• LemmySoloHer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    70·
    2 months ago

    It’s a big win overall, but some of the scumbags still got something out of it:

    Even though scalpers are taking a loss on the Pro, those who banked on people flocking to buy the PS5 disc drive are turning a profit. The Pro is digital only which means you’ll need to buy a disc drive if you want to use it to play physical media. It took a while, but the disc drive appears to be sold out everywhere which means people are buying them for inflated prices through resale sites.

    Not the worst thing but still annoying, like whatever the opposite of a silver lining is.

    • d00phy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      2 months ago

      Same feelings. Didn’t even know PS5 Pro was a thing, but any time scalpers get screwed is cause for some celebration.

  • Acters@lemmy.worldEnglish
    491·
    2 months ago

    Thanks Sony for making such a flop that scalpers need to sell at a loss.

    • SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.orgEnglish
      8·
      2 months ago

      Just keep it sealed until China invades Taiwan next year and the supply dries up. Or for Trump’s tariffs to cause a price increase. Or for Trump banning violent video games like he said he would.

  • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
    24·
    2 months ago

    Good.

    The PS5 is perfectly adequate considering it’s price.

    It’s not like the PS4 gen where 4K suddenly became a thing halfway through and they had to pivot to support it. This is a needless upgrade. If you were already obsessed with graphical wankery and have more money than sense, the RTX 4080 and 4090 are right there.

    • chiliedogg@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      2 months ago

      They’re charging new-gen console money for new-gen console hardware upgrades, but all the games are still being made for the non-pro PS5, and they will continue to be made for the old hardware until the PS6 launches, so there’s no reason to upgrade.

      Same reason I’m perfectly happy with my Series S. The only substantial difference between it and the Series X are the storage space and disc drives, and I play gamepass games almost exclusively.

      • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
        1·
        1 month ago

        I think the main price issue is that they’re charging nearly twice as much as the base console for what is charitably going to be half a generation of gaming on it.

        If it was launched this way on day one of PS5 launch it would have been a much more attractive proposition. But the reality is we’re probably like three years from a PS6 that will eclipse it in every way while running games this one cannot.

        • chiliedogg@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 month ago

          Yeah.

          The only real reason to own this console is if you want improved performance on a $10,000 TV that you sit too close to.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldEnglish
    233·
    2 months ago

    The whole scalper thing these last several years makes me very glad I’m just a PC guy, know how to build my own stuff, and that nearly all games get ported to PC now.

    • daq@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      222·
      2 months ago

      Do you build your own gpus too? Between ML and chip shortage, PC builders were affected much worse than any console users.

      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldEnglish
        73·
        2 months ago

        That wasn’t my experience.

        I had a Lenovo Legion I bought in 2019 that lasted me until last week when I decided to upgrade to an ASUS ROG. One doesn’t need high-end parts to game on PC and the technology does a much better job of keeping up with games as they become more advanced.

        • daq@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
          82·
          2 months ago

          Sure, but you’re comparing apples to oranges. If you personally play older or not gpu intensive games at medium settings, then you can absolutely buy a gpu once every 7-10 years and not be affected by any scalpers. NES emulators are pretty cheap right now :-) You can also get an Intel GPU for under MSRP.

          Obviously a hyperbole, but PC gamers looking for latest and greatest were affected much worse than console gamers wanting the latest stuff.

          Just the crypto hype alone made it nearly impossible to get a decent gpu for years.

          • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldEnglish
            42·
            2 months ago

            Sure, but you’re comparing apples to oranges.

            This discussion is about general accessibility. Obviously I’m not referring to people who do cartwheels for the absolute latest tech.

            • daq@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
              41·
              2 months ago

              Ps5 pro was released a few days ago. Otherwise why are we even talking about scalpers and availability?

    • مهما طال الليل@lemm.eeEnglish
      72·
      2 months ago

      I finally created a Steam account when I realized I don’t need to get a PS Vita to play Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus. Steam has been getting quality games for years and I wasn’t paying attention.

    • Senshi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      The high end PC part market, especially GPUs, is heavily controlled by scalpers as well, similar to brand new consoles.

      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.worldEnglish
        81·
        2 months ago

        That’s true, but you don’t need super high-end parts to game on PC. You do need a PS5 to play PS5 games.

          • RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            2·
            2 months ago

            Depends on effort and money. Ps5 wouldnt be too hard to beat, pro is a bit harder.

            Find a video that someone calls their PC a ps5 or ps5 pro killer, go up a couple steps on the important shit, done.

            If money is a concern, second hand for CPUs and GPUs is fine. If money isn’t a concern just throw a large pile at a major manufacturer. I have a high end gaming laptop that is super bad value but it definitely crushes every console by a significant margin.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
    186·
    2 months ago

    The Pro is digital only which means you’ll need to buy a disc drive if you want to use it to play physical media.

    OK so physical media is analogue only?
    WTF do they mean by digital only? Every console ever made has been “digital only”.

    But maybe this “digital only” where you can’t use physical media, is the reason it doesn’t sell so well.
    That’s what happened to Xbox some years ago too.

    • abigscaryhobo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 months ago

      Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but “digital only” means the only way to put games on the device is via digital downloads (aka from the web store downloaded via internet).

      Each company tries this because it effectively eliminates the third party/aftermarket sales and gets them a monopoly on prices. Never have to lower the price on a game to move physical copies of you don’t have physical copies to store, so games no matter how old can stay at full price for as long as they like. Don’t have to cut your margins by selling at a reduced price to a third party to resell so all the profit comes home.

      I know why companies do it, it makes sense financially. But turns out a lot of people aren’t fans of not being allowed to have the option to physically own their own media, even if they don’t always do it.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but “digital only” means the only way to put games on the device is via digital downloads

        I’m pretty sure the keyword here is download and not digital, what other kind of download do they imagine?
        I was absolutely being sarcastic about calling downloads digital, since it’s the only kind there is. Even an old acoustic coupler with 75/300 baud is still a digital download, despite being on an analogue line. Which in principle everything up until we got mobile and fiber were. Except ISDN

        Each company tries this because it effectively eliminates the third party/aftermarket sales and gets them a monopoly on prices.

        Which is why the same attempt originally failed very very badly on Xbox. So yes I absolutely agree on your last part.
        Personally I wouldn’t mind that it is download only, if I could save the copy, and buy the downloads as freely from competing shops as used to be the case with installation discs.

      • Aceticon@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        That’s a redefinition of the word “digital”.

        Digital just means it comes as elements of information which can only have discrete values (for example 0 or 1, i.e. a bit) whilst analog can have any value in a continuous range of infinite precision (for example, the depth of the grooves in an LP disk or the voltage on a line like in telephone landlines).

        Pretty much all computer tech nowadays is digital (though it used to be that it was mixed: for example CRT monitors actually received an analog signal), and that includes the disks (all generations since CDs store data as bits and bytes, not as continuous lines of arbitrary intensity).

        Mind you, maybe the word “digital” has been redefined by the marketing types recently for use in communications with non-experts (frankly, I don’t know for sure), but for us old hands in Tech (certainly for me who am an Electronics Engineer, an area were “digital” is a technical term with precise meaning) that word being use like this to mean “download-only” just jumps out as incorrect.

  • Mister_Feeny@fedia.io
    12·
    2 months ago

    While I’m fine with them losing money, couldn’t they just return it to wherever they bought it for purchase price? Like if I pre-order a ps5 pro from gamestop and don’t open the box, I could just return it? Unless return policies have greatly changed…

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      Those stores are aware of scalpers at this point and have built it into their return policy, I believe.

    • mostNONheinous@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      Damn you Loch Ness Monsta! Now I done told you I ain’t about to be sellin you no Ps5 Pro for no Tree Fiddy!

  • qwestjest78@lemmy.caEnglish
    9·
    2 months ago

    I heard they were lowering manufacturing for the Pro because they were anticipating lower interest so then they could still say that the Pro model sold out despite the criticism. Hopefully it so grossly under performs the Sony sees the errors of their ways.

    The damage Sony and Microsoft have done to console gaming is showing. More people getting driven to PC everyday. I had only consoles my whole life, but the steam deck showed me that my next gaming machine will be a PC.

    • filister@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      For me the advantage of the consoles is the disc drive and the ability to trade your games.

      The advantage of PC games is that they are usually all working on your PC, you can install mods and that a PC is a lot more versatile than a console.