By Chris Kavan - 02/21/13 at 07:20 PM CT
So Sony had been hyping their big Feb. 20th meeting for some time. Granted, most everyone knew it was going to be about their next generation system - but what would they show? The big tease is finally over and what we got was.... a controller - some game trailers - some specs and a promise that at E3 they were really going to show us the goods.
The good news is that, despite early rumors, the PS4 (as it is now officially known) will not have to be connected to the Internet to run and it will be able to play used games. Granted, they're pushing the social aspect (much like Microsoft) but people still living in the Internet stone age (often not by any choice of their own) can at least know they'll be able to play games offline. Of course my main gripe - the lack of backwards compatibility - isn't going to change - so I'm still going to be a late adopter to the next system.
Although the PS4 was nowhere to be seen, they did debut a new Dual Shock 4 controller. While it's not a huge departure from their current controller, it does have some intriguing features including a touch screen, buttons that push the social aspect (Start and Select are now Share and Options) including the ability to upload the last 20 seconds of gameplay to PSN, as well as a lightbar (replacing the Move) and an integrated headset jack. No word on whether the shoulder buttons are still crap - but at least it looks like the analog sticks are recessed and it has a better grip material to it. It has also joined just about every other major electronic device (well, except Apple) at having a micro USB cord instead of the current mini USB.
I haven't had any major issues with the Dual Shock 3 (other than those pesky shoulder buttons) but it should be interesting as things go along to see how the touch screen and light bar will utilize new games and, I'm hoping, a better online experience. Even though it is interesting, I'm glad they didn't go the full WiiU tablet mode myself.
What we didn't get were: a price, pictures of the actual unit or a solid release date (holiday 2013 is as good as it gets people). We did get some solid specs, however. This includes an x86 processor, a customized graphics processor and GDDR5 memory - it will still have Blu-Ray capability, USB 3.0, Ethernet and Bluetooth and up to 170GPBS bandwidth. I'll let the techies tell me whether this is awesome enough or not.
What is awesome are some of the trailers that they unveiled:
Infamous Second Son:
Killzone: Shadow Fall
and
Watch Dogs
While Watch Dogs is likely going to be multi-platform, InFamous and Kill Zone are exclusives, meaning at least the opening game salvo looks like it will be pretty good. However, it all depends on what they say the price of the machine and each game are going to be before I make any solid conclusions on whether this is going to be worth the opening-day purchase. Granted, I'm probably going to wait up to a year before I even think about purchasing one for myself, at this point anyway.
Did anything jump out at you at the launch - good or bad? Will Sony redeem themselves or will they suffer the same fate as the WiiU? While I think this announcement was just another tease in of itself, it looks like we're going to have to wait until E3 to get the full scoop. Still, they've one-upped Microsoft this time - I'm interested to see how they respond.
Comments
Chris Kavan - wrote on 02/24/13 at 11:58 AM CT
Sony only said they wouldn't block used games from the system but I have a feeling that they may try some trick to get more money out of you - a fee to play used games wouldn't be out of the question - therefore they can say they won't block used games - but you still have to pay to use them. Eh - we'll see what more they have to blab about in the coming months.
Nick - wrote on 02/23/13 at 01:41 PM CT
We are already seeing used games on the PS3 have limitations. The game itself will still work just fine for local play. But if you want to do online play, which many games of today have, the online code is already used up and you have purchase a new one for $10. I see this as being common place on the PS4. Maybe even as bad as having to pay a fee to get the used game to work at all, who knows.
Matt - wrote on 02/23/13 at 08:40 AM CT
AND now maybe the four silly people who bought the Vita - yes I am sure there are only four of them out there - will be able to use that as a second screen. I also heard mussings that iOS and Android devices could also be second screens... So Sony didn't need to go all WiiU by creating a monolith of a controller/tablet/whateveritis.
Jonzor - wrote on 02/22/13 at 07:20 PM CT
It actually seems like they're saying used games will be allowed... and dancing around the issue at the same time, like there will be a WAY to play them... but there's still some sort of gimmick they have up their sleeves for it.
http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/think-the-ps4-wil-be-best-friends-with-used-games-not-so-fast
Maybe it's reading too much into it... but the fact that they won't just SAY "Used games are A-Okay!" is odd.
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 02/22/13 at 05:48 PM CT
OMG, they didn't show the PS4 because it's actually going to be NOTHING but streaming!!!!1!
Naaah, Sony isn't quite that dumb. Of course, I didn't actually see ANY reason to covet this thing. Their game previews were uninspiring. The social networking feature seems like an even bigger PITA than MiiVerse. The new controller looks like both an improvement (no more mushy triggers, better d-buttons) and a WTF (motion tracking a controller you hold in 2 hands). Sony also didn't directly address the NO USED GAEMZ apocalypse, so the biggest question is still up in the air.
