3 Little things Sony Needs to Fix for the PS4

With the emerging next-gen console war on the brick of beginning, there are a few minor things that need to be altered with the PS3 to assure it victory in the raging battle. PlayStation can easily be the top contender if they fix a few minor things that players have found wrong with their console while adding new innovative reasons to buy. All current-gen consoles do have problems, some more apparent than others, but there are just a few minor little tweaks that would make players fall deeper in love with their PlayStation systems. While PlayStation has the best exclusive titles, what is it that is keeping players from loving the experience as much as they love the actual games?

[TheSuperior]

I cannot explain how bad that short cord annoys me. It is the stupidest thing in the world... i cant charge and play at the same time and I haven’t invested money into making it longer cuz it shouldn’t be my job to do that.

[guitarded77]

Highly recommend at least one back-up controller, and investing in a charge cradle. I keep my controllers docked in the charge cradle, and not only do I never run into battery problems, it's a nice way to display your controllers. I have charge cradles for DualShock, Move, Vita and Wii U. I'm gonna get one for the XBOX controllers too, but I haven't found one I like yet. I don't think I paid more than $15 - $20 on Amazon for the charge cradles, and they make my gaming rig look nice, and have great function. It's even easier to charge them... just drop them in the charger... no fiddling with cables.

[crillinFLIP337]

It's an inconvenience sure, but its not a deal breaker. They give you a standard length usb cord and there are plenty of devices that charge via usb these days (phones, tablets, mp3 players, etc.) so you can charge your controllers with those when your system isn't on. Or you could use two controllers and just rotate charging one and playing with the other...

[Oschino1907]

Exactly. I have 4 controllers (6 counting other PS3 which is used as a media device or for guests to use or play full screen co-op/multi online in same room or LAN) so when people are over I can play splitscreen or co-op games, but it also allows me to rotate controller when charge is dying and ease the wear on them. Also have a 10ft PS charing cable I got for just over $5, allows me to charge while playing even with bluetooth headphones on.

Got to love though how some act so entitled like everything should be catered to them but will be the same to complain about price or how hard it is to pick up an accessory when they purchase their system or a game. The options are out their but people would rather cry and moan then find a solution and take advantage of it.

[HappyGaming]

I had 2 controllers but on the odd occasion that they both died I charged them of my laptop while I played ;)

[Kevin ButIer]

They must include an hdmi cord… no excuse this time

[juandren]

Poorly written article. Both the points they listed and their grammar. Their biggest gripes are with the cord? Lol seriously? After it has been all but confirmed that the controller gets a redesign, they mouth off on the cord. Not to mention the fact that the XMB has won more awards than any of its competitors' interfaces. I agree with the social aspect though

[supremacy]

i am with you on this; the social aspect needs to improve. The psn should be able to feature things like auto patches, background downloads,xchat,voice messaging, multiple id logs,party chat, custom soundtrack, notifications on every level imaginable from game being played or purchased to progress reports. No more relogging loading screens when i switch or navigate different apps, should always be connected. IDs visible on any current and future platforms.
Ps4 needs to be a multitasking beast, not just a graphics machine.

Also no more installs and as far as the controller goes change the feel of tbe dual sticks, they are too loose for shooters or any game requiring precision. Also change the r2 and l2 to real triggers.
thats all i can think off really.

[DOMination-]

It won awards because it was used on tv's. As a console operating system its slow, non customizable, boring and as someone who has ocd i hate the non uniformity of it.

[Brawler]

The chord could be longer but i have plenty of longer Mini usb cables lying around, Only think i want changed is the sticks to be concave and not convex so it fits your thumb nicely.

[Oschino1907]

I prefer rolling my thumb over the analog stick instead of sticking it inside the analog. IMO its just much more comfortable and with proper tension/stiffness of the analogs more precise.

[Saigon]

@TheSuperior

You do know that Sony makes an extended cord...i have it and it is great...Charge while playing...

[rainslacker]

Or you could just buy any number of lengths from your local computer shop or amazon for $1-2. There's nothing proprietary about it.:) You can even get a 16 foot active extension for $10 if you need a lot of length.

[Barneyco]

Edit.

[Barneyco]

Go to monoprice.com and find item # 3898. Problem solved.

[FamilyGuy]

You can buy a usb extension cable for $1 at a 99cents only store or dollartree. Literally for only 99cents.

I thinking the Xmb is the most streamlined and easy to navigate OS of any system. You easily know exactly where anything you're looking for is going to be. You calling it a dashboard makes me think you're more of an xbox fan in general who's use to dashboard revisions. I like and prefer the simplicity of the xmb. If you want something that looks cool/fancy get a dynamic theme, they come with specially tailored sound effects and everything.

Cross game chat is already a given, the PS Vita has it. The ps3 has text chats currently and they support up to 16 players, you can see the new messages pop up while gaming and even though it's obviously much slower than voice chat it is an option.

