11th June 2013, 8:34 PM
(This post was last modified: 12th June 2013, 2:08 PM by A Black Falcon.)
I don't think the PS4 is actually subsidized; it might actually be profitable for Sony at $400. The parts aren't THAT high end, compared to top-end PCs. Microsoft had to go higher because of the Kinect, mostly.
Quote: One small detail though... On that PS4, can I replace the internal hard drive just like with the PS3? I suspect the anwer is yes, but confirmation would be nice in light of the fact the XBox One hard drive can't be replaced by the user at all, in an example of MS taking a step backwards. It is a real shame MS has gone so far against the desires of their fans in the past couple of years. I suspect the change in leadership is where the blame lies.Yes, you can replace the HDD yourself. PS4 will be region-free too, just like the PS3. And quite unlike the X1.
Quote: Here is another piece of earthshaking news that Nintendo should copy from Sony. Sony is allowing independent small studios to publish their games straight to the PS4 all on their own without needing to get any sort of licensing fees or anything. I highly suspect this means that those games will be shunted off to some corner and with big warnings that Sony isn't responsible for the content, but it is an amazing piece of news that is very likely targeting the Ouya. Indie developers are already extremely happy about the news. I'm hoping this will prevent the Fez debacle on the 360, where the developer had solved a critical game haulting bug in the game but couldn't afford MS's vetting process for the patch, so it went unreleased.Nintendo actually has done a LOT in the last year to try to improve their relations with indie developers. They've been giving indies dev kits, they got rid of their requirement to have a separate office (OB1 might have liked that one :p), etc. Nintendo is trying to build indie relationships, and they are having some success; remember the "eShop" section of the Nintendo Direct conference. Sony is doing that as well, while Microsoft has turned off most indies. A few indies still support MS, but Sony and Nintendo have really moved into that space, even though XBLA helped create the market, along with Steam.