This is a piece I wrote a few months ago, around Sony’s press conference unveiling the PS4 system. My opinion regarding the system is constantly evolving, but I feel that it’s worth sharing my thoughts regarding their approach to the next generation of gaming at that point in time.

Sony recently announced its latest entry into the PlayStation family of products, the PlayStation 4. Hailed (by its own executives and partners) as a technological marvel, the PlayStation 4 represents the ‘cutting edge’ of gaming technology.  As a die-hard PlayStation fan since the days of the PS1, I was quite excited about its release for some time. However, after watching the press conference for the new system and realizing the direction in which Sony intends to take it, I can no longer consider myself a fan.  Here’s why I don’t like the PlayStation 4: it’s a computer, not a console.

Although consoles are technically computer systems, computer and console gaming present two distinct experiences. Consoles have traditionally distinguished themselves as dedicated gaming devices comprising a part of your home entertainment center, while gaming is simply one of many things you might do to pass time on a computer system. For me, console gaming is a source of excitement and bonding akin to the cinematic experience. Gathered with friends in front of the console, the room is transformed into an area of uninhibited freedom, imagination, and fun. It is that specific nostalgia and localized experience had when gaming on a console that drives my interest in console gaming. The nature of PC gaming, however, is much less spatially transformative and embraces the fact that players do not always play together in the same physical location. The PlayStation 4 places its own value here, in decentralized gaming, at the expense of the traditional console experience.

The planned cross-play functionality of the system further reinforces the decentralized experience which Sony aims to cultivate. Via its cloud-based gaming platform Gaikai, Sony plans to allow for gaming on tablets, phones, and its Vita system. However, by allowing for such playability on a multitude of non-PlayStation [console] devices and by designing the PlayStation 4’s architecture to resemble other devices in its specifications, a dedicated PlayStation console loses relevancy. It’s great to imagine that one day soon, I could play my favorite games anywhere, on any device, at any time, but then why would I need a PlayStation 4?

Beyond this, the increased integration of social media and interconnectivity platforms planned for the PlayStation 4 are a double-edged sword. Sony wants to allow users to share their experience with others across the internet like never before, making in-game picture and video sharing an embedded feature and even allowing for remote control of another player’s game. They also want to keep your social media contacts consistently updated on your gaming habits and achievements while tracking your preferences in order to provide you immediate access to games you might find interest in. These features sound useful, but the security risks and potential for overreach is high.

Sony has had its share of network issues in the past and has shown that they don’t always protect user information as they should. Allowing Sony even greater access to user information could increase the chances of sensitive information leaks. In the case of those who don’t like oversharing the details of their private lives, allowing such unrestricted access to their gaming habits could infringe upon their right to privacy. Furthermore, an unwanted barrage of useless information about other people’s gaming habits is bound to be a complaint of such access. There is also the potential for overly-intimate targeted advertising and the chance of unwanted remote interference with a player’s gaming experience. Even if Sony manages to subdue the most serious of these red flags, it will have a tough time convincing those opposed to the overreach of social media that the PlayStation 4’s approach to social platforms is a positive selling point.

Newsflash Sony, I am not interested! Moreover, if I, representative of your target demographic, am not interested then the PlayStation 4 is going to need much more than it promises so far in order to become a profitable and successful video game console.

*Update* Well, three years later, it turns out that I am still just as much of a Sony fanboy as ever, and the proud owner of both a PS4 and Playstation Vita, on which I have logged numerous hours across the planet remotely cross-playing. I’ve also grown into a big fan of the social features, and I am extremely impressed with the convenience of Sony’s remote content delivery features. You really have to love it when your foot winds up in your mouth.

-Namakemono