Thinking about the PS4 (I borowed one!)

[nocturnal YL]

I've been thinking about the PS4 lately. Part of me wants to buy one (probably the original), but another part of me says I don't have enough time to justify buying one. Maybe someone (maybe Nester?) can convince me to buy it or not.

My main motivation to get a PS4 is Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone and maybe Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X. You may have heard me talking about how I loved the 3DS version before. And obviously, I still don't have a PS4, for these reasons:

Project DIVA-related

• Project mirai DX on the 3DS has better gameplay[1] and PVs[2], feature full-length songs versus DIVA's cut versions in some cases (which I dislike), and is not an arcade port that doesn't fit the controller well (this is what the arcade machine looks like); but it doesn't have some of the songs I wanted. More generally, mirai DX is closer to what I really want, putting emphasis on being a character game rather than a music game.
• My general playstyle of being a completionist doesn't sit well with this series, which I probably can't play well. I did perfect most songs in mirai DX, but that game is intenionally made easier.
• Why do I still want those games: DIVA FT DX has 237 songs compared to mirai DX's 48 (in other words, quality vs quantity); DIVA X has fewer songs than mirai DX, but has a few songs I want and has PSVR support, although I'm not sure if I want that.

[1] Except that handheld systems don't support external controllers, which doesn't bode well with rhythm games.
[2] Except Senbonzakura, which looks like it's forced into the game just because it's popular.

PS4-related

• I already have so many electronic items. Sure, I love them all and the base version PS4 isn't expensive, but still…
• More importantly, how could I get all the space in my little room? I don't have a dedicated gaming space (which actually helps me capture game footage), so I just put my monitor and consoles across a long computer desk. I'll be hard-pushed to rearrange it to accomodate a Switch (which I also don't have right now), let alone a PS4. Heck, even my Wii U GamePad and Surface Pro 4 (PCs being my other hobby) are in awkward positions now.
• I may have gotten over the console war mentality, but I still feel a bit bitter. How could they win the home console market over and over again?
• Aside: part of me actually want to see Nintendo quit hardware, so that I can get everything I want on a single platform that supports things foreign to Nintendo, like an actually usable save data management system.

There are other PlayStation-centric games I am interested in, but they don't get far beyond me getting curious on what the "other side" looks like. Games I may want to see include anything in Dept. Heaven (granted, the only related game I played was Riviera on the GBA), the Ys series, and... not much more, actually. (Maybe the Shadow of the Colossus remake?) And that's a problem, because unlike Nintendo platforms which can guarantee that I'd get about 12~16 games (I expect my 3DS to get 17), my take on the PlayStation consoles is that there are just so few games I'm interested in.

Maybe I just don't know that they've got other stuff I want. At this point, I'm still leaning towards not getting it. Can someone enlighten me?

And one final note: I have Nintendo to thank for making me think about the PlayStation. It goes this way:

1. The starting point is Fire Emblem, which I'm already a fan of.
2. When Nintendo announced the 200-yen version of Daigasso! Band Brothers P, they also expanded the range of accepted game music submission to include Fire Emblem and Touhou Project (the latter of which remains somehting I'm not interested in), so I got that game. Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE (which features Tiki as a virtual idol) also played a small role.
3. At the time I got Band Brothers P, the starter pack music contained Senbonzakura, which I found to be outright beautiful, so I started to do online searches about it.
4. And just like that, I discovered a whole new music genre, and Project DIVA is the natural next step. I knew about Hatsune Miku from the very beginning and I've always appreciated her songs, but actively searching for more took it to a whole new level.
5. More recently, I got the Velentia Complete edition of Fire Emblem Echoes, which contains a Blu-ray disc with the HD cutscenes of the Wii and 3DS games. Blu-ray… yeah.

[Nester the Lark]

I don't own a PS4, myself, so I can't speak about it specifically.

It sounds like you're mainly interested in it for the Project DIVA games and maybe a few peripheral choices on the side. Whether that's enough to justify a purchase is really only something you can decide. If you're enough of a fan of Project DIVA that it can sell a console to you, then maybe it's worth it. On the other hand, if you feel that there isn't much else beyond that to make it worth owning a PS4, then you're really only getting a couple of one-off purchases out of it.

Of course, once you actually own a new console, sometimes you "open up" to games you didn't consider before. That is, games that didn't sell you the console to begin with start to get your attention once you already have it.

Personally, I also see owning a console as an overall "experience." If it seems to be an experience that appeals to me, then that contributes strongly to whether I want to own it. That has less to do with individual games and more with the overall landscape of games available (as well as features, style, policies, etc).

I suppose it doesn't really help much, but those are my (very) general thoughts on it.

If you're leaning away from it, then perhaps you're not seeing any longevity in owning a PS4 beyond those few games you're interested in, so maybe it's worth holding off until you come across more games to justify the purchase.

[nocturnal YL]

I'm a bit surprised. I was under the impression that you're the kind of person to buy all systems. Some game writers do that.

I'm actually hoping for something more specific to PS4, but thanks for writing back!

I guess I'll keep looking then. As much as I keep singing praises to the Project DIVA series, I don't think it's worth getting a console for. It almost is, but I want to be sure that it's what I really want. Ideally, SEGA should continue with the Project mirai series ("The 3DS is not dead yet!"), but I have my doubt, especially sincethe corporate side of SEGA wants to focus on mass-appeal PC and mobile games. The overall SEGA feat. HATSUNE MIKU Project probably won't go away since Crypton relies on them for their concerts, but they may slow down on releasing games. Or just slap a "Deluxe" on everything.

