.Haptive feedback, advanced gyro controls, IR camera, NFC, and each Joy Con is a complete controller in some games. You will be able to play two player Mario Kart and Street fighter with one set of Joy Cons. I'm not defending the price, they are expensive, but the competition offers even less for nearly the same price.
they still manage 20+ hours . Sony should get more criticism because their controller only lasts about 8 hours .
to be fair, I think everyone has bitched about it. Nothing has changed and nothing is going to change, it seems, so we've learnt to live with it. Their headset also drains quickly, but it is pretty cheap as far as wireless headsets go.
Usage metrics will be influenced by options though. Sony will know I play a decent amount of the time with the controller connected via cable (ergo I don't need a high battery capacity) simply because the battery keeps running out. Basically I have the controller wired until I need to charge the headset, and then I swap them over, because they're both a bit shit. Coming off PS3 where the BT earpiece and controller could last what seemed a month without charging. If it had a 30 hour battery life they'd find I use it wirelessly more often. My usage habit with DS3 wasn't to connect it up to the console for charging between gaming sessions, and it's not a behaviour I've particularly adopted on PS4 either and one I'm not really likely to, preferring to just leave the controller on a convenient surface when done.
Actually, no. The inconvenience isn't enough that I'll shell out for a bit of moulded plastic with a USB pass-through or somesuch at crazy markup. It is enough that I'll complain and Sony will lose Good Will. They (and all other companies) need to weigh that into their decision making process. Feedback is a measure of that - if people are bitching and moaning online, chances are they're doing the same offline when friends and relatives are asking about their console choices. Those conversations are led by the emotional impact. If the last emotion of a console was the frustration of using it rather than the joy of the last game played, it's likely someone will hear that when enquiring. I communicate lots of grumbling regards my SP4 despite it being a very nice bit of kit because it's fairly annoying to use at times and those are the lasting emotions for me (and impressions I'll pass on).
I'm guessing it's a cheap, low-res IR camera. The example is just silhouette matching I presume.
Gimmicky features on controllers that go mostly unused have been the norm since DS2. Whether motion or touchpads or inbuilt cameras (eg. Vita's front facing camera), these features contribute little return on the added cost. Perhaps it's time console companies gave up on the altruistic visions and just went with the common-or-garden common denominator?
These are first world one percenter problems.
Sure, but how has that tangibly hurt Sony?
It wouldn't. I already said it was probably the more profitable choice for Sony. However, consider 200 niggling little things that make a 5* console in a 2* experience - that clearly loses sales. It may be impossible to quantify the impact of value of any one conservative choice, but they clearly impact positive word of mouth, Good Will, sales and long term brand strength.
