PlayStation 4 Console Thread

[SMD]

Oh snap!

Still better than Braid though.

[SharkEnergy]

Braid was great

[rubberducker]

can't see sharing video of a game changing much about gameplay atall. not for me anyway,

[bradigor]

can't see sharing video of a game changing much about gameplay atall. not for me anyway,

What if to get past part of the game you had to share specific moments, and find shares others had done to unlock the new area. What if that was forced into every game.

[SMD]

What if to get past part of the game you had to share specific moments, and find shares others had done to unlock the new area. What if that was forced into every game.

That's terrible.

[NecroMorrius]

Imagine not liking Braid.

[PaB]

can't see sharing video of a game changing much about gameplay atall. not for me anyway,

The same was said of online play 10 years ago. I think you need to wait and see how it is implemented before you can say whether or not you would make use of it.

[Mr Cochese]

Ten years ago I'd have been playing games online for about seven years already.

[b00dles]

Braid was good but not nearly as amazing, thought provoking and deep as Mr. Blow claims it was. Fez was better (although about three years later).

Braid was Mario crossed with Sands of time, or Blinx. Not that it wasn't good but really, Mr. Blow has a danger of becoming as wanky as Molyneux or David Cage.

[Chadruharazzeb]

Well. I've pre-ordered one. I've never had a console at launch before so it's a first for me. Usually I wait 12 months until the price has come down and there's enough games out to pick a few out. This generation has gone on long enough though, time to move on.

I vow though that if there's any delay between US/ Japan and Europe of more than two months and if Sony yet again fail to realise there's a global monetary device in operation called the exchange rate then I'll be holding off and buying one second hand so the swarthy bastards don't get so much of my money.

[mushashi]

Mr. Blow has a danger of becoming as wanky as Molyneux or David Cage.

Somebody clearly hasn't been reading some of Jonathan Blow's stuff over the years

He doesn't come across as your typical game designer, that is for sure.

[Mr Cochese]

One theory, based on the inclusion of a hidden event and the famous quotation stated by Kenneth Bainbridge after the detonation of the first atomic bomb—"Now we are all sons of bitches"—is that the princess represents the atomic bomb and Tim is a scientist involved in its development.^[20]

[b00dles]

Somebody clearly hasn't been reading some of Jonathan Blow's stuff over the years

He doesn't come across as your typical game designer, that is for sure.

Well no, I haven't but Mr. Cochese's post highlights my reservations about the greatness of it all.

I appreciate that might be fans reading into it too much but still, everything that I read about him or interviews or whatever, I didn't think he came across that well - although again, this could be the interviewer / publication.

Any issues I may have with his character aside, the new game on PS4 (witness iirc) looks a bit like Myst, so I'm not that bothered, I would have thought in regards to his career and so on that he would do better to release on everything he possibly can, or has he got an exclusivity deal?

[NecroMorrius]

I think Braid's pretension towards 'art' is really grating and obvious most of the time. However, his game design is genius.

[b00dles]

That I don't deny, the game itself is brilliantly put together and must have had Miyamoto and anyone involved in Mario kicking themselves for not having a time manipulation thing in ages ago.

I'd say that kind of stuff still wouldn't go amiss as extra challenges / levels of NSMB or something.

[mushashi]

Any issues I may have with his character aside, the new game on PS4 (witness iirc) looks a bit like Myst, so I'm not that bothered, I would have thought in regards to his career and so on that he would do better to release on everything he possibly can, or has he got an exclusivity deal?

He explained the mechanics of his decision. Basically, he is self-funding it from his Braid profits (I remember him quoting $1 Million a few years back, but the budget has probably crept up from that target now as he's developing for another system now), his team is small and can only do one system at a time, Sony are basically exchanging some promotion for the game, no money changed hands, his tech guys liked the look of the PS4, he will still bring the game to his original target platforms of the PC and iOS at some point.

It's a win-win for him and Sony, he gets free marketing from a platform holder, they get a defacto exclusive for no money.

Edit: Seems the dev budget has indeed 'crept' up a bit since he started development, it's looking like Blow will have sunk over $3 Million into the game by the time it ships on PS4.

[Yoshimax]

Is it just me that thinks Sony have maybe blown their load a little bit too early ? I mean come April it's all going to be a bit of a distant memory and if MS can come out with something to turn this incredible and unwarranted tide of hatred around (and I'm thinking their software is going to be in a much better place than Sony's) then what? Another reveal before E3 to whip the frenzy back up? A lot of what Sony is offering has a stink of wiiU for me (i.e a bundle of features which won't be included out of the box but will be "coming soon") and I wonder if we Brits with our average BB speeds of 4-5mb will be able to make any decent use of the Gaikai stuff?

Or maybe it doesn't matter as a lot of people seem to have already made their minds up?

[SMD]

Is it just me that thinks Sony have maybe blown their load a little bit too early ? I mean come April it's all going to be a bit of a distant memory and if MS can come out with something to turn this incredible and unwarranted tide of hatred around (and I'm thinking their software is going to be in a much better place than Sony's) then what? Another reveal before E3 to whip the frenzy back up? A lot of what Sony is offering has a stink of wiiU for me (i.e a bundle of features which won't be included out of the box but will be "coming soon") and I wonder if we Brits with our average BB speeds of 4-5mb will be able to make any decent use of the Gaikai stuff?

