So apparently the PS4 will be the most powerful thing ever. Since the Feb. 20 reveal details about its specs and capabilities have been flooding the internet. The PS4 will have the most powerful processor ever made by AMD, if that kind of thing is important to you. The PS4 reveal was a little light on games, the standard and expected safe bets like a new Killzone and new Infamous will make it out probably by launch or not soon after. The slew of social networking features seemed to be the main focus during the media event, again if that's important to you. Some were so unimpressed by the details of PS4 that they're thinking of switching over to mostly PC gaming for this upcoming generation, I'm looking at you Jesse Miller.
I'd have to agree with him on most everything, except the PC part. Maybe I'm just getting old, but the PS4 and consoles need to be about games and real content beyond just effervescent frills that won't be here in another 5 years. Anyone who thinks Facebook won't be the next Myspace is probably still a Myspace user. But I don't need to rehash that argument, at this point the only thing that could impress me about the PS4's overhyped specs and functionality would be it's ability to predict earthquakes!
About the only thing I used my PS3 for other than games was determing the magnitude of earthquakes. Well maybe some TV shows and movies, the PS3 is pretty friendly to files via torrent, except for the those silly .mkv files! But other than that it was just games and earthquaky stuff. And PSN indie games. And NHL network, and MLB network. But other than that just games and earthquakes.
It's getting near that time again, the annniversary of 3/11 in Japan. I was front and center for the whole disaster, except the tsunami and radiation part. My PS3 played a fairly large role in determining the strength of the quakes and how worried I was supposed to be. If it didn't fall on the floor, everything was fine. If it did, it was time to lose your shit and start shovelling snow into the bathtub to save water. We actually did that after 3/11/2011!
Only twice did my slim PS3 v2.0 fall onto the floor after a quake. The first time was during the original 9.0M quake that occured at 2:46pm on March 11th. I was on the subway train on my way to work and didn't make it home to my apartment/room/man box until the next day. My laptop, BenQ E2200HD monitor and PS3 were all cuddled up together and spooning each other in a techy threesome on the floor. There were a few war wounds on the monitor and PS3 but all have been functioning ever since, more or less. The monitor is fritzing out at times now and has that one, long horiztonal line running across the middle of the screen.
The second time was an aftershock in mid April, 2011. A 7.4M that occrred just a little more than a month after the original 9.0M, but I can't remember the exact date. This time I was at home, stuck in my cozy little box plunking away on my laptop at some game blogging site, probably 1UP.com. We lost power again, and the PS3 fell on the floor again, but only the console and nothing else this time. Still no problems, of course, as I've been able to complete Dark Souls, Skyrim and everything else just fine with my little battle scarred, quake survivor.
And the PS3 has been the nerve center of my entertainment world ever since, and probably a little before that. Games and torrents. The entire Mass Effect series, Game of Thrones, Dragon's Dogma, sporadic MLB and NHL games, Breaking Bad, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the Walking Dead, and Mad Men. Torrents, torrents, torrents. I even use it for the DVDs that my wife rents and still insists on paying for, even though they're only 100yen at the video store.
The power of the PlayStation really has moved beyond mere gaming. It's an entertainment hub and all in one media player. It started out pretty expensive, but considering what my PS3 has been through and what it has done for me, I'd say it's been well worth the cost. I was an early adopter, got one of the original fat PS3s that now resides with my little brother back in Canada. He doesn't use if for anything other than games. Even though I claim that's all I want PS3 to do, I really do use it for much more.
No plans to quit the consoles for me. I won't be moving onto PC gaming, I'm in Japan after all. The only thing less popular than Xbox 360 would be PC gaming!
I'm not too impressed with any speculative specs or early flame battles between the fanboys in the next gen console wars. But it's nice to know some of the other features and familiar mainstays will be included with PS4, whether or not I'll need them all. Social networking, DVDs and BluRays. And, of course, the ability to predict and survive earthquakes!
Comments