Did Sony become Games Workshop?

Considering that Nintendo seems fully committed with handheld gaming with the Nintendo Switch and future consoles while Microsoft's handling of the Xbox brand can best be described as "mashing buttons like they're losing a fighting game", it seems to me that Sony damn well knows what they are able to get away with in terms of being as anti-consumer as humanly possible

Yeah, $960 Canadian is abso-freaking-lutely ridiculous for the PS5 Pro's retail price and I don't even wanna know how much the stand and disc drive costs when accounting for US to Canadian dollar conversion, but... wow. Worst part is that even when people complain about the ridiculous pricing across multiple regions, people will still pony up and eat the stupidly high costs to continue playing on Playstation.

As for why I compare Sony with Games Workshop, nobody seems to hate GW more than GW's fans, yet fans of Warhammer 40K continue to buy their miniatures and rulebooks due to the company drowning out other options for tabletop wargaming. I think it's fair to say that Sony has successfully drowned out other options for console gaming in a similar sense.

The PS5 Pro is optional. Just like upgrading to a 4090 PC is optional. Sony said last gen the PS4 Pro made up just 12% of total sales. It's clearly for enthusiasts.

@SolidGame_basic: I mean, with the current state of console gaming, there's really nothing stopping Sony from making that the launch price of the PS6 if not a full 1K Canadian. See my previous point about Nintendo going handheld and Microsoft's continued button mashing.

@flashn00b: You think the PRO is expensive in Canada, it's $1,200 in Australia, $160 for the disk drive and another $40 for the stand, so you're looking at $1,400 here.

But Sony's toxic fanbase and largely the media coddle Sony and allow their bull 💩 to slide.

Sony (and Nintendo but thats another story) are very rarely held to account, that's what Xbox is for.

The PS5 Pro is designed to compete against gaming PCs, not against other consoles. In the eyes of a PC gamer, the PS5 Pro is actually very cheap.

Consoles just aren't a great value anymore... Don't forget you have to pay for online... And cloud saves.... I mean? What are we doing here?

It's possible, I guess. Would have a lot of repercussions. They would basically become extinct in Japan. And in the US and CAN, PC would become an ever bigger alternative. Switch 2 would pretty much reign king if it sells for $400. Don't know if Sony is willing to take that kind of risk.

It seems my comparison between Sony and Games Workshop has validity

Despite everyone complaining about the PS5's pricing, the Optical Drive has turned out to be the fastest selling item even before the PS5 Pro proper releases.

@flashn00b: Scalpers probably buying up the disc drive before the actual Pro release

The stand costs $39.99 and the disc drive costs $99.99. So if someone decided to buy all three in the Maritimes the total cost would be around $1265 and in Alberta+the territories it would $1155. I think only a chunk of people will choose to buy the two accessories plus the console. The console itself is built for a more premium market compared to the PS4 Pro so it likely was going to cost more than people expected. Add in currency fluctuations and the changing dynamics of the supply chain for technological products and you can see why the PS5 pro costs as much as it does.

If PS5 Pro is gonna compete with PC, then what's the point of Sony porting their games onto PC?

1. Sony lost a lot of money having the PS5's base model being bought up by the millions by scalpers, and had to make back that cash somehow while people didn't have access to the PS5 console.

2. In the case of Helldivers specifically, Arrowhead has built most of their following from PC gaming, and even with Helldivers being a Playstation IP, Helldivers eventually got ported, though I am not privy to why Sony made that decision

3. Bungee seems to be their main multiplatform studio after Destiny 2, since Marathon is slated to also release on Xbox

Those points aside, I feel like "Playstation PC" is heavily underutilized by Sony, cuz a part of me thinks that they could use PC game releases to gauge market interest in future console development, or work on IPs that they currently own but know damn well that it wouldn't have an install base on console. Like hell, they could outsource the development of a new Lemmings game to an indie studio and have it be a PC-exclusive Playstation product. Alternatively, a new SingStar since rhythm games seem to do much better on PC than console (mostly thanks to modding). A moddable rhythm game needs only to do the bare minimum for music licensing since Sony is not legally responsible for how the user plays a rhythm game.

Some people will never get a PC but they still care about how a game looks and run while others prefer to buy the newest thing.

As a PC gamer, I would never buy a console for that price. That is way too much.

Closed ecosystem, no options of settings or controllers, no mods, paid online.. It's not even close to PC gaming. Almost as expensive, but way crappier.

They jumped the status of Games Workshop and went full Apple.

I blame MS for essentially giving up the console space.

They have admitted they lost the console race, they seem to be moving to gamepass, cloud, multiplatform options, and the worst of all.....most of the game released by MS studios have been GARBAGE!!!!!!

Can MS just fund SEGA making a new console?

Unsure about that, cuz Apple has a relatively small marketshare and if my memory serves me correct, they charge a premium price for outdated entry level hardware. At the time I built my PC, an equivalently priced Mac from 2020 was like, $1800 for what would've been $450 worth of components in 2015

Hmmm true, Apple is still king of overcharging.

Makes the price of the disc drive look reasonable.

Unless you are forced by law to buy this machine then they can charge what they like. If you think it is too expensive then do not buy it until it reaches a price you are willing to pay for it.

I roll my eyes at certain click-chasing You Tubers who are calling this a scam. It isn't. It is probably a realistic price for a console without Sony or Microsoft taking a strategic loss on one. Are they even going to make a profit on selling the Pro at this price? This asks a question about the future of consoles in the long run.

For reference I am not going to buy one as I do not need the "benefits" it gives. I am happy enough with the PS5 I have. There is no point moaning about the price if you are still going to pay it - Sony won't change unless you vote with your wallet.

I disagree. PC gamers would see it as expensive for a closed system with expensive games. It's still competing with consoles and the most powerful option.