Educate me on PS5 models please

[Lunar Kreskents]

In the nightmare that keeps on giving, it looks like most plastics are porous enough that I can't clean the weed smoke allergen out of them, so I'm probably going to have to get rid of my PS4.

Should I upgrade to a PS5? I haven't really kept up with the nuances of PS5 besides that it exists. In fact with PS3 and PS4 I waited until the next gen console was reaching towards end of life so I could easily buy a model cheaper used, but PS5s have been been so hard to get it seems like it's probably too soon to hope for that.

I still have PS4 games I am playing and want to play. I buy physical discs whenever possible, though I have some digital games too.

1. Will my physical and digital PS4 games work on any PS5 with a disc drive?
2. Can I easily transfer my save files to the PS5 or will that be a nightmare? I'm in the middle of Crisis Core Reunion now for example. I wouldn't want to start over. I have more than 100 hours I think in Death Stranding and I still want to play more of that. I wouldn't want to start that over either.
3. If I found a used model, are there particular versions to avoid? Kind of like how they removed backwards compatibility for PS2 games on PS3.
4. Can I use the PSVR1 that @Tommy Boy kindly sent me on PS5?
5. Are there any other things the PS4 does that I might miss on the PS5?
6. How are you liking your PS5?

Edit: I'm going to have to get a new TV too. The TV I have is a Sony X800G and I like it. Are there any TVs that you would recommend?

 

[Jon]

1. Will my physical and digital PS4 games work on any PS5 with a disc drive?
2. Can I easily transfer my save files to the PS5 or will that be a nightmare? I'm in the middle of Crisis Core Reunion now for example. I wouldn't want to start over. I have more than 100 hours I think in Death Stranding and I still want to play more of that. I wouldn't want to start that over either.
3. If I found a used model, are there particular versions to avoid? Kind of like how they removed backwards compatibility for PS2 games on PS3.
4. Can I use the PSVR1 that @Tommy Boy kindly sent me on PS5?
5. Are there any other things the PS4 does that I might miss on the PS5?
6. How are you liking your PS5?

1. They should. Digital will likely need to be redownloaded, or at the very least put on an external hard drive. I had a regular SSD I bought and put a few digital games on them. Just plugging the drive into the PS5 will allow it to run games from the PS4. Most PS3 games I believe. Additionally, the the games are still on PSN, you can simply redownload them from there. Discs should work no problem. None of my PS4 games gave me issues.
2. The simplest way is to ensure you have cloud backup on all your save files and force a manual sync with the cloud on your PS4. Then when you log into your PS5, it will simply download all your save data. Pretty sure it creates a local file based on that. I lost no save data from any of my PS4 games, and I was surprised. I didn't try this method, but you could likely also put save data on a hard drive and copy it that way. Cloud method is simply faster and more efficient.
3. I THINK the PS5 slim just released in November. I only have the day one release. They were hard to find for a couple years, but more abundant now. I do not know the real differences between the two, but I doubt much if any of the internals are different. So, if you find one used (unlikely would be my guess) either version should suffice. There haven't been any reports of issues with any models that I've heard, though I am going to stop short of saying there aren't models with issue.
4. Yes. May require a camera adapter or something, but it should be compatible. I do not own a VR (wish I did) so i cannot guarantee from experience though.
5. Not really. The PS5 is far superior to the PS4. The graphics, the capabilities, the control, the speed of the HDD.... all vastly superior to the PS4. I haven't found a single thing I have said "man I miss this from the PS4." It's been a blessing to not have terrible loading screens on any game I've played.
6. I love it. I've had it since day 1, and it's been a tremendous machine. Granted, they were hard to find at first and because of that, we're 3 years into the lifecycle and they are JUST NOW common to find in stores.

The ONLY complaint I have is the internal SDD is FANTASTIC, but small. With how big games are, you will eventually want to buy a compatible internal M2 to supplement, and maybe even another external SD for PS4 and games you aren't using. That's really the only flaw it has.

 

[Disgustipated]

In the nightmare that keeps on giving, it looks like most plastics are porous enough that I can't clean the weed smoke allergen out of them, so I'm probably going to have to get rid of my PS4.

Should I upgrade to a PS5? I haven't really kept up with the nuances of PS5 besides that it exists. In fact with PS3 and PS4 I waited until the next gen console was reaching towards end of life so I could easily buy a model cheaper used, but PS5s have been been so hard to get it seems like it's probably too soon to hope for that.

