At some point, I will probably write a more in-depth article about this, but I felt compelled while I had a few minutes this afternoon to at least say something about the PlayStation 4.
There was a lot of hype for a long time regarding what the PS4 could potentially be. The same is true regarding Microsoft’s new system. People were going on about augmented reality, the use of immersing glasses (almost like virtual reality), and other things that would revolutionize game-play. But, isn’t that the same pitch that people give to us every time a new console is on the horizon to be releasing soon? Everyone talks about the latest in touch or motion control, the advancement of the Kinect or similar products, or how incredibly realistic the graphics will be. Yet, at the end of the day, at least for this gamer, it always comes back to how fun the games are going to be. You can try to hide behind your Ultra HD graphics all you want, but if you don’t deliver quality games that are actually, you know, fun to play, then what’s the point?
To me, everything about the PS4 so far seems to speak of it being “just another system.” This is reinforced by their comments that they were using more main-stream computer components (like AMD chips) that would make development easier (understandable, of course), but this begs the question as to why you would need a PS4 instead of simply playing games on your PC or laptop. Moreover, this new hardware is supposed to make playing PS1, PS2, or PS3 games no longer a possibility, instead requiring you to stream them to your system. This would have been fine to me in regards to PS1 or PS2 titles, but what about your PS3 games? Maybe Sony will have a way for you to prove you do own the disc and therefore not require you to double-purchase a game just to play it on the newer hardware, but I wouldn’t be too terribly surprised if they didn’t bother.
I guess, just like all other systems, it’s going to come down to what games they can deliver at the end of the day (and especially those games being unique strictly to the PS4), but I can say that currently, as far as I am concerned, I’m not sure that I would bother to purchase one.
Here is my thought: I am getting an Ouya next month (Kickstarter) and that console, with 1/4th of the power of the PS4, excites me much more. I feel like the money I would’ve put in to a PS4 should now go towards a kick butt PC rig. I dunno. I’m very underwhelmed. I do want a Wii U, but I don’t (at the moment) think I’ll get a PS4 or a xbox 720.
I’d rather just get a good PC. I need to upgrade anyway…
BTW That PS3 controller looks suspiciously like an Ouya controller… Hmm.
I agree entirely with you. I have been waiting to hear something because lately as I said in Episode 1 of Season 3 in the GG podcast, I have found a lot of use out of Steam and playing games on my PC more than my PS3 except for some games lately like Dead Space 3, but that was due to having done the previous two on PS3 and my PC still needing some upgrades I can’t afford yet.
That said, I do plan to update my PC a lot so it can do even more games from Steam or other services. A lot of the big third party games get PC ports now. Also with PS4 using more mainstream computer parts, that to me says PC ports of their games might be easier (whether we will actually see them is unclear though).
At this rate I feel like sticking to my original plan. I like my PS3, but I think I may be turning back into a PC gamer by the end of this year.
You and Warren both make some really good points. My hopes are pretty low for Microsoft delivering this cycle either, but they have been pretty quiet about their next system, so we will have to see. As to Nintendo, I will pick up a Wii U eventually, but not until some big-ticket games I actually care about come out, like the planned HD Remake of “Wind Waker.” That’s one I want to get.
But see, Nintendo actually delivers on quality games, so once they get going with the Wii U, I’m happy to support them.
Otherwise, yep, I’ll just be upgrading my PC (which I’ll be doing very soon anyway with a new 600-series GPU and one of the 8-core processors), so I won’t have a huge use for the PS4.
The Wii U has some exclusive that i actually want. Like the Wind Waker HD remake, Super Mario whatever, and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Totally want to get both the WII U and 3DS version of that.) Graphics are nice, but they don’t make a good game. The Pop and sizzle of new graphics only lasts for so long before the gameplay must come to the fore.
I hear you there. I look at Steam as a portable (IE: You can use it on multiple devices) console anyway.
I’m not saying I’m underwhelmed by the PS4, but it’s just surreal that the only next-gen system based on exotic, custom game hardware will be the WiiU. :/
And the Wii U needs to up its game a bit, but I think they are going to really pick up once some of the projects they talked about (and in my case, especially the HD Wind Waker remake) come out!
Really good article! I think it’s getting harder to impress with graphics as the jumps are getting smaller gen-to-gen. Not a huge leap, but Sony deserve credit for trying to move things forward, as I wonder when I play games these days whether I take all the details and graphics for granted a bit
It’s difficult to read into how good a console is going to be on announcement. Ironically, the only hardware in recent times to genuinely make me go “wow” from a tech/games/creative standpoint on announcement was the VITA, and we all know how that’s been received so far lol
Like you said: all about the games in the end.
Some people have argued that we’ve reached a plateau with graphics. This might be true to a point, perhaps. I think many people noticed that the jump from 720p to 1080p was far less noticeable than from 480 to 720, for example, so when people talk about using 2160p and beyond the difference will be less noticeable. Not to mention that the TVs that do that resolution are terribly expensive now and the infrastructure required to stream such a signal would need to be four times what we have now, LOL.
Anyway…Yeah, short of going with immersive gameplay (VR type glasses or whatever else), there’s only so much you can really do, and so for me it comes down to the games. Nintendo is a company I’ve respected since pretty much the beginning, yet I am waiting to pick up a Wii U until some better games come out (like the planned HD remake of Wind Waker, for example).
Hehe I’m also little concerned by this “social for social’s sake” mentality around some of the PS4 games being announced, but there’s promise too, so will have to see how it all pans out.