For that "social aspect" I hope they let us have more detail in our gamer profiles, like what website forums have.

A new completely open world mmo type of Home would be cool too, one where you don't have to load every location and voice chat isn't restricted. Even though I don't use Home I do like its concept.

Your little fixes are too small to be noted in an article like this :/

[princejb134]

Lol idk if your been sarcastic or realistic
You can buy a longer cord for 50 cents
I agree with the xmb it's pretty dull
Especiallyy the in game xmb is so leggy
They should have kept it simple only able to view the things you need like friends and messages to reduce the lag

The controller to me is perfect I guess that's because I been a ps fan since ps1 days
When i use the Xbox controller I feel like its to big and the analog stick is to wide
But of course that's a matter of opinion

[mp1289]

it uses a standard mini usb, this means there is a number of things you can do to play while the controller is charging. usb extension cable, buy a longer usb to mini usb. you could spend less than $2 if you buy it from china. I find it much more convenient than having to buy AA rechargeable batteries which are much more expensive.

[Muffins1223]

Needs a new interface and a better online communication system and it would be so nice if they had Facebook or something INTEGRATED into the home button,xbox did get a Facebook app but it was horrible,they should of just got a Facebook option to where you hit the big home button and you could write a post and post it and hit the home button again and get right back to your gaming. Also,they need to be more open to 3rd party development which im sure they will have after the lesson they have learned with the launch of ps3 with the lack of game development in the begging but they later did get support from valve and bioware and many others after giving more support to 3rd part developers.

[NastyLeftHook0]

those models are gorgeous!

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

I won't disagree with you, it's your opinion, but the first thing that came to my mind when I say this on N4G was "fix this ugly model first" (I know, I know, just a mock up, not the real PS4 design).

[juandren]

I don't agree either. It lookes like the first model Mvix (Google it) which is the ugliest media center you want standing next to your TV. The other designs looked even worse than this one. I expect Sony to design an incredible-looking PS4. Something along the lines of a Lancer Evo. Something that awakens the boy in every man and the man in every boy. Something like that lol

[belac09]

i agree, i think its sick a fudge!

[Decaf_PIxel_Kat]

I just used the cord from my external drive to charge my controller. Works like a charm and I have enough room to relax on the couch while I play.

[juandren]

I have 2 controllers luckily. But I got 1.5m USB extender with a Logitech webcam I bought long ago. I use that for everything now

[JohnApocalypse]

They really should add party chat. I hear more kids on PSN then I do on XBL

[crillinFLIP337]

They have said for years that they wanted to add the feature (used to be referred to as cross game chat) but the way the system's hardware was designed didn't allow them to patch this feature in. It is a feature on the ps vita so one would assume that the same feature would be available day 1 on the next Playstation.

[T2]

Not true xbl is terrible but yes why did party chat never happen ? Also , who has one controller?

Edit - thanks crillin for answer

[Captain Tuttle]

There are rumors that they'll have their own Kinect-like device so I expect the UI will change drastically.

And dump that controller Sony.

Edit: Those PS4 mock-ups look slick as hell though

[NastyLeftHook0]

"And dump that controller Sony."

HELL NO.

i hope they keep it.

[bryam1982]

i support u on this man

[yesmynameissumo]

Nothing wrong with the DualShock 3.

[Captain Tuttle]

c'mon guys, it's an ergonomic nightmare. Thing has to change, bring back the Boomerang

[cervantes99]

@Captain

You must have deformed hands because my thumbs are in the same position on each hand so the sticks are perfect where they are.

The triggers needs some tweaking though.

[Christopher]

Actually, the boomerang is a more ergonomic nightmare. The way you'd have to hold it would be hell on your wrists over time.

[IRetrouk]

Actually the controller was designed around the natural resting shape of your hands, there was an article years ago about this, i can try and find it if you like.

[cervantes99]

Dump the controller? The Dualshock is design greatness. It has fit my hands perfectly ever since the PS1 days. I don't even realize that I have a controller in my hands.

The Dualshock just needs redesigned triggers and a bit stiffer analog sticks.

Of course this is just my opinion and those with large hands I'm sure feel very different than I do about the controller.

[sticky doja]

I used to love the Dualshock with the PS1 and even for awhile with the PS2 but now that I am fully grown my hands are to big for the controller and I start to cramp with long playing sessions. If they made a Dualshock XL, redesigned the triggers and gave me inverted analog sticks I would say it was the perfect controller.

[T2]

Dump the controller for what? Its the best one by a mile ... Xbox controller kills the inside of my index fingers as its too fat and thick across the triggers ...

[sticky doja]

Not for this man's hands.

