Is It Worth Buying a PlayStation in 2024?

A new year, and another look at the state of PlayStation. And it’s an interesting one. PlayStation stand on the edge of massive changes, and whether you should buy depends entirely on your use case.

The PS5 is a perfectly decent console. It does everything you want it to do. The graphics are fantastic, the games are always enjoyable. If you’re looking for a way into next-gen, if you’ve owned PlayStation devices in the past and want to see what you’ve missed, or if you want to catch-up on must-play games from last generation, it would be hard to argue against you picking one up. You’ll have a great time.

But the content is becoming slower, and safer. You’ll wait longer between releases. Developers will take less risks. This isn’t necessarily a Sony problem, it’s an industry problem. But, by default, Sony will be the platform holder most impacted.

In the past, PlayStation has mostly focussed on big single player experiences. These have become harder, longer and more expensive to make. And while you shouldn’t expect PlayStation to pivot from these kinds of games – not much anyway – their focus is going in a different direction. There are currently no first party single player games with a hard release date for 2024. And no, I’m not counting third party timed exclusives.

That’s not as scary as it might seem. Sony’s marketing cycle is now extremely short. Maybe we get to summer and see a deluge of content. This isn’t a post warning you off the future of PlayStation. There’s plenty to look forward to. But when a company’s bread and butter was $200m single player games, and those are becoming riskier even when they’re made as safely as possible, something has to give.

And so someone buying a PlayStation 5 in 2024 does so with one foot in the future. They are buying for the GAAS titles. They are buying for fewer exclusives.

Facing the Future of PlayStation

In the last few years, Sony have filled those gaps with third party exclusives. And indeed, those of us who can’t wait (including me) will have Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth in February. It’s probably going to be the highlight of the year and, for a time, it’ll only be on PlayStation.

Silent Hill 2 is another big one, although that will be available on PC at launch.

If those aren’t of any interest to you, and if you aren’t interested in the back catalogue of first party titles from the past few years, now probably isn’t the time to bite. You would be happier holding off.

However, there is that back catalogue, and it’s enough to make the console worth it to those who feel like they’re missing out. On the other hand, their sub service just had a massive increase in price (by 20%) and the quality has not improved alongside it. There are definitely some missing titles (including The Last of Us Part 2). So those wanting an easy way into that catalogue may be disappointed.

So, yes, it’s entirely down to use case. There’s currently no great reason for you to buy one in 2024, but there’s no reason to hold off either. There probably isn’t some must-have original game in the next 12 months and, actually, seeing where the brand develops isn’t the worst idea.

I’d never struggle to recommend getting a PS5 to those who know and want the games, and who are looking for a way into this generation of games. It’s the one place where you’re guaranteed to get the majority of titles.  But it’ll be interesting to see where we stand this time next year.

What About the PlayStation Portal?

This is Sony’s new gadget for 2023, and there’ll be some parents eyeing it as a Christmas gift. But it’s hard to recommend.

There’s no point in having it unless you own a PS5. That’s the first thing. All the device does is remote play from your existing device.

And initial reports are that the further you get away from your console, the worse the experience becomes.

If you’re seeing a use case in the middle of this – playing within your house while someone else is on the telly – then it might be that Portal is for you. So long as you don’t want to just use your phone, laptop, tablet or PC for exactly the same functionality.

Whatever your decision may be at all times, make sure that you have a high-speed internet connection to power your gaming journey as some of these newly released games will require speeds of up to 50-100 Mbps. For this purpose, we recommend looking up Xfinity in your area to streamline all your internet related needs once and for all.

The legacy provider is known for its blazing-fast speeds and seamless connectivity that can accommodate the most demanding online games, including Destiny 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and more. For more information, you can contact the Xfinity customer service team to sign up for the plan of your choice and the best PS5 experience today.