The unveiling of the next generation of video game consoles is right around the corner. In less than twenty days, we should see the PS5 and Xbox Series X arriving on shelves globally. We covered the Microsoft side of things earlier, which you can check out here.
Never in the last decade has the competition been so neck and neck. Last time around, Microsoft dropped the ball with the Xbox One, and Sony wasted no time in gobbling that market share. Since then, Microsoft has made a huge comeback with Game Pass, backward compatibility and even game streaming. While we can’t say for sure how far all that goes in regaining their lost position, Xbox is looking better than ever.
Evidently, the pressure is making Sony sweat. Especially now that we’re so close to launch, both companies need to do increasingly more to sway consumers over. This is probably why the Japanese tech giant has unveiled plans for the games available at launch for the PS5.
The games are exclusive to PS5 owners
Many cans felt disappointed by the news. PS4 fans who are already subscribed to PlayStation Plus, the paid service that allows gamers to play online, won’t get anything new. That was a huge disappointment since the number of consoles Sony sold last cycle was truly record breaking. That’s a lot of fans to leave dry.
The full list was announced on Twitter and was received a lot better. In a bid to compete with Xbox Game Pass, the company unveiled the PlayStation Plus Collection. It will have several titles from the previous generation available for download. Titles include Batman: Arkham Knight, Fallout 4, God Of War, The Last Of Us, Infamous Second Son, Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, to name a few from the list.
Shocking is the fact that while these games are flagbearers of the PlayStation brand, they’re only for those who pre-ordered the PS5 and have PlayStation Plus. So if you bought a PS4 last year or so, you’re going to be completely ignored.
PlayStation revealed special avatars as well
If you’ve ever wanted a Netflix style icon choice on your PS5, then you’re in luck. The new icons they’ve shown in life fan favorites like characters from Ratchet & Clank, Horizon Zero Dawn and LittleBigPlanet.
We’ve only been shown a small number of icons so far. If you feel disappointed that your favorite characters aren’t included, it’s possible they might be in the full list. We definitely deserve a Kratos avatar.
It’s worthwhile to note that the screenshot does say there will be at least 1,351 avatars available. They also could be sorted by game franchise or genre. With so many options, it’s likely everyone will get an icon that fits them right.
Sony expects to sell its entire stock of PS5s
Emboldened by the deluge of consoles it sold last phase, Sony has grand designs this time around. It expects that shelves will soon be empty of PS5s, both in stores and in warehouses.
This isn’t unrealistic in any way. Even if a small percentage of PS4 owners buy PS5s at launch, that number is still in the million range. Sony can easily afford to gamble like this since they’ve had the upper hand the entire game.
Even if their marketing strategies are quite obnoxious towards PS4 fans, they can afford it in the short term. In the long run, this kind of predatory, exploitative marketing just be the end of Sony’s golden era. But that’s all just speculation. Until mid-November, that’s all we can do.