Alright, since there is a distinct lack of new video games on the horizon, I thought it might be fun to talk about the consoles themselves: where they’re at right now. Are you happy? What would you like to see change? Let’s start with the PS4.
My thoughts on the PS4 so far? Well, it’s my goto console. It’s the console I spend the most time playing. It’s replaced the Xbox 360 this generation in that it’s the console I play almost all multiplatform games on. Mainly because I’m a big fan of the new controller.
The PS4 has gotten a lot of things right.
— Firmware updates come quickly.
— The user interface is rapid, simple and functional, everything is easy to find.
— PlayStation Plus is amazing.
The PS4 is just a simple, functional device that does video games really, really well.
My complaints?
— The PlayStation Network is down far too often.
— Not enough must-play games. Not yet.
— Took way too long to get the Media Server stuff up and running.
But overall, at this point in the game, the PS4 is the console I usually recommend to friends.
What are your thoughts so far?
Comments
140 responses to “Community Review: The PlayStation 4”
BLOODBORNE
Also, free Rocket League with PS+ !
Bloodborne was the only reason I bought one. And now it just sits there gathering dust.
The only game I have bought that hasn’t gathered dust is Destiny. For all the shit people talk about it, you can come back to it after a few months and get right back into your groove and likely have some more content to play.
Most of the games my household have thrashed on it have been the indie games that were usually previously released on PC but make much more sense on console: Binding of Isaac and Rogue Legacy for example. Also Towerfall, Starwhal, Rocket League, etc.
At first I turned my nose up at the notion of these indie games being a replacement for triple A titles (which has been Sony’s tactic since launch), but the more AAA titles I see this generation the more I feel like I was an idiot. Major games now are over marketed, under-developed, and almost always too thinly spread trying to please everyone. Even if they do look cool, after a year an a half of slightly different youtube previews because they announced it too early, and delays because they announced the date too early, my enthusiasm is completely absent.
its the only game that dosent gather dust because its the best multi player game around. That doesn’t mean the game is good. I LOVED it originally but my god the level up system and repetitive crap drives me crazy these days. Mind you, i had to break the addiction to stop playing it. Its like a drug, you have fun doing it but when you’re finished you feel dirty and shameful
Nothing more to say.
Apart from the poor battery life on the controllers, I have no complaints.
My controller hasn’t been unplugged from my console in months.
I’m with you here. Especially since DS3s were so good battery life wise. If it’s all because of the light and speaker I’d happily forgo those for better battery life.
Pretty sure you can disable the light and speaker through the device options.
You can only dim it, unless the more recent firmware updates changed this.
I haven’t checked in a while, but last I did you could only dim the light. But I don’t know if it’s only those things (after all, and LED can’t be drawing *that* much power). I think you can disable rumble as well, but I like that, and the DS3 managed just fine with it.
Yeah Led would draw next to nothing
B-but rumble tells me when my Quen needs recharging…
😉
Yeah, but as @kaflooey mentioned, surely the LED for the lightbar can’t draw that much power. PS3 controllers did have great life, even with sixaxis
It’s odd, because increased battery life on the DS4 (compared to the DS3) was a big feature they were trumpeting. Something about analogue buttons on the DS3 and how they drew a lop of power. Sony realised people weren’t using the functionality, so tripped them for increased battery life.
However, I have to admit. Battery life is pretty terrible on the DS4.
I’ve never had a problem with mine….though I don’t know what is considered good battery life. I’ve got 2 and I just have one plugged in while I use the other, and then switch over when I finish my session.
It’s not too bad, but for me it’s annoying because it’s noticeably worse than the DS3. I do what you do as well, but I find that I’m having to switch mid-session sometimes too.
Every now and then a game will pause and yell at me to reconnect a controller. Quick swap out and get on with it – Doesnt bother me in the least really
Unless you’re playing Dark Souls or Bloodborne, which don’t pause. You don’t chance it going into a boss once you’ve received a low battery warning in those games!
Ive got two kids under 18 months… I cant play games i cant pause any more!!!
Sometimes get away with a quick fight or game of Fifa online but even then you can pause for 30 seconds lol
I had the random game ejecting thing going on, now my eject button doesn’t work at all..
I had this too. Did the uplug, boot in safe mode and it fixed it.
I’ve done that many, many times, I now have it elevated and it hasn’t done it since. More likely it doesn’t do it anymore because the button doesn’t work..
Have you removed the tiny bit of rubber underneath the eject button? I had the same problem and found it had compacted itself in pretty hard. Removed it and my console has been as good as gold
Guys guys guys – Australian consumer law – Have it replaced!
I bought mine on release and replaced it only a few weeks ago with EB – I called Sony last year when it first happened they told me the screw fix then i kinda got over it but it seemed to occur increasingly more frequently over the past 6 months of course once i was out of warranty.
Now the fix advice was the unplug leave 5 minutes type thing – Something stinks here. They know theres a widespread issue and they are simply ignoring it and even changing what the fix is for it!
