So, Sony unveiled the PS4 last nigh–wait….no. They didn’t. We never saw the physical system. We got specs, but besides having 8GB of RAM, nothing was actually said during that portion that has any on-the-ground applicability to gamers.
The first true next gen titles were at least announ–ah, wait. All the actual games shown were graphical updates/sequels of current titles. Or, alternately, games/demos we’ve seen already.
But at least there’s some new, innovative tech going o–shit, no. The social stuff is equal parts things Microsoft does already, or tried with the 360 close to a year and half ago, then scrapped with the last Fall Update due to lack of use, and things that sound like neat ideas on paper (the “backseat driver” option in particular) but will never get used on a regular basis. And the new Dual Shock looks great, but despite introducing a touchscreen, a motion control sensor, and a camera, Sony chose to focus solely on the Share button.
No price. No system. No release date. But 10 minutes were devoted to how it connects to Facebook.
…so, what exactly DID we all watch last night?
Essentially, Sony’s big conference added up to a big corporate “FIRST!” post. The tone was set early on when we were told twice during the show there would be major things happening for the Vita, specifically in terms of connecting to the PS4 in some meaningful way, and immediately followed up with “We’ll talk about those later this year.” The two developers who are DEFINITELY already thinking up ways to make the new tech sing, Quantic Dream, and Media Molecule, came armed with (admittedly, fascinating) tech demos and little else. The one surprise of the night was Blizzard bringing Diablo 3 to consoles, a game that will have been out a year and a half by the time the PS4 launches, and everyone who truly wanted it, has it.
Most egregious is how the conference left us with important, scary questions, the kind that keeps gamers from buying systems, like, say, not addressing the used games controversy head on, or stating PS1, PS2, PS3 games are streamable, but also telling us the system itself won’t be backward compatible, while also not giving any indication if previously downloaded games will carry over. On top of that, the emphasis on having games downloaded to the reportedly “massive” hard drive paints an ominous picture of Sony going for broke on a console that has digital distribution as a primary delivery method, an idea that so isn’t ready for primetime.
Contrary to Sony’s PR speak tonight, all this so called innovation is stuff in the way of the gamer and his or her game, obstacles that are now on the gamer to fix for the privilege of experiencing the new Playstation to its fullest and additionally continuing to experience the Playstation 3 on the same level, since game production is showing no signs of grinding to a halt anytime soon for it. Ironically, most of the named titles coming for the system, including Watch Dogs, which once again ended up being the showstopper, are still getting a PS3/360 release.
So, long story short (too late), the PS4 is happening. Holiday 2013. And as opposed to 1995, nobody is E. Not even Sony, it looks like.
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5 comments
Thank you for the most clear and straightforward breakdown of this “event” that I’ve found yet.
The lack of comment by Sony on several of the key concerns (used games, backwards compatibility, streaming-only, etc…) seems telling to me. In the sense of “all the answers are not the ones we want to hear so they’re not going to say them and sour the “launch.””
I wish the article was slightly more accurate and researched. While almost all games showed where either sequels or known quantities (disappointing), not ALL as it says in the article were. The first game shown was a new IP.
Sony did actually release full tech specs, minus hardrive size which can easily be found on multiple websites. http://gamingbolt.com/sony-releases-complete-ps4-specifications for example.
Sony has also confirmed it will play used games, http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/21/sony-ps4-can-play-used-games/ which a two second google search would confirm. They also stated in the conference it will not “natively support” ps3 games. They will support streaming of PS3, PS2 and PS1 games. Wish I could just use my already owned games, but not a deal breaker as I already own a system I can play those discs on.
No they didn’t show the box, which is odd, but how is it important yet, the box just sits there.
No hard release date, but they said for the holiday shopping season, so probably November.
As far a no new innovative features? The share system seems interesting, though useless to me, in that the system caches recording of the last few minutes to post online if you choose to, or stream live if you like. The resume play feature seams most interesting to me, where you can turn off the system while playing and it goes into a sleep mode allowing you to start right back where you were when turning the system on.
As far as keeping gamers interested they had video of over several big developers about how sony came to them and asked what they wanted in a new console. I think this shows a high interest on sony’s part to really bring in the third party support and give devs a system they really want to work with the bring better games to us.
My main problem with the article is not that he found it disappointing, it is that it is missing facts, research and as such is misleading. Ask most game journalists who watched it and, disappointing or no, Sony actual gave a lot of information for a first reveal.
“all this so called innovation is stuff in the way of the gamer and his or her game, obstacles that are now on the gamer to fix”
Nice! You just summarized the next gen consoles!
I find the non-backwards compatibility to be the most irritating. Seriously guys, I’m not buying the games again. If my PS3 dies, I will buy another PS3, as it will probably drop below $200 once PS4 is release and the amount of money to rebuy my games would be way more than that. That’s why I still have my PS2. Not giving these fuckers another dollar. If my PS2 stops working, well, goodbye to those games…forever. There should at least be an option to put your disc in, show that you own it and be able to download it, but that doesn’t equal $$$, so that will never happen. What could happen is that I just don’t buy any more PS related products, cause, well, fuck you then….I don’t care about social shit either.
My thoughts exactly.
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