I still have PS4 games I am playing and want to play. I buy physical discs whenever possible, though I have some digital games too.

1. Will my physical and digital PS4 games work on any PS5 with a disc drive?
2. Can I easily transfer my save files to the PS5 or will that be a nightmare? I'm in the middle of Crisis Core Reunion now for example. I wouldn't want to start over. I have more than 100 hours I think in Death Stranding and I still want to play more of that. I wouldn't want to start that over either.
3. If I found a used model, are there particular versions to avoid? Kind of like how they removed backwards compatibility for PS2 games on PS3.
4. Can I use the PSVR1 that @Tommy Boy kindly sent me on PS5?
5. Are there any other things the PS4 does that I might miss on the PS5?
6. How are you liking your PS5?

Edit: I'm going to have to get a new TV too. The TV I have is a Sony X800G and I like it. Are there any TVs that you would recommend?

1. Yes, physical and digital games will work without issue on a PS5. As mentioned you will likely want to buy some external storage for PS4 games, as the internal SSD is small and PS5 games can't be played from external storage, regardless of if the external storage is HDD or SSD. I've got a 2 TB USB SSD that I store all my PS4 games on. You can copy your PS4 games onto it from your PS4 and then plug it into a PS5 and they will all work, no need to redownload everything.
2. Cloud saves are the way to go here. Transfer is seamless.
3. There are 0 functional differences between PS5 models other than having or not having a disc drive. All PS5s can play all PS4 games. EXCEPT for P.T. That game is ONLY PLAYABLE ON PS4! If you happen to still have that downloaded, and try to launch it on a PS5 it will simply tell you it can't be played on PS5.
4. Yes, in fact, PSVR2 is not backwards compatible with PSVR games, you can only play PSVR games on PS5 if you have a PSVR headset.
5. Nah, the PS5 is really just a much better PS4. Unlike all previous generations of Sony's consoles, there weren't any major architecture shifts here. It's still AMD x86_64 and AMD GPU-based. Added hardware features and improvements of course, but the hardware is significantly more similar to PS4 than PS4 was to PS3, or PS3 to PS2, etc.
6. It's great! Played through GOW2018 on it and it has nice performance and resolution boosts for PS4 games, even PS4 Pro profile games run quite a lot better generally on PS5. Agreed with @Jon on the fact that the internal SSD is really small. In addtion to the 2 TB external for PS4 games, I have a 4 TB M.2 SSD internally for PS5 games. All around though, great console. Prefer it over my Series X for sure.

 

[Lunar Kreskents]

@Jon @Disgustipated THANK YOU!! These are amazing tips. I totally wouldn't have thought of the external drive angle, or that PS5 games can't be played from external storage, and somehow that didn't come up in my initial googling either. Super interesting to think of the PS5 as really just a much better PS4 as well with no major architecture changes, that's helpful note. You guys got me kind of excited to upgrade now for the PS4 performance improvements alone.

Most PS3 games I believe.

Wait, PS3 games work on the PS5 too?? Or do you mean digital games? I will take my physical media to the grave. Probably literally, because I'm allergic to all of it, so now it has to be contained

Cloud method is simply faster and more efficient.

Cloud saves are the way to go here. Transfer is seamless.

Are cloud saves a PS Plus feature? Or has my PS4 been doing that all along and I had no idea? I don't have PS Plus but I could probably sign up for it for a month or something.

You can copy your PS4 games onto it from your PS4 and then plug it into a PS5 and they will all work, no need to redownload everything.

This is an amazing tip and sounds way easier to do up front than copying PS4 games over later. Is there a drive/brand you most recommend these days?

EXCEPT for P.T. That game is ONLY PLAYABLE ON PS4!

Also an amazing tip I wouldn't have thought of. I wish my PS4 had PT on it, I could sell it for a lot more I imagine haha

Yes, in fact, PSVR2 is not backwards compatible with PSVR games, you can only play PSVR games on PS5 if you have a PSVR headset

Whhaaaaaat, I had no idea, Sony those bastards.

Prefer it over my Series X for sure.

