The Next Generation of Hardware
I talk a lot about the next wave in gaming hardware. If you couldn't tell I'm very excited. So when Sony posted a cryptic teaser video last week, we all knew that it was on.
The rumor mill has been going crazy since the launch of this teaser ad. What is Sony going to talk about at this huge event on February 20th? Everyone thinks it's PlayStation 4 related, but what excatly will it be? Will they show games? A date? A price? No one is sure, but we don't have to wait much longer to find out. For the sake of discussion we are going to assume they are going to at least announce the next PlayStation (verdict is still out on what the name is going to be, I think a reboot to just 'PlayStation' would be awesome.)
One big question this raises is, if this is a new PlayStation announcement where does that leave Microsoft? Obviously Microsoft is planning a next gen system as well. So does this this screw up their plan? Or does Microsoft just continue down their predetermined road, oblivious to Sony's moves? It's quite the bold move from Sony after just 10 days previously the head of Sony, Kaz Hirai, was quoted saying they were going to wait for Microsoft to make the first move when it comes to an announcement to prevent themselves from being copied. Not the first time a videogame manufacturer has lied about their hardware plans, remember when Miyamoto claimed there was no new 3DS hardware in development and then weeks later the 3DS XL was unveiled.
The news is quite interesting though. Last hardware round Sony was late to the party by a year which gave Microsoft quite the hold here in America. The smart money would be on trying to launch first or at least in the same quarter. Hopefully Sony doesn't announce their system early but launch late like they did last time. The PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 were only announced four days apart from one another in 2005, but the Xbox 360 came out only four days short of a full year earlier than the PlayStation 3. So unless Sony wants to shoot them selves in the foot again when it comes to the USA, they need to launch their new system this year.
The reason I say USA is because the PlayStation 3 has done a lot better over seas than it has here. Where the PlayStation thrives over there the Xbox fails. It will be interesting to see Microsoft's international plan when it comes to the new Xbox. They made quite the push in Japan this generation and it did not pay off for them in the least. The system isn't really even sold over there anymore. Their push did bring great games like Lost Odyssey and Eternal Sonata over here, but their focus on bringing Japanese RPG's to their console when the market was starting to move away from the genre ended up being a bad move. Great games like Dead Rising I'm sure made the investment worth while for gamers, but I blame Square Enix for screwing the software side of things with flops like Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery. In the end Microsoft was not able grab a foot hold against home favorites Sony and Nintendo in Japan. Do they risk trying to dominate any market that is not their home turf? Personally I think not, but we should know a year or so into the new systems life span.
I have been known to play some pretty heavy favorites when it comes to the Xbox. I do not hide the fact that I'm more interested in what Microsoft has to say about the future than Sony, but none the less I'm eager to hear about the new PlayStation. Soon we will (hopefull) have an announcement and these past couple years of speculations and rumors will we all behind us. I'm sure you are all looking forward to these announcements, but what would you like from the next gen? Are we going to get touch sensitive controllers Are the new systems going to totally blow our minds? Or are we going to be left with some upgraded graphics and shattered hopes? Comment below and discuss. But until next time...
Cheers!
The rumor mill has been going crazy since the launch of this teaser ad. What is Sony going to talk about at this huge event on February 20th? Everyone thinks it's PlayStation 4 related, but what excatly will it be? Will they show games? A date? A price? No one is sure, but we don't have to wait much longer to find out. For the sake of discussion we are going to assume they are going to at least announce the next PlayStation (verdict is still out on what the name is going to be, I think a reboot to just 'PlayStation' would be awesome.)
One big question this raises is, if this is a new PlayStation announcement where does that leave Microsoft? Obviously Microsoft is planning a next gen system as well. So does this this screw up their plan? Or does Microsoft just continue down their predetermined road, oblivious to Sony's moves? It's quite the bold move from Sony after just 10 days previously the head of Sony, Kaz Hirai, was quoted saying they were going to wait for Microsoft to make the first move when it comes to an announcement to prevent themselves from being copied. Not the first time a videogame manufacturer has lied about their hardware plans, remember when Miyamoto claimed there was no new 3DS hardware in development and then weeks later the 3DS XL was unveiled.
The news is quite interesting though. Last hardware round Sony was late to the party by a year which gave Microsoft quite the hold here in America. The smart money would be on trying to launch first or at least in the same quarter. Hopefully Sony doesn't announce their system early but launch late like they did last time. The PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 were only announced four days apart from one another in 2005, but the Xbox 360 came out only four days short of a full year earlier than the PlayStation 3. So unless Sony wants to shoot them selves in the foot again when it comes to the USA, they need to launch their new system this year.
The reason I say USA is because the PlayStation 3 has done a lot better over seas than it has here. Where the PlayStation thrives over there the Xbox fails. It will be interesting to see Microsoft's international plan when it comes to the new Xbox. They made quite the push in Japan this generation and it did not pay off for them in the least. The system isn't really even sold over there anymore. Their push did bring great games like Lost Odyssey and Eternal Sonata over here, but their focus on bringing Japanese RPG's to their console when the market was starting to move away from the genre ended up being a bad move. Great games like Dead Rising I'm sure made the investment worth while for gamers, but I blame Square Enix for screwing the software side of things with flops like Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery. In the end Microsoft was not able grab a foot hold against home favorites Sony and Nintendo in Japan. Do they risk trying to dominate any market that is not their home turf? Personally I think not, but we should know a year or so into the new systems life span.
I have been known to play some pretty heavy favorites when it comes to the Xbox. I do not hide the fact that I'm more interested in what Microsoft has to say about the future than Sony, but none the less I'm eager to hear about the new PlayStation. Soon we will (hopefull) have an announcement and these past couple years of speculations and rumors will we all behind us. I'm sure you are all looking forward to these announcements, but what would you like from the next gen? Are we going to get touch sensitive controllers Are the new systems going to totally blow our minds? Or are we going to be left with some upgraded graphics and shattered hopes? Comment below and discuss. But until next time...
Cheers!
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