General Discussion

[KiteGr]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/new-consoles-mega64/728877

The sadest part is that it's true...

We are going backwards.

[Semaphia]

Lol

[fenian]

Sony should have protected their games.

Microsoft simply bought every game their customers wanted, sony just let them go, sony hasnt got the money to proect independently developed exclusives.

so we went from a situation of healthy competition, and different variations of games on different consoles, to the same thing from each company.

Both companies will claim their console is in theory better, but the real world will show they are pretty much the same, the games they offer will be the same, and as forbes mentioned the route they are going down of trying to control users and maximise every available profit, is probably going to fail, the analysts think its going to fail.

Also, Sony cant be trusted, no matter what long term claims they make to say their console is better than the next xbox, any of those abilities or features can be removed, so if microsoft say they are blocking 2nd hand games, and sony say they will allow it, who can trust sony to keep their word? a year down the line they might be blocked.

ah well.

[Berzerker793]

I just hope all these rumours are just that. I've yet to hear one feature or spec that makes me think "oh yes, I want that" 

The most concrete of the rumours at this early stage seem to be the chip specifications and even by todays PC standards they're not "out of this world" good, god only knows how far the performance would have slipped by the time of release, 1 and half years from now. Or worse still, 2 years later into the console lifespan when you would be hoping for it to start to reach peak performance.

Add into that lack of backward compatability, online passes, restrictive DLC and a general feeling of being treated less as a customer and more of a cash cow by "corperate suits" who seem to care less. The future does not look good. Right now I have to ask why anyone would want to buy into that?

And heres a big fear that been sat in my head while reading all the recent speculation. What happens if it just doesn't sell? Can Sony be trusted not to pull PS3 support in an attempt to drive people into buying this new console? 

That may be unlikely but you have to remember the financial hole Sony are in at the moment. They're losing millions upon millions every year. The Playstation division is one of the few areas that breaks even and makes money for them, Should there next console not capture the publics imagination and fail to sell it could result in huge losses.

Fortunately we are still at the very early stages of speculation about the next gen of consoles and I still have the hope that most of what has been spoken about could be wrong. When commenting on this stuff the one line people seem to ignore is the "things might change by the time of release" included in all the reports. ...We can but hope. 

Whenever any official statement on the next gen comes, I, for one, would really like to be able to get excited about the idea of a new console rather than wondering if it means the death of console gaming as we know it.

[PatC_PSN]

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Berzerker793 wrote:

Add into that lack of backward compatability, online passes, restrictive DLC and a general feeling of being treated less as a customer and more of a cash cow by "corperate suits" who seem to care less. The future does not look good. Right now I have to ask why anyone would want to buy into that?

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It's never been any different to that. Ever. For any product in any market. If you thought it was then you fell for the sugary we-love-our-customers marketing talk. Caring can only ever be an illusion from what is only a legal trading entity.

Consumers always have been, and always will be, just a source of income for shareholders. That's the way it works. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with that model, but in some markets it is fuelled mainly by hype. Gaming is one such market. And when you hype anything that much the people responsible for delivering can rarely keep up with it for long.

[Berzerker793]

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PatC_PSN wrote:

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Berzerker793 wrote:

Add into that lack of backward compatability, online passes, restrictive DLC and a general feeling of being treated less as a customer and more of a cash cow by "corperate suits" who seem to care less. The future does not look good. Right now I have to ask why anyone would want to buy into that?

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It's never been any different to that. Ever. For any product in any market. If you thought it was then you fell for the sugary we-love-our-customers marketing talk. Caring can only ever be an illusion from what is only a legal trading entity.

Consumers always have been, and always will be, just a source of income for shareholders. That's the way it works. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with that model, but in some markets it is fuelled mainly by hype. Gaming is one such market. And when you hype anything that much the people responsible for delivering can rarely keep up with it for long.

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Totally agree with that, but that wasn't the point I was trying to make. As you say the gaming industry is one fuelled by hype but I was trying to raise concerns for the console market when a product is released that has very little that could be "hyped up" so average are its specifications and restrictive are its features.

But on top of that we do seem to be also looking at a future where any pretence for giving the customer what he wants goes out the window. And yes, that could be seen as far more honest (as you say, its how they always operated) but is being so blatant in your lack of regard for what your existing customers want from the next console a good marketing strategy? If the next consoles fail to sell, its bad for everyone. Shareholders and gamers alike.

Thankfully, we're still in the rumour and speculation phase, no point strssing over what might never be eh?

[PatC_PSN]

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Berzerker793 wrote:

But on top of that we do seem to be also looking at a future where any pretence for giving the customer what he wants goes out the window. And yes, that could be seen as far more honest (as you say, its how they always operated) but is being so blatant in your lack of regard for what your existing customers want from the next console a good marketing strategy? If the next consoles fail to sell, its bad for everyone. Shareholders and gamers alike.

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What is it that you believe consumers want and would be prepared to pay for in sufficient numbers, that they are not likely to get from the next generation of gaming consoles - should there be one?

[LittleBigDragonz]

" Thankfully, we're still in the rumor and speculation phase, no point stressing over what might never be eh? " 

This.

I can't see Sony going backwards with the next gen console. Yeah there might be a few things removed form the console that will upset people, but stuff will be added too that console to make up for the losses ( if there ever was a loss to start with ).

Backwards compatibility seems to keep popping up ( or lack of ), well maybe there isn't going to be this feature. Maybe a newer feature will be available ( Forward Compatibility ) " Forwards Compatibility is the ability for the PS4 to play PS3 games at a vastly improved level ". Ever thought of that?

And if the next gen console doesn't play second hand games, that means that ( Online game passes ) will no longer be needed doesn't it. You only need the pass to play games online that are not new to you. lol.

Can you see the game companies doing away with online passes? for second hand games. I can't see that happening myself if being honest. They will lose even more money than they do nowadays.

The PS4 ( if that's what people want to call the console ) will have the following..

Better RAM. ( more of it, ect )

Better GPU. ( better than previous models )

Better CPU. ( better than previous models )

Better HDD ( bigger & faster than previously )

Better Disk Drive. ( too many things to mention )

Better cooling. ( As above )

Better wireless ( Wireless N )

Better USB

The PS4 ( if that's what people want to call the console ) Could have the following..

Forward Compatibility.

Backward Compatibility.

8x Blu-Ray Drive.

1TB HDD 7200 rpm

4K resolution ( for new TV's )

2x HDMI's

Bluetooth and wireless control options built in.

But only time will tell ;o)

[Warren_Jeeves]

You need to explain this "Forward Compatibility" thing better.

[PatC_PSN]

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Warren_Jeeves wrote:
You need to explain this "Forward Compatibility" thing better.

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I think it means the PS4 playing PS5 games.