Thursday, February 21, 2013

Random Shots: Surprised By The PS4 Announcement

  • I can't imagine I was the only person glued to the PlayStation 4 announcement yesterday. Even though I was at work, I followed every reveal when I could catch up. It has been so long that I almost forgot how exciting the start of a new console generation can be. And the reveal of the PS4 was very exciting.

  • When the meeting was first announced, I assumed Sony would do something boring, like show off the hardware and a few target renders and tech demos. Sure, some of that was in there, but they lead with the services and social aspects. The PS3 got beat on services by the Xbox 360 this generation. The fact that Sony is coming out swinging in that area is impressive.

  • Streaming and sharing videos directly through the console is a great move. I'm not sure how often I would use it, but I would love to play something, then embed a video here on the blog. They also finally gave a reason to own a PS Vita. If you can use it for off-screen play like the Wii U, I would have to buy the handheld without question.

  • For all that, the magical part of the announcement was the behind-the-scenes services. Streaming demos, if it works, would remove a huge barrier to trying out new games. Background downloads would do away with the biggest headaches of the PS3. But the real voodoo is with the predicative downloads. If the PS4 can actually anticipate what games I am likely to purchase and pre-download them, I would be some kind of miracle. I would love to see how that works.

  • Sony didn't skimp on the hardware announcements entirely. We didn't get a box, but that's the least interesting part of any announcement. We did get quite a bit of the hardware specifications, though. It is, in their words, a supercharged PC. I know a lot of people have lamented that they have a better PC, so why would they need a less powerful console. Those people obviously forget the consoles benefit from having a single target platform. They also forget that not everyone has a powerful PC that they are comfortable upgrading. I've never owned a machine any better than what I would call mid-range and I don't upgrade them very often. So a powerful, less expensive console is a wonderful upgrade to me.

  • I've never bought a PlayStation as my primary console. I picked up the PS1 and PS2 used, late in their life cycle, to play a couple of interesting games. For the first time, I am seriously considering going with the PlayStation. Microsoft will have to present a new Xbox that is as good or better to keep me as a customer.

© 2013 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.

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