Sony details PS4 PlayStation Plus changes

http://www.videogamer.com/news/sony_det ... anges.html

Auto-save is all that's worth having there, really... Still not happy about the MP business, it's just their arbitrary way of tying you in

Cross game chat. PS3 never got that. Since I've never had it I don't know how big a deal it is, but it's something that a lot of gamers seemed to have a bee in their bonnet about.

I never understood why you'd wanna be chatting to each other if you're both playing different games...

'Ermagahd, I'm stuck in Tomb Raider!'

'So? I'm getting killed in COD deathmatch cos of you!'

Yeah, I know what you mean. Apparently people find it useful to organise things but ... As I say, never had it so I don't know what I might be missing.

TBH I really only chat to mates when they're playing CoD with me. Main aim is to let each other know where we're getting hammered, where they're spawning or camping, and any exploits. Side line is chatting about various things. Doing it cross-game would make it difficult to concentrate.

Not happy about paying for MP but TBH it looks a lot better than MS.

I'm half tempted to stop console games altogether. I was a PC gamer until I got the PS3. I really only use it for CoD nowadays though before I got into it, I did play a few single player games. I may just go back to the PC.

From what I gather the specs of the Xbox One are in excess of $500 so in that respect they might reasonably expect decent sales, but they are completely discounting the impact on sales of the DRM. I will not be buying with the restrictions as described so far.


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The drm aspects of xbox one wont stop me getting one, if thats what I decide to buy.
Ms are prepping for a full digital world probably in the next gen after xbox one. If consoles are still around of course.
The difference between MS and Sony imho is that MS are currently saying here is the drm platform that will be on the system. So everyone knows about it before hand. Sony are saying its up to the publishers, which is quite crafty on their part. The publishers will take the hit not them. So far Sony are winning the PR battle.
What will persuade me are the games. If they are crap it wont matter.

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IIRC didn't sony patent something to do with DRM?

That's why I plan on holding out and seeing what people make of the first run consoles before I decide whether to dip in or not.

DRM is not necessarily the problem. I buy games from the Mac App Store and that has DRM. It allows me to load the games on to multiple machines and it clearly checks that I am entitled to play it, probably every time I try to play. When I buy a physical disk I expect that to check back to verify that it is genuine. With a games console I buy most of my games (genuine only) second hand and so would be significantly impacted by any restrictions. Also I buy more than a year after launch most of the time as well.

If games publishers decide to impose such restrictions on used games then they will be the ones that get the flak but it means I will not be buying their games.

I need to see what games are available and what the policy on second hand games will be from the publishers will be before I consider it. I need to have at least four games worth buying before I dive in.

They patented a mechanism where the game disk has an RFID chip embedded in it and when you put the disk in the drive and installed the game the console wrote an encrypted key to the chip's memory, so the disk was then 'locked' to that console. There's been no sign the system has been implemented with the PS4 though.

In any case, Sony made a very public statement that as far as they were concerned, the DRM situation with PS4 is the same as the PS3. If a 3rd party wants to code something like an online validation that's up to them but that's been equally true on this generation of consoles as it is the next.

I suspect that many of these patents are simply to stop others using them. I remember Channel 4 getting a patent on limiting volumes of ads. It does not mean that it has ever been used. It can be a way to make sure that no one else uses it.

I wonder if you can take bets on MS dropping some of their restrictions.

Or how quickly they slash prices or how poor sales are?

Xbox One headset, controller Charge Kit detailed

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/41 ... -detailed/