We have a pretty straightforward poll topic for you this week. With Friday’s big launch of the PlayStation 4 imminent, do you plan to buy the new gaming console as soon as you can get one? Are you willing to wait? Do you care at all?
For my part, I have an interest in the PS4, but I can wait until next year, at least. Honestly, I’m not even sure why I want one. I hardly ever turn on my PS3 or play videogames, but the allure of owning the latest and greatest new hardware is difficult to resist. I probably need to examine my priorities.
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William Henley
My life is to buy… 🙂
Only reason I had an XBox 360 and a PS3 is that they were backwards compatable, and the PS3 was a GREAT media device. No 3D support, no DLNA, no CD support = No buy for me.
Besides, as I play so rarely, there is still a great catalouge of titles for both systems that I have yet to pick up, and titles on my shelf that are still unopened. I got myself set for years to come.
Now, if Sony will add media support back to the Playstation and make it substantialy better than the PS3 (in terms of media) then I would pick one up in a heartbeat.
Josh Zyber
AuthorTypo fixed, thanks.
dachst
got mine today, won it from Taco Bell
Ed
I’m in agreement with William Henley. I had pre-ordered one from Best Buy, but then I read about how it won’t be backwards compatible and won’t be programmed to play many forms of other media, such as audio CDs, MP3s, certain forms of video, etc. So I went ahead and canceled the order. If Sony ever decides to do an update and restore all of those capabilities, I will just stick with my PS3.
It’s a shame, too, because I was really looking forward to the new hardware…
Shayne Blakeley
Same here, no media support or backwards compatibility makes this thing seem utterly useless. Even if my PS3 goes to hell I see no reason not to just buy another of those.
Kirby Anderson
I bought the ogiginal fat when it came out. Suffered the blinking death light twice. The games for the 3 are plenty for me. Black Friday listings show the PS3 unbundled for $149. No backwards support, NO SALE! Sony you can keep your new monster!
Mark B
I”m hoping to get one for Xmas. I had one on order, but like many others I cancelled it when I continued to see things that were not supported as far as media playback and what not.
phill
they took out too many features to be worth the price; cancelled mine, buying an oppo for bluray since i have a pretty decent gaming pc and a ps3
Josh Zyber
AuthorFor whatever it’s worth, Sony claims that MP3 playback and some other features will probably be added to the PS4 in a firmware update. As the story goes, they wanted to focus on ironing out the bugs with core game playback in time for launch before worrying about other secondary features.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Sony/PS4/PLaystation/Sony_Now_Officially_Exploring_Possibilities_With_Regards_to_MP3_and_DLNA_Support/13091
I doubt that backwards compatibility with PS3 games will ever be in the cards, though.
William Henley
I doubt that backwards compatibility with PS3 games will ever be in the cards, though.
Same here – backwards compatability would have to be emulated, and I don’t see an 8 core x64 processor being able to emulate an 8-core Cell processor in real time. PS2 and PS1 emulation is possible.
JM
Pre-ordered my PS4 back at E3. Killzone and Black Flag are sitting on the component rack waiting for 15. Vita’s ready to remote assassinate beasts.
I hope last gen dies fast, so we can finally leave 2005 game design behind.
Drew
Thank you, Jane!
A lot of these comments seem preposterous to me. Do that many people not have other hardware to play their other media? I wonder … How is everyone playing CDs, and other mentioned media files, currently?
Who cares if the PS4 doesn’t play prehistoric media? I would bet that everybody who commented that they’re not getting one, due to the lack of other media compatibility, already has multiple other hardware that supports said media.
Elizabeth
Thanks for the condescending comments, Drew! Way to drive your point right into the mud. I have other devices that could play CDs. I have other devices that can play MP3s. I have a DVD player hiding around here somewhere. I actually only own one Blu-Ray player, my PS3. And guess what device can play all of those formats? My PS3.
When I’ve gotten accustomed to this level of media integration, music, movies, games in one device why would someone want to take an obvious step back like what the PS4 is offering? No local file streaming? Now that’s prehistoric. Not even 3D Blu-Ray. Maybe Sony should just remove lossless audio support as well. Maybe make it not play dual layer Blu-Ray movies. That would awesome.
And their claim their looking into it is just marketing speak, for, “oh crap, we didn’t think people would be this pissed about removing features.” I guess Sony had to figure out some way to screw up the launch of the PS4. The PS3 had its outrageous price and rumble-less controller, now the PS4 has its feature lacking self.
