Anyone who has paid even the slightest bit of attention to the console rivalry this generation can likely come to the same conclusion: Sony and the PS4 have dominated. Alongside featuring numerous critically acclaimed exclusives (God of War, Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man), the PS4 has sold more than double the consoles than Xbox One, even though they were released during the same time period.
Despite this, recent trends have indicated that Sony may get left behind next generation. While Nintendo and Microsoft are making impressive software and hardware moves, Sony has been limiting itself in many regards. These are just a few of the ways that Sony needs to change in the immediate future if they want to compete when the next generation comes around.
Cross-Platform Play
Over the past few years, Sony has taken a hard stance against cross-platform play, even going as far as to shut down the feature in Fortnite after it accidentally occurred between the PS4 and Xbox One player bases in Sept. 2017. But while the company is set on the notion that their multiplayer is good enough on its own, numerous titles have already begun sharing player bases across Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
Their choice to limit multiplayer isn’t the biggest problem though. Since Sony won’t implement any cross-platform technology, that means that user data can be shared either. Without that sharing, players can’t transfer their items and progression from one system to another. PlayStation accounts exist on their own, meaning that users have to have multiple playthroughs, accounts, and save files for separate platforms, instead of being able to integrate them into one. This isn’t a problem anywhere but PlayStation, as Steam, Xbox Live, Twitch, and many other platforms allow its users to transfer data and other important info from other platforms onto their own.
Improving the PSN Network
In the always online era of gaming, it’s vital that the network that is the central hub of that online activity is up to par. Of all of the networks available, PSN has the most problems. Simple things like slow download speeds and the lack of being able to change your Gamertag have been brought up by fans ever since the PlayStation 3 area. No improvements have been made though.
Navigating the network can also be a nightmare. A convoluted store and the devices overall interface make surfing the PlayStation Network a chore. An example of these basic issues can be found when trying to find a new indie title on the network. Instead of being to pick and choose between a list of possible diamonds in the rough, PSN is over-saturated with unvetted games, either made for a cash grab or as a joke.
The biggest issue with the network is how often it is down. Multiple times a year, throughout the world, PSN can go down for hours at a time. Earlier this year, Kotaku reported that thousands of outages that occurred over an entire week for the network. This can’t happen in the always online era of gaming, especially when Microsoft and Xbox Live rarely ever face these issues on such a broad scale.
It’s going to be hard to attract new users and keep the loyalty of older ones when Sony fails to address these ongoing issues.
Backwards Compatibility
The PlayStation 4 has dominated the Xbox One in the vast majority of departments ever since the two released. Whether its exclusive titles or sales figures, Sony has been the apparent winner. But there is one thing that Microsoft has had the entire time that PlayStation fans have been begging Sony for, and that is backward compatibility.
Ever since launch, the Xbox One has been backward compatible, meaning that old Xbox and Xbox 360 games can be read and played when they are inserted into the newest gen consoles disc drive. This eliminates the need to buy the games all over again. The PS4 does not feature this ability. Instead of backwards compatibility, Sony has attempted to solve the situation similarly to Nintendo, by updating and reselling the older hardware.
Similar Nintendo’s NES Classic, Sony has revealed a PlayStation Classic. This updated first gen console will feature 20 built-in games and will also be HDMI compatible. This may excite a lot of fans but it’s not the same thing as having a fully compatible PS4. If the PS4 were compatible, there would be no need to spend $99.99 just to buy an old console and its old games, especially if you already bought them as a kid. It all seems greedy in comparison to how Xbox has gone about the issue and likely won’t bode well if the same thing occurs with the PS5.
A Quality Subscription Service
When Microsoft revealed the Xbox Game Pass last year, it seemed too good to be true. Described as the Netflix of gaming, this Xbox subscription service grants its users access to a catalog of games, both new and old, from a range of different publishers. At only $9.99 per month, users have full access to over 100 titles, some of which launch on the platform.
Another similar subscription service is EA Access. Launching back in 2014, EA Access is a subscription service for games published and developed by Electronic Arts. While most are sports games, the catalog is also home to games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and the Dead Space series. Just like Game Pass, the service is affordable, costing only $4.99 a month or even featuring an annual membership of $29.99.
PlayStation’s current equivalent to those two subscription models is PlayStation Now. While Sony did recently announce that games offered in the service will be downloadable over the next few days, Sony still has a bit of catch-up to do compared to Microsoft’s offerings. On top of that, it also costs double what the Xbox Game Pass does, at a price point of $19.99 per month. With users growing more accustom to these Netflix-like subscription libraries, it is only a matter of time before Sony will be forced to come up with an equivalent one of their own.
Published: Sep 21, 2018 09:58 am