PS4 Unveiling Shows What Is Wrong With Industry

Developers seemed to be impressed with the PS4 and what it can do for game design. However, they don't seem to be focusing on what matters.

[Nyxus]

It's far too early to draw conclusions like that. Really, all we have seen is a handful of the first games revealed for the console, we can't base any assumptions off that.

Actually, I would say jumping on conclusions like that based on just one showing, is what's wrong with gaming journalism rather than the gaming industry.

[Larry L]

This author is OBVIOUSLY not paying attention. He's talking about how original and creative game are important, and that raw power has nothing to do with creativity. And he's right, but that's where what he's right about ends.

It doesn't take raw power to be a creative game designer, but what raw power often does is make it ever easier for creative visions to come to life. Think about Little Big Planet. I'm not really a LBP fan, but what that game showcases for me is that there is so much power in consoles now, that there are now "games" that allow just the average gamer to be a game creator and bring their own visions to life. You need proccessing power and memory to be able to do that. There will be even less limits to our own vision with PS4 because as powerfull as PS3 is, it's still limited by it's power.

The other thing that REALLY bothers me about what this author states, is his closing. "At first, I was interested in the reveal, then I saw it was just more of the same from Sony." That's paraphrasing. That is AFTER his whole rant about power somehow stifling creativity. Excuse me, Mr. "Journalist"......in case you aren't paying attention, or perhaps can't add 2 and 2......."more of the same from Sony", is EXACTLY what the gaming industry needs in terms of "creativity" and originality.

Sony NOURISHES the indy scene. I mean, give me a break. Are Unfinished Swan, Journey, Heavy Rain, Pixel Junk games......the list goes on and on for days......are they not creative enough for you?! Sony this whole PS3 generation has done everything possible to bring these amazingly creative experiences from small-time devs to the forefront with programs like the Pub Fund. And if the small devs don't want to be Sony published they can self publish on PSN.
"More of the same from Sony" is EXACTLY what this author is claiming he's all for, but he's just completely arse-backwards in his brain, and is somehow using it to bash Sony.

He wants more of the same from Sony fundamentally, but he's bashing Sony for bringing more of the same........wft, dude ?!?!

[aliengmr]

Yes, I agree its too early. However, games, regardless of platform, have trended toward the safe genres. Higher cost of development means higher risk which leads to less risk taking.

I haven't heard anyone talking about development costs lowering next-gen, so its safe to say the industry is going to still be risk adverse with their more popular titles, perhaps even more so. What has been shown time and time again is jamming in more and more eye candy and reducing everything down to TPS and FPS genres.

This is NOT a Sony problem, its the entire industry. No matter what platform you support, its entirely plausible that just because you have the freedom to do more doesn't mean developers are going to take more creative risk than they have in the past.

An example would be keeping games like Dead Space focused on the fans of survival horror rather than broadening the fanbase to sell more copies. Where its budget is higher than an indie and lower than AAA. The freedom to do more by virtue of better hardware probably won't help in this case and may just exacerbate this the problem.

I know fans are eager to defend their platform with the announcement of the PS4. But its fair to ask whether more power will allow more creative risk than before. In some areas it might, but we have to wait and see.

I'll say it again, its not an issue with just Sony but the entire industry and its predilection for ever more shiny visuals instead of gameplay and new/risky IPs. Certainly Sony could change things but the industry hasn't shown that its willing.

I really hope there is a change and willingness to take risks on games, but it doesn't seem that way.

[hennessey86]

Why is it only the gaming industry that's required to make these impossible leaps in innovation and tech when phone company's release slightly changed phones every year, movie studios remake classics and never really innovate, the music industry is still dominated by the same old rubbish and yet the gaming industry is slated every chance they get. I can't think of another medium with as much innovation ad the gaming industry as a whole, its the easy one to pick at I suppose. It's pathetic.

[Gimmemorebubblez]

Well said Bubbles up!

[AztecFalcon]

The mobile industry is constantly evolving almost every day. Look at where we're at since the release of the old brick Nokia phones and the original RAZR. We have quad core processors in our phones now. We have PCs in the form of tablets with the Surface.

If there's any industry pushing innovation more than any other it's mobile.

