It is case by case not an artificial "generational" wall that apply to every game.

@BeerIsAwesome Except games are being held back by the dated PS4

@dark_knightmare2 by doing crossgen it stops full use of ps5 specs.

as i said at some point it has to stop, 3yrs after release is a decent length.

Sony has to give a reason to buy ps5, a price hike (which i understood), endless remakes, pc ports, $70games....... my frustration is growing.

@IonMagi
Your jump to conclusions was so high it would win gold medals at the Olympics

Starting to think spiderman 2 and the tlou factions games will get ps4 versions.

@Dr_Luigi better AI, real time effects, physics, player/enemy count are all due to more ram and processing power. 3D graphics is due to more pixels (which is already a simplified way of saying it).

That leaves online which can't be added again since it's already there and changing the controller. Historically it's really only been Nintendo changing the controller drastically every generation (of the current three). And in my opinion that's actually a negative for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft's approach of refining an already good design is way better. The fact that Nintendo has to do pro controllers that are just standard controllers is evidence that many people don't like the bonkers controllers.

@IonMagi

That was not your point. It is still a "weaker machine" than the true "next gen" one

The XSX is not a 4K machine... it is listed on the microsoft official page as 1440P. Anything beyond that is upscaled.

You cant find an extra 6 gigs of physical ram with tricks. same way you cant make up 52 CUs at 1.825GHz over 20 CUs operating at 1.565GHz.

XSS can not run the same game as a XSS. It needs to be scaled down.

So based on this theory all XSX games will always have to be made to run on the weaker XSS. So "held back"

Again, You cant have it both ways.

Makes sense since there's still more active ps4 users than ps5.

I'm a ps5 owner myself and whilst it is quite frustrating, there's plenty of ps4 owners on here and elsewhere that will be overjoyed with this.

Also this won't mean every game will come to ps4, remember that leak from yesterday, no mention of the ps4.

@PegasusActual93 Care to explain why its so unlikely for SM2 to be on PS4?

PS4 for life? Move on Sony and promote PS5 as the natural successor. Devs don’t want to work on 10 year old hardware for new games

@Dr_Luigi

It would not matter - the 4Tflops vs 12Tflops is still within the same architect on the Xbox side regardless. So the gap is there regardless for the developer from 1 xbox to the other this generation.

One is "Weaker" than the other. That is a hardware fact.

You also going from 52 Cuda cores to 20 CUs and downclocked 400Mhz at peak on top of missing 6 gigs of ram on the XSS

Microsoft Needs to build a scaled down version of the "true" next gen game... XSX games do not run as-is on an XSS.

"We have always said that we believe in generations. We believe that when you go to all the trouble of creating a next-gen console, that it should include features and benefits that the previous generation does not include. And that, in our view, people should make games that can make the most of those features. It is time to give the PlayStation community something new, something different, that can really only be enjoyed on PS5." - Jim Ryan 2020

🤔

@Agramonte
See your point, series s, was not the best move to making top end level AAA games for series x
In my opinion as well.

Let me put on my broken record... Jim Ryan is the wrong man for the job.

I don't have a problem with this. Any game that'll run on PS4 will run at 60fps on PS5, and look great

@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah. It's unfortunate that we're still clinging to almost decade old hardware at this point, but I think people forget the impact of the supply chain and covid. Jim Ryan was talking about how he wanted to make the transition from PS4 to PS5 a quick one, and have most users upgrade faster than before, but that just hasn't been possible. With that, plans need to change, and PS4 support needs to be extended.

@Dezzy70

But that is not my point.

The point I am trying to make is that on PC, Xbox and PS... all AAA games are scaled down to weaker hardware.

It can be a XSS... a PS4... or a 1050Ti.

That somehow there is a "next gen" version that was not made because of their existence is simply not true.

You will have games like Cyberpunk that can not scale to run on old hardware... but it is game by game... Engine by engine... team by team.

I suppose it ain't a bad do for those who didn't go with a PS4 last gen but now have a PS5.

