The Thursday letters page is unsurprised God Of War: Sons Of Sparta was unremarkable, as one reader is enamoured by fan remakes of Pokémon Red/Blue.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Console apocalypse
So, um… all this stuff about memory and electronic components getting bought up by AI companies seems pretty bad, right? Like, really, really, bad? This guy talking about potentially a decade of problems presumably knows what he’s talking about, given his position, and that is going to be a nightmare for gaming. Never mind smartphones and everything else.

Do we even know if Sony and Nintendo are safe? They’re not gigantic companies like Microsoft and electronics is pretty much all they do beyond games. Maybe all three will go third party at the same time! I’m not really sure what companies he’s hinting at that could go under, as I’m not sure who counts as a smaller business, but it’s clearly not good news, no matter what happens.

There’s so much going wrong with the games industry, and the world in general, at the moment and yet it seems like it could still get much worse and very quickly. In the worse case scenario you’re talking about consoles, and gaming PCs, being impossible to manufacture for several years.

Whether that would last for a whole decade I don’t know but that’s an industry ending problem. I hope you’re all into retro games, because that might be all we have soon!
Oz

Monkey paw
So I guess one of the big victims of these memory shortage problems is going to be all those PC handheld gaming devices from companies I’ve never heard of. If even Steam Deck has only sold a few million I hate to think what some of these others are pushing. Even the Xbox Ally one, which I have literally not heard mentioned again even once since it came out.

That’s going to affect the rumoured Xbox portable and the PlayStation one too, to the point where they might just cancel them completely, because I imagine they involve a lot of custom chips – even more than if it was just a home console.

I’m sure no one but them knows the full details but this is all very bad news and yet… if you didn’t want there to be a next generation so soon your prayers have been answered. But you know the problem with being careful what you wish for, since now the PlayStation 6 might not arrive until 2036!
Korbie

Next in line
Like a lot of readers I’m looking forward to hearing abut the third Final Fantasy 7 remake game but I’m also wondering what might get the remake treatment after that is all finished up with. Do they even consider Final Fantasy 7 Remake to be a success is the first big question and I’m not sure what the answer is, other than there’s a good chance it might be ‘not really’.

They definitely seemed to have cooled on the idea of a Final Fantasy 9 remake, as there were rumours like crazy around that for a while. That was only meant to be a lower budget remake too, so that might be an indication they’ve already had it with triple-A remakes.

For me the obvious choices for Final Fantasy are 6 or 10, although personally I’d prefer 12. Final Fantasy 6 would require a completely new game, so I don’t think that will get the treatment. 10 is going to be a big job too, so I’m not honestly sure any of them will get remakes.

I’d love Chrono Trigger, but I think that’s the same problem as Final Fantasy 6, and so I think maybe the most likely is Kingdom Hearts, especially with a new game coming up to promote. Or maybe the answer is none of them. If a big budget Final Fantasy 7 remake only sells okay, what chance does anything else have?
Ochreblue

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Fan suggestion
I agree that this year is Game Freak’s big chance to turn around Pokémon in terms of the quality of the games and the technology behind them. I don’t know how likely it is, but if they don’t try this time I’m not sure they ever will.

Although most people imagine some kind of amazing high-tech open world I prefer the idea of something closer to the HD-2D style, that’s a mix between modern and retro graphics. There have been a lot of fan mock-ups with this idea over the years and while I don’t think any of them are perfect I’d rather go with something like this but keep it more of a top-down view.

Unless Nintendo is going to spend GTA 6 style money on it I don’t think there’s any point making Pokémon 3D. It’s got to be stylised and it’s got to be more like the wonder of the original Game Boy games. We might get that for a future remake but I’m afraid the next mainline game will just be another low-tech, janky knock-off.
Taylor Moon

You can dig it
Great Reader’s Feature about A Game About Digging a Hole at the weekend. I instinctively knew I would get some form of enjoyment out of it. Digging, collecting ore, selling it, upgrading equipment, and digging deeper? Absolutely all over it for £3.64.

Spaced out on Tramadol for a back issue last night, played for over two hours and it was an almost religious experience. Well not quite, but highly recommended to all other readers, especially for the price.
Whiskeyjack11

Fighting multiverse
RE: Lee Dappa. The closest you’ll get to playing all versions of Street Fighter 2 in one place, as one game, is not on the 30th anniversary collection of Street Fighter 2 but actually on the 35th anniversary collection labelled as Capcom Fighting Collection.

