Here's my rundown of what's been said, what I'm hoping for, and what we can expect now (with no confirmations) on the Orbis/PS4. Don't get your jimmies rustled until the official launch -- this is simply a prediction article!
3. PRICE.
Let's get real here.
Nobody wants to spend money -- any money -- so for many of us, a new console (even after so much time) is still an investment. As the gaming supervisor at the new-deceased Virgin MegaStore in Times Square, the PS3 launch was a whirlwind of happy kids, content parents, and absolute tyrants that blamed me for how "outrageous" the PlayStation 3 originally cost. Everyone is waiting for the price point, and at a rumored $400, mixed reviews of the price are coming out of the woodworks before it's even been announced.
THE DREAM: I want the PS4 to be free. Can it be free, please?
THE DOUBT: The very fact is that the new system is going to be an investment, and that's fine. The PS3 has seen gamers through an era where gaming evolved in more rapid ways than we've ever seen before. I love using the Metal Gear saga as an example in this instance: MGS 4 was a monumental release that hit during the very early stages of the PS3; Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance seems to signify the end of an era. But look at the differences, improvement, and overall experience between 4 and the very demo of Rising and you'll see a much more advanced system that caters to visual pleasure in ways that you, reader, I'm sure could not imagine in your childhood. That thought alone makes this worth it. If this reporter has to drop some pretty dollars on a system that's going to advance gaming the way that the PS3 did, then second job, here I come.