They going to do their usual trick...and closer to release announce them games that where showing the power of the ps5 are also actually on ps4....

I never had a ps4 so it isn't an issue as much for me...but it was so obvious they lied intentionally to sell ps5s

N.i.c.e.I have no problems with this.im still using my ps4 pro.the graphics still looks amazing.and i l💖ve the ps4 controllers.ps5 is a amazing console.word up son

@Dr_Luigi

Does not matter how you compare it.

If the theory is that "weaker hardware hold back AAA games" then it needs to apply across the board regardless. Cant be only when convenient.

PS4 is holding back PS5...
XSS is holding back XSX...
2080Ti is holding back 3090Ti.

Nobody is playing "next gen games"... Again, that is complete nonsense.

U can bet your a$$ that if there was infinite ps5s on store shelves, they’d have forgotten about those ‘millions of active players’ long ago………. and pushed them towards the ‘next generation’

@IonMagi
Because one Insomniac confirmed it was only in development on PS5, which is why they showed that one cinematic to show off that you could only do that level of real time graphical fidelity with PS5 hardware and two, did you not read the entire articles they said and I quote "doing it on a case by case basis". AKA: not every game can be done on PS4. But you immediately jumped into "sPiDeRmAn 2 pS4 cOnFiRmEd"

What if they make a game for the ps5, with its next gen benefits and then port it later to PS4? Would that not be better?

This is so freaking funny. Gonna go grab a cup of tea and come back to read all the comments.
I for one, I'm really cool with this. No reason to get the most expensive console on the market right now.

So you’re practically admitting my PlayStation 5 purchase is pointless since most games will still operate on an PS4? Unbelievable. I just can’t get over how far you’ve fallen off since the PS4 generation. Y’all done a complete 180.

@stvevan I understand that but can we stop with this endless remake narrative Jesus lol they remade tlou part 1 and Demons souls and both were def worth it and before you bring up horizon it’s a remaster in the vein of ghosts,death stranding and UC collection so def not endless. The pc ports aren’t stopping and I don’t see why it matters if pc users who would never own a console get to play Sonys great exclusives it will just make them even more popular. Sony in the ps5 first two years has delivered tenfold compared to the same timeframe of the ps4 and ps3 only the ps2 launch was better.

@Korgon

And Day 1 on Game Pass, baby! Already have it pre-installed.

@Kingleo31 I wouldn't say the ps5 is pointless because games are available on ps4 too. It is a much worse experience playing a newer game on a base ps4. The point of the ps5 is 60+fps and 4k.

Ah okay so us next gen people for the rest of this generation it seems is going to be getting Mid and badly compromised games? Okay got it 👍🏻, Starting to feel like it was pointless to buy a next gen console considering hardly any next gen games and at this rate we will probably get 1,2 maybe 3 next gen games this whole generation and the rest of them will be downgraded and compromised games. F*ck last gen.

@Somebody my point is we should be seeing more PS5 only games and we’re not. I didn’t spend $500 to play PS4 games. The install base for PS5 is over 20 million, and not one Sony game has sold 20 million units that I can think of so why cater to the PS4 crowd still?

@Lup
Indeed that's nice! I'll be playing on PS5 myself but I don't mind paying full price for that one. Innocence was excellent and Requiem looks even better!

@Hundred_Hand_Slap

Now imagine not being a privileged person who has kids and a job and you’re barely making it from paycheck to paycheck coming off of a 2 year pandemic where you nearly lost one of your kids lives and your own.. then you can spit that selfish garbage right back into your face

A lot of the above complained when us few said to kill the PS4’s support for first party.

Not look at them, begging for PS5 only.

This is the result of your demands. Congratulations.

Same excuse for ps5/6 down the line?

@Kingleo31 my advise would be to stop thinking of them as ps4 or ps5 games and think of them as playstation games. The best way to experience them will be ps5.
They are doing this for the same reason they make pc ports, so as many people as possible have the opportunity to spend money on their games.