This release features Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition. You can choose fighters from all versions of the Street Fighter 2 editions in one package.

Choosing World Warrior Ken from the original will give him extra strength, no super move, and he will be a palette swap of Ryu. Choosing Ken from Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting will give him his longer range dragon uppercut and air whirlwind kick and still no super move.

Choosing Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s Ken will give him his flaming dragon punch but less damage, and thus more reliant on combos. But he will have his super move to use and the power bar for it at the bottom of the screen. This would apply to all characters across the games so you can have World Warrior E. Honda vs. Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s version of Blanka, for instance.
Nick The Greek

Online ban
I always wondered why companies don’t just lock a game out until the day it’s released, to avoid all these leaks you always get. It’s literally every game but they never seem to care. But surely it could just work like pre-loading, where you have the game but you’re not allowed to start playing it until the right time.

I guess you could buy the disc and then purposefully keep the console offline, and get around it that way, but who wants that much trouble? And besides, most games don’t seem to work without a day one patch anyway. At the very least a timer would cut the problem down, but the companies don’t even seem to try.
Flint

What it looks like
I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but God Of War: Sons Of Sparta was an out of the blue shadow drop, it had what looked like terrible graphics, and it immediately looked inferior to about a 100 other Metroidvanias you could get instead. And as a bonus it was by some developer I’d never heard of, who’s biggest game was a Five Nights At Freddy’s spin-off.

I feel you have to be very optimistic given all that, to the point where I could probably sell you some magic beans. It’s not a question of whether it’s rubbish or not but if you want to spend a fair amount of money and a lot of time beating it, and I definitely don’t want to. Talk is cheap but time is not and at the moment I haven’t time for 10/10 blockbusters, let alone deeply average Metroidvanias.

I feel there’s plenty of interesting things an indie dev could’ve done with a low budget God Of War game and a 2D Metroidvania with Young Kratos seems like the absolute least exciting option. You could’ve had a game where you played as one of the Valkyries, you could have had a literal god game where you’re populating Midgar with humans, you could’ve had an archery thing with Arteus, heck you could’ve had a sledding simulator and it still would’ve been more interesting that what we got.

I know it was the safe option, but when the best option was probably not making a spin-off at all there’s no point going for the boring and obvious choice.
Campbell

Inbox also-rans
So Highguard has outlasted Concord, but by the sound of it it’ll be lucky see the weekend, so it’s really only going to beat it by a matter of days.
Goops

I really hate that Microsoft switched the buttons round on their controller compared to Nintendo’s. Why do so silly a thing and make it so difficult to switch (no pun intended) between the two consoles. I can never remember which is which way round.
Mobert

GC: They were copying Sega, who they were very cosy with in the initial years of the Xbox.

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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Business execs think the memory shortage could impact electronics companies into 2030 and beyond, as Sony and Microsoft prepare to launch next gen consoles.

We’ve recently heard about how the worldwide memory shortage could delay Sony’s launch for the PlayStation 6 and Microsoft’s next Xbox, but its detrimental impact on the games industry could be felt for more than just a year or two.

Ever since late last year, the price of DRAM (dynamic random access memory) has increased due to companies like OpenAI and Google swallowing up resources to build AI data centres. This has left other tech companies to fight over the remaining supply of chips, made by the likes of Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix.

These shortages have already affected companies like Valve, through potential price increases to its upcoming Steam Machine hardware and low supplies of the Steam Deck, but there’s concern this crisis could lead to the end of some tech companies entirely.

In an interview on YouTube earlier this week, Pua Khein-Seng, the CEO of Taiwanese electronics company Phison, claimed the memory shortage will lead to a ‘massive die-off’ in consumer electronics companies, with some potentially going bankrupt as early as this year.

While we can’t verify Khein-Seng’s exact comments in the interview (the YouTube video is in Chinese, with no English subtitles available), his answers have been summarised by X user 駿HaYaO and translated by PC Gamer.

駿HaYaO wrote: ‘From the end of this year to 2026, many system vendors will go bankrupt or exit product lines due to a lack of memory. Mobile phone production will be reduced by 200-250 million units, and PC and TV production will be significantly reduced.’

