The PlayRoom Comes Pre-Installed On PlayStation 4 Consoles

[Earnest Cavalli]

The PlayRoom Comes Pre-Installed On PlayStation 4 Consoles


Sony has announced that each PlayStation 4 will include a free game (though "game" is a very generous way to describe The PlayRoom.)

Back in the olden days (read: the late 1980s), it was expected that if a company were to release a new videogame console, that it would include a free game. People were already shelling out $300-plus for a gaming machine, so console manufacturers were in the habit of doing the general public a solid by not necessarily forcing them to drop cash above and beyond that price point on games. This trend changed over time and it's now seen as utterly abnormal for a console manufacturer to include a gratis game with their machine.

Despite this, Sony is including a "game" with each PlayStation 4. That video you see embedded at top-right is the official promotional footage for The PlayRoom, a piece of software - let's just call it a "tech demo" - that utilizes the console's camera and augmented reality capabilities to ... offer momentary distractions? Demonstrate what other developers might one day do with the system? Provide a simple enough gimmick that will be glanced at once, then never mentioned again?

Watching that clip, I get what Sony is going for. "This is the future of entertainment," it seems to shout from every inch of that meticulously appointed faux apartment. It's a nice idea, but Sony's modus operandi has always been that of a company that introduces new ideas, and then sits frustrated as they fizzle out due to lack of interest. You want examples? Betamax, MiniDisc, the PlayStation Eye - even the PSP and Vita could arguably fall into this category.

We want the future of gaming to be filled with all kinds of crazy virtual reality-esque ideas, but we don't have much faith that The PlayRoom is a proper harbinger for all of that. The tech is very cool, but we just can't see the general public embracing the concept. Then again, maybe that's overt cynicism. Hypothetically you readers represent the average consumer, so what say you? Does anything in that clip make you giddy with joy for the future? Comments below. Be brutal.

Source: PlayStation.blog [http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2013/06/12/introducing-the-playroom-only-for-playstation-4/]

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[erbkaiser]

So how is this supposed to work if the PS Eye 2 (or whatever the new one is called) is no longer bundled?
Typical Sony-weird.

And a better example of Fail would be PS Home. Is there anyone who used that more than once? It was once touted as The Next Big Thing, but is even deader than Second Life now.

 

[mad825]

Well, it had to happen one day: Craplets/bloatware/Shovelware on consoles. As if they didn't get the message from the laptops they sell.

 

[Angelous Wang]

So how is this supposed to work if the PS Eye 2 (or whatever the new one is called) is no longer bundled?
Typical Sony-weird.

This their way of encouraging you to buy said camera.

They give you a free camera game, so if you want to play said camera game you have to buy the camera.

It's a far less evil way of trying to force you to buy something you probably don't want vs MS's forced integration. But then again if you don't want it you probably don't give a shit about playing the camera game anyway free or not.

You do have to remember at some point they are a company selling a product, so they do have to have some scheme or other to attempt to make you give them your money.

 

[Keith K]

And a better example of Fail would be PS Home. Is there anyone who used that more than once? It was once touted as The Next Big Thing, but is even deader than Second Life now.

For reasons I cannot hope to explain, you are completely wrong. There remains an active community within PlayStation Home.

But you're still wrong. It's never wise to make inaccurate assertions as fact. So maybe avoid doing that.

 

[CriticalMiss]

That looks...why would you...at least it's free I guess.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

So its Sony's version of Wii Sports except more tech demo-y. Its nice to get familiar with a console by playing around with gimmicks like that but it doesn't seem like an app that'll be used more than once unlike Wii Sports which people frequently played. Too bad, it would have been cool if Sony included something that looked more fun like an arcade-type thing with a few different genres of games to demonstrate the graphics, controller, etc

 

[fix-the-spade]

They're missing a trick, the PS4 should have Planetside 2 installed. Bigass F2P shooter mostly installed requiring a fairly small (usually 50-100mb) download to get it up and running, did I mention it's on your console you just bought and it's free?

Whilst it might upset the publishers of Coddlefield 4 the potential is so huge (and it's F2P anyway so it's not exactly lost sales) I can't believe Sony aren't doing it.

 

[omega 616]

I guess it could keep the kiddie winks entertained but I am not very imaginative or creative when it comes to that kind of stuff, like I can't imagine how that could get anybody on this site excited for that tech to be implemented into a serious game.

Then again, I am never getting a camera to constantly stare at me.

EDIT: There is a lot of crap installed on my PS3, sing star and psp/via storage for example ... it's like "hey, we get some people will never use these but some might so everybody gets them".

I remember turning my phat PS3 on and it had to download and install an update that only install singstar (that I could find anyway). Never shown any interest in singstar or any music game (rock band and such)ever but I get forced to have it. It's like buying a PC and it comes with like 10 things installed and you can't delete them, you just have them now.

Seems like more of that to me.

 

[luvd1]

Watched 37 second. That was enough.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Oh hey, something nobody wants nor has asked for!

Well at lest they aren't bumping the price up $100 for it.

 

[el_kabong]

I'm not exactly sure what was going on there. It said game play footage. So, I'm playing a game in my living room wherein I watch myself on the TV playing a game in my living room?



On one hand, I don't think I'll pay it the least bit of attention. On the other hand, it's not like I'm being charged for it. It's sort of like getting Hearts on a Windows PC. I'll never play it, but don't mind that it's there.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

It's cute I guess, and it is SOMETHING that you can play with right out of the box. I doubt it will be wii sports popular, but it something people can mess with, and it appears to be another check on the "PS4 is a better value than the Xbone."

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Well that looks awful and makes me not want to engage. Seriously. I am repulsed.

 

[Actual]

The touchpad and six-axis controls looked really awkward and unresponsive.

This is a nice thing, I guess, that Sony are doing. But, I don't think I'm its target audience. This will be one for the spouses and kids of the gamer in the family.

I'm trying to remember the last console I had that came with a free game, I think the Master System came with Alex Kidd.

 

[Frost27]

Way better tech demo software than anything kinect ever got by far. Still wont get the camera though.

 

[Saltyk]

Didn't even need to watch it to know that I am not interested. I hate all things motion control.

But a free thing I don't care about is better than $100 for a thing I don't care about at best and actively hate at worst.

Just waiting for SonofVorhes (probably misspelling his name) to drop in and tell us all why the PS4 is the devil.

 

[DjinnFor]

The amount of hate spewing from both the author of this post and the comments has me wondering just what the heck is going on.