1...Always On Social Networking Gaming
2...Touch pad on the controller
3...Zero backward comparability
4..."Synchronizing Trophies"
5...Always On Game Footage Recording
6...will retail for $499.99

I can see the touchpad (because of the vita) / 499$ (because)/ Zero backward compatibility (since the Cell processor(s) will likely not be used plus they need to sell PS3 classics on PSN of course) happening.

I'd wait.

Wait for what? Of course you'll wait they wont be released on Feb 20, just revealed.

$499 is stupid. They're trying to take a smaller loss, or no loss, on the consoles. You don't make a profit on the consoles; even though manufacturing costs drop over the lifespan of the console to the point where they become profitable, you never recover all your costs before the console is retired. You make it all back, and then a big pile besides, selling and licensing games for your console.

The Nintendo 64 was a really ambitious leap from the Super NES. Each unit was so expensive that when they initially wanted to put it on the market, it would have cost Nintendo $600 to make each one. Nintendo decided to wait longer and work on getting their production costs down more. When the N64 came out, it was still the most advanced system on the field, but it was priced at $200.

When this happened to Sony, they released the PS3 anyway, the decked-out model was $600. The only thing that convinced people to pay that was the sort of synergy rebate you got from not having to buy a Blu-Ray player now, because the PS3 contains one.

Sony's always had a little trouble following through on backward compatibility promises. Nintendo has done a good job of it, and Microsoft just doesn't promise much. Sony's back-compat strategy with the PS3 was probably the most solid one I've seen so far -- the PS3 contains a PS2, which runs the PS2 games you put in the tray. I thought that was brilliant if you could make 'em small enough, but now if it's a late-generation title and had performance issues running on the PS2, it'll still have some of those issues on the PS3 -- the compat module can't address and control any more memory than the original PS2 contained.

The PS3 for $600 was not a deal in 2006, because you could already buy an XBOX 360 for a full year at 40% less. If the PS4 launches first and provides a substantial upgrade over the PS3, I would be willing to pay $500 for it, assuming I can't get basically the same upgrade for less money. When you're a distant second to the market and have a high price point for what is perceived to be an insignificant upgrade over the current standard, everyone will be price sensitive. In 2006, the PS3 was not a good value for a dedicated home gaming and media device. In 2012, the PS3 was the best value for a dedicated home gaming and media device.

Being out first, even if the price is considered high, will be a fantastic boon for the PS4. There will almost certainly be a consumer-end SKU for people who don't want to go over $300, and it will fix the biggest blunder Sony made with the PS3 - being late to the party and asking for too much money. You can ask for too much money if you're there first, because you're the only device on the street.

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Yeah, and I see no reason why Xbox wouldn't do the free year of Live with new consoles in the future. PSN needs to step up their game if they expect the PS4 to be a serious competitor for very long. I like playing through the single-player storyline a lot more than I like the multiplayer aspect of practically any game, but I'm damn near alone there; the market wants multiplayer everything, and Sony doesn't yet have the network for that.

Other than the month it was down due to the hack, I haven't had any trouble with PSN over the last four years. When I want to play a game online, it works. And it doesn't cost me $50 a year. I use the Netflix and Hulu apps daily with no issues. And it doesn't cost me $50 a year. In fact, the only time I ever have trouble with PSN is when I need to download a firmware update at the same time everyone else is downloading a firmware update.

Am I just in the crazy minority who has no problem with a fully-functional and free PSN, like I experience more than 99% of the time?

Edit: if you're trying to tell me that XBOX Live is the reason PS4 will fail, you surely must be joking. Since 2008, XBOX Live has gotten exponentially worse year over year with bloated updates seemingly only to show ads on a paid subscription service. I'll grant you, for those three years before local memory was a problem and before Sony got their shit together, XBOX had the best online service on the block. Since then, it's been a mess of spinning wheel indicators for minutes at a time, as the processor tries to render the next Jeep ad, or index the games I have stored locally on the HDD so I can pick which one I want to play. The user experience for XBOX is currently as bad as the Wii U, and you're either blind, a fool, or both if you believe otherwise.

