I will say I’m rather excited to see the finished product although I am as yet uncertain as to whether I’m going to buy one. They are trying to bring people back into community areas, even more so with this new console but right now I barely use the Ps3 as it is as I have a laptop that performs my gaming functions perfectly well. I do use it occasionally to stream media to the tv as it does that rather well but apart from the rare play session that is the extent of it.
The social Features have me rather intrigued though. I’m an anti social person mostly and don’t really use steam as a networking device, and I deleted my Facebook quite a while ago but this has a lot of new features that could bring me back to it. The ease of watching video play from one of your friends or media personalities, even live is amazing.. trolling them when they fail would be the icing on the cake. Even though they are pushing the social boundaries the PS4 will not need an always online connection. HALLELUJAH. This means that while I’m guessing there will be DRM it won’t be the evil kind. They know their market well, the Playstation is not just a secondary machine, it is a replacement for it for those that don’t have, don’t want, or don’t need an internet connection, cutting of these markets would be a huge set back.
To make these social features work flawless it looks like they have greatly improved the networking capabilities, it now has the ability for simultaneous downloads, uploads and play which really frees up the machine quite a bit so you can use it when you want to. I’m guessing by the way they were talking you can also set the machine to download when it’s off and not being used. The other specs are a little weird though.. my laptop right now actually has better specifications than it, it is of course the mobile versions so not as powerful as pc but still you would think based on the market right now they would want to boost these specs up a little.. at least to match a mid range gaming PC.
Maybe the price will be a lot lower than we expect.. maybe. The good thing though is unlike a PC or Laptop it won’t have as many processes running and sucking up memory on unneeded tasks which means the hardware will be used nearly entirely for its gaming potential. Still, PC, it’s a bit weird but not entirely unexpected, the next generation of consoles that has already been announced like the Steam Box and co are using this method as well. It is cheaper, better for porting games, and gives the user a lot more flexibility to customise based on their needs.
I like the controller, it is an iteration of the old with more comfort and a greater sense of useability yet without removing the key features that work. The design seems more ergonomic and now that there seems to be more focus on the menu system the touchpad addition will add far more precision to controlling it and hopefully less frustration then using the analogue sticks. And it now charges while the box is on standbye.
Also the PS Vita will have increased functionality with the PS4 allowing remote play and streaming of many games straight to the device. This functionality seems uncertain as of now but if it does happen I think it will be a marvelous addition as you are not being confined to a single area of the house which is why I like the laptop. it will be good for Sony if they can pull it off as well as making the Vita more enticing will no doubt let them sell more units for an increased profit
No backwards compatibility is a bit of a low blow, we have had this feature for many of the previous consoles and often one of the big positives for upgrading is that you can bring your old and sometimes extensive collections with you. What do I do with all my old discs now, and when my old ps3 dies and can no longer be replaced. I am very much not a fan of this forced obsolescence. They say these games will be available later and I have doubts that they will honour previous purchases, the good thing though with this new cloud based service they are intending to have is that hopefully in the future our purchases will no longer be bound to a single device, like steam we can continue to take our games with us.
And the games.. I can’t exactly say I’m that impressed as of yet. Actiony things and shooter corridors, a focus on graphics over gameplay for the most part, and a game that is trying to emulate Ratchet and Clank but without the humour and charm. Watch Dogs could be an amazing ride, it seems to be channeling that open-ended nature of the assassin creed series only with less stabby stabby but it will only be a reasonable competitor if it allows the player to be more free in their actions. Hopefully it will be closer to choice embodied in Dues Ex with its many different paths to completion.
Thankfully I think there will be a greater selection of games this time, with the PS4 basically being a PC we will see a lot more ports to the system from certain bigger companies, more importantly though we will see many indie games being portred to the system since it will be far easier to do such a thing.
And what would a press conference be without a little controversy, and drum roll pls.. it’s sexism by a land slide. I can’t say I agree with the claim that Sony is a sexist organisation based on the lack of female attendees, I didn’t see any token booth babes and it is just a reflection of the industry that there weren’t any woman whom hold higher positions in these companies. But even though Sony itself is not sexist bringing up circumstance does show a certain amount of sexism in the industry, not consciously of course but it is the sexist nature of the industry, about developer relations, the way females get treated in these positions by there so called colleagues, and about how the regular male gamers act towards others. I have no doubt that all this is contributing to the lack of female developers, managers and such and how unenticing it is towards females even thinking about a career in gaming. Based on the comments around the web I’m guessing most males don’t see this at all but regardless it’s there, so no, having no woman doesn’t mean Sony is sexist but it does mean the industry is.
Anyways who knows if I will by it yet, there is no price to base this on as of yet. Sounds good though but it really depends on the next gen games and in particular those that are console exclusive.
Healing the masses 