Sony officially unveiled their Playstation 4 console to the world tonight and it certainly has a new…slant on home consoles.
Yeah, I went there.
Not only was the look of the console a bit of a surprise, but so was the announced price: $399. Yep, a full $100 cheaper than the Xbox One. We will have much more thoughts on how Sony mopped the floor with their competition later on.
Sony is pulling no punches this month. With E3 only days away they have updated their Instant Games Collection on PS Plus for the month of June and as you can see, it is damn insane.
You will be able to get Uncharted 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Saints Row The Third, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Little Big Planet Karting and Machinarium FREE for PS Plus members. The Vita will also be getting Virtue’s Last Reward and Gods Eater: Burst free to play.
So just this month you will be getting well over $200 in games to play on the PS3 just for being a PS Plus member. What more do you need to realize that this is the best deal going in gaming?
Sony will be the last press conference on Monday before the actual E3 show begins on Tuesday so they better use the opportunity to absolutely hit me (and you) over the heads with how insanely awesome the PS4 is going to be. Now I have already gone on record and said that Sony has already won me over with their February press conference when they solely put the focus on games. I expect E3 to continue this, especially since Microsoft is getting a bit of blow back from their gimmick heavy Xbox One reveal (which they did say beforehand would happen, but the internet cares not).
Like with Nintendo, we will offer up a few points that we think Sony should hit on to make sure gamers know the PS4 is a powerhouse that warrants their hard earned money this fall.
PS4 Price AND Release Date
This is in no way a guarantee to happen, but it will go a long way to helping out my wallet if I know the when and how much of the Playstation 4. Selfish? Yes, and I don’t mind. Sony could hold one or the other off for a later date, but they know all eyes will be on them on Monday so why not go ahead and throw us gamers a bone?
I still hold to my thoughts that the PS4 will beat the Xbox One to the shelves, if only by a week or so. October 25th still has a nice ring to it. It is a few weeks after a big PS3 exclusive (Beyond: Two Souls) and a week before the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts.
When it comes to the price of the system this is where the guesses are all over the place. Some analysts have recently ventured a guess and said that the PS4 could retail in the $350-$400 range. This is a pipe dream. Now don’t get me wrong, I hope to God that I can get a PS4 for under $400 come this fall, but I just do not see this happening especially with all the hardware under the hood of it. I am already mentally prepared for a $499 price point with a slight possibility of a second sku for $549. We are a different culture than 2005 when Sony floored us with “599 U.S. dollars” for the PS3. We pay $200 for new phones on a regular basis, a large section of the population have tablets that range anywhere from $250-$800, Apple overcharges for a brand name and our country proudly ponies up the cash. I don’t think Sony has to be worried of any backlash when they announce a $500+ console anymore.
Use Your Franchise Power
The real power behind Sony is in its bevy of quality studios and their franchises. Sony Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Polyphony, Sucker Punch, Guerrilla and Media Molecule are huge developers that handle Sony’s biggest properties and there is not a bad one in the bunch. Microsoft only wishes they had studio strength like that which is probably why they have announced a new initiative to get more studios under their umbrella. We already know that Killzone: Shadow Fall and Infamous: Second Son will be launch titles for the PS4 and should be playable at the show. That is a good start. For Sony to really take a hold of the gaming community they need to show off the PS4’s potential with their other big names. Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, God of War and others will all eventually make their way onto Sony’s next-gen machine and even just an announcement of one of these will certainly help matters. Please be Uncharted 4.
Let Microsoft Take The Hit On Used Games Fiasco
Ever since the Xbox One reveal, Microsoft has quickly gone from elation to damage control over the mixed signals about the online connectivity of its new console and the possibility of charging a full game fee for using games on other consoles. Now Sony has already gone on record and said that the PS4 will not be requiring an internet connection of any kind to play games, but the jury is still, mysteriously, out on a one-time use code for games that will link new games to owners consoles. I think this is inevitable and Sony and Microsoft are going to get a lot of flak, but it is most likely publisher driven. So since Microsoft is already the “bad guy” in this scenario let that keep being the story for as long as possible. Let the idea a new game code marinate in people’s brains for a few months before announcing that the PS4 will require them also. It may not be a popular decision, but at least most of the heat will have died down.
Wherefore Art Thou Vita?
Even with slow sales, the Vita keeps chugging along and has, in the year and a half since its release, built up quite the quality library. The addition of PS Plus to the handheld has added a lot of extra value giving buyers anywhere from 6-11 free games with a year of Plus. Guerrilla Games Killzone: Mercenary is looking like the true current-gen handheld FPS we have been waiting on. Beyond that it gets a little thin, but fear not, Remote Play is coming along to save the day. News is that Sony is requiring all games that will release on the PS4 that are not Move oriented to have Remote Play between the console and the Vita. Now I know that Remote Play on the PSP was sketchy as hell, but the Vita is a powerhouse for a handheld system and should have no problem running a scaled down version of games with its beautiful OLED screen. The Vita will never be a competitor to the 3DS, but Sony can still ensure that it carves out its own unique niche.
Stay The Course
It has been so far, so good for Sony and the PS4 and there is no reason why they should not leave E3 feeling as if they are in the driver’s seat for the next-gen consoles. They took a calculated risk in February when they went all in with gamers. Microsoft will keep up with their “all in one” presentation for the Xbox One so all Sony needs to do is keep hedging their bets on the gaming community wanting a system that is built from the ground up to play games. This next generation will be like no other with Sony and Microsoft splitting paths on their company strategy when it comes to consoles. To me, Sony is easily winning the word of mouth battle with gamers and come E3 all they need to do is stay focused on the games.
