Playstation 4 Post-Release Examination

Success is relative to what the other guy is doing.

It was one of the most successful console launch in history, but they didn't do everything right. The hardware design is insanely great and I could talk about it for days, but a lot of promised software is still missing. I don't think the gaming focus was a choice between gaming versus multimedia functions (as opposed to the xb1 kinect focus, which was partly responsible for the lower performance and higher price).

For me, the the current lack of multimedia apps is a big negative. It's ironic that my PS3 remains the center of my home theater. But I still don't think these missing features had any impact on sales, because competitors don't have anything much better. Before launch, when they asked people about what they wanted from the PS4, nobody in the polls and forums mentioned multimedia playback. I think Sony wrongly assumed people didn't care, but the reality was that everyone already assumed it would be at least on par with the PS3 features, so not worth mentioning.

It's a discussion for the other thread, but I believe Morpheus isn't coming until 2016. Occulus being basically developed publicly seems to have forced them to unveil Morpheus too soon. It doesn't matter that they were working on Morpheus before Occulus even had a kickstarter, and only recently did Occulus added a Move-like tracking with a camera, Sony is now fighting the public perception of Occulus being there first.

 

I think Sony hit all the right notes when they released the PS4. I terms of the first 6 months, I think it went about as well as it could have. Aligning with Destiny for the fall seems like a good bet as well.

For me the software has been a little disappointing so far, but overall I'm fairly pleased. The hardware is good enough to provide a great gaming system for a long time.

 

Its the lack of support for things like DLNA etc that the prime things that will stop the PS4 from taking over the spot the PS3 now sits in.

It did really bug me until recently and now I realise my TV supports all the multi-media features like DLNA, Netflix, Amazon, iPlayer etc. The fact that the PS4 doesn't do it all has become a little irrelevant in light of that. In many ways it's better, and cheaper (with regards to power consumption), to just use the PS4 for games and the odd DVD\Blu-Ray. It's taken me 11 months and 3.8TB of disk space but I finally have all my DVDs and some Blu-Rays running from within TwonkyMedia on a NAS. Next up is the CD collection!

I think Sony should focus on the core features that make games more social and as customisable as they can be. Being able to listen to your own music during a game, the suspend feature etc. I feel they are more important than replicating the features that are standard with most 'smart' TVs (or in the case of the bedroom set, a dumb TV with a Raspberry PI attached).

 

The PS4 is closer to what gamers want in their next generation console but I think Sony as a company have a lot prove. While PS4 hardware is on target, the first party exclusives are coming too slow, add the delays to in demand titles and things that appear rosy on the outside start to wilt a little.

Playstation NOW IMO will be a huge loss - how much time was devoted to it at E3 and more importantly how much of the details were shared with gamers? I don't see how they can successfully monetize this.

Morpheus looks like very good tech but I wonder if cost makes it somewhat prohibitive for most people. Perhaps when we get the cost of PS4 down to several hundred dollars a VR helmet for 100 to 150 dollars might be affordable for most people but it sounds like titles need to be designed for VR not ports.

IMO Sony needs to focus on getting their first party studios titles out, continue to strengthen their relationships with third parties like they are doing with Bungie and Destiny, improve the core PS4 experience - add support for MP3 and video playback, better DNLA integration.

If they lose focus due to service like NOW or Playstation TV they risk compromising the brand a little but more importantly the distraction could have a real opportunity cost for initiatives I mentioned above.

 

Focus has to be on the games and studios no doubt (like PS3 era).


PS Now should be a money loser for a while. They will need to land a deal with a captive audience right away (without impacting new games sales) to ease the drain a little.

If VR experience is not great, then I think they should push for a VR goggle standard.

I see Playstation TV as an extension of PS Now. Should allow Roku and other vendors to incorporate Gaikai client technologies like what Gaikai was pushing before the acquisition.

I don't know where PS Mobile is going. It may be too little, too late now.

 

Sony has done most things right this round, but they're too slow on delivering the features they promised would be there in the unveil and then delayed once launch came around. It's been more than six months now and the system still lacks MP3, DLNA, BR 3D and game suspend on shutdown support (maybe missed something?)

