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Sony's Boring PS4 Is Winning The Console War Despite More Exciting Competition
It's a common knock against the PS4 that it's "just a more powerful PS3." Erik Kain posits that that's exactly why it's winning.
It's a common knock against the PS4 that it's "just a more powerful PS3." Erik Kain posits that that's exactly why it's winning.
Microsoft's Xbox One (originally) launched with the exciting and innovative Kinect sensor, all for just $499. (Now Microsoft offers a much less interesting Xbox One without the Kinect for $399, the same price as Sonys rather boring PS4.)
The Kinect allows users to navigate the Xbox One UI with voice commands that you may or may not remember. This is a super useful feature for parents whose children refuse to stop watching Netflix or wont turn off a video game when asked repeatedly. A simple Xbox Off from across the room takes care of that problem.
Meanwhile, Nintendo launched its own exciting, innovative product knownunfortunatelyas the Wii U (instead of the much better-named Super Wii.) Consumers to this day believe the fancy touchscreen gamepad that forms the cornerstone of the Wii U is simply an add-on peripheral for the better known and more successful Wiilast-gens best-selling home console.
The Wii U gamepad allows for all sorts of interesting gameplay innovations, including second-screen gaming, asymmetric gameplay, and watching Netflix on the smaller screen so dad can watch football. Its also extremely useful for kids, many of whom no longer have the capacity to use buttons properly thanks to the rapid rise of touchscreens in modern society.
Which brings us to Sonys rather dull, rather plain, rather unexceptional PS4 which comes with no touchscreen gamepadyoud need a PS Vita for thatand no Kinectthough you could buy the PS Move and do a lot of what the Kinect can doand has really only one thing going for it:
Horse power.
And a reasonable price-tag.
As much as I admire both Microsoft and Nintendo for their willingness to think outside the box (as it were) Sonys move was the most intuitive. The core gaming community that Sony is catering to with the PS4 doesnt care much about motion controls, and they play games on their phones already and dont need a touchscreen gamepad for their couch-gaming.
Sometimes boring is the most business-savvy road to travel. Sometimes its a word that shouldnt carry such negative connotation. If games are the most important thing to gamers, making things like the Kinect or the Wii U gamepad mandatory is a big mistake.
The PS4′s continued trouncing of both these systems is proof enough of that.