The Old Sony Megathread

[Skummy]

Not a hope I'm buying the Wii U which is just as gimmicky as its predecessor

So not at all like the expected "people like touch screens now, right?" touchpad on the PS4 controller? Not to mention that I'll be amazed if both the PS4 and whatever the next XBox is don't both involve some form of motion control.

[Herr Matzat]

199€ for a Super Slim is what? £175? That sounds really expensive. How much is one in the UK?

UK usualy is cheaper when it comes to these things, thats why i bought my PS3 at amazon.co.uk and not in germany. A different shop just droped it to 175Euro. I bet sony will keep the PS3 around for a few years, but i wonder if there is a official pricedrop comming tonight aswell.

[TCO]

Not a hope I'm buying the Wii U which is just as gimmicky as its predecessor

So not at all like the expected "people like touch screens now, right?" touchpad on the PS4 controller? Not to mention that I'll be amazed if both the PS4 and whatever the next XBox is don't both involve some form of motion control.

I guarantee you whatever is the PS4 or the next Xbox end up being they will be more traditional and have more substance than "our controller has a screen". Motion controls are OK but they'll never be as prevalent and as forced as they are on the Wii. Kinect and PS Move are things already and I can still get the full experience of every game without waving my arms needlessly about or purchasing expensive peripherals for 90% shovelware.

If the Microsoft and Sony take the Nintendo route, they won't be getting my money anyway.

[Skummy]

Not wanting to derail this topic too much, but have you played the WiiU? There's a hell of a lot more to it than "the controller has a screen".

Not to mention that the Wii has plenty of fantastic games that barely rely on motion control, or don't rely on it at all; certainly not "forcing" it. I'd argue that "forcing" it would be more true of any of the motion control games that are available for the PS3 or 360; Kinect and PS Move having a far greater percentage of "shovelware" games than the Wii. With PS4 most likely including the "PS Eye" camera for "full body gaming", along with the ugly glowy bit and touch screen on the controller, it sounds like PS4 is going to get a lot more gimmicky than the Wii U.

With the exception of Motion Plus - which, admittedly, I've barely used - I've never bought any "expensive peripherals", and I've owned a Wii for years. The existence of "shovelware" for a console doesn't somehow invalidate the quality games that are readily available.

As much as "hardcore gamers", whatever that means, tend to completely discredit, or else just straight-up ignore the Wii and WiiU in discussions of current and next-gen games consoles, and as much as I've seen people argue that the WiiU having HD graphics is because the Wii "failed", you have to realise that the Wii is the third best-selling home games console of all time, and by far the best-selling of the current "generation". Like it or not, Microsoft and Sony will "take the Nintendo route" to some extent or another - particularly as they both have done already.

At least Nintendo are offering something new, rather than "touchpad, yeah?" and high-end graphics. Because that's the safe option - make the graphics better, and the new edition of Gran Turismo shinier. That'll do. Doesn't matter that you can buy a game for 50p on your phone that's more addictive. The model of "more powerful hardware = better gaming experience" is dead, and PS4 will have to do something new and innovative, rather than coasting on a brand name, to catch my attention. Particularly as it'll almost definitely be prohibitively expensive on release, with limited (if any) true backwards compatibility, and with the likely inclusion of features designed to kill the second-hand games market.

[Dan]

I think some people missed my point, people would buy a turd if it was shiny, white and made by Apple. They've got that brand appeal set up for the "trendy" types, whereas Sony don't even dominate the home console market in any market as far as I know, in the far east Nintendo are the kings and in the US/Europe it's Microsoft as far as I know, the whole "must have" thing about the Playstation from the PS2 release days is long gone (after shit like the PSP Go and multiple PS3 models). The sales if it was released next week would be shockingly bad unless it was £100 or something.

