Sony is releasing two variations of the PlayStation 5 in November, with the only differences between them being a disc drive and price. This is in stark contrast to Microsoft’s strategy of releasing a much cheaper, stripped down version of the Xbox Series X.
Speaking to Games Industry, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan emphasized the importance of releasing consoles with identical technical specifications, and noted that gamers want reassurance that they’re buying a “true next-generation console.”
“In terms of the hardware line-up, the thinking behind it was to try and give gamers certainty,” Ryan told Games Industry. “Certainty when you look at the SKU configuration. Certainty that they’re buying a true next-generation console.”
Ryan added that Sony wanted to highlight this from the get-go because gamers will be investing in hardware that they expect to last many years. He also said that developers want to make games without constraints, hinting that stripped down hardware akin to Series S will pose challenges going forward. Interestingly, this is something a number of developers publicly expressed concerns about following the Series S’ reveal.
“They [developers] need to be able to work in an unconstrained manner, and they’ve been telling us for over a year now that PS5 allows them to do that,” Ryan continued. “Equally, they’ve been telling us how intrigued and delighted by the PS5 feature set [they are]. All in all, we have tried to minimize or avoid compromises in the architecture of the systems.”
What do our readers think of Ryan’s remarks?
[Source: Games Industry]