Microsoft have dragged sony into this pc mentality where the game is available wherever and it is up to you to decide which hardware you want to experience them on. Do you want the best possible experience or a the sluggish ps4 experience? Choice is a good thing.

good lot of peeps out there cant get a ps5 , cheaper getting games than a new console.

@WolfyTn no offence but if you struggling so much you need a cheaper hobby, as $60 for a game is not something i would ever pay, if i or my kids struggle, my kids always come first.

@WolfyTn Sorry to hear your struggles. There's plenty on the PS4 to play that's awesome for dirt cheap. All generations move on, it's time. Hope things work out for ya.

We still can't buy PS5 at retail without jumping through hoops. I don't know why you expect exclusives to happen when it still isn't readily accessible.

@Shepherd_Tallon your explanation is great and that is how Sony should communicate too. If it was Microsoft, people would cheer them up for it. I don’t know, Sony’s PR and marketing sucks in my opinion.

Not even mentioning how they approach their hardcore fans - like people on this blog - with boring State of Play events, avoiding any other communication and basically not engaging its audience in any way. Even if they secretly have a great line up of games.

As I was saying - terrible PR and marketing.

So when Jim said “we believe in generations” he clearly didn’t just mean future generations that we thought he implied, as he obviously meant past generations as well. This news confirms it with him also green lighting games from past consoles to be remastered for PS5. Wouldn’t green light Days Gone 2 but were happy to release TLoU for a third time and remaster Horizon Zero Dawn which is perfectly fine in 4K 60fps on PS5 and not even 6 years old on PS4? Makes no sense whatsoever 🤷🏻‍♂️

You look through my history on here and you’ll see I’ve been very displeased with Sony’s direction versus their history.

I sure as hell will NOT be buying a PS6 day 1 like i did every single past PlayStation console.

@IonMagi "XSS is able to play certain Games at 1440p at 60 FPS, something a PS4 Pro is not able to lol."

PS4 Pro can chuck around 3200x1800 while targetting 60fps, as proven by games like F1 2020, so it's not behind the XSS at all?

@sanderson72 Well the base PS4 that Sony will Support for 2+ more years is still way weaker than the XSS so MS Devs will still have an easier time lol

Hey, I am still playing PS3 as well as PS4. Will get PS5 when the slim comes out whenever that is. I am no hurry as It's still going to be expensive. Unless World War 3 starts in which case I will kick myself for not experiencing it before disappearing in a radioactive mushroom cloud.

@Talon_Zanarkand

At min specs that game is going to run terribly.

The way I see it is, the PS5 is a long ways from mass market penetration. I have a PS5 so I'm not moaning, but with the price hike and Sony are now even charging €70 extra for a pack-in Fifa download code which in the past would have been added in free. The price of the console wouldn't have increased in the past if a game was packed in with the console and the game would have been a physical disc so you could trade it if you wanted in CEX or somewhere.

So until the PS5 is a reasonable price Sony would be making a mistake ignoring the budget section of gamers who can't afford a PS5. Because MS are waiting in the wings with their budget Series s to snap them all up.

Curry's where I live were selling PS5 bundles yesterday. PS5 fifa 23 + headset + extra controller + Lego Star wars for €850
Are you having a giraffe? Most parents cannot afford that.

This is disappointing. Last gen should be left behind. Current gen should be a big leap forward. Hopefully they extend the current gen to make up for this.

why release PS5? if you keep making PS4 games

with Sony suporting PS4 for 2/3 more years, make me think, this so called next gen games are actualy PS4 games that are adapted to work on PS5 hardware, until developers have enough time to work on a real PS5 game.

this may very well be the first console generation in history where it never truly takes off or achieves its full potential. sure, you will get sharper images, better framerates and higher resolutions on ps5, but the game design philosophy will be stuck in past and fail to mature in any meaningful ways. i.e. it will be very outdated... we have yet to see any groundbreaking ideas with this new console generation outside of seamless loading/lack of loading but that is more of a technological achievement than anything else.

