Playstation or Xbox? I have always had Playstations in the past and used my ps2 for a really long time. Since a few months I am happy to say that we now own a playstation 5! Amazing for some playstation only games, couch co-ops and just being a lazy potato. I do see and hear lots of questions though and decided to make a blog about our experiences. I try to give an idea of playstation plus, overall experience and answers most asked questions as best I can.
About Playstation 5
As most of you know, Playstation is made by Sony Interactive. Playstation was introduced in December 1994. Until 1991, Sony was a company that supplied components for other consoles. Playstation actually started as a joined project between Sony and Nintendo, to make a CD-ROM version console, between. They worked on their first console until Nintendo denied the existence of a deal with Sony. Sony later made their own version, that became the first Playstation.
Since then we have seen loads of Playstation models including pro, slim, slimline and special editions. The Playstation 5 slim released in Europe on November 29th, 2023. Just for fun, these are best-selling games per Playstation number:
- PS1 – Gran Turismo
- PS2 – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- PS3 – Grand Theft Auto V
- PS4 – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- PS5 – Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
At this time it is. It could change because PS5 is still relatively new.
Playstation Plus
Is it worth it?
A few months ago, we finally joined the hype. We were thinking about buying a Playstation for years, especially for some Playstation only games. Now we do have a Playstation 5, we also tried Playstation Plus. It is a great way to try new games without committing to buying them. Games are really expensive and this gives you the option to try lots of different ones. It also has some other benefits that I will list later. It does however, bind you to Playstation a lot. Which is not a problem, but a very smart move.
Every month there are new games to download and play for free. The next month there are new ones, but the old ones are still playable. The longer you keep this subscription, the bigger your library will become. At least, if you download and try loads of different things like I did. Very soon, more storage was needed. It all sounds amazing at first, but is perceived as not only expensive, but confusing.
There are three tiers. Essential, extra and premium. All of them have multiple downloadable games each month but some things are different. Here is a list of benefits, starting with tier 1: Essential.
- Monthly downloadable PS4 and PS5 games
- Discounts, cloud storage, online multiplayer acces
Tier 2 (also includes everything above): - Downloadable catalogue of nearly 400 games
Tier 3 (also includes everything above): - PS3 game streaming
- PS1, PS2 and PSP game catalogue
Pricing and our use
Pricing is different per region and might be subjected to changes.
At this moment pricing in Europe, per month is: Tier 1 €9 | Tier 2 €14 | Tier 3 €17
There is a little discount when paying monthly or yearly. Again, it is really easy to keep coming back to Playstation. Personally I mostly just use the monthly games and downloadable catalogue. We decided to get premium for the first year to fully experience different games.
I think this might NOT be for you if; you know what you want or play specific types of games. If a few games are all you want, it is probably smarter to just buy those. Personally I like playing lots of different things and I love the change to do so. But, I do also have a pc and other platforms and because of that do not use my playstation that often. Cons for Plus are non-compelling libraries and a streaming performance that is mediocre at best (you can stream games so you do not have to download them).
Overall experience
We are used to it, but Playstation 5, or any new console, is really expensive. We bought an extra controller, storage, wall mount and controller dock to complete the set up. This, and the fact that we use pc’s as well, are the main reasons we waited so long before buying one. Some people use them for YouTube and other apps but we did not need it for that. Another thing we are all probably used to, but did feel tedious is the first set-up. Filling in your info, going through settings and making an account took a while. It needs to have an internet connection to do this and after this set-up, your game obviously needs to install. So, no unpacking and playing. As I said, we are all used to it, but a lot has changed since I got my Playstation one.
I underestimated how much I missed couch co-ops and just slouching while gaming. This and how easy it is to play locally with lots of friends are the biggest plus for me. There are some games I have on PC which I would like to be able to play on Playstation 5, sadly in nearly all cases I would need another game purchase and account and start over again. Cross-play between different platforms however, works really well. With shooters it can sometimes feel hard to balance (auto aim with controller v.s. mouse and keyboard for example).
Mostly asked questions
Soem of the questions about Playstation 5 that get asked really surprise me. I found that people often have questions about Playstation Plus and I hope to have tackled those in this blog already.
Which Playstation 5 should I buy? What is the difference?
Playstation 5 models
At this point there are two models. Playstation 5 and Playstation 5 digital edition. The digital edition has no disk drive. This is the one we bought, since we do not think we will use it anyway. It is also a little cheaper than the one with disk drive. You might want a disk drive to transfer physical Playstation 4 games or watch DVD’s or Blu-rays. The digital edition is a bit more slim. The choice between the two is personal and will depend on your use-case.
Other frequent questions
- Can I play without internet?
You can play disk-based games on the Playstation 5 disk edition without internet. In this case, the disk is what determines ownership. For digital games, this happens with an internet connection. - Can I play while I am away?
Yes. You cannot play on the road like you can with a switch. You can however, use the PS remote play app and control your Playstation 5 from a different location. - When will Playstation 6 release?
There is a lot of talk about this. Short version, it is unclear. Expectations are said to be 2028. - How to turn it off?
Press and hold the power button. Wait until the second beep to turn it off completely. Release after the first beep to put your Playstation into rest mode.
Conclusion
Whatever works for you! I am really happy with our Playstation 5 and count on it being used for many years, even if I don’t always use it as much. The choice for Playstation over Xbox was really easy for me because I have always had playstation. I did play Xbox with friends sometimes but never owned one. I also never really got used to their controllers. At this point I also do not feel the need to. I hope this blog gave you the info you were looking for or just sparked your interest. You can always ask questions or share your stories through comments or a message. I hope you enjoy your games!