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Sony E3 Microsoft PlayStation (Games) XBox (Games) Hardware

Sony's PS4 To Have Less Stringent DRM Than Microsoft's Xbox One 509

Tackhead writes "E3 is turning into Bizarro World this year. Sony has not only promised that the PS4 will support used games without an online connection, they trolled the Xbox folks hard with this Official PlayStation Used Game Instructional Video. Compounding the silliness, and hot on the heels of the political firestorm surrounding Donglegate, Microsoft went for rape jokes during their Xbox presentation." Similarly, onyxruby writes "The Verge covers how Sony has crafted policies explicitly to make the PS4 consumer friendly to the public. They make the case that the PS4 will be superior in nearly every way [to the Xbox Next] by not requiring an Internet connection, not restricting used games, supporting indie developers and selling for $100 cheaper than the Xbox One." And if you're interested in the guts rather than the policies or the politics, Hot Hardware has a comparison of the internals of both of these new offerings.
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Sony's PS4 To Have Less Stringent DRM Than Microsoft's Xbox One

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  • by morcego ( 260031 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:12AM (#43974635)

    The real problem is, it can change any time. PS4 can become more stringent, and XBox One could become less (well, in theory).

    I'm not sure I trust Sony not to be an asshole regarding DRM. It doesn't have that good a track record. It is a good bet the moment the marketing hype dies down, and the stock holders start pressing, they will tighten their DRM.

    • by gstoddart ( 321705 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:20AM (#43974759) Homepage

      The real problem is, it can change any time. PS4 can become more stringent

      If it starts out not requiring any internet connection, and you never update it, it won't get any more restrictive.

      It simply won't be given an option by some of us -- my next console will never see a network, because it's not like I trust Sony either. But the next XBox is definitely not something I'll even consider.

      • by MozeeToby ( 1163751 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:23AM (#43974813)

        They can, and have in the past, packaged OS updates on game disks. Just saying, it's not as easy to avoid updates as you might imagine.

        • by gstoddart ( 321705 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:24AM (#43974847) Homepage

          They can, and have in the past, packaged OS updates on game disks. Just saying, it's not as easy to avoid updates as you might imagine.

          Possibly true, but as long as it doesn't need a network connection *ever*, I'll try to live with that.

          Otherwise it, and a steaming pile of shit will be shipped to Sony.

          • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:36AM (#43975015)

            They can, and have in the past, packaged OS updates on game disks. Just saying, it's not as easy to avoid updates as you might imagine.

            Possibly true, but as long as it doesn't need a network connection *ever*, I'll try to live with that.

            Otherwise it, and a steaming pile of shit will be shipped to Sony.

            Good, good, so some low-level shipping drone trying to get by on minimum wage will get your steaming pile of shit, question why they still keep this job, and be swiftly replaced by another drone from the cloning vats (they won't run out in your lifetime, nor your kids'!). The shit will be dropped into a bin at the shipping depot, collected, repackaged, and sold to the public at a markup. You WILL wind up buying it (I don't think you fully understand how much Sony owns). Yeah! That'll somehow stick it to those evil, evil executives, I'm sure!

          • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:41AM (#43975103)
            Comment removed based on user account deletion
          • What about your PC? The bad guys can get you on that.
          • by Xest ( 935314 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @12:28PM (#43975767)

            But do you need a console at all?

            I've got a 360 and a PS3 but whilst the PS4 definitely looks the better option now in terms of picking the option that's most consumer friendly I'm finding it hard to justify buying anything at all this time.

            Whilst I caved and bought a PS3 in the end last time despite being pissed off at Sony, I've been thinking a little harder if I really should be giving money to one of the biggest funders and controllers behind the MPAA and RIAA and that has a track record of screwing customers this time. I think I'll probably just play more PC games.

            I want all the new shiny games but it basically seems now the choice is between getting fucked upfront by Microsoft, or likely getting fucked post purchase by Sony whilst also funding the MPAA/RIAA indirectly as a result.

            As someone else said below, I just feel this time round unless something changes that the only option this time around is simply not to play and avoid the console offerings altogether. Perhaps Sony is changing as a company but I think it's way too early to give them the benefit of the doubt, I'd rather let some other chumps be the guinea pigs after having seen what they did to their customers with the PS3. Maybe in two years time if they've dropped support for the MPAA/RIAA and haven't fucked their customers at all, or if Microsoft has backtracked on all it's stupid decisions this time round I will get one of them, but right now I'm having a hard time justifying it.

