Support NeoGAF

[nial]

A common sentiment is that the PS5 has had an eternal cross-generation period with the PS4, something that is reasonable to think. The weird part is seeing people blaming Sony for it, something that doesn't really make much sense, at all.

Sony had already announced these new PS5 games before the launch of the console in November 12, 2020, with cross-gen PS4 titles bolded:

Astro's Playroom (November 12, 2020)
Demon's Souls (November 12, 2020)
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (November 12, 2020)
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (November 12, 2020)
Destruction AllStars (February 2, 2021)
Returnal (April 30, 2021)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (June 11, 2021)
Horizon Forbidden West (February 18, 2022)
Gran Turismo 7 (March 4, 2022)
God of War Ragnarök (November 9, 2022)

On the other hand, the only new PS4 games that Sony announced after the PS5 launch were the following:

MLB The Show 21 - April 20, 2021
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends - September 3, 2021
MLB The Show 22 - April 5, 2022
MLB The Show 23 - March 28, 2023
MLB The Show 24 - March 19, 2024
My First Gran Turismo - December 6, 2024

So, what do we have here? Four yearly sports titles (with this year's release skipping the console even when releasing on less powerful hardware like the Nintendo Switch), a standalone release of the multiplayer mode of a different game, and a free demo Gran Turismo title mostly made to promote Gran Turismo 7, a PS4 game.

Meanwhile, all of the rest of the first-party PS5 titles, from Rise of the Ronin to Stellar Blade, Astro Bot and Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, have all skipped (or will skip) the PS4. Even something like Lego Horizon Adventures, that came out on Nintendo Switch, still skipped the PS4; something that could be also said for MLB The Show 25.

Just look at third-party publishers, Bandai Namco Entertainment has released Bleach: Rebirth of Souls, Elden Ring Nightreign, Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac and Little Nightmares III on PS4 this year. Sega has released Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and Sonic Racing Crossworlds on PS4 this year. Koei Tecmo Games has released Warriors: Abyss, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land, Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme and Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian on PS4 this year. Square Enix will release Octopath Traveler 0 on PS4 this year. And that's without even getting to way smaller publishers like Nippon Ichi Software or Compile Heart, all of which have kept supporting the PS4 up to this year (bar Nihon Falcom, perhaps).

And the thing is, SIE's big cross-generation titles in 2022 were actually 2021 releases delayed due to pandemic issues (and some other problems) at the time. So basically, Sony only really intended to support the PS4 (aside of MLB The Show games) on PS5's first year in 2020-2021, and then just drop the platform altogether.

So, where exactly are people getting that Sony will support the PS5 several years into the PS6 generation?

 

[ZehDon]

One the main reasons that the PS5-cross gen support is laughed at from Sony is because they mouthed off to win PR points against Xbox, who was quite open about its cross-gen plans. Then it turns out many of the core titles Sony showed off were cross-gen - they were simply not talking about the PS4-gen versions. And in the case of something like GOW: Ragnarok, the difference between the PS4 and PS5 versions were minor, at best. This stuck out.

Looking ahead to the PS6 generation, odds are most of the generation will be cross gen, because the jump from the PS5 to the PS6 is going to be small enough that the difference can be covered by typical software scaling. Drop the resolution, lower shadow quality, little more pop-in, and you're done. With Sony no longer being a hardware focused company, their goals will be similar to Microsoft's: sell as many games to as many people on as many platforms as possible. Throwing away the huge PS5 install base is directly against their stated goals. With that said, I do still expect one or two next-gen exclusives from Sony used as show piece titles to advertise the PS6. However, they're still showing of TLOUP2 as a PS5 showcase title... even though it's a PS4 title, and the PS5 """"remaster"""" is just tweaking a config file. So, who knows - maybe it's all cross-gen with more paid patches. Who knows?

 

[nial]

One the main reasons that the PS5-cross gen support is laughed at from Sony is because they mouthed off to win PR points against Xbox, who was quite open about its cross-gen plans. Then it turns out many of the core titles Sony showed off were cross-gen - they were simply not talking about the PS4-gen versions. And in the case of something like GOW: Ragnarok, the difference between the PS4 and PS5 versions were minor, at best. This stuck out.

