UPD - Things to consider before buying the PS4 - Verdict

Verdict:

It is painfully apparent now that the PS4 is simply not ready for launch; the logical step for most buyers is to wait until early next year when the first major patches arrive. With the severe lack of major titles at launch, early adopters were touting its media features as a means to pass the time until the games starting dropping in early 2014. Sadly, these features have been delayed/cancelled or are behind a paywall (eg. Music/Video Unlimited). Early adopters shouldn’t be treated like this, vote with your wallet, don’t buy a PS4 (yet).

C|net PlayStation 4 review: The next generation is here. Now wait.

For those that are still on the fence over which console to get:

No music supported (MP3 or CDs) – Most likely due to Sony’s paid music service which is supported (even whilst playing games).

No DLNA support, so no videos or music streamed from your PC etc. – You will however be able to rent movies from Sony’s Video Unlimited or use one of the paid services like Netflix or Hulu.

Remote play will not function over 3G; strongly recommended to be on same LAN segment. Also not supported by all games.

The friend assist function isn’t available at launch (one of the cool features PS4 will have over the Xbox, kind of the remote desktop of gaming).

The suspend/resume game function won’t be available at launch.

Sharing recorded videos – No voice-over commentary and no YouTube upload!? (voice-over must be done real time)

PSN users will not be able to change their User IDs. I find this amazing; could it be a push to use real names and Facebook link?

No external HDD support to expand storage - PS4 owners can however, replace the existing HDD at their own expense (1TB $120 from Newegg).

There appears to be framerate issues with PS4 games running at 1080P (COD: Ghost) - Most likely launch issues but if this is an important title for you then here is more info

No 3D Blu-ray (movie playback) support.

PS4 appears to be unbalanced/unstable – maybe they will include stick-on rubber feet with the console.

Lack of games - only two major titles available on launch day (Polygon: Knack 6/10 - KZ4 5/10)

And at last but certainly not least:

A rather insidious addition to the PS: Sony filed a patent last year to insert advert breaks during game play. The idea is to pause your game, play an ad and then resume your game. A possible revenue for F2P games?

Spoken like a true virgin

None of those bother me.

The part about no voice over... just transfer the video to a thumbdrive and edit it on any $2 PC program... then upload to youtube.

In other words don't get one at launch. Wasn't going to anyhow.

Your meaning ?

Thanks for the heads up.. DLNA and MP3 sounds like it will get patched, so I have no other choice

I'm sure this will be patched down the road.

If you are a fan of the PS gaming franchises and you want to game almost exclusively with the best graphics for a game console, the PS4 is for you. If you are a fan of the Xbox Franchises, and care about voice/motion controls, features, exclusive programming, and very good graphics the Xbox One is for you.

PS4 has great graphics and bare bones everything else

Xbox One has very good graphics and a ton of everything else. Its all about your preference. 'll take my Titanfall, Halo 5, Ryse, and Forza along with my features. But if none of that interest you then I think you'll be very happy with a PS4. Its a beast at what it can do, just doesn't have the games yet IMHO.

Just another bash PS4 thread huh?

Also, just because a patent is created doesn't mean it will be implemented.

Who the f* buys a gaming console to listen to music? That's some MS level of stupidity right there.

The hypocrisy on this board is incredible

"LOL COWSPOT THIS PLACE IS FILLED WITH COWS"

While yes it is filled with tons of people who are misinformed

You lemmings aren't making yourselves look any better this week.

The day that games are paused to play an ad is the day I stop gaming.

More of a heads up really.

Sony obviously filed the patent because they believed that it could be used, whether it does or not remains to be seen.

Do you know how many companies file patents they never use? How grossly misinformed are you?

DLNA and mp3 are gonna be patched in with the next update. It's been confirmed already.

Another nitpick the PS4 topic and exaggerate meaningless things. Wow! You know I shouldn't have bought my house because I needed to repaint a room. Lol!

@nexus303: and consider the reboots and form factor

@I_can_haz: by who? A mod at s ok sonygaf? Please link

Ohh Just like this?

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/11/06/xbox-one-cloud-updates-may-force-mid-game-reboot

Companies normally file patents because they have an invention/product/tech/IP etc. that they need protected. Sometimes companies file patents to stop others from using the said invention/product/tech/IP. Let us hope as gamers that it is the later.

In which it normally is.
I've seen so many people spew shit about patents this gen that have never come to light.
And it will probably continue to do so.

And yet I am still picking the PS4.

Doesn't matter much because I'm not picking one up at launch.

Not as if any of those features are a dealbreaker to begin with.

In 2012 PS3 owners used their console for Netflix more than gaming...

Convergence is a great thing, there are many people that don't want mutliable devices in their entertainment center.

Sony knows this as they have a statement on the PS4 box to that effect [Watch Play and Stream your favourite digital entertainment].

