With Sony's PlayStation 4 out in the United States this Friday, finally the next-generation of video game consoles is about to begin. It was back in February when Sony unveiled their new console, starting the hype train rolling as gamers looked forward to higher fidelity graphics, more connectivity and hopefully more creative endeavours from developers inspired and enabled by new technology.
In a curious role reversal from the last-generation, Sony has positioned the PlayStation 4 as the hardcore gamer's console of choice, as opposed to Microsoft's all-in-one entertainment device the Xbox One. While the PlayStation 4 will also provide entertainment apps such as Netflix, it is games which have taken centre stage on Sony's road to market. Its approach has won the hearts and minds of a large part of the gaming community, developers singing its praises and gamers believing that 'this is the console made for us.'
It is a smart move of Sony's part. In many respects the hardcore gaming community is the gateway to mainstream success, those day-one buyers informing the market in its early stages. But with Microsoft keen to court all types of entertainment consumers, is it not a risk that Sony may appear to fall short on services?
'I don't think I see that as a risk,' says the President of Sony Computer Entertainment Andrew House. 'We're doing our best to balance messaging. I think it's a question of positioning at the right point of a platform's lifecycle. We felt it was very important, based on, frankly, a lot of learning from the PS3 experience, to be crystal clear about targeting a principal market first and making sure that this product is seen to be exciting and relevant to them. That's not to the exclusion of other possibilities.'
That Sony has learned lessons from the PlayStation 3 has been abundantly clear since the moment the PlayStation 4 was revealed. While the PS3 eventually became a huge success, its initial launch period was a torrid time for Sony. The positioning of the device as a multimedia device fell on deaf ears, despite actually being quite prescient, and a whopping price tag of £425 was deemed too expensive. The PS4, however, will launch at £349 in the UK, a full £80 cheaper than the Xbox One.
The hotly-anticipated PlayStation 4 will retail for £349 Photo: Reuters
This aggressive positioning is a clear gambit to steal a march on its competitors, an effort to mark the PlayStation 4 as an instant success, rather than repeating the slow start of its predecessor. 'I think that we would certainly want it to be an instant success. We certainly have confidence in our ability to do that,' says House. 'That's why I announced that our initial sales target for the fiscal year is 5 million units, which compares to 3.55m for the PlayStation 3. I think there are three very significant differences. One is price. One is the degree and variety of title support and developer engagement we've had, and I mean that to include the interest coming from indie developers aswell. And the third is that we are going into market at the same time as our nearest competitor, rather than significantly later.'
Indeed, there seems to be a sense that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 releasing at around the same time is of benefit to the industry as a whole; excitement over the next wave of games will spread across two new devices. While we will see the expected generational leap in graphics, physics and an advancement in controllers, possibly the most dominant change will be in connectivity. While online multiplayer and connected experiences were integral parts of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, they will be the key features for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
There will also be greater connection to smartphones and tablets, while the rise of smartphone gaming is seen by many as a reason for the console gaming industry shrinking year-on-year since 2008, Sony see the ubiquity of the devices as an opportunity. The PlayStation 4 will be able to connect to the 'PlayStation App' which will allow second screen gaming, the potential to extend your console gameplay n some way while you're out and about, or simply being able to message your PlayStation Network friends via the app. The PlayStation 4 will also be able to stream games to the PlayStation Vita, Sony's handheld games console.
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The concern for Sony is that, despite the positioning of the PlayStation 4 since its unveiling, the game lineup available at launch is arguably weaker than its nearest competitor. While Killzone Shadowfall looks like a beautiful and thrilling FPS and family-adventure Knack will provide a lighter side to the dawn of next-gen, the delay of social racer DriveClub leaves the library a little light.
Sony however, are hoping that their open courting of the burgeoning independent scene will provide creative alternatives, pushing the frantic and visually stunning shoot-em-up Resogun as one of their key launch titles. Whether that kind of grass-roots approach will garner success remains to be seen, but Sony is taking a bet that the next generation of console players will look to break away from the established franchises and want to explore more diverse areas.
House hopes that this is the case, but knows there are no guarantees, which makes the start of a new generation all the more exciting. 'With each successive generation it's very difficult to predict what will be the dominant game style that will really take off during that period,' he says. 'For the original PlayStation it was 'arcade game quality in the home.' Which was great and got us all terribly excited. Come PlayStation 2 I think most people would agree it was open-world gaming that opened up this sense of freedom that people had never had in play before. PlayStation 3, one would point to online multiplayer being the dominant genre. The excitement for me is 'what's going to be next?' There's just so much creativity out there among game developer right now that there will be something fantastic. The joy is almost of anticipation; not knowing exactly what it's going to be but knowing that potential is there.'
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