An Extensive Exclusive Software Lineup

Developers, Developers, Developers
The other group of people that need convincing are 3rd party developers. While the Cell chip was great in theory, numerous developers have made comments as to the difficulty of working with the platform. You can get a lot of performance out of the system but it left some developers wondering whether it was worth it.
Luckily, the latest rumors of the Playstation 4 specs seem to indicate it's a lot more like PC architecture than it's predecessor. This should hopefully help 3rd parties release multiplatform titles more efficiently similar to how they are now for the Xbox 360 and PC.
It's all about the Benjamins

Vita Integration
Sony seems to have a damned if they do, damned if they don't problem with Vita integration. Either they will be viewed as forcing Vita owners to buy a new console to get the most out of their handheld or viewed as not supporting the new handheld due to lack of Vita integration. While features that utilize both devices might be nice to have, and the demographic of early adopters of the Vita is likely to buy a Playstation 4, I'm not sure any specific feature would be the tipping point on a potential purchase. Personally, I think the 2.2 million Vita owners out there deserve something as they're certainly not getting (quality) games.
Be a Progressive Technology Company
Sony, and Microsoft for that matter, really need to take some lessons from Valve. While Sony is a publically traded company and has other pressures that Valve does not have to deal with, they can still implement some practices that should garner the support and loyalty of gamers. First on the list of "things people want from their console makers", Day One digital releases of retail games. It may not be everyone but a lot of us do not want to bother with physical media anymore and, quite honestly, don't want to leave the house to access our entertainment. Purchases of digital content accounted for 31 percent of game sales in 2011, generating $7.3 billion in revenue. Sony needs to start tapping that market and in a consumer friendly way. Having a dynamic pricing model like Steam that allows for huge price cuts on software would go a long way to promoting the service.
It's just not enough anymore to differentiate on hardware. Companies in this kind of ultra-competitive market need to differentiate with business practices. Sony needs to try new pricing models. Utilize Gakai for instant demos. Give more to your user base for less money so that you make a net profit on volume instead of per unit. Sony really needs to think about the quality of the gaming experience from soup to nuts on their new console. This means stop with ridiculous patching practices, improving security to protect user data and having a snappy interface. Give the people what they want (or the opposite of what they're complaining about) and they will come in droves.
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ReplyDeleteI personally would probably prefer a 500$ gaming laptop and a some good comfort instead of shelling out money for a PS4.
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