Yes, I think many of the major corporations file these types of patents as a kind of insurance policy, a “just in case” mentality. Never the less, it’s something that we as consumers should be very vocal about no ?

Ummm...he asked about music, not netflix.

Originally Posted by shidoshi

Okay, so for anybody who cares about what I was hinting at earlier. And feel free to be all "OMG who the hell cares about that?!"

Also, let me be clear: this comes from having the UI demonstrated for me, and from asking questions of Sony folk during that demonstration. I have not used the PS4 that I was given as part of today's events as of this point. So, I'd love for some of my problems with the UI to be fixable with system options (either already there or added later).

So, that main strip of titles that serves as the most notable way to get to your content. Your games go there, items like Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited go there, options like your Library, the web browser, and a few other things go in there.

All of your games go there. Of course, this lead me to ask, "So what happens when you have, say, a hundred games?" Because it wouldn't take long for that list to become one super long horizontal line of content to wade through.

For now, it seems that that's how it's going to be. I was told that, as of now, you can't hide items from this list. The list already had that Library option, so why not have the list be either the disc you've got in the machine, or games you've specifically pinned? It reminds me of how the PS3 originally was, where it dumped all of your games under the Games tab and called it a day.

My other frustration? On the machine I was shown, those items are sorted by use. NO. I hate hate that. (To be fair, this is becoming a disgusting industry trend that extends beyond Sony and game consoles.) I'm really hoping that there will be an option in the OS that can set this to be sorted alphabetically, but I've also been waiting for the ability to sort folder contents alphabetically on the PS3 for years now. Why do you hate alphabetization Sony? :(

My frustration is that this is another example of how I feel like, sometimes, companies build UIs that work great when you've purchased 4-5 things, but quickly fail the more you purchase. If things work exactly as they did for the demonstration today, and there's no options for better organization, I hope enough people complain to Sony for them to realize that this is something that needs to be better ASAP.

Again, these are early impressions from a UI/system demonstration today. I would be happy to be wrong in my panic over any of this. *laughs* There's a lot I liked about the interface, but other instances (like the above) where it unfortunately feels like a 1.0 user interface, and I always get very bitchy when companies make a UI advancement and then lose it when doing a major interface update. (Sony, of course, is far from the only one who does this.)

Also, I harassed Grace Chen.

Those are some serious deal breakers right there. Thanks for letting me know.

By Yoshida in his twitter account. I'm too lazy to find the link but it's around somewhere.

this.

I assumed (maybe wrongly) that “Who the f* buys a gaming console..”, meant any use other than gaming.

No. Because irregardless companies do this all this time. Voting with your wallet is what matters. I know i'm not some sony or MS insider but i've been dedicated to this hobby enough to know a few logical things.

A) These are multinational companies that solely exist to make money. Is the consumer always right? No But 95% of the time they are.

B) Companies have feelers and people who solely exist on payroll to gather this kind of meta data. Rummage every end of the internet to see what WE the consumer are saying. Trust me they see and hear what we're saying all the time.

C) At the end of the day certain mechanisms need to be in place to protect said companies investment. Remember Geohotz? Remember the RROD? Remember how many games have leaked because of hacked 360's? While yes these companies are beefing up their TOU's not much has and will change between last generation and this one. Maybe some minor things. But otherwise it'll be pretty much the same as it's always been with some minor adjustments.

It's best not to assume and just answer the question that was asked.

This is why you don't get launch systems. I'll get my ps4 once they iron out the kinks in 2014

tldr

This is a new low for lems.

You idiots are becoming worse than cows nowadays.

Hell yeah... haven't seen an Internet ad in ages (come at me, Youtubers), and I'd have zero tolerance for having my gaming experience interrupted in such a rude manner.

If the game industry ends up being dependent on ad revenue to survive, I'd be happier to see it go down entirely, than to exist in such a miserable form.

Summary: The PS4 appears to have a lack of optimization settings for organizing your content and will become very quickly cluttered. Hopefully this will be addressed with an update.

No problem that can't be fixed with an update.

I agree with you for the most part, we as consumers must be vocal for the companies to hear. MSs 180 on their all-digital vision for the Xbox is commendable in that regard.

Fucking lol'd. First comment too.

I thought it was a sad response to an otherwise constructive thread. But that’s how teh Intenetz guys roll I guess.

For real, If I want to listen to music I'll use my HTC One fed through my soundbar. Dat bass! :)

quick question can the X1 do this? asi use this function daily on my ps3

Yes, the Xbox appears to be a lot more media centric. I have a synology box for streaming media in my apartment so I'm after the same thing. It is rumored that Sony will patch this but I don't know when and that update list is getting very long for a new product!

cool thanks, in our house the console(s) tend to be more then games machines

PS4 has the inferior version of CoD: Ghosts, too.