PlayStation has been a part of my gaming journey ever since the original. Each subsiquent console generation brought anticipation for what kinds of experiences Sony’s next box could enable. My two favorite systems from Sony are easily the PS2 and the PS4. Hell, I was even excited for the PS3 back when I was in college regardless of its eye watering starting price. Since the original PlayStation, I’ve owned every every home and handheld console throughout Sony’s timeline in gaming.
I was crazy enough to import a Vita because I didn’t want to wait to experience what, at the time, were incredibly impressive looking handheld games. Oh, and PlayStation VR? I was there day one and amassed quite the VR library. I’ve told my friends repeatedly how underwhelming this console generation has been between Sony and Microsoft with a handful of exceptions, most of which are now available on PC (cough cough Steam Deck cough cough). When PS5 rolled out, I sold my PS4 Pro and managed to snag a day one preorder and since that time I have put a paltry amount of time into playing games on it compared to even my Series X. If it wasn’t for Persona 5 Royal, I would have next to no game time on Sony’s current gen console.
Then there’s the current situation with PS VR 2, Sony’s next gen virtual reality headset which is heavy on specs and light on games. When it was announced that players’ back catalogue of original PSVR games wouldn’t be compatible, I thought it was bullshit, but I was still in awe of what the company had accomplished. This time around Sony gave us proper controllers, a far less cumbersome setup experience thanks to a single USB-C cable, and killer new features that I gushed over in our PS VR2 review like headset haptics and eye tracking.
But then Sony pulled a Vita and fucked us all.
A new report has recently surfaced stating the company has drastically cut back on VR funding and, while this is unverified by PlayStation themselves, I wholeheartedly believe it. The company closed their flagship VR studios such as London Studio who graced us with some killer PSVR games on Sony’s past headset. Now, a VR sequel later, the company charged more for the headset than the PS5 itself and left us out to dry. Oh, I’m sorry, they’re willing to sell us a $60 adapter so we can hook our headsets up to a PC, but they scrubbed out most the headlining features like eye tracking and headset haptics from the experience.
All this to say, I’m done. For the first time ever I’m selling a PlayStation console before its generation is over. There’s no point. The company is pushing towards live service games I could care less about and have burned me too many times now. Meanwhile, Valve has pulled me into PC gaming with no real regrets. My current lineup consists of Switch, Steam Deck, and my Xbox Series X, and that’s a-okay for me.
