PlayStation 4 Console Thread

[rafaqat]

It's this old chestnut:

http://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.virginmedia.com

People without problems don't tend to leave reviews.

I think all you have to do to see how big a problem is see how it stacks up against other console launches. Was there this much noise at the WiiU launch. Or the Xbox 360 launch. Then you're a little closer to seeing how big the problem is in comparison to one we have already experienced and had time to look back on.

I remember seeing the odd report here and there about WiiU but nothing on THIS scale.

All the previous issues have had the same "people only complain and the ones who had an ok experience stay quiet" thing going for them too so I think it's fair to compare that way. Let's see what it's like in a week. Let's see what Sony say.

[rafaqat]

Because EA. Battlefield 3 is still £59.99 for PS3 lol. The PC version of BF4 is £55 on Origin. Or £85 with the DLC. They're mental.

It's a shame. I would totally go digital in a heartbeat. I tend not to bother selling discs on so I wouldn't really lose anything from the transition on that front. Not paying silly money though!

[NecroMorrius]

The Wii U probably didn't sell on this scale. But yes I agree, wait and see. We've still got a fortnight.

Also this!

CEO Kaz Hirai ‏@KazHiraiCEO27m

To compete with Microsoft, PS4 has adopted lots of XBOX 360′s most famous features including party chat and the hardware failure rate

[Capwn]

Strange to wake up this morning and hear about the DOA thing. I've certainly noticed how hot it gets (as well as how peacefully quiet it is). I tried the remote downloading thing today. Browsed the store on my mobile in bed, purchased a free game and pressed download to PS4. Made a coffee, had a shower and by the time I turned on the PS4 there it was waiting for me. Nice! There was often times times last gen where I would be at work and someone tell me that they were playing a demo or indie game I didn't realize was out yet so now that you can have that ready for you when you get home is really cool.

By the way, I came home from work for lunch with my PS4 and was able to set it up, do the patches, firmware, get connected online within 20mins. Also I tried the PS app, it's been a bit on/off but when it did work I managed to type on my phone keyboard and it instantly come up on the PS4.

I really like the UI! It's much more simplified, it might be a bit confusing initially but now I can easily find myself around. I also love that you can access it instantly during gameplay, I know you've been able to do that since forever on 360 so perhaps this shouldn't be something to praise but it's nice that they finally were able to fix that.

[Robo_1]

Come to think of it, how did 3DS/Wii U/Vita fare at launch?

Now the above are simpler devices and - I think - sold less at launch, but did they get any notable hit from Amazon ratings and Twitter complaints due to broken launch units? I only ask as these devices all launched during the age of widespread social media, and might give an idea of how this effects what we're hearing.

[NecroMorrius]

Some of the reviews are a bit suspicious lol

I should have stayed with xbox. The PS4 system seems cheap and rushed as do the games. I don't think all the sony eye features in the controller will ever be utilized either. My 360 controller was better too. Im going back to MS instead of this childish toy.

Is there a big retail site where you have to actually buy the product before you can leave a review? Might be a worthwhile comparison...

[rafaqat]

Considering this very forum was doing cartwheels a couple of weeks ago when a couple of unverified rumours surfaced on Twitter that the Xbone UI had a few problems, the writing off of many reports of broken out of the box PS4s on every single US forum I've looked at today as bad batches or a vocal minority, makes me think Smitty was onto something with complaining about double-standards.

I'm amazed people still deny it. MS REALLY pissed a lot of people off.

[rafaqat]

If it's true that Sony surprised MS with the announcement of the PS4 and that MS have had to rush to launch at around the same time I'm dreading the XBone launch. That'll be interesting to see if MS' conservative approach to case design has worked for them or if they're going to also have overheating units, broken HDMI ports and dodgy Blu-Ray drives.

[ravon]

Their are always hardware issues, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried for my day one console.

Glad I went with shopto with its straight swap policy, so it's making me feel a little bit better.

