The interesting thing in all of this is that while Sony won the hearts of fans and gamers alike, they didn't really do anything. They won the battle of rights of use by staying the same as they always have. Not to say that their game selection and the actual technology behind the system isn't impressive, but it goes to show that a company that actually listens the need and wants of their customers, especially in the gaming industry will go far. Loyalty goes a long way in the industry and when you have a legacy that has lasted four console generations, you're bound to have some strong and passionate fans.
As for the presentation (in the interest of time)...
Sony's presentation had a remarkably strong selection of games on display. Glimpses at upcoming titles on PS3 such as Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us still served to show Sony's support behind the current gen console. However what sadly didn't really surprise me was the lack of any new Vita titles for the handheld or really, any kind of announcement at all. Spokesman Jack Tretton discussed how important the Vita was to the Sony family, quickly announced a new (but not really) title for it, The Walking Dead and that was it. Call me old fashioned, but when a company fails to mention any major announcements for a console tat only launched last year, I take that as a sign. A very bad sign that development for the Vita is going nowhere and as of right now, remains dead in the water.
As for the titles shown for PS4, there was an incredible mix of games we already knew about and quite a few major reveals from major publishers like Square Enix and Santa Monica Studios. Sony showed off an impressive array of third and first party support from major marque titles such as Killzone: Shadow Fall and inFamous: Second Sun along with new titles such as racing game Drive Club and a Victorian/steampunk third person shooter called The Order 1886 made by God of War developers, Santa Monica Studios.
There was a strong third party presence from publishers as well. Ubisoft showed off footage from Watch Dogs and Assassins Creed IV, both of which will have exclusive features only on PS4. Avalanch showed a short CGI reveal for an upcoming Mad Max game and even Bungie had a gameplay demo for their big budget/MMOFPS Destiny.
The most pleasant surprise for me was the announcement of two games from Square Enix that have long been speculated and talked about but never really shown until now. Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III were officially announced with no specific release dates, but short glimpses of gameplay along with them. FFXV originally began as Final Fantasy XIII Versus, set in the same universe as the other XIII titles but at the end of the preview, was revealed to now exist as FFXV. KHIII showed an older looking Sora battling a swarming mass of Heartltess enemies and some short dialog scenes.
FFXV looks fantastic. A seemingly modern setting, possibly Tokyo with contemporary looking outfits and characters battling some strange otherworldly force. It appears to be much more action packed than previous titles, but as someone who has gradually lost interest in the series post FFXII, this could be the new breath of fresh air that the franchise needs. While there was very little shown for KHIII, the fact that it simply exists and not as another spin off to further complicate the already complicated lore, is a welcome sight to see.
Sony also had a strong indie and F2P selection to show off as well. Titles such as Transistor (from the creator of Bastion) Octodad and many others show that the PS4 will be a welcome home for indie titles that for the most part could only previously be found on PC. Free to play titles such as DC Universe Online. PlanetSide 2, Warframe and Blacklight: Retribution will be available to play for the first time for console gamers. With the larger hard drive included with the PS4 (500 gb) it should hopefully bring a larger selection of PC titles to the unwashed console masses and finally start bridging the gap between console and PC titles.
Finally, the moment of the show and the one that has caused the most discussion among gamers was the announcement of the PS4's DRM policies. In a display that seemed designed from the ground up to counter the Xbox One, Sony announced that their console would require not online all the time or 24 hour check in system. Your games would be just that, yours to do and play them as you choose to with no restrictions on used game sales or who you could trade them with as well as the console itself being region free. It was this announcement that got the largest round of applause from the audience as a whole and as many claim, was the moment that won them E3.
If there is one flaw with the PS4, its the issue of backwards compatibility. I know that quite a few people don't really care about this feature but for me, someone who has a large selection of games, doesn't trade them in and enjoys replaying older titles often, losing the ability to do this is kind of a annoyance. Hopefully the streaming service that they hinted at in February will have a large and diverse selection of titles to play so some of the rarer ones don't slip between the cracks forever, only to be lost to the price gouging collectors and Ebayers.
Combined with a strong selection of titles, the continued support of the PS Plus subscription and the freedom to do what you want with your games, the PS4 looks to be the kind of system I want, taking the strengths of the current generation and then adding to them to make it even better. While some would argue that Microsoft is doing a better job at providing a entirely new way to play and experience games that pushes forward further than the PS4, it can also be argued that this innovation comes at a heavy price.
Does the ability to play and watch TV at once worth the cost of loosing the ability to play used games? Does the ability to share your library with ten of your closest friends even matter if your console is region locked?
