PlayStation 4 Console Thread

[Garibaldi]

Was reading the PS4 thread on Neogaf and lolled at a couple of things. First, this tracking update:

And secondly, someone discussing a situation they were in where they saw 'jaggies' on PS4 games:

I'm sitting 5' from my 60" LED TV in the bedroom as I was playing.

The decadence is comedic.

[Revival]

The average person isn't going to want to shove a screwdriver in their HDMI port to fix bent pins. What happens if they end up sending it to Sony and they refuse to fix it due to it being tampered with?

Americans with their lawsuit crap would have a field day,

[Harsin]

I'm giving some thought to cancelling my pre-order, thinking about it there isn't anything at launch that I *must* have so bad that I'd be willing to take a risk at getting a dodgy unit and have it repaired/refunded. I'm not going to rush in to clicking the cancel button, I'm going to see how this pans out over the next week, see what Sony's response is.

I'm feeling the same. I'm also disappointed by the UI in various streams, amazing how much stuff people complained about on the PS3 that Sony have just left in and there are areas where a £50 bottom of the barrel pay-as-you-go smartphone still beats it in basic usability.

[sinky72]

Of course. In not in anyway saying it's okay. Just that if you experience an issue it's worth knowing that a little fiddle could fix it.

Should you have to? He'll no. But I'd rather fuck about for 5 minutes and get it sorted than go through all the hassle if returning etc.

It's a shitty situation that it's occurring at all but if it is a simple fix you'll at least be able to sort it and start using the thing.

I understand what your saying and I know I'm being a bit idealistic but if everyone who has a fault with a brand new product takes it back for refund or exchange rather than fuck around with it to try to fix a problem which shouldn't be there then maybe companies may get the message that we shouldn't have to put up with shoddy stuff.

I'm keeping my pre order atm but will definitely be keeping an eye on this over the next week or so.

[Hitcher]

http://youtu.be/Cjn2Fq4OPrs

Sorry if posted.

[cubik]

I'm feeling the same. I'm also disappointed by the UI in various streams, amazing how much stuff people complained about on the PS3 that Sony have just left in and there are areas where a £50 bottom of the barrel pay-as-you-go smartphone still beats it in basic usability.

My main issues with the UI so far are

No media playback (other than the paid services built in). I know it's all about THE GAMEZZZ!!! but this is a real basic omission these days.

Having to manually sync trophies. Why isn't this done automatically? PS3 all over again.

Patching of PSN bought games. During the Giantbomb stream they were installing Lego Marvel which they appeared to have bought from the store and it needed a separate patch installing. Is this correct? If so then why aren't games fully patched and ready to go? Once again, a throwback to the PS3 and not worthy of the "next gen" tag.

These are all really basic things that should have been there from day one. Sony can afford to get these things right and should have done.

[utopastac]

I cancelled my shopto order earlier, I don't fancy paying 10 days early if the problems are as common as they seem.

[Harsin]

The SA PS4 thread is full of people who received duff units as well. I was hoping that the upside of the next-gen machines being fairly unambitious would be greater reliability at launch.

[cultofweaver]

However reading the links it would appear many are having overheat issues not related to the HDMI issue, its been measured to run hot anyway so its not a good sign

The heat issue could be a real problem, not just with overheating causing shutdown, but the hotter it runs the more degradation it will cause in circuits.

If it is running hot enough, and reports suggest the outer case is hot enough to feel radiation without immediate contact suggesting it is probably pretty toasty, then it will be causing damage to the integrated circuits over prolonged use.

I know Digital Foundry flagged it up and it will be interesting to see what happens later. These are clean machines running at cool ambient temperatures for the most part. With dust caked into the internal cooling and ambient temperatures over 25C it could start causing some real problems.

I am certainly much more inclined to wait for a revision of hardware with less TDP output or an external power supply.

[Rsdio]

I cancelled my shopto order earlier, I don't fancy paying 10 days early if the problems are as common as they seem.

I've done the same. If Driveclub hadn't been delayed I think I would've kept it as the community aspect of that probably would've gone a long way in the initial drought but as it is the cost/risk/reward equation's just started to look a bit too unbalanced at the moment

I reckon I'll wait until I've gone through Dark Souls II then trade up, hopefully some of the issues will have been addressed by then.

