# PS5

14 Hacker News commenters recommended PS5 and 16 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend the PS5 for its strong performance, fast loading and large library of games, especially as a simpler alternative to a gaming PC. Critics mainly object to its locked-down nature and how few exclusive games it has.

## Why people recommend it

- Strong performance and smooth gaming (4 comments): "The PS5 pro has plenty of horsepower. Fewer problems, but I see it occasionally skip or freeze slightly" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50077093)) "it's the first console that's felt powerful enough to scratch a similar itch as PC gaming" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45914744)) "just works, decent 4K gaming, plays PS5 games and timed exclusives" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46583832))
- Simple, works out of the box (2 comments): "just works, decent 4K gaming, plays PS5 games and timed exclusives" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46583832)) "I've been doing a game console with monitor or dumb-TV for ages" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46256219))
- Runs many games and exclusives (2 comments): "runs an increasing library of Microsoft's own games at better resolutions and framerates" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46409002)) "just works, decent 4K gaming, plays PS5 games and timed exclusives" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46583832))

## What people warn about

- Locked down, restricts general computing (3 comments): "They're taking general purpose computers and restricting you from doing general purpose computing on them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47298582)) "the PS5 prevents you from backing up your game saves to your own physical media" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49903053)) "A PS5 is an even more locked down system!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46107940))
- Few exclusive games (3 comments): "I just can't believe the PS5 has sold as many units as it has with just 15 exclusive games" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48836162)) "There are like 15 exclusive games for the PS5, what’s the point?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49882497)) "There are only 15 exclusives for the PS 5" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46411260))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Valve Steam Machine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/steam-machine.md): 326 recommend
- [PlayStation 5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/playstation-5.md): 121 recommend
- [Xbox console](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xbox.md): 62 recommend
- [Xbox 360](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xbox-360.md): 41 recommend
- [PlayStation 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/playstation-2.md): 40 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=PlayStation+5+console+Sony&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.playstation.com/en-us/ps5/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "PS5", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ps5/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).