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[Music]
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welcome back to NextGen console watch
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the show following everything happening
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with the latest gaming Hardware I'm Ryan
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mcaffrey filling in for Damon Hatfield
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this week as both host and sitting in as
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your usual Xbox panelist and I'm joined
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this week by Jada Griffin from Beyond
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IGN's weekly PlayStation podcast Jada
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how are you I'm doing great Ryan lots of
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great games to play right now so uh you
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know it's keeping me busy yes we are
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just heading into the thick of the big
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fall game season uh but if someone is
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just wanting to get into the New Gen of
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gaming particularly in Japan uh they are
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going to have a more expensive time
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doing so so Sony confirmed this week a
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price hike Yes again this is the second
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time a a price increase in Japan on the
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PS 5 also on the
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psvr2 and accessories as well so Jada
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it's uh an equivalent a Us doll
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equivalent of a $90 increase on the
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PS5 the
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psvr2 is now the US equivalent of
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$600 in Japan and again like I said the
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Dual sense other accessories going up as
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well so first of all I guess let's just
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address that J dat because son's
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pointing to General market macroeconomic
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forces here but whether you want to
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accept that or not what is your take on
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this how do you how does this make you
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feel as a
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gamer yeah I mean let's let's be real
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inflation and macroeconomics are always
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going to come into play and increase
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prices for lots of goods not just
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consoles and luxury things that we like
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to spend money on but at the same time
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like we're on what year four of the
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PlayStation 5 now at this point and year
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two of the psvr2 and while the PS5 has
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been selling really well you know used
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to be you couldn't get it off you
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couldn't find them on the shelves now
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they're readily available you you have
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to just kind of wonder where the the
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thought process is here from a from Sony
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thinking about their consumers because
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you would think at this point they would
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want more people to dive in to the ps5s
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not and and at an easier price have an
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easier price for them to jump in versus
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now charging a little bit more and
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granted this is the Japanese Market the
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yen is having some issues right now but
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at the same time I think it would have
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been a a very cool win for Sony and the
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PR department if they would have instead
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been like
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Hey we're have like prices are going up
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on parts for
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ps5s we're going to eat that cost for
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fans though like making some type of
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announcement making them look like the
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the good guys instead of here we're
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looking at two price increases in two
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years for markets outside of the US and
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it just doesn't feel good as a gamer it
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it doesn't feel good yeah this is
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historically unprecedented in the
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console market for not only for there to
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be a price increase at all but for in
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the middle of a generation but two of
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them as you noted and just at this point
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in the generation like you said we are
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we're in year four we're almost at the
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end of year four it's the end of August
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as we record this and publish it so you
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know we're about we're just like two
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months and some change away from the
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actual fouryear anniversary of the ps5s
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launch and it's it's just crazy that
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this continues to to be an issue now
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Xbox also raised prices outside of North
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America uh at a point earlier in this
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generation as well so they're not immune
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to it
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and Xbox certainly they have effectively
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no presence in Japan so I I can't
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imagine there'd be any benefit really
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for them to increase in Japan
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specifically but but Jada if you want to
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compare apples to apples let's look at
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the Nintendo switch there has never been
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a price increase on the Nintendo switch
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despite that Japanese gaming company
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being subjected to all the same
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macroeconomic Market forces that Sony
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and the PlayStation are yeah I mean you
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know call us Spa Spades which is
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probably cheaper to manufacture than a
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PS5 uh so I'm sure Nintendo is having
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less issues with that but we've also
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seen things with Nintendo of taking that
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road that I suggested that Sony could
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have done of having that positive PR
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spin he you know always we always go
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back to the aada situation where he took
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the price you know he took that salary
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cuts for his employees Nintendo does
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those types of things so even if
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Nintendo is going through the same kind
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of macroeconomics issues right now A
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they're seven years into their console
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span so it would be really weird to see
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them increase the price but B that's
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just not the type of company they it's
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generally I don't want to say a failure
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when you see a company raising their
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prices on something because it's not but
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at this point in time when you're trying
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to build your ecosystem as big as
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possible that definitely takes a lot of
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wind out of your sales from a customer
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perspective the switch like I said
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seventh year we expecting a new Switch
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next year like is the is what all the
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the rumors and everybody is talking to I
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know I think they said it in a
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shareholders meeting as well
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but yeah it's uh Nintendo also hasn't
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done any price cuts on their switch
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though either they've done like you know
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Christmas bundles they released the
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switch mini which is a cheaper skew yeah
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the switch light excuse me and then they
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also you know I'm sure we're going to
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talk about it later but they also
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released the O the the OLED version
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which was a more premium for more money
