Although Sony recently released the PlayStation 5, the PlayStation 4 is still proving its quality and strength at this stage. Will it be appropriate for me to buy a PlayStation 4 during the year 2023?
Let’s first put some positive factors that can encourage you or push you to buy a device from the last generation. At the same time, we put elements that can prevent you from doing so, and instead pass them on to the new generation.
The price of the PlayStation 4 compared to the capacity of the new generation
In the meantime, and after nearly 10 years have passed since the release of the PlayStation 4, it may be difficult to set a fixed price for the device due to its widespread. Various packages are made by sales stores and sold at different prices, but if we want to know the official price of the device on the Sony website Officially, the price will be as follows:
- The price of a PlayStation 4 ladder = is 300 dollars
- The price of PlayStation 4 Pro = is 400 dollars
Here, you will have two options, either to choose the slim version that matches the specifications of the basic version, at a price of only $ 300. Or you can choose the professional version, which can play games in 4K resolution and better performance.
The stability of the price of the new Sony PlayStation 5, which is available in the market for $ 500 for the disc version. There may be a good difference in price, especially between the slim version of the previous generation and the basic version of the new generation. This will make the difference worth leaning towards the previous Sony device rather than the new generation.
But if you tend to prefer the Pro version, here you have to stop for a while and think, especially since the price of the digital version of the PlayStation 5 is $ 400, which is the same price as the PlayStation 4 Pro! Who is the first to pay this amount to acquire it?!
This means that the choice must fall on the new Sony device, even if it is without a disc drive, as games are now available in digital form at very good prices. In return, you will get significantly better visual quality and performance, as well as an unprecedented gaming experience.
What about games?
The second element should be among the elements that will make you decide if you will buy a PlayStation 4 or not this year.
Fortunately, the library of PlayStation 4 games continues to expand, along with hundreds of titles that were originally released on the device. This provides you with an endless library of games and they all work well and smoothly on the device.
Also, Sony is still until the beginning of 2023 issuing its titles on the old device to benefit from the large fan base. Likewise, third-party companies also want to benefit from the device’s huge audience base.
This year and last year we have seen Sony release all of its exclusive titles jointly on the current and past generations. We also saw how Capcom made an exception for the release of Resident Evil 4 Remake on the previous Sony device, excluding the Xbox One.
This indicates that the PlayStation 4 still has a good chance, at least until the end of this year, that it will be blessed with more new titles, at least from a third party.
When will PlayStation 4 support end?
The difficult question, answer to which may be a bit complicated, especially since there are first-party and third-party developers who release their games on Sony platforms.
In January 2021, Sony announced that it would completely discontinue production of the PlayStation 4. While the market is running out of available quantities.
Therefore, if you are planning to buy a PlayStation 4 in 2023, you will not be able to get a completely new device, instead, you can get it used.
But stopping the production of the device does not mean the end of support. In 2019, with the release of the new generation, Sony confirmed that it will work to support the previous generation for several years. However, due to the long crisis in which Sony was suspended, which negatively affected the production and shipment of the PlayStation 5, the support period for the previous generation has been extended for more time, especially since the device still has a large fan base.
However, this does not mean that Sony will continue to support the device at the expense of its new device, and this is what began to take shape, especially through the first-party studios.
Since the beginning of this year 2023, Sony has begun to gradually pull the rug out from under the PlayStation 4, giving the greatest opportunity to its new device by enticing players to move to the new generation quickly, especially since it has succeeded in overcoming the production crisis.
Therefore, we expect to see the real fall of the PlayStation 4 device, which may start clearly at the end of the year 2023.
Given all these considerations, is the PlayStation 4 worth buying in 2023? Probably not, but it depends on your condition.
If you want to play a lot of console-only titles and have no alternative, it’s still worth buying. On the other hand, the PlayStation 4 Pro may offer you a better opportunity in terms of survival time in the future, but since its price is close to the price of the PlayStation 5, it is preferable to move to the new generation or go to buy the slim version at a lower price.
Also, you can get the device in a used copy, in which case you can get it at a price not exceeding 200 to 250 dollars only. This might be a good opportunity to stay with the previous generation for some time, maybe two years from now.