Speaking of Series X, I just spotted this in Walmart the other day. Desperate times in Xbox land?? lol

 

[Jon]

Wait, PS3 games work on the PS5 too?? Or do you mean digital games? I will take my physical media to the grave. Probably literally, because I'm allergic to all of it, so now it has to be contained

Sadly, not the disks as far as I'm aware. But any available as a PS store download you should be able to play. For the PS3 (and some PS2 I think). It's part of PS Plus, and I'm fairly sure there is a good selection of PS3 games there. I haven't checked in a while, admittendly.

Are cloud saves a PS Plus feature? Or has my PS4 been doing that all along and I had no idea? I don't have PS Plus but I could probably sign up for it for a month or something.

It's likely it's been doing it all along if you have the PS4 hooked up to the internet. It should be under the settings, then... Saved Game and App Data... I think. Or worded something similar there. Should give you multiple options. My recommendation would be, just before switching into the PS5, is to do a final manual upload from the PS4. Should put all saved game data on the console copied to the cloud. Then on the PS5, in the same setting, just download from the cloud. Voila. All save games carry onto your PS5 console.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Speaking of Series X, I just spotted this in Walmart the other day. Desperate times in Xbox land?? lol
View attachment 10783

When the XSX launched, there were jokes that it looked like a refrigerator.

Microsoft then made a limited run XSX fridge as a joke. It sold out IMMEDIATELY. So they made it a legit thing.

So, more like they bumbled into a new income stream.

 

[Lunar Kreskents]

Microsoft then made a limited run XSX fridge as a joke. It sold out IMMEDIATELY. So they made it a legit thing.

whhaaaaaatt, I guess that's one way to come up with product ideas.

So what's the story on the Xbox toaster which apparently also is a thing?

 

[VashTheStampede]

whhaaaaaatt, I guess that's one way to come up with product ideas.

So what's the story on the Xbox toaster which apparently also is a thing?
View attachment 10789

Typical corporation going to the well too many times and trying to recreate lightning in a bottle.

I kinda want one though.

 

[Lunar Kreskents]

Sadly, not the disks as far as I'm aware. But any available as a PS store download you should be able to play. For the PS3 (and some PS2 I think). It's part of PS Plus, and I'm fairly sure there is a good selection of PS3 games there. I haven't checked in a while, admittendly.

Ahhh, gotcha, I was hoping I wouldn't have to get a new PS3 to play my PS3 and PS1 games too haha.

It's likely it's been doing it all along if you have the PS4 hooked up to the internet. It should be under the settings, then... Saved Game and App Data... I think. Or worded something similar there. Should give you multiple options. My recommendation would be, just before switching into the PS5, is to do a final manual upload from the PS4. Should put all saved game data on the console copied to the cloud. Then on the PS5, in the same setting, just download from the cloud. Voila. All save games carry onto your PS5 console.

Interesting.. Thanks for this walkthrough -- I'll be checking this out next I brave my allergen basement!

 

[Disgustipated]

Wait, PS3 games work on the PS5 too?? Or do you mean digital games? I will take my physical media to the grave. Probably literally, because I'm allergic to all of it, so now it has to be contained

Ahhh, gotcha, I was hoping I wouldn't have to get a new PS3 to play my PS3 and PS1 games too haha.

Unfortunately, you'll need a PS3. It's also not just "digital downloads for PS3 work" afaik, it's specifically PlayStation Classics that have received updated ports. Like normal PS3 digital games won't show up. I'm not even sure how many of the classics are PS3 games, mostly PSP, PS1 & 2 afaik.

Are cloud saves a PS Plus feature? Or has my PS4 been doing that all along and I had no idea? I don't have PS Plus but I could probably sign up for it for a month or something.

Interesting.. Thanks for this walkthrough -- I'll be checking this out next I brave my allergen basement!

Cloud Saves is definitely a PS+ feature, so you'll need to upgrade for that. It's also very easy to just copy all your saves to an external drive and transfer them back over to the PS5.

This is an amazing tip and sounds way easier to do up front than copying PS4 games over later. Is there a drive/brand you most recommend these days?

I've got one of these: https://a.co/d/ay4K2PE

EDIT: Cheaper alternative: https://a.co/d/ajjZEA1

If you can stretch for the SSD it's worth it, really improves load times for PS4 games. Significantly more than installing an SSD in an actual PS4 did, actually.

Also an amazing tip I wouldn't have thought of. I wish my PS4 had PT on it, I could sell it for a lot more I imagine haha

Whhaaaaaat, I had no idea, Sony those bastards.