They are faulty consoles and under Australian Consumer guarantee – https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/consumer-guarantees
I spoke with the ACCC because Sony were being pricks about it when I advised them of this and as the ACCC advises – go through your retailer! So i called EB Customer support and asked what they do in this instance… She took my card number – could see my date of purchase around christmas 2013 and told me she would call the store to see if they had any replacement units there.
So i dropped in and replaced it – Roughly 18 months after purchase – 6 months out of warranty
EB were cool about it. I know its a refurb console but thats better than an 18 month old faulty console!!! It looks nice and new – no fine scratches from the first time i wiped dust off my old one 😉
Only thing I would advise is if you are going to do this – Go out and buy a 1Tb SSHD drive as well – Definitely boosted my performance with all the games installed on system and i reinstalled a bunch I had to delete off my old system!!!
Still got about 200Gb space and im playing through my pile of shame which is generally “Delete on platinum” – once i plat it i delete. Apart from EA UFC – platted that in a month and still jump online for a fight now and then!
Take my advice and get it replaced! If you need help or getting blockers let me know
Just gonna post for you too, as it doesn’t seem to be faulty hardware, hope it helps you next time:
After much searching I found something that worked for my brother and me. There’s a manual disk eject screw that you can tighten. It won’t ‘tighten’ all the way, but it seems to have fixed the issue for both of us. Wont void warranty either.
https://youtu.be/nUDx9TOT8VU
Let me know if it helps you, as I say, after I did it mine hasn’t spat disks in weeks.
It didnt help mine – It is faulty mate.
That was what Sony advised to do initially – sent me an email with official instructions and everything – Unscrew it a little then screw it in a few times or whatever – Nope! The only thing that worked was turning it off and on again at the plug. Besides – Why screw around with something that under Australian consumer law guarantees you a replacement?!
And you mention it hasnt happened in weeks?!
Get it replaced dude – Mine kinda stopped happening for a while last year but it ramped up something chronic in the past 6 months. Dont risk it.
Yeah, good advice. For me it was just that it was a Sunday evening and I just wanted to play Arkham so i did the temp fix and its not happened since. One of those out of sight out of mind situations but I did see a few posts at the time that said it would be ok for a month or so then start happening again at more freq intervals.
I’m still in warranty for another 6 months or so. I guess i should just take it in anyway and swap it.
One question … Obviously the temp fix is to unplug etc, which is ironically what your gonna have to do to take it in to the Store meaning it would probably work when you take it in.
How do you show them its happening when you take it in for a swap?
I didnt. They didnt want to know or see it – As far as I’m concerned they are very well aware of the issue and they only send it back to Sony anyway – no loss on their part
If you’ve only had it for 6 months may as well hold out untill the end of warranty or if it happens again or something. I got real pissed off about it because I now have an 18 month old son and its just not good enough that a disc will spit out onto the floor where he can get his grubby hands on it! Or potentially even hit him and cut him open on that angle (I had it standing up as it seemed to fix it temporarily)
Thing is – you can potentially extend the overall warranty by replacing it closer to the 12 month mark. As far as im concerned this is now under a warranty with the store for the next 12 months – if this is faulty as well they will just swap it out. Under Australian consumer law it could potentially be another defected product when they said they would replace it. Ergo they must replace it again.
Can’t lose out with Australian consumer guarantee! I assumed you were out of warranty – Do as you please you’re very well protected to enjoy your PS4 for hopefully many years to come!
Well, as I say, returning it is still an option, this is just something that some people may want to give a shot before it gets to that.
As I also say, I know of very few PS4 owners who don’t have this issue, and it seems to be one that manifests at different times, normally after a system software update or moving the unit. Suggesting that it may be a fault effecting all ps4’s and it’s just luck of the draw when, not if, it becomes a problem. My launch PS4 had no issues until relatively recently, while my brothers PS4 had issues after less than a month of having it. My GF’s white PS4 hasn’t had the issue yet, but it’s only 4 months old.
As I say, I’m not saying not to return it, or that the screw method is a definitive fix. I’m only saying this because at the time of writing, it has worked for me, just like at the time of writing scarnon’s new unit is working fine and I’d love for it to help other people as well, even if it’s only a possibility. If anyone is having issues and is looking for something to try before returning, then go ahead and I sincerely hope it works. If not, there’s not much more you can do other than get a new unit.
But it’s not broken. If it is, then they all are, as I know very few people who don’t have this issue, meaning that you are most likely going to get another unit that spits disks. (It may even turn out to be a bigger RROD like issue in time, who knows)
Further more, as I say, after having constant ejecting daily (Even after unplugging etc) after tightening the screw it has stopped for almost a month on all 3 units I have tightened the screw on.
Why replace something that’s so easy to fix? Sure, if this doesn’t work, replace it as much as you like, all the power to you. But if it is just one easy to reach screw that takes a couple of seconds to fix… why not at least give it a try? (I’m referring to others giving it a try and not you specifically, as you say you’ve tried it and I’ll believe you)
I got another unit that DOESNT spit discs….