            I'll be honest, I want an XBox One because I like the games line up on it a lot, and I always found the 360 and it's controller a much greater pleasure to use than the PS3s and not much seems to have changed in that respect, but there's only so much I can justify taking as a consumer and they've crossed that line right now.

            When the choice is shit, shit, or neither, I'm not sure why people are choosing one of the shits rather than simply neither.

      • What if you absolutely *need* to install the latest system updates for whatever reason just to be able to play some of the latest games? Good luck with that expensive brick; I guess what was out at release time will continue to work at least...

        • by larry bagina ( 561269 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:46AM (#43975169) Journal

          Exactly. Sony shut off network access if you didn't run the "upgrade" to remove OtherOS.

          • That isn't what UltraZelda64 meant.

            If you bought a physical disc of a completely offline game, and that disc contained an update that removed OtherOS, you could not play that game unless you installed the update.
      • If it starts out not requiring any internet connection, and you never update it, it won't get any more restrictive.

        If I recall, there have been PS3 games that required an update to function, and contained that update on disc. So you could reach a point where you can't play any new games without updating.

        No one would force you to install those updates, so technically you're right. But I would consider it just as system killing as forcing an update over the Net.

        • And, sadly, that will mark the end of my willingness to purchase video consoles from any of these guys.

          At this point, it's which company is going to start out acting less like pricks, and which won't require an internet connection at all.

          If that's the PS4, and they subsequently try to change the rules, that box will get disconnected, lit on fire, and will be the last console I ever buy. I will not have a gaming box in my house which demands to access the internet at will, because there's nothing in it for

        • I don't use the online services for games consoles much (I don't have a live account at all and I haven't logged into PSN since the hack) and iirc pretty much every new game i've put into a current gen console* has demanded a firmware update.

          One game even updated the firmware from disc then updated itself (yeah I have a network cable connected, maybe I shouldn't), then went on to demand another firmware update (or maybe it was the other way round, demanding another firmware update and then updating itself).

        • It is true for all three of the "last" gen consoles. PS3 and Wii did it unabashedly, but even Xbox360 got in on the act when Catherine came out with a required update on-disc.

      • by Vanderhoth ( 1582661 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:35AM (#43974999)
        My PS3 was updated by a rented bluRay movie.

        I specifically declined all attempts to update the system over the network until I had some people over for movies. I was making snacks and my cousin or wife (neither will fess up to it) put the movie we rented in. It said the console required and update and they said ok. By the time I showed up it was too late to do anything about it.

        Their whole poking fun at MS and the XO is kind of funny at the moment, but it's really just an attempted to gain back some of the early adopters they alienated with the Other OS removal. If they hadn't removed the Other OS feature I bought and paid for with my PS3, I'd probably be all in on buy a PS4. I hate to sound conceded, but my recommendations when the PS3 first came out was responsible for at least a dozen console sales, I'm sure other early adopter tech geeks can say the same thing. As it stands now I'll make sure everyone I know, knows Sony is an under handed entity that can't be trusted from one day to the next to follow up on something they said the would or wouldn't do. After all it was only weeks before the April 1st update that removed of the Other OS they said they wouldn't consider removing it.

        Point being once they have your money, they don't really care how they screw you over, but they'll find a way.
        • s/conceded/conceited
        • by Nemyst ( 1383049 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @12:08PM (#43975491) Homepage
          Time for a reality check: the incredibly vast majority of people don't give a shit about Other OS. It was a sucky move by Sony to remove it, no denying that, but it affected 0.001% of their user base and perhaps put off half of those if not less. They don't give a damn about a few angered /. posters who swore off Sony because they couldn't run Linux on their game consoles.

          Their move right now is to capitalize on the bad press Microsoft has received. They're not trying to offset anything, they're trying (and largely succeeding) to win out big time on how terrible the Xbone sounds by giving people exactly what they've always had and wanted to keep. The slides about used games and phoning home were likely added at the last minute as a gigantic jab at Microsoft and wouldn't have made an appearance otherwise.
          • by Moryath ( 553296 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @12:28PM (#43975769)

            They don't give a damn about a few angered /. posters who swore off Sony because they couldn't run Linux on their game consoles.