William Henley
Totally agree. The PS3 wasn’t just sold as a gaming system, when it came out, Sony pushed it as a total media solution. The original PS3 was also advertised as supporting alternative operating systems (specifically Yellow Dog Linux). As such MANY (not going to say most) picked up the PS3 simply for its media capabilities. The fact that it could play games and could play our current stock of Playstation 1 and 2 games was an added bonus.
As such, many were expecting similar features in the Playstation 4. The fact that the PS4 doesn’t feature many media features turned a lot of potential buyers off.
I am sure the PS4 is a great GAMING system. But this isn’t a gaming website, despite the fact that a video game or console is ocassionally talked about. I am willing to bet most people in these forums would want the media solutions first and the gaming system second. That is in this community. If you go out to a gaming site, you will probably see completely different reactions.
Drew
Elizabeth,
My point is that if you’re grumbling over a lack of support of formats that debuted almost 30 years ago (CD), or almost 20 years ago (MP3), you’re clearly not right for the PS4, anyway. When you buy a new car, are you disappointed by the lack of an 8-track player, or cassette tape player? Is it a deal breaker, when there’s no option for wood paneling on the exterior?
I’m not happy about the fact that the PS4 won’t play 3D blu-rays, but I have other options for 3D, and I believe that 3D support will eventually be added.
Oh, and by the way, nobody ever said that you had to get rid of your PS3, in order to get a PS4. You’re more than welcome to use both of them concurrently. Now there’s a novel concept!
Elizabeth
Your examples are kind of ridiculous. Since you can no longer buy cassettes (8-track or otherwise) obviously I wouldn’t be expecting it to support them. But if it didn’t include AC or an AM/FM, CD playing stereo, then I’d probably look elsewhere. Those are standard features, and playing CDs, mp3s and DLNA support are pretty standard features for game consoles at this point. And if my unwillingness to give up on such old tech makes me not right for the PS4, then that’s Sony’s loss.
CD support doesn’t honestly bother me, but not being able to play my own music on the device is a pretty huge flaw. It seems more like the accountants did the math and figured out they could save a couple of bucks per PS4 if they omitted these features. It wasn’t some bold push by Sony to leave behind legacy formats (and honestly I hardly consider mp3s some legacy format, despite when the format was created). Either that or they just rushed the console to market to compete with Microsoft (though it’s pretty obvious both companies are doing that).
And, yes I understand I could have them hooked up simultaneously, but that gets back to the whole “yet-another-box” problem I was easily able to avoid with the PS3 in the first place. I’m not a huge gamer, so the convergence device part is huge selling point for me.
But feel free to continue to make silly comparisons. Maybe in a year after Sony has re-implemented these features (or whenever Kingdom Hearts 3 arrives) I’ll reconsider, but until then Sony is losing my money. (p.s., I wouldn’t have so much issue with your comments if it didn’t come with a side of obnoxious attitude.)
Trond Michelsen
To be honest, I never really understood why people would use the PS3 as a media player at all. I admit my primary reason for buying a PS3, a few days after WB ditched HD DVD, was to use it as a Blu-ray player, but it didn’t take long before standalone BD players were both cheaper and better at playing BDs than the PS3.
As a general media player, the PS3 has always sucked. Sure, it supports DLNA, the worst possible standard for media sharing that exists. Sure, with a decent PC to transcode the media, you can play most formats, but why not just buy a tiny media player for $50 – $100, that can play any format flawlessly, without the need of an external server (except fileservers, if you have plenty of files?).
Netflix and other streaming services are built in to even the cheapest BD players nowadays, and anyone who bought a new TV the last couple of years will have support for this directly in their TV.
PS4 (and PS3 before it) is primarily a gaming device, and its success should depend on how many games that are available and how great they are. I agree that it should have had support for PS3 games too, but even the PS3 didn’t support PS2 games for long, so it’s very clear that backwards compatibility is not a priority in the console market.
William Henley
As a general media player, the PS3 has always sucked. Sure, it supports DLNA, the worst possible standard for media sharing that exists. Sure, with a decent PC to transcode the media, you can play most formats, but why not just buy a tiny media player for $50 – $100, that can play any format flawlessly, without the need of an external server (except fileservers, if you have plenty of files?).
Hence why many of us were waiting with baited breath about how great the new media capabilities of the PS4 were going to be.