Khein-Seng further claims that memory manufacturers are ‘demanding three years’ worth of pre-payment’, which is apparently unprecedented in the electronics industry. It’s said these memory manufacturers ‘internally estimate the shortage will last until 2030, or even for another 10 years’.

According to this summary, Khein-Seng doesn’t name any specific companies at risk, but he does state ‘large numbers of low-margin brands will exit’ in the second half 2026, and ‘low-end products will disappear’.

While neither Sony or Microsoft could be described as a ‘low-margin brand’, it’s possible these shortages could impact both of them in a significant way.

In fact, in its financial results from earlier this month, Sony chief financial officer, Lin Tao, explained how the company plans to offset rising memory costs by focusing on ‘monetising the installed base’, and growing software and network services revenue.

Tao doesn’t spell out any specific plans but, based on the verbiage, it certainly sounds like price hikes for PlayStation Plus subscriptions are in contention, along with releasing more games, and any other ways of rinsing cash from existing PlayStation 5 owners.

We’ll have to wait and see if this memory shortage will have significant consequences for the games industry in the long term, but for now, the early signs are very worrying.

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Sony hasn't even officially announced the PlayStation 6 yet, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning out an increasingly steady stream of leaks, insider reports, and solid hints from the company itself. With the PlayStation 5 well into the latter half of its lifecycle and the PS5 Pro already on shelves, the attention of hardcore gamers is increasingly turning toward whatever comes next. Here is everything we know so far about the PlayStation 6, from its release window and hardware to pricing and the possibility of an entirely new PlayStation handheld launching alongside it. Read this article with […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/roundup/playstation-6-everything-we-know-release-date-specs-price-games/

Microsoft is already testing with AI as a video game guide, and it looks like Sony is at least interested in trying something similar.

It’s no secret that Sony is experimenting with AI technology for video games in more ways than one. Footage of an AI replica of Aloy from Horizon Forbidden West, that you could theoretically talk to, leaked last year and though details are purposefully vague, AI tech will be a key part of the PlayStation 6.

As such, it’s probably only a matter of time before we see some form of AI integration in PlayStation games, such as AI generated assets, which have cropped up in the likes of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Recently, a new patent filed by Sony was spotted and it talks about using generative AI to create a ‘ghost player’ that can essentially play video games for you.

The patent can be found on the World Intellectual Property Organization website and while it was initially filed in 2024, it was only published and discovered recently.

Rather than have developers program the solutions for tricky levels or puzzles into it, the AI model will be trained on not just your own gameplay, but also footage posted to social media and streaming sites like YouTube and Twitch.

From that, the AI ghost supposedly learns how the game is played and can determine an optimal solution. The patent mentions two distinct modes: a guide mode, where the ghost shows the solution for you to copy, and a complete mode which does as the name suggests.

There’s even mention of allowing you to talk with the ghost and have them explain what you need to do, as well as having their appearance be customisable.

The patent goes as far as to suggest the ghost could take the form of characters from other games or movies, which just sounds like a legal nightmare.

While there’s certainly well-meaning intent behind the idea, this patent is ultimately offering a solution to a long since answered question. A lot of games nowadays have their own means of assisting players and not just through different difficulty options.

Some games will let you skip sections if you fail one too many times (which Insomniac does with the puzzles in its Spider-Man game) or have characters provide hints, like in God Of War: Ragnarök.

Not to mention the PlayStation 5 has a Game Help system already in place, that lets you watch videos of how other players bypassed any challenges you’re stuck on.

The act of having the game play itself isn’t even new, since Nintendo dabbled with the same idea with its Super Guide feature. For a while, Mario platformers like Super Mario Galaxy 2 and the New Super Mario Bros. games had an option where if you died enough times, you’d unlock the option for the game to autoplay itself and beat a level for you.

It was only ever used in five games, though, before quietly vanishing, which suggests Nintendo figured out it wasn’t very popular or useful.

Considering this is only a patent, it’s entirely possible that Sony may not go through with this idea, as opposed to Microsoft which is still testing its Copilot AI as a video game guide.

A study last year showed that AI is actually quite useless for assisting players with games and often spreads misinformation – and it’s easy to see how that’s going to happen if it’s watching videos on TikTok to ‘learn’ how to play a game.