I did the screw fix. I proceeded to unplug etc all the time – It was recurring far too often for me. I am the consumer in this – I have the right to have purchased a product I dont have to tinker with!
You are suggesting its such an easy fix but that wasnt easily fixed for me – And I do know what I’m doing with a screwdriver before you ask 😉
Its not all PS4s.
I have 2 PS4s myself. The first one was day one launch which has never had an issue and is running fine. Second is a White one i got about 6 months ago that had the issue once a few weeks back so it just seems to be luck whether you get this issue or not.
That’s fine, as I say it’s 100% OK for you to get a replacement and I’m not saying you shouldn’t.
But it may be worth a try for anyone else who is interested and willing to give it a try BEFORE going all the way and waiting for a replacement unit that may very well start spitting disks after 2-3 months anyway. I mean, you got another unit that DOESN’T spit discs…. as of yet.
Anyway, sorry if there was a misunderstanding, as I say, I’m not against replacing the unit if you feel that you should, just that there is something to try first if that’s something you want to do.
As far as how easy it is… well, that’s up to the individual, but it’s most definitely far less challenging and time consuming than swapping out the HDD.
HDD swap out is still bloody nice and easy though!! Thank you Sony!
I’m a bit of a stickler for getting my money’s worth – I’m trying to lay off that attitude more and more as it becomes time consuming and obnoxious
I know where you’re coming from dude 😉
After much searching I found something that worked for my brother and me. There’s a manual disk eject screw that you can tighten. It won’t ‘tighten’ all the way, but it seems to have fixed the issue for both of us. Wont void warranty either.
https://youtu.be/nUDx9TOT8VU
Let me know if it helps you, as I say, after I did it mine hasn’t spat disks in weeks.
I’ve lost two disks because of this (Bloodborne and BF4). Dog enjoyed them at least.
This gen doesn’t excite me ps2 and ps3 felt like a huge upgrade but ps4 feels like a ps3.5
Well there’s always going to be a bit of a plateau when it comes to graphics, but the console developers aren’t at fault for that. When it comes down to it, the PS4 is certainly an improvement over the last generation.
For example, the witcher 3. It wouldn’t have been possible to have such a large, seamless world space, on the 360/ps3. There would have had to have been loading screens every time you entered a city, dungeon, house, cave etc. like in skyrim/oblivion.
The extra memory and processing power in these consoles gives a new bench mark for game developers who are concerned with ensuring the majority of people (those who can’t/on’t want to spend the time and money building a beefed up gaming rig for themselves), and allows them to do more with said games.
Except the Witcher 3 developers had crank the detail way down & lower the resolution (xbox) to get run at an acceptable (most of the time) frame rate. God knows why they chose to use such a gutless & outdated video processor in this generation.
I am happy with it in general. My do have 3 complaints, 2 major and 1 minor:
1. I can’t seem to download my PSN purchase when my PS4 is in standby mode. Patches downloaded ok and a few months back PSN purchase downloaded fine as well, not anymore. Major complaint.
2. Terrible, unfriendly and unhelpful playstation helpline experience. Major complaint.
3. Short battery life for the controller. Minor complaint.
Yeah ive spoken to them on the phone too – The attitude!!!
The standby mode thing is a shame though! When rocket league finally came out (i was hunting the store for a day or two in anticipation) I was at work – logged onto the mobile app, hit download to your PS4 and it was ready when i got home!
It is a great feature – strange it was working but now isnt – They did add more features into the settings menu in standby mode in one of the updates – maybe double check them now?
Yeah, that’s EXACTLY what I need that feature for… good thing it only happens to me I guess. Really nice feature.
Double check the settings – They added different content types to the settings now… May be your issue
http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps4/settings/autoupdate.html
nah… double and triple checked…. just won’t work for me for some reason.
Thanks anyway though. I know I’d be treated better online then calling the helpline.
Mate i wont rest until you can download PS Plus titles whilst at work 😉
I’ll have a look around myself anyway
Yeah. It sucks that Sony AU suck so hard.
I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with Sony US and they were amazing, and friendly. Even offered to do things that Sony AU flat out refused, like refund DLC that doesn’t work with Vita games from a different region.
Wish we weren’t treated like second rate, as usual.
I spoke to EA in Ireland a few times – They were great!!!
Wow… good customer service from playstation team, can’t imagine what that is like.
I don’t expect them go above and beyond, I’d settle for a friendly attitude and they preform what they are suppose to.
I rang them as a last resort. because the unable to download in standby mode issue. I was told to check the setting, when I said my setting is correct, they say nothing more can be done… then my head exploded.
I mean seriously, I feel like they still think their target audience are some 6 year olds. No wait, I take that back. Nowadays even 6 year olds knows how to check the setting and research online for answers.
It’s a great piece of plastic … but where are the games? Rocket League is awesome and the future looks bright, but there is just not much on offer game wise right now. Bloodborne was the last real big exclusive and that launched nearly a year ago.
March 2015. Now known as “nearly a year ago”.