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No problem here either. I subscriped to PSN Plus to get free games every month and will renew it because it's worth it. Good thing i switched my Hard drive for a 500MB one... Lots of free games downloaded so far :) And I like the fact that everything is up to date and firmwares are installed while I sleep.

No, Randy, I'm not trying to tell you that the 360 is going to be awesome in the next console generation. The 360 isn't what you'll be comparing to the PS4 anyway, so I'm not sure what its hardware limits have to do with the topic.

You're making a direct comparison between PSN and XBL, implying that Microsoft's version is the superior experience, despite being slower due to the addition of more features than the device can handle, and restricting the most base of features (not that Internet Explorer on the Xbox is worth a shit anyway) behind a paid subscription. These statements:





have been inaccurate since about 2009, as PSN has been the best online experience available in console games.

The hardware limitations of the 360 have very little to do with the fact that Microsoft has added zero value-adding features to the Live service over the past four years, from the hardly-functional and too slow to be useful Bing search, to the ridiculous inclusion of a hardly-functional version of Internet Explorer as a premium feature, while keeping Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and ESPN, all of which require a separate paid subscription to access on a PC, behind a $50 annual subscription service. There is absolutely no value in paying for Live, especially when compared to PSN's service, which provides nearly all the same functionality of Live, without trying to dog-food its users onto their other products, and includes free games.

So when you say PSN doesn't have the network to compete with Microsoft, it sounds a lot like an employee trying to convince himself that his company's service is not the worst on the block. Things certainly could change in the next generation, but Microsoft is going to have to do a lot more than give away a free year of Live to contend with the quality of service that Sony is currently providing, and the trajectory of the Live service over the life of the current console suggests Microsoft is the one that needs to step up their game to contend.

Which, again, has nothing to do with hardware limitations, and everything to do with Live being a piece of shit.

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He sounds like my friend who work for Research in Motion still trying to convince us that blackberies are the shiznit...

Sony really needs to step up their requiring an always-on internet connection if they want to compete in the shitty consumer experience market.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/6/395867 ... odes-rumor

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Sony? All I see is Xbox in that article. And why would that be good to REQUIRE an always on connection?

As a side note, I hope you can replace the hard drive with an off the shelf 2.5 inch hard drive like on the PS3 (unlike the Microsoft BS hard drives)

your sarcasm detector is broken, Fin.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

So it is! :)

Assuming that's a legit mock-up, I have to say it's probably the best way they could have implemented it, at least granting the premise that they ever should implement it.

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That looks very comfortable to use and I'm very very glad they know better than to try to reinvent the wheel, unlike everybody else.. Long live Sixaxis/DualShock.

But not this one...


Awesome how listening to people say "your controller sucks shit" actually works out in the long run.

I still think it's a stupid gimmick that has no business being near consoles, especially seeing how it's pretty much buried Nintendo into obscurity. Now if it's not a core game play mechanic I can see it being at least there.

That one looks like a horrible bad boomerang design.

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"Creating Havoc and Pie Since 2001!"
My Website: http://www.anthonyhays.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cakvala

What would the touch pad be for?

I'd be curious to know what games they have lined up, or at least when the system itself will be released., since so many of the franchises released to games pretty recently.

Also, I really really hope that it's truly next gen. Kinda tired of my 4 year old gaming pc that was midbudget roflstomping my ps3 on graphics and load times. Hell I'd play games on the PC but I cannot stand the xbox controller. Damn thing just doesn't fit my hands right.

As for the 499, I could kinda see it. I'm not sure these days they could release another high end console for much less when a decent gaming pc would run you over a grand. It'll be interesting, regardless as the ps3 has been around a really freaking long time now.

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Larreth Wolfsong (long retired)
Lanys T'vyl, Everquest

Zinky, Lvl 60 Warlock
Thunderhorn, WoW

These poor forums are so dead.

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Larreth Wolfsong (long retired)
Lanys T'vyl, Everquest

Zinky, Lvl 60 Warlock
Thunderhorn, WoW

It looks pretty fucking cool.

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Yeah the announcement seems promising! Husband will want to upgrade from our PS3 for no reason other than its shiny and new.

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"Creating Havoc and Pie Since 2001!"
My Website: http://www.anthonyhays.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cakvala