Playstation 4 : Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Buy One (Yet)
When In Manila, people are buzzing with excitement with the dawn of the next generation of video game consoles. Yes, the future is officially now – at least for gamers all around the world because the next generation of video game consoles have arrived. Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One were released in North America this November, and of course, the excitement is truly palpable.
Like with any new gadget, people are eager to find out the innovations and improvements the new systems will bring to the table, which means a lot of people want to buy one now before stock runs out. To that I have something to say, though: DO NOT BUY EITHER CONSOLES YET. There are a few reasons why:
(I am writing mostly to people who plan to get the PS4 because I know for a fact that the Philippines is a Playstation nation. Even our When in Manila writers are fans – see here: https://www.wheninmanila.com/why-the-sony-playstation-has-always-been-my-video-game-console-of-choice/Â Some items may apply to Xbox users, as well, though.)
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The Playstation 4
1) It’s still too freakin’ expensive. With its Asian release slated not till mid-December, dealers from the Philippines pay for so many extra fees just to get these units shipped from North America to the Philippines. The price I’ve gathered for these units are around Php 23 000, which is Php 5 000 more than its original price, and that’s without a game!
2) The technical problems still have to be addressed. We’ve seen early signs of system failures like the infamous Blue Light of Death, which seems to be victimizing more and more unlucky gamers who just want to enjoy their brand new PS4. Problems like these will be addressed and remedied come the Slim versions of the consoles; units will surely be more stable by that time, much like what happened in the last generation. Here’s a video of the hardware malfunction that strikes terror in the eyes of all Playstation 4 owners.
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3) There isn’t much to play yet. Sony has been criticized by fans and experts alike due to their lackluster list of launch titles. You have titles like Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag but you can just get these games for your PS3/Xbox 360 with very little difference. The only true next-gen current gen game available right now for the PS4 is Killzone Shadowfall and Knack. You could at least wait until the developers have hit a flow in their pace. Or maybe the release of Metal Gear Solid V. *drools*
 
4) None of your friends have them yet. There are a few reasons you wouldn’t want to be the first to buy a PS4 among your friends:
a. There will be no one you know to play online with in CoD: Ghosts
b. Similar to a, you won’t really have any one to borrow games from, since not all of us can afford to buy every AAA game out there.
c. Like a caveman who has figured out how to generate fire at will with a pair of sticks and some foliage, you’ll want to boast around your brand spankin’ new object of the future. Your friends will notice you and give you a heightened sense of gamer-to-gamer respect, but that’ll soon backfire when you figure out they don’t plan on leaving your house anytime soon.
Technology is the new fire.
5) The PS3 still lives! Anytime the topic of next gen is raised, the consoles of the previous generation tend to be overshadowed by the hype that surrounds the new systems. While it is great to welcome the future with open arms, let us not think for one second that the PS3 is dead. It’s still very much alive and not even close to being outdated. It still has a few years in it, and a lot more games to produce. There’s also the matter of what’s already here; unless you’re filthy rich, I bet you haven’t played all of the PS3 games there is to play yet. God of War, Infamous, Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, Uncharted, Last of Us—whew! There are loads of magnificent games already out there that you shouldn’t miss When in Manila, so as to get the most out of what you’ve paid for.
As I imagine elderly cows would say to enthusiastic calf children: one must make sure he has eaten every blade of grass in the field he is on before moving on to greener pastures. The PS3 still lives, if you let it.
For the mean time, enjoy what you do have.
