Has it really been seven years since the PS4 launched? Back then it felt like the PS3 just came and now that console will be two generations old come this fall season. Well, if the PS5 launches at that time that is.
Anyway, Sony made some lofty promises at their reveal event all the way back in February 2013 and continued to make them after that premier. How did they do? They may have had a stellar start to the generation complimented with dozens of highly praised exclusives, but that doesn't mean their run was perfect. Let's take a look at ten broken promises made with the PS4.
10 The Power Of Streaming
At the PS4’s reveal event, Gaikai, the streaming service Sony just bought to integrate with the system, made several lofty promises. One of these was the idea that every PlayStation game and or console could be streamed with the service. This meant PS1 and even mobile games could be streamed. With PlayStation Now, which is what this service became, PS4, PS3, and PS2 games were made available. That’s it.Â
9 TV Shows
Like Microsoft’s ideas for the Xbox One, Sony also wanted to create their own shows for the platform. The first, and only show to come out of this, was Powers. Since then this first division of Sony was abandoned but now it seems they wants to try again with bringing back Twisted Metal and The Last of Us as shows. Let’s see if those come to light any time soon.Â
8 Try Before You Buy
Another promise made from Gaikai was being able to try any game on PSN. Every game was going to have a trial or demo. Instead of wasting money and or precious data on a game one eventually hated, they could test the waters as easy as streaming something on Netflix.
While PS Now is sort of like that, there are rental fees and it is nowhere as ideal as this initial pitch. The biggest issue is the library.Â
7 Shareplay Potential
Shareplay is a mode that allows players to virtually pass the controller to a friend digitally. Said friend can then play the game up to an hour at a time. This was discussed with the idea of letting friends both try games along with helping someone with a difficult boss for example. There was also an idea thrown out at the reveal to allow other players to give another a potion to help them in a difficult fight as just one example. This feature never happened, but Shareplay, at least, did in some capacity.Â
6 The Speed Of SuspensionÂ
The PS4 has a rest mode that allows users to start back up faster than they could if they shut down their console completely. This is somewhat true, but it is not as instant as promised. More so than that the way it was described at the reveal, games could be bookmarked, almost like a Save States, and could then be resumed immediately even if one turned the console off. The console is nowhere near that fast.Â
5 Play Before Downloaded
This is both true and untrue. Being able to play games before they are fully downloaded either online, or physically through a disc, is an inconsistent feature. It is ultimately just better to wait until a game is done before starting it up to avoid any unnecessary snags.Â
4 Predictive DownloadingÂ
This was an ability also teased at the Xbox One reveal. Both explanations were not great in that they were confusing. Why would players want their consoles to download games before they decided to get them? Isn’t that what friends and the press are for?
It was a feature that never made total sense. The only console to really do this recommendation system was the 3DS and it too was not well utilized.Â
3 VR HoldbacksÂ
The PlayStation VR has had some strong games on the platform that demonstrate its potential. It isn’t as well backed as the PS4, but it has its standout titles. The games or lack there of aren’t really holding it back. It’s the PlayStation Move controllers. They work with the headset, but they are also incredibly dated especially compared to other VR setups out there. It was never really promised to get new controllers, but prototypes were flying around.Â
2 Remote Play
Like PSVR, the Remote Play feature, while highlighted at the reveal, has gone underutilized due to hardware limitations. It was the Switch before the Switch, dating back to the PSP albeit more limited. Two things have held this feature back. One, having to connect both systems online. Streaming will never be as good as built in connections. Two, the PS Vita was not as comfortable to use as a controller especially since it was missing buttons from the PS4.Â
1 The Power Of Pro
Finally, the last piece of hardware that didn’t live up to its potential was the PS4 Pro. Because it divided the player base, developers were never demanded to support the system. It was a confusing rollout and a half step for both the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.Â