Except that not only Sony was still releasing PS5 exclusives on those early years, but they were also pretty clear on the fact that they still had to support the PS4 after the PS5 launches.

The speed in which players adopt PS5 is important, but Sony does have that 100 million-plus PS4 install base to fall back on. And that install base is growing, with console sales jumping up since the lockdown began worldwide.

"We have always felt that we had a responsibility to serve that [PS4] community for several years after the launch of PS5 and that it represented a huge business opportunity for us," Ryan says. "The numbers are quite straightforward. If you say in broad brush figures that we have a community of 100 million PS4 owners right now, and in the first couple of years... I don't know, somewhere between 15 and 25 million might migrate to PS5, that still leaves a huge number of people with PS4s. And that community is demonstrating an amazing stickiness, and willingness to stay engaged that, I think, the events of the past few months have just reinforced what we knew already.

Sony's Jim Ryan: “We are going to launch PS5 this holiday and we're going to launch globally"

"A great deal has happened since we last spoke. Terrible things happening in the world, which puts everything that you …

www.gamesindustry.biz

If there is one thing that I can understand, it's maybe the fact that they were not properly communicating on the fact that Miles Morales, Sackboy, Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7 and GOWR would also come to PS4. The latter two weren't even announced to be coming to the platform until June 2021.

Looking ahead to the PS6 generation, odds are most of the generation will be cross gen, because the jump from the PS5 to the PS6 is going to be small enough that the difference can be covered by typical software scaling. Drop the resolution, lower shadow quality, little more pop-in, and you're done. With Sony no longer being a hardware focused company, their goals will be similar to Microsoft's: sell as many games to as many people on as many platforms as possible. Throwing away the huge PS5 install base is directly against their stated goals. With that said, I do still expect one or two next-gen exclusives from Sony used as show piece titles to advertise the PS6. However, they're still showing of TLOUP2 as a PS5 showcase title... even though it's a PS4 title, and the PS5 """"remaster"""" is just tweaking a config file. So, who knows - maybe it's all cross-gen with more paid patches. Who knows?

Except that for one, systems specs have never been a factor for Sony to keep supporting a platform (again, Lego Horizon and MLB 2025 recently prove this), and the context of Sony not being entirely hardware sales focused doesn't clash with their intent on selling their new platform. Because, again, they have stated that such process has started on the PS4 generation and was already in place by the time the PS5 launched, and yet, they don't really seem to care about keeping support on the PS4 for their first-party productions past the first one or two years of the PS5.
Why didn't Rise of the Ronin or Astro Bot release there? Why did they even cancel the PS4 version of Stellar Blade in such case, then?

 

[playbignbox]

I don't believe Sony has any advantage in forcing the transition of active PS5 users to the PS6, considering that the console has a higher subsidized cost at the beginning of production than during the course of production.

As long as users are active in its ecosystem and games can be easily ported between platforms, it doesn't matter to Sony; just let everything follow its course.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

This is like old news and drama

 

[nial]

I don't believe Sony has any advantage in forcing the transition of active PS5 users to the PS6, considering that the console has a higher subsidized cost at the beginning of production than during the course of production.

As long as users are active in its ecosystem and games can be easily ported between platforms, it doesn't matter to Sony; just let everything follow its course.

PSN and PS Plus revenue will easily make up for it. Looking at operating income, there's a stark difference between the start of the PS5 generation and those of the PS2, PS3 and PS4.

This is like old news and drama

Considering that the PS6 generation is about to start, it's kinda useful to see how they were approaching things this generation.

 

[Mr Moose]

One the main reasons that the PS5-cross gen support is laughed at from Sony is because they mouthed off to win PR points against Xbox, who was quite open about its cross-gen plans.

