Rescuing the PlayStation Brand in the USA
It really wasn’t that long ago that the PlayStation brand wasn’t the juggernaut that it is now. It was hardly failing, but the race between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for who got the honor of being behind the Wii was a lot closer than what is going on in this generation. The two were neck and neck overall, and by most accounts, in the U.S. the Xbox 360 ended up on top over the PlayStation 3.
Sony didn’t repeat the same mistakes they made with the launch of the PlayStation 3 in the USA. They kept their hardware focused on playing video games which allowed them to price the PS4 $100 lower than the Xbox One which featured TV and Kinect functionality. Launching with a competitive piece of hardware spec wise at a lower price point allowed the PS4 to burst out of the gates and take an early, sizable, and now seemingly insurmountable sales lead. Sure, Microsoft helped a bit by botching the reveal of the Xbox One, but Sony also helped itself and is now reaping the rewards.
Making VR Tech More Accessible to the Average Consumer
Although VR hasn’t taken the world by storm yet, don’t blame the PlayStation VR. PlayStation VR is the most well-balanced VR hardware to date. It is able to offer a higher-end VR experience ahead of some of the competition like the Samsung Gear VR, while pricing itself lower than other competitors such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Right now the issue with PlayStation VR, and VR in general is the lack of games that fully leverage the platform. Right now we’re still in the early stages of the PlayStation VR, and hopefully Sony decides to continue supporting it with first-party games, while continuing to encourage third-party developers to work on new titles for it. If VR ends up being remembered as a gimmick, then this entry might end up in a list of failures one day.
But right now, in 2017, Sony is going for it, and is offering up an affordable, high-quality headset propped up by an accessible and popular platform. For a company that gets lambasted by some for ripping off ideas, going head first into VR was a bold move, we just have to wait and see if it pays off.
Focusing on Console Defining Exclusives
When we look back at this generation, we’ll probably remember it as one that was defined by console exclusives. What used to be a commonplace, at least feels a little more rare and special now, and Sony has done an excellent job of holding onto as many exclusives as it can. Franchises such as MLB: The Show, God of War, and Uncharted have carried the Sony standard throughout the House era.
But instead of relying on the same faces, Sony has rolled the dice with new IPs such as Horizon: Zero Dawn and The Last of Us, which were hugely successful and are capable of being their own franchise in addition to the ones that Sony already has under their belt. Not every game Sony touches is gold, and there have been some duds for sure, but throughout the House era, Sony has continued to experiment and find ways to grab onto exclusives even while playing catch up in the U.S. during the PlayStation 3 years.
Making it Easier for Gamers to Play Together in a Digital World
The difference between what is on offer for social features on the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 3 is night and day. The Xbox platforms still certainly have an excellent service in Xbox Live as well, but it’s no longer an uncontested race like it was during the 7th generation. In 2017, when it’s harder to find opportunities to play together in person with friends, and as the generation that grew up on older consoles now become adults with jobs, Sony under House has stepped up its online service to make it easier for people to continue playing together. Basic features such as Parties were finally added alongside other neat features such as Share Play, recording, streaming, and communities.
It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and many players are happy being lone wolves without any need for these features. But for those that still want to be closer to others, but can’t, PlayStation Network has made great strides in improving its service over recent years.
Expanding the Scope of the PlayStation Network
Speaking of the PlayStation Network, the scope of Sony’s service has expanded greatly as well since House took over. In addition to everything we’ve already mentioned, the PlayStation Network has just about every video streaming app that most people would care about built-in. You can listen to Spotify while playing which is pretty neat, especially for those of us that are into grindy games like Destiny 2, or RPGs like Final Fantasy XIV. Sony now has its own TV streaming service with PlayStation Vue which got its start on the PlayStation platform. And finally, of course, there’s PS Now which offers up a ton of classic games for fans to stream.
Depending on your interests, you can either take or leave all of that, but Sony has certainly at least been putting the effort into making PlayStation Network more expansive, and hasn’t let gaming quality slip either.
Despite all of these great achievements achieved under the House era, there is one major black eye that isn’t so quickly forgotten…
Abandoning the PlayStation Vita So Quickly
The abandonment of the PlayStation Vita is maybe the biggest gaming crime since the untimely death of the SEGA Dreamcast. OK, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but the PS Vita is an incredible handheld that was brought into the world by Sony and then quickly left to the wolves. Sure, early on Sony supported the platform with games like Killzone: Mercenary and Gravity Rush, but seemingly at the first sign of trouble, Sony left the PS Vita in a basket at the doorstep of Japanese developers that have historically supported their handhelds such as Atlus, and moved on with their life.
Despite all of that, the PS Vita is still pretty bad ass especially if you take advantage of Remote Play with the PS4. But it could have been so much more with better first-party support and cheaper storage. Instead, it will quietly stick around for as long as Nihon Falcom, Atlus and more want to keep supporting it, and after that, well, that’s probably all for Sony handhelds.
Published: Oct 5, 2017 11:46 am