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With the PS6 expected to be released in the next couple of years, a reader makes his predictions of what the hardware and games will be like.

Right at this moment we could be less than 12 months away from the unveiling of the PlayStation 6. There’s some talk that RAM shortages are going to delay the next generation but even then, I don’t think there’s any suggestion it’s going to be out any later than 2028.

Tech specs have already been leaked, but you can read into those whatever you like. The more interesting rumour to me, that even Sony has hinted at, is that they’ll also have a new portable out at the same time.

So, I feel there’s enough rumours and speculation around at the moment to make some logical predictions as to what’s going on. Especially as we have a good idea what the Xbox is going to do and how there might be new competition from Steam Machine.

These are my predictions for what the PlayStation 6 will be all about. It’s based on the next gen Xbox being nothing but a PC in a box, with a bonus prediction that it’ll end up being more expensive than the Steam Machine and therefore an enormous flop. But I don’t think Sony has to worry about that either way.

1. The difference in graphics is only going to be noticeable to Digital Foundry. I think everyone is already braced for this and I don’t think anyone is really blaming Sony, it’s just the way technology is nowadays. The big leaps are over and all we’ve got to look forward to is higher resolution and frame rates, and maybe a few new buzzwords like ray-tracing… which nobody will notice or really understand.
2. Despite the above I’m also expecting the PlayStation 5 to be super expensive. I don’t know tech stuff, so I don’t know why the smaller the improvement gets the more it costs, but I guess it’s just that it’s expensive to get even a minor upgrade nowadays. I’d expect as much or more than the PS5 Pro, which is around £700.
3. To counter the above I expect that the PlayStation 5 and 6 will be sold alongside each other for most or all of the generation. The PlayStation 5 would act as a cheaper option, a bit like the Xbox Series S, but also I expect every game to be cross-gen. I think rather than PlayStation 6 exclusives we’ll just have upgraded editions, a bit like the Switch 2.
4. In combination with the above, my best guess for what the portable is, is that it’s a portable PlayStation 5. I don’t know how close it’ll get to running games as well as the actual PlayStation 5 but like many I’m suspicious that the new Power Saver mode is secretly a way to get PlayStation 5 games to run on less powerful hardware which… I think is a pretty neat idea. I’ve no idea how expensive it’ll be but if it’s like a PlayStation Portal that can also run native games I think that’s pretty tempting.
5. It’s not actually that difficult to predict what the launch window games are going to be, based on what hasn’t been mentioned yet for the PlayStation 5. I think Horizon Zero Dawn 3 is almost certainly going to be the big launch game, especially as it’s known for its graphics, and that we’ll see something from the God Of War team, either a new entry or that new IP they’re rumoured to be working on. I would also expect a new Insomniac game, maybe that rumoured spin-off Venom that it’s weird we haven’t seen yet.

Am I going to proven right? I have no idea but if I am, remember where you heard it first!

By reader Tom Meadows

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

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The Tuesday letters page has some interesting ideas for The Last Of Us Part 3, as one reader celebrates the joys of the PlayStation 2.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

No rush
With all these price cuts and no competition from Microsoft (the Xbox is going to get even more expensive?!) it’s obvious that the PlayStation 5 is going to be massive this Christmas, even with the Switch 2 in play. The thing is, the Switch 2 isn’t competition for Sony. It doesn’t play a lot of the same games and many people would be happy to own both.

So Sony really has everything wrapped up, even more than they did already. This makes me wonder if the new component shortages are going to make them think that there’s just no need for the PlayStation 6 right now and that they will definitely delay it.

The PlayStation 5 might not suffer from shortages but that doesn’t mean the PlayStation 6 is safe. So, if it was aiming for 2027 or 2028, I think that will very likely be moved back a year. And really, I think that’s better for everyone. People can’t afford a new console and developers can’t afford to make games for it, so what’s the point?

Of course, there’s no official annoucement but if we don’t get a reveal next year, which everyone was expecting, I think that will be a clear indication that things are not moving as quickly as we thought.
Austin

Call of apathy
So I guess the other reader was right, we really are witnessing the end of Call Of Duty’s dominance. It’s not doing a little worse than usual it’s being slaughtered. I don’t see how it comes back from this unless it can follow-up with a really great game next year. But Activision wouldn’t have been expecting this kind of thing to happen, so they would’ve had no reason to make a special effort with next year’s game.

