PS5: Initial Reactions To Hardware Reveal, Digital Only Option

Reactions have started to arrive regarding the big Sony PlayStation 5 steaming event that gave us our first glimpse at the actual console as well as a few games that will run on it.

Liam Richardson of Push Square gave an overview of the event on YouTube, noting how the last time Sony actually had an event with this much attention was at E3 in 2018. “ The company has been very quiet for a long time now so for them to wait until this most opportune moment, you know, where we are maybe less than six months out of actually having the PlayStation 5 sitting underneath our televisions, it was smart,” Richardson said.

Regarding the actual unit, Richardson was pleasantly surprised with its sleek white, aerodynamic look.

“When was the last time we bought a video game console that wasn’t just a black box? You know, this is sleek. It’s stylish. It’s the weird blue lights in between these very thin white panels. Visually, both the DualSense and the PlayStation 5 look similar, which I really liked, you can tell that the DualSense is the controller for the PlayStation 5 just by looking at the two of them next to each other,” he said.

Noting how there will be two versions of the PS5: one with a standard disc tray and one that’s strictly a digital version, Richardson understands why Sony made that decision since they were the best-selling system of the last (current) generation.

“I think digital versions of consoles are probably going to be par for the course moving forward,” Richardson said on YouTube. “Consumers are comfortable now, I think, with the thought of a subscription-based service. Xbox Game Passes really paved the way for relatively cheap Netflix-style service for games and it wouldn’t surprise me if PlayStation Now is the main selling point for the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition.

“I can imagine a lot of people who might not be hugely into physical collections of games or maybe don’t have the time to buy new games as they come out opting for this because it is consumer-friendly as much as, for a lot of hardcore gamers, the thought of a digital edition seems a little bit lackluster and doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Richardson said before concluding, “I think it’s a smart move by Sony. Absolutely.”

Sony, though, curiously didn’t announce a price for the console, perhaps wanting to keep audiences happy with the gaming news and not wanting to get angry feedback for what is expected to be in the range of close to USD500.

So far, so good, Sony.