Jimquisition: PS4 - Doing Nothing, Meaning Everything

[Not Lord Atkin]

The most important thing I took away form Sony's E3 conference is apart from everything Jack Tretton said.

To me, it's the simple fact that Sony knew what was happening. That they saw the opportunity to strike the fatal blow to Microsoft and used it. It shows that Sony is reading the news. It means that they know what is happening around them and act accordingly.

Sure, if you're a sceptical person you can see it as nothing more than a little scheme, a publicity stunt designed to win people over. Sony might just be telling us what we want to hear for all we know. But that's kind of the thing. Just the fact that they actually KNOW what we want to hear for a change. That they know just what the fuck they are doing. In an industry lead by a bunch of clueless men in suits who barely know what games are, let alone pay attention to the people who play them, this is kind of a big deal.

Not to mention that when given a choice, I'm always going to go with the company that knows its ass from its elbows.

 

[IKWerewolf]

what do you think about Nintendo's more snarky remark "if you're worried about used games sales, make better games"?

True through and through, if you make a game you can play over and over again and never get old then you are less likely to give the game away, if a player is kept fed in high quality DLC then they will buy high quality DLC. More importantly, if everyone is keeping their copy of a game, there is no used games market because there would be no trade-ins occurring.

Snarky remark in your opinion but true none the less.

 

[OuendanCyrus]

Everything regarding the xbox one has just been one massive puzzle box, I've never seen so many different questions, theories and answers regarding a single console before. Microsoft has spun so many webs and have been giving vague answers to questions they think their fans don't like the answer to, before quickly sidestepping and looking the other way when pressed further.

 

[Zenn3k]

Jim is really one of the best game journalists in the industry, I find I agree with his stance over 90% of the time...AND he's really entertaining to watch.

So yes, thank god for you

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I'd equate this to a Slave Master promising not to use the whips today. Have we become so used to the abuse that not being abused has become cause for celebration?

No, horrible analogy, try again. Slaves do not get to choose their masters

Well closest analogy I could think of.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

I pretty much agree with Jim on this one, but I would like to add that when the PS3 was released, it was easy to build a PC with reasonably equal specs for about the same price. But for $399 USD, it is going to be about two full years before you can build a PC to match the PS4's specs, and even then you would still likely have to run Windows.

So, Sony has done right by budget gamers so far. But remember you do not have to pre-order anything right now, you can just wait and see what the future brings before you commit.

 

[Colt47]

To be honest, Microsoft keeps having more and more bad news come out of E3 in regards to their Xbox One that it's becoming like Background noise. There's nothing left of the consumer trust to shred: they basically not only shredded it, they burned it up in a fire pit and made smoke signals with it. To find out they were even running the games on Windows 7 and Nvidia graphics cards instead of on dev kits isn't even surprising anymore, and they likely are going to bait and switch.

All someone needs to do is come out with a commercial Debian distribution that has closed source support like Adobe Creative Suite, out of the box games support, and good driver support. The entirety of Microsofts financial empire would start crumbling down around them.

 

[DrOswald]

I think you got half of it Jim. The other half is that Sony announced that they were going to attempt to sell us the product we want to buy, not the product they want us to buy.

The past 7 years have not been great for the AAA video game consumer. From the broken promises of motion controls to the constant battle against consumer rights this has been one of the most difficult periods to be a gaming enthusiast. It has been genuinely difficult to remain enthusiastic about the main industry. We have been trained to know that there is a cloud in every silver lining.

And so Microsoft one again trots out the old lies. They tell us that their new console will be amazing. They don't tell us how or why, they just tell us to "think of all the cool things you could do with all this stuff! And don't worry, we promise not to screw you over even though we are setting up the perfect mechanism to do so!" But I don't care what the Xbox One could do, I want to know what it will do. And I just can't trust that Microsoft wont screw us over as hard as they can as soon as they can because that is what they do. Their track record is not good enough to backup the trust they are asking for.

