Playstation 4 Finally Officially Announced For Holiday 2013

[kedawa]

Sony is also including a more advanced camera with every console.

They actually didn't confirm anything about this yet.
I'm hoping that they don't.

[Bojay1997]

If Sony think's there's any prayer that a $500 game console will succeed in 2013, the Playstation 4 is going to be their last game console.

They're not in the position to afford a repeat of the same screwup two generation's in a row.

I don't know, the US economy is slowly improving and people haven't really had the opportunity to buy a new console from either Sony or Microsoft in 6-7 years. Plus, we live in an era when parents buy their kids $600+ iPads and $200 smartphones every couple of years. Given that both PS4 and Durango are based on PC technology makes it easy to argue the value proposition simply because you can compare what comes in the console to comparable PCs. Heck, people paid $300 - $350 for the WiiU and that doesn't even come close to the technology or capability packed in the PS4 and likely Durango as well.

[The 1 2 P]

Honestly, I don't see how either company can sell their machines for less than $449.99 or $499.99. If either Sony or Microsoft prices their system at $399.99, that would be ideal, but I just think the hit per console would be extremely harsh. Remember, Microsoft is going to be throwing a new version of Kinect in with every console. Sony is using 8 gigs of DDR5. Sony is also including a more advanced camera with every console.

It's going to be very hard to get either box priced at $399.99 this time. If one of them can do it, then more power to them, but I just can't see it based on the specs announced and the various rumors.

Well for Microsoft the solution is already in the testing stage. And that would be the subscription model 360 where you pay $99 up front and then pay the rest over a 2 year period for $14.99 a month thru an XBL gold membership. Considering many people are already use to doing this with their smart phones(with most still under the illusion that their phone is actually free) it's a genius move on Microsoft's part. And more importantly, it answers your question of how they can afford to launch the console under a $300 price point.

[kupomogli]

While there's some people who have probably went the $99 for a 360 and then the monthly fee, most people wouldn't go that route. The only people who would pay such a ridiculous price are the same very few people who would even think of shopping at Rent a Center or similar places.

[The 1 2 P]

While there's some people who have probably went the $99 for a 360 and then the monthly fee, most people wouldn't go that route. The only people who would pay such a ridiculous price are the same very few people who would even think of shopping at Rent a Center or similar places.

Last time I checked Rent A Center was still in business so obviously enough people shop there to keep them going. But regarding the subscription, I still think it's silly that people pay $50-$100 a month for their smart phone plans. Thats $600-$1,200 every year and yet millions of people do just that and I bet alot of them don't think twice about it. So I could easily see that carrying over to a video game console or any other number of consumer products. As far as most people not going the route of a $99 Xbox, this option has only been available for roughly a year in limited stores/test markets. Had it been available from day one it'd be a whole other story. And thats why I think that Microsoft will indeed make that one of the options come launch time for their new system. And if this does happen and the price of the premium system is $400-$450 I could definitely see a certain type of shopper going for the subscription model, especially since it's so similiar to a smart phone contract.

[WCP]

Microsoft might be selling the 360 for $99.99 if you sign up for a 2 year contract at $14.99 a month, or whatever it is, but that's for the current Xbox. When the new one comes out, they can't give that thing away for $99, unless they lock you down to like a 5 year contract or something, lol. I doubt that many people would be interested in that. So instead they would probably sell it for $299 with a 2 year committment (@ $14.99 per month), instead of $99. The other option would be to buy the cheap version of the Xbox Infinity for $449.99, or the higher end model for $549.99.

(just a guess)

[The 1 2 P]

I'm not saying the subscription model is guaranteed to be priced at $99, I'm just saying they will probably have a subscription model as an alternative option to just buying it all at once. It might be $149 or it might be $199. And also don't expect them to offer 5 year contracts. In order to keep them as similiar to smart phone contracts as possible they would most likely only offer 2 or 3 year deals.

[danawhitaker]

Well for Microsoft the solution is already in the testing stage. And that would be the subscription model 360 where you pay $99 up front and then pay the rest over a 2 year period for $14.99 a month thru an XBL gold membership. Considering many people are already use to doing this with their smart phones(with most still under the illusion that their phone is actually free) it's a genius move on Microsoft's part. And more importantly, it answers your question of how they can afford to launch the console under a $300 price point.

