A Look Back at the PlayStation 4
A Short History
It’s hard to believe that the era of the PlayStation 4 has come and gone. Seven years ago, Sony released what would, arguably, be its most transformative console, re-defining what a PlayStation meant for the industry and for game development.
Ah the PS3 family of consoles: the PS3-fat, the PS3-slim and the PS3-just-right.
It was the jolt that the industry needed with the gaming landscape at the time having become stale. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were fully maxed out (and then some) in terms of hardware power, holding back the design of games that were struggling to run on this outdated tech. This also meant sales were hindered as the value of these boxes diminished. Many pundits saw the booming growth of PC and mobile gaming as a precursor to a slow death for console gaming, a sentiment that was regurgitated, ad nauseam, near the launch of new consoles.
The PlayStation 4 was the total antithesis theory though. For the first time since the original PlayStation, it sought to open up game development to be as easy as possible with its x86 architecture. It was a console focused on games and only the games. The leap in processing power versus its predecessor was enticing for developers, creating an opportunity for a new generation in game design. Sony went back to basics, taking aim squarely at what defined a PlayStation console, without the unnecessary bells and whistles.
And its philosophy paid off. The gamer-centric pitch unanimously triumphed over the all-in-one-entertainment-box approach pushed by Microsoft, who wound up missing the mark so badly, they spent the rest of the generation in damage control. Add in Microsoft's PR disasters around DRM and used games in the lead up to launch, and it became a perfect storm for Sony to regain its dominance in the console market. This all culminated with Sony’s 2013 E3 Press Conference, a metaphorical middle finger to their biggest competitor. This show reaffirmed their commitment to used games and not enforcing a strict DRM policy, whilst showing off a slate of games that were much more attractive than the likes of Ryse: Son of Rome and the ill-fated Phantom Dust..
In the years that followed its release, the PS4 has delivered an incredible range of software from indie to AAA, new franchises and old. It was the console where Sony’s experimentation with its first-party wares would finally be perfected, with a consistent output of exclusives that set the bar for games during the last generation. Bloodborne, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man redefined the standards of polish, narrative, and game design that other games will struggle to match for years to come. While Japanese developers, left out in the cold for much of the 7th gen of consoles, came back in a big way. The PS4 became the platform where franchises that were once niche on previous PlayStations, from Yakuza and Persona, to Nier and Monster Hunter, finally entered the mainstream gaming zeitgeist. Many indie developers also found their feet on the platform too, filling the gaps between major releases, especially in the early years of the PS4’s lifespan.
It only took 14 years to nail Spider-man again.
The fourth PlayStation also marked the change in how game performance would be perceived by many players. The PS4 Pro was the first home console to offer a major mid-generation hardware update over its base counterpart and standardised the option to prioritise framerate or resolution. Developers began to take game performance on consoles more seriously thanks to this, with many games future-proofing themselves by targeting a 60fps cap rather than 30fps. Which has led to games on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S hitting both higher and more consistent framerates. Its peripheral support has also been sublime, headlined by the surprise success of PSVR.
And let’s not overlook the impact the PS4 had on Sony’s fortunes when it came to online gaming either. The PSN - once the butt of many a joke, with its random sign-outs and record-breaking consumer data breach on the PS3 - innovated with a more social online gaming outlet and stable service. PSN allowed for people to show off more personalised profiles – with your own interests in games, music and even the achievements you’d unlocked, becoming easily accessible for your friends to view. Arguably the two biggest features that defined this new PSN were Share Play and easy live-streaming. Share Play allowed you to hand over the controller to your friend via the internet to help you get through a puzzle or play a match in Fifa, proving game streaming was a viable way to play. While built-in live-streaming functionality was a key feature that opened the prospect of streaming to everyone, reinforcing a more social relationship between players.
The PlayStation 4 promised greatness and delivered it – from its astoundingly large library to setting industry standards with its ease of game development, and its reward? Becoming the second best selling home console of all time. It was the change the console market needed, thanks to an ethos we have continued to see with the likes of the Switch and next-gen consoles.
