Why are So Many People Buying the PlayStation 4?
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 08/24/14 at 01:22 PM CT
I have already stated my position on the PlayStation 4, and have no idea why anyone would want to buy a $400 brick that plays full-priced ports of existing games, with little of interest coming in the near future. Apparently I’m in good company, however, as Sony’s own Shuhei Yoshida expressed a similar sentiment, when he couldn’t come up with any logical reason for the PS4 to have sold over 10 million units in less than a year.
Sure, Sony’s happy about making money and will delightedly take credit for creating an amazing new game console… but is that really what happened? If Sony doesn’t know what they did to make the PS4 so incredibly popular, can they avoid screwing it up? Can they keep the nascent 8th Generation console popular? Can they make lightning strike twice and follow up with a 9th Generation console in a few years that retains this unprecedented level of popularity? Can they avoid turning the PS4 into another PS3 or PS Vita (two of Sony’s biggest …
Generation 8: Every Port in a Storm.
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 08/17/14 at 01:59 PM CT
Back in 2010, Nick lamented on MeltedJoystick’s older sister site, FilmCrave, over the dearth of new and interesting movie concepts leaving Hollywood studios. It’s no secret that game developers and publishers are trying to make videogames more cinematic, and indeed largely succeeded in doing so over the course of the 7th Generation.
Now that generation is over, and the 8th Generation has begun. Unfortunately, it appears that the games industry will be adopting Hollywood’s obsession with remakes as the new generation’s dominant feature. The 8th Generation has been going for nearly 2 years now (though the PlayStation 4 and XBONE have only been around for half that time), and the frequency of ports and remakes is an overwhelming presence in almost every console’s library (OUYA is largely exempt, for what little it’s worth).
PS4 owners are working themselves into a lather praising the apparently Higher-Definition cinematic gameplay of “The Last of Us Remastered.” …
Could the Nvidia Shield Tablet be the Droid We’re Looking for?
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 08/10/14 at 05:40 PM CT
I have been a believer in Android since the OS was first in its infancy, competing against iOS in the smartphone revolution. Of course, my support has always been more theoretical than practical – I didn’t want to see Android succeed so much as I couldn’t stand the sight of an Apple product dominating a market uncontested.
In practice, my true operating system loyalty lies with whichever company provides the best product. Thus, despite my hatred of Microsoft as a game console manufacturer, I put all of my financial support behind that company’s operating systems. Unless MS does something really, really dumb, it will be impossible for Linux/SteamOS, OSX, iOS, or Android to replace Windows as the heart and soul of my computing experience. If I were ever to buy a smartphone (that is, if the cell providers ever provided decent reception at my home and offered reasonably-priced monthly packages), at this point in time it would most likely be a Windows Phone.
On the other …
Backlog: The Embiggening - August, 2014
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 08/03/14 at 01:15 PM CT
Welcome to another look into the near future. August brings us into the final days of the long, dry Summer. And while there might not be a singular hype-magnet releasing this month – the biggest mainstream draw is the Dudebro-approved annual release of a shovelware sports franchise – there are certainly a lot more games coming this month than came in pitiful July.
The shovelware as a whole is fairly light – I’m surprised! Only the 3DS is being saddled with a tie-in game for Michael Bay’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie, while the ‘grown-up’ consoles are getting MOAR “Madden NFL.”
While out-and-out shovelware is mercifully light in August, there are plenty of ports and compilations clogging the pipeline and preventing new stuff from flowing. “Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare” will finally be gracing Sony consoles, “Hyperdimension Neptunia” will move from stinking up the PS3 to stinking up the Vita as well… and so will “Disgaea 4.” Then …
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