I was thinking about the hype behind the PS5 and it has felt like ages since there was so much collective interest in a platform leading up to the launch. After all, the PS2 was the successor to the first ever console that reached 100 million sold and the PlayStation library built up a huge fanbase since their first effort. But since then, I wouldn't say platforms had this vast amount of good energy and positive vibes.
Let's look at a few of the notable launches since the PS2 generation
360 - It had a year head start and a good price at launch, but the first Xbox wasn't a big hit so needless to say there was not much anticipation beyond the Xbox fanase leading up to it.
PS3 - The $599 price, removal of rumble, it's big titles being nowhere near release, and statements like "people will get a second job to get a PS3" made people want it to fail. Despite being the successor to the PS2, Sony was making a lot of bad moves leading to launch that completely put people off.
Wii - A very experimental console and the successor to the Gamecube, which sold even worse than the first Xbox. While there was a general interest in it (especially with the motion controls and cheap price), it's popularity came more from the post-launch buzz rather than the months leading to the release.
Wii U - Even with the rapid success of the Wii and rise of Nintendo selling tons of first party games, there was almost no buzz for the Wii U and more confusion over what it was even with some asking if it was a controller. Unsurprisingly, it ended up being a massive flop.
Xbox One - Microsoft made the Xbox brand huge in NA and the UK with the Xbox 360, but the horrible reveal that focused on TV and forced Kinect was a blow against it. The attempt at killing used games on it and the bizarre design choices, having it $100 more expensive than the PS4, and so on made it have a lot of negative buzz leading to launch more than anything.
PS4 - Easily the strongest product unveiling around that time compared to the Xbox One and Wii U, it even nailed the price being $399. People championed it early on just because it was not pushing the policies MS tried to push. But being the successor to the PS3, which lost a lot of consumers to the 360, made it's buzz not as strong as it was during the PS1 and PS2 days since Xbox was still quite huge with the 360 as the PS4 was approaching launch.
Switch - A great new hybrid gaming device that got a lot of interest, but it was similar to the Wii where the hype exploded post-launch.
The PS5 and Xbox Series SIX are both getting very good vibes, but I think its clear that the PS5 has much more anticipation due to the general popularity of the PlayStation brand and the fact that it is the successor to the 110+ million selling PS4. With the amount of likes that any related video gets and the millions and millions of views the game videos and events get, it feels like this is the PS2 level anticipation if social media were a thing at it's launch. I really can't remember a platform launch with this much hype.
If you don't think it is, please list the console you think was more anticipated in recent years in the comments
Let's look at a few of the notable launches since the PS2 generation
360 - It had a year head start and a good price at launch, but the first Xbox wasn't a big hit so needless to say there was not much anticipation beyond the Xbox fanase leading up to it.
PS3 - The $599 price, removal of rumble, it's big titles being nowhere near release, and statements like "people will get a second job to get a PS3" made people want it to fail. Despite being the successor to the PS2, Sony was making a lot of bad moves leading to launch that completely put people off.
Wii - A very experimental console and the successor to the Gamecube, which sold even worse than the first Xbox. While there was a general interest in it (especially with the motion controls and cheap price), it's popularity came more from the post-launch buzz rather than the months leading to the release.
Wii U - Even with the rapid success of the Wii and rise of Nintendo selling tons of first party games, there was almost no buzz for the Wii U and more confusion over what it was even with some asking if it was a controller. Unsurprisingly, it ended up being a massive flop.
Xbox One - Microsoft made the Xbox brand huge in NA and the UK with the Xbox 360, but the horrible reveal that focused on TV and forced Kinect was a blow against it. The attempt at killing used games on it and the bizarre design choices, having it $100 more expensive than the PS4, and so on made it have a lot of negative buzz leading to launch more than anything.
PS4 - Easily the strongest product unveiling around that time compared to the Xbox One and Wii U, it even nailed the price being $399. People championed it early on just because it was not pushing the policies MS tried to push. But being the successor to the PS3, which lost a lot of consumers to the 360, made it's buzz not as strong as it was during the PS1 and PS2 days since Xbox was still quite huge with the 360 as the PS4 was approaching launch.
Switch - A great new hybrid gaming device that got a lot of interest, but it was similar to the Wii where the hype exploded post-launch.
The PS5 and Xbox Series SIX are both getting very good vibes, but I think its clear that the PS5 has much more anticipation due to the general popularity of the PlayStation brand and the fact that it is the successor to the 110+ million selling PS4. With the amount of likes that any related video gets and the millions and millions of views the game videos and events get, it feels like this is the PS2 level anticipation if social media were a thing at it's launch. I really can't remember a platform launch with this much hype.
If you don't think it is, please list the console you think was more anticipated in recent years in the comments