            They are, however, KEENLY aware of the legions of users who stopped buying shit from their online store and basically deserted the console following their leaving the customers' credit card data right in the fucking open.

            My PS3 is a standing blu-ray player that isn't allowed to have a network connection these days for good reason, and I suspect Sony realized that there's no chance in hell of my buying their box if it required a net connection knowing their track record on the subject.

          • by Ben4jammin ( 1233084 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @12:47PM (#43976023)

            Time for a reality check: the incredibly vast majority of people don't give a shit about Other OS

            That is true, but that is not the only functionality they removed. Also removed was backwards compatibility for PS2 games which was a HUGE selling point for the PS3 Considering the install base and game sales of the PS2.

            Sony can say whatever they want now, it simply doesn't matter. They have lost a trust that you simply can't earn back overnight. Then put the data breach on top of that and of course they have to do or say whatever they can to generate interest.

            I am confident in saying that more than 0.001% of their user base remembers these things.

            • by Chaos Incarnate ( 772793 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @02:25PM (#43977247) Homepage
              They didn't remove the PS2 backwards compatibility from PS3s that had it (unlike OtherOS); they simply removed it from future versions of the PS3. Big difference there.
              • by Ben4jammin ( 1233084 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @03:29PM (#43977991)

                They didn't remove the PS2 backwards compatibility from PS3s that had it (unlike OtherOS); they simply removed it from future versions of the PS3. Big difference there.

                That is true. YMMV but in my case, over time (for reasons I don't fully understand) is that I found I could successfully play fewer and fewer PS2 titles (my stepsons had a STACK of PS2 games, thus the decision to go PS3 rather than Xbox360) over time. While I can't prove it was firmware updates, the only thing that changed was the firmware.

                Also note that in some cases, if you had a unit with the hardware emulation but the unit broke (even under warranty) you could end up with a replacement unit that didn't have it. So even that was taken away from some people.

                The primary point being that for me personally after my experience with the PS3 There will never be a PS4 in my home. And yes I realize that Sony doesn't give a crap what I think...I can assure you that over the years they have driven that point home.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

            Time for a reality check: the incredibly vast majority of people don't give a shit about Other OS.

            Time for a reality check: the people who think that this doesn't matter to them are sadly deluded because if it happened to the Linux users it could happen to any other group as well; Sony can and will yank the feature that you care about, and they will not get in trouble for it.

      • by eth1 ( 94901 )

        If it starts out not requiring any internet connection, and you never update it, it won't get any more restrictive.

        It simply won't be given an option by some of us -- my next console will never see a network, because it's not like I trust Sony either. But the next XBox is definitely not something I'll even consider.

        That will work until you can't run any new games because they start requiring at least a certain version of the system software.

        • Well, either I decide I won't buy any of them now, or after they've done something like that, I'll make the same decision.

          If they can update it without a network connection, fine. But if they leave me with something unusable, then I will be forced to conclude they're all assholes and withdraw my money. (Well, I know they're assholes now, but now I can play games with no internet connection)

          But I don't play on-line games, don't want to participate in the in-game economy, and refuse to be monitored by a vid

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        A recent relevant example; PS3 entirely removed Linux support a couple years in, even though they were bragging about it quite a lot at launch. Technically, you could keep it, you just can't visit the PS Shop or use any online features (which you paid for, as part of the price of the console) ever again, that's all. Not sure if disc-enforced updates apply to this one or not.

        Since early adopters are more savvy, Sony has every reason to tout their lack of DRM compared to the Bone, for now. Will their DRM be
        • by Vanderhoth ( 1582661 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @12:05PM (#43975463)

          Not sure if disc-enforced updates apply to this one or not.

          They did, that's how my PS3 was updated.

          Newer bluRay movies require system updates. I wasn't in the room when my wife or cousin put the rented bluRay movie in so I don't know if it had to go out to download the update or if it just ran off the disk. I had turned off the wireless on my PS3 so I don't know if someone reconnected it for the update or if it just came on the disk. So it's Keep the Other OS feature and forget about everything else you bought the console to do or ditch the Other OS feature.

