Wait before buying a new PS4

1. Ho-hum PS4 launch games

For a ‘pure’ games machine, the PS4’s line-up of launch titles surprisingly lacks a game that makes Sony’s system feel unmissable. Like any new console launch, the first batch of games – Battlefield 4, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Resogun, Need for Speed: Rivals, Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA 14 – don’t make the most of the power bottled up inside the new machine.

Many of the games are also available on the PS3, albeit graphically less impressive. It’s going to take a while before there’s a better balance between 1080p next-gen prettiness and compelling gameplay. Show us games that deliver something new and innovative, not just games with fancier lighting, higher-resolution textures and more realistic physics.

2. Never buy version 1…

A product as complex as the PlayStation 4 is bound to have some teething troubles, from hardware incompatibilities (the ‘blinking blue light of death’) to hardware failures (overheating, faulty HDMI connections and disc ejection problems). While Sony has obviously done its best to battle test the PS4, it can’t anticipate every problem.

Games are also far from perfect. Battlefield 4 has suffered crashes, while COD: Ghosts and Assassin’s Creed IV have already been issued with fixes. By waiting, you let other people suffer these version 1 bugs and give Sony – and the various game developers – time to smooth out the rough gaming edges.

 

 

3. Missing PS4 features

While the Xbox One continues Microsoft’s digital assault on the living room, Sony’s PS4 ignores many of the PS3’s media hub talents. For example, there’s no 3D Blu-ray support and you can’t plug in an external hard drive. MP3 playback isn’t supported, neither is DLNA media streaming.

That’s not to say that these things won’t be added in the future. Sony’s proposed cloud streaming feature, powered by Gaikai, wasn’t ready to launch with the PS4. It will reportedly debut in 2014. For now, the PS3 makes a better media player.

4. The PS4 is sold out

If you haven’t already ordered a PS4, then you might not be able to get one in 2013. Thanks to its generous price point, Sony’s machine is proving popular with gamers – it racked up over one million sales in the US/Canada alone after its 15 November launch.

Amazon can promise you a PS4 in time for Christmas, but only if you ordered it before November 13. Game too can whisk you a next-gen PlayStation before January, but only if you drop £500-£670 on one of its gaming packs. It’s why waiting a while might be the sensible option.

Yes, there are plenty of bundles around, but few really feel like a great deal. Prices will remain inflated while demand for the hardware and software remains high.

 

 

5. We don’t know which console is better (yet)

The PS4 might have sold over one million units on its first day of release, but so did the Xbox One (albeit in more countries). While the Xbox One impresses with Forza Motorsport 5 and Dead Rising 3; the PS4 shows its enormous potential with Killzone: Shadow Fall and Resogun.

Both machines have eight core processors, Blu-ray players and huge 500GB hard disks. Both will be able to play highly anticipated games like Watch Dogs and Destiny… Taking all this into account, it’s too early to close the Xbox One vs PS4 debate; too soon to call a winner in the next-gen war.

Source: Techradar

PS4 Release Date

The gaming console will be released in the US on 15 November and in Europe on 29 November.

The Japanese electronics giant has put the price of the gaming console at $399, which is $100 cheaper than Microsoft’s Xbox One ($499). It is expected to be priced around ₹25, 000 in India.

Meanwhile, pre-orders for PS4 has been opened in India, hinting that its launch is not far off. Indian can pre-order the gaming console by paying ₹3,000.

Sony PS4 Specifications:

CPU: single-chip custom processor, x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” 8 Cores

GPU: 18 “compute units” capable of cranking out 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD next generation Radeon based graphics engine

Memory: 8GB GDDR5 RAM capable of 176GB/sec of bandwidth

Connectivity: 802.11n WiFi, USB 3.0, Bluetooth 2.1, Auxillary ports, Analog AV, and digital optical outputs and HDMI

Nvidia calls PS4 hardware ‘low-end’

Not only has chip-giant Nvidia expressed considerable relief at losing the Sony PS4 contract to rival AMD, the company has now gone on to shovel scorn onto the next-generation console, describing it as equivalent to a low- to mid-range gaming PC and not a true next-generation device.

Speaking to TechRadar, Tony Tamasi, senior vice president of content and development at Nvidia, said that the specifications of the upcoming PS4 console — a device which is built around processor and graphics technology supplied by rival AMD — leaves much to be desired.

“Compared to gaming PCs, the PS4 specs are in the neighbourhood of a low-end CPU and a low- to mid-range GPU” said Tamasi.

“If the PS4 ships in December, as Sony indicated it will only offer about half the performance of a GTX 680 GPU, which launched in March 2012, more than a year and a half ago.”

There are a number of interesting takeaways and questions that arise from how verbal Nvidia is over this matter.

• Nvidia is out to trash the PS4. Whether this is because the company is threatened by the console or actually thinks it is a bad buy remains to be seen, but either way, this is odd behavior
• Will Nvidia trash the next-generation Xbox the same way if its hardware isn’t inside the box? Nvidia is heavily reliant on Microsoft, so the company might curb its criticism
• Nvidia lost the contract to AMD, presumably based on price. Did Nvidia want to make a better, more expensive console?
• Was Nvidia serious about being “inside” the PS4, or was the company more interested in pursuing its Project Shield handheld console?
• Given how GPUs have declined in relevance over the past few years, I don’t think consumers care what hardware powers consoles
• Nvidia is trying to make consumers worried about the lifespan of the PS4, distracting from the fact that the current generation of consoles have had an excellent run, far longer than a PC would
• Nvidia is focusing on the PC GPUs, but consumer shift to mobile devices mush be worrying. Is the company future-proofing itself for the inevitable shift into the post-PC era?

Source: ZdNet