With the PS4 coming out in North America on November 15th and most other countries on November 29th, we take a look at the reasons it could be a game changer.
When the PS4 was first announced back in February 2013, it was met with a lot of positive reception. The games they displayed looked amazing and Sony somewhat kept the same design for the DUALSHOCK 4 controller. Many people feared that they would have released a totally different looking controller! The only thing that was missing during this presentation was the console itself. They were saving that for later…
It wasn’t until E3 did we finally get to see the PS4 itself and it looked beautiful. Sony also won the hearts of gamers worldwide by announcing the PS4 won’t block used games and require you to be online all of the time. This was something that annoyed many games with the Xbox One, although Microsoft has since reversed all of the stupid restrictions.
Anyway, we now take a look at the reasons why the PS4 could be a game changer and be more successful than the PS3.
Price
I have to admit, the pricing for the PS3 was poor. In North America, the console was launched at an insanely high $599. In New Zealand (where I’m from), this was $NZD1200. That price alone made me stay away from the PS3 for a very long time…
The PS4’s price is very good. It costs $399 in North America and is $NZD650 in New Zealand. In NZ, the PS4 is the lowest priced Sony console of all time. The PSOne was around $NZD800 and the PS2 launched at $NZD1000. New Zealander gamers must have known this is a bargain because every major retailer has sold out of their PS4 pre-orders here. The only way you can get a PS4 now in my country is to wait until the next shipment arrives in January or import one.
DUALSHOCK 4 feels good
Sony again improved on something I didn’t like about the PS3 and that’s the controller. When the PS3’s SIXAXIS came out, many gamers were disappointed because it removed the rumble feature. I got a PS3 in 2008 and the SIXAXIS controller felt light and cheap. Not to mention the R2 and L2 buttons were altered and not as comfortable to press as the older PS controllers. Sony eventually released the DUALSHOCK 3 much to the delight of many fans.
Thankfully, the DUALSHOCK 4 controller feels much better than nay PS3 controller I’ve ever played on. The L2 and R2 triggers feel much more comfortable to press. Playing a driving game like Driveclub is better to play on longer periods than with a PS3 controller.
