PlayStation 4 will be my next generation choice

Microsoft have been changing their policies left and right on frequent basis for better and for worse, whilst Sony have been adding new promising features to the PlayStation 4, only making  it more appealing. I decided to get a console early on due to the benefits of having Netflix on the TV and also being able to watch Dota 2 matches through Twitch on the TV, so I benefit a lot from those functions and having a console for social split-screen multiplayer is amazing fun. Also, 46″ is better than 21″, it’s simple as that. Plus not to mention the console exclusive games I’d be missing out on if I only had a PC.

So here are the core reasons as to why I’m picking the PlayStation 4:

1. Better and more powerful hardware
2. Better exclusive DLC for important triple A titles such as Destiny
3. Better looking interface
4. Better quality on the hardware (based on Xbox 360 RROD and controller breakage)
5. Built-in power brick
6. It will be the best selling console,  hence making third-party titles superior
7. A vast majority of my friends will be exclusive to PS4
8. Microsoft pissed on my country and delayed the launch until Spring 2014
9. Developers are praising the openness and power of PS4
10. More features such as Netflix and Twitch that don’t require premium paid membership to use

So there you have it. Since I live in Europe, the PS4 will be the better choice for me. Like I said, 99% of my friends will be getting the PS4 exclusively, and I want to game with them. With all the improvements from Sony and all the changes from Microsoft, it just wasn’t meant to be. The social aspects of a console are essential and being able to game with all my friends takes a top priority.

The PS4 interface is vastly more impressive and better-looking than Xbox One’s. 

Also, being on the best-selling platform is important in terms of gaming quality as developers always focus on that platform with either DLC or performance. And right now PS4 is slaughtering the Xbox One in almost all the pre-order charts and the demos are shown on the PS4  units along with constant praise pouring over the PS4 and not much about the Xbox One. And taking the previous generation into account with the Red Ring of Death situation for the Xbox 360 and the fact that I had to buy four additional Xbox 360 controllers due to them breaking down over time, while my PS3 friends didn’t have to buy new ones a single time time for their PS3, it’s a nice bonus that saves a lot of money in the long run. Microsoft never did hardware that well.

I thought that the PlayStation 3 design was horrible. It was ugly. It’s still ugly. Disgusting. Even the Slim and Three model are ugly. But the PlayStation 4? Oh my, it’s a joy to watch. I want to touch it. It want to drag my hands all over that smooth surface. It’s a beauty. It’s small and has a futuristic design. I love it. It’s way better looking than the Xbox One and will look so much better in my living room than Microsoft’s console would. Also, it has the power brick built in so you won’t have to deal with that thick brick among your cords, as you will with the Xbox One, good luck fitting all that into your media center nicely. Sony are simply outclassing Microsoft when it comes to hardware as if it was Microsoft’s first console and that’s a huge deal.

Plus, I feel I cannot support Microsoft when they basically gave me the middle finger and told me I’m not as important to them as Mexico or New Zealand. Sony will launch their console in my country, why can’t Microsoft? Obviously I’m not on their VIP-list. Sony on the other hand, they prioritize my country and that’s a huge winner in my books. Microsoft on the other hand doesn’t seem to care as much, so I guess I will take my money elsewhere then, huh Microsoft? You just lost a customer of ten years who consistently purchased gold membership and downloadable content for games. Sony prioritizes Europe over Japan and that’s huge. Respect to them for that, and that’s what I like to see. They cater to me and show me they want me as a customer whilst Microsoft are doing the complete opposite.

I’m quite excited to purchase my first Sony product in over 15 years as I loved my first PlayStation more than any other console. I’m even getting a bit of nostalgia when I think about the controller. It just feels more right to choose Sony now that they are doing everything right with the PS4 and are prioritizing me whilst Microsoft are doing so much wrong with Xbox One and ignoring me.

This gorgeous piece of hardware will be in my living for the coming six years, or more. Exclusively, of course.

Guild Wars 2: Review-in-Progress 2

I’ve now spent even more time with GW2 and experienced new things and also forgot to include all of the things I wanted in the previous post. (It was kind of rushed to get it out early) And also I’ve been gaming a lot more with friends to make the experience even more pleasurable.

Good

• Deep and complicated crafting system. Crafting in GW2 is no easy matter and requires time, skill and understanding. Also researching and manually finding the ingredients that consist of several layers not only two.
• No “he stole my enemy/vein/tree/boss” etc, AKA Ninja-Free. In GW2, it’s meant for you to help others. If I attack an enemy that you wanted, it’s OK. As long as we both deal damage and help out, we both get credit and loot. This is revolutionary as previously in MMOs people stole each others quest loot and progress by doing this rendering it extremely frustrating and prolonged. This is one of those world class ideas that exists in GW2.
• Dynamic events that are visible in the world. I know I bashed the dynamic events a bit last post, but that’s because most of them aren’t that impressive. However, there are some that are and deserve praise. Yesterday we failed to defend a bridge and it blew up. It disappeared from the world. Pretty cool. Although it was rebuilt 5 minutes after as we defended the workers successfully. I wonder, if we kept failing, would the bridge be gone forever? Anyhow, it is getting better as you progress right now.
• Problems being fixed rather fast (guild issues etc)
• Insanely good puzzles hidden in the world such as jumping puzzles and rewarding

Bad

• Still highly unstable servers (i.e. lag, spikes, disconnects, overflow issues, dungeon issues, friend list issues, WvWvW queue)
• And the same issues regarding leveling that I am leveling too slow for the area I am in despite doing 100%, thus being forced to grind it out in a lower area meanwhile.

Other than that you can see that GW2 is progressively growing on me. It still has its major issues and I know that some of the smaller ones are just temporary such as the friend list issues, WvWvW queues and so on. But some of them will most likely be there for a long time. But the game is definitely growing on me, probably because I’ve been playing with friends constantly now throughout and not as much solo as before.

I’ll take a break from updating with GW2 impressions for a while as there isn’t really much else to cover than what I’ve said until I reach level 80 and starting doing 80 content and some serious PvP and WvWvW efforts. See you then! It’ll take a while for sure, this game is massive.