As a dedicated Xbox fan who jumped straight into the Xbone after barely using his PS3 last gen, I am looking forward to the PS4 hitting it’s pricing nadir/a really good sale so I can pick one up for the Uncharted remaster, the Last of Us remaster, and the Journey port. I didn’t back the Shenmue III kickstarter but I will probably buy it when the time comes.
I like the feel of the updated controller even though I continue to prefer the asymmetrical layout of the Xbox controller. I know very little about the console itself other than the fact Sony are letting people rent old PS titles as opposed to making the console backwards compatible with older discs/digital titles. I’ve no idea what the operating system looks like but I assume it can’t be more annoying than the Windows 8 inspired Xbox tileset.
One to watch, but no immediate interest since all the games I really want it for are already several years old.
Lol, most of this gen in a nutshell:
True, the only “new” games I’ve gotten for my Xbox One are Wolfenstein, Watch_Dogs and Destiny, 2 out of 3 of which have versions available on last-gen. Other games in my collection? Halo: the Master Chief Collection, and Tomb Raider.
Yup. I’ve only gotten Wolfenstein, Bloodborne and a handful of others. BB was AMAZING, but not everyone’s cup of tea.
Watch dogs was horrible!
Wolfenstein by far the best game i played last year!
Cons: Controllers battery life is a joke. Still no media remote (have to wait till October for that), Firmware updates are nothing more but stability updates, promised features have taken more than two years from when the PS4 was announced, the light bars are annoying now as no games have taken advantage of the camera. the only thing they are worth for now are for health bars, Sony are to focused on pushing out remastered games that are nothing more than higher resolution and frame rate ports, and the big one, the PSN is beyond a joke.
Pros: 1080p gaming, exclusive game content, modern design.
Could be better: A new UI, more AAA games and a better PSN.
Is it that bad? I’ve got 2 and I switch between, so one is normally fully charged all the time. The controllers seem to last me 4-5 hours straight…is that bad?
It is when you use the PS4 for Netflix and Blu-ray movies. I know I can set the controller to turn off when using the PS4 for media consumption. But it’s a pain having to turn it back on. I will be buying another controller.
What annoys me is that I’m watching Netflix and have the controller to turn off after 10min….and I get a notification telling me this every time.
Also, turning on the controller…I have to select a user. Can’t it remember the previous user? If I have to pause a bluray or Netflix I have to see the select user screen shich is rather annoying.
A proper media remote can’t come soon enough.
It’s being released in October according to Amazon.
I find this a bit irritating when watching Netflix too. I was the thing on so I can pause and rewind etc, but I don’t want the thing going dead after a few episodes either. It’s not a big deal, but it’s still annoying.
I find only lasting 4-5 hours (3 in my experience) off a full charge bad, but thats just me.
Imho, it’s the perfect home console. I can’t seem to fault it.
Absolutely love my PS4!
As a previous Xbox fanboy, jumping ship to the PS3 late and then fresh into the PS4, I couldn’t be happier with the PS4 experience. Also, Bloodbourne.
My only downside would be my random disc ejecting issue, happens every now and then, has anyone else managed to resolve this issue?
I have a very narrow range of games I find fun. PS+ is very hit & miss for me, mostly miss. I have yet to play multiplayer in the year I’ve had it.
Remote Play is amazing, I use it all the time.
The only reason I know that PSN is down is because of internet complaints, I’ve yet to log in, try & do something & find it unavailable yet.
Headphone jack in the controller is genius.
I wish I could arrange the home screen the way you can on vita.
I wish you could create your own wallpapers like you can on psp & 3.
Game selection is about as good as I thought it’d be, getting better.
Actually, the exclusive games are already better than PS3. There were a few good exclusives on 3, but I remember the 360 having more.
This gen it’s switched back(I liked 5 original Xbox exclusives).
Are we able to listen to music/MP3s via the headphone jack?
Yeah
Volume control for private listening?
Yep, in settings
Whoops, I meant via controller for when you’re listening in another room or area of the house
Nope, unless you remote play with a Vita, you won’t be able to see.
Vita home screen makes sense on Vita – But have you got PS TV yet? Got one the other day as they had come down to $99, solely for remote play at times for games which would not be lag effected, Life is Strange, Game of Thrones etc etc
The Vita screen layout on a big screen looks absolutely horrible! IT’s very loud, in your face and feels extremely strange to navigate with a controller!
I don’t mean an exact replica.
I mean the way you can customise it yourself.
I have a page dedicated to apps, one for PSX, ones just Final Fantasy & the others are sorted accordingly.
I like how the options etc are easily accessible by simply tapping up on the controller, but I’d like to be able to hide apps I don’t use, sort them into folders & lock particular ones at the front.
I tend to forget about certain PS+ freebies I wouldn’t mind playing more but have dropped off the other side because I tried this month’s new games.
Oh yeah ive got that too on my Vita – I get what you mean though – id like to at least be able to “Pin” a few games to the homescreen so they dont go missing in the library when i play a little back catalogue stuff
I just realised, I often navigate my vita by dpad, but I’m old.