Or maybe it doesn't matter as a lot of people seem to have already made their minds up?

It won't matter till the games come out. It's dumb and blunt but it's the case for any system. There's always an example of too early or too late but ultimately if time is your main strategy then you're already on shaky ground.

There's still all the third party stuff and not to mention the proper console reveal (for some people that's a big deal) and they just said 'Holiday 2013' which could mean anything in reality.

E3 is going to be amaze.

[Cthulhu Steev]

Is it just me that thinks Sony have maybe blown their load a little bit too early ?

incredible and unwarranted tide of hatred [Towards MS] around (and I'm thinking their software is going to be in a much better place than Sony's)

A lot of what Sony is offering has a stink of wiiU for me (i.e a bundle of features which won't be included out of the box but will be "coming soon")

It sounds like you've already made your mind up!

Or maybe it doesn't matter as a lot of people seem to have already made their minds up?

Oh.

[KriessG]

It was just an initial unveiling. They haven't even shown the console nor all it's games yet. It was just the start of the metaphorical snowball. There is plenty more announcements and hype incoming before and during E3.

[mushashi]

There is a talk scheduled for GDC by SCEA, dev only closed doors, probably get some journalists taking up seats for that one.

[Dandy_Sephy]

I vow though that if there's any delay between US/ Japan and Europe of more than two months and if Sony yet again fail to realise there's a global monetary device in operation called the exchange rate then I'll be holding off and buying one second hand so the swarthy bastards don't get so much of my money.

Exchange rates are only one part of the larger problem.

Exchange rates are subject to constant movement. From a consumer point of view they may move very little, but for a product like a games console with such long lead times and costing several hundred pounds, it makes a big difference. They have to price it to absorb any shift in the rate and the strength of the Yen is causing a lot of problems for Japanese companies with heavy exports, just look at Nintendo.

Plus there are the various tax rates, it's pointless directly comparing US and Euro/Uk prices for example not just because of exchange rates but because of the hugely different tax rates and US prices never include tax (unless that state has a 0% purchase tax rate). Given that UK VAT is at 20%, it makes a sizeable difference.

Thats on a product that already makes a loss to start with due to both production cost and R+D. By all means don't buy it if you think the price is too expensive, but don't do so purely because of the exchange rate on any given day when the price is announced.

[Yoshimax]

It sounds like you've already made your mind up!

Oh.

Nah I don't make my mind up - I buy all of them anyway. I like what you did with quotes there though very nice.

[Ferine]

Is it just me that thinks Sony have maybe blown their load a little bit too early?

Announcing first was smart. For one thing publishers are now free to talk about next generation games in the context of the PS4 whilst their hands are tied in regards to the next Xbox, and somewhat similarly Sony have effectively laid claim to features the machines may have in common; it's quite possible Durango has game streaming and a suspend mode, but such features are now me-too announcements.

Sony are currently riding the wave of next generation hype, with plenty of developers able to come out and speak positively of the machine or express an interest in developing for it, whilst the only exposure the next Xbox is getting is typically negative rumours which Microsoft can't even assuage. As such Sony marking their territory early could prove important in the long run, especially if the PS4 is launching slightly later; a more positive public perception will help many people hold off on the 'inferior' product for a month or two.

[jonamok]

the swarthy bastards

Who now?

[Cthulhu Steev]

Announcing first was smart. For one thing publishers are now free to talk about next generation games in the context of the PS4 whilst their hands are tied in regards to the next Xbox, and somewhat similarly Sony have effectively laid claim to features the machines may have in common; it's quite possible Durango has game streaming and a suspend mode, but such features are now me-too announcements.

Sony are currently riding the wave of next generation hype, with plenty of developers able to come out and speak positively of the machine or express an interest in developing for it, whilst the only exposure the next Xbox is getting is typically negative rumours which Microsoft can't even assuage. As such Sony marking their territory early could prove important in the long run, especially if the PS4 is launching slightly later; a more positive public perception will help many people hold off on the 'inferior' product for a month or two.

And they still have a console to reveal between now and E3.

[NecroMorrius]

They've still got lots to show. But they'll be hard pressed to "win" E3 showing off their plastic box when MS are doing a full reveal of the Xbox 3 and Valve are unveiling Half Life 3 as a Steam exclusive.

[Dandy_Sephy]

Somehow I suspect that assuming Microsoft go with their rumoured April announcement, E3 will be 'won' by a combination of solid launch window plans and exclusive games. Given the changes regarding exclusivity since the current consoles were announced, third party exclusives are key. Most of the third party games announced at E3 will probably be on both machines.

[DocG]

Most of the third party games announced at E3 will probably be on both machines.

Unless Microsoft disables preowned, Sony doesn't, and publishers therefore flock to the Durango…

[LiMuBai]

...but consumers flock to the PS4