The question has been answered countless times already via Social Media sites such as Twitter and Facebook – Sony’s E3 unveiling of the PlayStation 4’s features last night were a game changer in the next-gen console wars. Following Microsoft’s recent announcement of the Xbox One requiring a constant online connection and limiting gamers to how they can sell and trade their games, Sony announced to deafening cheers that Playstation 4 will not have any restrictions on used games and that single-player experiences can be played offline.
A few surprising announcements were made, though. First, Playstation gamers must now subscribe to PlayStation Plus if they want to play multiplayer games. The upside to subscribing to the service are the free games it offers monthly and DriveClub PS Plus Edition for PS4, which will be available for download at launch. For early adopters this seems like the perfect deal. President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Jack Tretton, did promise Playstation gamers that even if they didn’t subscribe to Playstation Plus that all the additional features of PSN, including its services, would not require a PS Plus subscription.
As it stands, PS4 gamers will now have to ‘pay’ to play their games online. While the initial response has been positive so far from hardcore gamers, what will the average consumer think when they discover that they will now have to pay just like Xbox gamers to play with their friends online? The long term attraction to PlayStation 3 was its free online component. You could play multiplayer games on PSN and not worry about subscription fees. And while this may seem premature to mention, there is always the possibility of Sony raising the price of PlayStation Plus later on as PS4 gains momentum in the marketplace. Currently, a 3 month subscription to PlayStation Plus costs $17.99, while a year will set you back $49.99 respectively.
DriveClub PS4 – Free on Launch w/ PS Plus:
Microsoft’s initial price increase of its Xbox Live Gold service eventually led to the company offering it at a loss on its Xbox Marketplace Dashboard (some deals were a poultry $1.00US per month). There is always the possibility that Sony will stay on the straight and narrow and not raise the price of PS Plus, but it’s a strong possibility.
There is also the question of free content, too. As mentioned earlier, PS4 gamers will receive DriveClub PS Plus Edition as long as they subscribe to the PS Plus service. Microsoft is offering two F2P (Free-to-Play) games – Killer Instinct 3 and Project Shark – if gamers subscribe to Xbox Live. However, Jago is the only character playable in KI 3. Gamers will have to purchase the other characters as DLC if they want to play them. It’s like offering someone a free meal and then charging them for accepting it.
Microsoft’s saving grace may be the time it has between now and the Xbox One’s launch in November. If the complaints from its user base doesn’t help sway the boat any, maybe the reactions from Sony’s conference last night will. Sony clearly understands what gamers want this generation. Xbox One has the capabilities to win the console war this generation, but its 24-hour check in feature, restrictions on used game trade ins and its $499.99 price tag, unfortunately, are working against it.
Killer Instinct 3 Xbox One – Free-To-Play (F2P)
Hardcore gamers aside, the average consumer who owns an Xbox 360 also likes to trade in their games, share their games with friends and spend as little as possible on a new system. The first run of preorders are always comprised of hardcore gamers, so naturally preorders for both systems will be neck and neck. But once the second preorder phase begins, there will be a decline in sales for one of the systems, but which system will it be? Did Sony really win the next-gen console war or will Microsoft make some last minute changes to its Xbox Hardware? We’ll know soon enough.
Mike Pittaro