          More reasons, as if we needed them, to pirate movies. Even paying to rent them can have negative effects on your hardware, the pirated version of the movie we watched wouldn't have forced an update to my console.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:26AM (#43974869)

      I got an XBox 360 a few months ago. My first one. I also got 7 games from the used/discount bin and paid less than $50 for them, combined. The system has provided me with hundreds of hours of fun so far, and I know there are lots of other great games awaiting me.

      You can wait one, two, even three years and see which way the wind blows for the next generation of consoles. Is the PS4 getting better titles? Is the XBox One as prone to hardware failures as the 360? Did Sony remove features or add DRM to used games? Is either console molesting children?

      Wait and see, and your decision will be much easier. Your wallet will also thank you.

      In the meantime, play on the current systems.

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) * on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @12:23PM (#43975707) Homepage Journal

        One thing is for sure. All the hardcore gamers will buy the PS4 because it will almost certainly allow you to use any USB controller you like. The 360 had DRM in the controllers to block unlicensed 3rd party hardware, meaning the only choice for someone wanting a proper arcade joystick or different gamepad was a MadCatz piece of shit.

        Eventually people found a particular MadCatz joystick that had a common ground PCB they could hack into their custom sticks, but it's a really crappy way of doing things. MS killed support for some older MadCatz hardware in an update and their response to complaints was "if it's in warranty return it to the retailer", even though the hardware hadn't been produced for over two years. People in the UK could still get a partial refund but people in the US were SOL.

    • by internerdj ( 1319281 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:26AM (#43974873)
      The internet connection thing is big here. I can buy a PS4 and never connect or never patch. I might be locked to launch games but I got something. For Xbox One, I have to connect to the internet at least once (assuming they come to their senses and patch) or it is a brick. There are a significant number of gamers that are SOL with that model and even more that are pissed off by the concept.
      • by gstoddart ( 321705 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:29AM (#43974923) Homepage

        I have to connect to the internet at least once

        Sadly, that's at least once per day. The Xbox 1 is going to require to phone home once every 24 hours according to what they've been saying.

        So I'm hoping the option to buy the PS4 and never connect it to a network will be viable.

        • Yeah. What I was saying if they patch before due to consumer outcry then it would still be at least once. That is still once too many for some people. I'm moving near release date and an affordable stable connection may not be immediately available. If I buy the console and a handful of games then I'm not going to be very likely to spend the cash to transition.
    • by ADRA ( 37398 )

      Why is there money to be made by making potential customers more angry at you? Sony got smacked throughout the PS3 because they were king of the hill. Maybe they as a group have actually learned that being smug ass-holes to their customers does not convert to higher sales. They LEARN, well one would hope.

      Personally, I won't even consider a console this gen unless it works as an amazing media screener ala xbmc without the crap storm which is DLNA, supports simple 'open' marketplaces that actually support ind

    • I wouldn't consider buying any of the new consoles. Giving money to these companies would be supporting DRM and closed platforms, and I just couldn't feel good about that.

    • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

      So might get worse is some how worse than already terrible?

    • by sconeu ( 64226 )

      I'm not sure I trust Sony not to be an asshole regarding DRM. It doesn't have that good a track record,

      I *AM* trusting sony *TO BE* an asshole. See PS3 Other OS.

    • by Endo13 ( 1000782 )

      While true, it's also probably moot. The PS4 reveal is definitely Sony trying to put all the nails in the XBone coffin, and for the non-techie console gamers this should pretty much do it. Even if Sony changes things later, it'll probably be too late for the XBone.

      • by Qzukk ( 229616 )

        it'll probably be too late for the XBone.

        Eh, so far its basically exactly the reverse as the last gen was. Watching the xbox presentation was like going back in time and watching the PS3 reveal (only with more RRRRIDGE RRRACER! and less attacking the weak point for massive damage) The PS3 managed to stage a comeback from that, I'm sure Microsoft can too.

    • NO it cant. Sony would face ENORMOUS legal problems changing the discs from physical licenses to not in mid-cycle.
    • Yeah good luck holding out for the role reversal
    • I'm not sure I trust Sony not to be an asshole regarding DRM. It doesn't have that good a track record. It is a good bet the moment the marketing hype dies down, and the stock holders start pressing, they will tighten their DRM.