 

[FoxMcChief]

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

about to start

like in 3 years at the earliest

 

[nial]

like in 3 years at the earliest

it's fine if you can't afford it in 2 years

 

[Senua]

Sir, this is an Arby's

 

[nial]

Sir, this is an Arby's

I like NeoGAF now.

 

[LectureMaster]

It's a slow day for Sony and my man nial gotta do something.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

it's fine if you can't afford it in 2 years

Why buy a console without exclusives and cross-gen games in the first 3-4 years of its life...not counting woke infested slop too .

 

[nial]

It's a slow day for Sony and my man nial gotta do something.

every time I see this

I'm like

 

[semiconscious]

Except that for one, systems specs have never been a factor for Sony to keep supporting a platform (again, Lego Horizon and MLB 2025 recently prove this), and the context of Sony not being entirely hardware sales focused doesn't clash with their intent on selling their new platform. Because, again, they have stated that such process has started on the PS4 generation and was already in place by the time the PS5 launched, and yet, they don't really seem to care about keeping support on the PS4 for their first-party productions past the first one or two years of the PS5...

well, it was only the similar system architecture that allowed for this to happen smoothly between the ps4 & ps5. before that, it required (as we know) much more involved effort to create cross-gen playstation titles. & then there's the fact that, if all you do is expand that 'first one or two years' to 'first two or three years'? & realize that that'd also include the last two or three, which'd be the first two or three for the ps7? well, that's most of the ps6 console's life right there...

 

[nial]

well, it was only the similar system architecture that allowed for this to happen smoothly between the ps4 & ps5. before that, it required (as we know) much more involved effort to create cross-gen playstation titles. & then there's the fact that, if all you do is expand that 'first one or two years' to 'first two or three years'? & realize that that'd also include the last two or three, which'd be the first two or three for the ps7? well, that's most of the ps6 console's life right there...

If you consider the PS6 lifecycle to be nine or ten years, sure.

 

[playbignbox]

PSN and PS Plus revenue will easily make up for it. Looking at operating income, there's a stark difference between the start of the PS5 generation and those of the PS2, PS3 and PS4.

Considering that the PS6 generation is about to start, it's kinda useful to see how they were approaching things this generation.

This phenomenon occurred in the PS5 generation following the exact same logic as my comment: the PS4 and PS5 ecosystems are integrated, just as the PS6 will be. There's no more resetting, so Sony has no reason to accelerate the transition. This means more cross-gen titles.

 

[semiconscious]

If you consider the PS6 lifecycle to be nine or ten years, sure.

i'm talking 7 years (like the previous 2 consoles): first 3 years, ps5/ps6, last 3 years, ps6/ps7...

 

[Sooner]

People are going to have to come to terms with the fact that the generational leaps like PS1 to PS2 are long over. Back from Atari up to the PS3 era, you could pretty much tell exactly which generation a game belonged to by any single screenshot of a game. That's not reality anymore and likely never will be again.

There really are very few, if any, PS5 games that wouldn't run on PS4 at a lesser quality. There probably won't be many PS6 games that couldn't be handled on PS4 either.

 

[adamsapple]

nial's twenty third monologue about how awesome sony is:

 

[Grildon Tundy]

I feel like the PS6 is going to launch just shy of some major breakthrough in real-time AI-enhanced graphics, and the gen after that will be mind-blowing, visually. The future seems like it'll have these PS1-level wireframes of games handling the simulation piece, with an AI-visual layer on top. Picture a stick-man drawing fed into an AI that can interpret it and render a photoreal person.

Just makes sense to me to off-load asset & fine detail creation to a trained AI model and save millions/billions on paying out wages to artists. Not necessarily saying I want it to happen, just that it will at some point.

 

[Loomy]

People have very selective memory about Sony's "We believe in generations" comments. In a lot of cases, they have no idea who said it, what context it was said it, and what it was said in reference to. They just latched on to it and repeat it. It was first said years before Microsoft made their crossgen/smart delivery announcements.

It wasn't a case of Sony trying to:

win PR points against Xbox

The "Official PlayStation Used Game Instructional Video" Shuhei Yoshida and Adam Boyes did was definitely a "win PR points" video, and this comment often gets lumped in with that.