To be fair the PSVR2 is significantly different from PSVR1. It doesn't use the Move controllers, much higher res, etc. I don't think making it BC would be a trivial task.

 

[Lunar Kreskents]

Unfortunately, you'll need a PS3. It's also not just "digital downloads for PS3 work" afaik, it's specifically PlayStation Classics that have received updated ports. Like normal PS3 digital games won't show up. I'm not even sure how many of the classics are PS3 games, mostly PSP, PS1 & 2 afaik.


Cloud Saves is definitely a PS+ feature, so you'll need to upgrade for that. It's also very easy to just copy all your saves to an external drive and transfer them back over to the PS5.

Ahhh yeah that all sounds like what I expected. Sweet deal, I'll probably just go the external drive, plus then I can keep a backup.

I've got one of these: https://a.co/d/ay4K2PE

EDIT: Cheaper alternative: https://a.co/d/ajjZEA1

If you can stretch for the SSD it's worth it, really improves load times for PS4 games. Significantly more than installing an SSD in an actual PS4 did, actually.

Amazing, thank you for the recommendations!

To be fair the PSVR2 is significantly different from PSVR1. It doesn't use the Move controllers, much higher res, etc. I don't think making it BC would be a trivial task.

How is the PSVR2? Do you have one?

 

[Spiner202]

Cloud saves are pretty incredible. At the time I got my PS5, I didn't think I would want any of my old save data, but thankfully, my saves were being auto-uploaded (you need a PSN subscription for this), so when I later decided I wanted to use them, they were all there.

Does anyone know what happens if your PSN subscription lapses? Will they delete all of your existing cloud saves, or do they just let you not download them/stop uploading them? I'm thinking about letting mine lapse for a short period of time, but if it deletes all of my existing saves with no way to get them back, that would be a problem.

 

[Jon]

Does anyone know what happens if your PSN subscription lapses? Will they delete all of your existing cloud saves, or do they just let you not download them/stop uploading them? I'm thinking about letting mine lapse for a short period of time, but if it deletes all of my existing saves with no way to get them back, that would be a problem.

Unless they've changed this recently, it used to be that if the subscription lapses, they stay for 6 months on the PSN servers before they delete them.

I'll try to find an updated source to confirm. But as a safety net, if it's going to lapse for longer than the 6 months, you COULD buy a flash drive and back them up there. Save game files are tiny compared to game saves, so even a cheap 8GB flash drive would house hundreds of save files.

 

[Smacktard]

I plan on eventually buying a PS5 too, but I'm okay holding off for now. I have a large backlog of PS3 and PS4 games I want to get through first. I'll eventually pick up one with a physical disc drive too. I'm also hopeful there's a super slim model in the works for the end-of-cycle market.

There's a few PS4 games I'm holding off on playing until I can do them on the PS5, such as The Last Guardian, which runs like ass on PS4.

 

[TD]

Does anyone know what happens if your PSN subscription lapses? Will they delete all of your existing cloud saves, or do they just let you not download them/stop uploading them? I'm thinking about letting mine lapse for a short period of time, but if it deletes all of my existing saves with no way to get them back, that would be a problem.

The save data uploaded to the cloud remains for a period of time. I want to say up to 6 months?

After that though, it's gone.

 

[TD]

One thing I'll say about the PS5 and looking into alternate hard drives, be careful.

Yes there's a list of hard drives that are "compatible" with the PS5 but they don't run quite the same as the stock hard drive (it's a beast).

Many people get performance issues because they aren't using the stock hard drive, so if you're getting a second hard drive I would recommend storing only PS4 games on it and using the stock hard drive for the native PS5 games.

I've had the PS5 since launch and only use the stock hard drive, but I only have a handful of games installed at any given time and have never had storage issues.

 

[Jon]

I could not find anything on the official PS site about the 6 months. It used to be there, and I haven't seen anyone contradict this. But 6 months seems a reasonable timeline.

One thing I'll say about the PS5 and looking into alternate hard drives, be careful.

I agree with this. I bought a Samsung 980 Pro for mine. And I recommend the typical name brands to be safe: Samsung, Western Digital, Crucial, Kingston, etc. These are speed tested and will be your best options.

I still, personally, have my default save location to the PS hard drive. I'll move games I'm not ACTIVELY playing on the M.2. But play games off the PS5 hard drive. Playing games off the M.2 has been perfectly fine otherwise. Everything else is on my external SSD and move them as needed.

