Thanks for backward compatibility, the free 4K upgrades on some games, and the free FPS Boost enhancements. The ability to keep and use older controllers on new consoles. Preserving the physical format and being able to play my old physical copies from past generations on Xbox Series X.
It was a pleasure playing Fallout 3 in 4K, completely stable and with FPS Boost, without paying a single extra dollar.
As a lifelong PlayStation user, it used to drive me crazy knowing that Xbox's backward compatibility — far from perfect — was still vastly better than PlayStation's, which basically abandoned its entire legacy catalog just to RESELL IT TO YOU on the current generation.
Take Smart Delivery, for example. As a PlayStation user, I had my copy of Spider-Man or Ghost of Tsushima on PS4. Fine — you want the better version for your PS5? Too bad. You have to pay.
Want to play the PS1 games you already owned? Your copy of Silent Hill? Too bad — we don't support it.
Want to play our catalog of classics on the current generation? Great — subscribe.
Don't want to subscribe? Then buy them again, even if you already owned them.
The selection is small? Too bad.
The only thing keeping me from leaving PlayStation is the amount of money I've already invested in its ecosystem. I even keep my PS3 specifically so I don't lose access to some of those older games.
While Phil's management wasn't perfect, at one point it was absolutely heading in the right direction — free upgrades, FPS Boost, preserving the physical format.
And even though many people here on GAF are extremely toxic fanboys, if PlayStation isn't embarrassed right now, it's only because Satya has stepped in over the past few years… and Microsoft has an uncanny ability to perfectly time its own mistakes in a way that overshadows Sony's.