Horizon Forbidden West’s pre-orders opened last week, allowing enthusiastic fans to set up a bit of a dosh for the long-awaited Guerrilla PlayStation exclusive. While, of course, this was exciting, the announcement was marred by the game’s PS4 to PS5 upgrade path, or, to be precise, by the lack of it. If you bought a copy of the sequel to PS4 and want to play the PS5 version, you should buy the same game again. Since then, it has gone backwards following a lot of consumer bugs, with a free upgrade when the title is moved to the current version, but all this fuss has left me broken.
First, I feel like there’s a lot of confusion about what Sony “promised” and what it now intends to offer. Some argue that the platform owner had promised a free upgrade to Forbidden West almost 12 months ago in a PS blog post. However, the paragraph that seems to suggest the update will have no additional cost quite say that.
… The PS4 digital versions of the release games include a free upgrade to both PS5 consoles, while the PS4 disc versions of these games include a free upgrade to the PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-Ray disc drive.
Reading this carefully, you’ll notice that Sony says the “launch games” will include a free upgrade path. Horizon Forbidden West is not a PS5 release game, although it may have been at some point. It’s a cunning formulation, but Sony never explicitly stated that the game would benefit from the upgrade scheme that people have been waiting for. Still, all of this is somewhat debatable now that Sony has changed the situation.
What now holds everyone in their arms is how the company will handle upgrades in the future. Future PlayStation Studios own titles to be released on both PS4 and PS5 will charge a $ 10 fee to upgrade. I’ve seen a lot of outrage over this decision, but I think it’s a fair compromise. If Gran Turismo 7 costs $ 60 on PS4, you pay $ 10 more and you’ll also be entitled to the PS5 edition. This sucks shit that you pay $ 60 for a copy and then $ 70 for the equivalent of PS5, and it’s less than the $ 80 Deluxe digital edition of Forbidden West, which was previously the cheapest way to get the two versions. A long story short: the $ 10 charge really isn’t that bad.
The problem you have, then, is that all other publishers offer better deals. Broadly speaking, high profile cross games are released with this free upgrade business. On Xbox, it’s not even about upgrading; buy the game and, if it supports Smart Delivery, you will have access to the best version available, depending on the hardware you have. It’s just automatic. While I personally don’t see Sony’s $ 10 updates as a problem, consumer expectations have generally changed. If the same game is on multiple platforms, you shouldn’t pay more than once; that is the mentality now.
In an increasingly digital age, it makes sense and it’s not even such a new idea. There have been games released on, for example, PS3 and Vita that offer both versions for the price of one. Going back, PC gamers have been paying a fixed price for games all along, and their hardware determines the end result. With the advent of the PS5 generation, the value proposition has changed. Games take a long time – they are constantly updated and publishers want you to stick around for as long as possible. His interests are to make sure you can play things like Rainbow Six: Siege wherever you want and that the process is painless. Publishers want your time to exceed your money: they will recoup losses through premium DLC, microtransactions, and subscription services.
It’s funny: one of the first things I thought after this Horizon debacle made me realize my age. What I mean is that in the past, if you wanted two versions of the same game, you only had to repay the money. I bought Rayman Origins on PS3 and, for the second time, on the Vita, with no questions (no regrets). So for my 31-year-old mind, the idea that people get free stuff (and that they fully expect it) baffles me to some extent. It’s like going into a car dealership, seeing two almost identical models, and hoping to get both for the price of the cheapest car, in case you prefer to drive one that has race stripes and an extra badge on the side. These $ 10 are useless – you’ll almost certainly get a better-looking, better-running version of the game, with some features not listed in the latest edition. Making this PS5 version costs millions; you can’t blame Sony for wanting to get it back.
Again, though, I get it. Things have definitely changed. With PS Plus, PS Now and, yes, I will say, Xbox Game Pass, we have become accustomed to countless video games. People want more for less and they get it. If you ask the modern consumer about the status of updates, they are likely to say that you will be changed if you do not receive these updates for free. Sony is offering multi-generation upgrades for $ 10, despite the improvements made to the software, as other companies are offering these upgrades such as candy.
Then you have the argument that PlayStation exclusives in particular could justify the extra money. While Microsoft gives its subscribers everything for a monthly cost, Sony’s efforts are generally some of the best and most beloved releases of each year. Fans may not mind the load when we talk about characters like Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7, God of War Ragnarok and who knows what else. I’m not saying Xbox Game Studios isn’t capable of making games on the same level, I just think the pill may be easier to swallow on Planet PlayStation (recovering this) due to the constant quality of the games.
Anyway, I think I’ll go in a circle now. I really have no answer to all of this, and that’s one important thing: it’s a complex thing. Games cost more and more, but publishers compete simultaneously to deliver the best value for money, and here we are where we are. I don’t know how to feel. This article is what happens when you shrug your shoulders and turn it into 1,000 words of prose. Cheers.
Stephen will be fine, now he’s trying to go back to platinum again. I wish him luck. What do you think of all this? Is Sony justified in charging $ 10 for game updates? Do you like that he turned Horizon Forbidden West around? Be kind to each other in the comments section below.