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[PaulLFC]

Not sure why some journalists seem to think revealing everything yesterday would have been a good idea. Let their closest competitor know everything, giving them time to seek out exclusive deals or DLC (on top of what they may already have planned) to counter Sony's efforts, and at the same time leave Sony with nothing to show at E3? It's ridiculous that it was even expected of them.

They could have spent two hours talking about stats and then said "oh, by the way... *PS4 logo appears, Holiday 2013*" - but they didn't. They spent more time than I expected going into specs, showed the controller, and showed a decent range of games while leaving themselves plenty more for the run up to launch. The price probably isn't final yet, and I wouldn't be surprised if the design isn't final either. What more could they have done?

I'd have liked confirmation that online play will be free and that the launch will be simultaneous worldwide, but apart from that, the conference was fine.

Wired:
Talk is the cheapest thing there is. And that's basically what Sony did today: It espoused a philosophy, said the names of a lot of popular games, but didn't give us any real, concrete information in an age where it's more important than ever.

Yes they did:

- Name
- Tech specs (and spec sheets on website)
- Controller
- List of developers
- Teaser of some games in development

New York Times:
New features cannot hide the fact that PlayStation 4 is still a console, a way of playing games on compact discs that was cool when cellphones were not smart.

The less said about this idiotic statement, the better.

 

[Zoe]

Right now, people much prefer twitch for game streaming over ustream. Like dailymotion compared to youyube.

Any particular reason?

 

[Vane_MagicCity]

I don't understand how showing the console matters. To me I thought they did a great job telling what was in it and what to expect. For me how the console looks isn't a big deal. Showing the controller is important because it is how you interact with the games but for the most part you don't mess with the console unless changing disks.

What if the console is an ugly top loader?

 

[qko]

When you invite the whole world to watch putting ads during the Champions League and getting a hashtag trend worldwide on Twitter, expect the whole world's expectations be very high.

It's true what they are saying about Apple, when they announce something you get price, specs, set release date (not just "Holiday 2013), and see how it looks. Sony did only one of those, and to be fair, Nintendo only did one of those as well (saw what it was). So can Microsoft say they are the only ones to learn from Apple this generation? We'll have to wai and see

 

[wages]

hahaha what they showed blew live out of the water come on son.

They showed things that XBL isn't currently doing but they talked a lot about feature parity. For example the background downloading.

 

[powermastergamer]

Haters gonna hate. This thing is a five star studded Beast from the East ready to tear into the MS marketshare.

 

[btkadams]

They showed things that XBL isn't currently doing but they talked a lot about feature parity. For example the background downloading.

xbox lets you play a game soon after starting the download, with it downloading the rest in the background? or are you just talking about the idea of a game downloading in the background? ps3 already does that too...

 

[Uno Venova]

Any particular reason?

Not sure, maybe because it's strictly dedicated to gaming.

 

[wages]

xbox lets you play a game soon after starting the download, with it downloading the rest in the background? or are you just talking about the idea of a game downloading in the background? ps3 already does that too...

The latter, I should have specified. But that's my point we're talking about stuff that's already being done. At least for me I wasn't too thrilled about what they were saying because it sounded kind of samey.

 

[jcm]

The latter, I should have specified. But that's my point we're talking about stuff that's already being done. At least for me I wasn't too thrilled about what they were saying because it sounded kind of samey.

Sounds to me like the problem is you didn't understand what they were saying. You think they were describing background downloading?

 

[george_us]

Personally I thought Sony hit it out of the park last night, and now today, I'm wondering if I've woken up in some bizzaro universe.

Sony showed actual PS4 games in development from first and third parties. Added plenty of neat social functions to the system, cool Vita interaction, announced some specs, etc, and it's still not enough?
Some media outlets were bothered that they didn't see a stupid little PS4 box? Really?! They expected a price announced? Are they that dumb to expect Sony to announce the price this early, and allow Microsoft to adjust the price of Durango to come in cheaper?!

