Yes... another PS4 vs. Xbox One post.
I probably shouldn't, but I felt the need to do another PS4 and Xbox One based post. I probably should have waited until they were both released, but then some of what I'm about to say would already be proven or disproved as the case may be.
As one might guess, since the Xbox One is still about a week away, this will mostly be predictions pertaining to that based on what has happened with the PS4.
Reading through some posts, it has come to my attention that most retailers are sold out virtually everywhere. In fact, Futureshop's web site seems to be implying that the nearest location with some in stock still is in Nova Scotia. I'm in Ontario... that pretty damn far away. And yet, this is to a degree by design. Sony has said that they held back stock so that they could continue delivering units throughout the holidays.
And this is where things get tricky. Two of the biggest things Sony had going for this console were the earlier availability and the lower price when compared to the Xbox One. By limiting opening sales both advantages disappear for many consumers. Right now I could pay more for a PS4 than an Xbox One on eBay or a similar site and also run the risk of being scammed. Or I could wait 2 weeks and hope I get a unit before they run out again. But by then the Xbox One will have already been released.
And frankly, if I had been one of those who lined up for hours or days to get one and walked away empty handed, I would be furious knowing that Sony had more units that they are simply sitting on.
While I don't know how common this sort of practice is, it seems like it punishes your most faithful fans in favour of those who care less. Sony should have shipped as many units as it predicted it could have sold. Which, lets face it was probably every unit it currently had produced. If the holiday shoppers didn't pre-order or wait in line on opening day that is their fault. This isn't the first console platform release. Society knows damn well what these things entail. The existence of pre-orders has actually much improved things and anyone who wants any guarantee of access to such a device should have jumped on that bandwagon.
So, I think it is possible that Sony's planning here may end helping to drive some buyers to the Xbox One. Providing of course that Microsoft doesn't make the same mistake.
[update]
Some more news I learned from reading around today. Multiplayer is apparently blocked behind a PS+ membership. And I think is bigger than people want to accept. Yes $50 a year is fairly trivial. Yes, if you can't afford $50 a year, you probably can't technically afford either the system or the games that go on it. But that isn't actually my point at all. Cost is irrelevant.
If you watch all of the Sony literature, the focus was on the deeper online/social avenues the PS4 opens up. It was basically the only leg they had to stand on when justifying the PS4 as a next gen console. They added a "Share" button directly to the controllers they felt it was so pivotal. Their initial wave of ads was two guys playing multiplayer games together. And much of the pre-release ad material also focused on connected elements as well. Lets be honest... aside from this ever greater push towards social gaming the PS4 is really just a faster PS3.
So, even if every other social feature works without it. It is at the end of the day a gaming system. The only social element that truly matters in a gaming system is social gaming (online multiplayer). Recording your gaming and uploading to Facebook are trivial features of little value (there is nothing intrinsically console gaming related about either). Sharing games with friends is irrelevant if you can't play with them. And since the deeper social interaction is about the only thing that makes the PS4 more than a faster PS3, by charging for that you don't actually get a next gen console out of the box. You only actually own a next gen PlayStation when you also subscribe to PS+.
[/update]
As one might guess, since the Xbox One is still about a week away, this will mostly be predictions pertaining to that based on what has happened with the PS4.
Reading through some posts, it has come to my attention that most retailers are sold out virtually everywhere. In fact, Futureshop's web site seems to be implying that the nearest location with some in stock still is in Nova Scotia. I'm in Ontario... that pretty damn far away. And yet, this is to a degree by design. Sony has said that they held back stock so that they could continue delivering units throughout the holidays.
And this is where things get tricky. Two of the biggest things Sony had going for this console were the earlier availability and the lower price when compared to the Xbox One. By limiting opening sales both advantages disappear for many consumers. Right now I could pay more for a PS4 than an Xbox One on eBay or a similar site and also run the risk of being scammed. Or I could wait 2 weeks and hope I get a unit before they run out again. But by then the Xbox One will have already been released.
And frankly, if I had been one of those who lined up for hours or days to get one and walked away empty handed, I would be furious knowing that Sony had more units that they are simply sitting on.
While I don't know how common this sort of practice is, it seems like it punishes your most faithful fans in favour of those who care less. Sony should have shipped as many units as it predicted it could have sold. Which, lets face it was probably every unit it currently had produced. If the holiday shoppers didn't pre-order or wait in line on opening day that is their fault. This isn't the first console platform release. Society knows damn well what these things entail. The existence of pre-orders has actually much improved things and anyone who wants any guarantee of access to such a device should have jumped on that bandwagon.
So, I think it is possible that Sony's planning here may end helping to drive some buyers to the Xbox One. Providing of course that Microsoft doesn't make the same mistake.
[update]
Some more news I learned from reading around today. Multiplayer is apparently blocked behind a PS+ membership. And I think is bigger than people want to accept. Yes $50 a year is fairly trivial. Yes, if you can't afford $50 a year, you probably can't technically afford either the system or the games that go on it. But that isn't actually my point at all. Cost is irrelevant.
If you watch all of the Sony literature, the focus was on the deeper online/social avenues the PS4 opens up. It was basically the only leg they had to stand on when justifying the PS4 as a next gen console. They added a "Share" button directly to the controllers they felt it was so pivotal. Their initial wave of ads was two guys playing multiplayer games together. And much of the pre-release ad material also focused on connected elements as well. Lets be honest... aside from this ever greater push towards social gaming the PS4 is really just a faster PS3.
So, even if every other social feature works without it. It is at the end of the day a gaming system. The only social element that truly matters in a gaming system is social gaming (online multiplayer). Recording your gaming and uploading to Facebook are trivial features of little value (there is nothing intrinsically console gaming related about either). Sharing games with friends is irrelevant if you can't play with them. And since the deeper social interaction is about the only thing that makes the PS4 more than a faster PS3, by charging for that you don't actually get a next gen console out of the box. You only actually own a next gen PlayStation when you also subscribe to PS+.
[/update]
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