Sony PS4
- Thread starter snowhiker
- Start date
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
That's predicated on the idea that there's a game for Playstation that's worth playing and/or borrowing. My PS3 exists entirely as a reminder that I need to dust around my media center more often.
I'm surrounded by desert so I know dust.
Anyways. My OP was designed to start a conversation regarding the merits/drawbacks of the PS4 and XB-one systems, not the actual games. I found it interesting that the PS4 does not require an Internet connection of any kind for single player games. No "system-level" DRM in the PS4. Of course individual publishers can do whatever they want, DRM-wise, but they have to develop their own system and not Sony's. While the XB requires an active Internet connection once every 24-hours.
Sony does require a subscription to their PSN service for multi-player and MS has their XB-live & Kinect services.
PS4 $100 cheaper.
Etc, Etc. I'm not a console gamer, and will not buy either, but find it interesting that the Sony will be "less-DRM-locked-down" while the XB will be a "DRM-shit-fest."
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
Disclaimer: Highly doubt we'll buy either, heck we're still playing our original N64 and PS One.
A few things that strike me with the XBOne
A few things that strike me with the XBOne
- Kinect is always on and watching, which means power draw for an essentially ideal device. Also what are the privacy implications since it's actively listening to and processing all audio. Could it be possible for malware to turn this into a spying device (and let's us not discount the government doing this).
- Always on Internet connection. Why? This strikes me as being anti-consumer in nature. It seems Microsoft is treating all their customers as dirty stinking pirates, or is this a case of publishers putting pressure on Microsoft for the DRM... Not everyone in the world has unlimited data plans - I don't know about elsewhere, but it's not uncommon to see the cheaper Internet plans only have 25GB or 50GB per month. (And it's counting both down and up). Some people are now relying on their mobile data plans for Internet... (here it's common for plans to start at 500MB/1GB and go to 8GB (or maybe 10GB) on a top tier plan).
- More expensive than the PS4? I think the price difference is in the Kinect component... since you need Kinect. A non-issue if you ask me.
- DRM, why is DRM needed on a console - seriously the pirates are going to pirate... And with Microsoft pushing for the online delivery, this will cut down on the sharing of games. A lot of parents rely on the trade-in model to get discounts on new games for their kids. If they get rid of the second hand market and trade-ins games will have to be at most 30% of their current prices for the system to be viable, eg from their $70-99 price down to $20-30. (Stores like EB Games will trade 2 games for a new one with about a $10 difference). Parents simple can't afford to pay $90 for a new game, but are willing to trade old games for a discount dropping the price to a more reasonable $10 (if trading a few games) to $50 (if trading a single game).
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Consoles need DRM to kill used games. Yes, some people will mod their machines to play pirated games. I suspect that's a vanishingly small minority of console owners, especially for the only console with a strong online gaming component, but that's what they'll point to, not the impact on used game sales.
But the thing is, DRM already won on the PC. Steam. Games for Windows and whatever EA's system is called are all entirely accepted by the wider PC gaming community as part of the experience. It's dressed up in digital distribution, but it's really all about ceding control to an outside party. There's no reason for Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo not to build the exact same thing for their respective platforms. Sony can safely put it off knowing Microsoft is going to take the PR hit at first. Microsoft can take the PR hit because Halo 5 will still sell 200 million units and drive dump trucks of cash up to EA to get an exclusive launch window on Call of Duty or whatever if that's not enough to get wide adoption. Once the console gamers have accepted the indignity, Sony can roll their scheme out and no one will even complain. It's not like gamers will really have a choice at that point, is it?
But the thing is, DRM already won on the PC. Steam. Games for Windows and whatever EA's system is called are all entirely accepted by the wider PC gaming community as part of the experience. It's dressed up in digital distribution, but it's really all about ceding control to an outside party. There's no reason for Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo not to build the exact same thing for their respective platforms. Sony can safely put it off knowing Microsoft is going to take the PR hit at first. Microsoft can take the PR hit because Halo 5 will still sell 200 million units and drive dump trucks of cash up to EA to get an exclusive launch window on Call of Duty or whatever if that's not enough to get wide adoption. Once the console gamers have accepted the indignity, Sony can roll their scheme out and no one will even complain. It's not like gamers will really have a choice at that point, is it?
Chewy and Merc make excellent points.
MS is definitely taking a PR hit. I think MS was thinking Sony was going to go down the same road as MS so they weren't concerned with any backlash. The MS execs must be thinking, we screwed that up.
Merc, do you think Sony will start requiring an Internet connection for single player games sometime in the future? The backlash from that would be as great if not greater than MS' initial announcement?
Isn't the used game market "huge" in Japan? I doubt Sony would screw with that too much.
Interesting. Thanks for the comments.
MS is definitely taking a PR hit. I think MS was thinking Sony was going to go down the same road as MS so they weren't concerned with any backlash. The MS execs must be thinking, we screwed that up.
Merc, do you think Sony will start requiring an Internet connection for single player games sometime in the future? The backlash from that would be as great if not greater than MS' initial announcement?
Isn't the used game market "huge" in Japan? I doubt Sony would screw with that too much.
