No feature could possibly compare to the sales gained launching at $299 rather than $399.
LMN8R
3348
And you think that would be possible if they simply dropped streaming and other features, enabling them to reduce the amount of ram in the PS4? Or if that isn’t what you meant, what is?
And that’s precisely why the PS3 failed miserably last generation. Oh wait…
Sure, cut costs and corners and take a loss on the hardware. They have no need to do that, since the xbone is launching at $499.
Of course there’s a limit; if you cut too much you’re not seen as next-gen. Nintendo is learning that lesson.
@Jake: The PS3 took years to compete with the 360 due to its pricing.
The PS3 did fail miserably, IMO.
Yes, it eventually and painfully inched toward an almost-parity with the Xbox 360, but looking at the larger cross-generational picture, the original Xbox was an incredibly niche system while the PS2 was virtually ubiquitous among anyone who even casually gamed. Given that, the PS3 should have been an incredibly easy follow-on for Sony.
I commend Sony for salvaging as much as they have of the brand and I am eagerly awaiting my pre-ordered PS4, but I still see the PS3 as an objective failure relative to how well it should have done (if properly designed, priced and marketed) and the initial selling price had quite a lot to do with that failure.
Price wasn’t the only problem with the PS3 nor will price alone determine whether the “Xbone is D0med.” Talk to the Wii U if you believe that.
Price + console features + game library + friends. These are the real factors that will determine who will “win” the next console race.
So the same infallible people who thought up the DRM, the enforced kinect, the hundred dollar higher price, the always online?
Also, you believe that always on recording and online streaming fits this description as features that would benefit a very large number of people? How many gamers do this currently on PC? Unless you believe for some reason that that number will increase tenfold when they make doing it native?
Is the recording/streaming always on? I would assume there will be a on/off option in the setting. While I and probably the majority of users won’t use the feature , it’s still a very nice feature to have built-in already.
I don’t know if Xbox One or PS4 gameplay vids will be ubiquitous, but I think that making it native to the system and a one-button process could certainly encourage people that don’t do it to give it a try and maybe even like it. I’d bet that part of the reason more people don’t do it on PC is because there are technical and knowledge hurdles to overcome. Sure, it’s not complicated, but for many people, it’s more trouble than it’s worth. There’s a reason why people keep asking Valve to just integrate Twitch or some other video-out process to Steam.
Streaming obviously won’t always be on, but on the PS4 at least recording is. I also think you’ll be surprised at how often people will share moments of games. Streaming may have less of an uptake, but a quick easy way to upload some amazing thing you did or to share some stupid bug…yeah people will use that.
I never stream games on my PC. Nor do I spend much time watching gameplay videos. Or livestreams of gaming events.
BUT I recognize that there are plenty of people who do. And I might tune in if it were a tournament for a game I were interested in (DotA doesn’t do it for me but I would probably watch the final four of a Halo tournament if it were easily available for viewing).
Teiman
3358
Behold the infinite power of the Cloud.
If you are like me, you hate wen people calls “lag” at having poor framerates. Nvidia just backstabbed us.
note: this is offtopic, sorta. I posted it here,since this is the thread with more cloud-based jokes.
LMN8R
3361
20 million people watched people stream speed runs of games for charity in just the last week: http://www.twitch.tv/speeddemosarchivesda
In February, Twitch had 28 million unique viewers of 600,000 unique broadcasters: http://www.gamespot.com/news/twitch-attracts-28-million-unique-viewers-in-february-6405267
Three months later in May, that number was 35 million: http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/05/twitch-in-house-sales-team/
“Let’s play” is quickly becoming one of the most popular video genres on YouTube, with even lesser-known games like The Ship getting 750k+ views in mere days: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=let’s+play&search_sort=video_view_count&filters=week
And all that is with PC gaming, with tools that aren’t completely straightforward or user-friendly to install and set up. It’s just waiting to explode once consoles enable it with a single button press. Comparing this to DRM is asinine. This is a feature that directly benefits literally tens of millions of gamers - both viewers who want to have a bigger variety of content to watch, and broadcasters who want to make it easier.
Well said. I really think this is a classic example of the shortcomings of viewing an entire industry through the lens of your own consumer experience.
People complaining about these consoles having streaming capabilities would be like someone saying, “Why does the iPhone have a calendar app? I don’t use it and neither do my friends.” But of course millions do and more importantly if that weren’t an option, they still MIGHT buy an iPhone but the absence of that feature would be a mark against it.
How many of those gamers recorded though? The professionals and such well be doing it anyway. Viewing a steam on YouTube and desiring to make your own are not equivalent.
I watch movies but that doesn’t mean the ability to make my own is going to be a huge advantage to me.
Putting a phone with a camera into a jillion hands seems to have really opened up people to recording little movies of all kinds. Most of them are awful, but every now and then you get a gem that gets shot around the world and creates a cottage industry on its own.
I expect most game recordings from the next-gen consoles will suck. I also expect to see a few with some amazing captures.
LMN8R
3365
I pointed out in the post that those views are comprised of 600,000 unique broadcasters. And that was back in February. And it’s just on Twitch.
Key phrase in bold. Like Jake said:
