On Wednesday, Sony held a conference call to talk up its new, eighth-generation gaming console, the PlayStation 4. I had written a column on the eighth generation one day prior to the conference. Now, I will be following up with some criticisms I have about the newest piece of hardware from Sony.
The Dualshock 4 controller
Alright, to be blunt, the Dualshock has always been extremely uncomfortable to use. Instead of making the controller conform to your hand, they make the player conform to the controller; but that’s old news. The Dualshock has been fairly similar to each of its past selves for 17 years. With analog sticks annoyingly placed too low for comfort, and having a convex top to them, making your thumbs slip off easily. But as I said, that’s all an old argument. The differences in the Dualshock 4 are as follows: actual “triggers” instead of the flat buttons on top of the controller, a concave dip on the tops of the analog sticks to help hold your thumbs on, and a touch pad smack in the center of the device.
Sure, the touch pad is new. I mean, who doesn’t want to have a new input for game function feature included on the controller that is dependent on the game you’re playing? However, the arched triggers and concave stick-tops are not new’ not even close. The original Xbox in 2001 featured both of these things. Even the ridiculously oversized Duke controller is more comfortable to use than any of the Dualshock controllers. At least PlayStation will be using these two minor things that made the Xbox controller superior. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
The new social-network feeling to the PS4
Look out, Facebook, here comes videos, images, and status updates about whatever it is gamers are doing on their new PS4. Do you have a Sony fan on your friends list? If so, prepare for countless posts on their behalf about new Trophies they’ve earned or the expected, “Hey guys! I’m posting from my PS4!!!”.
I’ve said enough on this. You can probably sense my sarcasm. This isn’t an advancement in technology; it’s annoying. I can only hope Xbox will not do the same thing. I’m not a gaming bigot, it’ll be annoying no matter who is doing it.
The price tag
It still has not been released what the PS4 will cost. People speculate in a widely ranged area; from $399 to $699. I really can’t offer an accurate opinion on the price until Xbox’s conference. The reason being is that I have made a formula for guessing the price of a PlayStation console. Let “X” be Xbox and “P” be PlayStation: P = X + $100.
The reveal of the Xbox 720 and more information on the PS4 is expected to be seen at this year’s next E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) in June.
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