Every single time someone from Sony has said "We believe in generations", it's been in reference to hardware.

When Cerny first said it, it was in reference to the PS4 Pro.

Article:

"I believe in generations. Generations are a good thing. So, philosophically, we believe in them. We believe they continue, and this is a mid-generation release."

Source: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sony-we-still-believe-in-console-generations

Years later(2020) Jim Ryan repeated it when talking about the PS5

Article:

"We have always said that we believe in generations. We believe that when you go to all the trouble of creating a next-gen console, that it should include features and benefits that the previous generation does not include. And that, in our view, people should make games that can make the most of those features.

"We do believe in generations, and whether it's the DualSense controller, whether it's the 3D audio, whether it's the multiple ways that the SSD can be used... we are thinking that it is time to give the PlayStation community something new, something different, that can really only be enjoyed on PS5."

Source: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sonys-jim-ryan-its-time-to-give-fans-something-that-can-only-be-enjoyed-on-playstation-5

And then Eric Lempel said it to Geoff Keighley around the time of the PS5 launch. Time stamped at 28:30

tl;dr, Lempel acknowledged that they won't be able to bring everyone along with them(not everyone will be able to or want to buy a PS5 right away) and that you would need new hardware to experience some of the new experiences they were hoping developers would want gamers to experience.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

I don't believe Sony has any advantage in forcing the transition of active PS5 users to the PS6, considering that the console has a higher subsidized cost at the beginning of production than during the course of production.

As long as users are active in its ecosystem and games can be easily ported between platforms, it doesn't matter to Sony; just let everything follow its course.

With that logic you can argue there's no point to the PS6 as it's just resetting the clock on hardware costs when they can just milk the PS5 which uses much older and cheaper technology.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Considering that the PS6 generation is about to start, it's kinda useful to see how they were approaching things this generation.

but you're the only one talking about it? This is such an odd thread to spend so much energy on. You've created a strawman that you've attacked for no reason.

 

[NickFire]

So, where exactly are people getting that Sony will support the PS5 several years into the PS6 generation?

First, it doesn't matter if Sony only supports PS5 a year or two into PS6 generation. Other third parties will so PS5 will be around a while. Second, everyone became accustomed to generations becoming more like IPhone upgrades instead of a clean break ( even on consumer end - we love our digital libraries and pc players don't start over en masse like consoles as far as I know). So conditions are ripe for all pubs to keep raking in the money, and I bet that will include Sony.

 

[playbignbox]

With that logic you can argue there's no point to the PS6 as it's just resetting the clock on hardware costs when they can just milk the PS5 which uses much older and cheaper technology.

Sony needs to release a PS6 for other reasons: decreasing PS5 sales (which will eventually happen), technological obsolescence (which doesn't align with their market positioning), competition, etc.

Now, ignoring a giant active user base by releasing exclusive system sellers at the beginning of the generation just to accelerate user migration? It doesn't make sense in terms of revenue and only irritates the PS5 fanbase.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Considering that the PS6 generation is about to start, it's kinda useful to see how they were approaching things this generation.

Is PS6 coming next year, or something?

 

[BlakeofT]

I am definitely not in the market for a new console cycle. Maybe it's because I just bought a Switch 2 this year, but man, it feels like PS5 is still just getting started.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Is PS6 coming next year, or something?

Has it even been a year since the pro came out? That would be fucking hilarious

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Once the PS6 releases we will still be getting minor game releases on PS4 releasing even if it's not Sony doing it.

PS6 will have crossgames with the PS5 probably for like 4 or 5 years at this point.

Maybe we should just stop using the word "generations"...just a thought. Those days are gone.

 

[nial]

This phenomenon occurred in the PS5 generation following the exact same logic as my comment: the PS4 and PS5 ecosystems are integrated, just as the PS6 will be. There's no more resetting, so Sony has no reason to accelerate the transition. This means more cross-gen titles.