      Sony is currently seriously considering a stockholder-driven proposal to spin off its music and film divisions [reuters.com]. If this was done, it would mean that Sony the consumer electronics company would no longer have the conflict of interest that currently causes it to push DRM on equipment

  • by TWiTfan ( 2887093 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:13AM (#43974655)

    So far, it looks like the PS4 hardware is better, it's got Elder Scrolls Online as an exclusive (a big deal for me), there is less of that authentication/DRM drama (amazing coming from Sony, who have always been the worst control freaks in the past), and it's $100 cheaper too!

    I've been a fan of Xbox since the Xbox 1. But MS is making all the wrong moves on the Xbox One. And looks like Sony is making all the right ones on the PS4. I may have to cross the line on this next generation.

  • by SuricouRaven ( 1897204 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:14AM (#43974661)

    But they'll just take it all away in a year or two with a mandatory software update, citing fears of piracy.

    Again.

    • The difference between Sony removing the "Other OS" option on the PS3 and patching the PS4 to add mandatory internet connection or remove the ability to share/sell games is that the former only affected a tiny minority of owners of the PS3 (far less than the number who complain about it).

      But if Sony made a patch to make the console match the XBox One, it would affect 100% of their customers. Every. Single. Gamer! That would be a huge PR nightmare.

      A more likely scenario would be that Sony will take the long

  • Yay, less awful? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    When faced with two evils, the best choice is not to play the game.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:18AM (#43974725)

    For decades now Microsoft has been bizarrely obsessed with being a media distribution company. I can't even count the number of failed "set top" box initiatives and purchased properties (Like webtv) they've made along the way. Also there was that media center thing that sucked.

    And now they've got the XBone, where they turn the 'ha ha fuck you consumer' up to 11 in an attempt do do what? Prove that they're the biggest whore so they can strike the best deals with content producers? "Hey look! We've done away with that pesky right of first sale for retail games! What else do you want us to do?"

    Sigh. And just today I see that there's a new Panzer Dragon game, and a rogue-like from superbrothers that are XBone console exclusives.

    Shit.

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      Microsoft IS a media distribution company. One of the largest in the world in fact. The primary Television app in the world right now is Media room: http://www.microsoft.com/mediaroom/you/ [microsoft.com]
      AT&T Uverse uses it, more and more cable providers are using it. Set-top boxes all over use it and they are starting to build the software into TVs. It may very well be that Microsoft doesn't need to worry about the PS4 at all, because if the XB1 hooks directly up to your cable provider and can stream all the movies/sh

  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:19AM (#43974733)

    It's funny because at launch you could install Linux on the PS3.

  • by HalAtWork ( 926717 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:20AM (#43974761)
    I was going to build a steam box if this didn't happen. I collect consoles and games*, and I'm not sure if I want the Xbox One because it's not guaranteed I'll be able to play my games 10 years down the road.

    * Not for the value, but my old games are still fun and if I keep them I don't have to re-buy them or wait for the stars to align for games like Earthbound to come out intact
    • I was going to build a steam box if this didn't happen. I collect consoles and games*, and I'm not sure if I want the Xbox One because it's not guaranteed I'll be able to play my games 10 years down the road.

      Question: Do PC makers have a pro-DRM policy or prevent used game sales? If not, then why do many PC games have DRM? Further, what prevents the DRM from being added to any game on the PS4 by the very same publishers who insist on it for the PC market?

      It is the difference between: We don't provide a standardized DRM framework, and All the games have DRM but we didn't put it there.
      It's nice to the the indie support though. I might consider purchasing the thing were I not boycotting this corrupt compan

  • It's funny (Score:5, Interesting)

    by HaZardman27 ( 1521119 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:23AM (#43974811)
    It's funny watching my Xbox fanboy friends making ridiculous apologetic statements for Microsoft.
    "You have to pay for online access for the PS4 now as well!" As though that's actually a supportive argument for the Xbox One.
    "I'm glad there is always-on DRM so that I can download and play my games on other people's consoles while signed in!" As though MS is incapable of making the 24 connection requirement only necessary for digitally purchased games, and allow you to only play disc-purchased games when you have the disc.
    "I always have internet, so this isn't a problem for me!" As though Xbox Live has never been down for several days at a time before (or been weird about not letting large numbers of people sign in while others have no problem)

    I've never been a Sony fan, and I still don't know if I can trust the company that pulled the rootkit scandal. What I do know is that I am absolutely not going to a be a Microsoft customer this next generation. I will probably get a Wii U to play 1st party Nintendo games, and do the rest of my gaming on PC. Sony still has a shot at convincing me to get a PS4, but Microsoft has already lost me.
    • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

      PS4 requires pay for online access?

