I have no idea either. So...back to sales/shipments: http://scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/131203b_e.pdf This seems to somewhat answer my earlier question. Seems that Sony's priorities are 1) US/Canada 2) UK 3) Rest of the world 4) Japan. Focusing on the areas where they are the weakest.
I think they sent your system to Brazil, so they could put them in some stores, right behind the "PS4 $1850" sign. Just for show. It does kind of suck if you don't live in the US/Canada or the UK (and it isn't even that great even if you live there). Worldwide launches are great in some ways, but it will take a long time before Sony (or MS) is able to easily meet demand in all these regions, especially those that aren't a priority. On the flip side, once supply catches up, hopefully a lot of the kinks with the system will be worked out, and the selection of games will improve.
yeah i have heard that .04 of systems are faulty, (facts came from a youtube video) also i dont think the launch games were that good besides 2k, madden (games i always get), i was looking foward to watchdogs the most but that got delayed
I wasn't even directly talking about faulty units, although that's a good point too (even if the rate is pretty small). I'm talking mostly about the OS and supported features/apps. It is OK right now (no glaring issues IMO), but I'm sure a lot of things will get patched/added over time. Plus some of the launch issues with servers shouldn't be as big of a deal over time (at least for PS4 OS features). The launch games are OK IMO (maybe even good), but they are launch games. Not taking full advantage of the hardware, some dropped content/features, lots of bugs/glitches, etc. Like the rest, I expect this to gradually get better with time. I'd expect/hope things to be a bit better by late Spring/Early summer, and maybe better still going into end of 2014. By that point, supply shouldn't be a problem, and the rest of these things should all be much improved.
Yeah, I figured they'd blow past that 5 million figure they came up with. That was their "goal", but people want PS4. I think they'll do 3-4 by the end of this year. That could very well mean 5 million by March, but I think the demand will be strong regardless of it being Christmas or not. Just my theory anyway. Hey everyone, consoles are dying!
Anouther thing to note is I heard an ea sports guy talking about how he only expects this gen console to be around for 5 to at the most 6 years. So people who want to wait and think it will last nearly 9 years like the old gen need to just buy it now and get moneys worth My theory is that they kept the old consoles around as beta consoles for their new ad ons (kinect and play station plus)
PS3 was released in November 2006, so a 6 year life cycle for the PS4 would only be a year shorter. xbox 360 came out at the end of November a year earlier, for an 8 year life span. 5 year life span for this generation seems kind of unlikely since they make their money on the games much more so than then the actual console.
Based on reports they're breaking even or profiting very slightly on the console sales right now. I don't think that's a concern, 5-6 years sounds right. The only reason last generation lasted as long as it did was due to the recession imo. They knew people weren't ready to buy new consoles 2-3 years ago.
There were a couple of reasons why this generation lasted as long as it did, and some of those could play a factor into the new generation. Part of the reason is that pretty much each of the big 3 (or 2 if you'd rather separate out Nintendo) was "happy" with their sales. No one was particularly interested in giving that up and starting over again. MS struggled with the original Xbox, so even though it was released in 2001, they were ready to launch a new console ~4 years later. Meanwhile, even though PS3 launched 6 1/2 years after PS2, it probably could have used another 6-12 months in the oven (Sony seemed caught off-guard a bit, and I'm sure they would have liked to have stretched out the previous generation another 6-12 months). If Sony or MS struggle mightily with their new consoles (i.e., if MS didn't do a 180 with their original decisions ), they could end up trying to launch a new console just a few years from now. But if they both sell well and make a lot of money, I'm not sure they'll be pushing for new consoles so quickly. It is really hard to say without knowing certain tech trends that the next 4-8 years might bring. PS4 and XBO (and even PS3/360) are so easily updated compared to previous generations of consoles that it makes it a little hard to justify getting a new system. A 2000 PS2 is pretty much the same as a 2008 PS2, but the 2006 PS3 is WAY different than the 2013-2014 PS3. I expect the same from the 2013 PS4 and the 2020 PS4 (in fact, it might even be more drastic). In a way, it is almost like having several new generations all within the same generation of consoles. To put it another way, more GBs won't necessarily be enough to start a new generation since these systems should be very capable for a long time. The new systems would likely have to offer a substantial improvement over the current ones, and I'm not sure how long it will take before those improvements become a reality. As it is, some people don't see these new consoles as huge improvements over the old ones, and they're substantially more powerful, more efficient, more capable, more innovative (IMO), and MUCH "newer" than the old ones. I think games taking so much time to develop (and how much work it will take to "maximize" these systems) might help extend the length of the generation as well. For some reason, it just seems like a generation needs to have 1-2 GTAs, 1-2 MGS games, etc., and I'm sure those games will each take 2-3 years at least to make (I remember when an epic RPG could be produced in under a year). Some counterpoints can be made for a shorter generation as well (cheaper systems, more supply/global launches, emerging tech, Steambox/rise of PC gaming, etc.), but guess my point is that it is probably too early to really speculate on it at this point. I could see it going either way. Publishers in general (and especially the ones that rely on annual releases) seem to prefer shorter generations (too hard to innovate I guess, so they'd rather get some sales based on new generation buzz), while the manufacturers prefer longer ones I believe. I'm good either way, although I think I prefer at least 5 years. As long as the system is supported for something like 7-8 years (or ideally more), I suppose it doesn't matter too much.
Spoiler Spoilered for size, sorry Aussie Voice. The good news is I'm guessing you're in that second shipment most of them discuss so you should get yours this month.
Damn, that's crazy sales...I think I'll be picking up a PS4 some time next summer/fall of 2014. Hopefully theyll have a few in stock by then.
I have 2 controllers and one of the little charging stands, I pretty much never have to worry about it. If one is running low, I just pick up the other controller. It literally hasn't been an issue since the first night I got the console. (I'm not trying to imply their battery life is amazing) There is also the fact I haven't played for an entire day yet. I think the most was about 5-6 hours straight.
System can charge in standby now. And I think the controller charges off a cell phone charger plugged into the wall. Not noticing.
Also there's that. My console is always in stand by, although I may start turning it off at times. It just boots so quickly...I love it.