The idea works, yes, but it has not been how they've handled things so far in the PS4 to PS5 transition, which will not be different from the PS5 to PS6 transition.

i'm talking 7 years (like the previous 2 consoles): first 3 years, ps5/ps6, last 3 years, ps6/ps7...

If the PS6 shares its last 3 years with the first 3 years of the PS7, then that means that the PS6 lasts for 4 years before the PS7 releases.

but you're the only one talking about it? This is such an odd thread to spend so much energy on. You've created a strawman that you've attacked for no reason.

I don't get how this argument works unless you literally want me to quote every single comment saying as much here or on other places like Twitter and YouTube.
Also, I know that we're accustomed by drive-by posting, but I spent like 5 minutes writing the thread. That's how discussion used to work in the past.

Is PS6 coming next year, or something?

It's almost January 2026, so it may as well be the case.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

It's almost January 2026, so it may as well be the case.

Why would it even be needed at this point? I can see a case for like '28 or so, but why so soon?

 

[EverydayBeast]

I've said it before legacy Sony gaming consoles are active and protected

PlayStation 2 Online - Official Community

Cross platform is an area where Sony has to be careful, ps3 users defend that console until their deaths.

 

[semiconscious]

If the PS6 shares its last 3 years with the first 3 years of the PS7, then that means that the PS6 lasts for 4 years before the PS7 releases.

no, i'm simply indicating that there'll be upgraded versions of the last 3 years of ps6 games released in order to fatten up the catalog along with the ps7 exclusives. here's your list from another thread:

Demon's Souls (November 12, 2020)
Destruction AllStars (February 2, 2021)
Returnal (April 30, 2021)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (June 11, 2021)
The Last of Us Part I (September 2, 2022)
Horizon Call of the Mountain (February 22, 2023)
Firewall Ultra (August 24, 2023)
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (October 20, 2023)

that's 8 exclusives over the first 3 years? featuring 2 remakes, an expansion, & a vr game? that's where the 'new, improved' versions come in to help justify your console purchase...

 

[Panajev2001a]

One the main reasons that the PS5-cross gen support is laughed at from Sony is because they mouthed off to win PR points against Xbox, who was quite open about its cross-gen plans.

It has been discussed and disproved many times. Sony's comments was about what they were building in the HW and the platform to power new games and what a new generation meant for them. They did not say they were not going to make cross-generation titles. This was a contrast to the idea of by default to make every single title cross-gen, to make consoles iterative yearly or something sliding windows HW platforms like phones, and avoid or delay introducing in the platform big step changes that deserve a generation reset / revolution and evolution being balanced.

[people] kept misinterpreting the quote intentionally to troll or to try to make their faction feel better, the ones that actually read it understood what it meant and saw Sony actually delivering it and they are keeping their expectations in check for PS5 Pro.

PS5 Die Shot has been revealed

I blame this bearded stoner Exactly. He literally says there that "RDNA2 includes hardware support for DIRECT X ray tracing" So... PS5 by definition can't be this so called "full RDNA2" because PlayStation would never ever use fucking DirectX. Wow the PS5 is not a PC. Shocker. Its dishonest...

www.neogaf.com

After so many years and discussions on the topic, parroting that line just outs you . So fill your boots…

Sony never said shit about Microsoft and never said "no cross gen games."

Find the lie. (Spoiler- there is none.)

"We have always said that we believe in generations. We believe that when you go to all the trouble of creating a next-gen console, that it should include features and benefits that the previous generation does not include. And that, in our view, people should make games that can make the most of those features."

"We do believe in generations, and whether it's the DualSense controller, whether it's the 3D audio, whether it's the multiple ways that the SSD can be used... we are thinking that it is time to give the PlayStation community something new, something different, that can really only be enjoyed on PS5."

- Jimmy Sony

Sony's Jim Ryan: “We are going to launch PS5 this holiday and we're going to launch globally"

"A great deal has happened since we last spoke. Terrible things happening in the world, which puts everything that you …

www.gamesindustry.biz

Its standard marketing saying "PS5 is not just a PS4 Pro 2.0." Its hyping the hardware.