Spider-man 2 & Wolverine 'WILL' be on PS4 as well I bet. I just hope the PS4 doesn't hold back what developers can do with the PS5 really Maybe next Gen I won't get a PS6 day one to. Because it doesn't seem worth it unless you are obsessed with all the tech talk which I am bored with now because I am sure SONY said 'ONLY Possible on PS5' when the PS5 came out, blah, blah, blah. You fooled me once & your not going to fool me again SONY Oh well, looking forward to the new games anyway.

@IonMagi Love it bring it on

@tinCAT-zero This is where sony are messing up big time they seem to be on a cash grab , the £70 extra for FIFA when Xbox are giving FIFA away free with a series s , do they think hard up parents ain't gonna grab it instead of a ps5

https://www.eurogamer.net/get-fifa-23-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-series-s

@sanderson72 F1 2020 is one of the least demanding games over the last few years so not a great comparison. AC Valhalla can be played at 60fps on the XSS and good luck doing that on a PS4 Pro. Whilst the Pro is in the same ballpark GPU wise, it's miles behind on CPU power

Case by case makes perfect sense. If a game can also run satisfactorily on PS4, release it on both consoles. If it can't, it's a PS5 exclusive. Simples.

I'm beginning to think we'll never get any Sony PS5 exclusives.. The pandemic and the supply issues and now the cost of living crisis means less PS5s will be sold.
PS6 is probably going to be a long time

We sat through the whole of Mark Cernys fascinating but dull talk for what?

@Tharsman nah the ps5 version of most cross gen first party exclusives have arguably outsold the ps4 versions. Look at miles morales and horizon. They hit number one in a number of countries whenever ps5 votes back in stock months after their release.

They pretty much abandoning Mark Cerny road to ps5. I mean your going to get some faster loading but that's it now. They've pretty much given up on the whole game design thing already. It's all about what what will work for PS4, PS5 and PC at the same time. Keeping it conventional. Profound sadness.

It's just so boring isn't it?
This gen started off with a bang, but since then has all but completely fizzled out for me. Sequels, remakes, Marvel, Star Wars, Marvel zzzzzzzzz...
PS5 has sold more than enough consoles to justify some exclusive games, never been a problem for any other console in the past, even for those with much fewer units sold.
This gen really has been so dissapointing so far, I rarely play my PS5 these days.

Maybe it's time to sell my PS5 and upgrade my pc and just play Sony games on Steam. All future games will come to PC so there's absolutely no loss. PC with Steam and XGP and I'm sorted?

I remember Digital Foundry constantly talking about these 'anonymous' developers that they claim are sick of the Jaguar CPUs in base PS4 and XBone models. I wonder who these people are because they sure can't be Sony first party or they would be pressuring Sony higher ups to drop it.

It makes me think the gamers and journalists are wrongly assuming how much devs love power considering they keep forcing cross gen despite John's claim that "devs are sick of developing for last gen".

Are devs really sick of it or are DF and gamers who bought into PS5/Series hype sick of it?

So essentially all my PS5 games will just run better. All that "SSD will change the way games are developed" talk was BS. God I'm finding it hard to find a reason to even keep my console at this point.

@Martsmall
I agree Sony are on a cash grab. They're probably trying to make up ground for all the money they've lost, due to the chip shortage and covid.

PS5 is a throwaway gen.

@Shepherd_Tallon Glad someone here is talking sense.

Yet the PS4 looking game TLOU Part 1 is on PS5 only. PlayStation doing the usual thing the past year or 2 of damaging their brand and making zero sense.

They can take their cross gen games after God of War Ragnorok and shove it.

Horizon FW and GT7 are NOWHERE in the PS4 charts the past few months. Sounds like it was a waste bringing those games to last gen. And all that did was stop them from selling more on PS5, had they been mind blowing looking, MUST OWN, PS5 only games...... like every PlayStation console had in its first 2 years on the market before it.