I wish consumers would educate themselves better and avoid going that route. You can find a one-year subscription to Live for $35-40 if you time it right and would come out considerably ahead. Anyone taking that $99+ 2 year deal ends up paying almost $460 for a console that you could own outright for $250 and even if you paid the $60 price for two years of Live cards that would still be only $370. But you're right, that would be a way to subsidize a new console under the $300 price point. I wouldn't do it, but you're probably right that there are people who would. People are being groomed to this model. Smartphones, Netflix, Hulu, DVRs...hell, even my cable company is trying to get people to do this with wireless networks now instead of suggesting the customer buy a wireless router for $50.

[The 1 2 P]

I wish consumers would educate themselves better and avoid going that route. You can find a one-year subscription to Live for $35-40 if you time it right and would come out considerably ahead. Anyone taking that $99+ 2 year deal ends up paying almost $460 for a console that you could own outright for $250 and even if you paid the $60 price for two years of Live cards that would still be only $370.

I agree but me and you aren't the target demographic for those subscription deals. That would be the smart phone loving crowd who don't think twice about signing a 2 year contract for $50-$100 a month and then will re-up at the end to a new 2 year contract continuing to pay $50-$100 so that they can get a "new" phone.

[danawhitaker]

More specifics about the PS4 DualShock 4:

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...ontroller.aspx

[Kiddo]

I think it's absolutely retarded for games to require controllers from the previous generation of the hardware.

I've rarely actually used the Wiimotes for anything outside of Wii BC stuff, so it's not like they're urgent business. They're there like how GC controllers were on the Wii, except since they're much more likely to be widely used they probably won't be removed in a further SKU.

Besides, who's gonna buy a Wii U that hasn't already got a Wii?

[kedawa]

I imagine there are plenty of potential Wii U owners that either couldn't be bothered with the Wii, or already sold theirs, but maybe you're right.

[kupomogli]

Besides, who's gonna buy a Wii U that hasn't already got a Wii?

That's like saying all those PS3 and 360 owners had to have a PS2 or Xbox, right? Obviously no one can be interested in a future console unless they're a fan of the previous console. Or so your post implies.

I'm eventually getting a Wii U and I don't own a Wii. There weren't enough games for the console that I was interested in, but for those that I was interested in, I own those and will be playing those along with the Wii U games I end up getting.

[kedawa]

You're still going to need those old peripherals to play Wii games anyway, then, because Nintendo.

[Kiddo]

That's like saying all those PS3 and 360 owners had to have a PS2 or Xbox, right? Obviously no one can be interested in a future console unless they're a fan of the previous console. Or so your post implies.

There's multiple reasons why those two examples are hardly an analog to the one of the fastest sellers of the previous console generation keeping it's main selling point compatible with it's next iteration (HINT: Neither of those two were backward-compatible with their previous gen controllers to begin with), but I'll just say that as far as I can see you're a very unique case if you bought a Wii U this early in it's lifespan and -aren't- someone who has a tradition of buying Nintendo consoles close to launch, nevermind the Wi itself, considering the intial sales numbers.

If you weren't interested in the Wii, then what do you think the Wii U will offer to you that the Wii failed on? And why did you not wait until the Fall when there was more likely to be a slew of games to play?

You're still going to need those old peripherals to play Wii games anyway, then, because Nintendo.

Why yes, because it'd be so much better to play Wii Sports Resort with a touch screen rather than the Wiimotion Plus it was originally designed for, right?

I mean, complaining about your old games being able to be played with your old controllers is like... what the heck world am I on? PS2 fans would've LOVED to have had DualShock 2 support on the PS3 right out of the gate instead of needing cumbersome USB Converters. Acting like this is some " Nintendo" thing is just complaining for the sake of the complaining.

[kupomogli]

If you weren't interested in the Wii, then what do you think the Wii U will offer to you that the Wii failed on? And why did you not wait until the Fall when there was more likely to be a slew of games to play?

I'm eventually getting a Wii U and I don't own a Wii. There weren't enough games for the console that I was interested in, but for those that I was interested in, I own those and will be playing those along with the Wii U games I end up getting.

I'm not getting a Wii U anytime soon. Eventually. When that happens I'll be able to play all the Wii and Wii U games I own. New Super Mario Bros U, the next Xenoblade, and Super Smash Bros U are three games that I'll eventually get that add to the list of Wii games. So the Wii alone might not be enough games to get me to purchase the system, but Wii and Wii U games would be.