I'm just shocked. Might as well just turn the keys of the hobby over to Apple, because that's what the media seems to want. Kill off the outdated console dinosaur and bring on tablet/smartphone gaming. I could just vomit.

My feelings as well. Maybe this generation and the financial hit everyone took this generation tempered my expectations a bit but I came away pretty damn impressed. All the games Sony showed were far beyond any PS3 games shown and the social features for games sounded pretty cool.

It honestly sounds like people wanted Sony to blow smoke up their asses ala E3 2005.

 

[Future]

My feelings as well. Maybe this generation and the financial hit everyone took this generation tempered my expectations a bit but I came away pretty damn impressed. All the games Sony showed were far beyond any PS3 games shown and the social features for games sounded pretty cool.

It honestly sounds like people wanted Sony to blow smoke up their asses ala E3 2005.

They wanted a new reason to own a playstation. Better graphics was a given. New features weren't demonstrated or sold. No killer app game. No killer app function.

To the core community that was gonna buy a next gen console no matter what, I think it was fine. Core community can geek out on the specs and the higher fidelity.

The Xbox reveal will be interesting, since I think they've already mentioned they want it to be an entertainment hub in your living room. Indicating new reasons you might want this thing beyond the simple fact new games will be released on it

 

[Izick]

You have to save some stuff for E3, and you might as well get it right the first time.

 

[wages]

Sounds to me like the problem is you didn't understand what they were saying. You think they were describing background downloading?

I understood clearly what they were saying. I just wasn't impressed. Nothing made me say "I want a ps4." I used bg downloading as an example because they brought it up.

 

[Zoe]

The latter, I should have specified. But that's my point we're talking about stuff that's already being done. At least for me I wasn't too thrilled about what they were saying because it sounded kind of samey.

Background downloading isn't guaranteed on the PS3. It can be disabled by the game.

 

[.GqueB.]

Personally I thought Sony hit it out of the park last night, and now today, I'm wondering if I've woken up in some bizzaro universe.

Sony showed actual PS4 games in development from first and third parties. Added plenty of neat social functions to the system, cool Vita interaction, announced some specs, etc, and it's still not enough?
Some media outlets were bothered that they didn't see a stupid little PS4 box? Really?! They expected a price announced? Are they that dumb to expect Sony to announce the price this early, and allow Microsoft to adjust the price of Durango to come in cheaper?!

I'm just shocked. Might as well just turn the keys of the hobby over to Apple, because that's what the media seems to want. Kill off the outdated console dinosaur and bring on tablet/smartphone gaming. I could just vomit.

The only thing that worried me was how these super graphics will effect development cost/times and what the industry will have to do to offset them (if anything). And the absence of Jack was just irritating.

 

[FunnyBunny]

I want to play devil's advocate to those who suggest Sony wanted to save features for E3.

Why talk about gaming-centric features during a mainstream press event and save non-gaming features for the gaming event? It's backwards.

 

[Knoxcore]

I think Sony did themselves no favors by not showing the console and not unveiling a price. More importantly, there is no singular feature/innovation to persuade XBox owners or mobile gamers to buy a PS4. A more powerful console is not compelling enough to move units especially with Microsoft marketing campaign destined to make a lot of noise this coming holiday.

 

[fart town usa]

Media who expected a price announcement...

Remember the Saturn and then Sony undercutting them about an hour later?

This isn't the first time a console has been announced. Some people are truly incorrigible, if not outright dumb. It cements my view of the gaming/electronic press as largely being elitist bloggers who are more concerned about their sense of entitlement rather than what is actually presented.

 

[LukeTim]

I know plenty of people have talked about the NYT quote already, but I just cannot get over it.

Not only do I not really understand what he is trying to say*, but also why the NYT would have someone who clearly doesn't like videogames report on this sort of story...

I am just speechless at the sheer stupidity.

* Is he saying people shouldn't waste their time with consoles because they can play games on their phones now? Or is he ridiculing physical media? Completely baffling.

 

[jcm]

I understood clearly what they were saying. I just wasn't impressed. Nothing made me say "I want a ps4." I used bg downloading as an example because they brought it up.

