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3 Ways the PlayStation 4 Could Beat the Xbox One in the Eyes of Gamers

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Microsoft recently revealed how it will handle used games on the Xbox One, and gamers aren’t too happy about it. The move gives Sony a chance to step in and take the lead for the next generation.

While gamers aren’t happy about the DRM policies of the Xbox One, Sony is happy to provide them with an alternative with the PlayStation 4. Sony already showed off just how powerful its new console is back in February, but now it has a chance to make the console better than the Xbox One in the eyes of gamers.

PlayStation_4_DualShock_4_top_view

DRM

One of the big complaints against Microsoft with the Xbox One is its used games policy. Specifically, the company will leave the decision up to developers to decide if they’ll let gamers buy or sell their games used. There is a potential that gamers can’t sell back some of their games.

Microsoft also put a restriction on lending games. Gamers can only lend games to friends who were on the Xbox Live friends list for at least 30 days, and the can only lend games once no matter how long they have the game. They’ll have to wait to lend games, however, as the “feature” isn’t part of the console at release.

The solution for Sony is simple: very little or no DRM in the PlayStation 4. Sony can win the hearts and minds of gamers by keeping the same policies it has on the PlayStation 3 now. Gamers like to buy and sell used games and borrow games from friends. If Sony can enable that without making them jump through hoops, they’ll have one up on Microsoft.

Always on

The Xbox One doesn’t require a constant Internet connection, but it does require a connection at least once every 24 hours. Microsoft’s console will ping Microsoft’s servers once a day to make validate the gamer’s profile and games. The trouble, however, is that not everyone has such a reliable connection at the moment.

Xbox One

There are still gamers living in rural areas who are lucky to have anything more than a dial-up connection. Video games are also popular with soldiers overseas who are often in locations with limited Internet access. Right now it seems those gamers simply can’t play game on the Xbox One.

Sony can easily alleviate those concerns by not requiring an Internet connection. Many of the console’s features like streaming games, automatic game downloads and cloud gaming won’t work without a connection. However, Sony can make everyone happy by ensuring that disc-based PlayStation 4 games will work without that connection, even if some other features don’t work.

Privacy

playstation 4 eye

The PlayStation Eye will ship with every PlayStation 4.

A big fear that many have of the Xbox One is the console’s Kinect sensor. By default the sensor is always watching and listening the user in case they want to issue a voice command. There is an option to turn the Kinect off or pause it, but that doesn’t mean gamers still aren’t concerned. Gamers have to plug the Kinect into the console to play games, or the Xbox One simply won’t work

With recent revelations regarding PRISM there are potentially even more privacy issues with the Kinect sensor. Microsoft, along with all other companies named in the program deny their involvement, but for some the issue is hard to ignore.

Sony’s comeback is simple: turn off the included PlayStation Eye when the PlayStation 4 is off or in a low-power state. The better solution is to let gamers unplug the camera and not use it if they don’t want to. The PlayStation Eye so far doesn’t have all of the features of the Kinect, and that may work in Sony’s favor in the eyes of some gamers.

11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. James

    06/07/2013 at 5:28 pm

    If sony does this, they crush xbox one, xbox one becomes the worst major failing console of all time.

  2. George

    06/08/2013 at 1:09 am

    agree with above, Sony have an easy target with this one if they’re clued-up enough to realise it. m$ could indeed have the biggest fail since the dreamcast with this.

    • vinh

      06/09/2013 at 9:23 am

      dreamcast was one of the best consoles of all time….

  3. Adeel

    06/08/2013 at 8:45 am

    Oh Sony, the amazing and wonderful childhood memories you have given me are beautiful, I particularly grew up playing with all Sony consoles from generation to generation and what amazing fun we’ve had, Sony is what I will stick with my whole life coz it’s fkin well better than the crp xbox…..Sony 4 lyf…

    • ArcSabrael

      06/12/2013 at 5:24 pm

      If only Sony could help your grammar skills.

      • Henk

        06/19/2013 at 9:07 am

        HAHAHAHAHHA nice

  4. Beth

    06/08/2013 at 3:01 pm

    Xbox need to sort it out and stop thinking about profit and start thinking about the customer

    • Deadred

      06/08/2013 at 6:02 pm

      No company doesn’t think about profit. If you think Sony cares more about customers than profit, you are deluding yourself!

  5. Deadred

    06/08/2013 at 6:06 pm

    The pseye will need to be connected. The light bar on the controller is for the eye to pickup. And besides, both eyetoy and kinect can be turned off, so what is the major problem here? Laptops have cameras and mics, so do phones, yet no one complains about that.

    • Krad Kuro

      06/08/2013 at 7:24 pm

      is istn the fact it cant realy be turned off, what they said was it can be puased, while it still litning for the command of “xbox on” so its defentily not off, just allow the go dam thing to be diconected and put in a draw or in the bin

    • Joe

      06/09/2013 at 1:37 am

      It’s not necessary for the Eye to be plugged in. Even now with the PS3, the move works without having the eye plugged in. So it would no doubt be the same with the PS4.

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