u/ToonTazman

Since this generation started, I have seen people push the “PS5 has no games” narrative, despite it being far from true. Yes, at the start of a generation the number of new exclusives is always lower, but PlayStation has still remained one of the most consistent publishers in gaming even despite global challenges like the pandemic, which impacted every developer on the planet.

PlayStation is one of the most awarded and nominated publishers of the last 5 years, and it’s not even close. The only publisher that might come close is Nintendo.

I often see the claim that PlayStation released far more games last generation, which is blatantly false. The output is actually very similar. I’ll break it down below.

PlayStation-published PS4 games (65 months after launch)

(excluding MLB The Show, remasters, remakes, and ports)

Total Games: 17

1st Party: 10.5

2nd Party: 6.5

PlayStation-published PS5 games (current + announced)

(excluding MLB The Show, remasters, remakes, and ports)

Total Games: 18

1st Party: 11

2nd Party: 7

DLC / Expansions (not included in totals)

PS4:

• Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

• inFAMOUS First Light

• Horizon: The Frozen Wilds

PS5:

• Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores

• God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla

• Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island

As you can see, the output is very similar between generations, with PS5 already matching PS4’s pace with game releases.

Yet despite these facts, the narrative of “PS5 has no games” continues, even with another GOTY contender about to release with Saros

I’ve also seen claims that these games “don’t count” because they were ported to PC, which is nonsensical, these games don’t disappear from PlayStation when they release elsewhere.

Others dismiss the lineup as “just sequels,” despite PlayStation being criticized both for making sequels and for “abandoning IPs,” just to contradict themselves and find any way to be negative. It's as if PlaySation is the only publisher not allowed to make sequels but at the same time also abandon IPs. And the "safe sequel" narrative people push despite 99% of sequels in history are very similar to the prior entry yet don't get those criticisms.

The reality is that no matter what PlayStation does, a negative narrative is often applied regardless of the actual output. I also see people talk about how more games used to release during the PS3 era yet neglect that most of them were 8 - 12 hours long. All 3 Uncharted games on PS3 combine to about the same PlayStation as TLOU2. PlayStation is focusing on delivering longer games which should be commendable rather than dishing out quick short games for full price. And people will still complain that some games are too short like Spiderman 2 despite it being just as long as the first to beat.

At the same time, PlayStation remains one of the most consistent publishers in the industry in both quality and quantity, despite making mistakes like any other publisher. Yes they had some issue with multiplayer games while heavily investing in them but people also ignore the fact they they also increased their budget for single player games. And their heavy investment in multiplayer is due to those types of games being the top played and top earning games on PlayStation every year for over the last decade. And other companies started buying up publisher that PlayStation heavily rely on for Income i.e. Microsoft acquiring IPs like Overwatch and COD and many more that make a large sum on PlayStation, they were forced to react.

If I had to choose I would say their output for PS5 has actually been better

A recent law passed in the UK requires companies to verify users’ ages in order to access certain online features, such as communication tools. As a result, PlayStation users in the UK are now required to verify their age to continue using these features.

This has led to a large uproar on Reddit, with many people criticizing PlayStation even though they’re simply complying with legal requirements. Companies operating in a country don’t really have a choice when it comes to following its laws.

Despite this, you can find plenty of reactions like “I’m selling my PS5” or “I’m cancelling PS+,” along with calls for others to do the same. This is happening even though every platform operating in the UK has to follow the same rules.

For example, Xbox implemented age verification in the UK months ago, and the reaction was nowhere near as intense. There weren’t widespread calls to cancel subscriptions or abandon the platform in most cases, the blame was directed at the UK government, where it belongs.

I’ve also seen a lot of comments raising concerns about security, such as claims that “PlayStation constantly gets hacked” or that personal data will be compromised. In reality, it’s been over a decade since PlayStation Network experienced a major breach, while many other major tech platforms used daily by the same people have had more recent incidents.

On top of that, PlayStation is using a third-party service, Yoti, for age verification - the same provider used by Xbox. Despite that, there’s been significantly more concern raised in this case.

It’s also worth pointing out that verifying your age on PlayStation can be very simple, for example, by entering your mobile number and confirming a code. It takes under a minute. However, some narratives exaggerate this, suggesting that users are required to provide biometric data, which isn’t accurate in most cases.

There have also been claims that PlayStation plans to roll this out globally, despite no evidence supporting that. This appears to be another example of speculation being presented as fact, adding to unnecessary concern.

If you’re in the UK and need to verify your age, you can find the official steps here: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/support/account/age-verification-faq

In recent months, there have been many reports and Reddit posts pointing out that some PlayStation users are receiving discounts on the PlayStation Store that others aren’t.

These situations often lead to outrage, with many people labeling it as “dynamic pricing.”

However, what PlayStation is doing isn’t really dynamic pricing - it’s targeted discounts.

The prices themselves aren’t constantly fluctuating. There’s nothing truly “dynamic” about them. Instead, there is a base price set by the publisher, and then an additional discount applied for a limited group of users.

That extra discount is likely being funded by PlayStation to encourage more purchases - meaning it’s a deal that probably wouldn’t exist otherwise for anyone.

Despite this, it’s often misrepresented as “dynamic pricing,” likely because the term carries a negative connotation and drives more engagement. As a result, many sites continue to label it that way.

When people think of dynamic pricing, they often associate it with situations like what Wendy's attempted where prices could increase during peak hours like lunch or dinner and decrease during slower times.

The key difference here is that PlayStation isn’t increasing prices at all. Prices are only going down for some users, not up for others.

A common reaction in these discussions is, “this should be illegal,” but that doesn’t really make sense. Offering targeted discounts isn’t new—it’s similar to stores or restaurants sending coupons to specific groups to encourage spending.

There’s also a baseless assumption that PlayStation is only giving these discounts to people who don’t buy games, leaving loyal customers out to dry. There’s no evidence for that, and it wouldn’t make much sense as a business strategy to only target users who don’t spend money.

It’s far more likely that these discounts are based on player behavior such as the types of games they play in an effort to encourage broader engagement.

What’s also interesting is that Xbox has been doing targeted discounts for years, yet it hasn’t received nearly the same level of backlash or media coverage. It would be difficult to find even a single article criticizing Xbox for the same practice that PlayStation is now being criticized for.

Targeted discounts have been around forever, but now that PlayStation is doing it, it’s suddenly the end of the world.

I also noticed that the author of this article changed the title to frame it as “dynamic pricing,” even though it was originally closer to “PlayStation is testing A/B pricing,” which is a much more accurate description because they are aware the phrasing will lead to more clicks

https://psprices.com/news/sony-ab-testing-prices/