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PlayStation 4: Web reaction to Sony's 'invisible' console

mocoworm

Member
PlayStation 4: Web reaction to Sony's 'invisible' console

Mainly negative from what I can tell. More at the following link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21528542

The Verge:
Sony's decision to not announce the price or a firm shipping date for the PlayStation 4 will no doubt give the company room to manoeuvre should it need to respond to any gaming announcements from Microsoft.

Gizmodo:
Sony has revamped its user interface for the new video games console
As the hours of demos and introductions dragged on, it became increasingly obvious that we weren't actually going to see the PlayStation 4. Sony either isn't ready for primetime, or Sony thinks the best way to get us interested is to play hard to get.

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.

Computer and Video Games:
Sony is not only responding to a world disrupted by Apple, that will only continue to fragment, but is trying to see past it; to carve its own niche. It's no small step that PS4 is being developed out of the west, and not Japan - yet even more surprising to learn that work began on it five years ago.

*****:
Most exciting is the share button. The PS4, we're told, will sneakily and transparently monitor and buffer our last 15 minutes of gameplay. This will be a boon to all those who think there is not enough inane video drivel on YouTube.

Techcrunch:
A new Killzone game was among the exclusive software titles unveiled at the event
What was missing from Sony was a discussion of anything that could've made it a more broadly appealing device. It (and we, as potential customers) needed way more than a falling back on graphics, eye candy and tech demos, which may have served the gaming industry well in the past, but which have done nothing to stem the rising tide of mobile platforms like iOS and Android.

Stuff:
The PS4 looks to be a confident riposte to the Nintendo Wii U, with an array of social gaming features that look set to - potentially - enthral and irritate in equal measure. Microsoft, the ball's in your court.

Cnet:
The PS4 looks like it's long on promises and big-picture dreaming, but currently short on clear, concrete reasons why anyone would be tempted to buy one.

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.
 

sakipon

Member
PlayStation 4: Web reaction to Sony's 'invisible' console

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.

What? Are there no downloadable versions for PS4? Seems like an unnecessary comment.
 
Oh man you didn't get News.com.au's piece on how Sony "forced" gamers to watch this event and not get price or release date.
 
Cnet:
The PS4 looks like it's long on promises and big-picture dreaming, but currently short on clear, concrete reasons why anyone would be tempted to buy one.

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.

Ouch. I wonder if this reflects investor sentiment as well.
 

Porcile

Member
Have to say my opinion lines up fairly well with these. I'm not sure an upgraded PS3 is going to be enough to expand the industry in a meaningful way.
 

kadotsu

Banned
Looks like the mainstream articles were written before the conference started even if I agree with the general iOS juggernaut concern. I do think the "no concrete information" part is not justified. A tech sheet is far more concrete than a black plastic box with 2-3 USB ports.
 

MisterHero

Super Member
The only bad thing is that it sounds expensive.

I don't think this is a repeat of E3 2005. Talk about a massive concentration of hot air, man.
 

Lyng

Member
First comment smacks the ball into the top right corner!

Also the comment from the New York Times is cringeworthy. Sony said they were going for the core gamer, not the cellphone game bandwaggon hysteria.
 

Mung

Member
Whatever journalists say (who know less about gaming than us) .. sony are making the right moves so far.
 
I didn't really miss to see a black plastic box.
Plus in my eyes they nailed to explain the general philosophy of the PS4.

And it's clear that you would get too much specifics 9 months before a possible release. There is so many events in the mean time that it was a wise decision not to go all out yet.
 
Any body thinking Sony was going to tell us the price was dreaming .
I wanted to see the console but i can understand why they did not show it.
PS4 in months away and Sony still have to see what MS doing it to early for them to show all there cards .
 
There are far too many unknowns to make any truly informed prediction about how this generation will play out, but it does seem like Sony is doubling down on core gaming and graphics as a differentiator, whereas, based on leaks, MS' goals are broader. In theory, at least, I have to say that MS' "entertainment" approach makes more commercial sense.
 

Rad-

Member
Wow those are negative. It is from a non-gamer perspective though. But if you're not a gamer then why should you even care?

Well from a gamer perspective, the games shown were a tad disappointing imo. Only the Capcom game looked like something that I would buy.
 
So these guys ignored the cloud gaming/gaikai stuff, and the unprecedented integration of social features into the games? If Sony had come out and told them that the PS4 was a smartphone, without giving any other details, these guys probably would have been happier...
 

Amir0x

Banned
Go play with Ruzzle and leave us alone then.

Seriously that statement could be said about any of the consoles.

And my goddamn smart phones don't have a share button and 8GB DDR5, assholes! Fuck off with them simp games with comically inferior touch screen controls on your iPhone.
 

graywolf323

Gold Member
Wired doesn't believe all those specs are real concrete information?

man they are smoking something special over there
 

nib95

Banned
So these guys ignored the cloud gaming/gaikai stuff, and the unprecedented integration of social features into the games? If Sony had come out and told them that the PS4 was a smartphone, without giving any other details, these guys probably would have been happier...

This. That and they fail to realise E3 and Gamescon are still to come, and that announcing specs and hardware specifics is actually far more noteworthy than the physical design in the way of a black plastic box.

I feel the actual gaming related sites get it a bit more, the non game related one's seem to have completely missed the boat, especially The New York Times.
 

Red UFO

Member
All this stuff is most definitely still in flux, and will be for a long time. Getting angry that you didn't get to see the sleek looking black box is super weird.
 
New York Times said:
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.

I was in a management offsite on Tuesday and envious of the guy next to me playing some kind of city management game on his Android during a boring session. But that didn't make me want to download it when I got home.

New York Times have no idea who the audience for these devices are. Shouldn't they be writing this sort of nonsense about the 3DS or the Vita? Or is explaining how one is still selling in the smartphone era while another isn't too hard to explain?
 

Glass Rebel

Member
If the NYTimes thoughts are shared by the big public and investors we as a collective gaming community might as well wrap it up.
 

Jackano

Member
Wow @ NYT. Apple fan wrote this I guess? #ShotsFired

I'm actually surprised, the meeting has made some noise in the regular web press. But the mass market people/mass media are actually surprised to not see the console itself. It can be a problem if the full blow out at E3 don't make a new buzz.
 
I do not understand how some people seem to think mobile gaming is somehow replacing home gaming. Has the market actually shrunk? I think it is just rather unimaginative thinking on their part (NYT in this case). Its funny but I personally flip the other way...I might have played games on my iphone 20 years ago when those portable single game devices were about...but now the games are mostly rather basic and I have better things to do with my time.
 

Huggers

Member
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.

I don't get this at all. So because I like to play Plants vs Zombies on the train I don't want to play on a PS4 when at home?
 

Trick_GSF

Banned
While the PS4 sounds impressive and I did enjoy the show, the lack of hardware left me feeling somewhat unfulfilled at the end. Not to sound greedy.

Also, the games looked great but software wise, not really what I'm interested in. A little disappointed at the end of the night, but optimistic going ahead.
 

nib95

Banned
Wow @ NYT. Apple fan wrote this I guess? #ShotsFired

I'm actually surprised, the meeting has made some noise in the regular web press. But the mass market people/mass media are actually surprised to not see the console itself. It can be a problem if the full blow out at E3 don't make a new buzz.

More games (a few new reveals), the actual console itself, the price and release date. There's your buzz. They gave far more than I thought they would, but they've left enough to keep hype and predictions going. E3 will be special.
 

Morokh

Member
And I was thinking this board was going crazy these last few weeks ....


... but those quotes ... WOW ... even worse xD
 
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