Yeah, I’d love to give the WiiU a bash (NES/SNES = awesome) but haven’t bought a recent Nintendo format because of their relentlessly expensive software. In the UK, a fair portion of the HD twins’ games drop to £10-15 on amazon within a few months of release, but you see stuff like Mario Kart for the original DS still at £25-30 now, even though it’s eight years old. Same with the Gamecube – picked up a cheap Dreamcast instead a couple of years ago instead because its big titles were £1-5 and the good stuff on the GC had remained anywhere between £15 and £70. Can’t really explain it, but hopefully it will pick up this gen.
The Dreamcast was a very awesome system though. I actually loved the few really good RPGs that were out on it (Silver, Elemental Gimmick Gear, El Dorado, etc.). Lately I have been looking for a good Dreamcast emulator for the PC because I want to be able to record footage of it for YouTube. I’ve got an actual DC, of course, but having a decent emulator would help with Let’s Play stuff.
Anyway, yeah, Nintendo is like that, but at least most of their stuff is good. I enjoy Zelda, Metroid, and the other big titles, but I wish they’d get away from the whole “Collect 120 stars” thing they do with Mario lately. X_X
I’ve already pre-ordered my first PS4 game, Watchdogs. So I think it’s rather clear where I stand.
I am very impressed with what Sony has shown thus far, and am also very excited to see what is in store as the year carries on. Here’s what gets me:
1. Indie developer/ “garage” developer support: Sony has always supported the small developer and has given the time, space and attention they need to get going. Biggest example is what happened with Journey developer ThatGameCompany. Nobody gave them the time of day but now they are one of the hottest and most innovative names in the biz and I believe will do much with all next-gen consoles. I love indie developer games and I’ve had them coming out of my nose via the PS3, and this won’t change with PS4.
On top of that, Sony will allow anybody to use developer tools to make their own games and sell them through the PS4. That’s insane-awesome, and I don’t know how anybody could disagree with.
2. The PS4 will be turning lots of talented people into stars, next gen. Not only with their ability to develop their own games, but also with the ability to share their gameplay to anybody at anytime. I think that that’s so totally cool that one can stream their gameplay real time to anybody who wants to see it!
3. Love the technology that will allow people to play games through other people’s consoles.
4. Love the ability to play PS4 quality games via the Vita even if someone is on my PS4.
5. Love the ability to instantly play a game even as it is downloading.
6. I will see how Gaikai streaming works out, with the end result of hopefully being able to stream PS1, 2, and PS3 games. But I’ve never seen a good streaming service…if Gakai fulfills their promise and actually allows me to stream what I want in PS’ history and in GOOD quality, it will blow me away…but I remain skeptical on this.
7. Games, games, games. Nobody in the industry has provided me with a wider range of games to play this gen, and now with a system built ground up developer friendly, I don’t see how this will change at all. Playstation Plus continues to give free games on the regular, including another free Mega Man game this past Tuesday, Jessica. (Maverick Hunter)
8. WITCHER 3 just got announced for PS4. *wink*
Was I overwhelmed? No. Not yet. I wasn’t underwhelmed either. I had a certain expectation from Sony and that expectation was met completely. In other words, the PS4 is a next-gen console of my expectation right now, and you know Sony will reveal more and more until November when I suspect it will be released.
I’m a *very* happy gamer!!!
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I think it would be nice if there was a way for people to prove they owned PS3 games (enter a UPC or something?) so that they could play PS3 games they own on the PS4 without having to buy them all again. Maybe they will figure something out with that?
With something like MM: Maverick Hunter X, can you only play that on the PSP/Vita, or can you play it on your actual PS3 on the big screen? If the latter, that would be really neat!
I do think there is a lot of potential with the streaming gameplay thing because that will be great for all the YouTubers out there that love doing Let’s Play things and live-streaming events with something like XSplit and Twitch.TV. So there is a lot of potential there.
I had to look it up, but Maverick Hunter X is free for PSP/Vita…I had to look this up as I didn’t know. Now that I do know that it’s on the Vita I will be downloading it now. (I’m not the big MM fan as you are but I shall give it a re-try now) — 12
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Megaman Maverick Hunter X was one of the Playstation Plus freebies this week (the other being Vanquish.)
Now Microsoft is allegedly announcing the next Xbox in April. It’s almost the same exact hardware as the PS4, the only difference being DDR3 memory and a slightly weaker Radeon GPU. That won’t stop the fanboys from endlessly debating which one is better.
Why are they using weaker hardware in the 720? Is it to try and cut costs to lower the price point to compete with the PS4, or is there another reason for that?
Presumably to cut costs, since the Kinnect 2 hardware will be built-in. There’s also the fact that the original Xbox execs who fought for the machine to be about games were all run out of Microsoft by Steven Sinofsky, the former head of the Windows division, who then assimilated the Xbox into Windows . They nay have simply decided that the weaker GPU was “good enough” for their vision of a Media Center device, though not necessarily for a hardcore games machine.
Anyway, there’s also the fact that the original Xbox 720 design called for a next-gen PowerPC based design, which was later abandoned in favor of an x86-based “Plan B”, which is what we’re getting. Some rumors say the switch was due to bad manufacturing yields on the new PowerPC chips, others blame it on Sinofsky, because the man wanted everything from Microsoft to run Windows 8.
In any case, Sinofsky was fired from Microsoft after the Windows 8 launch, when sales and customer reception of the new OS failed to meet expectations. Also, his combative, abrassive and backstabbing ways finally caught up with him. It may be too late to undo the damage done to the next Xbox strayegy, though, meaning we’re still getting a Windows 8 PC disguised as a game console.
Hey, I resemble that fanboy comment. (hehe)
No, I think you’re right that the “720″ will look exactly the same. The differences will come down to what it always has come down to…games, games, and the advertising of these games. Everything else (social media interaction, apps, motion control) are just necessary dressings to make these cakes look as good as the other.
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