As the world of gaming news becomes flooded more and more with stories about Sony developing an enhanced Playstation 4 system, I found myself mulling over a debate that is sure to envelop gamers.
With over 35 million units sold, Sony has done very well for themselves with their latest console but for me how they handle the launch of a potential upgraded console will be vital.
I saw a posting only that said that the console would be out in the fall at a cost of $499. Naturally this like the existence of the console itself is simply speculation at this time but let us consider that this is fairly accurate for the purpose of this article.
$499 is a high price point for a system today but seeing as it is a 4K enabled system I could see the appeal for many gamers to take this step now rather than wait 4-5 years roughly for the next Playstation system to emerge.
Combine this with the release of the Playstation VR and you can begin to see the possibilities but also the potential for issues for Sony and frustrations for gamers. If you have already paid $399 at launch for your Playstation 4 system and have already paid $499 to reserve your Playstation VR system, being asked to come up with an additional $499 to stay current is a steep price. Yes, I know that nobody is forcing anyone to upgrade and many people have purchased their consoles at a reduced price from what they were at launch, but you can see where I am going.
Many consumers may feel ripped off that the system they invested in a short time ago is already obsolete in the bigger picture and 35 upset customers is the last thing Sony wants, especially when they are counting on a large portion of the user base to shell out for their new VR system.
So those who are not willing to wait will likely have to debate the purchase of a new system or a Playstation VR as for many, the outlay for both will be intimidating. I am sure there will likely be a bundle but still.
So will Sony take a bold step forward as some have speculated and offer existing PS4 owners a discounted price to update their systems? This seems to be the most logical course of action but let us not forget how hard it was for many who did not preorder the PS4 to get their systems after launch. I can only image the nightmare if only half of the current PS4 owners want to do an upgrade, as 17 million systems would be a hard order to fill at launch to say nothing of new customers.
This also raises the questions of priorities as the rumored new system is supposed to be ideal for the new VR technology, will many consumers opt to wait on Playstation VR until they are able to obtain the new system as in a tight consumer marketplace, there has to be some give.
Sony has been rock solid with most aspects of the PS4 from announcement through launch so I have to believe they have already anticipated much of this and have an appropriate plan in place, but it does make me wonder if it all might be a bit much to ask of consumers to support a new VR system and enhanced console should they launch close to one another.
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Thank you for your comments. It is interesting the range of reactions this article has created. On FB I have had one user say it is Sony basically saying that the PS4 as it is now configured cannot run V.R. properly and the Neo is the way for Sony to launch their V.R. platform as they intended. Others have said no, you have a choice and you can use your PS4 and nothing is forcing you to update. Then others like you have expressed anger and even disappointment over this action. Finally you have the batch who is excited and said they are ready to buy it at launch. One thing is for sure, Sony is looking to have plenty of offerings in store for Xmas.
Well, I try my best not to leave comments on side B sites about gaming. I digress since I’m done with social media and the gaming community. Yes, times have changed but it has not changed for the better with the gaming community, its gotten worse.
Consumers on a whole have become dopey year after year and now companies have figured it out. Thanks to phone companies like Apple, stupid consumers buy a new phone every year or every other year with minimal upgrades paying $600-$700 for them in the millions.
Sony lost on the phone front seem like they want to do the same thing in gaming. As sad as it is, it will work for them because they know that the gaming community is that dopey as well. Sony’s marketing team has done such a great job to rope a dope the typical console gaming and its masterful.
The PS4 has been out for several years now and it still does not have on definitive AAA exclusive game. The best you can get is Bloodborne that was released over a year ago. Yet, the machine is selling like hot cakes. Third party games is what makes gaming on the PS4 relevant and all those games play exactly the same on their competitor’s machine.They have managed to get the gaming community to buy in as the more powerful console. Yet the so called more power has to do with minor resolution differences, negligible to most and is not true of all games.
Now, Sony is going to release and upgrade PS4 splitting their base no matter what they say. If minor resolution differences meant so much to the gamers should this upgrade not be a major problem for PS4 only gamers? Of course not. They have been indoctrinated, like Apple does to their loyal followers. The truth is that games will look better, run better on the PS4 Neo. You can expect the VR games to look better and run better since this is probably the main reason for the upgrade.
So now, gamers would have bought a PS4 (original) for $399, PS4 Neo for $499 and PSVR for $499 for your all in Sony top of line experience. Look for Gamestop to work with Sony to do the trade-in for a PS4 Neo. Sony wants everyone to get the new console and eventually they will over time. I’m done. No way, I’m buying Neo but the masses will.
i do not think sony is asking too much of consumers. people buy new $600 phones every year, why shouldn’t I be able to purchase an upgraded console every three years? for me the ps360 generation dragged on way too long and i began purchasing games i wanted to play like bioshock infinite and dishonored for pc even though i prefer to play on console.
I do think they are misguided on vr. i at least have no interest in this technology at all and i won’t buy it or play it just like i refuse to pay for or watch movies in 3d.
the rumored specs for ps4k “neo” or whatever if they hold true seem like a worthy upgrade, boosting the cpu/gpu clocks and doubling the number of gpu cores and increasing memory bandwidth are all worthwhile improvements. my hope is they also improve the storage interface from sata II to sata III to make an ssd a worthwhile upgrade as well.
i am actually glad they are not just doing vr which i think is there kinect or distraction from games. giving consumers the option to upgrade the core gaming experience even if all we really get is 60 frames per second 1080p, i think games like last of us remastered show there is significant difference between 30 and 60 fps. hopefully developers wont still give the lame stylistic 30fps excuse or just use all that power to fill the screen with more useless and distracting floaty particles.
Thank you for posting that as there are several great points there.