Sony PS4: Getting it (Mostly) Right
As I’ve gotten a chance to play around with the Xbox One, I’ve gotten a good week or two to play with the Playstation 4 as well now. It’s been interesting, as I’ve seen what Sony has done, and more interestingly, how they’ve either listened or not listened to customers and their complaints with the Playstation 3. In a way it is heartening because Sony is doing so much right here, after walking into the last generation with so much arrogance, but it also feels like there’s something at the core that they need to address to compete with Microsoft in the West that they are still missing.
If Sony has done one thing well with the PS4, it is: learn from your failures, and your customer. Your customer will tell you when you are doing things wrong. You don’t have to give them everything they ask for, in the way they ask for it, as that stifles innovation… but their complaints are going to be valid.
As an example, downloads in the PS3 are painful. The steps to background a download, the jumble of behaviors involved with shutting off the machine while a download is in progress, and the slow download speeds all add up to a non-ideal experience. Sony has addressed this. Downloads are always backgrounded now, and certain apps like the Blu-ray player don’t interrupt them anymore. Download performance is also noticeably better compared to my launch day PS3. Installation is background as well. I’ve yet to try to see what the exact limits are, and if anything (like retail games) will cause the download to pause like they do on the Vita.
Still, this is all a good step in the right direction. However, they also did something I didn’t actually expect, but am quite happy for. While downloading a game from the PSN, it actually downloaded and installed the latest patch of the game along with it. Didn’t seem to do the same with a disc-based game though, which is kinda disappointing, but doable in a patch as the infrastructure is all there.
One Store to Rule Them All
Sony continues to push their strategy of PS+ being valuable to their customers, in addition to finding a way to get more consistent revenue to pay for their online services. While it is somewhat disappointing that PS+ is now required for multiplayer on the PS4, they seem to be insistent on making it possible for the subscription to “pay for itself” when it comes to heavy gamers.
After getting the PS4, I immediately grabbed Resogun and Contrast, which may still be up for free to PS+ users as I type this. And with Sony making this service one fee for all 3 current platforms, it keeps getting easier to make it pay for itself with the titles you will get over time. Borderlands 2, a game I skipped over a while back, is now something I’m digging into eagerly, all because of this service. So I think Sony is on the right track for trying to balance customer and business benefit here.
Overall, I’m finding that Sony hit a lot more notes perfectly than Microsoft did at launch when it comes to engineering the console itself. The UX is clear, and simple to navigate. The tile system has you thumbing around a lot more to do simple things on the One than the PS4.
Their networking side is more informative, and it is easier to trust they are doing the right thing, and their interactions with the store are easier as well. When I went to redeem a code for Killer Instinct (the one with the original console version included), it downloaded the latest iteration, but I couldn’t figure out how to play the original. It wasn’t listed in the store either. I couldn’t figure out if I had pending downloads, or look at previous purchases (although I suspect the last is lurking in there somewhere). So it wound up taking hours before the system decided “Hey, you have this redemption for the original KI, would you like to download it now?” Not a happy experience.
And, I still glare at the Xbox’s external power brick with the hate of a thousand suns. Seriously, Microsoft… your box is bigger than Sony’s and has roughly the same horsepower, but you still need a brick that adds even more bulk? Please fix.
Overall, if I were to look at the consoles themselves at launch, the PS4 is the clear winner in my mind. Sony has focused hard on the core experiences, and mostly succeeded, compared to Microsoft’s jack-of-all-trades approach.
Sony’s Challenge During the Next Year
Sony hasn’t done everything perfectly though. The UX is still messy when it comes to games. They haven’t fully learned from the Vita yet. I’d love a third row that I can push tiles into. Giving me:
Top row: Notifications, Account Info, System Settings
Home row: Recently used app/game + disc, and “pinned” apps for the stuff I like to access the most. Default row on boot.
Bottom row: installed apps I need access to, but can be out of the way. Maybe even make this multiple rows if players want.
This would greatly improve the current situation where your home row will grow into a monster threatening to eat your soul.
But the elephant in the room at this point has got to be games. The PS3 is going to be getting the JRPGs (2 new Tales games, plus a new Persona title) that do well critically in North America, not the PS4. There aren’t many other Japan-centric titles coming out soon either. Microsoft is usually weak in this area, so Sony is basically losing out an advantage in the first year.
GT6 landed on the PS3 recently, to compete against Forza 5 on the One. If Sony wins buyers this way, they aren’t getting PS4s into the market doing so. While every buyer Microsoft gets here will be getting a One. And so competitively, this helps Microsoft more than Sony.
And if you look at the titles coming out soon, they are mostly multiplat, and a smattering of first party stuff that is always decidedly average for the Western market, like Killzone. Their next Infamous title isn’t coming out until Spring of next year, and those titles tend to do well critically. Microsoft at least hit hard with some first or second party titles that have some level of following, meaning there’s pretty much something for most early adopters. Except an FPS of some kind that is exclusive, but those are a lot harder to come by these days.
Put simply, it doesn’t matter how much better the console itself is if Sony can’t get the games onto the platform. And I suspect that this will hurt Sony in the early months of the console’s life. How much is hard to say, because it seems like Sony is able to pump out supplies faster than Microsoft can, and they are selling the console for less.
All I know is, my PS3 is not going to be able to be removed from my entertainment center for at least another year, maybe longer. Which feels kinda strange. But Sony does play a long game with their old consoles as a way to boost revenues. My 360 is already gone to a new home, as there isn’t anything new coming that isn’t also available on the PS3 that I want to play.
