Jose Otero: At the PlayStation event, Sony showed some of the best and worst kept secrets in the gaming industry. We all got our first peek at the PlayStation 4’s controller and the rumored social features, like the ability to allow other users to spectate the games you’re currently playing. I went into this thing unsure of how social features would help boost this upcoming generation of hardware, but I walked away impressed by all of the possibilities. Today’s Internet thrives on a socially connected culture where people share pictures, video, and information at a rapid pace. It only makes sense that games would go in the same direction. The next gen doesn’t appear driven by graphics and polygons like the previous one’s that came before. If Sony placed their bets properly, it’s more about the social features and what they bring to the table.
Marty Sliva: Yeah, one of the biggest things I took aware from the conference was Sony’s push to make the PS4 the first social network with “meaning,” their words, not mine. Strange verbiage aside, they said all of the right things to make me believe that this could be the first console to succeed in connecting gamers on the same level that a platform like Facebook does. The idea of being able to watch what my buddies are playing on the fly, or upload something amazing that just happened in whatever game I might be playing is promising to say the least. If “Let’s Plays” seem popular now, just wait until any kid with a PS4 can record commentary without ever leaving their living room.
