Right? and the selective memory. 

1 - Consoles always sell out at launch, even consoles not in demand. (WiiU, Vita, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS3)

2 - A console's launch lineup is never as strong at launch as the prior generation's robust library. (I'm shocked at how many people think PS5's launch is poor)

3 - A console's first year sales are almost entirely determined by availability, not demand.

4 - There are going to be hardware and software bugs. Always. Without exception. PS5 having some issues with hard drives is pretty minor.

So yeah, it's frustrating any time someone tries to push this agenda that PS5's launch is poor, be it for games, hardware, or sales. You just can't determine the overall sales or demand for a console based on Week-1 numbers. That's just foolish all-around. And while this is strictly anecdotal, everywhere I go people are bitching because they can't get a PS5! Everyone I know that plays games is jealous of me having one. Not one person has asked about or whined about Series X. Any time I bring up Series X, I either get 'oh right, that's a thing. What games does it have?' or an outright 'dude, nobody cares about Xbox anymore'. And no, I'm not just making that up to shit on the competition. I actually have friends who are baffled that I even talk about Xbox since nobody's given a shit about them since the 360 days; when I mention how frustrating it is that certain people on this forum are diehard fans and it's annoying how unwilling they are to accept facts, I just get this blank stare followed by...'who the fuck cares? xbox sucks and has for a while. that's not going to change and you're not going to change their mind so why do you care?'

That's another thing. Outside of a couple of exceptions (GameBoy with Tetris, XBox with Halo, Switch with BotW...) the launch lineups tend to be very weak, either tech demos or slightly enhanced ports. This reminds me of the early PS4 days, when everyone was complaining that most of the games during its first year were PS3 ports and crossgen releases. And somehow this is not bothering people as much as I expected this time, even if it will probably take even longer to get proper PS5 titles due to the development schedules slowing down due to the pandemic.

I know, right? And this time around my favourite exclusives on PS5's launch are a remake of a PS3 game and a cross-generational sequel to a Ps4 game. The launch is just that: A launch point. It's not representative of the endpoint. PS4 had a mediocre launch and ended up with one of the strongest libraries ever. Same with PS1 and PS2. PS3 had an absolutely atrocious first 2-3 years and it ended up with a really solid library as well. 

PEople buy consoles at launch as an investment in the future, not for the immediate payoff and value. I wish more people used logic and reason in their discussions.

Yep. Even "to play a better version of crossgen" and enjoy your nextgen console for longer time are enough reason to buy it close to launch. But sure if you can't afford there isn't much you would be losing anyway.

Oh, and Backwards Compatibility. It also functions as a third PS4 in the house. (Fourth starting next month.) I have a Ps4, my current roommate has a PS4...and my brother who is moving in also has a PS4. None of us have the PS4 pro, so the PS5 functions as aPS4 Pro AND a PS5, and it's in the living room where it's shared. 

YEs for those that don't have a Pro the benefits from the upgrade is quite more clear.

I know, right? And this time around my favourite exclusives on PS5's launch are a remake of a PS3 game and a cross-generational sequel to a Ps4 game. The launch is just that: A launch point. It's not representative of the endpoint. PS4 had a mediocre launch and ended up with one of the strongest libraries ever. Same with PS1 and PS2. PS3 had an absolutely atrocious first 2-3 years and it ended up with a really solid library as well. 

PEople buy consoles at launch as an investment in the future, not for the immediate payoff and value. I wish more people used logic and reason in their discussions.

Nah, people buy it at launch because of hype, wanting to be the first to have the console or out of fear of it being out of stock for a long time if not secured at launch. Buying the first batch is never a good investment in the future. The first run is always the weakest.

I'm in the 'fear' camp. I didn't pre-order this time, now I might have to wait until Februari or later before having a chance to upgrade. But maybe by then the launch kinks have been worked out and the production line fine tuned. My launch PS4 is incredibly loud now while loading certain things. At least it still works unlike the ps3/360/Wii gen. Not one console I bought at launch that gen made it past 4 years. The wii lasted the longest until the disc drive failed.

Pretty sure all sorts of people buy it for all sorts of reasons. I bought mine because the PS4 was the console I played the most last generation, I'd been holding off on a bunch of games because I wanted to play them in higher definition or with boosted framerates, I was excited for the future of some of my favourite franchises, and because I found it a whole lot easier to pay a bit at a time leading up to the console's release than all at once. 

And as it turned out, Demon's Souls was a launch title and the other souls games are among my all-time favourites.