The PlayStation 5 is certainly a successful console, outselling its main competitor, the Xbox Series X|S, by roughly 2.5 to 1 worldwide. It doesn't quite reach the sales heights 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 so if you've only looked at forums and social media discussions about the console. Some believe that the PS5 is a lackluster console that has no games (or at least no good games) and is underwhelming for its entry-level price. Some of this vitriol can be attributed to the all-too-widespread practice of internet negativity, rage-baiting and so on, but when you look a little closer at the console's record, there's actually a lot to criticize. This is also true for this entire generation, but some of Sony's choices in this time frame could have serious side 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 defeating the PlayStation 3.
Playstation Live-Service Pipe Dream
Former Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan may have overseen the tumultuous launch of the PS5 during COVID, but his legacy will likely be remembered as a less savory feat if online reactions are anything to go by. It's no secret that Sony made a surprising and off-brand detour into the live-action market at the turn of the decade, reportedly having as many as 12 such games in production at the start of 2020. Ryan aggressively pushed this initiative at the expense of what made the PlayStation brand so successful in 2010: 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 it's been an area historically dominated by Xbox and PC – doubly so after the Activision-Blizzard purchase of Xbox. But the whole conceit of the live services game is that it's been consistently and reliably supported for years, not just shipped and put into maintenance mode. To be financially viable (especially for free-to-play games), any given live service needs to have a massive, specialized, and most importantly, growing player base. Take the game as Fortniteprobably the most successful live service of all time: it has more than 390 million registered users and its number of concurrent players is consistently around one million. It's hard enough to get numbers like that in one game, let alone 12. That's why most live service games fail: they simply run out of fuel. Players only have so much time.
Concord
No game embodies running out of fuel better than Concordprobably Sony's biggest failure this gen. It was launched in 2024 and reportedly cost $200 million to develop. Concord before that it only lasted two weeks and the studio that made it was shut down. Hundreds of millions of dollars and years of hard work were wasted on this game, and while you may not be able to blame it all on Sony – Firewalk Studios is the ConcordAfter all – you have to wonder why a project like this, which hardly anyone wanted in the end, was considered worthy of such an investment.
Sony has since scaled back its live efforts dramatically, and in the wake of other famous live streaming debacles such as High GuardianI wouldn't be at all surprised if it got even smaller. There are many players who applaud this, along with the departure of Jim Ryan, but while it is a step in the right direction, it is not a complete turnaround. The company is said to still be preparing six to eight games with live services and the massive losses they have suffered Concord could hurt first-party PlayStation games for the foreseeable future.
PSN Steam requirement undermined Sony PC Push
Sony did another unusual thing during this console generation: they brought some of their first-party games to Steam. Some of the most notable PlayStation exclusives released 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
- The Last of Us part 1 and 2
No, Bloody still not available on PC.
This mass migration of PlayStation exclusives to PC isn't a bad thing – in fact, it's one of Sony's most popular decisions over the past few years. Besides benefiting the PC crowd for obvious reasons, building a better position in the PC market also makes fiscal sense. The PC gaming community isn't shrinking, so Sony is essentially leaving money on the table by holding its exclusives “hostage” to its own hardware.
But Sony shot itself in the foot with PSN's strict requirements applied to almost all PlayStation games on PC until 2025, including single-player games; is still required for some multiplayer titles such as Ghost of Tsushima Legends. Not only is this an unnecessary hurdle, but since access to the PSN is blocked in over 100 countries, it also means that countless PC users simply couldn't play several PlayStation ported games for what is widely believed to be an arbitrary reason. Sony has removed the PSN requirement for many PC games, but the company also seems to be moving away from PC ports more broadly, which certainly won't help it gain favor with the PC audience moving forward.
PlayStation 5 price surge
This decision is more 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 price spikes are extremely unusual almost six years into the console's life cycle. Traditionally, consoles have gotten cheaper over the years, not more. Although the PS5 sold well, there are also many consumers who put off upgrading until the price dropped; now those consumers simply don't need to buy a PS5 at all. The timing of this is also terrible, as the skyrocketing cost of living in many countries makes expensive luxuries far less feasible for most people. And if the price of the PlayStation 6 is any indication, then Sony could be in serious trouble in a few years.
