The PlayStation 5 Certainly a successful console, outselling its main competitor, the Xbox Series X|S, by about 2.5-to-1 worldwide. It hasn't matched the all-time sales highs of the original Nintendo Switch, but it sits comfortably as the market leader of its generation and can easily be considered a commercial success.
You might not think that if you only look at forums and social media discussions about the console, though. Some believe the PS5 is a weak console, with no games (or at least no good games) and underpowered for the cost of entry. Some of this vitriol can be attributed to the all-too-prevalent practice of internet negativity, rage-baiting, and the like, but if you look a little closer at the console's track record, there's actually plenty to criticize. This is true for the entire generation as well, but some of Sony's choices in this timeframe could have serious knock-on effects for years to come.
The PS5 has officially beaten the PS3
Sony's iconic PlayStation consoles continue to battle each other with the PlayStation 5 finally beating the PlayStation 3.
PlayStation's live-service pipe dream
Former Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan may have overseen the tumultuous rollout of the PS5 during COVID, but his legacy will probably be remembered as a less palatable effort, if online reactions are anything to go by. It's no secret that Sony took surprising and off-brand detours into the live-services market at the end of the decade, with 12 such games reportedly in the works by the early 2020s. This initiative was aggressively pursued by Ryan, much of what made the PlayStation brand so successful in the 2010s: bold, high-quality single-player games.
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On the one hand, it's not hard to imagine why Sony would pursue more multiplayer projects, as that's a field historically dominated by Xbox and PC – doubly so since the Activision-Blizzard purchase of Xbox. But the whole conceit of the live-service game is that it's consistently and reliably supported for years, not just put into shipping and maintenance mode. For it to be financially viable (especially for free-to-play games), any live-service needs to be large, dedicated, and most importantly, growing up player base. Take a game like FortniteArguably the most successful live-service: it has more than 390 million registered users, and its number of concurrent players constantly hovers around one million. It's hard enough to get these kinds of numbers in one game, let alone 12. This is why most live-service games fail: they run out of fuel. Players only have so much time.
consent
A symbol of running out of fuel better than any game consentSony's biggest failure is this gen. Launched in 2024 and reportedly costing north of $200 million to develop, consent It only ran two weeks ago, and the studio that made it closed. Hundreds of millions of dollars and years of hard work went into this game, and you can't blame it all on Sony – it was made by Firewalk Studios. consentAfter all – you have to wonder why a project like this, that no one wants, was deemed worthy of so much investment.
Sony has dramatically scaled back its live-service efforts, and other famous live-service debacles such as HighguardI wouldn't be surprised if it scales back further. There are many gamers who appreciate Jim Ryan's departure, but it's a step in the right direction, not a complete reversal. The company reportedly still has six and eight live-service games in the pipeline, and the favorites have taken heavy losses. consent May harm first-party PlayStation games for the foreseeable future.
PSN Steam requirement undermines Sony's PC push
Sony has engaged in another unethical practice during this console generation: it has brought some of its first-party games to Steam. Some of the major PlayStation exclusives to release on PC in recent years include:
- Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy
- God of War (2018)
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon zero dawn
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Our last part 1 and 2
no, blood borne Not yet available on PC.
This mass migration of PlayStation exclusives to PC isn't a bad thing—in fact, it's one of Sony's more popular decisions over the past few years. Besides benefiting the PC crowd for obvious reasons, it makes good financial sense to venture into the PC market. The PC gaming community isn't getting any smaller, so Sony is essentially leaving money on the table by holding it “hostage” on its own hardware.
But Sony shot itself in the foot with strict PSN requirements that, by 2025, were applied to almost every PlayStation game on PC, including single-player; It's still as essential as some multiplayer titles Ghost of Tsushima legends. Not only is this an unnecessary hurdle, but since PSN access is blocked in more than 100 countries, it also means that countless PC users are unable to play many PlayStation ported games for what is often considered an arbitrary reason. Sony removed the PSN requirement for many PC games, but it also seems like the company is moving away from PC ports more broadly, which certainly doesn't help it's PC audience going forward.
Huge price increase of PlayStation 5
This decision is recent, but no less devastating. In April 2026, Sony dramatically increased the prices of the following pieces of hardware:
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PlayStation 5: Changed to $649.99. Originally $499.99.
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PlayStation 5 Digital: Changed to $599.99. Originally $399.99.
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PlayStation 5 Pro: Changed to 899.99. Originally $699.99.
These steep price increases are extraordinary at nearly six years into a console's life cycle. Traditionally, consoles have gotten less expensive over the years, not more. While the PS5 has sold well, there are also many consumers who have held off on upgrading until the price drops; Now, these consumers cannot afford the PS5. Its timing is also dire because in many countries, skyrocketing costs of living make expensive luxuries less feasible for many people. And if it's a precursor to the PlayStation 6's price, Sony could be in serious trouble in a few years.