P

Platform  Post in thread 'Satya Nadella talks about the future of Xbox and multiplatform: "We are very happy with what's going on in gaming"'

Jan 18, 2024

Jim Ryan once said they believe in generations, yet we know how that turned out.

Yes, a bunch of fools and/or bad faith actors kept misinterpreting the quote intentionally to troll or to try to make their faction feel better, the ones that actually read it understood what it meant and saw Sony actually delivering it and they are keeping their expectations in check for PS5 Pro.

Sony never said shit about Microsoft and never said "no cross gen games."

Find the lie. (Spoiler- there is none.)

"We have always said that we believe in generations. We believe that when you go to...

• Panajev2001a

• 
• 
• 

Evolution of the Xbox controller vs SixAxis vs Dual Shock 3 vs Dual Sense is a good example of each console manufacturer approach for example.

 

[Bernkastel]

I don't know why cross gen support for PS4 is considered bad.

 

[nial]

no, i'm simply indicating that there'll be upgraded versions of the last 3 years of ps6 games released in order to fatten up the catalog along with the ps7 exclusives. here's your list from another thread:

Okay, but that's a huge stretch to assume in the first place, and it wouldn't change the fact that they were PS6 games first and foremost, as those upgraded PS7 versions would not be available at launch.

that's 8 exclusives over the first 3 years? featuring 2 remakes, an expansion, & a vr game? that's where the 'new, improved' versions come in to help justify your console purchase...

You're honestly confusing me a lot, but do you consider cross-gen releases to be 'new, improved' versions? Because they are not.
Stuff like Horizon Forbidden West or Gran Turismo 7 were released first and foremost as PS5 games.

Why would it even be needed at this point? I can see a case for like '28 or so, but why so soon?

Because the PS5 has declined at the same time as the PS4 before it was replaced.
Also, people say this all the time, I found 2011 threads the other day talking about how new consoles weren't needed.

 

[bender]

Cross generation support is a necessity due to the time and cost of developing games and has a very positive impact of ensuring backwards compatibility. I do wonder if there will be long term effects to this strategy as well as the now standard mid-generation Pro hardware. Personally those factors make me question when the right time is to jump into new hardware. The PS5 Pro is the first Playstation I haven't owned and with the PS6 right around the corner, I'm not planning on being there day one. There are other factors of course, like my tastes not aligning with the majority of first party offerings and I could be in a tiny minority with that mindset.

 

[LakeOf9]

First, it doesn't matter if Sony only supports PS5 a year or two into PS6 generation. Other third parties will so PS5 will be around a while. Second, everyone became accustomed to generations becoming more like IPhone upgrades instead of a clean break ( even on consumer end - we love our digital libraries and pc players don't start over en masse like consoles as far as I know). So conditions are ripe for all pubs to keep raking in the money, and I bet that will include Sony.

Yea this is exactly what we saw with the Switch 2, it was treated and positioned like a new iPhone and that's the expectation customers came into it with

 

[pacman4000]

Why buy a console without exclusives and cross-gen games in the first 3-4 years of its life...not counting woke infested slop too .

Why not? It's not like better performance and better image/gfx quality do any harm.

 

[nial]

Cross generation support is a necessity due to the time and cost of developing games and has a very positive impact of ensuring backwards compatibility.

Serious question, I've seen people say this for years, but how is that? I literally don't get the correlation.

 

[Loomy]

Serious question, I've seen people say this for years, but how is that? I literally don't get the correlation.

If I make a game for PS5 and PS4 that game is automatically compatible with PS4.

 

[dgrdsv]

It's not "exaggerated" if you look at 3rd party output.
And limiting yourself to just Sony published titles tells you more about the amount of titles published than anything on crossgen support.

 

[bender]

Serious question, I've seen people say this for years, but how is that? I literally don't get the correlation.