What Sony did was special because they recognized all these problems and responded to them. They know we do not trust them, so they did not put a system in place that requires our trust. They knew that what we wanted was a simple gaming platform, and that is what they promised.

Sony did not promise us the moon and they did not promise to revolutionize the gaming industry. But lets be honest here: we do not want a gaming revolution, not now. Not after so many false revolutions and attacks on our rights as consumers. What we want now is just to be able to be excited about the next big game.

Maybe someday we will again be able to be excited about the possibilities of the future, but right now what we need is to stop the downward spiral. And that is what Sony promised. And what is more, it is a promise I can believe.

 

[daxterx2005]

Anyone think Microsoft will backtrack with all this backlash?
Or is it way to late in the game to do that?

 

[geizr]

Sony wanted to actually sell consoles to consumers. Every move has been calculated to do so, though Microsoft made which moves are necessary dirt-fucking stupidly obvious.

The real thing to see is the fallout when the consoles finally go on the market. I figure some Xbox Ones will be sold, because there is always going to be a contingent for whom the issues that many here have are not issues. However, I expect the market will reveal a very clear choice for PS4 (and even Wii U) over Xbox One, and developers/publishers needing to sell games (hence make money) will be forced to PS4. I expect, in the aftermath, there will be a guillotine erected in the courtyard of Microsoft as King Balmer exacts punishment on the bumbling VPs who were placed in charge of this fiasco. Only time will tell if such expectations prove precognitive. Regardless, for the time being, my money is on the PS4, and possibly a Wii U, but never an Xbox One.

Microsoft thinks to "educate" consumers. However, I think Microsoft will discover, much to its shock and horror, that it will be the consumers who will educate Microsoft on how not to treat paying customers. Mainstream, Triple-A gaming is in serious need of an enema; Microsoft, after all this, is probably as good a place to start as any other. Only better places I could think of would be EA and Ubisoft.

 

[MichaelPalin]

Microsoft has been impatient more than anything else. Many of the analyses of what has happened miss the fact that very soon the great majority of games will be sold online. Not only that, I doubt you can have cloud features and streaming with a game unless you tie it irreversibly to your user account (and say goodbye to sharing and selling it). What Microsoft is forcing through DRM will eventually be accepted by most gamers for convenience.

In fact, if you think of it, the conditions of the Microsoft system (sharing with 10 friends) are probably going to be the most consumer friendly of them all when this happens, o_0

And PC is not an alternative to console DRM, every AAA title is either on Steam or on Origin or GFWL.

 

[MB202]

Everyone went nuts about the PS4, which I can certainly understand. Any new console is going to look fantastic when compared to the Xbox One (or as I like to call it, the Xbox LOST). Me, I was all "eh" about it. I was a lot more focused on Nintendo's part, but really, saying that the PS4 ISN'T going down the road the Xbox LOST is going down really is a good thing... Because it shows that at least SOME people (who isn't Nintendo, which nobody cares about, apparently) isn't doing someone so stupid and thoughtless and actually CONSIDERING the future of the industry.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

what do you think about Nintendo's more snarky remark "if you're worried about used games sales, make better games"?

I don't think it holds true. Not for me at least. I buy nearly all my games from the bargain bin (I play PS3 predominantly). The only games this gen that I bought full price (personally, not as gifts) are Far Cry 3 and (preordered Collector's Edition) Aliens; Colonial marines. I cancelled the latter.

One of the reasons is that it's very common for games to be re-released a few years later with all the DLC for 1/3rd the price of the original game without DLC.

For example, I got GTA 4 with all 3 campaigns for $20 Canadian. It's a difficult decision to buy new when I know that I can get fantastic bargains like that in the not-too-distant future.

EDIT

Sorry, I misread.

It is a bit dismissive of the great games that get overlooked, but I think it was aimed at the generic FPS crowd. If that's the case, I agree. If he's stating it as absolute universally-applicable fact, he's wrong as indicated with my example above.

 

[Lightknight]

Top notch, Jim.

