Ghost of Tsushima Dev Says PS5 Upgrades Aren’t Generic Updates

In an effort to explain why PlayStation 5 features won’t be free for Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, Sucker Punch said the PS5 updates aren’t “generic.” Sucker Punch’s reveal of the Director’s Cut generated both hype and disappointment, the latter due to the $10 price tag attached to PS5 bells and whistles such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

Ghost of Tsushima‘s new version will come packaged with the Iki Island expansion, giving players access to another territory to explore and, of course, fresh story content. The DLC itself bears a $20 price tag across PS4 and PS5 for those who own the original experience. However, PS5 fans interested in taking advantage of current-gen features will need to fork over an extra $9.99. Pundits and players continue to question the pricing model, especially since other PS5 upgrades have launched free of charge. A recent interview saw one developer offer an explanation.

Upon being asked about the PS5 upgrade price in a Press Start interview (via PlayStation LifeStyle), Ghost of Tsushima Art Director Jason Connell said the updates are in no way “generic.” PS5-specific features, Connell explained, will feel “fully enveloped” into the Iki Island content. The Art Director’s response reads as follows:

“The thing that I think is important for people to know is that those features that make it so specific to the PS5, we didn’t just work on those as a generic hardware upgrade, they are fully enveloped into the Iki expansion and Jin’s experiences on Iki. They were really tightly connected to one another. So that’s kind of the reason why we didn’t look at them as kind of separate. We really wanted those two to sing together. And that’s the base reason why.”

Will Connell’s answer satisfy those who’ve expressed disappointment in the upgrade’s price tag? That much remains to be seen and, ultimately, the market will decide whether such a trend continues as this new generation slowly presses on. Thus, as is always the case, fans for or against the pricing model would do well to vote with their wallets.

Ghost of Tsushima launched in July 2020 to widespread acclaim from reviewers and players alike. The gorgeous open-world and the way in which protagonist Jin Sakai navigated it garnered much of the praise, as did the combat mechanics and other finer touches. Fans eager to explore the game further were treated to a free multiplayer mode months after launch, and it appears as though Iki Island will provide even more of a content-rich experience.

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is en route to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, with a launch date of August 20.

Source: Press Start via PlayStation LifeStyle

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Brianna Reeves
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A Senior Writer on Screen Rant’s Game News team, Brianna Reeves graduated from Sam Houston Statue University in 2018 with a Master of Arts in English Literature. Brianna’s enthusiasm for games dates back to Mortal Kombat Trilogy on PlayStation 1, along with classics like MediEvil, Syphon Filter, and THPS2. However, Red Dead Redemption reinvigorated her love for the medium; hopefully, that passion reflects in the work she has contributed to Comic Book Resources, PlayStation LifeStyle, GVMERS, and Screen Rant.

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