PlayStation 4

I was under that impression too...

And in some worse news, 3 studios (all UK-based) were hit with layoffs.

If you'd like to read some silver-lining in this, you could say that unlike the last generation, 3rd-party publishers are now flocking to the Sony brand, leaving less importance on 1st-party games.

edited 25th Mar '14 9:47:32 PM by Alucard

Hopefully it's just trimming the fat. Not every employee is a valuable employee, sadly.

How do you think Facebook buying the Oculus Rift will affect Morpheus?

Depending on what Facebook chooses to do to the Rift, project Morpheus might receive bolstered support from the VR-interested community.

Well for one, the situation has reversed. Less than a week ago people called the Oculus Rift the underdog for being backed by a significantly smaller marketing arm. Now it's Sony in that corner (just look at the article I posted above).

This move has some good implications of its own. Facebook has effectively validated VR on a more mainstream level, which helps Sony not to stand out as the only big company currently behind the idea (giving skeptics reason to take VR headsets as more than a fad). A rising tide lifts all boats, after all.

And if Mark Zuckerberg screws up, all the better for Sony. Once again, they have some good will on their side, with the knee-jerk reaction on the internet being that they've got the only VR headset that's truly for gamers. Not sure how much that could work against them if Facebook starts developing any major innovations outside the field.

And should the OR fail in some massive way in spite of the backing they've received, you could argue that taking monopoly on a dying market is a Pyrrhic Victory for Sony at best.

edited 26th Mar '14 3:07:43 AM by Alucard

Sony just made a definitive list of all the currently-known games coming to the PS 4 in 2014 (over 100).

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/03/26/every-ps4-game-announced-2014-far-100-growing/

edited 26th Mar '14 5:15:34 PM by Alucard

Considering how success attracts success is it too early to declare The Play Station 4 the winner of the console wars?

It still actually needs some exclusive killer apps.

Right now the PS 4 is riding a wave of pure hype alone. That hype will not last long unless there are actually games to back it up.

If Watch Dogs and Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain were PS 4 exclusive they could be the killer apps but no it seems.

Its weekly sales in the UK more than doubled last week because of inFamous: Second Son. It's not hurting for sales.

I think the concept of the Killer App that everyone has to have just doesn't exist anymore. It's a holdover from an era where most people would only have a handful of games, so if a really great game came out, most people would try to get it.

edited 26th Mar '14 6:01:19 PM by BadWolf21

I don't know, the X Bone has cashed all this chips into the Titans fall basket and Pokémon is still keeping the DS profitable despite competition from Mobile apps.

Here is another question: if there isn't a game or at least a handful of games really want to play why exactly would you want to buy a game console?

Cheaper than getting a right and proper PC.

More user-friendly than any gaming PC, too.

Yes but their has to be some appeal to game selection offered. Otherwise if you just want something easy you can play games on your smart phone.

edited 26th Mar '14 6:36:18 PM by joeyjojo

Oh, don't even draw that comparison. You're never going to play something like inFamous, or Assassin's Creed on your phone.

You're the one saying killer app don't matter not me.

Then you really don't understand what a Killer App actually is, if you think the logical conclusion of "That doesn't exist as a concept anymore" is "Then you should be happy playing games on your phone."

There's a difference between a killer app and a AAA game.

Kind of like what Ben Yahtzee's standardised response for reviewing next gen games then? '____ is a fun game.... doesn't justify forcing us to buy a clunky new console with no backwards compatability.'

Yes Wolf I agree you're right about game's as system sellers not being as big as they were 10 years ago. Most major AAA games are multi-platform now and rightfully won't play pledge the oath of fealty to a single System. But they is still plenty of 'dudebros' who buy Xboxes just to play Co D just as they plenty of Tyrees her own computer is just to annoyed their children on Farmville. I wouldn't declare the concept dead yet that's all.

edited 26th Mar '14 7:09:47 PM by joeyjojo

Anything Naughty Dog does perfectly qualifies as a killer app. Uncharted 2 has one of the highest critical aggregate scores of all time, and The Last of Us sold over 6 million in under a year. Uncharted 4 will carry the console just fine.

Speaking of TLoU, a representative from SCE Turkey let slip that it's likely going to be ported up.

the ps4 is a blu-ray player with various other media apps like netflix and amazon instant. it also comes at the same price point as the top end 10" tablets.

if you want the same thing in one device, you can get a ~$600 laptop and mess around with wires every time you want to watch something, or you can build a media PC for ~$200 but that involves knowing how to build a media PC, or you buy an xbox one + gold. Alternatively you can settle for two devices with a separate blu-ray player (~$100) and an apple TV ($100) and then go through the rigamaroll of having multiple remotes/setting up a universal remote

I know people say that everyone wants a media thingamajig that does everything, but realistically most people will buy multiple thingamajigs anyway, even if they're redundant.

Ever think Naughty Dog would ever do a new Way of the Warrior?

No clue, but I still hold a tiny, vain, delusional sliver of hope that Jak 4 could ever possibly be a thing.

They have two studios, one could be working on it.

For Way of the Warrior, though? I think they just want to forget about that. I've tried it, personally, and its not bad, but really, you take a look at them now as pretty much undisputed masters of the craft, and back then....