[Ferine]

Considering this very forum was doing cartwheels a couple of weeks ago when a couple of unverified rumours surfaced on Twitter that the Xbone UI had a few problems, the writing off of many reports of broken out of the box PS4s on every single US forum I've looked at today as bad batches or a vocal minority, makes me think Smitty was onto something with complaining about double-standards.

You're falling into the exact same trap he does: complaining about double standards whilst providing zero examples. You can't label the conflicting views of unaffiliated individuals as hypocritical.

If you want to call someone out, do so. Were the rejoicing in negativity as widespread as you insinuated it should be very easy to pluck out examples, no? Here I've even gone to effort of giving you a starting point for your search.

Further to that, I don't think people are writing off the hardware issues so much as putting them in context. A wonky OS would effect everyone until it could be fixed whereas a small percentage of duff machines is an unfortunate expectation; sucks for the unlucky ones but it's a non-issue for those unaffected. If such issues are more widespread than expected or there was a suggestion of an actual design flaw then that's another matter, but as the console's only been out for a day it's hard to properly gauge the situation.

That said, I wouldn't blame anyone for cancelling their pre-order, especially with shops raring to charge people as soon as possible. Early adoption is always a risk and for a lot of people it probably isn't one worth taking; the overall experience of owning either new console is going to be better 6 months or a year from now. Personally the prospect of a bumpy start doesn't really faze me as I enjoy the thrill of the new and have been awaiting new hardware for ages, but it's certainly not for everyone.

[SMD]

Come to think of it, how did 3DS/Wii U/Vita fare at launch?

Now the above are simpler devices and - I think - sold less at launch, but did they get any notable hit from Amazon ratings and Twitter complaints due to broken launch units? I only ask as these devices all launched during the age of widespread social media, and might give an idea of how this effects what we're hearing.

Did okay really. No one really complained about the 3DS (apart from the games and the lack of second stick...) but IIRC there weren't too many people with issues on here or on Twitter. As for the Wii U, there were a few DOA consoles but not too many. I think on rllmuk there were maybe 5 or 6? The bigger hoohah was the lack of Nintendo Land in some Amazon bundles, but they sent out codes and physical copies quickly so it didn't last long.

[NecroMorrius]

The fact that your day one console might brick itself as soon as you plug an ethernet cable in only compounds the excitement with a sense of danger!

[Cyhwuhx]

£60 quid for Battlefield 4. I tweeted yosp and co about why it was such an insane price but curiously got no reply.

Seriously? I mean, this has been explained over, and over, and over again. It's the RRP. You guys over on that island have brick & mortar shops that are so OTT in discounts that you have lost track of what the normal price of a game is. If they go lower with their prices, those same shops will slam Sony for unfair competition.

[strider]

I'm not paying £60 for something digital that can't be traded. I don't give a fuck if it's the RRP, I'm not paying insane prices like that.

[Dandy_Sephy]

Having to download patches for digital releases isn't a Sony-exclusive thing though is it? I'm remember having to patch 360 digital titles.

Surely the issue is that they upload the package that's on the physical disc, followed by any associated patches. To include the patches would require the publisher to rebuild the main package every time they issued a patch wouldn't it?

I think the size and length of time to download patches on the PS3 was because of the PS3 filesystem or some such; hopefully it's more like the 360's approach to patching (deltas?)

I agree with this. Obviously it's not ideal to have to download a day one patch on top of the game, but that's more to do with the state of modern console development. With delta patching now in use and the system now being more capable of handling the update as a background process, it's a small inconvenience rather than a massive usability problem. The giant bomb guys trying to play NBA2K14 was a good example, they could at least play some of the game while waiting for a combined install and patch (although opinion was split on real use situation if they preferred to let the console do it's stuff and come back later)

---

The reports about broken consoles have certainly become more of a concern than the original handful of units that were playing up. I wouldn't criticise anyone who decided to wait, although I have no intention of doing so myself. I'd rather take the chance of getting a good unit than waiting 6 months to make sure any design changes that they may make are done. I've had DOA 360's and Wii U's, but many other devices that were fine.