[Stroke666]

the music and movie industry is a completely different medium than video games and mobile. mobile phones life cycle is a whole shorter than videogames and yes sometimes the next big phone/tablet isnt so much better/more innovative than the last iteration but in the life cycle of a videogame console mobile devices make true leaps and bounds in innovation. i agree with the article thedevelopers have their priorities mixed up. thats in part to all the graphics whores out there begging for the same games with better graphics. don't get me wrong the ps4 can be dope, i'm not hyped about it but they got my attention to see what they plan on doing, but if the industry doesn't shift toward great gameplay and not devs saying stupid things like they need more powerful machines to be innovative its gonna be a boring gen for all of us ms, sony, and nintendo fanboys alike.first paty titles i'm not so worried about especially with nintendo but third parties need to learn to work with what they go and show true innovation

[DivineAssault]

what can they do to innovate anymore? Virtual reality?? I mean, the only thing technologically possible right now is network functionality & features.. Other than that, it would be gimmicky.. im sorry but motion controls was a waste of a generation so stick with the damn controller (that isnt a helipad) & make a truckload of great looking, running, sounding, playing, games

[sonic989]

sony are awesome
http://www.ps4playstation4....
plus more just google ps4 vr and you will see that sony were hiding some features

[sonic989]

http://www.kurzweilai.net/s...

new videos for what should sony been hiding

[DivineAssault]

I don't think their hiding it but I don't think their ready to do a massive showing til it's close to perfected

[Jakens]

I completely agree with you. For myself, innovation is a tricky term in my book. My friends and I talk about what gameing could be or what add ons might be coming. The cost to benifit ratio simply isn't there for the cool stuff. Not even close. I'm pround to have digial 7.1 sound. However, I dare dream about dual HDMI outputs, and full sensery simulation. Our concoles are cool but not nearly as cool as the stuff that's (possible but) not practical and certinly not affordable.

[MasterCratosKong66]

I respectfully disagree. I think a huge problem with our industry is that we want to attach the word gimmick to everything that strays away from tradition. Doing that alone is a good way to limit creativity altogether. Just because you can't see the ways we can improve the industry and change gameplay for the better, doesn't mean there isn't someone out there who can. And thanks to that mentality by a lot of vocal gamers that person probably won't ever have a chance to show it because nobody embraces change. Motion controls are a great example because now people like to attach them to "casual" gamers. Now motion controls have a lot of work to go until they become a truly useful form of play, but it is a bit bold to call them a waste. I don't agree with everything the author says, but I don't understand how you can be a fan of any form of technology without being a bit open-minded. Otherwise all we can expect are games that will look and play better, but by decreasing increments each generation.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

"The term "Chaucerian fraud" comes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the character called "The Pardoner". A Pardoner is one who specializes in fraud."- ranunculusviridis

http://answers.yahoo.com/qu...

YAAAaaay!
I smartez, Now!

Power does not = creativity.
BUT
Power Can hinder creativity depending on what creation you have in mind.

Complicated A.I. takes processing power- so let's say you want to give complicated A.I. to 1,000 characters on the screen.
You can't just do that with out power under the hood, esp. if you are using full-Specs Graphics.

My problem is every Gen. most Developers seem to only focus on graphics, even though they make promises of more innovations every Gen.

One reason I like Nintendo, is no matter the systems power their games or their Hardware is going to bring something new.

For me I think that Sony's most telling Developer that will make the power of the PS4 shine is Quantic Dreams. I think they are going to do something with Story telling and NPC character A.I. that will blow us away - or at least I hope.

No Fraud, Brah.

[ChickenMan34]

power 100% creates creativity are you that stupid ? if not for the change from cartridge games like nes to cd like psone than we would have never seen better graphics bigger worlds longer games with special features how you can say that power doesnt help creativity is beyond me , you my friend are a troll and a retard

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

READ:

"Power does not = creativity.
BUT
Power Can hinder creativity depending on what creation you have in mind."

Then I said:

>>Complicated A.I. takes processing power- so let's say you want to give complicated A.I. to 1,000 characters on the screen.
You can't just do that with out power under the hood, esp. if you are using full-Specs Graphics.<<<

Next Time try reading before going Psycho with insults.

[Jakens]

Better AI is coming. We all know it. Same with better physics.

[glennco]

I haven't seen better AI for 20 years. it is a dream

[Link079]

Lots of developers love the power of wiiu,basically the ones that have final kits.

[ChickenMan34]

sometimes i think you guys just need to write something so you pull bullshit like this out of your ass of copurse sony is focusing on the games but how can you make better games and a far inferior system compared to todays gaming pcs hence why sony is coming out with a brand new system that will be almost as good as the high priced gaming pcs its really pretty simple i guess your a little slow

[Thepcz]

its nothing but a ps3, only with more power. and the ps3 was nothing but a ps2 with more power etc

sony dont offer anything new, besides a new cpu etc

[urwifeminder]

Did not watch it so i guess i cant really pick faults, all i know is it was sony so i avoided it.