I've gone through my standard new console generation check list and have found Microsoft wanting in every category when compared with the competition this time around. I'm surprised since the last generation Microsoft took home most of the categories. But even the exclusives seem to be calling me to Sony and so my money will follow.

 

[WildFire15]

I agree Microsoft has been stupid. Their E3 conference was actually pretty good but they'd dug themselves such a hole to start with they still can't see the day light, especially with Sony's attempts to bury them.

What Microsoft are aiming to do is take on Steam with the added bonus of a possibility of being able to trade in a few games, depending on the wimps of the Publisher who has fuck all to do with the actual development of the game. Some of the ideas are solid, but they're executed terribly and any money taken from Gamestop for a second hand sale is guaranteed to go to the executives who did nothing to actually make the game and expect all the reward.

At the moment, I'm likely to get a PS4 at some point while XbOne is sat as a 'maybe' depending on price drops and a change or two in policy (stranger things have happened, amazingly). Besides, the only game that really jumped up and grabbed me for Next Gen systems was The Crew, which I could ultimately take or leave and just get FUEL again instead. Also, Smash Bros remains at the top of my "NEED!!" list.

So what do you reckon Jim, seeing as you're quite happy to do Xbox One vs PS4: How do they stack up to Steam?

 

[wwmcfar]

Why is it that these executive types always sound like condescending pricks when ever they open their mouths ie Don Mattrick. You would think that you'd have to have social skills to rise through the ranks of a multi national corporation.

 

[Vkmies]

Awesome Podtoid reference! Always appreciate those

PUT ON YOUR MESH TANK TOPS!

 

[scorptatious]

Yeah, I can see your point. But hey, right now it's still a better alternative to the XBOX ONE. As others have said, I do hope Sony keeps their promises.

 

[zalithar]

While you can still share disc based games you cannot game share and sony will most definitely move in a more digital centered market in the near future.

You mean like the Microsoft's 10 family member thingy?

I don't know about that, if you interpret their system in the most gamer friendly manner popular then you would have a system that does far more damage to the publishers than used games ever could. Microsoft wouldn't give the publishers such a big bone only to take them behind the shed and shoot em.

Fundamentally though, I would say the system their implementing has everything to do with disc based game sharing. Unlike Steam which is more for personal use, the Xbox One will typically sit in the living room and for larger households be a family device. If little Timmy has an Xbox live account and little brother Jimmy also has his own, it would be suicide for MS to suggest the parents need to buy two 'licenses' of a game so they can both play.

That's what needs to be preserved here. If Sony doesn't have this for their digital purchases and you need that functionality, then you can just buy the retail copy.

A little anecdote for you.
My friend has playstation plus and I do not. Mostly because I just haven't gotten around to it, and it's low on my priorities. He came over to my house loaded his profile on my system and downloaded a copy of dungeon defenders to my console so we could play it. After he left I could still play dungeon defenders on my system without logging into his account, or even being logged into the system itself as him. My account can play things his account installed.

Sony kind of has a cut down version of Microsoft's family plan, except their not advertising it as a feature it's just part of the console. It's not as extensive but it works to its own degree.

 

[Arcade Hero X]

Wasn't the PS3 basically a more powerful console then the xbox360 but the 3rd party games had never shown that. This was because it would have taken them longer and cost more to make games to fully utilize the power of the PS3 so they just settled on a standard that looked great on both console but the PS3 could have looked better.

I personally believe that when microsoft was saying that it's awesome server cap of 300,000 and its cloud services will not get properly utilized by 3rd party devs because they will not want to spend the extra bit to add on the features. So the really cool stuff the Xbone could possibly do will only be seen on MS exclusive games and if the 360 is an example there wasn't many exclusives outside FPS games and Alan wake.

I'd be looking forward to see how they work it into Dead rising 3 but I don't think I'll get a Xbone its far to multiplayer based I want my game console to cater to singleplayer first then MP but maybe I'm just old fashioned.