The PlayStation 5 is indeed a successful console, outselling its main competitor, the Xbox Series X|S, by roughly 2.5-to-1 globally. It hasn't matched the all-time sales highs 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 that if you've only looked at forums and social media discussions about the console, though. Some believe the PS5 is a lackluster console, one with no games (or at least no good games) and underwhelming power for the cost of entry. Some of this vitriol can be attributed to the all-too-widespread practice of internet negativity, rage-baiting and so on, but if you look at the console's track record a little more closely, there's actually a lot to criticize. That's also true for this entire generation, but some of Sony's choices during this time frame could have serious repercussions 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 beating out the PlayStation 3.
PlayStation's 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 palatable endeavour, if online reactions are anything to go by. It's no secret that Sony took 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 the works by the early 2020s. This initiative was pushed aggressively by Ryan, much to the detriment of what made the PlayStation brand so successful in the 2010s: 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 notion of a live service game is that it's consistently and reliably supported for years, not just shipped and put into maintenance mode. For this to be financially viable (especially for free-to-play games), any given live service needs to have a massive, dedicated and most importantly, growing player base. Take a game like Fortnitearguably the most successful live service ever: it has over 390 million registered users, and its concurrent players consistently hover around one million. It's hard enough to get these kinds of numbers 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.
Harmony
No game symbolizes running out of fuel better Harmonyarguably Sony's biggest failure this gen. Launched in 2024 and reportedly cost $200 million to develop, Harmony lasted just two weeks before that, and the studio that made it 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 one who did Harmonyafter all – you have to wonder why a project like this, which hardly anyone stopped wanting, was considered worth investing so much.
Sony has dramatically scaled back its Live Service efforts since then, and in the wake of other famous Live Service debacles such as HighguardI wouldn't be surprised if it decreases even more. There are many players who applaud this, alongside the departure of Jim Ryan, but while it is a step in the right direction, it is not a total turnaround. The company reportedly still has between six and eight live service games in the pipeline, and the huge losses such as Harmony may harm first-party PlayStation games for the foreseeable future.
The PSN Steam requirement undermined Sony's PC Push
Sony has engaged in another uncharacteristic practice this console generation: it has brought some of its first-party games to Steam. Some of the most prominent PlayStation exclusives released on PC in recent years include:
- Uncharted 4 & The Lost Legacy
- God of War (2018)
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Horizon Forbidden West
- The Last of Us Part 1 & 2
No, Blood borne is still not available on PC.
This mass migration of PlayStation exclusives to PC isn't a bad thing – in fact, it's among Sony's more popular decisions in recent years. Aside from benefiting the PC crowd for obvious reasons, it makes economic sense to build a better foothold in the PC market. The PC gaming community isn't getting any smaller, 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 by strict PSN requirements that, until 2025, applied to almost all PlayStation games on PC, including single-player; it is still required for some multiplayer titles such as Ghost of Tsushima Legends. Not only is this an unnecessary hurdle, but since PSN access is blocked in over 100 countries, it also means that countless PC users have simply been unable to play several PlayStation ports of games for what is widely believed to be an arbitrary reason. Sony has removed the PSN requirement for many PC games, but it also seems like the company is moving away from PC ports more generally, which definitely won't help it attract the PC audience going forward.
PlayStation 5's sharp price increase
This decision is more recent, but no less devastating. In April 2026, Sony dramatically increased the prices of the following 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 steep price increases are extremely rare almost six years into a console's life cycle. Traditionally, consoles have gotten cheaper over the years, not more. While the PS5 has sold well, there are also many consumers who have waited to upgrade until the price dropped; now those consumers may simply not buy a PS5 at all. The timing of this is also terrible as skyrocketing costs of living in many countries make expensive luxuries far less feasible for most. And if this is a precursor to the price of the PlayStation 6, Sony could be in serious trouble in a few years.