[Reverent]

People seriously need to shut up about having hands too big for the DS3 (This rant is aimed at sticky doja by the way lol)... My hands are huge; my pinky fingers and ring fingers slide off the grips and even then, I still have no problem with it... If people wanna complain about controllers, they should be complaining at how absolutely annoying it is for the battery pack stuck right in the middle of the Xbox 360's controller's backside. I have to cringe my fingers together beside that thing every time I use one and it's extremely uncomfortable.

Edit: Not to mention, the DS3 is solid plastic, while if you look closely at the 360 controller it has tiny, tiny crevices throughout the plastic. These tiny crevices actually accumulate your sweat over time as you play, making the control pretty gross to play with for long periods of time with you constantly having to wipe the sweat from your hands.

[Hicken]

I love that "ergonomic" excuse. I'm not sure you actually know what the word means.

Please explain to me how an asymmetrical controller is more ergonomic than a symmetrical one.

What's that? You can't? Imagine that.

Edit: Nerve? No. Well, I DO have a nerve that gets struck when people say dumb things like "This asymmetrical device is more ergonomic for the human body than this symmetrical one."

As for the D-pad on the original Dual Shock... how is it offset? It's where it was before the analogs were added; use of the D-pad over the analog would have been a developer decision.

"The D-pad is offset." Was that your best argument against why the analogs are in the wrong place?

I'm demoting you, Captain.

[Captain Tuttle]

Oohhh Hicken! Touched a nerve eh? I hold the DS3 in my fingers and hold the 360 controller in my hands. Big difference for me.

Listen, I know it's up to personal preference, I just find the DualShock really awkward to use, the 360 is almost perfect for me (aside from the useless D-Pad but most games I play don't use it).

Speaking of D-Pad, when the twin stick dual shock was first designed the D-Pad was the primary input for the left thumb. And where is the dual shock's D-Pad located? That's right, offset. It's the natural way to hold pads, people just like the DS because they've been using it so long.

[Captain Tuttle]

Ergonmically designed devices aren't always the most pleasing visually Hicks buddy, that's just the way it is. I don't look at the pad when I play, I look at the screen. All I care about is how it feels.

C'mon, don't demote me. What'll I tell the wife?

[MRMagoo123]

@captains second comment

who even mentioned visually pleasing or looks we are talking about the human body and how it is symmetrical as in the same on both sides such as hands both having the same shape and amount of fingers, that is why the DS controller is better.

if i had mong hands with one thumb in a different place then the 360 controller would be good maybe even better but alas i have normal human hands.

[DOMination-]

When Sony announces their new controller you'll all quicklycchage your mind. Whether it looks like an xbox, WiiU or something new you'll all be saying its the best thing ever.

The fact that Sony are changing it tells you their research has proven that ds3 isn't good enough. Its been 15 years. It had a good life but things move on.

[dafegamer]

marketing

[superterabyte]

Advertising not marketing. Please marketing is awful focus groups and such also the games are fine so all that needs to happen is that Sony needs to spread awareness of their games.

[KentBlake]

Better triggers on the controllers.
Longer cord is a good idea indeed.
No more trophy syncing. I hate that.
Faster XMB

That would be good enough for me.

[cervantes99]

Personally, I would like the system software to be integrated with the PS Store. I don't want to have to "launch" the store - I just want to see what's there when I turn the system on.

Of course a fast version of the PS Store - not the "NEW" slow and clunky one they have now.

[poopsack]

Advertising for Christs sake. You'd think that after hearing your fanbase's outcry for years the situation would get better, not worse, and its gotten much worse. Im amazed at how sporadic their support has been for their exclusive titles. They've done well with some but then theres Starhawk, Twisted Metal, Allstars and Sly Cooper to name a recent one. I think Infamous 2 had to sell itself, I dont remember much support for that one either but my memory might be fading.

[cooperdnizzle]

Sony is smart they don't waste a bunch of money advertising but save the money to make more games and better games. Sony fans are pretty hard core and know what games are coming and what games they want, Sony is pretty much putting up the finger to casual gamers and spending money on their games for the hardcore, i like what they have done.

[poopsack]

Playstation fans are hardcore and they do know whats coming, but that amount of gamers alone dont make up for the costs of developing a title. Theres plenty of hardcore gamers that dont spend that great an amount of time online learning about every game thats coming, and thats why amazing games like Starhawk didnt sell, because Starhawk isnt a game with a name that sells itself. You might like that they dont waste money on ads and put it towards more games, but how do you expect to have more games in the future when they dont sell how they deserve to?

[blastcorp64]

Wonderbook is hardcore to the motherfucking max. Fuck yeah!!! Fuck Nintendo, we hate those pussies, right?!!

[smashcrashbash]

How has it gotten worse? PASBR had a live action commercial and a commercial made by Robot chicken playing on television and online all the time.Did you not see Sony not only advertise God of War but pay for a SUPERBOWL commercial. I don't think the problem is that Sony doesn't advertise.I think you are looking somewhere else when they do. People keep crying 'Where is the advertising for PASBR and I have to keep showing them them.It was all over Youtube and had a ton of views.

