So the full map access. Does only one person in your friendlist need to have this ability to start the game, or is your multiplayer experience going to be segmented to only those that have the ultimate bundle if you want to play an off cycle map.

The pay-to-win aspect (xp boosters, equipment unlocks, ability unlocks) is a little iffy in my opinion.

I hope the game is great, but I like the special editions to include art, physical collectables, vanity peacock items, future DLC. Not so much in game advantages like EXP boosters, and early unlocking of gear an abilities that actually give an unfair advantage.

Free DLC for game content, and paid microtransactions for country flag cosmetics......I am ok with this.

@ixilion: Lost Odyssey is still my favorite RPG of all time. Original?? not even a bit. Its like they took my favorite systems from my favorite final fantasy games, and put them all together in one. It was perfection in my eyes. Rather than reinvent the wheel, it consolidated the best features of its inspiration.

@spartanx169x: they wouldnt have to, the console would be supported for 9 years. There would just be a new option every 3 years.

@alanwest5682: You can call it all you want....but its not free. If you finished your contract, called them, they could have reduced your bill by however much the discount for people with their own phone. When your contract was up, your monthly bill could have gone down for the same level of service (and you would no longer be on contract). You are not losing money from upgrading because you get a new phone. But if you kept your old phone, you could have saved money on your bill. You are paying for your phone.

If Sony followed the same model as your cellphone company (which would be great for many people. I am not knocking the system, as i like it) then Playstation plus would be 24.99/month on a 3 year contract, and you get the console for free.

But if you owned a Playstation already, it would be 24.99/month with no contract but you get a $15credit every month for owning your own PS4....so it effectivly only costs $9.99

So as someone who got the free console, and is paying 24.99/month at the end of two years is offered the newest revision for free with another 2 year commitiment, their bill would remain the same (Your situation)

However if they decided to keep the old hardware and continue using playstation plus, they could get a $15/discount per month effectivly costing them only $9.99.

I would personally love this model, if the went with a consistent 3 year cycle refresh of hardware.

@magul: Going to a hybrid of the two is a great idea.

This change to consoles that Sony is leading the way on is great. I think the future model should be a 3 year cycle, where games should only be supported on the most current 3 revisions. Games (much like on PC) would just need to be scalable. So every new console would be able to play every game before it, but new games would need to only support the last 3 revisions.

This would give us a steady upgrade of hardware every 3 years. Every console revision would be supported for 9 years (although at the end, the difference in a game would be low settings vs high on the hardware 2 generations past.) Because its the same platform, all the past games made for previous revisions would work on future ones.

I think this is such a win win for everyone involved. This IMO should be the way it should evolve. You get the constant consistant advance in tech/visual capabilities of a pc, but keep the ability to optimize because you are only working on a single group of hardware at a generation.

@PixelAddict: Replies like this always make me chuckle. There are plenty of negative comments, and plenty of comments defending Sony. The comments here look exactly like it would if it was Microsoft.

If Microsoft made the same announcement, you would see the same response. In fact i would go as far to say you would also see your comment with "Sony" replaced with "Microsoft"

@alanwest5682: So you were eligible for a "free upgrade" at the end of your contract from your last "free upgrade". Then you sold them your old phone for $200 for a credit on your bill (which is a great retention plan) But a part of your month to month bill is actually paying for the phone. If i came to your carrier with my own phone, and got the exact same plan as you I would receive a discount every month on my phone bill. If you really believe it is free, you are being a little naive.

@alanwest5682: Did you know that a "free" phone on a 2 year plan is not free. If you had the exact same plan, but brought your own phone you would see a price reduction of around $20-$25. So if you came to CELLco for the $90 talk/data plan with that free/discounted phone. You could get the same plan for $65 if you paid the phone outright, or brought your own phone. So that free phone over 2 years is really costing you $480-$600.

Who cares if they release a PS4.75 next. As long as my PS4 gets the same quality content it was always intended to get. Upgrade if you must have the latest and greatest. But you will not lose anything if you keep what you have.