@Tharsman considering that most games sell by far best on ps5, I don't think ps5 software sales are the reason

@naruball @extermin8or_ that’s not my point. Outselling the PS4 version does not mean that Sony is getting their expected count of unit sales only on PS5, and they need the PS4 version out there to achieve the unit count they have grown used to sell in the past.

If, for example, game X sells 6 million units on PS5 and 4 million on PS4, that means they still need the PS4 version to achieve their usual 10 million of years past. You don’t just give up on 25%-40% of your unit sales simply because it’s a new generation. Investors are expecting every year to sell more units, not less.

Works for me. Gives me another way to get cheaper games.

I hope steam make powerful console like ps5 and sells it in asia, it's best to play on pc at this point since we get both xbox and sony exclusives.

Not suprised as the gap really isn't that huge in hardware beyond the ability to scale res, fps and RT which can all be scaled across PS4 & 5 as seen by a game Like Spiderman Miles Morales. The PS4 is not holding back the PS5. The PS5 just is fairly weak by even 2022 standards and that gap will only widen as the years go by. I am glad I can still enjoy games on my PS4 Pro. I will get a PS5 if games I really am interested in (Like Persona 6 or Gta 6) are PS5 only.. But I have a feeling they will both be on PS4.

At this point, people need to accept that the days of Sony selling new hardware with a fleet of exclusive games are largely gone. Only Nintendo is still married to that model now.

@nessisonett I imagine that's why they said it'd be on a "case-to-case basis." Notice something like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 doesn't appear to be cross-gen. If a game can be made to run on PS4 without compromising the scope of the project, then why not?

@IonMagi Depends if M$ are still going to continue supporting the XBone software going forwards for appropriate games (e.g. Diablo 4 has been marked as coming on the XBone and the PS4)

The problem with the Pro and the XBone X is that they are limited to enhanced versions of the PS4/XBone releases.
As we now reach issues like Cyberpunk, where the PS4 release was a bit of a joke but the Pro could handle it however you'll never get a PS4 Pro only version.

@carlos82 All the info I've seen on t'internet seems to say that AC Valhalla on the XSS is 1440p @ 30fps where the Pro will try and push 4K @ 30fps?

@sanderson72 I used to own the S and there's a 60fps mode, also the Pro has dynamic resolution scaling to get up to 4K and doesn't necessarily have the same settings as the XSS Cyberpunk for example runs at higher graphics settings then both the Pro and One X but at comparable resolutions but a far more stable framerate as it has a significantly stronger CPU than last gen consoles

As of July 2022 and this is despite the supply chain issues:

"The PS5 has sold 21.83 million units in 21 months, while the PS4 sold 24.56 million units."

So the PS5 despite all the hurdles has been tracking closely to PS4 sales.

Were they still releasing and more importantly PLANNING major titles for the PS3 two years later after the PS4's release?

If yes, then I'm ok with still releasing PS4 games since there is precedent. If no, then this is a money grab and nothing more.

This isn't a big deal at all. This current gen of consoles from both manufacturers are basically mini AMD PCs. PC game development has involved scaling up or down for various hardware settings for decades. If you own a PS5 it's like owning the top GPU with best CPU at the time and you'll get the most optimal experience with more bells and whistles features. The PS4 crowd will just have access to a version that features very little of the bells and whistles turned on and runs at a worse frame rate and lower fidelity. The scaling may be slightly more work for devs but in no way is it holding them back. It never has on PC which is always ahead of the consoles when it comes to performance standards.

@TrickyDicky99 not necessarily true. See The Witcher 3 on the Switch. That game was not designed around the Switch weak hardware, but some wizards managed to scale it down.

This means a lot of newer games are going to be held back graphic and game play wise. PS5 game performance is so much better than the aging PS4. Mine is in a box in the garage.