      That means I will be sitting out this generation.

      • Re:It's funny (Score:4, Informative)

        by spire3661 ( 1038968 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:55AM (#43975319) Journal
        PS+ will now be required for online play. Services, AKA Netflix will work without it. I would like to add that PS+ has become a really good value in the last few years. I still hate having to pay for multiplayer and always will, but they make up for it with free full AAA games.
        • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

          Oh, I am fine with that, I have no interest at all in multiplayer.
          I have no need to have my heritage insulted or hear about the sexual relations 10 year olds are claiming to have had with my mother.

      • by Tukz ( 664339 )

        Online multiplayer, yes.
        You can still use applications such as Netflix etc without paying.

    • I will probably get a Wii U to play 1st party Nintendo games...

      ms and sony are probably targeting a different demographic than the one you belong to, if a wii is going to satisfy your console gaming needs.

  • That decides it (Score:5, Insightful)

    by areusche ( 1297613 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:24AM (#43974843)
    My next console will be a PS4. Vote with your money, if the Xbox One sells poorly and the PS4 sells record breaking amounts than the point will get across to the middle managers who come up with this junk.
    • But the PS4 is still closed and will more than likely have the usual draconian restrictions that pretty much all the consoles have. Better to not buy any of them at all.

      • by Tukz ( 664339 )

        It's a PC (x86 CPU), I doubt it gonna be long before it's hacked to oblivion and you can unlock it all you want.

    • Re:That decides it (Score:5, Insightful)

      by BeardedChimp ( 1416531 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:55AM (#43975307)
      Wasn't it decided that after the Sony other OS fiasco et al. that we should vote with our wallets and stop buying from them? I'm voting with my wallet and buying neither.
      • Agreed. Sony has a long way to go to climb out of the hole they dug for themselves over the last decade+ of customer abuse and outright criminal activity (the kind that directly impacts people, too: rootkits on PCs). This announcement has moved them a tiny bit upward in my books, but only time will tell. I'm happy to reward a company that changes its tune for the better, but Sony has to demonstrate a lot of good will before I'll give them another chance.

  • by anthony_greer ( 2623521 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:29AM (#43974921)

    As a casual gamer, the 360 will be my last console...I will not ask the mothership for permission to use a friends game, sell or buy a used game or whatever...

    both platforms go way too far, I kinda enjoy games but I can live without them...

  • by Sydin ( 2598829 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:32AM (#43974969)
    But as far as I'm aware there's still another platform that offers far higher technical capability, zero DRM, much more flexibility as a media center if that's your thing, and can even be upgraded when parts break or become obsolete. Call me back when the PS4 gets all that, too.
  • Microsoft has stated that it will be "up to the publisher" whether the titles will support used sales. Sony obviously hasn't built it in to their end, but what about publishers? Ultimately I wouldn't be surprised to see EA, Activision, etc. including serial numbers and on-line activation schemes with their PS4 titles. I like the pro-consumer stance Sony is taking, and it's good to see them turn it around at some level, but that is a hanging question - have they come out and stated that they won't support p
  • by Severus Snape ( 2376318 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:50AM (#43975235)
    The problem is I still can't trust them (nor Microsoft for that matter). Removal of OtherOS, the response to their servers being infiltrated was shocking, it also wasn't so long ago they were selling CD's with rootkits too. What fiasco is next around the corner? The ecosystem seems to be just as locked down as it was on the PS3, which is also very disappointing (albeit indie publishers are being welcomed back through the store which is great), still expect a crippled web browser though.