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so that is kind of an increase but you
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get a better version so you know kind of
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balances out and I want to talk about
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this in the in the context now of the
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the sort of bigger picture I mean
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obviously this is just Japan uh we don't
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know if if this price increase will will
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be translated to other markets including
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the US uh history suggests probably not
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would be the good news for for North
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American viewers and listeners here but
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I mean Jada it's fair to wonder what
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this is doing for at the very least for
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Consumer and and gamer
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enthusiasm in Japan when I mean over
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here the psvr2 has has recently quite a
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bit actually been discounted a lot by
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it's it's seen $200 discounts and they
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still don't really seem like they're
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moving so that's that getting a a price
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increase in Japan seems a little extra
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bizarre
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and there's the the matter we've talked
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about a number of times before on this
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podcast as well this show is our Gamers
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even really getting what they thought
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they were promised at the beginning of
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this generation four years in with with
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prices going in the wrong direction
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where we're still seeing 30 frames we're
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not seeing 4K 60 on nearly everything
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we're still seeing almost everything
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come out on the old consoles as well as
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the new ones mhm I mean
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with this price hike again limited to
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Japan here for the moment but does this
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mean that gamers are are just paying
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more for an underwhelming ultimately
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underwhelming
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generation it's it's kind of weird you
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see there's been a couple stories
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recently about things happening in the
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industry where the Early Access versions
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of even games themselves Hing better
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versions of stuff and things getting
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nerfed after the Early Access um or
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things being changed for maybe not the
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better uh after that initial Buy in so I
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don't think it's any type of conspiracy
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theory of like Sony offering less later
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than those who adopted early but it is
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does bring up the good question you
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bring up a very good question Ryan like
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you know the PS5 boxes when we got them
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had like 8K labeled on the boxes and
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where's that we're like you said we're
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still barely getting games that have
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that 4K 60 FPS we're barely getting
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we're getting a lot of I've seen a lot
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of conversations especially on ign.com
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but also in various other channels about
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people complaining about games that are
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going to be launching up upcoming Big
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launches that are going to be 30 FPS and
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they're like why aren't we getting 60
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FPS where is this and I don't know what
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the right answer is for that like
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development is hard game development is
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not an easy thing development times if
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we've seen has extended it's longer it's
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takes longer to develop a trip a a big
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budget game now that it ever has
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and some of the it's something's got to
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give and we don't know where where the
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push and pull is what's going to be this
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magical Solution that's going to fix
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this is there going to be something
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that's going to help fix all these
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things is the rumored PS5 Pro going to
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be this all Mecca of things that's going
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to save and give us the things that we
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were initially promised at the initial
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or maybe not promised but highlighted or
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suggested at the beginning of the
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generation only time's going to tell
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sadly I hope it does but also that's
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asking Gamers especially now in Japanese
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markets to spend another five maybe $600
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who knows what the price on the PS5 Pro
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is going to be like there's not they're
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not going to raise the price on the
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standard PS5 and then release a pro in
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six months for Less right well that's
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exactly where I wanted to go to finish
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this conversation of what what you know
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Japan it's not our Market but it's a
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hugely important Market in the global
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sense and it's it's Sony's Home Market
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it's a it's a massively important Market
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in the in the global video game industry
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and so what about the PS5 Pro the
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heavily rumored but still unannounced
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PlayStation 5 Pro if it's going to
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happen this year as all rumors have
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pointed to it's going to have to happen
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soon as we're at the very end of August
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now
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having been in this line of work games
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media for over 20 years this is the kind
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of thing where I would expect Sony to to
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announce it and either release it very
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soon after or release it immediately
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when they announce it kind of like what
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what Apple does with iPhones now where
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it's like they announce it and then a
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week or or maybe two later it's out
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because certainly Sony doesn't want to
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Osborne existing PS5 sales for anybody
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that might go out and pick one up on the
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off chance that they they might want to
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wait for the PS5 Pro but then see the
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price of it and decide not to buy
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anything at all so uh we'll find out
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about PS5 Pro soon enough but assuming
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it is a real thing that is coming this
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year given these uh price hikes in Japan
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J what where where's your mind at now
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what were you thinking the price might
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be on PS5 Pro and and what are you
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thinking now I mean so
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right now what current PS5 prices are
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$4.99 for the standard and $3.99 for the
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digital like I have to imagine if we're
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doing a pro it's got to be somewhere
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around that range if we're going it
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we're at the midpoint of the generation
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if you look at previous PlayStation
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Generations they generally when we get
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refreshes or pro versions of consoles
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like we've done with the PS3 and the PS4
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I believe they usually go down in price
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at that point in time I could be wrong
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at have to double check on the PS4 Pro I