Don't you go to their blog or on Youtube at all? I really don't get people at all you know. Do you want Sony to release a whole bunch of games and make a big deal about EVERYONE one of them? Do you realize that neither Microsoft or Nintendo do that either? Show me the millions of commercials Nintendo had for games like Madworld or Conduit or the ones Microsoft had for Splinter Cell Conviction or Alan Wake? They don't and can't be bothered to make a big deal about every game that comes out.They would go bankrupt if they had to have parties, celebrity endorsements and Superbowl commercials for every game they made. Look at Sony's official blog that every gamer seems to knows about except for people like you. Sly Cooper 4 being released is all over the site. I mean what were the huge campaigns they had for both UC2 and 3? Potatoes?

[poopsack]

Look man, you seem to have become all hot and bothered over my comment. But I live in the real world, where I can ask a regular gamer about Allstars or Sly 4 having come out and get a big derp back as an answer. Yes PSABR had its ads and the ads for the ads where Sony built up to the live action commercial, but if you hear people asking about where the ad support is isnt that a problem? The fact is television is still one of the biggest mainstream methods of advertisement and I saw not one commercial for Allstars, not even the robot chicken one. I feel like thats a poor job. So if you stopped being so ANGRY and writing things in ALLCAPS you'd have noticed I said their support is sporadic, not that its gone. And when they choose to not do big advertising on a game it means none at all, except on the PS blog, which you can see because you went there. The point of advertising is to make people aware, its not good practice to have to go somewhere to be advertised to.

[Ps3-PCgamer]

How can you fix something that hasn't even been released or seen by the public??

This should be entitled how to fix the "PS3" since everything is pertaining to it.

[JaredH]

I'm assuming that the ps4 will have trophies and I hope that their trophy server updating system is more streamlined and fast.

[Lazyeye79]

I for one do not want them to change the XMB i absolutely love it. Its quick and easy to find things.

[TheGamerDood]

"It was always harder to look and much harder to navigate."

I stopped reading here.

[r21]

A Kazified Stahl, never thought it looked so natural.

[da_2pacalypse]

What about party chat? That's the only thing i wish the PS3 had :/

[TheGrimBunny]

The next Playstation does need partu chat.

[hellvaguy]

Make adult sized controllers and tweak the triggers. Also, don't need any touchmyself screen gimics. Kkthnks!

[Relientk77]

1. Bring back old franchises: Legend of Dragoon, Syphon Filter, MediEvil, Grandia, Blasto, regain rights to Crash and Spyro (with Naughty Dog, and Insomniac)

2. Backwards Compability

3. Fix the L2/R2 triggers

oh and I guess marketing the system and exclusives/games, as well

[r21]

They need to change the L2/R2 triggers. Most of the times i place it down, it accidentally clicks one of them and possibly gets my character killed.

[solid_warlord]

PS4 controller needs a trigger button, similar to XBOX 360 and Wii U pro controller.

Party chat also includes Cross game chat is a critical vital feature.

No more nasty almost every week crappy useless downtime's and firmware updates. Please take that out.

A better UI, please don't make it look like the crappy touch screen seen on Vita or something that looks like Windows 8, which is very nasty. An android based OS would be aright but not important. Just a simple, easy and friendly user interface to easily get around.

[Rageanitus]

1) They should really put HDMI cable in every unit and remove the standard AV cable...

2) change the trigger keys to curve out

3)ability to stream things from your pc like a boxee box and ability to accept usb drives that can read NTFS.

4) although the ps3 looks the most sophisticated out of the bunch during its generation thy should still make it look like an standard blu-ray electronic device

[inFAMOUS_KRATOS]

xmb 2.0?

would love it if they improve on it, cuz i think is the best thing about the ps3.

keep the trophy and names?

i highly doubt it, im not trophy whore, but most people would love it.

make voice chat/ text seemlessly run in game. like it is know. but plus voice chat.

[MadMen]

PS3's

Dashboard and Social network are ridiculously old looking and functioning

But Price & Attitude is more important than those 2

[keymmido]

not one mention of the browser? I would put that above most

[keymmido]

unless that falls into the dashboard category

[ajax17]

Wow, this is a lame. You can buy a 9 foot USB cable for 6 dollars on amazon

You call the XMB (NOT DASHBOARD!!) cheap, I call it utilitarian and elegant.

The only thing he has right is the social aspect. I just don't think Sony was really expecting the social aspect of gaming to become so immense. They were more focused on the gaming element of their console; hence the development of the cell processor and PSN being greatly underdeveloped when compared to XBL.

[HeroPsychoDreamer]

It would be nice if the PS4 could play .mkv files