While the PlayStation 5 is Sony'southward latest console, the PlayStation 4 is all the same on the market, at least as a pre-owned organisation. The question is: should y'all buy a PS4 in late 2021?

Let'southward look at some of the reasons why buying a PS4 still might be worthwhile for y'all, along with some cautions about buying the panel so late into its life.

PS4 and PS5 Pricing in 2021

It's difficult to give an verbal cost for the PS4 at this fourth dimension since the console is mostly beingness sold pre-owned and through bundles. However, in general, the manufacturer's set price of the PS4 Slim is $300, while the PS4 Pro is $400.

PS4 Slim Sony Store 2021

The major departure betwixt these is that the PS4 Pro tin play games at 4K resolution due to its more powerful hardware. Unfortunately, Sony hasn't dropped the suggested price of either organisation after the launch of the PS5.

In contrast, the PS5 Digital Edition (which lacks a disc drive) is $400, while the standard PS5 is $500. Pricing bated, there are still reasons to consider a PS4 if yous can't find a PS5 (or just don't want to go next-gen nonetheless).

The PS4 Has an Excellent Library of Games...

It'southward no hush-hush that owning a PS4 grants yous access to a vast itemize of games. This includes the best PS4 exclusives like God of State of war and Ratchet & Clank, 3rd-party titans like Call of Duty and Assassin'due south Creed, indie games, and remasters of classic PlayStation games.

If yous don't already have another console or a gaming PC, the PS4 provides a corking way to play tons of games. However, the PS4 is a harder sell in 2021 if you're primarily looking for its exclusives.

...But Many PS4 Games Are Playable Elsewhere

Thankfully, the PS5 is backward-uniform and thus able to play almost every PS4 title. This means if you own a digital game on PS4 (or a PS4 disc and the standard PS5), yous can play it on your PS5 while taking advantage of the more powerful hardware.

If yous missed out on the PS4, the PlayStation Plus Drove is an even more attractive perk. This benefit, available to all PS Plus subscribers who have a PS5, gives access to several summit PS4 games like Persona v, Resident Evil 7, and Bloodborne at no additional accuse.

PlayStation Plus costs $60 per year, making it an additional toll to consider. But if you lot want to play a lot of these titles, waiting for a PS5 and subscribing to Plus is more cost-effective than getting a PS4 and buying them individually.

PS4 games run faster on PS5, thank you to its built-in SSD. Simply keep in mind that the PS5 comes with a express 825GB of storage, so those PS4 games will add up chop-chop. If you need more space on your PS5, y'all can run PS4 games via an external USB drive or an M.2 SSD, just both of these incur an boosted cost.

Every bit it turns out, PlayStation consoles aren't the only place to play PlayStation titles. A few games that were once exclusive to the PS4, such as Horizon Nothing Dawn and God of State of war, are now available on PC via Steam. Additionally, PlayStation At present is available on PC, allowing you to stream many superlative PS4 (and earlier) titles to your estimator, equally long as yous have a decent PC and cyberspace connection.

So if you already have a PC and just want to try a few exclusive games, a PS4 might not be worth it for you. And if you're mostly interested in multiplatform games, a PS4 doesn't offer the all-time value (more on this below).

How Long Will the PS4 Receive Support?

In January 2021, Sony Japan confirmed that information technology was ceasing production of nearly all PS4 models. This was unexpected, since the visitor had earlier claimed it would support the PS4 for several more years.

This ways that if you want to buy a new PS4, y'all should do so chop-chop. One time the existing supply dries up, it will be difficult to find one, and you'll likely accept to pay more for it.

Sony dropping support for the console is a sign that yous probably shouldn't buy it. A discontinued console will before long stop receiving games, and Sony likely won't offer hardware back up for information technology much longer either.

But if you do get a PS4 in 2021, how long should you lot expect game back up to last? To gauge, nosotros tin look back at the last console generation.

