My Thoughts On The PS4...

I was not expecting too much going into the conference, I knew we were getting a new console that would have high end graphics and new firmware.
Essentially that is exactly what I heard all throughout the conference. There was no display of the PS4 console, no price, and no real questions answered. They showed off some gameplay, which looked stunning, and then just told us specifications and aspirations. I'm not so thrilled about the entire social media aspect they are realistically becoming PlaystationBook. The whole Share Button seems completely ridiculous and their focus once again is directed away from gaming console and pushed towards new ways to advertise. I am glad that the gimmicks such as move and touch screens were not the center stage of anything.

On a technical term the hardware seems sufficient and it appears that the PS4 will finally be able to truly utilize physics engines. Developers seem genuinely excited to be developing for the console as they were involved thoroughly in the entire process. Which is apparent by the massive list of signed developers to create game for the PS4. No backwards compatibility has me agitated that my 55 PS3 games will be pushed to the side unless (I'm assuming this next part) that we will be required to repurchase digital copies through PSN for anywhere from 20-40 dollars which is complete bullshit.

The controller was relatively standard there were some welcomed joystick changes and D-pad adjustments. My opinion on the Share Button was already stated though it hardly matters now.

I MUST SHARE THINGS ABOUT STUFF!!! PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING I DO!!! I MATTER!!! I MATTER!!!...sob...sob...I matter...

The games announced weren't terribly exciting we've seen most of them previously aside from Knack and The Witness. Diablo 3 being announced certainly was a surprise though not one that will make any Diablo or PC fan happy. As seen by the explosion of anger on Blizzard's forums, many people stating PC gamers were guinea pigs to reformat Diablo for the console.

I'm glad we received some details, but really they could have saved tons of money and just made us wait until E3. It seemed like a half-hearted attempt to appease the media with all the rumors flying around. Which will still continue since no real questions were answered regarding Backwards Compatibility, PS Vita communication, Pricing, the new PSN, and just general gaming direction other than here are some flashy demos... go "dream and imagine". Like they were prepping us for life outside of high school at an assembly.

I'm excited for the new hardware, but I still feel that the focus is on marketing and money and not gaming. These new generation consoles may make them millions of dollars but years from now people will remember the PS1 and PS2 because of their games and commitment to quality over substance. Until I hear more the PS4 just seems like PS3.5 with more focus on cashing in on the whole Facebook trend and less focus on giving us gaming driven content. This conference was realistically their way of just showing us pretty pictures to shut us up, like we are all in kindergarten still...Here is hoping for the future.Also before anyone over reacts I own every PlayStation console and have over 50 PS3 games and prob over 70 PS2 games...so no I don't support Xbox.

Things too look forward too are some intense graphics games considering the hardware. Perhaps Playstation will finally get all of the Witcher games? The Return of PC games considering how "easily" they say it is with porting between the two platforms.

Things not to look forward too, mainly the fact that your PS4 will be reading your mind and preinstalling items that you may never want...seems like extreme advertising, but okay. Your friends sharing their every waking moment with you via PS4. Youtube blacking out because every single person will be uploading pointless Let's Play videos.

Article by: Larry Harris