By the time they do it could be almost the next decade, which is kind of crazy to think about. For those that don’t like Call Of Duty it’s good news but I think it has less to do with Black Ops 7 being bad and more the recent stories about young gamers not buying new games and only wanting boring Christmas presents.

They’re just not interested in traditional games, whether they’re a critical darling or fast food rubbish like Call Of Duty. So while it’s nice to see Activision’s stranglehold being broken something far worse could take over: a total apathy for proper games from younger gamers.
Cuit

Time skip
So Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet isn’t going to be out next years, so that’s 2027 at the earliest. If there ever is The Last Of Us Part 3 it’s going to be so far away I’m not sure what they’ll even do with it. Maybe make it about Dina’s child?

One of the big themes of the game was generational violence, so Dina’s kid finding an old Ellie sounds to me like a pretty cool idea. Technically Ellie did break the cycle of violence but she was too damaged by the end of it to benefit.

Maybe Naughty Dog won’t want to do it but I don’t see how Sony can resist. In fact, I’m surprise and impressed they’ve not got someone else to do that and Uncharted already. Or maybe they’ve tried and it just hasn’t come together yet.
Lynch

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Price concerns
I’m struggling to be enthusiastic about the new Steam Machine and VR headset. Looking at the specs they don’t seem to be much more powerful than the PlayStation 5 and Meta Quest 3 and will probably cost a lot more. I like the form factor of the Steam Machine but it’s fairly low spec and not upgradable, so will be interesting to see how well it runs new games.

The VR headset looks really comfortable, which most VR headsets out the box are not, and being able to play PC games in standalone is cool but if it’s gonna cost a lot more than the Meta Quest then it’s going to make it enthusiasts only. I think Valve are onto something here but only if it’s affordable, so it will be interesting to see pricing.
Rob

Public test
I haven’t written in a while, but I just had to come to GC’s aid about Kirby Air Riders. I watched the first Nintendo Direct all the way through and totally independently came to the conclusion that the game looked abysmal. Especially by Nintendo’s standards.

In trying to convince me to buy and play the game, all they succeeded in doing in convincing me that I had no interest in buying and playing it. This view seems to have borne out in it chart performance.

Keep up all the good work.
Struthyfizz

GC: As you know, the game only got as high as number 12 in the UK charts on its debut, so it seems you weren’t the only one to be sceptical.

Infinite potential
Can’t believe it’s been 25 years since the PlayStation 2. I know the PS1 was the start of the 3D, but its sequel feels like the real start of the modern state of gaming. It’s impossible to remaster PS1 game and have them not be incredibly ugly and clunky, you have to remake them completely, but PlayStation 2 games still mostly look and play okay.

We’ve moved forward a lot since then but also it’s funny how little has really changed. A lot of the same series are still going, like you said, and mostly the same genres are popular as they were then. We’re even seeing a comeback for survival horror, which was at its peak during the PlayStation 2’s time.

What I miss most though is the jump from one generation to the next. When the PlayStation 2 was going strong it was obvious that games had a long way to go in terms of graphics and game worlds and everything. Now though the only thing that people expect to change is the price, and not in the right direction.

It really feels like the PlayStation 4 was the last real console and everything else that comes after it will just be a minor upgrade. From a technical point of view, it’s almost impossible for a new format to be as exciting as the PlayStation 2 again.
Candus

Oh, it sings to me
Been reading how The Duskbloods has been in development since 2019, so not only is it probably nearly finished but it seems it’s a very important game for FromSoftware. It probably cost Nintendo a lot of money to make it a Switch 2 exclusive, although I doubt it stays that way for more than a year or two.

Even so, I still ache for a new single-player From game. I know it’s not that long since Elden Ring but we have no idea what they’re working on next and I need to know! Especially if it’s Bloodborne 2.
Orion

Costly support
Having lots of games released doesn’t negate the concern of how long triple-A games take to make and cost now. Those tentpole games attract investors, make or break studios, and drive hardware sales.

So, if that collapses it could have very serious repercussions for the whole industry. But my gosh do I have a lot to play from just this year.