Developing games on similar architecture (PS4 -> PS5) is easier and cheaper than on bespoke architecture (PS3 -> PS4). Further, with the prevalence of digital storefronts and the stickiness of previous generation hardware (see PS4 MAU), it's going to be hard to draw to ever draw a line in the sand that cuts off previous generation support. I fully expect to see PS4 releases even when the PS6 has a few years under its' belt.

 

[Pimpbaa]

I've seen many people here complain over the years that cross gen lasted way too long, and I agree it did last too long. Yet here we have a person saying it didn't last long enough. It last way too long, it needs to die (and has with Sony devs at least). Cross gen is only acceptable for a couple of years, but for 5 years? Come on man!

 

[Loomy]

I've seen many people here complain over the years that cross gen lasted way too long, and I agree it did last too long. Yet here we have a person saying it didn't last long enough. It last way too long, it needs to die (and has with Sony devs at least). Cross gen is only acceptable for a couple of years, but for 5 years? Come on man!

It's going to start lasting longer going forward.

 

[semiconscious]

You're honestly confusing me a lot, but do you consider cross-gen releases to be 'new, improved' versions? Because they are not.
Stuff like Horizon Forbidden West or Gran Turismo 7 were released first and foremost as PS5 games...

i'm not trying to confuse you. i'm simply pointing out that if you're in the console business, as well as the game publishing business, you need to create a reason to upgrade, & that requires developing games that take advantage of the upgrade. another of your lists:

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (November 12, 2020)
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (November 12, 2020)
MLB The Show 21 (April 20, 2021)
Horizon Forbidden West (February 18, 2022)
Gran Turismo 7 (March 18, 2022)
MLB The Show 22 (April 5, 2022)
God of War Ragnarök (November 9, 2022)
MLB The Show 23 (March 28, 2023)
MLB The Show 24 (March 19, 2024)

take away annual versions of mlb the show, & that's 5 games in 3 years, that could also be played on ps4. so, basically: for the ps5, 9 original games in 3 years, 5 of which are on ps4 also. so we're still back to 4 full, original games only available on ps5 in 3 years. everything else, the cross-gen titles above, the remastered older titles, are all an attempt to help justify a purchase of a console that fundamentally is offering just 4 original sony developed games in 3 years...

tldr: to sell a new console, sony needs to create a demand. being able to basically import your entire ps4 library into your ps5 has changed things, making the ps5 library that much more expansive, & it might take more than just 4 original games in the early years to convince people to make the move the next time around...

 

[kazuyamishima]

The majority of new and upcoming releases is current gen only, very few big games like NBA 2k, COD and EA sports are still on PS4.

The cross gen period lasted longer than going from PS3 to PS4, but there are too many people complaining about cross-gen periods when there are plenty of excellent current gen games

 

[nial]

If I make a game for PS5 and PS4 that game is automatically compatible with PS4.

But that's not really making a case for BC, which mainly serves the purpose of playing old games (and new games that have no next gen SKUs) that wouldn't be available there otherwise.

Developing games on similar architecture (PS4 -> PS5) is easier and cheaper than on bespoke architecture (PS3 -> PS4). Further, with the prevalence of digital storefronts and the stickiness of previous generation hardware (see PS4 MAU), it's going to be hard to draw to ever draw a line in the sand that cuts off previous generation support. I fully expect to see PS4 releases even when the PS6 has a few years under its' belt.

I know, but I still don't see the correlation of cross-gen being specifically beneficial for BC. If anything, it's otherwise when you can insert your PS4 discs to play PS5 versions (something that was actually possible with some PS3 discs on PS4, but a LOT more limited).

It's not "exaggerated" if you look at 3rd party output.

I address that on the OP.

And limiting yourself to just Sony published titles tells you more about the amount of titles published than anything on crossgen support.

No, it doesn't. 8 new games in 2024, only 1 on PS4.

everything else, the cross-gen titles above, the remastered older titles, are all an attempt to help justify a purchase of a console that fundamentally is offering just 4 original sony developed games in 3 years...

Cross-generation games are still games originally developed there. This is not Sony finding out a trick to justify their new console or something, Gran Turismo 7 was not a thing before the PS5 launched.