I find it quite organic to use a combination of the d pad and the touch screen
Not at first but after getting used to the system the touchscreen has its purposes!
Yeah, I do switch it around. It’s obviously designed with touch in mind.
I find myself wasting time holding down the dpad to scroll to the bottom screen when it would be quicker to swipe :-s
The PS4 is an ok upgrade from the PS3. Both the controllers and upgraded graphics/processing power are the best part, as well as the ability to just plug a pair of headphones into the controller instead of having to buy a Bluetooth set or fiddle with USB ports.
I’m quite the opposite on the interface though. Apart from being able to easily start up the last game you were playing the interface is a clunky mess that requires too many clicks to get anything done and is full of unnecessary content. Even the one time I spent in the PSN store was enough to make me only use the web store for future PS4 purchases.
The games are the most important part though and my library is mostly the smaller, indie games or non-AAA titles along with ports/remasters of PS3/PC games. There are a few titles I am super keen for but I get the feeling that the PS4 won’t be my main console for a long time yet. In summary, it’s alright but at the moment I could just as easily have gone without it for a while longer.
PC standard multitasking would be sweet too
My only gripe is the regular NAT issues in party chat. And, to a lesser extent, the number of must-plays – it’s been my Destiny machine for the last 10 months, outside of a brief stint in Bloodborne.
Absolutely love mine, even though I suspect my fiancé hates it… It’s gotten me back into gaming regularly after a couple years of casually just playing a big game now and then. Also, a lot of my friends use it, so it’s been the best social experience I’ve ever had on a console.
Love the ease of use, Rest Mode, reliability, free PS+ games each month, and pretty much everything else. Only gripes would be… Actually, I don’t think I have any!
Will most likely get an Xbox One at some point over the next year or so (partner prefers them), but in no rush.
I got an Xbox one on release – dust gatherer!!!
I literally use it for Skype – Kinect 2 is fantastic but otherwise it just doesnt do anything for me.
They fixed the clicky bumpers apparently but that doesnt help me with my two day one controllers lol
Ryse was excellent as is Forza horizon 2 – Shits on Driveclub imo
But im a Sony guy and i just dont get into the controller, the hub and any of their exclusives really!
Loving my PS4 so far. It’s my go to console these days.
One other thing that should be noted is that it runs Netflix like a dream for me.
One gripe: to date my Batman Arkham Knight has still not downloaded the patch. Don’t know whether that is just me though…
I absolutely love it, especially the new controller – kept all the stuff I liked about the traditional dualshock (especially the symmetrical layout), while fixing up the stuff I didn’t like (tighter analogue sticks, better weight).
I have to disagree about PS+, though. It was absolutely amazing on PS3. Since it became required for online play on PS4, I don’t think they’re really trying anymore. Yeah, there have been some good games (Rocket League, Rogue Legacy, that Infamous game). But nothing that can hold a candle to the deluge of AAA stuff the PS3 got during its heyday.
It also shits me a bit that anything that needs the internet also seems to require you to be signed in to PSN. Why do I need to be signed in to PSN to use Netflix? It’s a completely unrelated service. Even just using the damn web browser (not that you’d want to use that too often given it’s not exactly a great one) requires you to sign in to PSN. I’m sure the PS3 used to be quite happy accessing non-PSN stuff on the internet without being connected to PSN, although I haven’t used it lately so I’m not sure if they’ve since changed it to work the same way as PS4.
Now that you mention it, that is weird. Also, it only works from my PSN account, it doesn’t work in my partners log in
Just download Netflix from the store using your partners login and its fine from then on.
Personally I can’t stand the PS4 UI, it feels like a design mess and is in desperate need of user customisability.
It needs backwards compatibility
Other than that, I really can’t complain and considering that previous playstation controllers have had to be replaced with 3rd party ones as soon as I could just to be able to use them, the new controller is an amazing improvement.
Disagree, doesn’t ‘need’ backwards compatibility at all. You’ve a range of options to play worthwhile last gen games, from the streaming thing to remasters, or I dunno, turning your PS3 on. Do people actually throw out old consoles? As soon as they get another way, they just dump it in the bin and can’t stand the sight of it in their lounge room anymore?
My ps3 is in the drawer right next to me Xbox one
I’d like backwards compatibility, I still have my PS3 connected but the ease of access & possibility of maybe using some new PS4 features while playing a PS3 game would be great.
Your right, we don’t ‘need’ it, but we don’t need video games either. It’s a luxury, some of us just want some different extras is all 🙂
Briefly reading through the comments it seems that: 1. most complaints don’t relate to the hardware (with the exception of controller battery life); 2. some complaints are outside Sony’s control (perceived lack of great games); 3. service availability is high on people’s wish list (PSN) which is not uniquely a PS4 issue; 4. PS+ value is subjective and variable (see #2 and #3) 5. other complaints are minor.
