this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2024
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Neat trick, but the device is already of questionable value (a portable device that doesn't work outside your house). Jailbreaking it doesn't really add much functionality. 6GB storage isn't particularly useful in 2024.
It doesn't exist to be anything but a remote connection to your PS5. It's an in-home television alternative.
Everyone clowns on this thing, but it makes perfect sense for Sony: it doesn't split the platform, it doesn't require infrastructure, and if you don't buy it, they don't care. Its market is anyone who went 'oh neat, now I can play from the office' or 'now I can play while sportsball is on.' If you don't have an immediate use-case for it - then don't buy it. You won't bother the people who do.
Having a device that could stream only from PS5 for 200$ is not a good value. And the limitation is artificial.
You can buy a handheld that could do the same, while also stream from your own PC and run games and emulators natively. Or you can buy something like Backbone One for your phone. They won't have haptic feedback, but the controls still be good and you won't be limited only to PS5.
Then don't buy it.
If you want a foolproof way to do what you could jump through your ass to approximate, Sony offers a ridiculous-looking device that does one thing well. If you don't care then they lose nothing. Not like they sunk a lot of R&D into looks.
It just seems mental that they have an entire cloud gaming platform and it doesn't connect to it.
Admittedly that one is harder to excuse. But I think the idea is, you should never want to take this outside your house. That's why it's literally two halves of a controller slapped onto either side of a cheap tablet. Convenient portability was not a concern.
Making this a streaming device also means you might buy one without owning a PS5.
I think that last one would be what they're aiming for.
It's no longer Xbox vs PlayStation. It's PSN vs GamePass.
Sony absolutely wants you to buy a Playstation. They're running the same strategy they had for the PS1. It worked great then, it worked better on PS2, it floundered on PS3... and ever since then it's been a charade. But it's a charade that prints money. So long as they pretend games are made for their hardware, and it would obviously be ridiculous to suggest running them anywhere else, they can convince you to sink $500 into brand loyalty.
I'd think companies like Sony do care if people buy or not
It's a niche gizmo they're selling for a healthy profit. The break-even point has to be very low. They want some people to buy it. But they don't care if you buy it.
They don't need to spend money supporting it because it's strictly local. If it was a new PSP, there'd be a whole storefront, and updates, and complex risk assessment for how much to spend for expected returns. There'd be a huge marketing push to ensure they hit some lofty goal for sales figures.
But this is a split controller glued to a shite Android tablet. It's low-risk. It could have sold zero units and they'd shrug off a minor loss. They don't expect it to sell a zillion units, and they don't need it to sell a zillion units. It's there for anyone who wants one.
I don't think developing and selling a whole hardware device is quite so trivial, but I also doubt that it would mean they don't mind taking losses on it. This is not a new market that would be worth risking a loss to get a headstart, people could even get the same experience with... a tablet and a split controller, which has a lot more functionality.
I don't know what's your point with "they don’t care if you buy it". Of course they don't have a department keeping track of one single guy. Sounds like you are taking criticism of this device personally.