Can you tell me who put a gun to the head of those people to force them to buy the disc version? No one is forced to do anything. People are generally just unhappy with whatever situation and want something to blame it on instead of just taking responsibility and admit that they can just wait for new stock.
People who are buying this console are gaming fans, if Sony wants to manipulate them by offering a $399 console that isn’t generally available but just as a sticking point and have their $499 disc drive version readily available is no different than a crack dealer. It’s an anti-consumer move and pure manipulation to gamers.
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Eh the gun to the head argument. Nobody is forcing anyone to do anything. But thats not the point.
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I am going to slightly disagree with this. You are correct that Sony is losing money on both consoles, but the DE should therefore be only at most $30 less expensive than the disc based version. We get told that there are people who either prefer to buy discs or their internet is not good enough and yet Sony is effectively charging them at the very least $70 more just for the privilege of having the ability to buy discs if someone really wants a PS5 and the ability to continue to buy discs or even to play their PS4 games via discs. The disc based version is not subsidising the DE, but Sony is sure as heck losing far less money on it.
A $100 cost difference with the only difference in feature being a missing disc drive is basically Sony wanting you to go all digital so they can make more money from you. It’s business of course but the sheer cheek of $100 difference for it is to lock people down digitally and not really any different from what MS did back in 2013.
Of course it’s hailed as genius due to the price by Sony fans.
Yep. In terms of similar results, ie going digital, it is not so different to what Microsoft were trying to achieve in 2013. It is a world away from that video from Sony of how to lend a game to a friend that is for certain.
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I started following the gaming community & media closely back in 2013 with the launch of the One and PS4. I was a gamer long before that but never paid much attention to anything outside of the games I was playing and my circle of gaming friends. Fast forward from 2013 to 2020 and I can now say without a doubt that Xbox is routinely shit upon by Fanboys and the gaming media, whilst Sony seems to get a pass on everything.
I’ve seen so many examples of Xbox taking huge flak on a particular issue, only to have Sony follow suit later down the road and absolutely nothing is said about it. All I can say is, if you’re a fan of Xbox, get used to it cause’ it ain’t gonna change. Also, limit your viewing of gaming social media and avoid fanboy sites at all costs.
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I’m not going to go all hyperbole on this, but it is a somewhat underhanded tactic by Sony to do this. It’s similar to the Black Friday deals where they only have 1 or 2 of the crazy sale item. They want to lure you in and since you waited in line for 48hrs you feel compelled to buy something if you don’t get the deal. You also see it with car dealerships that advertise deals on cars but when you get there suddenly it is sold out, but they have this other more expensive car to sell you. Why does the cheaper console have a lower production? They know full well what they are doing.
Now they could have done one console at $499 and there would be nothing to say and it would sell out just as fast.
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It’s a stretch to say anyone is being manipulated. Let’s not get carried away here. There is nothing anti-consumer with giving gamers options to different price points. Anyone that wants a cheaper PS5, now has an option for that version, anyone that wants to have a disc drive, also has an option. It’s very similar to the Core and Premium 360 models at launch where one had a HDD and the other didn’t but there was a $100 price gap. These companies will cut what they could to lower costs, especially when they are losing as much money as Sony is on the PS5.
I think it’s relevant though when people act like anyone is forced to do anything. I don’t think FOMO is an excuse for these people to get worked up over something they can just wait for.
Yeah I completely agree that Sony is losing less on the disc version. It’s a calculated loss they are willing to make since they are likely to have higher profit shares on the digital version. There are very good market reasons why it almost had to be a $100 gap and was highly unlikely going to be even a $50 gap. It’s the same reason why these consoles are priced at $499 instead of $500 even though it’s effectively a $500 console. The first number is what people first latch onto and the digital edition wouldn’t have nearly the same impact if it also started with a 4 and was priced around $449.
Have any proof that they are manufacturing far less digital versions? Even IF they are, I don’t think it would be a manipulative tactic to push people towards the higher priced console. Instead IF they are manufacturing less digital versions, it’s because they are losing more per digital unit sold.
I just think all the talk of this being underhanded or some kind of malicious way of doing businesses is a bit much. We see these types of things almost every generation now. The 360, PS3, Wii-U, Xbox One, etc have all provided options at different price points but now we want to complain? Doesn’t make sense to me.
