For those of you reading this while stuck at work in some dreary cubicle, I feel your pain. But there is something to look forward to. First and foremost, Sony's PlayStation 4 is now available on store shelves. Second, it's the weekend, which means as soon as you're finished with whatever it is you're doing, the following 48 hours are all yours to do whatever you like with the new system. Now, I'm sure there are also a few of you out there who still haven't decided between the PS4 or the Xbox One. In that case, the first reviews for Sony's system are here, so check 'em out below and see if that helps you make up your mind.
Eurogamer - "The PlayStation 4 is an impressive, very well-engineered piece of kit, delivering a true generational leap in console performance in a chassis that is actually smaller than the second generation "Slim" PS3 - ...it carries out its business in a mostly discreet manner with only the smallest concerns about temperatures and heat dissipation...Where the jury's still out is on the user interface. We've just not had anything like enough time to put it through its paces. With that said, while some of clunkiness in the PlayStation Store is a touch off-putting, there's a sense that everything is well organised and easy to find, with a rich vein of useful functionality. The fact that the proliferation of the PS3's download/install progress bars has now been reduced significantly can only be a good thing. PlayStation 4 may well be based on PC hardware, then, but based on these first impressions, it feels like much more of a console - a pure gaming thoroughbred - than its predecessor."
Polygon - "The PS4 hints at plenty of other possibilities. Local network play via the PS Vita has an enormous amount of potential. The PlayStation App and even the Playstation Camera may provide opportunities for developers to broaden the appeal of the PlayStation 4 beyond the hardcore audience it currently seems so intent on courting. Unlike the PlayStation 3, Sony's latest effort was built to evolve. But the PlayStation 4's focus on gaming — and only gaming — is undermined by a distinct lack of compelling software. That failing is sure to improve — better games and more of them will appear on the PlayStation 4 — but right now, this is a game console without a game to recommend it. Early adopters of the PS4 this fall are buying potential energy. We're just waiting for a place to spend it."
Kotaku - "The PS4 is just starting, and as it is, it is hard to experience the PS4 without thinking about the machine that came before it. The PlayStation 3 made an incredible journey, from rotundResistance and Lair-playing machine to the console of The Last of Us, Puppeteer and The Unfinished Swan. The console got skinnier. It got better. And it wound up playing some of my favorite games ever. In November 2013, the PS4 is hopefully both a great extension of the PS3 and, oddly, a clean break. It's not backwards-compatible, after all. Not yet, not until 2014 when Sony plans to deliver streaming games to those of us with good enough Internet connections to remote-control PS3 games housed on some Sony server somewhere. For now, the PS4 sits next to the PS3 without fully displacing it...The PS3 is handing off the baton, and just as it happens, time seems to freeze. The next runner, the PS4, has taken the hand-off but hasn't quite landed its first stride. The PS3 will keep running for a time, coasting on its own momentum. The PS4 looks poised, ready charge forth. We assume it'll happen. But that hand-off is still in progress. It's too soon to tell what happens next. The PS4 seems like it'll be a hell of a console, but it's mostly potential and a bunch of new tools in need of some awesome games for them to work on. I think you'll want one eventually. But, cool as the PS4 is, a lack of a must-play game means you can afford to wait. Do you need to have a PS4? Not yet."
CVG - "This past generation has dragged on too long. Though there were still standout moments, many proven ideas became too relied upon, while graphics hit a ceiling. The PlayStation 4 is a long-overdue leap forward for Sony, but it doesn't take any risks. Sharing features might change how players approach playing and watching games, but it doesn't change the central experience. The controller will make playing them more comfortable, but it too is merely an advancement on an a controller blueprint that was etched in the mid-nineties. Fears that console gaming would buck and bend to the whims of the fickle casual market have proven false - this system is absolutely built for core gamers. And yet, for those expecting to see something that definitively turns a corner, you won't find it here just yet. There's a good chance that the software platform will allow for greater innovations in the future, such as more streaming options expected to be added later down the line, but for now, Sony is selling a futuristic machine with not many new things to do on it."
This being only the first day that the console is available, expect even more reviews to come forward, as well as opinions to change for both the good and bad.
