Should I grab the PS5 now or later?

By Ghost

On November 12 the PlayStation 5 (PS5) was launched in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico and South Korea, with the console only making its way to the rest of the world on November 19.
While every gamer would love to get their hands on the next-gen console, it has not been that easy with Sony failing to avail sufficient stock around the globe.
Most people who were hoping to grab the new game at launch failed to do so as it was sold out in a blink and it seems like that stock situation is not going away even weeks after the initial release.
Buying the new PS5 has basically become a treasure hunt, especially for those who want to pay the actual retail price, $399 for the Digital Edition and $499 for the PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-Ray Disc Drive. It’s just super hard to find from retailers.
However, the consoles seem to be readily available on various online platforms and from other individuals who are selling it for twice or thrice its actual price.
Just last week, a man in Utah, in the USA, received a concrete brick instead of a new PlayStation 5 from eBay. The man paid US$878 – nearly double the PS5’s recommended retail price – to receive his concrete, according to a statement by police in the northern Utah city of Orem.
In Zimbabwe, the price of the console is ranging between US$1 200 and US$2 000, which is a bit steep for many although some gamers have readily paid up those huge amounts just to get a feel of the next-gen tech on the new game. You could easily swap that game for a good second hand car in these parts.
The question I have been asking myself all this while, is it really necessary to jump on the PS5 wagon now? Is it really worth buying it at these atrocious prices that are being thrown around out there or should I wait a bit?
While I wouldn’t mind owning one like yesterday, I am going to take a step back and maybe try getting my hands on one sometime next year when the buzz has faded and prices have normalized.
At the moment the console does not even have many titles that were specifically made as next-gen games. So far I only know of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Watch Dogs Legion, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, NBA 2K21, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, DIRT 5 and a few other titles which I wouldn’t play even if they were free.
While PS5 gamers also got an enhanced version of FIFA 21, what they are getting is just improved graphics and a few new animations otherwise it’s the same base game that PS4 gamers are playing.
Personally I am more of a FIFA and PES player and games from these two franchises that were specifically made for the PS5 are not out and will probably be released late 2021 so I don’t have a reason to rush and buy the console. My games are not yet out.
While there are numerous interesting titles set to be released next year including Hitman 3, Gran Turismo Sport, Far Cry 6, God of War 2: Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West among others, I will not be moved.
When all these games are released, I will be following as many reviews as I can and will also pay some of my friends who have bought the game a visit so that I can experience it firsthand just to see the major differences between the previous generation and the latest generation of consoles.
I have had the opportunity of have a run at Spider-Man: Miles Morales and a bit of FIFA 21 on the PS5 and besides the better graphics, faster loading and DualSense controller with its haptic feedback and dynamic adaptive triggers, there is nothing much I could say is a major leap from the PS4.
This is to be expected considering that game developers are obviously still trying to figure out the extent to which they can stretch the new hardware. It will probably be years before we get to have games that can unleash the true potential of the PS5 (just like what happened with the PS4).
The other thing is that of glitches and other performance issues. There have already been reports of consoles overheating and controllers not charging among other bugs. This is something to be expected for something that just came out and which will eventually be fixed.
Sony has already released patches to fix some of the problem, with the system update 20.02.-02.30.00 making improvements to a system that has been a little unstable since launch. According to the firmware patch notes, system performance has been improved. The new update resolves an issue with data transfers and downloads. Prior to the update, some users were experiencing cancelled downloads during PS4 data transfers.
The question of whether you should or shouldn’t buy the new PS5 is one that can only be answered from personal perspectives and obviously the depth of one’s pockets.
Personally, I wouldn’t rush, but I am not stopping anyone who wants to move into the new era of gaming as soon as possible.
I just don’t want to waste my money on something that is yet to prove its worth. For now, it is just all hype and there is nothing really tangible to prove that this is indeed a giant step into the future. Nhau/Indaba