Sony just won the console war for this generation. Not only is the PS4 going to be cheaper, Sony’s CEO gloated on stage last night at E3 with the biggest possible grin as he detailed that all that nonsensical DRM crap that Microsoft is pulling, like blocking used games sales and stuff like that? Yeah, Sony’s PS4 will have none of that. Sony even made an instructional video to explain how sharing games works.
We are supposed to hate you! I have had you on my evil corporation list almost as long as Microsoft. Microsoft is starting to look good due to comparisons with Apple, and now Sony is looking good in comparison to Microsoft.
Damn you Sony, I want to hate you!
I still wouldn’t trust them as the PS3 was littered with reversed decisions (sometimes with Sony going so far as backporting the changes to existing PS3 owners – in the case of the OtherOS support).
So while Sony might be pro-used games for the first few years of the PS4’s life, I don’t trust that they wouldn’t reverse their stance latter in the consoles life.
I hope for consumers sake I’m wrong – but I’m not going to risk my money regardless.
Edited 2013-06-11 09:19 UTC
I suspect that Apples success with DRM has emboldened the DRM-god at MSFT.
MSFT has included Apple style DRM with music, video and now games and gone even further than Apple by including region restrictions, TPM requirement, required internet (for media and games) and god knows what other type of unannounced traps, for their unsuspecting and _paying_ customers.
Hopefully the XBox One will die because of this and MSFT will be forced to learn a hard, and painful lesson.
funny how ms forgot the lesson of their initial success. IBM gave up control of the PC platform and it beat out apple’s more advanced but more tightly controlled system in the 80s. ios’s loss of market share in the 2010s seems to be another replay of the same in mobile, this time with android being the open system. with ninty not doing well and Sony being Sony you might think this gen would be a slam dunk, but no, ms wants it all and may end up turning this into a fail.
I think ms needs to slash and burn their management and marketing departments, neither seem to understand consumers.
Too many MBA’s running the show probably.
Out of curiosity, have you checked MS’s stock price?
Edited 2013-06-11 17:07 UTC
Yes it has increased ever since ValueAct bought shares.
http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/06/valueact-ftc-activist-microsoft/
Hopefully they will target Ballmer and toss his head down the steps at the Redmond campus.
Nobody fucking ever mentions Steam, which is the same fucking thing.
Guess what it hasn’t hurt it.
Steam is similar, but there are some stark differences:
Steam has competition
-There will be none on the Xbox One
Steam doesnt own the platform
-My PC is my own, I didnt pay Steam $499 for the right to use my PC
Steam has offline mode
-Xbox one will require a callback every 24 hours or your games will be disabled
Steam’s online match making is free
-Xbox one is $50/year (so far)
Steam Games has a track record of lowering prices far below retail within months
-Xbox live Games on Demand does not, there are still way to many full games that track retail disc based pricing (some years after release). One funny example is there are games that have PC releases…and on steam they are 80%+ cheaper than the Games On Demand version
Now there are some things that are actually BETTER than Steam:
Microsoft will allow up to 10 people to play your games simultaneously.
-Steam only allows one person per account
Microsoft will allow said 10 people to play on any xbox simultaneously
-Steam allows only one person, on one single PC at a time
Microsoft will allow you to trade/sell games (publishers may charge a fee)
-Steam has never had this option, though some have had success selling their entire accounts off
Microsoft will let you add traded or USED games
-Steam no such luck
Edited 2013-06-12 10:30 UTC
As ars pointed out, all they did was not change their existing policy with used games. For that they are beloved now…
Get a life!
If you just want to hate someone, why not to find a little more guilty guys than videogame companies?
It’s almost like Sony learned from it’s mistakes in past.
It’s not like PS4 has done anything groundbreaking; what Sony did made sense. They evolved their product linearly. It’s the next iteration of the PS3. It’s just better, it’s “next gen”.
MS just went full retard. I don’t understand. They didn’t evolve, they made a new creature, and it’s a total Frankenstein(like windows 8). Instead of killing little boys in the woods, it’s killing consumer’s wallets right in front of them.
Edited 2013-06-11 08:39 UTC
I have to imagine the overall state of the company has humbled them, and the extreme mess that unfolded on PSN was a wakeup call. They needed to quit thinking people will buy from them on name alone, and offer a superior product with consumer friendly terms.
MS undoubtedly thought they had not changed, and could go the way they did with ease. It may not matter in the end, and Xbox one will almost definitely sell very well, but this move from Sony may have won more back than MS could have predicted.
If only users would learn from their past mistakes (namely trusting Sony).
What is to stop them from changing their model later down the road with forced firmware updates?
Microsoft learned from Apple.
Apple learned from Sony’s mistakes in the past, when Sony refused to cannibalise their own recording business and produce the goddamn mp3 player that everybody was asking for. Apple released Sony’s goddamn mp3 player, killed Sony’s Walkman business, and then they released the phone that finally killed the mp3 player (before everyone else did). It’s about seeing where technology is heading, and produce the right stuff even if it’s in competition with your own products.
Now Microsoft is cannibalising their gamer market by producing a gaming console that’s slightly inferior to the competition, at a slightly higher price, to get in b4 Apple’s iTV kills the TV. It’s good thinking: the market has been crying out for something that simplifies TV and consolidates cable and internet video and PVR (and who knows, maybe even video telephony) and whatnot into one easy to use device. Microsoft’s one serious mistake, however, was to attach it to a hideously expensive gaming console with features that no one wants (always-on DRM and leeching money off the used games market).
So yeah, Microsoft correctly sees where technology is heading (I assume), they just don’t realise that gamers are easily pissed off and non-gamers won’t buy the most expensive gaming console.
What? The last two times they made an expensive exotic machine that is hard to program for. This time they took a game-pc with standard x86 and a unified single 8GB memory. All this stuff is proven technology and easy to use and understand.
That is pretty groundbreaking to me.
The funny thing is I think hackers will instead of trying to get the new Xbox to play copied games, they will be trying to get it to play second hand games!
Watched both MS and sonys e3, and did not think it would go this way. When Sony announced those things the roar from the crowd was telling. I am sure some execs at Redmond were tossing chairs across the boardroom, no way they expected Sony to do this.
I didn’t get a chance to watch either, but what was Microsoft thinking? I had always been a Nintendo/Sony person. Never cared for the Xbox, not just because it is a MS product but I felt it was a clunky device, never mind the red rings of death, etc.
But Sony more or less admitted last week they weren’t going to do DRM. Did Microsoft really think Sony would had followed suit and done the same? Those number crunchers at MS certainly effed up big time, a lot of heads will roll and I really can’t seeing them do a HUGE ass u-turn on their policy now, can they?
I for one cannot wait to get my PS4!
Button replied to the wrong post. Sorry.
Edited 2013-06-11 15:41 UTC
That instructional video is just classic!!!!! Ahahahahahahahahaah
Okay… the PS4 is faster, cheaper, and less restrictive?
Nice. I’ll keep my PC, but… Nice.
Well, of course it’s cheaper. That’s what happens when you don’t need to force the Kinect-Spy on everyone.
Man, I never heard a crowd cheering for a company like this. Epic!
honestly I’m more worried about the mandatory psn+ for playing online, as a pc gamer I was pretty much never able to share or buy/sell used games and since I’m mainly a pc gamer I don’t play online on consoles too often, with the ps4 I’ll be forced to pay 5€ to play maybe a couple of times a month, granted that the psn+ gives you free games, discounts etc.. but seems like a waste of money if the ps4 is not your main gaming platform
I can’t find any article which states the subscription based Playstation Plus to be mandatory for online play.
Source please
Are you perhaps mixing it up PSN which is free?
I’ll answer my own question:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/06/ps4-owners-will-need-playstat…
Confirmed, $5 a month for online multiplayer (with some nice benefits but still mandetory for online).
They need to pay for game servers somehow; this ensures that even if games no longer sell, people who own them should still be able to find multiplayer servers.
I would prefer the option to connect to dedicated servers, but that kind of thing is (allegedly) more suited to PC gamers, who are (in theory) more technically-minded.
While I’m not the huge gamer I once was, I can’t seem to get excited over this. The main reason Microsoft is imposing their rules is because they really want to get past disc based gaming. Should we still be buying discs in 2013? Am I the only one who just wants to download and play games? Sony pushed downloadable and online games in their early announcements, and I think that’s what most people will end up doing. Which makes this announcement mostly irrelevant.
They will get you one way or another, either on game price, subscriptions or downloadable content. I really want to like the PS4 more, but the Xbox seems like will be a better experience.
Is this a serious comment?
I will be happily buying plastic discs if this allows me to a) rummage for golden cheapies in video game shops and garage sales, b) sell or give away unwanted games with or without the expensive mediation of Microsoft, c) borrow and lend games unfettered, d) avoid downloading 50GB per game, e) replace my machine struck by lightning and be playing immediately, f) (…..)
Little not to like, really. But it might be me: I still buy CDs, for more or less the reasons detailed above.
Depends on if you actually want to own your games, or if you want to have some corporation dictating when and how you can play them, and possibly taking away access at some point in the future. A lot of my friends are still playing their Atari 2600/NES/C64/etc games even today. I’m not quite that hardcore… I use emulators
… which is why they included a BluRay drive, obviously.
I thought that was part of their plans to be the one-stop device for media in the living room. It would be hard for them to claim that the Xbox One is that device and then exclude Blu-ray.
Just because the technology is there does not mean it is in the best interest of consumers to fully adopt it.
Have a look at Steam where $60 games can be found cheaper on Amazon despite the latter distribution method having much higher costs.
Giving publishers pricing control by taking away retail and used game sales pressure is a bad idea. They won’t “pass on the savings” just because their costs are lower. This type of Libertarian thinking is extremely naive.
Seams like Steam is doing pretty well for itself. The app stores are doing good as well. Games go on sale when they get old and the developers still get a cut instead of a third party store.
You’re assuming whatever is cheapest for you is the best method. If developers don’t make money they won’t make games. And if they try to chase the cheapskates they will never catch them because they will just pirate games.
The old systems worked the way they did because that’s all they could do, not because they were just really nice guys. People pirated mp3s because it was easy and free. When Itunes and others made legal mp3s easy most people were willing to pay for them. Make games easier to download and play, people will buy them too. Steam, Itunes, Play store, are all proof.
Steam is doing well for itself but that doesn’t mean it is in the best interest of consumers or developers. For one they take a larger cut than the retailer and two pc piracy rates haven’t changed since Steam. It doesn’t stop piracy so why do you defend the system?
Game developers have to deal with heavy piracy on pc for single player games and that hasn’t changed at all. On consoles piracy is already kept in check through bricking and the threat of a lost warranty.
I think Sony won this generation console wars right there. They have better hardware, full openGL support (to port gl games to ps4 is a breeze) working sync, media center functionality and also controls the blue-ray market to some extent. Add to that the friendlier approach to used games and also the ability to run linux. Microsoft has to pull something radical to even stand a chance.
I am in no way a fanboy and i own no newer console than the Sega Saturn, but i know when to fold PS4 will battle nintendo for the top spot and microsoft lost unless they manage to secure some really impressive exclusives.
Really?!
Almost no one was using the OpenGL support in PS3, but rather libCGM.
Although I don’t have access to the PS4 devkit, I am yet to see any confirmation of OpenGL support in the usual technical sites of the gaming communities.
It’s using a Jaguar-based APU.
*Not* having full OpenGL support would be odd.
Why?
Contrary to what open source zealots think, except for the PS3 with OpenGL ES 1.0 and Cg for shaders, with most studios actually using LibCGM instead, game consoles use OpenGL inspired APIs, not OpenGL.
Any reliable source for that “almost no one used PSGL” claim? Not that I don’t believe it, but apparently, the only ones that keep repeating it are people who aren’t even licensed PS3 developers.
From Sony itself,
PSGL != OpenGL, rather OpenGL ES 1.0 + Cg + Sony extensions
http://www.research.scea.com/gdc2006/GLESTutorial07_Arnaud_Remi_PSG…
Libgcm and Geman advised as the libraries to use when you want graphics performance.
http://develop.scee.net/files/presentations/acgirussia/Case_Studies…
Check the opinion of Sandstorm games on Libgcm vs PSGL.
http://sandstormgames.ca/blog/tag/libgcm/
It is a urban legend in the open source community that all game consoles other than Microsoft’s support pure desktop OpenGL.
If Apple didn’t went for OpenGL ES on iPhones, rather using their own API, probably the mobile situation would be quite different.
IF I happen to buy a new console it will be a Sony. I applaud their decision with great enthusiasm.
Good for Sony for shifting the onus of DRM directly to the Game Devs. The console is just a piece of Hardware. I do not see anything preventing the big Game devs, like EA, from just creating their own SW DRM structure requiring always on Activation. I would be happy if both the Devs and console makers eradicate DRM and obscene Activation requirements.
All this says is that Sony is not completely stupid, and sees Microsoft’s policy as a potential boost for them if they hold back on doing anything similar for a generation. I fully expect, once Microsoft has taken the hit and begins recovering from their blunder, Sony will consider the waters tested and set up something similar themselves. I wouldn’t trust them. Hell, with Sony known for taking away features on purchased hardware, I would not be surprised if they start toying around with this idea themselves before the next generation is even up. There really is nothing to get excited over until Sony proves themselves over time.
For now, yes, no mandatory online or DRM schemes from Sony.
Corporations like EA could implement it, but at least then I have a choice. I can choose not to purchase an EA title with DRM activation. I can’t do that on the Xbox.
Yes, online multiplayer will mean a $5.00 a month PSN account. Well, for me that is not a problem as I don’t play online. I am a single person player or a local co-op. If there aren’t enough titles on the PS4, I still have tons for my PS3, PS2, PSX, Gamecube, Wii, etc.
Now, it is an expensive beast – $499.00 SRP at launch. I will not be getting one any time soon.
There is also the issue with PS3 games needing to be repurchased from the PSN store to run. But I have a PS3, so I don’t need to worry there.
Finally, in response to the poster about moving strictly to downloads, no thank you! If that occurs, then DRM and walled-gardens have won. I don’t want to be locked into things. I have avoided Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo Plus, Google+, etc. and I don’t want to get roped into this social shit with my gaming either.
The PS4 is not $499 its $399. Its the Xbox One that is $499.
Thanks for the correction. I got them mixed up. That definitely makes the PS4 a bit more appealing for sure.
But Microsoft consistently tries hard to be seen as the most evil of them all. I’m not exactly sure why or what do they gain from it.
Thank you Ballmer for adding more evidence to your title of worst CEO in America.
You clearly have no idea as to how to run a company or even an inkling of common sense when it comes to serving customers.
First you let Sinofsky screw up Windows with his idiotic forced Metro plan and now you let the Xbox division implode because some asshead MBA who doesn’t play games probably thought IF WE TAKE DEM USED SALES AND TRADES WE SHOULD MAKE ABOUT 10 BILLION MORE SALES without considering that gamers might get extremely pissed off and buy fewer games or avoid your console entirely. You had the chance to rescind after the negative feedback just like Windows 8 but instead went ahead with a $500 console with all kinds of new restrictions including the end of allowing kids to trade games back and forth. f–k the kids I guess because Microsoft only has 75 billion in cash on hand and so Johnny needs to save up for those $60 games so a few more bucks can be added to that giant money pile.
What a shame that a company created by nerds is now being ruined by a gang of slimy car salesmen. f–king idiots really. Microsoft is ran by f–king idiots.
Edited 2013-06-11 20:18 UTC
Sony wins hands downs in this respect for sure. The instructional video was hilarious.
Unfortunately everything else they have done up until now has been either incompetent, user hostile or both.
This alone isn’t enough to fool me into giving Sony money again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVhvrgQIPOU
As a long time Playstation and MGS fanboy this sucks.
Both require you pay for access to multi-user gaming. Both are moving toward steam style purchases that can not be traded or loaned (its just a software upgrade…both need to be on-line to use them for nearly anything useful (yes, even the PS4 needs an internet connection…the XBOX is not an always on-line device, it is always ready to go online though….just like your freaking PC.
stop of FUD.
My freaking pc can play single player games without needing to phone mother brain to get permission. My Xbox 360 can do the same which is why I take it on vacation every year to an area that has lousy internet.
I’m not sure why you or others are doing damage control for the Xbox One. They came out with a stupid plan and lost before it even started. This is going to be a bloodbath unless they reverse the restrictions, drop the price and get on their knees and beg for forgiveness. But we all know nuMicrosoft doesn’t work that way so get ready for blood. Get ready for a playstation era where game companies don’t bother with Xbox One or Wii U.
It often seems to be like Microsoft intentionally tries to “throw the race” — kind of like the last US presidential election where I’ve never seen two political parties try so hard to lose the presidency.
First Windows 8 being a giant middle finger to Desktop users with the bleeding edge of 1997 AOL Games design style, and now micro-managing themselves right out of the games market with something that has XBox fanboys in a froth long before it’s even released.
Kudos to Sony for putting out a video that’s a genuine kick in the crotch to Microsoft.
Orwell’s 1984 in full effect. People are cheering for a console which is region locked, DRMed, and only runs games from “licensed” devs, just because it allows used games.
“Sure, the Ingsoc’s dictatoship is bad, but the other dictatorships are worse”.
I know, this is how things have been in consoles since a long time, but I expected comments to the tune of “I will eat the least crap sandwich, but I still hate people who try to sell me crap sandwiches” instead of “Hip, hip hooray! Sony is our savior!”.
Edited 2013-06-14 09:47 UTC
PS4 is region free.
Discs don’t have DRM per-se, you put them in your PS4 and they play!
It’s not an open platform, no, and that is a bad thing…
You can run your own homebrew software in a PS4? Like you can run a homebrew apk in Android?
Also, can you just see tge contents of a PS4 disc with a PC Bluray drive? No, the disc is drmed
When it comes to Bluray movies? How. Even if the games are not region locked, the device contains region lock.
Browser: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.4; el-gr; LG-P990 Build/GRJ23) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1 MMS/LG-Android-MMS-V1.0/1.2