Even over their multiple different generations, there are still some features that consoles retain due to them being vital to their operation. This is no different for the ninth generation, characterised by the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, which has kept features key to the way the console runs – here’s some of them.
Perhaps the most integral feature that the PlayStation 5 has carried over from every previous generation is the fact it still makes use of a disc drive. Even though downloads still look to be continuing to take hold as the primary way of people consuming media, this doesn’t necessarily appear to be the case for games. Physical copies of games still appear to hold at least some relevance to a portion of the market, otherwise it would only be an all-digital console that existed. This is majorly due to the fact that physical copies of games have some resale value at merchants such as CeX, so fans can sell one console to fund the next generation, parting with some games as well to help with that.
Source: Pixabay
In addition, physical copies of games tend to experience more discounts than digital copies, be it through the means of being sold in physical stores or on digital storefronts. This leads nicely onto another feature that the PlayStation 5 has retained from the latter days of the PS3 and the entire lifespan of the PS4 – a digital store to download games and apps. As technology has moved on, it should come as little surprise that more convenient ways of accessing media have become the norm. Be it accessing videos on online content libraries such as Netflix or downloading games through the PlayStation Store, the principle of finding content in non-physical forms looks to be continuously taking hold.
This is also true for the fact there are increasingly other services that are coming into existence too. For instance, comparison sites of free spins deposit online casinos like BonusFinder show that there’s an increasing number of sites with a catalogue of fully-digital, mobile-optimised casino titles. There is also a parallel that can be drawn between the services that BonusFinder offers with their comparison of bonuses and another feature of the PlayStation Store. In order to keep things fresh and exciting, such storefronts will put sales on in order to incentivise players to purchase from the store. Furthermore, there will also be bonuses on PlayStation Plus memberships, for instance, that can keep players enticed to remain a part of the Sony ecosystem and continue to play games on the latest console.
Source: Pixabay
There will most likely always be features that each different console generation will retain from the previous edition that aims to keep gamers interested and entice them into buying the latest iteration. A through-line is an important aspect of evolution when it comes to tech, so it’s unlikely we’ll see a sudden radical overhaul.