Key Takeaways
- The PlayStation 5 has great potential in terms of controller and graphics, but it lacks a killer app to drive sales.
- Chip shortages, a lack of exclusives, and a disappointing launch title all contributed to PS5 sales slump.
- The PS5 needs games that truly demonstrate its capabilities to entice buyers, and the current exclusive titles lack that “wow” factor.
It was both the best console and the worst. Sony’s PlayStation 5 is one of the most interesting consoles ever. It has a fantastic controller, but few people are really using it to its strengths. It’s incredibly powerful, and it can run some stunningly beautiful games. So why, almost four years after its release, is it not selling as well as the PlayStation 4?
At this point in the PS4’s lifespan, 100 million units had already been sold. As of March 31, 2024, PS5 sales have reached just 59 million. A number of factors have been blamed for Sony’s particularly poor sales of its latest PlayStation, including near-endless shortages and a lack of a killer app. But when you add up all these smaller issues, they actually add up to one big problem: There has never been a better time to buy a PS5.
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PlayStation 5 release date
Lack of compelling launch titles
Sony
The PlayStation 5 was launched in North America on November 12, 2020. At this launch, two versions of the PS5 hit store shelves: the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation Digital. The two models only differed in price by $100, and the digital version had no disc drive. While the PS5 itself was impressive, the problem started from the beginning: what can you play on the PS5?
The PS5’s launch titles have been disappointing to say the least. This isn’t a knock on the impressive Demon’s Souls remake, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, or even Astro’s Playroom, but none of these titles felt like games that really sold the PlayStation 5. Even if you were hoping to continue Miles’ story from the end of the first Spider-Man game, Spider-Man: Miles Morales released on PS4.
The biggest problem was actually getting my hands on a PS5.
Of course, the games weren’t actually the biggest problem — many people would be ecstatic to play the PS5 versions of Demon’s Souls and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla — the biggest problem was actually getting a PS5.
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The chip-sized elephant in the room
Where is the PlayStation 5?
2020 has brought with it a number of issues for many markets, most of which can be tied to the COVID-19 outbreak. One of these many issues was the computer chip shortage. While this is not solely due to COVID-19, it is arguably one of the biggest contributing factors to the shortage, which has created a shortage across the industry. From graphics cards to iPhones, this chip shortage has been felt everywhere. The launch of Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S respectively was no exception.
The options were to camp them out in stores or on websites, pay scalpers hundreds of dollars above list price, or get very lucky and buy them.
It was never easy to get a PlayStation 5 months or even years after its release. The options were to camp out in stores or on websites, pay scalpers hundreds of dollars above retail, or get extremely lucky. It’s not uncommon for consoles to be in high demand at launch, and 2020 was a big year for console sales. Earlier this year, the Nintendo Switch was in short supply after a wave of sales. But the PS5 shortage was no temporary issue. Even two years after its release, it can still be hard to find in stores or online.
It’s only in 2023 that the shortage will truly be resolved, and the PS5 is no longer a rarity. Now, you’ll have no problem finding one if you check online or go to a brick-and-mortar store. There’s even an updated slim model of the console for sale. Now that you can finally get your hands on one, what groundbreaking experiences await you?
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The lost “aha moment”
Trying to sell “it” without the “it” element
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Take a moment and ask yourself: how many PlayStation 5 exclusives are there? How many games can only be played on the PlayStation 5? As of now, there are 17. Just as the launch titles didn’t have much of a “wow” factor to sell the console, these 17 games all lack that element.
While every game on the PS5 is fast and incredible, there was never a moment that felt like it could only be achieved on the PS5.
Again, this is not meant to put down games like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth or Spider-Man 2. Both games are great, but they are not experiences that justify the existence of the PS5. PS5 games are fast and great, but there was no moment that really felt like it could only be done on the PS5. Sure, many games load super fast. Playing God of War on PS5 is a world apart from PS4. But at the end of the day, it’s God of War.
Outside of PlayStation exclusives, there haven’t been many ninth-gen exclusives either. As with PlayStation exclusives, none of the ninth-gen exclusives have had the momentum to sell consoles. Deathloop is one of my favorite games of the last few years, but it never quite had the “wow” factor that games like Oblivion gave me on Xbox 360. Even Assassin’s Creed Unity, for all its flaws, felt like the type of game that just couldn’t be made on anything but the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
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Correcting course
Where does the PlayStation 5 go from here?
rock star
There was a seven-year gap between the launch of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. If this seven-year cycle holds, then the PS5 is more than halfway through its lifespan. At this point in the PS4’s lifespan, it has had exclusives like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4, as well as notable eighth-gen exclusives like Fallout 4, Yakuza 0, and The Witcher 3. These types of games either don’t exist yet or have been released on both eighth-gen and ninth-gen hardware.
Now that both 9th generation consoles are widely available, it’s time for developers to start separating the Xbox One from the PlayStation 4. We also need games that really push the limits of what modern consoles are capable of. Perhaps a release like Grand Theft Auto VI could be the killer app the 9th generation of consoles needs. But right now, there’s never been a good time to buy a PlayStation 5, and it doesn’t seem like a launch is on the horizon.
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