And I've got a Wii U Skummy, it's a nice piece of kit, wish it had more games and I've not really got anything to play on it right now but even if it's gimmicky, the gimmick is pretty awesome. I've recently built a gaming PC and I've got the Wii U, so this generation of Sony/Microsoft consoles is going to have to do something really special to lure me in, and after the rumours that have been doing the rounds (shit like no pre-owned games, always on requirements) it doesn't appeal to me at all but I'll see what Sony offer tonight and Microsoft at E3.

[King Ellis]

TCO in something is shit, just waggiling and shovelware shock.

And Dan, go buy F-Zero for 30p. That'll sort you.

[Herr Matzat]

If you look at the leaked dev. kit controller it looks more like build in move might be the case. Would make sense if you consider that the sixaxxiss more or less tried to be that in the first place. I don´t think there is much to benefit from a touchpad on the back. Maybe for menus to use it like a mouse... but in actual gameplay.

[Skummy]

And I've got a Wii U Skummy, it's a nice piece of kit, wish it had more games and I've not really got anything to play on it right now but even if it's gimmicky, the gimmick is pretty awesome.

Yeah, the biggest drawback for me at the moment is the lack of games currently available for it.

As for it being gimmicky - yeah, even if it is a gimmick, it's a gimmick that changes the way you play games, and that actually enhances most, if not all, of the games in which it's actually used. I've never found it intrusive, and it always adds to the experience. It's no more a "gimmick" for gimmick's sake than "dual shock", analogue controls, "sixaxis", or anything else that's been added to the basic controller design over the years. Heck, the D-Pad was a gimmick once upon a time.

Things start out as novelties and become convention through use. Practically every feature of any games controller you've ever used was originally new, and arguably a "gimmick". And practically every one of them was done by Nintendo first. I'll generally have faith in them that they know how a games controller should function.

[Kaney]

I know this'll probably be lost in the shuffle over the big announcement later but has anyone tried Metal Gear Rising yet?

[King Ellis]

No, but reviews have been very favourable if that's what you're grinding at.

[Dan]

No but I'm gonna get it on Xbox tomorrow hopefully, it's got some good reviews and I'm a sucker for the Metal Gear series.

[Bobfoc]

I don't have a WiiU and probably won't be getting one for a few years, but what I like about it as a concept is the fact that the touch screen and motion controls CAN be implemented as game mechanics by developers, but don't have to be. In other words, it a developer wants to make a game that utilises all the gimmicky features afforded to them by the hardware, they can, but if they'd rather just go for a traditional, straightforward approach, the facilities are still there right out of the box. That's something that I also like about the Vita, and I'd be happy enough if it ended up playing a part in the PS4's development cycle too.

[Kaney]

Awesome, look forward to hearing a review j can trust Dan

[TCO]

We had a Wii in the house before and nobody I know has a Wii U so I've yet to try it and I don't really plan to. I'm not a "hardcore" gamer but to be honest, motion controls just aren't for me. I like having a DualShock 3 in my hand sitting back and playing a game, that's all I want from my console. Nintendo's consoles and motion controls have never interested me and they likely never will. The controller-screen on the Wii U didn't make me bite and there's no games on the Wii U that I really want to play so I won't be getting it.

If Sony and Microsoft's offerings are too heavy on the motion controls or some other similar gimmick then I can't see myself buying them either. That's why I didn't buy Playstation move and if I still had a 360, I wouldn't buy a Kinect either.

[Ruki]

So, what time is the announcement happening?

[Your Mom]

5:00 central time

[deli]

11pm UK time

[Ruki]

Cool, thanks. I will still be at work, but that will help me kill time!

[Colly]

Edit: stupid page of replies I didn't see.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Colly

[Herr Matzat]

IGN brings a pre show if starting live 1 houre before the event. They will also be streaming the event which is nice to know in case the sony stream gets overrun.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/14/watch-the-220-playstation-event-on-ign

I disagree with so many thing the IGN people are saing on that "beyond!" discussion. The talk like it´s a press event being streamed. Sony E-Mailed every fucking person that ever gave them their e-maile to tune in. This has to be more than 30 Minutes of Hardware gigaflopscore trash talk.