Official PS4 System reviews

[srbeen]

"The cutting edge always bleeds" - my highschool teacher, who likely stole it from someone else. I really like using it to describe technology. William Gibson also said; "the future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed."

 

Don't adapt brand new technology, as its price to feature ratio is at its worst. You'll get a better experience at a lower price tag if you wait.. $659.97 for my PS3 with 35 games out.. 6 years later staples has one with a free game and extra controller for $170.. So looking at that its 20% a year, but of course its not linear in practice. With steam revigorating the PC gaming world though, consoles will discover the hardware stage is over and the content stage is where they need to focus. did anyone recently get a $100-200 pokemon machine?

[trooper11]

Joystiq:

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/13/review-playstation-4-f2c91e51/

 

 

Good review as well.  Not quite as detailed as Polygon, but nice.

 

I did notice they made mention of the case feeling a bit flimsy.  The outer plastic having a lot of give or flex to it.  I don't think its a big deal, but its the first time I have seen it mentioned.

 

Otherwise, they seem to come to the same conclusions overall.

[Showan]

Basically, I think the consensus at the moment is that its clear the ps4 has the hardware to provide great games.  Right now, it just doesn't have the library to give most gamers a reason to run out and buy one on day one.  They could happily wait until next year and let more games come out first.

 

Beyond the games, the ui hasn't gotten great marks, beyond performance being good.  A lot of little things that just didn't seem to get finished in time for launch.

 

So its more of a situation where being an early adopter does not really mean getting the best experience.  A lot can improve over time. This is not really new to console launches.  You buy in on day one because your buying for a future promise of exciting games and experiences. The key is that any next gen console has a strong base to build on.  The PS4 has that.

 

 

I think I read somewhere that a PS4 and InFamous:SS bundle got rated in Europe for 2014...  If true then perfect (Loves my inFamous).. because I did cancel my launch day PS4

[firey]

Seems like all the reviewers are saying the same thing.  Powerhouse of a console, most power in a game console, can do games without sweating.  Problem is lack of games to carry it to the next batch of games.   However, out of the basic launch titles there are a few I want (already got killzone:sf) and I know that once I am done with KZ, I will get Knack, AC IV, and possibly BF4.   I have more than enough games to carry me until next spring when we will see more games such as d3, divinity, infamous, etc.   Plus with PS+ sub I will be getting free games every month.

Maybe it's because I don't spend hours per day playing videogames, but all these reviews have done have solidified that I am buying the most powerful game console to date.

[trooper11]

I really don't think there is anything wrong with not getting a console at launch, especially if there is little there that excites you. 

 

In fact, you guys are the smart ones :laugh:.

 

Us early adopters are the beta testers.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Pretty happy with all the reviews and details releasing. Can't wait to get mine :) KZSF will keep me happy until inFamous is out in Feb and lots of indie games on PS+ I want :happy:

[trooper11]

Maybe it's because I don't spend hours per day playing videogames, but all these reviews have done have solidified that I am buying the most powerful game console to date.

 

As I said, different opinions across the board. 

 

Clearly, the reviews show that the ps4 has a great base to build off for games going forward.  The rest is largely up to each person to decide what games they want.

 

At the end of the day, I expect both consoles will have the same message.  The PS4 and X1 will have a great base for games to come down the road.  All of the other stuff is just icing on the cake and people will value that or not. 

[trooper11]

Pretty happy with all the reviews and details releasing. Can't wait to get mine :) KZSF will keep me happy until inFamous is out in Feb and lots of indie games on PS+ I want :happy:

 

 

I wish I was excited about KZ like you guys are.  It would make my personal view of the launch lineup better.  Not that its a bad game, just not in a genre that excites me enough to pay $60. 

 

Luckily, there are 3rd party games that can keep me happy like AC4.  Infamous is most definitely the title I'm excited to have.

[firey]

Pretty happy with all the reviews and details releasing. Can't wait to get mine :) KZSF will keep me happy until inFamous is out in Feb and lots of indie games on PS+ I want :happy:

You will have to add me on PSN can pwn some noobs! :p

[firey]

I wish I was excited about KZ like you guys are.  It would make my personal view of the launch lineup better.  Not that its a bad game, just not in a genre that excites me enough to pay $60. 