My Experience With The PlayStation 4
In the lead up to the arrival of next-generation consoles, I was ploughing along at school whilst hitting killstreaks in Call of Duty and discovering treasures in Uncharted every night. The PlayStation 3 will always hold a special place in my heart as the system that got me into gaming, but it became clear that it was falling behind during the twilight years of its life. Games were struggling hard to run on the damn thing, and leaks of next-gen consoles were rife.
Honestly I’m still mad we never got the “Boomerang Controller”.
The hype surrounding the PlayStation 4 was something else. When the system was officially revealed during a cold February night, it was very hard to not feel excited about it. The controller represented a massive departure from the familiar DualShock design that we had known for years. For the first time in awhile it felt like there was a greater innovation when it came to traditional controller design – the touchpad, speakers and lightbar were all just a taste of what next-gen could mean. What was even more mind-blowing were the specs. The x86 hardware and 8GB RAM was big for game development; gone were the days of devs struggling with complex hardware. And the games shown at the console’s announcement truly had that next-generation feel – Killzone Shadow Fall’s demo with its alpha effects, detailed textures and insane level of detail was enough to sell me on a new console. My excitement for the console continued to grow as new games were revealed, the ability the play used games reiterated and the $399 price was announced. It was a complete turnaround from the cocksure Sony of 2006 that led to the disatrerous PS3 launch.
And then the PS4 launched.
I quickly found myself deflated to the point that I couldn't care less about getting a new system on release. Most of the top launch titles on the PS4, while clearly better performing versions of their PS3 counterparts, turned out to be complete duds, see Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack. The PS4 floundered so badly for the first few months that I felt content with the then technically outdated PS3. This did not change for most of 2014, where the general slate of games just did not feel particularly interesting or attention-grabbing. It didn’t help that one of the most hotly anticipated games of that window, Destiny, ended up feeling like smoke and mirrors surrounding a complete lack of content at launch. The expectation that this generation of consoles wouldn't sell led to a dearth of new games and a plethora of remasters instead. And Assassin’s Creed: Unity kicked off the long line of broken AAA releases trying to meet the holiday season or the end of fiscal quarters.
It wasn't until 2015 that I finally felt it necessary to get a PS4 – Bloodborne and Mortal Kombat X were the games that tipped me over the edge. Bloodborne kicked my ass constantly, whilst Mortal Kombat X became a fun fighter to express my rage with. It took a long while for me to adjust to the new console. I had become bogged down in my PS3 backlog and the change felt strange. Black Ops III and Battlefield 4 represented a long road in grinding for the best guns in multiplayer games with friends. While inFamous Second Son and DriveClub blew me away in showing a demonstrable leap in visual fidelity from what I was used to.
The quality of games just kept on growing and growing after that. Every month a steady stream of great games released, to the point where it felt like we'd hit a new renaissance in gaming. HD development had finally matured, and so did the games that were releasing. Even today, the PS4 still relatively holds up visually, despite being superseded by its successor in things like load times.
Join the gang!
In turn, my many memories with the console would turn out to be my favourite gaming moments. Uncharted 4, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man and Ghost of Tsushima wowed me just as much as Uncharted 2 did in its heyday when I was first getting into gaming. Many games I would have never tried before turned out to be some of my favourites; from Yakuza 0 and Nier:Automata, to Titanfall 2 and Death Stranding. Late-night Call of Duty and Rocket League sessions made me rage with my friends and, occasionally, celebrate my competitive spirit. And let’s not forget the long, hard road of dungeon crawling and exploration I finally found myself getting into with JRPGs. Final Fantasy VII Remake and Persona 5 were games that changed my outlook on the entire genre.
And I should end my piece by saying that I would not have expected the PS4 to become my favourite system of all time five years ago. But it has.
Consoles are dead? How wrong we all were.