Kyle
If money wasn’t so tight I would get one, but Im looking at maybe next year. Until then I’ll just continue playing my ps3 and xbox 360 games etc
Marc
My PS3 works pretty well as a media hub, be it home movies, Netflix, MP3s, etc. Yes the video and audio interface is kludgy but it’s still pretty much single device that lets me access a lot of media. I never had a PS2 but I did buy the original Playstation on day one, so I do appreciate being able to still pop in a retro game from time to time, complete with my original game save from back in the day. I paid $40-50 for some of those games so I actually appreciate not having to pay again through the Playstation store for the privilege of playing them again.
I waited 5 years before buying a PS3 so I’m hoping I have plenty of time before I need a PS4.
Drew
Elizabeth,
My apologies. In my first post, I was not being condescending, at all. I was legitimately flummoxed by the concept of people not buying a PS4, simply because it doesn’t support legacy (I do consider MP3 to be a legacy format, mostly due to the fact that MP3 was always a step backwards, and a downgrade in quality) formats.
However, I do admit to an abundance of condescension in my follow up comment. For that, I apologize. I shouldn’t have resorted to it. I was on the defensive, because of the remarks you had made, in regards to my initial comment.
I do understand where you’re coming from. We are clearly two entirely disparate types of Home Entertainment consumers. You want a streamlined, all in one type of setup, whereas I enjoy displaying and integrating many different devices into my HT setup. I only want the PS4 to do one thing — deliver the best possible gaming experience possible. You want the PS4 to do a little bit of everything. I have never used my PS3 for 3D blu-ray. I have an OPPO BDP-105, that I use for 3D blu-ray. It sounds like you were using the PS3 for 3D blu-ray, and as I said before, I can understand your disappointment with the lack of 3D support. I do believe it will be added, before long.
The bottom line is, anybody who wants the PS4 to support legacy formats already has other means to display or listen to them. I truly don’t understand how this could be a deal breaker, for anybody.
William Henley
Maybe I should have scrolled down and read all the comments before replying.
Thanks for clarifying your remarks. Allow me to clarify mine.
When the PS3 was introduced, one of its many selling features was that it WAS more than a gaming machine. It caught the attention of many people, including Non-Gamers.
The problem is that while the PS3 was groundbreaking in 2006, many of its features seem dated and klunky now, even though we still use them a LOT (try throwing a USB drive on there with hundreds or thousands of videos, and just see how SLOW the PS3 becomes trying to read the directory). As such, many of us were expecting a new media experience as well (better support of existing formats, support of newer formats, better support of USB devices, better support for 3D media, etc).
I do play an ocassional game, but it really is not enough for me to justify a $399 console. When the PS3 came out, I was a bit more of a gammer, but the $699 price tag would have been a deal breaker if it was not for the media / Blu-Ray support.
Without media support, I need a killer app for me to conisder a PS4, and none of the launch day titles do that for me. The only game announced that I am excited for is Kingdom Hearts 3. However, if media support is not available at that time, I may wait and pick the system up in a year or two used.
So the lack of media support really isn’t something that will make me say that I will never buy a PS4, it is just something that makes me say that I won’t be picking one up for a while – IE used consoles and used games.
However, I am willing to bet that many will not pick up the PS4 as they were never gamers to begin with, or just a casual gamer.
In this forum, it is mainly a movie forum, and while there are some gamers here, the primary audience here is movie fans. This is why you are hearing so many people say that the lack of media support is a deal breaker. This website just is not the target audience for such a machine.
Interestingly, you want to know what was almost a deal breaker for my brother? Lack of analogue video outputs. Yeah, for real. It is not that he has an older television, it is that he records his games (for his own personal enjoyment, not for posting videos online). He picked his system up Friday, and has not hooked it up yet. He is debating if he is going to keep it or take it back. As he is special needs, I could honestly see him not being able to record his games to tape / DVD being a deal breaker for him.
I can totally see Sony wanting to focus on gamers and getting those bugs worked out, but they shouldn’t be surprised to find out that many people were expecting a new media hub, and canceled when they found out the PS4 wouldn’t be one. It doesn’t mean that the PS4 won’t do well, it just means that it might not sell as well as the PS3 did.
Shannon Nutt
I’m far more interested in an Xbox One than a PS4 (I was never crazy about the PS3, and in fact the one I own sits in a box while my Xbox 360 is still used weekly).
The non-backward compatibility pretty much sealed the deal for me on wanting a PS4. I picked the PS3 over an Xbox last time around, and won’t make the same mistake twice. That said, it will probably be 6 to 12 months before I upgrade to an Xbox One – waiting to see what the reviews/complaints are first, and if it’s really worth the investment right now.