If they fix this - in a timely fashion! - they'll gain back some of the credz they've fumbled away recently. Upcoming games are looking fantastic so no trouble on that front, dunno with system availability right now but the shortages are solved now? Then no problems there either. Morpheus is looking exciting - although will PS4 actually be powerful enough to reliably deliver on it, one wonders. Also, how expensive will it be? We all know the risk peripherals have in the console market - they fragment the market, often have poor software support, and usually sell poorly. These are all interconnected, leading to a perfect storm that usually kills the peripheral. It's happened many times.

Two of the few really successful peripherals were Nintendo's rumblepack, and Sony's original dual-stick joypad, and the reasons were they're so cheap. Morpheus is looking to be one hella expensive mofo for a console addon, unless Sony subsidizes it, and can they really afford that?

 

I don't recall MP3, DLNA or BR3D being in the reveal or even promised. It is still missing suspend/resume (sleep) and being able to drop into a friends game and help them out, they were both in the February reveal.

 

Only thing from that list I am missing is the DLNA, so give me that and I am happy

 

I'm giving sony the benefit of a doubt. They have promised MP3 and DLNA support which is nice, but i want proper media support like the PS3 has, along with changing my backround with custom pictures and customizing my interface

 

When did Sony promise this?

 

They didn't really promise it, but Yoshida said it would come eventually.

http://www.computerandvideogames.co...ate-to-add-mp3-dlna-support-confirms-yoshida/

Even Shu Yoshida was making pre-order-cancelled jokes.

 

Has Sony even announced an ETA on their "jump-in remote-control" feature that they hyped up during their reveal?

 

Yeah, they need proper media support so I can replace my PS3 with a PS4 - as it is the system is seriously hobbled as a media player without support for video and audio playback from removable storage.

 

No, they were just showing their vision of how Gaikai technology was going to evolve their services long-term as far as I remember. I'd expect priority to be on launching the PS Now platform, and when/if that is running as desired, they'll move on to this, but you never know where the priorities shift to.

 

I think Sony will be the first one to say that this launch went better than they even expected.

I find it very annoying that I still need my PS3 laying around in order to watch 3D movies. How hard can it be to implement on PS4 FFS??

 

I dont think Sony will be able to keep up momentum if they dont upgrade adequately the PS4's capabilities as a media box as time goes on.

At the price it is being sold right now and its current gaming capabilities its indeed what in needs in order to appeal to the existing demographics better than competition. Currently its the gaming interest that buys into it. The performance and price is what counts the most now,

Lets not forget though that the XB1 has a better foundation right now as a media box. It may not sell as well now, but its media functions will be expanding and improving. It already is at a better position concerning its non-gaming functionality. And lets not forget that its gaming performance isnt that bad. It still packs a punch. Its games can look beautiful and comparable to that of the PS4 even at a lower performance. Ryse is probably the best looking console game right now, QB looks astonishingly beautiful and there is more to come. If its the resolution the biggest difference its not something that is noticeable enough by the majority. XB1 exclusives will show a quality that cannot be compared like for like on the PS4 either. Hence they will be standing by their own without comparisons to affect perception.

As both consoles drop price there will be a time when the non-gaming functions will matter a lot more for the consumers that are interested to pay less for gaming. These functions although dont make up for the performance disparity now, they will make up for it as price drops and the product matures. The price will match the value proposition.

It is highly important that Sony sees the non-gaming functions closer. There are millions of PS3 owners that havent converted yet who have been delighted with the PS3's media capabilities. Many of these bought the console a few years after launch. Many are also late adopter. These have higher chance to convert to the competition when it can offer great gaming experience and expanded media functions that the PS4 may not develop enough

 

I saw my first XB1, at its new price, advert last night. It looked pretty cool. The guy was lounging on his sofa telling his Xbox to 'play Titanfall', 'Xbox snap TV', 'Xbox record that'.

It looked impressive. Until I realised that if this is the new SKU then the advert is 'stretching' the truth a little bit. No Kinnect, no voice commands. He'd be a bit like Scotty in Startrek IV talking to a computer\mouse.