 

Luckily, there are 3rd party games that can keep me happy like AC4.  Infamous is most definitely the title I'm excited to have.

for sure, can't wait for the crew, drive club, destiny, d3, infamous, watchdogs, mgs v, and a bunch more that look really really cool.   Actually have destiny pre-ordered on amazon.

[perochan]

the only game so far I am looking forward to is Kingdom Heart 3 in 2013.

[trooper11]

for sure, can't wait for the crew, drive club, destiny, d3, infamous, watchdogs, mgs v, and a bunch more that look really really cool.   Actually have destiny pre-ordered on amazon.

 

 

Yeah, there are just so many games coming over the next year that I want to see more of or ready to buy :laugh:.

 

I agree with what you mentioned, but then throw in unknowns like The Order and Quantum Break (I know its an X1 game, just illustrating the amount of games), not to mention the unannounced titles and I think we are in for a pretty darn good mix of games across the next gen consoles. 

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

I wish I was excited about KZ like you guys are.  It would make my personal view of the launch lineup better.  Not that its a bad game, just not in a genre that excites me enough to pay $60. 

 

Luckily, there are 3rd party games that can keep me happy like AC4.  Infamous is most definitely the title I'm excited to have.

 

I'm not really interested in KZ for the story. I've said for years it's pretty terrible and at best a Star Wars knock off. I skipped most of the story details in reviews today to avoid spoilers, but the gameplay sounds solid and I'm looking forward to the MP.

 

You will have to add me on PSN can pwn some noobs! :p

 

Definitely :) Has been a long time since I've had some NW KZ matches :P

[George P Global Moderator]

That wobble thing seems silly, how come no one thought about just adding a 4th leg or w/e so it didn't move?   Just plain weird to leave it like that.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

slightly off topic but is there an Official Neowin PSN ID thread? i'll be getting a PS4 shortly after launch and it'll be nice to add some friends to my list :)

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

slightly off topic but is there an Official Neowin PSN ID thread? i'll be getting a PS4 shortly after launch and it'll be nice to add some friends to my list :)

 

https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/894334-neowins-psn-database-v3/

 

Will probably need to be replaced with a new list/sticky since it's out of date.

[Boolanger]

I'm going to guess sleep uses less power than standby? Not entirely sure myself, sure it will be in one of the first post launch patches.

 

 

It comes down to how they define those modes.

 

On a pc, standby is more akin to hibernate, which actually uses less power than just sleep.

 

I am puzzled by this - PS4 doesn't support Sleep & Resume but it does support Standby. Isn't Sleep same as Standby? :s

 

 

I'm going to guess sleep uses less power than standby? Not entirely sure myself, sure it will be in one of the first post launch patches.

 

 

It comes down to how they define those modes.

 

On a pc, standby is more akin to hibernate, which actually uses less power than just sleep.

 

 

sleep = cpu not active,nothing happens, suspend = cpu able to do tasks in the background ?????????

 

 

Standby= System in low power state able to do background tasks, download, installs etc.

 

Sleep & Resume= Is basically saving your current game to RAM and putting the system to sleep so upon resume your exactly where you left off.

 

Remember the time in gaming past when save spots were gifts from the dev gods and you would end up leaving the console on overnight cause you couldn't get to a save point and its been hours since you last seen one. Now you just sleep the system and when you come back bam right where you off(unless you had a power failure)

[psionicinversion]

hmmm sounds like its a buy it later thing i wonder if the same reviews will say the same thing about the X1? the novelty items of X1 will keep it going for a while like the kinect stuff but neither console seems polished atm but its to last 8 years so it will all get sorted it out which is the main thing i guess

[soniqstylz]

I also noticed that people are talking about the ps4 controller battery life being 7-8 hours.  That's certainly much less than the ps3 controllers.  I guess adding that light to the front, and the touchpad had more of an impact.

 

The nice part is that you can charge overnight / while at work / while on your X1, with the PS4 off.