They said you can begin playing the game while it is still downloading. That's not background downloading like the 360 and PS3 have.

 

[wages]

They said you can begin playing the game while it is still downloading. That's not background downloading like the 360 and PS3 have.

I'm not talking about that. I got that part. Perhaps I miss heard what he was saying which if that is the case my apologies. At any rate it wasn't compelling for me so I'll wait to see what Microsoft has to say.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

My feelings as well. Maybe this generation and the financial hit everyone took this generation tempered my expectations a bit but I came away pretty damn impressed. All the games Sony showed were far beyond any PS3 games shown and the social features for games sounded pretty cool.

It honestly sounds like people wanted Sony to blow smoke up their asses ala E3 2005.

Sums it up well. It's way too early to announce a price. They also gave more details and showed more footage of games than I ever expected. I figured the games shown would just be very short teasers but we got full-length trailers for most of em along with details on features.

 

[Alebrije]

LOL !! At the New York Times.

Its funny when media that does know about the industry talks as if they were experts.

aNYWAY, I bet PS4 will outsell PS3

 

[george_us]

They wanted a new reason to own a playstation. Better graphics was a given. New features weren't demonstrated or sold. No killer app game. No killer app function.

To the core community that was gonna buy a next gen console no matter what, I think it was fine. Core community can geek out on the specs and the higher fidelity.

The Xbox reveal will be interesting, since I think they've already mentioned they want it to be an entertainment hub in your living room. Indicating new reasons you might want this thing beyond the simple fact new games will be released on it

Maybe you're right. Like I said though, the PS3/360 generation beat me down a bit so the Sony Conference was great for me. I got everything I was expecting from it. I expect Sony to blow the lid off at E3.

These press reactions show me one thing though: Sony had the right idea with their previous conferences i.e. bullshit as much as you can get away with.

 

[Shaanyboi]

Not that I cared much for the PS4 event, but I don't think it was nearly as bad as these outlets are criticizing it for being. It's February, they weren't going to give a price or release date. It's called having realistic expectations...

 

[dragonbane]

Man these fucking articles really depressed me. I liked the conference and was in a pretty good mood this morning. Now I'm worried again. Come on Sony just succeed please. I don't want a smart phone for gaming...

 

[jcm]

They wanted a new reason to own a playstation. Better graphics was a given. New features weren't demonstrated or sold. No killer app game. No killer app function.

They demonstrated a bunch of new features. The sharing stuff, the cloud stuff, the suspend/resume stuff, the instant download stuff is all new.

To the core community that was gonna buy a next gen console no matter what, I think it was fine. Core community can geek out on the specs and the higher fidelity.

The core community is exactly who Sony is trying to sell to right now. They aren't going to be able to sell their $500 box to my mom the wii-owner. It's a complete non-starter, so why would they waste time trying to?

 

[gcubed]

They wanted a new reason to own a playstation. Better graphics was a given. New features weren't demonstrated or sold. No killer app game. No killer app function.

To the core community that was gonna buy a next gen console no matter what, I think it was fine. Core community can geek out on the specs and the higher fidelity.

The Xbox reveal will be interesting, since I think they've already mentioned they want it to be an entertainment hub in your living room. Indicating new reasons you might want this thing beyond the simple fact new games will be released on it

did you miss the first hour?

 

[mbmonk]

All I gotta say is..

If XBOX make a deal with Twitch and incorporates streaming right off the console...

Then MS will win the console war hands down. Every wanna-be FPS and 2D fighter Pro will be playing on the new Xbox.

/mho

The top 7 games on Twitch.tv are all PC exclusives. And the majority of the top 10 are PC exclusives as well. PC gamers go to twitch it seems. Console gamers mostly go to Youtube to my knowledge. Twitch is better than Ustream, but Twitch is dedicated to games. Ustream could make a similar portal and make it much more friendly to gamers.

 

[prwxv3]

They wanted a new reason to own a playstation. Better graphics was a given. New features weren't demonstrated or sold. No killer app game. No killer app function.