At this stage I’d like to see more work done in the UI. The fact that people don’t know features exist or how to turn them on is a UI issue. Also I’m bugged by screens like the “downloading update file – 1.234 MB of 1.456 GB” when I launch a game, which could be made more user friendly or hidden. Just let me game dammit!
As someone who typically plays in short bursts, rest mode is brilliant. Remote play is great too. I do find when I wander into a game store there isn’t a whole lot I’d buy today beyond the 7 or 8 titles I already own. However, the next 6 moths or so will well and truly fix that.
My only gripe is battery life, I bought a long-ass USB cable to get around that. Thankfully my TV is at a dead end not a thoroughfare.
I found using a different cable I didnt get the same charge out of it – Don’t know what was up with that but the Xbox one Micros dont work on DS4 either – strange to me as they are both Micro USB
Rest mode is awesome now it does what they said it would!!! Nothing better than getting home and pressing that ps button and im paused in Skellige
I like my PS4, although the menu is a little messy what with every game you’ve injected into the console having an icon remaining on that one horizontal bar.
My complaints are largely lack of backwards compatibility (and having to create a mini-console so you can play your ps1, psp and psvita games on the big screen, rather than implement that into the bloody console) and terrible PSN customer service.
My example on the Customer Service comes from when I got my ps4 for xmas last year. It was bad enough that someone had crashed the servers and they didn’t get them back up for about a month? But I had moved over to the US at that point, and when I figured out my username and password for my PSN account, I couldn’t use any of the download codes I owned because I was in a different region. So I called them up and they said if I wanted to use the code for The Last Of Us Remastered, I had to create a brand new account set in the US. So now I have two accounts on my PS4 which serve no purpose.
On top of that I found I had my other account with my original PSN name and when I asked to change it they said “nup, buggaya.”
Not enough must play games, and also need-ing a PSN account for almost EVERY online interaction. PS3 just need to pop the disc in, check for updates and then your patch starts downloading. PS3 I can just get on to the browser and start browsing. PS3 can browse the store then sign up later.
On a PS4:
*click on check for Updates* You need a PSN account
*click on Internet browser* you need a PSN account
*click on PS Store* you need a PSN account.
Coming from a PS3 I found it extremely annoying.
Just take the 5 mins and create the psn account, then never have these issues again.
I bought a PS3 about a year after they were first released and by that point there seemed to be quite a lot of content in the PSN store.
I got a PS4 last Christmas, so a little over a year after release and was really surprised to see just how little there was on PSN for the PS4, I know it will continue to grow over time, it was just a little disappointing.
Say what?
The first year on the PS3 was atrocious – the content was so weak that Sony used to pad out the store’s weekly updates with music videos and film trailers just so they had content. For a long while the only real good PSN games were Tekken 5 (that didnt even have online play), Mortal Kombat 2 and Go Sudoku (a PSP port) – if it wasnt for the backward compatibility the first year of the PS3 would have been a complete shocker
The PS4 on the other hand hasnt had a week go by without at least 1 new game in the store (lately its been at least 2 to 3 per week with a good 8 or more a month)
PROS
– Controller is faultless, love dat DS4
– Elegant UI
– Nice design
CONS
The fact that there is still no PlayTV on PS4 is astounding. It’s probably the reason my PS3 gets more airtime than my PS4.
I also don’t understand why people say PS Plus is amazing – yes, you get access to some terrific games for free, but it’s a compulsory purchase if you want to play online which is a huge deal breaker for me.
Lack of quality AAA titles.
________
I feel like the hype was real for the launch of PS4, but it’s died down due to lack of great exclusives and the fact they keep remastering/porting old titles to the PS4.
I think they’ve abandoned the PlayTV. Which is a shame – you’d think they could at least just port the software over and let you keep using the old device – it’s just a USB connection, after all. But I guess a lot of USB devices from PS3 don’t work on PS4 – I ended up giving away the G27 racing wheel I bought for PS3 because it wouldn’t work on PS4. Won’t even consider buying another wheel again unless there are guarantees that it will work on future consoles.
I have both this gen consoles.
Whilst the PS4 UI has its flaws, I vehemently dislike the Xbone One’s menu system. Overall the PS4 is my go-to console.
Pros: It plays games I like! I also love the controller.
Cons: the random disc spitting episodes, the lack of space on the drive to store games and their mega patches and updates, the controller battery life is disgraceful, PSN is a biatch to navigate and is rather slow.
Well you can upgrade the HDD space if u wish too, im not sure u can do that on xbone
I know this. I’m just commenting on the initial model released should’ve come with a bigger HD than 500GB. Sony should’ve used more foresight. I would’ve paid more for a 1TB.
The average gamer who buys a console just to play every iteration of Fifa that comes out isnt insterested in disk space. They dont want to pay a $100 premium for space they are never going to use.
If you are getting the disk eject issue read my post above – Get it replaced, and buy a 1TB SSHD for roughly $100 – Seagate actually market theres as a good PS4 storage option – It’s going well for me!
WELL worth it!!! Definitely snappier and quicker on loading screens and everything too
Agree with you on the Xbox one’s shihtty menu and navigation – Just dont want to use it lol!
