Well, for a long time we've argued, Sony fanboy vs. Microsoft fanboy, but Microsoft concluding that Xbox One will still have its' "Always Online" feature along with the restrictions on trading and lending of used games, topping it off with a $499 base model launch price paved the golden road for Sony to take race and end the first day of E3 with Microsoft trailing in the dirt behind them. The polls don't lie as IGN's latest poll stats (3:55pm-6/11/13) state that according to everyone, not only fanboys (though there still are some holding on for dear life to Microsoft's next console) that Sony won this generation of consoles. Sony currently presiding at 1st with 82.54% of the votes, Microsoft in 2nd with 12.44% of the votes and the Wii U in 3rd with 5.02% of the votes. If you won't take it from me, at least take it from the rest of the voters.
The Sony conference event shining moments, that literally had fans in a standing ovation (usually standing ovations only exist during game announcements like with the announcement of the continuation of the Star Wars: Battlefront franchise by DICE) chanting "Sony! Sony! Sony!" consisted of when Jack Tretton (President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America)claimed that the PS4 would not have any Used Game restrictions. This news continued into Jack stating that there would be no required online connection to play them, nor would it require a periodical "check-in" online to continue playing them, furthermore, the games would not quit working if you don't authenticate them within 24 hours, this all leading to even louder cheers and applause. The end of the Sony conference had Andrew House coming out and speaking some final parting words, ending with the Playstation 4 base model launch cost being $399, $100 less than it's Microsoft counterpart, leading to the loudest applause heard from any E3 footage shot so far.
Unfortunately there was a bit of bad news for the hardcore gamers on Sony's side. Though all these exciting new features are here, to be able to play games online with friends or other members of the playstation community, you will be required to purchase a Playstation Plus membership. Now before you get upset, lets look over the Pros and Cons of this.
One of the first things you get upset with is the fact that you will have to pay to play online now, however, you've got to understand that the cost is less than $5 a month, rivaling the Xbox Live membership fee of around $8 a month. And of course you know there will be special deals like a percentage off for paying for a larger amount of membership at a time. So considering that, I think that this will be beneficial already, without the other benefits. What are these benefits? Lets check them out:
- Discounted Games (This was already a big thing for the PSPlus before, and now that PSPlus is being expanded so that even brand new games are being released for download on the day they come out in retail, this is an awesome change. Though I wonder about how much this will effect middle parties such as GameStop)
- Cloud Saves (Another feature that was introduced previously in PSPlus. Cloud saves will allow you to save your progress in a game from your console at home, then continue your game on another PS console at grandma's house or college or a friends house even.)
- Automatic Game Updates (One of the other amazing features previously introduced. This feature will force your PS console to turn itself on at a time set by you so that it will look at all games that you have installed on your console, (Game Data) and update it, so when you wake up or get back from work or class, your PS will be ready to go and play your games without having to install new updates before you play.)
- Early Access to Beta Programs (Speaks for itself, haha!)
- Instant Game Collection (This is a newer feature that Sony implemented that allows users to download certain games during a time period that may have been out for a while or even some new popular games that Plus users will get for free! Also, Sony confirmed that PS4 launch users will gain access to a free copy of DriveClub PSPlus Edition($60 value) immediately for free.
Thanks for reading! Check back for more E3 info, or post about what your want me to write about!
Thanks Again!