[Mortis]

So buy it physically - there you go - problem solved. It's the big issue that digital distribution on the consoles need to address before people will switch. If it costs less to manufacture than a physical disk, can be reproduced with no cost beyond hosting and can't be traded it "should" cost less.

[Dandy_Sephy]

Seriously? I mean, this has been explained over, and over, and over again. It's the RRP. You guys over on that island have brick & mortar shops that are so OTT in discounts that you have lost track of what the normal price of a game is. If they go lower with their prices, those same shops will slam Sony for unfair competition.

When even the rip off merchants that are Game are asking £15 less than the supposed RRP (I'm talking current gen), you have to wonder what third parties are thinking with digital pricing. Sony's rrp varies, as do it's store prices, but on the whole they tend to be the same as B+M retail on release. A £20 premium for a Ubisoft game just to get the digital version is not acceptable, RRP or not.

You're deflecting the issue by saying it's RRP, the problem is the high RRP in the first place. 15 years ago PC games had an RRP of £50, but I never saw one above £35 at the most, and this was long before Steam took off. Making digital prices the same as retail prices on release isn't unfair competition, on the contrary it is fair competition.

[Paulando]

I'd certainly go mostly digital, if only for the convenience (especially for Vita remote play), but not at 60 quid a throw.

Instead I'll be buying BF4 for £40 at retail and I'll probably trade it when I've finished the campaign.

[Zombait]

Considering this very forum was doing cartwheels a couple of weeks ago when a couple of unverified rumours surfaced on Twitter that the Xbone UI had a few problems, the writing off of many reports of broken out of the box PS4s on every single US forum I've looked at today as bad batches or a vocal minority, makes me think Smitty was onto something with complaining about double-standards.

This is going to sound ridiculous but I experienced something very similar with the YLOD on my brothers PS3; when I was researching possible fixes because Sony failed to acknowledge it was ever an issue (unlike MS) and wanted £100 to fix it. I'd be searching for YT vids showing the problem which were thumbed down to oblivion, comment sections and forum posts accusing the various owners of mishandling the PS3, having it vertical instead of horizontal, smoking and pet hair it seemed everything was at fault but the actual PlayStation and Sony.

I'm not fanboy baiting or anything but it seemed to me that owners of the 360 banded together to get MS to fix the issues with 360 whereas there appeared to be a large contingent of Sony defenders who tried to bury the problem and deny it ever existed. It was very strange, almost as if I'd found myself on Summerisle.

[Jolly]

Reports of faulty machines have certainly dampened my enthusiasm. Fortunately I'll have Mario to fall back on, so the day wouldn't be a complete write off.

Gonna be a hell of a ride though. Now on top of nervously looking out of the window for The Van, I'm going to be nervously setting it up before, deep breath, switching it on.

[Fusty Gusset]

Just got a message on Live by an old buddy in NYC and he said after using his PS4 for 4hrs it started to smell like it was burning and was almost too hot to touch...?

I'm starting to worry a bit about all this.

[Ferine]

I think Amazon selling digital PSN content in the US is a very positive step for digital pricing. A bit of competition in that space should do wonders, as can be seen when buying Steam codes from the likes of GMG.

Personally I've set myself a £40 limit on launch titles. With a bit of shopping around I've managed to get BF4 and Black Flag for that price, so that just leaves Shadow Fall to go.

[Banjaxed]

Not thinking of cancelling my preorder one bit, but have to admit I'm concerned by the noise of that fan. Will just cross my fingers that my PS4 is a quiet one!!

[scottcr]

Game sell eshop codes as well... It works well. Is this amazon thing available directly in the console itself? If so - that's really quite great

[Harsin]

Been following it a bit today and there are some thoughts that it could be badly packaged machines that are suffering.

Seems a bit like clutching at straws to me but maybe they're just very fragile and we've all seen how some of those shipping companies in America treat things. Apparently the amazon orders where quite poorly packaged. Hopefully shopto have lots of cotton wool.

I suppose it just luck of the draw right now though. No one really knows. Good luck everyone!

