PS4 or PS5 Digital

[monkeychemist]

Hello everyone,

I am about to have a surgery and wanted to get a system to pass the time while in recovery. I immediately wanted to get the PS4 because it has all the games I love. I'm a big fan of RPGs and I see there is a large library of Final Fantasys, Fallouts, Skyrim, Secret of Mana, etc...

I have to admit, it's been a while since I've played an actual console game (I think Fallout New Vegas on PS3 was the last game I played). I don't understand the new PS5 digital vs disk. Seems that for $100 less you can get digital and do the exact same thing as the regular.

I am hesitating between the PS4 Pro and PS5 Digital. Cost isn't the debate as they are close to each other in price, it's more of that backwards compatibility thing with the games I mentioned above. Does the playstation store have ALL the PS4 games available for purchase, or is it only select few? IF I can't get those games, I'd rather buy the PS4 or maybe even a PS5 disk version so that I can play them.

What are your thoughts? I know I sound like a dinosaur but I'm excited to start gaming again after all these years.

Thank you!

[Tron 2.0]

About the only reason to go PS5 digital as if you don't have a physical PS4 collection.Most digital PS4 games should be backwards compatible with the PS5 digital model.Though,some leaks are going around that another PS5 revision is the works a hybrid model.Where you can buy one without it and that it can use with or without the disc drive that can be installed later on if need be for physical copies.Though right now it's just a rumor nothing more.

[monkeychemist]

Thanks for your thoughts. As I do not have a PS4 library, I would have to buy all the games anyways. I am leaning towards the PS5 just because it's this generation and it sounds like you can play PS4 games on it.

[Spartacus]

If I was laid up in bed, and I don't know if that is your situation, I would be gaming on an OLED Switch. It has Secret of Mana, Skyrim, Final Fantasies, ect. and a bunch of other RPG's only available on the Switch. That is if I did not feel up to jumping in and out of bed much. The Switch, even the OLED Switch, will necessitate compromises in visual fidelity and significantly lower frame rates for Switch versions of games, but many Switch owners seem happy with the trade off.
If having used games around that you know you will never play again sounds burdensome, then a Digital PS5 is a great consideration. The PS5 probably has a better selection of 1st party games than the Xbox. Check into the Playstation Plus game list and depending on the tier you choose, you can play PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2 and PS1 games from a list of games of Sony's choosing. Of course buying digital games usually means always paying full price, but there are sales now and again.
I have 166 PS5 games in my collection and have never paid more than $29 for a game. That might not have been possible if I had bought them digitally. I also have 373 Xbox One games, 18 Xbox X games and 1,865 PS4 games that I have never played either because right now my gaming TV is a 10 year old 32 inch Vizio that cannot do these games justice, and so I refuse to play them until I buy the right TV and sound system that these games deserve. With so many older games in my library to play, I don't really miss the modern games that often and I will get right equipment eventually and really feel it's worth the wait.
If your TV and sound system isn't really up to PS5 specs, then you are really doing yourself a disservice experiencing newer games without all the bells and whistles and effects that the developers put so much time and effort in for your enjoyment. Just a consideration, mind you.

[kupomogli]

When the PS4 is at minimum half the price of the PS5, there's no reason to get a PS4. Every game on the PS4 that I've played on the PS5 runs better and while I haven't played them, Sony themselves has stated four games do not work and the only one of those even worth playing is Shadow Complex Remastered.

However, getting the digital PS5 is just a stupid decision, not because it's digital only, which I myself don't care for but that's just how I want to have my collection. Buying a digital only console is stupid because while they make you think you're saving money on the console, you're paying more in the long run, much more. Digital games are always full MSRP on the PS5 unless they're on sale on the store, while games in a retail outlet will drop in price and when they do they stay at that price point as well as sales. Not only are games at retail cheaper but they also have resale value, making them far more of a value than digital could ever hope to be. Now these limited releases aren't as cheap as the indie games at full MSRP of the game as a digital title, but that's why it's best to be given the option.