Just spent 90 hours on Hollow Knight: Silksong. Not a game from this year, but then spent 23 hours on replaying Astro Bot and the DLC for the first time to platinum and 100% everything. Wonderful game, fully deserved its Game of the Year award.

I’m always conscious of needing to support the type of games I want to see more of. After reading the article about under 17’s wanting live service in-game currency for Christmas I found myself today buying Robocop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business (loved Rogue City) and System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster (value Nightdive Studios work) on PSN, as they had a bit of a discount in the sales.

I still have a day one buy Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 to get to and a good chunk of Donkey Kong Bananza to play. I have pre-ordered Metroid Prime 4 in the spirit of support.

High on the wanted but yet to buy list is Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Silent Hill f, Satisfactory, and V-Racer Hoverbike.

I have PS Plus and Game Pass which will see a Red Dead Redemption PlayStation 5 version, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and the interesting looking Skate Story come to the services in the first eight days of December.

Thankfully the only game left this year which I really like the look of and will want to support if any good is Terminator 2D: No Fate. But it’s nuts, I genuinely feel I will have to commit to buying no games next year.
Simundo

Inbox also-rans
Now that Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 is out and poorly received, I was wondering which Call Of Duty game is considered the best for its campaign or even as an all-round package?
LoRd SiNn

GC: We ranked all the Black Ops games quite recently.

I don’t know about Kirby Air Riders but GC was dead on about Alan Wake 2. That game sucks.
Venger

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Will The Witcher 4 be bigger than The Elder Scrolls 6?

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With all PS5 models currently enjoying a major price cut, a reader tries to answer the difficult question of whether they’re worth it.

The PlayStation 5 is currently cheap in the Black Friday sales and there’s been a lot of people asking about whether it’s still worth jumping in to get the console now, when its replacement is probably only a few years away. In my opinion, that’s not an easy question to answer because the PlayStation 5 has got all the problems and benefits of most sequels, when the series has been going on for too long.

There’s not many film franchises where the fifth one is the best, not unless you’re a big fan of Attack of the Clones or Friday the 13th Part V. Instead, what you usually get by that point is a lot of nostalgia, a lot of repetition of old ideas, and maybe a half-hearted attempt to do something new that falls on its face.

The PlayStation 5 isn’t nearly that bad, it’s more like a mid-level James Bond film, where you still enjoy the formula even though you know it’s not really trying properly. Except, obviously, consoles aren’t movies and even when it’s underachieving the PlayStation 5 can’t help but be an amazing piece of hardware.

I call it the best console I’ve ever had simply because it is more powerful than the PlayStation 4 and it has great backwards compatibility. There are lots of great games, by Sony and others, and the DualSense is a really good controller.

The DualSense is probably it in terms of the major innovations but as many complaints as there for what the PlayStation 5 looks like – and there’s no question it is too big – it’s very quiet. I don’t know if you’ve used a PlayStation 4 lately, but those things sound like a jumbo jet taking off.

All the online features of the PlayStation 5 are good, the SSD is very quick, and there’s a lot of free patches for PlayStation 4 games that makes them run better. You can call it a small upgrade, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but there’s no question that the PlayStation 5 isn’t the best Sony console so far, in terms of graphics, gimmicks, and features.

The problem is that while it’s unquestionably better it’s by such a relatively small amount it’s very hard to get excited about. No wonder people are worried about the PlayStation 6, if that implies the improvement for that is going to be even smaller.

Most people always want to be playing with the best graphics but when the improvement is this minor you do question the price and the amount of effort Sony is making. But the worst thing is even those small improvements aren’t obvious in most games.

Ghost Of Yōtei and a few others look great but they’re rare and nothing so far has been worth buying a PlayStation 5 just to play them. It’s just about worth it, in my opinion, when you consider everything available on the console, but I’m not sure I could’ve even said that a couple of years ago, when there was less out.

Now that it’s five years old there’s just about to justify it, but the fact that it took that long says it all really. The PlayStation 5 has been a disappointment and underused in just about every aspect. But with the Xbox now dead it’s the only option for top of the range graphics and so many games are only available on it… and PC.

So, would I recommend the PlayStation 5? Yes, there’s almost no other choice. But do I think the PlayStation 5 has been a major letdown? Yes, that too.

By reader Gunther

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