Beyond

Once again, Sony has raised the price of PlayStation hardware, with a PS5 base model selling for $150 more than its 2020 launch price. The PS5 Pro, which had a hefty pricetag to begin with, is now 899.99. Usually, at this point in a console’s life-cycle, hardware is at least half the price it was at launch, but the PS5 has increased by almost a third. So, what does this mean for PlayStation 6? It’s supposedly still a ways off, and really, we can’t argue with that, but it makes us wonder if these current gen prices will come down, or if they’re just paving the way for a $1000+ next-gen console. In other absurd financial news, Sony and Honda’s PlayStation-enabled Afeela electric car has been officially scrapped ahead of its planned release later this year, and Capcom publicly audits the Resident Evil 4 Merchant’s business dealings, which don’t really seem like they’re panning out. Beyond! 00:00 - Intro 00:23 - Sony has raised the price of PlayStation hardware 16:44 - Sony & Honda Just Ain't Afeelin' It Anymore 40:14 - The RE4 Merchant Needs A Financial Audit 46:05 - Brian Went to Japan 53:31 - Final Thoughts This weeks show is hosted by Max Scoville and Brian Altano, and is produced by Nick Maillet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOTE: due to some technical issues, this week’s episode is audio only. After almost 20 years, Sony is reportedly retiring The PlayStation Network’s name and logo. What they’ll call it now is anyone’s guess, but it’s as good an excuse as any to take a look back at the 2011 debacle that led to Sony getting hacked, millions of users having their data compromised, and the PSN being taken offline for almost a month. In other news, Valve made a weird change to Counter Strike 2 that not everyone’s wild about, which has us thinking about how much games are a moving target, from Crimson Desert’s rapid post-launch updates to Fornite’s gradual transformation since its early access days, before it was even a battle royale. Some games we’ve been playing include Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s shiny new PS5 upgrade, Romeo is a Dead Man, Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties, and High on Life 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nintendo merged its handhelds and consoles into one device with the Switch, Microsoft loosened the definition of an Xbox to include mobile devices, smart TVs and PCs, and Valve is about to bring PC gaming into the console space with the Steam Machine. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Project Helix is bridging the gap the other direction, bringing the next-gen Xbox into PC territory instead. In the middle of all this, Sony seems like the only console manufacturer that’s just focused on making consoles the old fashioned way. Will this continue with the PlayStation 6? We’ll have to wait and see. In other news, Sony showed off some upgraded PSSR tech for the PS5 Pro, which subtly improves the graphics of certain games. We’ll happily take that over NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 AI-powered video game makeover technology, which attempts to make games more realistic, but seems to pave over their original appearance. Leon and Grace were already very pretty, this was not necessary. Maybe AI can be used to make that big spider in Resident Evil Requiem less scary? We weigh in on the arachnophobia factor of one of the game’s creepiest crawliest boss fights. It also turns out that theres a Yakuza Live-Action Miniseries Debuting on IGN! Cool. Finally: Leprechauns, mythical nuisance, or just a legendary pest? We have thoughts. Beyond! 00:00 - Intro 00:43 - A Very Important Discussion 04:50 - AI Upscaling in Games Needs to Scale it Back 10:25 - Nvidia DLSS 5 Doesn't Look That Great... 25:29 - Is PlayStation The Only “Normal” Console Left? 40:16 - Resident Evil Requiem has a Scary Spider 51:09 - Yakuza Live-Action Miniseries Debuts on IGN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices