Feature: Five Reasons Why You Should Buy a PS4 This Holiday
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Perfect momentWe’re often guilty of forgetting that not everyone owns a PlayStation 4 yet. While there’s no doubt that Sony’s next-gen system has raced out of the gates like an American shopper looking for a decent deal on Black Friday, the Japanese giant has only shipped a total of 13.5 million units to date. That means that there are dozens upon dozens of gamers around the globe, twiddling their thumbs waiting for greatness to be attained.
To be honest, we’d agree that the Japanese giant’s still got a little way to go before its latest machine reaches its full potential – but we’d still argue that now is the right time to upgrade. With some amazing bundles set to hit retail over the coming days – and Santa’s sleigh mere weeks away – here are five reasons why we reckon you should take the plunge, and buy a brand new PS4 this holiday.
The system’s a serious step upAs far as first years go, you’d be hard pushed to describe the PS4’s lineup as barren. We appreciate that a lot of the big games also deployed on the ageing PlayStation 3, but it’s difficult to enunciate to the uninitiated just what a difference Sony’s brand new box makes. The boost to 1080p, for example, makes a marked difference to the clarity of games, with last-gen releases looking muddier than a rain slicked rugby pitch by comparison.
But it’s not just the obvious graphical advantages that make the next-gen machine the best place to play the likes of Destiny, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Far Cry 4, as the operating system also makes a difference. Whether it’s the speed at which you can sift through your software, or the fact that patches will download and install while you’re asleep, going back to the PS3 is close to impossible once you’ve become accustomed to the new device.
Worldwide Studios has been silentYou’ve heard the complaints by now: Sony has no exclusives. While we’ll be the first to agree that it’s had a somewhat quiet Christmas, long-term readers should realise that it’s clearly keeping a lot behind closed doors. Let’s look at this another way: Media Molecule, Sony Santa Monica, London Studio, Sony Bend, Quantic Dream, Polyphony Digital, Guerrilla Games, Japan Studio, and Sony Cambridge are all working on titles that we don’t know about.
We appreciate that buying into promise is a bad idea, but the Japanese giant tends to have a cyclical nature to its output, and 2015 is definitely looking like one of its ‘on’ years. It’s going to kick things off with the intriguing historical shooter The Order: 1886, and follow that up almost immediately with Bloodborne. The spring should see the arrival of Ratchet & Clank, with MLB 15: The Show due, too. And let’s not forget about a little game called Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Third-party support is only going to get strongerWe get the impression that third-party publishers were less than eager to support the PS4 straight away. Cast your mind back to the conversation prior to this generation, and you’ll recall that it centred on the impending doom of the console as we know it. Sony – and, to a lesser extent, Microsoft – has proved that such scepticism was a load of rubbish, and hardware and software sales for the two new systems are strong.
And firms such as EA Games, Ubisoft, and Activision will be aware of that – and will be investing heavily as a consequence. That means that we’re going to see the output from these three major publishers – and many of the smaller companies, too – increase over the coming years, which will inevitably result in some stellar titles. Again, it hasn’t been a particularly bad year for new releases, but with the hardware having now proven itself, the platform is in the ideal position to profit from some truly groundbreaking games.
Sony’s way ahead of the game right nowThere was a common criticism throughout the PS3 era that Sony was spending most of its time playing catch up. The PlayStation Network, for example, launched lacking key features, while its console’s complex architecture prompted numerous headaches for the engineers tasked with getting the best out of the CELL. These days, however, it’s arguably not only caught up with its competitors – but leapfrogged them in the process.
This has been evident since E3 last year, where it took a stance on used games, and forced Microsoft to react. However, it’s setting the generational pace in other more interesting ways than that. Project Morpheus, for instance, looks set to introduce commercially viable virtual reality into the wider marketplace for the first time, while PlayStation Now seems poised to set the precedent for game streaming. Elsewhere, initiatives like PlayStation Vue demonstrate long-term ambitions, which prove that the company’s thinking ahead.
Variety is the spice of lifeThe best thing about being a PlayStation fan is that Sony frequently signs strange games, and while these may not always hit the mark, they often offer something new. Journey, The Unfinished Swan, and Tokyo Jungle are all examples of these types of titles, and the PS4 is set to play host to dozens of similarly outlandish experiences next year. From the likes of The Tomorrow Children all the way through to RIME and WiLD, there’s some truly wacky stuff on the way.
And if variety happens to be your cup of tea, then we suspect that the amount of indie content available is only going to snowball as well. There’s so much stuff these days that we’re having to resort to full features just to catch up with the announcements, and the beauty is that there’s something for everyone. Sure, you may not be a fan of physical party games like Sportsfriends, but how many of you are looking forward to No Man’s Sky? The more options the better – and you’ll find plenty on the PS4.