[footle]

Are you all suddenly bone zealots - emphasis on media compatibility, emphasis on console exclusives actually shipping at launch, emphasis on cooling performance, emphasis on UI?

As opposed on an emphasis on pandering to gaf?

Meh.

[Cyhwuhx]

Trying to not get shafted with shitty hardware is hardly being a zealot.

[sixbuttons]

http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-4-Launch-Edition/product-reviews/B00BGA9WK2/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_1?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescending

Oh Christ

[Mr. Gerbik]

I have to stop reading this thread, getting really worried now.

Boozy, where you at?

[bradigor]

I've already paid, so have no choice but to keep my fingers crossed. Again will be interesting to see the figures, as I imagine those with issues are a lot more vocal then they would have been in previous launches. Well a larger platform to let their issues be known anyway.

Slightly concerned now though.

[Harsin]

Are you all suddenly bone zealots - emphasis on media compatibility, emphasis on console exclusives actually shipping at launch, emphasis on cooling performance, emphasis on UI?

As opposed on an emphasis on pandering to gaf?

Meh.

No my main emphasis is wanting £350 to get me reliable hardware, having had a fairly horrendous experience as a launch 360 buyer, I have no desire to go through that ever again.

The bone being a bit less powerful than the PS4 wouldn't bother me so much in isolation. But everytime I consider getting one I remember that it only costs silly money because of a peripheral I have no interest in whatsoever.

If I did cancel my PS4 order then I'd probably just stick with current gen for a while and then see what the state of play is some time next year.

[Gorf King]

Aye, I just (unsurprisingly) cancelled too. Nothing to do with being a zealot of anything, simply because there just isn't the selection of games yet that makes it worth the price. Apart from some minimal shiny advantage, I've probably got better stuff not yet played on PS3, and until the hardware situation pans out we've no idea yet just how 'shiny' this new kit really is.

Just (boring) common sense really. I hope all you day one guys have a great experience.

[cubik]

Aye, I just (unsurprisingly) cancelled too. Nothing to do with being a zealot of anything, simply because there just isn't the selection of games yet that makes it worth the price. Apart from some minimal shiny advantage, I've probably got better stuff not yet played on PS3, and until the hardware situation pans out we've no idea yet just how 'shiny' this new kit really is.

Just (boring) common sense really. I hope all you day one guys have a great experience.

I'm still tempted to join you in the "wait for a while" club... The last few days have taken the shine right off it.

I'll give it another week or so to see how my excitement levels get, I'm sure on launch day I'll forget all the negative things I've recently posted and just get on with enjoying it.

[footle]

I've already paid, so have no choice but to keep my fingers crossed. Again will be interesting to see the figures, as I imagine those with issues are a lot more vocal then they would have been in previous launches. Well a larger platform to let their issues be known anyway.

Slightly concerned now though.

I've not paid, but I think I'll hold off buying additional games till I have a PS4 here and working. If it's not working, it'll be a return for a refund job, and then a check to see what the bone hardware and software reviews are like. If it is working, then there's always buying some games from the supermarket (or, horror, Game) on the Saturday.

[bradigor]

I've not paid, but I think I'll hold off buying additional games till I have a PS4 here and working. If it's not working, it'll be a return for a refund job, and then a check to see what the bone hardware and software reviews are like. If it is working, then there's always buying some games from the supermarket (or, horror, Game) on the Saturday.

This is my son's birthday present, so I am begging for a working unit.

But yeah, not buying anything for it until I know it works for sure. Christ knows how I will smooth things over if it is a dud unit.

[Mr Do 71]

I have to stop reading this thread, getting really worried now.

Boozy, where you at?

He's sat at home smoking a cigar, enjoying a glass of red wine, and listening to his favourite album: Sounds of Forza.

[Garibaldi]

The problems aren't encouraging but a vocal minority can sometimes make a lot of noise. I'm certainly not defending the shoddy workmanship (I don't have a pre-order anyway) but I'd give it a few more days for the dust to settle before hand-wringing can commence in earnest.

[Harsin]

In terms of the OS, it boggles my mind that Sony still haven't got a grasp on simple stuff like this (from The Verge's review).

But the real problem with the PS4's interface is that Sony hasn’t been paying attention. Sony hasn’t learned something smartphones and social networks mastered years ago: making notifications actionable.

If you see that your friend just started a game of Killzone, you can't press a button to send them a message or join in the fun: you have to go to that friend's profile first. Even if you're watching a live stream of someone's multiplayer game, you can't directly join them — you can only launch the game, or message them for an invite. If that friend then sends you a message, you won't know what the message is right away: the PS4 will only tell you that you've gotten a message. You need to leave your game and go to your messages to actually read the message text, then press several more buttons before you can reply. In an age of instantaneous communication, it feels like Sony can't quite let go of the snail-mail paradigm.

And then hearing of things like still having to sync trophies and having to download and install separate patches for digitally bought games is really disappointing. At least before you could kind of attribute shonky stuff like this to their online being a free offering. But now they're charging like MS they really need to pull their socks up.

[Shook]

I'm cancelling. Except I can't it would seem, not on the Game site anyway.

[NecroMorrius]

It looks quite a lot like Amazon got a shitty batch. It's certainly not good, but I wouldn't go assuming this is another 60% failure rate RROD situation and go cancelling yet, unless you have other reasons to. Just like any big hardware/game release, you can point to the official forums or the Amazon reviews and rightly claim that a large number of people are having problems. But what I've come to realise (usually while sitting on EA or Ubisoft forums getting angry at a game that won't boot, the latest being Blacklist) is that isolated issues can come off like an epidemic. "Everyone" having the same problem usually amounts to a percent of a percent, but gather in one place and make as much noise as possible. Stuck in the middle of it, you lose perspective. We're very lucky that we get a couple of weeks to monitor the situation and see what happens, I'll be following closely and won't be afraid to cancel if it truly is a big problem and not just a few isolated cases. I'm buying mine in a shop, so I simply won't buy it if the problem seems widespread.

Umm, Harsin, is that Verge review correct? From what I've seen when you're watching a multiplayer game, there's a big JOIN button in the middle that automatically puts you into their game if there's a slot. Did that change?

As for trophy syncing, it works a bit differently from PS3:

It looks like you can force a refresh if you want, rather than manually pulling down your trophy list every time you go into that part of the UI like the PS3 does (grrrrrrr). What I don't know is if new trophies are added automatically, say if you unlock one and immediately go into the trophies menu to take a look. It looks like trophy syncing takes about one second instead of the usual five minutes though, if that video is accurate.

A bit of info that might be useful for anyone here from the US who does has a day-one fucked edition: If you take it to the local Sony center, they should be able to replace it there and then instead of going through the retailer.

Hope everyone's PS4 is OK

[Cyhwuhx]

Retailers are actually required to provide a replacement as well. They usually offer up repairs at the manufacturer as an alternative and for many this has become the default way of doing thing. At least in the Netherlands, if you cannot get a working replacement, you are entitled to getting your money back.

Having worked in game shops myself I can assure you that not many shop owners want to know about this, and those that though feign ignorance.

[Boozy The Clown]

Love the Hitler video.

[MW_Jimmy]

I'm in the "perhaps I will cancel" group too. It was always going to be the hardware side, and (prehaps foolishly) expected the PS4 to be built more like the Wii and less like the 360.

If the hardware heating problems, and disc drive noise is present, then even if your console is perfect day one these things may come up in the months and years later. Will keep a close ear and see if it's all echochamber nonsense or not...

[Haribokart]

Don't know why everybody is wanting to cancel, I'm more hyped then ever.

[Superunknown]

This is one of the reasons I buy from Amazon; rock solid customer support and returns policy. I'd be truly annoyed if I get a DOA console, but not having to argue the toss about my statutory rights, trek into the town for the privilege, or foot the bill for return costs is invaluable.

It'll be interesting to find out the failure rate for the PS4. From the anecdotal info on Gaf from people who work in stores it's less than 1%, which isn't out of the ordinary, although stuff like knackered HDMI ports sounds like duff super-cheap components.