This review has spent 3,000 words talking about the PlayStation 5, which is the most I’ve written about anything. It’s as good a video game console as there has ever been. The combination of ultra high-definition video, increased framerates, high-end graphics techniques like ray tracing, and the lightning-fast SSD make it feel like a real-deal, next-gen successor to the PlayStation 4. And if you’re not ready to give up on the previous console, the PlayStation 5 reliably runs a vast majority of the PlayStation 4 library, with many of those games receiving upgrades to fidelity, framerate, and loading times.
But I’d be remiss to ignore all the reasons not to be excited for the PlayStation 5.
The world is still reeling under the weight of the covid-19 pandemic. There are more Americans out of work right now than at any point in the country’s history, with no relief in sight. Our health care system is an inherently evil institution that forces people to ration life-saving medications like insulin and choose suicide over suffering with untreated mental illness.
As I’m writing this, it looks very likely that Joe Biden will be our next president. But it’s clear that the worst people aren’t going away just because a new old white man is sitting behind the Resolute desk—well, at least not this old white man. Our government is fundamentally broken in a way that necessitates radical change rather than incremental electorialism.
The harsh truth is that, for the reasons listed above and more, a lot of people simply won’t be able to buy a PlayStation 5, regardless of supply. Or if they can, concerns over increasing austerity in the United States and the growing threat of widespread political violence supersede any enthusiasm about the console’s SSD or how ray tracing makes reflections more realistic. That’s not to say you can’t be excited for those things—I certainly am, on some level—but there’s an irrefutable level of privilege attached to the ability to simply tune out the world as it burns around you.
-Ian Walker
I haven’t bought a console since I got a used xbox to play GTA4 but reading the wiki for this generation it seems like this is the first time there are no real changes to the fundamental technology, just beefier existing tech.
The haptic rumble to the PS5 controller seems nice and a logical improvement, and SSD gaming will actually change the way game spaces are designed. I can't see the fancy triggers doing much or being utilized. I can't see more digital gaming mattering. They couldn't improve the hardware tech itself much so now they're running the hardware hotter and depending more on the air cooling to maintain the performance gains. Baked-in ray tracing hardware might be nice for lighting and audio stuff for developers to play with and the return of 60 FPS is good. Other than that it's basically whatever. I didn't care about last gen much but this gen is so obviously unimportant. I can barely even tell the difference visually between PS5 and PS4 games.