 

[Disgustipated]

Ahhh yeah that all sounds like what I expected. Sweet deal, I'll probably just go the external drive, plus then I can keep a backup.

Yeah, it works really well. Just set aside a lot of time to do the copy, the PS4 is quite slow, though IIRC copying TO a drive is better than copying from a drive.

Amazing, thank you for the recommendations!

You bet!

How is the PSVR2? Do you have one?

I don't have one, though they teased PC compatibility with it very recently, which could convince me to buy one. I've got an HP Reverb G2 right now, but Microsoft is EOLing Windows Mixed Reality and forcibly removing it with Windows 11 24H2, so I have to get something else by late 2025 when 23H2 stops getting security updates. Having one headset for PS5 and PC is VERY appealing to me. Though a Quest 3 is also appealing. idk yet which direction I am going to go. It will depend a lot on if Gran Turismo 7 gets a PC port. That's the sole reason I want a PSVR2 to begin with.

 

[Disgustipated]

One thing I'll say about the PS5 and looking into alternate hard drives, be careful.

Yes there's a list of hard drives that are "compatible" with the PS5 but they don't run quite the same as the stock hard drive (it's a beast).

Many people get performance issues because they aren't using the stock hard drive, so if you're getting a second hard drive I would recommend storing only PS4 games on it and using the stock hard drive for the native PS5 games.

I've had the PS5 since launch and only use the stock hard drive, but I only have a handful of games installed at any given time and have never had storage issues.

Ehhh as long as you get a reasonably decent SSD it'll be fine. Advertised read/write speeds around 7000 MB/s should be every bit as performant as the internal drive if not better: https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfo...e-storage-tested-can-it-match-the-stock-drive

I could not find anything on the official PS site about the 6 months. It used to be there, and I haven't seen anyone contradict this. But 6 months seems a reasonable timeline.


I agree with this. I bought a Samsung 980 Pro for mine. And I recommend the typical name brands to be safe: Samsung, Western Digital, Crucial, Kingston, etc. These are speed tested and will be your best options.

I still, personally, have my default save location to the PS hard drive. I'll move games I'm not ACTIVELY playing on the M.2. But play games off the PS5 hard drive. Playing games off the M.2 has been perfectly fine otherwise. Everything else is on my external SSD and move them as needed.

Yeah, I started with a 2 TB 980 Pro, and then upgraded to a 4 TB WD_BLACK SN850X. Stick to good brands, with high enough rated speeds, and it will be more than fine.

 

[TD]

Ehhh as long as you get a reasonably decent SSD it'll be fine. Advertised read/write speeds around 7000 MB/s should be every bit as performant as the internal drive if not better: https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfo...e-storage-tested-can-it-match-the-stock-drive

It likely depends on the Studio and how they are with optimization because it's 100% an issue. A lot of games over the last year on the PS5 have suffered from being used on third party hard drives, likely because games are starting to be released for PS5 only so they don't have to consider limitations of PS4 in their development.

Rift Apart likely isn't a great benchmark as Insomniac has an excellent reputation for top-tier optimization.

A lot of native PS5 games suffer from texture pop-ins and frame stuttering when run on third party hard drives.

 

[Jon]

Yeah, I started with a 2 TB 980 Pro, and then upgraded to a 4 TB WD_BLACK SN850X. Stick to good brands, with high enough rated speeds, and it will be more than fine.

Man.... I'm jealous... those probably cost you more than the PS5!

I had to stick with just another 500GB because of cost reasons...

 

[Disgustipated]

It likely depends on the Studio and how they are with optimization because it's 100% an issue. A lot of games over the last year on the PS5 have suffered from being used on third party hard drives, likely because games are starting to be released for PS5 only so they don't have to consider limitations of PS4 in their development.

Rift Apart likely isn't a great benchmark as Insomniac has an excellent reputation for top-tier optimization.

A lot of native PS5 games suffer from texture pop-ins and frame stuttering when run on third party hard drives.

Hmm interesting. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Man.... I'm jealous... those probably cost you more than the PS5!

I had to stick with just another 500GB because of cost reasons...

Combined yeah, it was about the same as a whole additional PS5. But I caught a really good deal on the WD, and I moved the Samsung to the new PC I was building at the time and was going to buy a new SSD for anyway. And then Amazon fucked up and accidentally shipped my business a 1 TB 980 Pro instead of a 1 TB SATA 870 Evo, so I took that for my PC as well. $40 for a 1 TB 980 Pro was too good to pass up!