[chronoforce]

they grill Nintendo for having an underpowered console, then grill Sony for having a powerful console WTF

[MasterCornholio]

I dont understand why people are claiming that the only way to have a fun game is to ditch the traditional controller design and come up with something bizzare. Seriously why cant we have good games with regular controllers? For the past several gens there have been many fantastic games that use normal controllers and i dont see why that isnt possible today.

And this pathetic myth that a powerful console distracts game developers from making good games has got to go. Because being a PS3 owner ive experienced many excellent quality games that have amazing visuals to boot.

People who say that its impossible to have incredible graphics with incredible gameplay are those type of people who try and justify the weakness of their consoles hardware.

Edit: You do know that the PS4 version of Watchdogs will have better AI than the Wii U, 360 and PS3 version right? Which is proof that the PS4 version of the game will have better gameplay due to the superior AI and Physics that it will have.

[evilhasitsway]

do yourself a favor author and just dont write again to prevent how stupid you are. they will just couldnt show everything people seem unable to grasp that in there head.

[wiiulee]

lol yes it shows the industry are not focus on innovation especially sony and microsoft on bringing the same systems out with better graphics card cause thats all their fanboys and haters cry for....hate nintendo but they go in the right direction...and i have a feeling steam will be unique also...thats why whether you disagree or not wiiu or steam will be the winner of this next generation...mark my words and this posting...that either wiiu or steam will win this next generation

[GoldenElf]

What developers were impressed with PS4?

The ones Sony own, or the ones they paid to be on stage at the announcement? I haven't seen any others come up and praise the machine.

Of course, I'm not saying PS4 isn't good, etc, I'm just saying that claiming "developers were impressed" when the only ones with thoughts on the matter were clearly hand picked by Sony is a bit of a stretch.

Also, I'm aware that this isn't the entire point of the article, but it just stuck out to me.

[smashcrashbash]

Oh I see. When the people making games for Nintendo and Microsoft come up and praises the system no red flags go up. But the moment anyone praises the PS4 it is because they either own the developers or paid them to say it.So can I assume that no one making games for Nintendo's praise was real either. Or as usual that doesn't count? All the people that didn't praise the Wii U probably weren't on Nintendo's payroll.But everyone believed them just fine though. It's amazing how many double standards people have. You assume they would never pay for praise and admiration and people gobble it up but Sony most likely just paid for praise.It has nothing to do with them going to every developer making games for them and asking them what they wanted and they are happy that they listened.

[GoldenElf]

The hell are you talking about?

The people who were talking about how good PlayStation 4 was at the PlayStation 4 event were people employed by Sony OR people who had exclusive contracts with Sony like Blizzard and Ubisoft (Watch Dogs will have PlayStation exclusive features because....... yes. Sony PAID them for it).

I didn't mention Nintendo. All I said was that claiming that "developers were impressed" is ignorant, because the ONLY developers that have spoken about PlayStation 4 are those who were at the press conference.

And why were they at the press conference?

Because they were PAID to be there.

Just show me ONE developer who has come out and praised the PlayStation 4 that wasn't at that conference, or connected to it in some way.

I'm not saying anything "bad" about PlayStation 4 or Sony, I'm just saying it's incorrect to claim that millions of developers have emerged from the woodwork praising the new hardware, because they haven't.

[izumo_lee]

Ok not to knock on Microsoft but i wouldn't be surprised at the double standards that this gen in journalism has on the industry.

Microsoft may unveil probably something similar to Sony's event & we will see headlines like.

"Xbox?? unveiling shows what is great with the industry"

Look this gen has lasted longer than any previous gen & it is time to move forward. Sony took the initiative to stir up some news we all wanted to hear, yet to some it is considered wrong? I do not understand...

[A LIVING LEGEND]

At least we have endless variations of essentially the same game being unveiled daily,extra 'content' at a premium,suspect reviews,fear of innovation,powerful shepherds.
All things right within this tired industry.

[Hicken]

Oh, man, is this sad. Well, guess we should be ready for this until the system releases.

[SpinalRemains138]

Sure.

If SONY had Gwen Stefani come out and sing Hollaback Girl, then the industry would be rip roaring healthy!

This article is trying way too hard to knock down what has already been coronated. PS4 is going to be the leader of the next generation of gaming, and you either jump into it, or write more butt-hurt pieces.

Start w/ the Vita. It's awesome and available now.