An alternative title: Another PS4 Announcement Post
Anyway, our co-editor already covered his thoughts and feelings on the PS4 event, but we’d like to take the time to piece together on the full details of what the announcement did cover.
PS4 Announcement Details
A brief look at things covered in the announcement:
- DualShock 4
- Release window
- Social integration
- Blizzard’s entry
- Backwards compatibility
- Remote play
- Games
- Online store
DualShock 4: First and foremost, there were pictures available of the controller prototype that look very similar to what we’ve been seeing. On that note, it’s safe to say we’re going to have a DualShock 4 that comes with touch input, a media share button and a sensory bar that changes colors as it determines movement and location.
Release window: As expected, Sony did mention that the PS4 would release in Holiday 2013. My bet still rests with November, but it can also either be October or December. Vague, but it’s more accurate than the people who kept claiming that 2016 would be the date based on some quote about the support shelf life of the PS3. Sillies.
Social integration: “Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we?” Everybody’s getting into Facebook integration, and unless I missed something, it seems like it’s compulsory to get an account in order to get anything done, and that’s something I’m really against. This is especially true seeing as how I’m trying to remove my accounts from Facebook integration at the moment, so the last thing I personally want is to have something new come out touting its Facebook interactivity with it.
Blizzard’s entry: We all knew Diablo III was coming, but it’s not doing it for me either. I understand the benefit for those who preferred previous games on the consoles, but if I personally want to get back into playing Diablo, I’m just gonna reinstall it on my computer and hop on my Inferno character.
Backwards Compatibility: As our co-editor mentioned, this is a luxury for a console, but I don’t really know if I necessarily agree with that. I mean, most companies wouldn’t dream of releasing a console in this day and age without backwards compatibility, and Nintendo especially has this one down pat. The hardware necessary to work disc-based backwards compatibility for the PS3 might be somewhat expensive, but I’d like to see something where we could somehow verify our disc purchases and be able to get those games to stream for free.
Remote Play: It’s working for Nintendo, so Sony hopped on board with remote play between the PS4 and the Vita. In particular, Chief Executive David Perry over at Gaikai stated he hopes that every game will one day be playable on the Vita. Here’s hoping.
Games: I’m looking forward to the games, for the most part, but I don’t feel like they have the innovation that I would have preferred for launching a next generation console. They’re definitely more aesthetically pleasing, and they’re likely to have some new technology in it, but it just feels like the same old thing with a fresh coat of paint on it.
Online Store: Downloadable games can play right from the start, though there was no mention on the PlayStation Plus system or whether the PSN would continue to be free.
Specs: These do look good; we’re talking an X86 CPU, 8 GB RAM, GDDR 5 system memory, etc.
Things Not Covered at the PS4 Announcement
Where’s the console? I almost feel like they haven’t even made the thing and just made an event based on the things they’d like to see happen for the console. Did Peter Molyneux create this event?
The price wasn’t covered either, but this was to be expected. We suspect it’s something they’ll cover for E3.
So that’s the thick of it, as thin as it actually was. What do you think of Sony’s anticipated announcement?