 

[Jon]

Good shit doesn't happen to me like that lol

 

[Spiner202]

I have stuck with the base hard drive, and while I agree that it would be better if it were larger, I've never had a huge issue because it's so easy to download games again. Even if I'm out, I can use the app to download and then it's ready to go when I'm home.

 

[Smacktard]

I have stuck with the base hard drive, and while I agree that it would be better if it were larger, I've never had a huge issue because it's so easy to download games again. Even if I'm out, I can use the app to download and then it's ready to go when I'm home.

That's cool as hell.

Unfortunately internet is expensive in Saudi ($250 a month for unlimited? 300 gigs for 3 months for about $130) so I wouldn't have that option, but that's really cool.

 

[TD]

I have stuck with the base hard drive, and while I agree that it would be better if it were larger, I've never had a huge issue because it's so easy to download games again. Even if I'm out, I can use the app to download and then it's ready to go when I'm home.

The PS App is legit incredible. The fact you can mostly manage your console from the app itself, even while you're not home is amazing.

 

[Kat]

I agree with this. I bought a Samsung 980 Pro for mine. And I recommend the typical name brands to be safe: Samsung, Western Digital, Crucial, Kingston, etc. These are speed tested and will be your best options.

Another thing to keep in mind is Amazon is full of counterfeit items, especially electronics, and there's no way to tell which seller you'll get an item from if it's fulfilled by Amazon. So people might be having performance problems due to it not really being what it claims to be.

Microsoft is EOLing Windows Mixed Reality and forcibly removing it with Windows 11 24H2

What?! I guess I better buy a new VR headset too. Ugh.

I've had a PS5 for years and am very happy with it. I don't ever use my PS4 anymore. The only thing I don't like is the controllers are a little bigger or shaped differently, and they're not as comfortable. The battery life is also a lot worse. The additional features are nice though, the haptic feedback especially makes games much more immersive. Playing my PS3 makes me miss the older, smaller controllers though.

I have the default storage, probably the smallest if there are options, and I get by with deleting games whenever I want to download new ones. If your Internet is fast and unlimited, I wouldn't worry too much about the extra storage unless you want to keep multiple really big games installed.

If you decide you want a PS3 too since the PS5 doesn't play anything older than PS4 games, I have a spare one. I'm not 100% sure I can find the cables for it, but I can guarantee it hasn't been exposed to pot smoke, and you're welcome to have it for the cost of getting it to you.

 

[Lunar Kreskents]

Another thing to keep in mind is Amazon is full of counterfeit items, especially electronics, and there's no way to tell which seller you'll get an item from if it's fulfilled by Amazon. So people might be having performance problems due to it not really being what it claims to be.

That's a good tip! I wonder...

I've had a PS5 for years and am very happy with it. I don't ever use my PS4 anymore. The only thing I don't like is the controllers are a little bigger or shaped differently, and they're not as comfortable. The battery life is also a lot worse. The additional features are nice though, the haptic feedback especially makes games much more immersive. Playing my PS3 makes me miss the older, smaller controllers though.

This is interesting. I have very small hands and even the PS4 controllers were too big. Or perhaps too "deep" where your hand fits in front of the trigger part. I have to put grips on my PS4 controllers and I kind of squeeze it from the sides where the grip arcs out a little bit to hold it, otherwise I get sharp pains in my forearms, it's horrible haha. I won't miss the PS4 controller at all. I've only gotten to use PS5 controller for a fairly short time. It seemed to fix the "too deep" problem even though it's a bit larger.. but I'm not sure I've played long enough yet to see if I'm going to weird forearm pains. I really really miss the smaller older controllers. They were so perfect and I wish they would make controllers for different hand sizes. The Xbox controller for example was virtually unplayable which sealed the deal years ago that I was going to buy into Sony products and not Xbox.

I have the default storage, probably the smallest if there are options, and I get by with deleting games whenever I want to download new ones. If your Internet is fast and unlimited, I wouldn't worry too much about the extra storage unless you want to keep multiple really big games installed.

My impatience is definitely a factor I like to randomly fire up games like Death Stranding, and I hate waiting for downloads, and I'm really going to hate when stores inevitably shut down someday or content is pulled (P.T.!) and I can no longer access it... So I probably will want somewhere to store my PS4 games at least. I doubt I'll be able to afford collecting too many PS5 games very soon though, so the internal drive is probably fine.