"Opening up" to new games is a good point. Consoles sell games, games sell consoles… it goes both ways.

I have to agree with the late president Yamauchi on console ownership: people buy consoles to play games, not the console itself. It certainly is the case to me, and it explains why I almost never buy any system on launch day. To me, the overall feel only matters when it's a competition between consoles that do the same thing (so for example, if I am to buy a 3DS now, I'd definitely go for the New 3DS and notthe New 3DS XL). Between incompatible systems or between having a system or not, it's simply a matter of adding the console's price to the anticipated games and see if it's still worth the price.

So anyway, for now, I guess I'll just keep on looking. I hope to have at least 3 games that really impress me per system (the 3DS has 7 for me, while the Wii U has 2, or 3 if the multi-platform Puyo Puyo Tetris counts), so I guess it's a "no" to the PS4, at least for now.

(Just wait and see me impulse-buying one anyway.)

[nocturnal YL]

Not much of an update here, but now that Project DIVA Future Tone DX is out, I'm drooling over it. All while having no console to play it on.

The new songs look like this, by the way:


I'm still leaning towards not getting a PS4, but I'm also trying to find all kinds of excuse to have one. I guess the whole "keep an open mind towards 3rd party games" thing is a double-edged sword; it made me appreciate 3rd party games, including the ones on rival systems.

[Nester the Lark]

Honesty, I think it would be kinda weird if a Project Diva game didn't come to the Switch eventually. Seems like a natural fit, and Sega has been giving the Switch some decent support. (Even Valkyria Chronicles 4 was announced for it.)

I would guess it's only a matter of time.

[nocturnal YL]

That's actually one reason I'm holding off. I have this superstitious thought that when I do decide to get a PS4, they will announce a Switch entry soon after.

There are many reasons both for and against a Switch version coming, and I'm not going to put much faith in that.

[nocturnal YL]

I was torn between whether I should start a new thread or continue with this one, but I guess it doesn't matter.

First off, let me say that I'm surprised by the lack of responses here. No one else has access to the current-gen king of home consoles!?

Anyway, now that I have access to a PS4, I want to talk about it a bit. I don't know much about PS4 models, but I'm told it's the original, Japanese version model.

My overall experience with the system is a mixed bag.

The first thing I noticed about the system is that it doesn't have an external power supply. I'm not a fan of having that around, as it seems to be a way to cheat around the console size issue. It also makes the system harder to manage on my desk (a big, no-frills work desk that is currently housing three consoles, a monitor and a laptop PC). It's also very easy to connect: a power source, an HDMI connection, optional controller connection, optional LAN connection, and that's it. Much better than Nintendo's "let's break the system into small parts" approach.

On the downside, the system itself is quite big. I'm not able to add it to my already-crowded desk even if I remove the Wii.

Setting up the system is easy, although having to install games is a tad annoying. On the plus side, it greatly shortens loading time on subsequent plays. Game data appear to be loaded from both the internal hard drive and the disc, making the loading speed quite fast. I think it beats both Nintendo Switch (game card) and Nintendo 3DS (game card) in this aspect.

During gameplay, the PS4 generates quite a lot of noise and rumble, from both the disc drive and fan. The system and controller also emitlight during gameplay, which isn't what I want to see when I live with my pet (an old turtle who sleeps all the time) and want to play at night. But the whole situation is already a lot better than the even noisier Wii U.

I feel mixed about the DualShock 4. In terms of functions, it's excellent. The touch pad is hard to reach during gameplay though. It's good as a virtual keyboard, as the system software demonstrates, but I don't see it being useful in the heat of actions in the game. Maybe it's just me, but the face buttons make too much noise to my taste.

The controller's audio port serves me well. My monitor has no speakers (it's not even an HDMI monitor; it's a PC monitor with a DVI port), so I have to rely on other ways to output audio: formy Wii U, I use USB-powered speakers connected to a composite/component-to-35mm converter, but this doesn't work with HDMI-only systems. This is where the controller's headphone jack comesin handy. Much to my surprise, there's no perceivable latency in the audio output (very important given my use case). The signal isn't completely stable and the audio sometimes stutter, but this doesn't happen often.

I do have to praise the system's software. It's pretty robust, offering most of what I want to see on a game system. It also offers a video recording function that lets you save 15 minutes of gameplay. (On that note, I heard that while the Switch lets you save 30 seconds for select games, the hardware is capable of recording a full minute.)

I can tell that the Switch system menu copied quite a few elements from here too. Namely, the quick menu when holding the PS button for a second, and the two-tier menu for games and system functions. But besides the lack of save data backup, I like Switch's menu better for its simplicity, whereas the PS4 menu keeps reminiding you that they have an online ecosystem. I haven't made a PSN account yet.

Oh, and you need a PSN account to even receive regular game updates. And I thought Microsoft Windows was bad.

The PS4's graphics are outright beautiful compared to all other console graphics I've seen before. I was actually quite surprised, because Future Tone is essentially a collection of ported stuff from PS3, Nintendo 3DS and Nu.


Verdict: I'm impressed by, but not really liking the PS4. If you ask me again that whether I want to actually pay for a PS4, the answer's still no. It's good, but not good enough for me to say I'd prefer the PS4 version of multiplatform games.

That's it for the PS4. As for the games I borrowed the system for, maybe I'll save it for later when the next games are announced (the director confirmed that the series is still alive as of two months after Future Tone DX's release).