Uncharted 4 on PlayStation 4

In November 2011, the most recent addition to the popular PlayStation game franchise, Uncharted, released. It’s the third in the series, called Drake’s Deception, and has averaged 4.5 stars out of 400+ reviews around the web. Pretty awesome.

Uncharted 3 also earned a few awards at Spike’s Video Game Awards, including Best Graphics and best PS3 game. So, with all these achievements under its belt, what else can we expect from the Uncharted game series?

First off, we know the biggest question every one wants to know: will Uncharted 4 be on the PlayStation 4? Odds are, yes. If all those PS4 rumors spreading around the web are to be believed, then the PlayStation 4 is under development. That means by the time Uncharted 4 releases (probably two years from now), the PS4 should be releasing about the same time.

Now, do we want it on the PS4? Heck yes! We already know the graphics in Uncharted are phenomenal, off the charts, top of the league. We want it to be better, though (maybe we’re just spoiled). The only way to do that, however, is to upgrade the hardware in the PS3, which would mean the release of the PS4.

What other games should we expect on the PlayStation 4? Resistance 4, Modern Warfare 4 (next COD will be PS3 most likely)… What else?

Game Streaming on PS4

The former head of Sony Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison, made some interesting comments about the next generation of consoles. The biggest one: game streaming.

Streaming has become a huge source of video entertainment for everyone. We watch movies from Amazon Netflix on our game consoles, computers, and TV. It’s everywhere.

Harrison believes that next-gen consoles, like PlayStation 4, will steer away from the current generation of consoles in a multitude of ways, one of which is game media. Instead of spending fifty-bucks for a disc, you’ll charge a credit card or use points to purchase rights to stream a game, just like we do for Netflix.

Why? He thinks it will be a more service-based model than a retail one, since companies like Sony learned a lesson when they overspent during the development of the PS3.

He said:

“The new business model is going to become a combination of retail and services, and it’s going to be an interesting decision for the likes of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, is the next console race about chips and CPU, clock speed and graphics, or is it about business models and monetization and discovery, and I think it’s probably going to be about the latter.”

But is that smart? Probably not. What if your router crashes for a day? How are you going to play your favorite game without being connected to the internet? That’s a major flaw, which is why this just seems silly as the only form of game media. It needs to be something on your harddrive or in your room, that you can access even when offline.

I mean, it would be nifty if some games were streamed, if it were cheap. More casual games, not directly geared towards dedicated gamers.

That may make PS more social, as well. Maybe if the PS4 can have a balance, it will be perfect.

PlayStation Expanding Target Audience with PS4

There used to be a social stigma about being a dedicated gamer. Now, with consoles like the Wii targeting women, children, and entire families, traditional console developers such as Sony and Microsoft realized that there is a potentially larger market than the one they’ve always geared towards.

They realized this a few years ago after the launch of the Wii. They both introduced motion-sensor technology, the Xbox Kinect and PS Move, in order to offer the same experience. Now?

SCEE VP James Armstrong was asked about the PlayStation 4 recently:

“It’s hard to say right now. I do not think we’ll have a console with a lot better graphics than the PS3 currently offered. I believe the future will be to offer consumers better and more accessible experience .The aim will be to make more people enter the world of video games and try to design titles for women.”

Women are no longer cut off from the target audience for game developers, and it seems Sony PlayStation is going to emphasize that appeal. Already Facebook is packed with apps targeted for women.

It’s true the PS3 offers graphics that will be hard to beat, as long as they update the hardware. By the time the PS3 released after years in development, the hardware was already old compared to the market.

But the PS3 did beat every other console if you consider graphics. But with the Wiii U to launch next year, how can we be sure that it won’t become obsolete? And with the newest additions to the PlayStation family, the PS Vita and PlayStation 3D Monitor, it seems likely it won’t only just be a hardware update.

Gearing more games towards women sounds brilliant to me, but maybe I’m biased. As long as it doesn’t affect the quality of other games, what is the harm?

What do you think?

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