Interesting. Thanks for the comments.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I think that it could be out of Sony's hands. EA - the same people who thought that SimCity was a good idea, and Ubisoft, who keep trying Assassin's Creed - will keep telling Sony how much money they're "losing" on not having those features in PS4 titles and it will either get rolled out platform-wide or they'll get tacit approval to implement title or publisher specific versions.
I'll also take this a step further and say that Sony is a company that historically doesn't really understand the internet AND a company with an internal pressure toward retarded copy protection measures. Gamers are cheering Sony right now for not doing what Microsoft did but I don't think there's a chance in hell that it isn't coming.
I'll also take this a step further and say that Sony is a company that historically doesn't really understand the internet AND a company with an internal pressure toward retarded copy protection measures. Gamers are cheering Sony right now for not doing what Microsoft did but I don't think there's a chance in hell that it isn't coming.
I hope you are wrong but I know you are probably right. Unfortunately.
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
Not this will affect too many here, but there is a lot of talk about Indie developers for the xbone requiring an external publisher to get their games on XBLA with xbone... But Indie's can self-publish on PS4 and WiiU...
Seems like MS think they are losing grip on the market, and like all good dictators will come down with an even more firm grip on the platform (DRM as mentioned, Indie's needing a publisher, tighter controls on used games), which history tells us only ends in revolt and revolution...
Source: http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/05/22/indie-devs-cant-self-publish-on-xbox-one
Seems like MS think they are losing grip on the market, and like all good dictators will come down with an even more firm grip on the platform (DRM as mentioned, Indie's needing a publisher, tighter controls on used games), which history tells us only ends in revolt and revolution...
Source: http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/05/22/indie-devs-cant-self-publish-on-xbox-one
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Robot Entertainment actually abandoned their game Orcs Must Die because they wanted to maintain parity between the Xbox and PC releases and Microsoft wanted $10k every time they patched or made a content update to the game through Xbox Live. I suspect Microsoft wasn't getting a whole hell of a lot of traction with Indie Devs in the first place.
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
I've heard that as well... The $10K fee was more of an incentive to ensure their games were well developed and didn't need constant patching, but $10K to publish is excessive... Even iOS and Android developers don't get stung that hard...
Mind you, on the PS3 front, you did need to go out and purchase the PS3 dev kit (which is several K per unit). But at least that's more of a one off cost, and not every time you needed to patch...
Mind you, on the PS3 front, you did need to go out and purchase the PS3 dev kit (which is several K per unit). But at least that's more of a one off cost, and not every time you needed to patch...
DrunkenBastard
Storage is cool
You should try/rent The Last of Us. Magnificent.
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
This is making news everywhere, but MS has done a 180" on most of DRM and used game issues...
http://games.slashdot.org/story/13/06/19/219244/microsoft-kills-xbox-one-phone-home-drm
So I wonder who in MS got a chair thrown at them?
http://games.slashdot.org/story/13/06/19/219244/microsoft-kills-xbox-one-phone-home-drm
So I wonder who in MS got a chair thrown at them?
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
It was only fast because even grandma knew the DRM on xbone wasn't worth it.
I think MS saw the "pre-order" numbers after E3 and decided to do some damage control now before it was too late.
Again, not that I will buy either, but I still think the Sony is the better deal. Unless you plan on getting the Xbone exclusive games.
PS4 Advantages.
- $100 cheaper.
- Faster hardware:
- GPU: 7870 v 7790.
- Memory: GDDR5 vs DDR3 (176GB/s v 68GB/sec).
- NO always on Kinect.
- "Indy" game companies don't need a big publisher.
It will be interesting to see how things turn out for both Sony and MS.
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
I certainly believe that if you want one of the next-gen consoles, the Sony is the better one on paper... I guess it'll come down to what games are available on each platform as to who the winner of this round will be.
The only benefit I see with both units being based on the x86 platform with a GPU as found in PCs, the PC ports of these games shouldn't be as crappy as they have been in the past.
The only benefit I see with both units being based on the x86 platform with a GPU as found in PCs, the PC ports of these games shouldn't be as crappy as they have been in the past.
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
xbone spec analysis: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-spec-analysis-xbox-one
Early PS4 review: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-hands-on-with-playstation-4
Early PS4 review: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-hands-on-with-playstation-4
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Now gamers are bitching that, because MS dropped the internet requirements, they're also dropping pure digital distribution and enforcing a disc requirement to play games.
Chewy509
Wotty wot wot.
haters are going to hate... that is all...
(Little bitchy whiners). I'm surprised they're not bitching because they don't get a free lap dance and blow job to go with it...
(Little bitchy whiners). I'm surprised they're not bitching because they don't get a free lap dance and blow job to go with it...
Interesting.
From the article linked...
"Xbox One No Longer Requires Kinect to Function"
"All core features will be available regardless of whether the sensor is connected."
MS seems to be doing an Xbox180 on all the "important" features of their new game system. The next new feature will be the removal of the pay-wall for the non-gaming content.
I'm guessing a "kinect-free" SKU for $399 a few short weeks after their initial Xbone launch.
From the article linked...
"Xbox One No Longer Requires Kinect to Function"
"All core features will be available regardless of whether the sensor is connected."
MS seems to be doing an Xbox180 on all the "important" features of their new game system. The next new feature will be the removal of the pay-wall for the non-gaming content.
I'm guessing a "kinect-free" SKU for $399 a few short weeks after their initial Xbone launch.