After much anticipation, latest in the Sony gaming franchise is hitting shelves today in North America. The much hyped PlayStation 4 has gone on sale, and already reviews are circulating on the internet.
Sony has been struggling for awhile to reestablish themselves as King of the console wars. With the PlayStation 3, they didn’t manage to gather as much interest as their second generation. Which gave the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii the space they needed to surge to dominate the market. Both have carved out a large share of the market.
But the Wii U was far less impressive, and the Xbox One has already created a stir with gamers concerned with privacy, annoyed with DRM conditions, and unsatisfied with the nickel and dimming of the Microsoft corporation.
This anger could be exactly what the PlayStation 4 needs to come out on top once again. Certainly, they seem to have been aiming at creating a device that avoids such controversies. Users don’t have to be connected to the internet at all times. Restrictions don’t heavily weigh down the ability to share or trade games.
Design wise, it has remained similar, but not identical, to the PS3. It is a bit bulkier than its slim predecessors, though still fairly lightweight. There are fewer curved areas, and it stands upright. The controller has a nice, sleek look with the options (replacing start) and share button on either side of the primary buttons.
The 500 GB is a decent size for the $399 asking price at launch. It also has two USB ports so you can recharge two controllers at once, rather than just a single slot. Otherwise, it has the HDMI, optical and LAN inputs in the rear.
Most concern is based around the PlayStation network, which is notorious for problems, especially in the beginning of console releases. Not to mention the past issues with stolen user information during hacks. Only time is going to tell how well the network will hold up, with first wave users doing the necessary first update to log on and set up their accounts.
Twenty games are being released, several of which are established titles like Call of Duty. More will be coming in the next several months, of course.
All in all, Sony has their work cut out for them thanks to dwindling sales that tool them below their projected profits for the last several quarters. But with the Microsoft scrambling to work on the controversial features in the wake of the NSA spying scandal, they have a real shot of dominating before the One hits the market next week.
Source: Digits