To the core community that was gonna buy a next gen console no matter what, I think it was fine. Core community can geek out on the specs and the higher fidelity.

The Xbox reveal will be interesting, since I think they've already mentioned they want it to be an entertainment hub in your living room. Indicating new reasons you might want this thing beyond the simple fact new games will be released on it

what conference did you watch

 

[Jmanunknown]

I think Sony did themselves no favors by not showing the console and not unveiling a price. More importantly, there is no singular feature/innovation to persuade XBox owners or mobile gamers to buy a PS4. A more powerful console is not compelling enough to move units especially with Microsoft marketing campaign destined to make a lot of noise this coming holiday.

Why would Sony price the console so early in the year for microsoft just to undercut them later? I understand the frustration about the console not being shown. Some people need something tangible to hold on to not just specs. I also wonder how f2p games will be on the system it be could huge for the system. This is the most developer friendly system Sony has ever created.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Silly interweb journalists. I haven't watched the thing but it made me excited for Sony (from the coverage I did see on youtube and pictures). I'll be rooting for them. With E3 to come, you have to wonder about the bias of these reports. We'll see the console by E3, know the price by summer/early fall, see more games by E3.

The console had some neat innovations: I'm more impressed by the 'sleep' mode. A small innovation but one that is directly aimed at the gamer experience. Not sure about the streaming option but directly aimed at gamers who couldn't realistically expect backwards compatibility. They are trying a solution for people to play 3 generations worth of backward compatible games. Sucks about the whole account thing but not able to play the games. But Sony did a lot in my eyes to correct the wrongs. Now, 8GB of ram may torpedo the whole thing; I already think a $399 console will be tough to sell but I don't even know why they would ever flirt with another $500 console.

 

[Servbot24]

I can't comprehend why all these publications are so fascinated by what the black box will look like.

I'll help them out, it will look like a black box.

And expecting a price and date is ridiculous, even IGN knew that.

 

[Tyrone_Biggums]

the shape of the wii had absolutely 0 to do with why it sold 100 million devices, so lets not just jump around to try to make your argument effective

You're confusing console visibility with what it actually looks like. Two completely different things. Console visibility is the idea, the perception of the product, not its physical appearance. That's been explained rather well in all my posts. Reading comprehension is important.

 

[Tyrone_Biggums]

So I have a question for you. When they show this at E3 (and they will) will you personally look back and say "too bad they didn't show this in February...". Will you? Will the media say that, or will they just post pictures of it and write an article about it because it's their job? I just feel this is a non-issue. Something to argue and cry about until the next thing to argue and cry about comes up. It really doesn't matter. It didn't hurt them. Once they show the console, people will forget they failed to show it in February because consumers are fickle as hell.

Did the fact that the PS3 looked like a George Foreman grill ultimately matter?

How long did it take for that iphone antenna issue to stop mattering?

Do people still even bitch about the map issue?

MS released a shitty console that was guaranteed to break within a couple years? Do people even talk about that any more?

When they show this thing in June and people cry about how it looks like a toaster, will people still give a shit that they didn't show it in February?


Shit like this just doesn't matter in this world. It's just a "thing" in a series of "things" that will simply cease to matter in a couple of months and people like those quoted in the OP are just encouraging all this BS talk about it and making people like you talk around it pretending it will actually matter in the grand scheme of things. It's ridiculous.

I can't predict the future. But perception in the moment is everything in the entertainment business. Do you feel like Sony has received extreme positive vibes from the media? Ya know, the ones that actually push the information to consumers? I would say they haven't done that, which is exactly what the conference was meant to do.

 

[mbmonk]

I can't predict the future. But perception in the moment is everything in the entertainment business. Do you feel like Sony has received extreme positive vibes from the media? Ya know, the ones that actually push the information to consumers? I would say they haven't done that, which is exactly what the conference was meant to do.

So if perception of the moment means everything, does that mean that it only matters what the PS4 is perceived at the moment of launch and not at this moment?

 

[.GqueB.]