You realise they have to get from China to the UK first? If they're actually so fragile that a bit of jostling in transit causes them to brick (which I doubt is the issue personally), then the effect of the final stage of the journey is going to be negligible.

[OllieCJBowen]

Quick first impressions. I'd say more but I'm actually enjoying playing on the PS4.

Some network issues last night. All seems to be good today. Mine and three other friends' PS4s are all fine. The UI is absolutely fine. I've no idea where all the complaints are coming from. It is quick as well which is a bonus. My friends and I have had no issues joining each others games, parties and all that jazz. Couple of them complaining that their headsets produce an echo every now and then. Controller is great.

Battlefield 4 is outstanding. Had the odd dropped connection but when it is going wow is it good. Not even had a 64 player game yet just 32. Great games with friends this morning.

Fifa is Fifa. Feels slicker, graphics and new animations are nice.

Resogun is good fun for 30 minutes a pop especially in online co-op. Graphics look great. I'm useless at this type of game though.

Not tried Killzone yet.

The wife loves Lego Marvel. Seems like any other Lego game to me with better graphics.

Quick go on Playroom last night. Wife enjoyed it. Impressive tech demo it seems.

BF4 has had most of my time and attention so far. Very impressed with the entire package. Will try to elaborate more over the next week.

[Minion]

Quick first impressions. I'd say more but I'm actually enjoying playing on the PS4.

Some network issues last night. All seems to be good today. Mine and three other friends' PS4s are all fine. The UI is absolutely fine. I've no idea where all the complaints are coming from. It is quick as well which is a bonus. My friends and I have had no issues joining each others games, parties and all that jazz. Couple of them complaining that their headsets produce an echo every now and then. Controller is great.

Battlefield 4 is outstanding. Had the odd dropped connection but when it is going wow is it good. Not even had a 64 player game yet just 32. Great games with friends this morning.

Fifa is Fifa. Feels slicker, graphics and new animations are nice.

Resogun is good fun for 30 minutes a pop especially in online co-op. Graphics look great. I'm useless at this type of game though.

Not tried Killzone yet.

The wife loves Lego Marvel. Seems like any other Lego game to me with better graphics.

Quick go on Playroom last night. Wife enjoyed it. Impressive tech demo it seems.

BF4 has had most of my time and attention so far. Very impressed with the entire package. Will try to elaborate more over the next week.

Ollie does your PS4 get so hot after 4 hours and start to smell of burning like a poster above said his American XBL Friend said?

Personally I paid for mine last night and would be gutted if it was broken on arrival but hey ho I'm in now. I was a 360 launch buyer too and that one lasted 8 months before dying, I'm hoping it won't be a similar issue. I would be surprised if there was an overheating problem though, in view of everything that happened with the 360 you would think that R&D would be done to ensure a large scale failure rate would not occur as that could cost the company many many millions?

[ravon]

Finally some positive first impressions

[Ferine]

Been following it a bit today and there are some thoughts that it could be badly packaged machines that are suffering.

There will probably be the odd case of machines damaged in transit, but hardware issues are far more likely due to manufacturing or component problems. It wouldn't surprise me if most of the defective units are coming from the same factory, for instance.

Game sell eshop codes as well... It works well. Is this amazon thing available directly in the console itself? If so - that's really quite great

No. Well, I suppose you could use the web browser, but it's not built into the system any more than you can press a button to purchase via GMG in Steam.

[OllieCJBowen]

Ollie does your PS4 get so hot after 4 hours and start to smell of burning like a poster above said his American XBL Friend said?

Personally I paid for mine last night and would be gutted if it was broken on arrival but hey ho I'm in now. I was a 360 launch buyer too and that one lasted 8 months before dying, I'm hoping it won't be a similar issue. I would be surprised if there was an overheating problem though, in view of everything that happened with the 360 you would think that R&D would be done to ensure a large scale failure rate would not occur as that could cost the company many many millions?

Mine was on for 8 hours last night and no signs of overheating at all. Was no warmer than my 360 slim. Same for my friends. Biggest issue we all had was PS Network being a pain yesterday. Fine today though.