Search PSN Store on Google and then search Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Earth Defense Force 5, Earth Defense Force Iron Rain, etc. You notice what all these games have in common? Every single one of them are $59.99. You may be able to catch them on a sale and that sale may be better than what you can get them at retail, but that's IF there's a sale and IF that sale just so happens to be better than the price at retail. By buying the digital only version, you're getting rid of the option to make the choice on a game you want to play and the digital option could very well never drop in price. Now, I do for sure know that EDF Iron Rain has dropped in price to $7.50 but most games aren't and are you going to be there to catch them when they do? Are you even going to be interested in the game when they're on sale? That's why you it's a stupid decision for anyone to lock themselves on a digital only console because you're just taking away the options at your disposal and you are going to be paying more. That's not an opinion, I can say with 100% certainty that you ARE going to be paying more buying a digital only console.

//

I'm a Playstation fan, don't care about Xbox, but I'm also not blind. Whether you have a PC that's capable or you buy an Xbox Series X, and yes, I say a Series X. Again, if you ever do want to buy a game that is not on Game Pass and not on sale you're not giving yourself the option. Xbox Series S and X has another major reason, the Series S you're saving $200 for a console that can play Series X games at performance barely above the Xbox One X, a last gen console. You're going to have the console for years, there's no reason to cheap out when you could have a far better experience with higher resolution and higher framerate as well as graphical features which really does make the difference.

Now the reason I recommend this is by your post, it appears to me that you want gaming on the cheap, and despite not being a digital fan or an Xbox fan, I'd be lying if I didn't say I didn't see the absolutely insane value of the Xbox Game Pass, which is now just called Game Pass. Most games on this Game Pass are playable day one. Do you like Call of Duty? I don't, but if you do, the remake of Modern Warfare 2 is playable day one with a Game Pass subscription, this is a $129.99 subscription that pretty much pays for itself over and over if you're okay with digital. I can tell you that if all consoles go all digital I'm going to double down on retro collecting and will likely be playing modern games on PC only and I will subscribe to Game Pass and rarely actually purchase anything. I'd go into my opinion while Game Pass is bad for gaming imo but that's another several paragraphs, no reason not to take advantage of it while it exists if I am digital only though.

[kupomogli]

PS5 and XSX have another major feature when playing PS4 and Xbox One games and that's SUPER BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY™!!!! These systems aren't just backwards compatible, they're super backwards compatible™.

S makes games like Monster Hunter World, Earth Defense Force 5, BroForce, Dark Souls 3 The Fire Fades Edition or last patch on Dark Souls 3, Sekiro unpatched, etc, games that have a 60fps cap that the PS4 and PS4 Pro can't hope to achieve run at 60fps. Not only that but many of these games that may have load times also have their load times massively reduced. It's not as much as the load times of games like DMC5 which received a native PS5 release compared to the PS4 version as that game sees a reduction down to a few seconds, but it is a very noticeable difference.

There are also the rare 30fps games that unfortunately underperform but thanks to super backwards compatibility™, these games have new life breathed into them and are far better than they were originally on the PS4. Just Cause 3 framerate just tanks whenever you're in a city. BroForce has noticeable frame drop spikes when on the original PS4 making it a much worse experience than the PS4 Pro, but only the PS5 will make that game a locked 60fps. Battle Chasers Nightwar is an amazingly good hidden gem, it has its flaws, but it's a great game that unfortunately suffers from poor performance with some very noticeable frame drops and screen tearing, all cleaned up on the PS5. Lichdom Battlemage is unfortunately the worst, running at around 15-20fps on the PS4 and the Pro doesn't get it much higher. The PS5 can run the game unpatched and it still doesn't hit 60fps but it is around 50fps which will make the game very playable and most won't notice any frame drops, this is of course unpatched, if you allow the patch to install the game runs at 60fps on the PS5 but I think the patch reduces the resolution to 1088p. Either way, because the PS5 and Xbox Series X, you can finally play this game on consoles.

Super backwards compatibility™ is amazing and further enhances the quality of these already great games.

Super backwards compatible™ and super backwards compatibility™ are © kupomogli 2022