LET THE GAMES BEGIN
Release of PlayStation 4 kicks off latest round of console wars
Just like that, they’re off and running. After months of anticipation, the next round of the video console wars has finally arrived. Sony Corp.’s new warrior for this battle arrives on store shelves Friday, and Microsoft Corp.’s entrant, the Xbox One, will touch down next week.
Since to the last launch of major consoles, in 2006, Sony seems to have learned a few things. Sony’s offering is hitting store shelves first and at a lower price point than its main competitor. With the PS3, Sony hit the market a year after Microsoft’s offering and came in at price almost double its competing offerings. Consumers weren’t kind to the PS3 in its early days.
This time, it’s the PS4 hitting store shelves first, at a price point more than $100 lower than Xbox One and with a renewed focus on the consumer. Sony has promised the PS4 won’t employ restrictive conditions that require an alwayson Internet connection to monitor what players are doing. The company has also said it has no intention of placing restrictions on how fans share their games, or buy and sell used copies of titles.
It’s an issue that saw many gamers complain earlier this year when Microsoft said it might employ these types of restrictions on Xbox One.
Getting back to the unit itself, there is no denying it’s a technological gem.
Out of the box, the sleek, shiny black parallelogram feels light. It weighs three kilograms, about six pounds; I’ve held books that are heavier. It’s also surprisingly small, about 30 per cent smaller than the first-generation PlayStation 3 (PS3), and should fit easily into any home theatre setup. The first thing you notice is that the only video output available on the unit is an HDMI port on the back, meaning people with older TVs or projectors won’t even be able to hook up the console, so be forewarned.
The new DualShock 4 controller improves on the previous version that shipped with the PS3. It fits snuggly into the player’s hands, thanks to a slightly larger build. It’s a bit heavier than the PS3’s controller, too, and it just feels more solid. New additions include a speaker and a touch pad, which will be used for gesture-based movements in some games. The controller still has a rechargeable internal battery cell, which is a big plus in my books. The familiar “start” and “select” buttons have been replaced with “options” and “share” buttons. “Options” gives you access to all the usual pause menus that gamers have known for years.
The share button allows you to upload a screenshot or a video clip to the Internet so you can show your friends what you’ve been up to. Sharing is a big thing on the PS4. It’s something you notice when setting up your system and it immediately asks to log you in to Facebook so it can post game updates to your profile.
When you fire up the unit, a blue racing-stripe-like light cascades down the centre of the console. Aside from looking cool, the light acts as a guide, highlighting the spot where the game discs go. It’s a handy feature to have in the dark.
The unit runs silently, which is a huge improvement over the PS3’s jet-turbine-like cooling fans, which often required TV volume levels to be needlessly increased.
Boot times have improved, and you’ll be able to access your games faster, thanks to the beefed up hardware within the unit. Sony has claimed the new console’s performance is 10 times that of the PS3.
The first thing you’ll notice when you get in to the main media hub area, which Sony calls the PlayStation Dynamic Menu, is that the unit requires a 343-megabyte update. You will need to install the update if you want to log in to Sony’s PlayStation Network or access a handful of other features. Updates have become the bane of gamers, but as of the last generation of consoles, this is the world we now live in. Agile software development practices see companies release a product and continue to update and upgrade its services long after they’ve been shipped to consumers. Apple Inc. does it all the time with its iOS software.
One thing that immediately stands out is how seamlessly the unit moves among applications, a game and the Dynamic Menu. On the PS3, gamers would have to quit the title they were playing to access the menu. It was clunky and annoying. With the PS4 you can flip back and forth much more easily. It’s handy when checking for messages from friends or to see if someone you know is online.
One feature that is missing is the ability to suspend your game, which would essentially give the PS4 the appearance of turning off so that you could return to the console at a later time and pick up where you left off. Sony says that feature will be enabled in the future.
For PS3 owners, the console won’t import all of the apps that you’ve downloaded in the past. So, set aside some time to go through the PlayStation Network and redownload stuff such as the Netflix app and NHL GameCenter all over again.
It should also be noted that as opposed to the PS3, which allowed owners to play multiplayer online matches against people from all over the world for free, gamers will need to pay for a monthly subscription to the PlayStation Network to access multiplayer matches.
The console isn’t backward compatible either, meaning all of those PS3 games you’ve bought over the years won’t work on this system. Neither will CDs, but that’s less of an issue these days. The console will play Blu-ray discs as well as DVDs.
Game play on the system is rich and vibrant, as one would expect. With each new release of consoles, game developers have more hardware to work with, allowing them to push the boundaries of game play and create new experiences and features for fans. The PS4 outputs all of its video in full HD, 1080p, making scenes seem realistic and keeping the detail in those scenes exceptionally sharp. However, as opposed to the leap in graphics seen in previous console generations, it’s not that much of an improvement. Many PS3 games output in 1080p as well and look almost as smooth. It’s likely that with the newness of the PS4, developers haven’t fully harnessed its graphics abilities just yet and that the best is still ahead.
In all, the PS4 is a solid evolution to Sony’s current aging offering. It’s faster, has a much smoother interface and offers more features than its predecessor. Still, it feels as if the company’s focus was on finetuning the PS3 and adding more technological muscle, rather than redefining the console entirely, which is what Microsoft is aiming to do with its Xbox One launch next week. ❚ Decent upgrades to the DualShock control make it feel more sturdy and add functionality.
❚ Much faster load times, a main menu that is easier to navigate and a welcome new ability to download games and applications in the background.
❚ Upgraded system specifications that allow for much smoother graphics and vibrant colours.
THE BAD ❚ No backward compatibility with PS3 or PS2 games or CD functionality. ❚ No suspend mode, which was promised by Sony at launch. ❚ The console doesn’t have the ability to automatically install applications and downloadable titles that a PS3 owner may have had installed on their previous system. ❚ For the first time, PlayStation owners will have to pay to access multiplayer matches.
For game fans, the release of a new generation of consoles is exciting and full of promise. The PS4 is no exception. Out of the box, the slim design and well-engineered controller will fit in with any entertainment system and please even the most demanding of players. The console’s updated software and impressive list of available games is another plus. However, after cultivating a following of gamers who have become accustomed to free online play, suddenly forcing those players to pay for that functionality may be a bit jarring. Still, the PS4 doesn’t deviate far from other consoles that Sony has released in the past and is likely to be a welcome upgrade to any fan of the PS3.