The hard drive of the PS4 is the main part holding back PS5's potential because it affects GAME DESIGN. Simply lowering the frame rate and resolution to make a PS5 game run on a PS4 is something possible, but we'll never be able to see the incredible advancements in game design Mark Cerny told us about as long as games have to work on a hard drive. PC similarly holds back the PS5 for the same reason and that's not going anywhere. Thus, it makes sense to design games to run on as many things as possible and sell the games there..
P.S. Guaranteed Microsoft is to blame for this. Sony is a business and is focused on increasing revenue, but the (possible) impending loss of Bethesda revenue and Activision-Blizzard revenue would have greatly accelerated their plans to make up the difference in other ways.

@TrickyDicky99

Uhm… the Xbox One is significantly more powerful than the Switch. It has a much stronger CPU and GPU and twice as much memory. And about three times as much bandwidth for data.

The Switch is slightly more powerful than the Wii U. But it’s also hampered by having to only draw down 5-10watts in handheld mode and maybe 14-20 watts in docked mode due to cooling concerns.

The Xbone didn’t have any of those limitations; early models drew down 200 watts.

Technically speaking the Tegra has never even been fully tapped because to do so would require a significantly higher power draw than the Switch’s power subsystem can provide. It’s a handheld first and foremost and everything is designed around that goal.

Technology has advanced since the Switch which is why the Steam Deck is roughly equivalent to the Xbox One GPU wise with a better CPU while drawing down less power than the old Xbox. But it still draws a lot more power than the Switch. Which is why it is physically larger, has a more sophisticated cooling solution, and gets worse battery life in all categories.

But that’s just the nature of handheld development. Your biggest constraint is the power draw of the components you chose to use. Consoles are much easier to develop for power because they are plugged into the mains at all times and are physically large so heat can be efficiently dissipated.

Sony will never catch Xbox at this point.

@TrickyDicky99

In certain circumstances it can be.

See Street Fighter Alpha 2 on SNES as a good example.

@mariomaster96 "They should just officially rename the PS5 to "PS4 Pro Pro" because that's what it is"

Yeah, was gonna say exactly this; I'm all for backward compatibility, but PS5 is starting to feel a bit like PS4 Pro+

@TheCollector316 You're right about the PS4 hard drive, though to be fair, it was more than acceptable at the time.

Sticking a fast SSD in the PS4 Pro's SATA 3 internal slot makes a LOT of a difference to load times but the games can't be optimised for an SSD (like the PS5 releases) because it is an optional upgrade.

@sanderson72
Exactly. This is the same reason PCs are technically holding back game design now. The lowest common denominator is a hard drive, so games will be designed with that in mind if they want to sell their game on those platforms.

@warrenflatt Xbox development has to be with the Series S also in mind, so there's that. Honestly, though, after PS3 it seems like upgrading a console is like upgrading a phone. It's neat and a bit faster, but a different version of the same thing. 1996 is gone, man.

@sentiententity Absolutely this. I think we are possibly past the stage of 'gens' being a new era, nes-snes-n64 style. We are in a law of diminishing returns situation and not everyone is a hardcore gamer.

The launch campaigns were terrible, albeit against an unprecedented backdrop. Faster loading times and better lighting effects is absolutely akin the Apple trying to sell me a new phone because it's faster and has a few new camera tricks. Perhaps this IS the future of consoles - a new model every couple of years and you adopt at your leisure.

This gen lacked a genuine USP and a killer app at launch, then faced shortages and now faces a situation where a lot of people have less disposable income. Protecting the PS4 is good brand equity right now.

Microsoft have a better handle on this, with it's two power tiers, non-gen related naming, and a widening acceptance that you don't need an Xbox too play Xbox games. Sony needs a visible two year road map out of PS4 development and then consider how things work going forward.

@TheCollector316 I don't think Microsoft is the biggest factor, rather that it's unlikely PS5 would've gotten close to PS4 sales. If you look at Nintendo, they've been branching out more recently doing stuff like theme parks and movies. These take into account the likely reality that the Switch's successor doesn't do as well as the Switch.

@papa_frezz The VR was something I've never had on a console before. But not really a game changer since I can only play it about 20 minutes before feeling off.