I can't predict the future. But perception in the moment is everything in the entertainment business. Do you feel like Sony has received extreme positive vibes from the media? Ya know, the ones that actually push the information to consumers? I would say they haven't done that, which is exactly what the conference was meant to do.

That's exactly my point. In this industry, it's all about moments. Some moments are more important than others and some are just dust in the wind. MS's big moment was the time everyone realized they released shitty hardware. THAT moment was important because as a consumer, you were left wondering what happens when you get that redring. There was uncertainty and there seemed to be no solution in sight... then they fixed it and no one even talks about that anymore.

This shit. It's dust. It's less than dust because we know for a fact it's going to be rectified. It's a guarantee. It's a non-issue, it doesn't matter. But we're treating it as if it's going to affect their business in the long run when it clearly isn't. Once they show it, that will be the news and this fart will fade away into obscurity. Same as it always does. I can't believe people are even talking about it. We learned SO much about this console last night. Specs, great new features, new ways to interact, new controller, new attitude, new partnerships, new games. What's more, we know this is only the tip of the iceberg. They showed so much and people are getting caught up in the fucking box. Give me a damn break.

 

[Roland Deschain]

http://gameological.com/2013/02/more-more-morehow-do-you-like-it/

Somewhat negative but makes some interesting points.

 

[Tyrone_Biggums]

So if perception of the moment means everything, does that mean that it only matters what the PS4 is perceived at the moment of launch and not at this moment?

If a company isn't going to make splashes with the media during a reveal, then why have one at all? The purpose is to generate excitement and enthusiasm, not negative feedback. They ultimately failed to generate the level of buzz they were hoping to achieve. Was that really the objective they set out for with this show?

Everything about this console feels like what the PS3 should've been. A more streamlined, efficient online network. Ability to connect with 3rd party devices. A dedicated, friendly development structure. Now there's some really awesome potential with Gaikai and the share button, but outside of those things, it's just another high powered console. That would've been great in 2005-2006, but the entire industry is evolving.

Maybe Sony busts out with a multitude of features and social structure at E3 that people will absolutely want. As of today, they didn't reveal any must-have features on the product. That's why the media isn't so positive in its reception. Sony needs to differentiate from competitors, and not just through AAA games. It's the entire ecosystem of a living room entertainment hub that draws more consumers in.

Sony has to hit that mass market appeal if we as gamers want them to continue to invest in games and tech and the gaming culture in general.

 

[Patapwn]

New York Times:
New features cannot hide the fact that PlayStation 4 is still a console, a way of playing games on compact discs that was cool when cellphones were not smart.

You go play your angry birds, brosef. I'll go play my consoles

 

[PistolGrip]

-10 Respect for NYT. The ignorance is strong. Its almost like if a Tech Person from a major publication reviewed an awesome new Home Theater System presentation and talked about the age of Beats Headphones and that the HT system brought nothing new to the table in today's mobile world.

 

[J-Rzez]

The NYT comments are expected from an ignorant and uppity media source that's becoming irrelevant faster than what their jab implies for the PS4. But CNET's take is bewildering.

To me it seems that many of these people didn't pay attention during this conference, once again looking down on "gaming" or anything non-apple related, probably tweeting non-sense during the event.

 

[Byakuya769]

NYT is going to fuck Apple up the next time they show off their changes to IOS months in advance of any new hardware, prices or release dates. Right?

I think CNET was fair. Wrong, but a fair depiction of a showing submerged in statements like "our goal" and "our eventual vision" and games that didn't blow you away or explain how they are sufficiently different.

 

[Patapwn]

If a company isn't going to make splashes with the media during a reveal, then why have one at all? The purpose is to generate excitement and enthusiasm, not negative feedback. They ultimately failed to generate the level of buzz they were hoping to achieve. Was that really the objective they set out for with this show?

Everything about this console feels like what the PS3 should've been. A more streamlined, efficient online network. Ability to connect with 3rd party devices. A dedicated, friendly development structure. Now there's some really awesome potential with Gaikai and the share button, but outside of those things, it's just another high powered console. That would've been great in 2005-2006, but the entire industry is evolving.