[kedawa]

There's multiple reasons why those two examples are hardly an analog to the one of the fastest sellers of the previous console generation keeping it's main selling point compatible with it's next iteration (HINT: Neither of those two were backward-compatible with their previous gen controllers to begin with), but I'll just say that as far as I can see you're a very unique case if you bought a Wii U this early in it's lifespan and -aren't- someone who has a tradition of buying Nintendo consoles close to launch, nevermind the Wi itself, considering the intial sales numbers.

If you weren't interested in the Wii, then what do you think the Wii U will offer to you that the Wii failed on? And why did you not wait until the Fall when there was more likely to be a slew of games to play?



Why yes, because it'd be so much better to play Wii Sports Resort with a touch screen rather than the Wiimotion Plus it was originally designed for, right?

I mean, complaining about your old games being able to be played with your old controllers is like... what the heck world am I on? PS2 fans would've LOVED to have had DualShock 2 support on the PS3 right out of the gate instead of needing cumbersome USB Converters. Acting like this is some " Nintendo" thing is just complaining for the sake of the complaining.

Explain to me why the tablet or pro controller can't play Tatsunoko vs Capcom or NSMB. For that matter, why can't the classic controller and internal flash memory on Wii be used for GC games? Why can't I share data between a GBA cart in my GB Player and my GC for games that support GBA/GC link? We all know the answer, and it's quite simple; Nintendo. Buy more accessories and cables, please!

And why would you need DS2 support on PS3? The sixaxis/DS3 works just fine for PS1 and PS2 games.
Sony did it correctly; the old peripherals are completely unnecessary, but if you really want to use your old controllers and memory cards, there's an adapter you can buy.

[danawhitaker]

And why would you need DS2 support on PS3? The sixaxis/DS3 works just fine for PS1 and PS2 games. Sony did it correctly; the old peripherals are completely unnecessary, but if you really want to use your old controllers and memory cards, there's an adapter you can buy.

I can see one reason immediately. When you buy a new console, it only includes one controller. That's pretty much standard. If you have multiple people in your household who would like to play games together, or if you have friends who come over to game who don't have their own system at home, then you're stuck coughing up another $45-55 (depending on sales and whatnot) for another controller. It would be a nice perk (not a necessity, but a perk) to have had the DS2 have work on the PS3. That would save you $50. Of course, that's not in Sony's best interest because that means you're not giving them as much money. And really, the expectation is sort of their own fault, because the controllers almost look identical and function pretty much identically and have the same button placement and have forever, so people have this expectation that they must be the same.

For what it's worth, Nintendo did provide connectivity for Gamecube controllers on the Wii for the backwards compatible games. Though I'll absolutely concede it's fairly rare to have that kind of backwards compatibility and Sony shouldn't necessarily be raked over the coals for not providing it.

[kupomogli]

I can see one reason immediately. When you buy a new console, it only includes one controller. That's pretty much standard. If you have multiple people in your household who would like to play games together, or if you have friends who come over to game who don't have their own system at home, then you're stuck coughing up another $45-55 (depending on sales and whatnot) for another controller. It would be a nice perk (not a necessity, but a perk) to have had the DS2 have work on the PS3. That would save you $50. Of course, that's not in Sony's best interest because that means you're not giving them as much money. And really, the expectation is sort of their own fault, because the controllers almost look identical and function pretty much identically and have the same button placement and have forever, so people have this expectation that they must be the same.

For what it's worth, Nintendo did provide connectivity for Gamecube controllers on the Wii for the backwards compatible games. Though I'll absolutely concede it's fairly rare to have that kind of backwards compatibility and Sony shouldn't necessarily be raked over the coals for not providing it.

As was stated, you can purchase adapters to use Dualshock 2's on the PS3. Wireless controllers started to catch since Microsoft launched the 360, so there's your reason why DS2 isn't supported. They included a wireless controller with four USB slots. While the DS2 isn't supported, most USB devices are supported to allow you a wider variety of peripherals you may already own or would rather purchase. You could find USB controllers as cheap as $9.99 in stores.

Also. Their redesign of the DS4 is the reason why DS3 is no longer working. Replacing start and select with options and adding a share buttons. Although I can't see why they don't just configure the DS3 to use select as options and start as share. I'd rather go through the inconvenience of making a mistake and pushing the wrong button over purchasing new controllers.

[kedawa]

Perhaps they don't use the same wireless tech? PS3 uses somewhat non-standard implementations of both USB and bluetooth, and I imagine PS4 will adhere more closely to industry standard specifications for stuff like that.