Nice one!
On that note, did you replace the drive yourself? A friendly Kotaku person gave me instructions, BUT I’m feeling lazy and would happily give it to a tech boffin to do it all for me. Hehe.
Haha yeah it’s a pretty easy swap in swap out kind of deal.
First things first you gotta remember to back up your data – This was made a lot easier a few updates ago as now you can just go to settings and backup your ps4 – it will backup your user and all data to a usb – I used my 2TB to back up so it takes any drive size i believe.
Once backed up, leave that drive aside for now – google PS4 firmware update – I can find you the linke but you just go to the official Sony page with the latest firmware download – i think it was roughly 1-2Gb – cant quite remember. Put that on a USB – the page gives you all the instructions anyway
As soon as you have done that you’re ready to go! Take the old drive out – put your new one in.
Power up the PS4 into safe mode, and choose initialize PS4 with your usb plugged in.
That installs the basic OS onto your new drive. Next step is to get your data back
Plug in your backup drive and go to backup in settings – there you can restore your ps4 system. This will restore your user data, games and capture gallery
Really easy – takes a few hours to backup and then restore all the data again but well worth the boost in capacity and the SSHD IS noticeably quicker on loading times
That’s great. Thanks bro-town.
So, jut out of interest, this looks like what you’re talking about: http://www.seagate.com/au/en/internal-hard-drives/solid-state-hybrid/laptop-solid-state-hybrid-drive/
However, I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Any more helpful advice there? 🙂
Yeah thats the one – http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf
I got mine from MSY – if there’s a store near you its $115 in there.
The guy over the counter was suggesting it might not fit being 9.5mm thick but if you look at PS4 website it states:
Sorry for being pedantic, but is this the right one? http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/5277-seagate-25-laptop-sshd-st1000lm014-sata-60gb-s-1tb-hybrid-8g-ssdhdd.html
Nah all good mate – That’s the one!
Yell out if you need a hand with anything – But dont be scurred its pretty painless just time consuming 😉
My first ever non-Nintendo console. I already had a WiiU which I enjoy for party games with friends, but the PS4 has replaced my gaming PC and I couldn’t be happier about that. So little fuss and it’s reminded me that games are meant to be fun, I feel like a kid again.
Controller battery life is kind of crap, especially compared to my WiiU Pro controller, but media isn’t an issue as I can control it with my TV remote via HDMI-CEC. Might be worth a shot @that_dan_person ?
I’ve tried it and didn’t like it. I have an LG TV and the remote did not function that well with the PS4.
That’s a shame, I feel like it works really well with my Samsung remote, but I’ve never had an official PS remote before so I probably don’t know what I’m missing out on!
Unfortunate – My bravia remote handles it well – And its a bluetooth remote as it is so no worry on line of sight or anything
Probably a dumb question but: Is this the whole HDMI-CEC thing or something else? I have my PS4 hooked up to my TV through a receiver so that don’t work for me.
Well my understanding is it is the arc loop on some STBs etc
It allows you to control other devices with just the one remote but in my experience this works best when everything is Sony Sony Sony
I didnt mean to become a Sony fanboy but…. My main lounge room is a 55hx820 Bravia (With gorilla glass) – i got Sony surround with it just for easy integration. My remote for the tv works for both blu ray and tv, network features on each etc etc.
Going one step further is my other newer setup. My old Samsung gaming tele for the other room died after 6 years so i treated myself to a new tele when the PS4 came out – Or thereabouts. Got myself the W900 55inch bravia and opted for a soundbar instead of full surround just due to space constraints in the gaming room. Get this – I press the PS button and my tv, sound and everything turn on simultaneously.
I recently got PStv for the living room to stream some telltale story telling type games to the living room to share with the misses – Same feature works in there with the PS button – turns everything on or alternatively i can control my ps wqith the tv remote in there. All without setting anything up – Thats essentially HDMI CEC – Please someone correct me if im wrong lol
Like i say – i didnt mean to become a sony fanboy but my first bravia was solid so i stayed with them
I get the Sony fanboy thing a bit, it happened to me a bit my accident. My loop is PS4 > Yamaha receiver > Sony Bravia. I may just have to have a play around though, tbh I haven’t tried that hard to get it to work. I like to spend my time on less useful things like getting my rotary phone to work with my VoIP.
For transparency, my ps tv in the living room is plugged into the STB then to the TV
In the other room PS4 is direct into the TV and the tv outputs to the soundbar via HDMI – i think this is how it all works together in the end. Pretty neat consumer friendly tech
Ah man, I almost wish I’d not upgraded my PC and just bought my PS4 outright a while ago. PC is loud, expensive, always buggy and finicky. Consoles, for the most part, just WORK. You get to play games. There’s so much fiddling on PC 🙁
It’s funny, the absence of a couple of things that I used to cry MASTER RACE over don’t even bother me when it comes to real world gaming, and I am much more likely to just turn it on, play some games and turn it off again than I ever was on PC. Really happy and I think this gen was a good one to make the change.