Oh no. I completely understand why Sony has done it this way and why they had to get to $399 with the DE. I don’t believe the disc based version had to be $499, but to the consumer I described he/she is not going to care about the reasons why there is a $100 difference. All he/she sees is going to see is that they have to pay $100 more for the console they want and/or need and that Sony has shafted them.
This.
Are you thinking both should have been the same price?
Guys, they are Sony fan(boys), they will pay the extra 100 for it or even more. Let them pre-order a console that just some weeks before release still hasn’t been show to anyone outside Sony. No one knows about its internals. No one has put their hands on the device. Really, REALLY bizarre. Eager fanboys are fine with that. Gaming media, as expected, is fine with that (because it’s Sony, of course!). I will prepare my popcorn because this console isn’t being hidden for no reason.
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Of course not lol. A 4K Blu-Ray drive costs money at the end of the day. However, when Microsoft released the Xbox One SAD it was what, $30 cheaper? The disc based version should have been at least $429 or at the very most $449 in my opinion. Even at $449 Sony would be giving the DE purchasers around a $20 discount. A $100 for the exact same console basically just seems like a slap in the face to the people who want to continue to buy physical media or who do not really have much of a choice.
Confirmed: PS4 is holding back next-gen on Series S. 
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Its incredibly bizarre, but yet again. The gaming media have no hard questions for Sony. If MS was not showing their new systems to anyone outside of the company.
We know the narrative that would be being pushed right about now.
I know some have said Xbox fans are overly paranoid but you just need eyes and honesty to see how things go.
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Your framing doesn’t make sense here. By that argument you can justify literally any move any company ever does wrt their products since ‘nobody forced you to buy it’. I think there is a fair point that Sony has made only a very few DE’s available as a cynical ploy to say their product ‘starts @ $399’ when in reality 90% of the units available are the $499 version (that figure comes from Best Buy iirc, who had 3k DE’s and 19k other).
I don’t agree with the others here saying the PS5 somehow subsidizes the PS5 DE. The various PSX online subscription services and the marketplace cut for PSN is what subsidizes that. Just like how it works for XSS. It’s a good, strong price but is fair to suggest it is deceptive given the stock allocations so far, but not for some weird subsidization reason.
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Please don’t generalize like this. I gladly got a disc version and I’m no fanboy.
Oh sorry, it was an honest question just to better understand your last post.
It really is a lose, lose situation to price consoles at times. The SAD edition was $50 cheaper than the S model and people complained that it should be even cheaper than that. To be honest, I thought a $50 price drop was on the lower side as well but understood that they weren’t saving much by removing the disc drive to begin with. I also think a part of the problem there was that people were able to find the S model for a cheaper price than the SAD edition but I digress.
I can see now why some would have an issue with the price gap, but it really was the most logical choices. Certainly better than the possible $500-$600 prices we may have gotten if the rumors are true about them adjusting prices.
I didn’t realize there were figures at Best Buy, thanks. My comment about the gun to the head is directly about people being forced into things. I think it’s fair and right to voice opinions on things but to act like anyone is forced into anything? Nah, can’t agree with that. I was adamantly against the Xbox One online only moves last gen and voiced my negative opinion loudly but also knew I had the choice to vote with my wallet, which I did.
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That last statement especially, a true eye opener for the past two days for me. I’ve just given up and contemplated quitting twitter for a while, cuz everywhere I go it’s just more of this. What happened yesterday and today that caught me off guard is seeing much of the actual games media completely complicit with what Sony did. Don’t wanna bring in “politics” but it’s very true that media is a fundamental pillar of democracy, but when the media itself is in bed with the government (in this case, the market leader), it’s just saddening to see the kind of things they can get away with. Ive done my peace with it and won’t be interacting or engaging in this discourse on twitter for a good while. I literally had the account only to follow some really cool indie devs I’ve come to love over the years and their games, but it’s just frustrating to see all this bullshit that I and many others need to ಅದೇ through. sighs For the longest, I’ve only cherished and championed indie games and continue to do so, but having to be part of a community pertaining a plastic box company (no longer one thankfully Xbox got out of that model), getting inevitably dragged into these console wars got me wasting more and more time than I desire. So yeah, that’s about it.
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Why are the expectations and standards so different for Xbox? It makes you realize that these ‘gaming journalists’ are just closet fanboys at the end of the day. I have no idea why they’re so married to Sony who has done nothing but capitalize on their blind faith, its almost like they enjoy being in an abusive relationship. Have to hand it Sony turning their plastic toy into a religion.
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