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is bringing two of their heavy hitters to the Playstation 4 this fall further expanding its launch library.
DC Universe Online will be ported over from the PS3 and the first-person shooter Planetside 2 will come over from the PC. Both are free to play and offer microtransactions to add to gameplay. I am happy to see Planetside making its way to a home console giving more people a chance to try it out.
I love my Xbox 360. It is my console of choice for this last generation. Now don’t get me wrong, I still play my PS3 religiously, but whenever a multi-console game has come out (which is 85% of releases) I instinctively get it for the 360. I am an admitted achievement whore and I prefer my online experiences over Xbox Live. So why am I ready to purchase a PS4 on day one and feel I can wait a few months on my Xbox One purchase?
Simple answer: the games.
Now don’t get on a high horse and say that I am jumping on a new bandwagon or anything asinine like that. There is still a long way to go before deciding what next-gen console will occupy the majority of my time. E3 is in a few weeks where both Microsoft and Sony will bring out the really big guns with game demos (hopefully) and price points. This early, early, very early impression is based solely on the two press conferences I have watched. Opinions have the wonderful ability to change.
The Xbox One is a beautiful looking machine. It is simplistic, square and black. Something that agrees with my OCD for my entertainment center. Like the PS4, it is a monster on the inside with 8GB of RAM and 8-core CPU with a Blu-Ray drive (which I am sure is killing Microsoft on the inside knowing Sony won that battle). It has the horsepower to match the PS4 which is what we expected. The other thing we expected, which I was hoping was wrong, was that Microsoft would focus on Xbox One being the central hub of your living room. This is where my initial disconnect begins.
Back in February, Sony took a calculated risk by saying the PS4 would be a gaming machine focused on the games. They bet double down that Microsoft would take the entertainment route and they were right. Now in the next six months we are going to see if that bet pays off. For a gamer like me I am more than ready to get a PS4 day one because of this reason. I understand Microsoft’s overall strategy with the Xbox One. It is the next evolution of the brand and that’s all well and good….for Microsoft. I have no problem with my cable box, I have ten sports channels to watch and a laptop and smartphone to check my fantasy teams on and while all the bells and whistles that Microsoft showed off today were certainly fun, they are not convincing me that I will be saving $500 for a midnight release.
With so many games being multi-platform now and my existing systems still going strong with their impressive libraries and ability to play Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Go, etc., my first choice in next-gen systems breaks down to exclusives and as much as I love the Xbox brand, Sony is going to win that fight. I love my Gears of War and Halo and will be playing them (eventually) on an Xbox One, but when I begin to look at the Sony franchises that I am addicted to my choice becomes clearer. Uncharted, Infamous, Little Big Planet, Ratchet and Clank, God of War and Killzone is quite the list and two of those franchises are guaranteed to me on day one on the PS4.
I know this article may be a little hypocritical seeing as how I will eventually own both systems, but early adopters are the ones who drive the spin of which console is winning. Last generation Sony priced themselves out of my range for two years while my love of Xbox grew. Now this generation Playstation is focusing on the games while Xbox One is trying to get me to voice command it to watch Mike and Molly.
Early (and big) advantage: Sony
Is Microsoft announcing tomorrow? Does Sony give a f***?
Nope!
Today Sony released a video hyping the actual, really real Playstation 4. I love how they have blurred the system to give a bit of mystery to the fact that it is a black box. Although mabye they are pulling a complete mindf*** and the image is not doctored and the PS4 actually is blurry like in the video. Now that is some powerful shit right there.
The Sony press conference will be on June 10th at 6PM PDT and we will have all the coverage you can stand.
If you never got the opportunity to play Sleeping Dogs last year, first off shame on you and second, you are now getting a second chance if you are a Playstation Plus member to get the game absolutely free. On May 7th you will be able to download the open world Hong Kong adventure to your instant games collection on Playstation Plus and experience the off the wall action for yourself.
Check out our review for Sleeping Dogs here and if you have not become a Playstation Plus member yet, there really is no excuse for all that Sony gives you for $50 a year.
Fans of the Pottermore social site that expands on the Harry Potter universe and lets users read the book in new ways and is the social hub for everything Harry Potter is now available on the Playstation Home service. All you have to do is link your Pottermore account and you are ready to go.
This is not just a direct move to Playstation. There are many new things users can entertain themselves with like new trivia, riding on the Hogwarts Express and new mini-games. Check out the trailer below and be happy that you can actually put your Playstation Home to good use instead of wondering why the hell it is just sitting there taking up hard drive space.
It seems like I do this every seven days so here we go again.
Another week, another sale on the Playstation Network. This week Ubisoft is offering over 30 games, each discounted up to 50% for PS Plus users. Regular member will get a 30% discount. There are some pretty good games on this list as well as some dogs so I will leave it up to your discerning eye to pick out which is which.
Hint: Michael Jackson: The Experience is not among the good.
Go and check out the full list of games and the other deals available to PS Plus member on the Official Playstation Blog.
Do you have an important function to go to? A nice dinner or maybe a wedding of a person that you don’t really consider a friend, but know well enough to put on a suit? Are you actually a very lonely gamer and sometimes you dress up while you play Dead or Alive and pretend that you are on a date with one of the chicks in the game?
Well Bazinga Jewelry is looking to cater to you. They are offering these video game controller inspired cufflinks for the man about town…and games. Each set will run you back $19.99 and they have choices that include the NES, SNES, Genesis, Xbox 360 and Playstation.
At the very least you could buy a set for that one magical day when you have to wear a nice suit and people will notice your mad cufflinks. So go buy them and call your grannie to see how she is feeling.
And now we play the waiting game.