Maybe Sony busts out with a multitude of features and social structure at E3 that people will absolutely want. As of today, they didn't reveal any must-have features on the product. That's why the media isn't so positive in its reception. Sony needs to differentiate from competitors, and not just through AAA games. It's the entire ecosystem of a living room entertainment hub that draws more consumers in.

Sony has to hit that mass market appeal if we as gamers want them to continue to invest in games and tech and the gaming culture in general.

This console with the traditional gaming press has been great. That's just going by IGN, GT, Giant bomb, and adam sessler, but I'm assuming others follow. The new york times are just fanboying it up, really. Their gaming section is irrelevant anyways

As for your console concern, what did you expect? I mean what's even reasonable conceptually for the 'ps4'? It's exactly as it should be with innovative features to boot, any different and the console trajectory would extremely alienate the millions upon millions of console gamers. That would have been a huge mistake and in no way would I have traded that for the middling acceptance of the new york times.

 

[jcm]

Everything about this console feels like what the PS3 should've been. A more streamlined, efficient online network. Ability to connect with 3rd party devices. A dedicated, friendly development structure. Now there's some really awesome potential with Gaikai and the share button, but outside of those things, it's just another high powered console. That would've been great in 2005-2006, but the entire industry is evolving.

Sony showed some awesome new features and social stuff.

Maybe Sony busts out with a multitude of features and social structure at E3 that people will absolutely want. As of today, they didn't reveal any must-have features on the product. That's why the media isn't so positive in its reception. Sony needs to differentiate from competitors, and not just through AAA games. It's the entire ecosystem of a living room entertainment hub that draws more consumers in.

Sony didn't show any new features and social stuff, and they should have.

Did you lose your train of thought between these two paragraphs?

Sony has to hit that mass market appeal if we as gamers want them to continue to invest in games and tech and the gaming culture in general.

Fuck that noise. If the only way to save gaming is to release a cheap machine targeting casuals then there's nothing left worth saving. I'm glad Sony isn't listening to you.

 

[Dan]

Media who expected a price announcement...

Remember the Saturn and then Sony undercutting them about an hour later?

This isn't the first time a console has been announced. Some people are truly incorrigible, if not outright dumb. It cements my view of the gaming/electronic press as largely being elitist bloggers who are more concerned about their sense of entitlement rather than what is actually presented.

Basically. The people who expected a firm release date and price are just kidding themselves. Like they're going to announce that at least 7 months in advance? Give the competition tons of time to react?

And who really gives a shit about seeing the console itself? We got the spec sheets, I'd say that's the truly important part.

I feel like these people want an Apple presser, but Apple's in a position to launch updated hardware in a couple weeks' time. That's not what Sony's doing.

 

[DecoyOctopus]

I'm surprised the writer even had the attention span to write this sentence up. What are you doing man you could have finished 8 ios games by now!

LOL!

 

[quest]

Basically. The people who expected a firm release date and price are just kidding themselves. Like they're going to announce that at least 7 months in advance? Give the competition tons of time to react?

And who really gives a shit about seeing the console itself? We got the spec sheets, I'd say that's the truly important part.

I feel like these people want an Apple presser, but Apple's in a position to launch updated hardware in a couple weeks' time. That's not what Sony's doing.

Why did the press expect an apple presser? Oh yeah because sony hyped the crap out of it with 1200+ people in attendance.

 

[Byakuya769]

Basically. The people who expected a firm release date and price are just kidding themselves. Like they're going to announce that at least 7 months in advance? Give the competition tons of time to react?

And who really gives a shit about seeing the console itself? We got the spec sheets, I'd say that's the truly important part.

I feel like these people want an Apple presser, but Apple's in a position to launch updated hardware in a couple weeks' time. That's not what Sony's doing.

More egregious, is that Apple does a software presser every single year that is devoid of solid hardware details! That's fine, but Sony needs to pull a MS surface or get attacked for it.