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can't remember what those prices debuted
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at but it's it'd be very strange to see
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it come out and be like a $600 $700
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console I just I don't know if there is
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a big enough market for fans and and
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maybe there is maybe there is a big
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enough market maybe if they're going to
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drop a $700 PS5 Pro it's going to
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actually do all the things and give this
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actual true nextg experience that
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everybody has been waiting for and
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people stop calling this generation mid
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like who knows maybe it'll solve that
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maybe it'll be the the solution to all
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our problems in gaming realistically
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probably not uh but I I it's it's such a
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a a weird position that Sony is in right
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now with that I do think you're right I
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think that they probably will go with a
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apple kind of drop I think they'll
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probably announce it and say a state of
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play maybe a showcase I don't think a
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showcase probably a state of play they
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did that for I want to say for
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um the what the portal as well as like
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the earbuds they did that in a state of
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play so I imagine they might do that
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again for a console and
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then probably open up pre-orders like
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later that day or two days later and
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then drop the console in a month I could
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see that happening yeah I also wonder if
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they might handle the first wave of
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orders and pre-orders the same way that
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they did with psvr2 to manage the stock
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a little bit better and only take them
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through playstation.com I could see that
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I wouldn't be surprised yeah that being
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a possibility and then closer to the
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holiday season like maybe another month
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after then they can as Supply goes up
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then they hit them you know they hit the
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traditional retail channels like Best
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Buy and and what and Amazon and what
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have you but but yeah I I've been
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thinking 600 bucks all along for this
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thing and I just I wonder if the price
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in Japan will be reflected in the US in
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North America or not I
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just I I could see 650 I just don't
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think there's any way we see a
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$700 PlayStation 5 Pro in the US that
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that seems like a bridge way way way too
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far but 650 might be in play I'm still
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hoping that it won't be more than six
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but you're absolutely right it's it's
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it's not going to be 550 while the
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vanilla PS5 is still 500 so it's going
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to be at least 600 bucks yeah and uh I
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mean I hope you're right I mean I I got
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a little chuckle when when uh you joked
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about the mid generation refresh
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possibly being the thing that makes this
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generation no longer mid from a from a
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hardware
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perspective uh like it you know the hope
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is they release the pro console maybe it
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comes out at 600 and they drop the price
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for the standard and the digital that
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would be a winning solution I think for
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Sony they start clearing out the the the
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current stock of the older models that
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they no longer want to produce because
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they're making the new Pro and they want
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everybody to spend the new $600 again
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and so they reduce the price on the
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standard than digital to just drop them
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off a hundred bucks each that's enough
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to get a bunch more players in the door
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even if they're not getting the best of
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the best some people are still just
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waiting on a PS5 because $500 is still a
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lot of money yes it is for a console
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yeah and and you are you are correct the
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the PS4 Pro debuted at 3.99 at 400 and
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the vanilla PS4 did get a price drop
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that same time I don't remember if it
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was I don't think it was 350 I think it
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it must have been it must have been
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three because I think there was more
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than a $50 gap between them at the time
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but but yeah I I I sure hope you're
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right and I think I think there's a lot
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of a lot of sense in what you're saying
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about PS5 Pro hits for six and then
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hopefully we get at least a $50 price
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cut if not 100 on the regular PS5 uh
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both both the uh the digital the digital
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version and and the uh the Blu-ray Drive
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version but it's going to be an
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interesting next couple months in the
00:16:21
hardware space for Sony here as we as we
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learn exactly what they're planning and
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when it's going to hit and how much it's
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going to cost and like you said Jada
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What specifically it's going to offer
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from a technical perspective that's
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really tangible to Gamers it's you know
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are we going to get more better frame
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rates in in every PlayStation game is it
00:16:45
going to be more of a well you get R
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tracing and everything now which is a
00:16:49
little less obvious we we shall see Sony
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has I think quite a challenge here to
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really literally show people why they
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should spend
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so much money on a PS5
00:17:01
Pro all right last week's poll question
00:17:04
on nextg Console watch was what's your
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favorite modern console generation and
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it was pretty close I have to say uh the
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Xbox 360 PS3 Wii generation getting 36%
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of the vote right behind it at
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33% was the PS2 Xbox GameCube generation
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I would have had a tough time by
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definitely would have chosen one of
00:17:30
those I don't know quite which I would
00:17:32
have gone with I would have had to sit
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with that one for a minute
00:17:36
21.5% of Voters voted for this
00:17:38
generation the PS5 series X switch
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generation and just 9% of Voters going
00:17:45
with the PS4 Xbox One Wii U generation
00:17:48
which is kind of surprising cuz Sony had
00:17:51
a mega generation with PS4 but lot of uh
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lot of nostalgia out there and I'm I'm
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right there with you my friends
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next week's poll which you can vote on
00:18:01
right now at ign.com is what are you
00:18:05
willing to pay for a PS5 Pro $550 to
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$600 you willing to go 600 to 650 you
00:18:14
willing to go 650 to 7 are you willing
00:18:17
to go over seven or are you just not
00:18:20
interested in the PS5 Pro should it in
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fact become real as it has been heavily
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rumored vote now at ign.com and we will
00:18:29
go over the results on next week's
00:18:31
podcast but that'll do it for this
00:18:33
week's episode of nextg console watch
00:18:36
thank you to Jada and thank you to jert
00:18:38
behind the scenes making this episode
00:18:39
possible my name is Ryan and we will be
00:18:42
back next week with more on the latest
00:18:44
gaming Hardware we'll see you then
00:18:50
[Music]