The PS4's Expected Game Lifetime

The PlayStation 3 was released in 2006 and discontinued in 2016 in North America. Information technology received cross-generation titles until the end of its life. For case, 2015's Telephone call of Duty: Black Ops Iii was the last Phone call of Duty title released for the arrangement, though it was a watered-down version with no entrada fashion.

This was similar for exclusive games. MLB The Show xvi was the final PS3 version of the yearly series published by Sony. Prior to this, 2014's LittleBigPlanet 3 was the last major Sony-published title on the system.

The PS4 arrived in 2013, when the PS3 was seven years one-time. Since the PS5 launched in 2020, this puts the PS4 on the same timeline as the last generation—though the being of the PS4 Pro (launched in 2016) complicates this a bit.

Horizon Forbidden West will release on both PS5 and PS4 in February 2022 (after being delayed from its planned 2021 release appointment). In contrast, 2021'southward Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, a major PlayStation sectional, is PS5-only.

March 2022's Gran Turismo 5 volition be available on both PS4 and PS5, while God of War Ragnarök will besides exist on both systems. Whether y'all'll need a PS5 to play the next big game is thus uncertain.

From these trends, we would expect the PS4 to receive cantankerous-platform titles into 2023, at the latest. The PS4 Pro may receive a different treatment, but Sony hasn't fabricated a distinction between PS4 models for any releases since the PS5 came out.

Should You Purchase a PS4 in 2021?

Looking at all these considerations, is the PS4 worth ownership in late 2021? Probably not, but it depends on your situation.

If you lot desire to play a lot of titles that are but available on PS4 and you don't have another game console, then the PS4 is still a decent purchase. The PS4 Pro is more future-proofed, but since its price is shut to a PS5, we'd recommend sticking to a PS4 Slim if you lot do buy a PS4. Consider buying a second-hand model from a reputable seller to bring the price down (which volition soon be your merely selection anyhow).

With a PS4, y'all tin still savour cross-play with PS5 players in many games. Plus, you can take near of your games with y'all when y'all upgrade to a PS5 (either through astern compatibility or complimentary upgrade offers). Just y'all're generally ownership access to older titles with the PS4, as few new games will launch over the next yr or ii.

If you see yourself ownership a PS5 in the side by side yr, we'd recommend waiting for that instead. It doesn't brand much sense to spend $300 on a PS4 at present, only to spend $500 on a PS5 shortly after. In the meantime, you might consider trying a few games using PS Now on your PC.

Nosotros've compared the PS4 and PS5 in more particular if you need help making that decision.

If you lot're not interested in PlayStation exclusives at all, consider a Nintendo Switch instead. That panel launched in 2017, but offers a lot for the price. You lot get a organization that you tin play at home or on the go with a wide variety of kickoff-political party Nintendo titles, plus tertiary-party ports and indie games.

The Switch volition probable receive support for longer than the PS4; just keep in mind that it's not as powerful. As a event, cross-platform games like Doom Eternal and Overwatch are not as polish on Switch.

Some other great choice is the Xbox Serial Due south, which sold well during Black Friday 2021 for a reason. That panel is besides $300, and while it has a small 512GB of space and isn't equally powerful as the PS5, it's ultra-fast and has a huge library of Xbox games across generations. For a casual player, information technology's a much better investment than the crumbling PS4.

Yous won't become PlayStation exclusives, only the Series South can play all multiplatform games like Battlefield and Madden.

The PS4's Legacy Lives On

Every bit we've seen, at that place are some situations where it could make sense to buy a PS4 right now. But if yous don't fall into them, information technology's smarter to wait for a PS5, get PlayStation exclusives on PC, or get some other console instead of paying for an old organization.

Ownership a modernistic panel, especially again games go far for it, is a better investment of your money. Information technology only requires a little patience for now.

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About The Writer

Ben Stegner (1809 Articles Published)

Ben is the Editor in Chief at MakeUseOf. He left his Information technology chore to write full-time in 2016 and has never looked dorsum. He'southward been covering tech tutorials, video game recommendations, and more as a professional writer for over viii years.

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