note: I apologize for any typos, I wrote this all on my Kindle tablet with its awful autocorrect
OK, obviously I didn't have to buy a PS4, but the situation was like this - I'd had a PS3 for about 6 years, and has collected (digitally!) nearly every fighter for the system. Good collection of games, and plenty more that I hadn't played - mostly Japanese-only releases, but still.
Then comes Summer of 2017, and the release of Guilty Gear Xrd Revalator 2, which debuted on th PS3 as a $20 expansion to Revalator 1, but featured absolutely no DLC (total cost of original game plus upgrade plus DLC = $68 US). The PS4 version, by comparison, was $40, and included the original game and all DLC. That was tempting, but not enough to get a new $300 console.
Then I go on vacation for a week, to my friend's place in California. Awesome, except I got super sick on the plane ride over, and spent the week going through 8 boxes of tissues and playing about 40 hours worth of Tekken 7 and SD Gundam G Generation Genesis. Luckily those are the two PS4 exclusives U really wanted to play, so I got that out of my system. The third, Gundam Versus, came out the day I left. We were disappointed to find that there was no local multiplayer, so that game got shelved on day one (it is also the fastest depreciating Bandai game in history, AFAIK).
Fast forward a few months to where I'm on vacation on the other coast, visiting my friend in Boston to watch the Capcom Cup (a yearly Street Fighter invitational with the biggest payout in fighting game history). Again, I play a little Street Fighter V at his place, and start to think that maybe I should pick up a PS4, if the price is right.
When I return home, my PS3 isn't working - specifically the controller seems to have died. I tear the controller apart, cobble it back together, only to realize that it's not the controller, but whatever controls the WI-FI (which also affects the wireless controller, so long as you have it in wifi mode, which of course you do because the cord is 1 foot long.) On my particular model of Ps4, this wifi chip is hard soldered into the motherboard, so something you can't replace. Basically the system is dead, but for 3rd party controllers and snaking a giant ugly cord from my modem to the console (I will not invest in either).
Black Friday rolls around, I've got a new grown-up ass job, making that dough. You know I'm buying that $150 PS4! I got myself Tekken 7 and SD Gundam G Generation Genesis, thoroughly enjoyed them for months. Oh and Guilty Gear? It was $16 that same day (so now my savings on that title are $52, if you have been following along).
But wait! What about all those games I had for the PS3? all of the games Is bought a second time - Devil May Cry 1-5, all the fighting games, Okami, etc etc. I have to re-buy them? And they aren't even OUT yet?! Hmmm... I'm feeling a little regret, even if my pockets are fatter.
Anyway, that's not the real issue. My problem with the PS4, despite (maybe even because of) all of the great fighting game exclusives, is that as lot of games require online play to some degree, and that online play almost exclusively requires a PlayStation Plus account ($60 US per year or $10 per month). While I don't begrudge this practice for fighting games (I prefer solo or with friends as it is), it completely turns me off of other titles.
Long story long, even though I'm not a Gran Turismo fan (the series has always been a huge disappointment), I wanted to try out Sport, having skipped the past 2 games in the series. I've heard, from my real-life racing car buddies, that the titles have improved significantly. But come to find out, you need PS+ to access a majority of the content, and that you need to have a consistent internet connection just to keep the single player modes running. Heck, they've even cast off the sprawling single-player campaign the series was once known for. Even at $20 US, I can't bring myself to give it a go. I'd love to do a review, but how fair would I be, not being able to access the meat of the game?
So yeah, there are a few great games for the thing, but I miss my PS3 (and as we all know, the PS3 had no games).
OK, obviously I didn't have to buy a PS4, but the situation was like this - I'd had a PS3 for about 6 years, and has collected (digitally!) nearly every fighter for the system. Good collection of games, and plenty more that I hadn't played - mostly Japanese-only releases, but still.
Then comes Summer of 2017, and the release of Guilty Gear Xrd Revalator 2, which debuted on th PS3 as a $20 expansion to Revalator 1, but featured absolutely no DLC (total cost of original game plus upgrade plus DLC = $68 US). The PS4 version, by comparison, was $40, and included the original game and all DLC. That was tempting, but not enough to get a new $300 console.
Then I go on vacation for a week, to my friend's place in California. Awesome, except I got super sick on the plane ride over, and spent the week going through 8 boxes of tissues and playing about 40 hours worth of Tekken 7 and SD Gundam G Generation Genesis. Luckily those are the two PS4 exclusives U really wanted to play, so I got that out of my system. The third, Gundam Versus, came out the day I left. We were disappointed to find that there was no local multiplayer, so that game got shelved on day one (it is also the fastest depreciating Bandai game in history, AFAIK).
Fast forward a few months to where I'm on vacation on the other coast, visiting my friend in Boston to watch the Capcom Cup (a yearly Street Fighter invitational with the biggest payout in fighting game history). Again, I play a little Street Fighter V at his place, and start to think that maybe I should pick up a PS4, if the price is right.
When I return home, my PS3 isn't working - specifically the controller seems to have died. I tear the controller apart, cobble it back together, only to realize that it's not the controller, but whatever controls the WI-FI (which also affects the wireless controller, so long as you have it in wifi mode, which of course you do because the cord is 1 foot long.) On my particular model of Ps4, this wifi chip is hard soldered into the motherboard, so something you can't replace. Basically the system is dead, but for 3rd party controllers and snaking a giant ugly cord from my modem to the console (I will not invest in either).
Black Friday rolls around, I've got a new grown-up ass job, making that dough. You know I'm buying that $150 PS4! I got myself Tekken 7 and SD Gundam G Generation Genesis, thoroughly enjoyed them for months. Oh and Guilty Gear? It was $16 that same day (so now my savings on that title are $52, if you have been following along).
But wait! What about all those games I had for the PS3? all of the games Is bought a second time - Devil May Cry 1-5, all the fighting games, Okami, etc etc. I have to re-buy them? And they aren't even OUT yet?! Hmmm... I'm feeling a little regret, even if my pockets are fatter.
Anyway, that's not the real issue. My problem with the PS4, despite (maybe even because of) all of the great fighting game exclusives, is that as lot of games require online play to some degree, and that online play almost exclusively requires a PlayStation Plus account ($60 US per year or $10 per month). While I don't begrudge this practice for fighting games (I prefer solo or with friends as it is), it completely turns me off of other titles.
Long story long, even though I'm not a Gran Turismo fan (the series has always been a huge disappointment), I wanted to try out Sport, having skipped the past 2 games in the series. I've heard, from my real-life racing car buddies, that the titles have improved significantly. But come to find out, you need PS+ to access a majority of the content, and that you need to have a consistent internet connection just to keep the single player modes running. Heck, they've even cast off the sprawling single-player campaign the series was once known for. Even at $20 US, I can't bring myself to give it a go. I'd love to do a review, but how fair would I be, not being able to access the meat of the game?
So yeah, there are a few great games for the thing, but I miss my PS3 (and as we all know, the PS3 had no games).
