Getting the inspiration and motivation from Darrin’s editorial, What Microsoft Needs to Do to Sell Me the New Xbox, I’ve decided to write up an editorial on what Sony needs to do for me to get me to purchase a PlayStation 4.
Once the original PlayStation came out and then the PS2, I was all over both systems, which ended up molding me into a PlayStation fangirl. I loathed the Xbox, thought that Halo was just another mindless shooter and overall thought the system was a giant paperweight. Then I got an Xbox. I didn’t play it that often since I obtained it at the end of its life cycle, but once I got an Xbox 360, everything changed.
However, this isn’t about Microsoft, this is all about Sony. I eventually got a PS3, a used backwards compatible model and since I’ve owned it, I’ve mainly used it to watch movies. I have played games on it, but my PS3 game library is small compared to other systems. I think the game that got the most attention on my PS3, was Heavy Rain. If a game came out that I wanted to play and it was available on both the PS3 and Xbox 360, I always got it for the 360. I enjoyed getting achievements, plus I have more friends on XBL than on PSN.
Price, I’m not worried about, I can wait until a sale or a price drop. Getting a system at launch is never a good idea due to bugs and a high rate of defective systems. Plus, launch titles are really hit or miss. Regardless, what Sony needs to have as their top priority, is to have exclusives. And I am talking about killer exclusives, ones that will sell the system to me and to many others. None of that timed exclusive stuff either. This is the number one thing that Sony needs to do to get me to buy a PS4.
One game in particular that I think would sell the PS4 if the game is solely for that system, is Kingdom Hearts 3. We’ve been waiting too long for the third installment of Kingdom Hearts and many have already moved on. If Sony came out and said that Kingdom Hearts 3 will be releasing for the PS4 and only for the PS4, I would buy it, without hesitation. Make it a bundle or a launch title, even better. Bring back the good old PlayStation days that we remember. Give us exclusives, bring Final Fantasy back to its former glory and only allow that glory to be on the PS4.
One of the things that Sony is doing, that I am very happy about, is having updates installed in the background. It seems like every time I turn on my PS3, there is a new update. I hate having to wait, I am an impatient person, but I shouldn’t have to wait. Having it going in the background will please many. Having to wait to play a game for it to install should be a crime (this goes for PC gaming as well). Very pleased that this will happen in the background now, very smart.
A sleep timer for the controller is also a must. Sometimes I forget to turn off the controller when watching a movie. The short USB cord to charge the controller is a joke. When I want to play a game and the controller’s battery is dead, I have to sit super close to my system just to charge the controller and play. Just let the controller sleep after, say, fifteen minutes of non-usage.
I haven’t been on PlayStation Home for a while but I have seen what can be purchased for it and the avatar. It looks like Second Life to me. Get rid of Home or revamp it. It is a nice concept, but most of the time people are being harassed, especially female avatars. Make the PS4 more community friendly for everyone.
Implement a better and less maze-like interface, similar to how XBL used to be, and not its current interface incarnation. For both gaming systems, I shouldn’t have to do a detailed search to find something. An interface shouldn’t be a journey but something fast, smooth, and clean (without the clutter).
What it all boils down to, for me, is exclusive games. If the PS4 has that, perhaps all the little things that bother us about a system, won’t matter, we’ll have the games to back it up.
