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Soundwave on 25 April 2023
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Kyuu said:

Playstation consoles never were "underpowered". The only noteworthy underpowered consoles to have released are Nintendo handhelds (excluding Switch), Wii, Wii U, and Series S.

PS1 was overall more poweful than the Saturn and much better designed than both Saturn and the N64 (Cartridges) which launched too late. Had Nintendo gone with CD's and launched the console earlier, the generation would have played out differently, and the most powerful console would have won.

PS2, though weaker overall than the GameCube and Xbox which released over a year later, was mindblowing at launch. Many consider it the single greatest "generational leap" of all time. MGS2 and GT3 were insane (and I came from Sega GT on Dreamcast). Graphics 100% constituted its hype.

Wii was a clear anomaly that capitalized on a temporary dempgraphic for a short but intense period of time. PS360 had better legs, but since they were eating at each other's sales, neither managed to win the generation.

PS4 won its generation as ths most powefrul console (Switch came at a different time and also mainly targeted a different audience. It wasn't "underpowered" anyway. The One X is a late upgrade).

PS5 will also easily beat the Series S. Series X is arguably more powetful but it's in limited production, Xbox isn't strong enough a brand, and the power gap between it and PS5 is the least significant in console history.

Hardware features/spec advantages matter when they are significant, more now than ever before. Series S vs PS5 proves it, as does Switch OLED vs Lite. Switch owes a lot of its success to the fact that it was a fairly powerful handheld at launch (that doubles as a home console thanks in part to its decent specs). Price and specs are both important factors.

Budget electronics just aren't as appealing to modern consumers. People want to feel "good" about what they're buying, electronics buying in the modern era is part "for pleasure", it's not just about getting some appliance that does a job any more. 

Poor/middle class people want to have a little "luxury" in their life too, it's not something that's "only for people with lots of money", it's a societal shift. Lots of people might be poor and have a ton of credit card debt, but you getting that new iPhone makes them feel good (for a while anyway). It gives you a little rush. 

That's why if you offer them a Switch OLED vs. Switch Lite ... they want a Switch OLED. If you offer a PS5 vs. XBox Series S ... they want the PS5. If the PS5 had a shittier cheaper model with lower specs (like Series S), it would share the same fate too, more people would just want the regular PS5. 

Consumer behavior has just changed from the 80s/90s/2000s. People who grew up post 1980 and now control the spending of their households are very different in their mindset from their parents who grew up in the 50s/60s/70s.