If you decide you want a PS3 too since the PS5 doesn't play anything older than PS4 games, I have a spare one. I'm not 100% sure I can find the cables for it, but I can guarantee it hasn't been exposed to pot smoke, and you're welcome to have it for the cost of getting it to you.

Thank you for this extremely kind offer, I will be sure to let you know! I could trade you a toxic (to me) PS3 in return if you wanted

This whole mess is really the worst.

 

[Kat]

This is interesting. I have very small hands and even the PS4 controllers were too big. Or perhaps too "deep" where your hand fits in front of the trigger part. I have to put grips on my PS4 controllers and I kind of squeeze it from the sides where the grip arcs out a little bit to hold it, otherwise I get sharp pains in my forearms, it's horrible haha. I won't miss the PS4 controller at all. I've only gotten to use PS5 controller for a fairly short time. It seemed to fix the "too deep" problem even though it's a bit larger.. but I'm not sure I've played long enough yet to see if I'm going to weird forearm pains. I really really miss the smaller older controllers. They were so perfect and I wish they would make controllers for different hand sizes. The Xbox controller for example was virtually unplayable which sealed the deal years ago that I was going to buy into Sony products and not Xbox.

I feel all of this. I think they're so big because they've crammed so much hardware in there. And if they start selling controllers without all of those features, then game developers will be even less likely to use them than they already are. I'd happily give up a bunch of features (the speaker, microphone, motion sensing, adaptive triggers, blah blah blah) to get back a smaller, lighter controller with better battery life, but I don't think it's going to happen.

 

[Disgustipated]

What?! I guess I better buy a new VR headset too. Ugh.

Yep, super annoying. I used this to prevent my computer from automatically installing 24H2: https://www.grc.com/incontrol.htm. 23H2 will get security updates until late 2025, so I'm going to hold off until then and see what's available and choose what to buy at that point. There's no reason to rush into something right now. Maybe some good Black Friday deals in 2025! I got my Reverb G2 for $300 on BF 2022, so I'm still very happy with the purchase.

 

[Smacktard]

So, some indications that a PS5 pro will be launching in a few months. I'm not a spec whore so I don't know how much of an upgrade the supposed specs are supposed to be over the current PS5 models. I heard that the upgrade won't really have a drastic impact on frame rate, and that the upgrades don't actually benefit current gwn games in any way. Of course, this sounds like console war lamery to me, but I genuinely don't know.

So I'm paging the ever-helpful, ever-knowledgeable @Raine for this one

 

[Raine]

So I'm paging the ever-helpful, ever-knowledgeable @Raine for this one

I have been summoned?!

Yeah, PS5 Pro all but formally confirmed for a holiday (so, November) launch this year. So like, deluge of leaks/analysis and all that in the last week or so:

Article:

Today's leaked documents also confirmed:

• Rendering 45% faster than PS5
• 2-3x Ray-tracing (x4 in some cases)
• 33.5 Teraflops
• PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution Upscaling) upscaling/antialiasing solution
• Support for resolutions up to 8K is planned for future SDK version
• Custom machine learning architecture
• AI Accelerator, supporting 300 TOPS of 8 bit computation / 67 TFLOPS of 16-bit floating point

Source: https://insider-gaming.com/ps5-pro-specs-2024/

Digital Foundry all up in there as usual, too:

Spec Analysis: PlayStation 5 Pro - the most powerful console yet

Tech specs for PlayStation 5 Pro have leaked - Digital Foundry verifies them and delivers analysis and further information.

www.eurogamer.net

TL;DR - it's going to be more expensive. There will be improvements in some areas for the games you play now, but the games that release later are still targeting PS5 'nilla (and probably the Xbox Series S...) so what you saw with PS4 vs PS4 Pro should be a relatively apt comparison.

If you're just casually gaming, the PS5 Slim Digital Edition is more than enough. You can get the detachable disc drive later. Or, you just can just jump straight for the PS5 Slim Lump Edition that already includes it (like I did lol) and just be on your merry way.

The lack of significant price cuts, even during Black Friday, really hurt though. PS5 was still $500 (with a digital code for a game included), while Xbox was down to ~$300. Don't really anticipate that changing anytime soon.