[trooper11]

This is related tot he reviews. We have seen hard drives installed into the ps4 before, but this one also mentions ssds and gives a couple numbers regarding performance:

http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/14/5103540/heres-how-to-install-a-hard-drive-on-the-ps4

So there is an obvious performance boost, but the biggest problem for me is TRIM support.

If Sony did not build that into their OS, I'm not willing to waste the money on an ssd that will degrade over time. I hope that gets confirmed soon.

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

the reviews are looking good but i did notice something that only a few minutes later i started to see all over the internet. It is rather apparent that the PS4 is about gaming where the Xbox One is more about connecting with people and media.

[LaP]

Well if the thing really is unstable horizontally, then someone doing an official review will mention it, I'm sure.

 

Until then, I'm always going to be skeptical for claims or rumors that are on the internet, a place filled with trolls, fanboys, and people that just generally like to stir things up.

It's "unstable" if you push on the glossy side with your fingers. If you don't it looks perfectly stable. It doesn't look like it will wobble if you touch the table it's laying on. Could be wrong tough i don't have a PS4 to test it.

[LaP]

I feel the same with about the Xbox one :( All come out next year... ugh.. I dont recall this happening when the 360 came out. I remember Gears of war coming out pretty early..i think

The 360 was cheap though. It launched at 400$ and back then the PS3 was still 1 year away from release so there was not such thing as multiplatform titles. The difference between the 360 version of a multiplatform title and the PS2 or XBox version was big. So every games at lauch and the year after was in fact a time exclusive title. Also big games like GoW was ready for the PS3 launch. And the 360 price was reduced to 350$ less than a year after the PS3 launch. The 360 was a safer buy than both the One and PS4 for someone who wanted to buy 1 only. Also i fell like the 360 was a bigger step from previous gen. It was also closer to high end PC of the time when it launched. Back then to have 360 gfx quality you needed a faily good PC from what i can remember. From what i can see of PS4 and One lauch titles a mid range PC will provide you pretty much the same gfx quality. I have an old Core i5 750 with 8GB of ram and a 670 and i think the games on my PC looks as good as next gen launch titles.

Right now i must admit as someone who again will buy 1 console only it's almost impossible to make a choice. Even tough i think the One line up is better both line up are weak and there's not much coming out early 2014. Ryse and Shadow Fall both look like tech demo to me. They both look boring and fairly generic. I never really liked Dead Rising all that much. I'm kind of sick of Zombies things. I would like to play Forza 5 but Forza 4 is still doing the job and it's not like better gfx is all that important for a racing sim. 60fps would be nice though. Would like to play KI too but i'm not gonna pay over 600$ for that (One + games + Live + taxes). If i would spend over 600$ right now it would be on a new PC as this would be money better spent imo.

If MS wants me to buy the One it will need to convince me they will get better support from japanese devs specially for rpgs. This was the weakness of the 360 to me. I'll wait and see.

[trooper11]

the reviews are looking good but i did notice something that only a few minutes later i started to see all over the internet. It is rather apparent that the PS4 is about gaming where the Xbox One is more about connecting with people and media.

Isn't it a little early to claim that though? We are going through the ps4 launch news bonanza right now. Next week we will get the same news blitz for the X1 launch. Early indications seem to be that the X1 has the better launch lineup in general (your mileage will vary based on what you like game wise), so how can we claim that the x1 is less concerned about gaming than the ps4?

Somehow, the x1 having more media or social features than the ps4 at launch makes the x1 less about gaming. To me, it just comes down to the idea that the ps4 has a more powerful gpu and therefor that means the x1 is not about gaming as much as the ps4.

[trooper11]

If MS wants me to buy the One it will need to convince me they will get better support from japanese devs specially for rpgs. This was the weakness of the 360 to me. I'll wait and see.

Ironically, it was the 360's jrpg support early on that convinced me to buy it. For a while, they even had more support than the ps3. It was great. But as the years went by, that shifted and then the ps3 had more support, which was also a reason I got it when I did.

This time around, I find myself not as tied to what the Japanese devs are doing. Luckily, the big titles seem to be going multiplatform, so it may not matter.