PS4 may just be a more powerful version of the PS3 for some, but in my case this is exactly what I want.
No gimmicks, no restrictions, just unlimited access to the games and franchises I love to play with who I want and when I want to.
Sony's presentation had a remarkably strong selection of games on display. Glimpses at upcoming titles on PS3 such as Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us still served to show Sony's support behind the current gen console. However what sadly didn't really surprise me was the lack of any new Vita titles for the handheld or really, any kind of announcement at all. Spokesman Jack Tretton discussed how important the Vita was to the Sony family, quickly announced a new (but not really) title for it, The Walking Dead and that was it. Call me old fashioned, but when a company fails to mention any major announcements for a console tat only launched last year, I take that as a sign. A very bad sign that development for the Vita is going nowhere and as of right now, remains dead in the water.
As for the titles shown for PS4, there was an incredible mix of games we already knew about and quite a few major reveals from major publishers like Square Enix and Santa Monica Studios. Sony showed off an impressive array of third and first party support from major marque titles such as Killzone: Shadow Fall and inFamous: Second Sun along with new titles such as racing game Drive Club and a Victorian/steampunk third person shooter called The Order 1886 made by God of War developers, Santa Monica Studios.
There was a strong third party presence from publishers as well. Ubisoft showed off footage from Watch Dogs and Assassins Creed IV, both of which will have exclusive features only on PS4. Avalanch showed a short CGI reveal for an upcoming Mad Max game and even Bungie had a gameplay demo for their big budget/MMOFPS Destiny.
The most pleasant surprise for me was the announcement of two games from Square Enix that have long been speculated and talked about but never really shown until now. Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III were officially announced with no specific release dates, but short glimpses of gameplay along with them. FFXV originally began as Final Fantasy XIII Versus, set in the same universe as the other XIII titles but at the end of the preview, was revealed to now exist as FFXV. KHIII showed an older looking Sora battling a swarming mass of Heartltess enemies and some short dialog scenes.
FFXV looks fantastic. A seemingly modern setting, possibly Tokyo with contemporary looking outfits and characters battling some strange otherworldly force. It appears to be much more action packed than previous titles, but as someone who has gradually lost interest in the series post FFXII, this could be the new breath of fresh air that the franchise needs. While there was very little shown for KHIII, the fact that it simply exists and not as another spin off to further complicate the already complicated lore, is a welcome sight to see.
Sony also had a strong indie and F2P selection to show off as well. Titles such as Transistor (from the creator of Bastion) Octodad and many others show that the PS4 will be a welcome home for indie titles that for the most part could only previously be found on PC. Free to play titles such as DC Universe Online. PlanetSide 2, Warframe and Blacklight: Retribution will be available to play for the first time for console gamers. With the larger hard drive included with the PS4 (500 gb) it should hopefully bring a larger selection of PC titles to the unwashed console masses and finally start bridging the gap between console and PC titles.
Finally, the moment of the show and the one that has caused the most discussion among gamers was the announcement of the PS4's DRM policies. In a display that seemed designed from the ground up to counter the Xbox One, Sony announced that their console would require not online all the time or 24 hour check in system. Your games would be just that, yours to do and play them as you choose to with no restrictions on used game sales or who you could trade them with as well as the console itself being region free. It was this announcement that got the largest round of applause from the audience as a whole and as many claim, was the moment that won them E3.
If there is one flaw with the PS4, its the issue of backwards compatibility. I know that quite a few people don't really care about this feature but for me, someone who has a large selection of games, doesn't trade them in and enjoys replaying older titles often, losing the ability to do this is kind of a annoyance. Hopefully the streaming service that they hinted at in February will have a large and diverse selection of titles to play so some of the rarer ones don't slip between the cracks forever, only to be lost to the price gouging collectors and Ebayers.
Combined with a strong selection of titles, the continued support of the PS Plus subscription and the freedom to do what you want with your games, the PS4 looks to be the kind of system I want, taking the strengths of the current generation and then adding to them to make it even better. While some would argue that Microsoft is doing a better job at providing a entirely new way to play and experience games that pushes forward further than the PS4, it can also be argued that this innovation comes at a heavy price.
Does the ability to play and watch TV at once worth the cost of loosing the ability to play used games? Does the ability to share your library with ten of your closest friends even matter if your console is region locked?
PS4 may just be a more powerful version of the PS3 for some, but in my case this is exactly what I want.
No gimmicks, no restrictions, just unlimited access to the games and franchises I love to play with who I want and when I want to.
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