Totally agree.
Used to play games on PC because was a student I had an excuse to buy one. Nowadays I don’t really need a PC/laptop as all I want to do is play games.
My biggest gripe is the UI – streamlined yet cluttered… Just let me customise the damn thing!
Second biggest gripe – controller battery life is a joke. Need a small charging stand to sit them in when not in use.
I can’t complain along the lines of ‘not enough games’ since not enough time balances that out.
It’s our go to Netflix machine… I was disappointed that I couldn’t get a better twitch solution going for EVO though and ended up lugging a PC out to plug into the TV.
I don’t like that the battery life is pretty terrible, but I recently tried out the remote play feature with my PS Vita and it works a treat, very smooth streaming and excellent graphics playing destiny and bloodborne. If only the vita had the same button layout as the PS4 cotroller, but here’s hoping the next portable device does have that feature.
There was a dry spell after Infamous, but since then I played through Wolfenstein, The Last of Us and now BB. Great machine so far.
I also have a PC and WiiU and the PS4 gets more love, more because of having friends to play with than more games at this point (probably).
anybody know where to buy the all white ps4? I seen the new Destiny white ps4 with the cool design on the console but I like the pure clean white one. Thanks everybody
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/games-consoles/games/Gaming-Consoles/ps4-console/ps4-playstation-4-500gb-white-console/641845/
I’m loving it. I don’t know how 3rd party games don’t count as games on the ps4. We usually get some free nice addons.
Bloodborne is really shaping up to be my game of the year.The Witcher 3 is a close second but the craftsmanship on Bloodborne is so goddam good.
Metal gear is coming though. What a great games year 🙂
if you are truly serious about games….. get a pc
Just a bit of a different perspective: Having a 1 year old, I don’t get much time to play any more, which is a shame but that’s life – buuuut the rest / resume feature is sooooooo good!!! My wife usually goes to sleep really early, so my gaming time usually starts around 8:30, but if the little guy wakes up I go to settle him. This used to be a pain in the butt before the resume feature as I couldn’t just leave the console on and go attend to my parental duties. Now, if I hear the baby monitor go off all I do is switch off the lights in the room, leave the PS4 and go try and settle him. If he’s sick or not settling, I know the PS4 is set to turn off after xx minutes of inactivity, which sends it into rest mode and in-turn switches off my tv as well.
So worst case is I can’t settle the baby, and I can pick up where I left off the next night, or if it takes more than say 30 minutes, I just press the PS button and within about 20 seconds everything is back on and I’m right where I left off!!
Also, my experience with PS customer service has been great (the one time I needed it). I got a launch console that sounded like the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, and when I called the guy was really helpful and didn’t question me, just told me to send just the console back without any accessories – 1 week later I got a brand new, boxed PS4 with all accessories: free DS4 awwwyis
Only negative I can think of is that PT has made me afraid to go outside.
Biggest gripe is the rubber wearing off the thumb sticks. Don’t know anyone who owns a PS4 that hasn’t experienced this problem.
I’ve had a pretty good experience so far. I had to replace my launch PS4 due to a bluetooth issue randomly causing the controller to go crazy, and had to replace a Dualshock 4 because the left trigger got really squeaky, but apart from that I’ve had no problems.
I’ve got the PS Camera, which is awesomely integrated into the OS, and I love the PS Share function and gyro control for text input. The controllers are very comfortable to use, and the OS itself is pretty well-designed. I also like how the PS Store and trophy sync seem to load a lot faster than on PS3.
Games-wise, nothing to complain about. I’ve still got a good backlog on PS4 even considering my PS3, Vita and 3DS are still getting a workout. My favourites are Bloodborne, Rocket League, The Witcher 3, Black Flag, Driveclub and others.
Only a couple of gripes, but it’s not my primary console this gen and has been on for less than 40 hours I’d say.
UI is a mess, want to be able to get rid of everything but games, store, party and settings from the home screen.
Controller is scarily light and feels breakable. Goes flat far too quickly.
PSN is as bad as last gen (even though my connection is faster wtf)
Still the best console out this gen, even if the psn isnt up to scratch. I dont mind paying for plus and getting craploads of indie games for next to nothing.
Scarily light and feels breakable? Compared to the PS3 it is a bowling ball.
Agreed, don’t get me started on the ds3.
Had it since day 1, loved every minute of it. Yes must have games haven’t yet hit this generation imo, arguably there were few ‘must have’ games the whole of the last generation, but the whole system is smooth. The media side of things has been a massive improvement over the last gen, spotify and netflix in particular means my TV and PC have been largely replaced for films and music
A couple of gripes though, NAT issues in party chats and the PS Store doesn’t always open after opening a game.
Now just 3.5 months til Fallout 4
The only thing that I don’t like about the ps4, is that when you uninstall a game.
All the dlc and game updates get deleted.
So that when you decide to play the game again. You have to re-download all of them all over again.
Why they put that feature in it I don’t know.