PS4 Originally $499, Included Camera Peripheral

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
5,449
0
0
PS4 Originally $499, Included Camera Peripheral



Sony had planned to package the PlayStation 4 Eye with the PS4, but pulled it to compete with the Xbox One's price.

Where once Sony's E3 press conferences <a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZ67R5tRfU>earned boos from the audience, its showing at E3 2013 won the crowd over with an <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124815-PS4-Will-Not-Block-Used-Games-or-Require-an-Online-Connection>anti-DRM and pro-consumer message that elicited a rare moment of vocal enthusiasm. The knock-out punch, however, was arguably the announcement that the PS4 would be priced a full one hundred dollars cheaper than Microsoft's Xbox One. It's now been revealed, however, that the PlayStation 4's lower price may have come at a cost.

According to sources, Sony had originally planned on launching the PS4 at $499, the same price as the Xbox One. The extra one hundred dollars would have paid for the inclusion of the PlayStation 4 Eye, which Sony had planned to package with the PS4 a la the Xbox One with the Kinect. Hoping to beat Microsoft's console price-wise however, Sony opted to remove the Eye, which will apparently be sold separately for $59.

Some have been arguing that Microsoft needs to take a similar step and reliant on the PlayStation 4 Eye, including things like controller identification and player tracking. Without the Eye the PS4's controller will lose that functionality, at least until a player decides to pony up the dough and complete the PS4 package.

Source: <a href=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/26/sony-sacrificed-the-playstation-4-camera-to-beat-microsoft-on-price>IGN


Permalink
 

Dreiko_v1legacy

New member
Aug 28, 2008
4,696
0
0
They realize the majority of the people don't give a damn about the eye or player recognition or any of that stuff and just wanna play good old games in the good old way we have always done it. Smart.


If people want it they can buy it but it shouldn't be forced down our throat.
 

SonOfVoorhees

New member
Aug 3, 2011
3,509
0
0
So Sony chickened out? Did Sony not think their eye thing was any good? Regardless, atleast MS stood up for the kinect as a viable addition, though i hate the kinect. An not acted like a cowardly chicken.
 
Apr 28, 2008
14,634
0
0
Good. I'll gladly give up a Kinect-like device or whatever the hell it is and some rather pointless-sounding features for a $100 cheaper package.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
24,759
0
0
SonOfVoorhees said:
So Sony chickened out? Did Sony not think their eye thing was any good? Regardless, atleast MS stood up for the kinect as a viable addition, though i hate the kinect. An not acted like a cowardly chicken.
Sony smartened up. Understanding what the market will tolerate is important in business.
 

BrotherRool

New member
Oct 31, 2008
3,834
0
0
SonOfVoorhees said:
So Sony chickened out? Did Sony not think their eye thing was any good? Regardless, atleast MS stood up for the kinect as a viable addition, though i hate the kinect. An not acted like a cowardly chicken.
Some people call it cowardly, some people calll it not forcing you to pay $100 for a peripheral you don't want =D Potatao patato
 

mjc0961

YOU'RE a pie chart.
Nov 30, 2009
3,847
0
0
Even if true, ultimately this saved me $40 on the so called original $500 price. No complaints here.
 

bandit0802

New member
Dec 24, 2008
125
0
0
Let's do some math here:

399 + 59 = 458, not 499.

I call it a win/win. I might buy one if the system needs it so badly, and it'll still come out cheaper.
 

luvd1

New member
Jan 25, 2010
736
0
0
Good. A camera should always be my choice to have, not forced. Motion capture is not and never will be a vital part of all games so why force feed people with one? Good move Sony, good move.
 

Simalacrum

Resident Juggler
Apr 17, 2008
5,204
0
0
Couldn't they have kept the PS Eye in and sold it for $449?? Still cheaper than the Xbox One.

Oh well, I'm not about to use motion controls anyway. I've never really understood how you could get a good gaming experience out of it. :p
 

Zombie_Moogle

New member
Dec 25, 2008
666
0
0
Once again, it appears that Sony did the unthinkable & listened to their fans; in particular, the ones shouting about how much the Kinect sucks & the PS Eye was barely supported
 

Roxas1359

Burn, Burn it All!
Aug 8, 2009
33,758
1
0
I still call this a win in Sony's book because now they've made it a non-essential peripheral that is not really expensive to buy at all. Plus their decision to drop it seems to be paying off for them what with their preorder sales breaking records. Sony really played their cards right with this console so far.
 

vrbtny

Elite Member
Sep 16, 2009
1,959
0
41
I would be more interested in if they did this after or before the Xbone got slammed for the mandatory Kinect.

If before, I am impressed, as it shows Sony knew what they were doing.

If after, I am not impressed, as it shows Sony were as bad as microsoft, and just back-pedalled to please fans and were scared of their reaction to Xbone.
 

SonOfVoorhees

New member
Aug 3, 2011
3,509
0
0
Zachary Amaranth said:
SonOfVoorhees said:
So Sony chickened out? Did Sony not think their eye thing was any good? Regardless, atleast MS stood up for the kinect as a viable addition, though i hate the kinect. An not acted like a cowardly chicken.
Sony smartened up. Understanding what the market will tolerate is important in business.
I disagree. Sony have zero faith in the eyetoy. Regardless if its crap like kinect is. Its not about those things. Its that Sony went against their original idea. They were not smart or anything and its nothing to do with being tolerant or anything. Its about Sony having zero faith in their own equipment and backed up just because fans moaned.

I hate kinect and have no interest in it at all. But atleast they stood by it. An maybe something will come out of it and make kinect worth while. Sony just backed out because they were scared of the fans when they should be saying "Ok it has eyetoy but this is why the eyetoy will make gaming on ps4 amazing" but nope.

The thing is, with it added as standard. It means better companies with more imagination can make these additions work.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
24,759
0
0
SonOfVoorhees said:
I disagree.
You're free to. I just have a feeling this is based less on actual reason and more on personal investment, as you go on to talk about.

Faith is irrelevant when a market won't support your concept. They had proof that such a thing was a toxic asset. That's not cowardice.