    It would be foolish not to consider the possibility of this only just lip service.
  • by mcalchera ( 1518515 ) <mcalchera@gmail.com> on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @11:54AM (#43975285)
    I had to look at it this way: With the PS4, you get one more. With the Xbox One, you get 359 less. It's a no-brainer!
  • I don't understand why the PS4 ads don't mention anything about the fact MS has a lot of media/analysis around whether or not MS should simply drop or sell their gaming division, specifically the XBOX division. I would imagine this would be a HUGE if not the biggest point to make. Nobody wants to buy into a product that they know has a high potential to disappear or take the risk of being put under an unknown owner, with unknown risks. Why is this completely left out? That'd be my #1 point. If they're thin
  • Until we reach a saturation level and high speed internet for everyone, requiring a machine to be connected to the internet makes no sense even if it is just to check in with it's mommy.
  • by RogueyWon ( 735973 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @12:30PM (#43975783) Journal

    Microsoft: Surprisingly good on the games front, with Forza looking fairly neat and a good number of titles to announce. Elsewhere it felt like damage limitation. They'd realised by now that people hate the call-home and used-game restrictions and were desperately trying to show that it wasn't as bad as people had assumed. Might have been more convincing if it felt like they even understood it themselves.

    Sony: Actually, a surprisingly glitchy presentation in many ways. Some of the game demonstrations were pretty poor and unpolished. However, none of that matters. They picked the wrong music for the section of their presentation that talked about the PS4 itself; they should have gone with The Rains of Castamere. Sony's presentation was the Red Wedding with Microsoft as the Starks. And oh my word it worked. They've been trolling Microsoft into going down the anti-consumer route for more than a year, hinting that they were going to do the same. Yesterday, they sprang the trap. They clearly enjoyed their own presentation and, to be fair, they deserved to.

    Nintendo: The weakest of the three. Their big announcement was... delays! Lots of delays. A very thin holiday season, supported by a 3d Mario Game that looks like a rushed, resolution upscaled DS game, a remake of a decade-old Zelda game and a Donkey Kong that nobody seemed to be particularly excited about. Things are a little better over on the 3DS front, but Nintendo were sending off a definite message that they're struggling to keep up.

    And predictions based on that?

    Sony probably have the Christmas season sewn up. Barring an RROD-level fiasco, they'll go into the first few weeks of sales with a massive stock of consumer enthusiasm. This is a very different Sony to the one that did the cack-handed launch of the PS3.

    Microsoft need an urgent rethink. Their current strategy looks set to see them take a significant but nevertheless declining share of the US market (consumer loyalty being a significant factor), but completely abandon Asia and - more shockingly - probably get annihilated in Europe and the emerging markets as well. They've invested a shitload of money to get the marketshare they currently have in the home console market, so don't rule them out yet, but unless they revisit some of their fundamentals over the next 6 months, they could face disaster.

    And I suspect Nintendo may already be starting to plan for a post-Wii-U world, where they focus on the handheld business going forward while they decide whether to have another throw of the dice in the home console market or go another direction. The speculation had been that Nintendo's big throw of the dice would be this Christmas, when they'd throw game releases and massive price cuts at the Wii-U to snatch the rug out from under the XB-One and the PS4. In theory they could still do the price cuts, but it's clear now that they don't have the games lineup in position to make that strategy work.

  • by FuzzNugget ( 2840687 ) on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @12:59PM (#43976243)
    Choosing what products to buy based on which one has the fewest deplorable anti-features rather than best actual features. Great.
  • "I think the locked-down PC-in-a-box on the left is my favourite"

    "No, the locked-down PC-in-a-box on the right is obviously superior!"

    And to many of the rest of us, these nearly identical (both inside and out) boxes look to have the same sort of power as the gaming rigs we built two years ago. A lot of people still haven't gone HD, and only a small fraction of gamers have gone much beyond 1080p. 1080p looks pretty good on most screen sizes, but for 99% of the consumer market, there's no point going past that because the display hardware in people's houses can't display it. So once you've got hardware that'll do 1080p, you'd better have something much cleverer as a selling-point in your game, because the last gasp of "Ooh, teh shiniez!" as a major selling point was probably about three years ago.

    And so far, all they seem to have are pre-rendered demos that show off the shiniez, and Sony claiming to suck slightly less terribly than Microsoft.

    Really? Is that it? You want $500 out of me in the middle of a recession, when I already have a 360, PS3 and a gaming PC? You're really going to have to try a lot harder than that.

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