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Reason for PS4's Cheap Price

Demon_Skeith

Demon_Skeith

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When Sony announced that PlayStation 4 would be priced at $399 to an uproar of applause from the audience at its E3 press conference, it secured a critical edge over the Xbox One. But the advantage came at a cost: the PlayStation 4 camera (formerly known as the PlayStation 4 Eye). According to multiple sources, in the months leading up to E3, Sony nixed plans to include the camera add-on with every system and shave $100 off its originally planned price of $499. Most importantly, it did so quietly, informing its retail partners only of the removal of the camera, not specifying the lower price so as not to tip its hand to Microsoft.

But in its efforts to undercut the Xbox One, Sony has damned the accessory to a future of fragmented consumer adoption and inconsistent software support. The decision has also rendered a major design element of the DualShock 4 controller — the built-in LED Move tracker — largely useless.

Microsoft's decision to bundle a Kinect with each Xbox One and require it for use may be unpopular, but it guarantees that every user will have the option to try Kinect-enabled games and experiences. For developers, it means that Kinect integration is no longer a costly gamble on a small subsection of Xbox owners — motion-detecting and voice-sensing elements can be anything from a small optional game enhancement or the primary control method.

By relegating the camera to a $59.99 add-on, Sony has ensured the opposite — a climate of codependency wherein PlayStation 4 camera adoption will hinge upon compelling software, but compelling software will only arrive after PlayStation 4 camera adoption.

What's worse, the DualShock 4's integrated LEDs are now good for little more than visual flair. Per Sony, the light-up panels will help indicate the player associated with each controller and, when supported, react to in-game cues, such as blinking red when a player is low on health. Ultimately, the limited functionality of the LEDs without the aid of the Eye won't impact the player experience or even drastically diminish the overall battery life of the controller, but it's a lingering reminder of Sony's failure to support the tech.

It's possible that Sony has long-term aspirations for the PlayStation 4 camera and the DualShock 4's integrated Move technology — the PS4 is likely to be a 10 year console, after all — but launch window support is likely to be non-existent. The device was little more than a footnote at the console's debut in February and of the more than 40 demos Sony showcased at E3, Drive Club and a tech demo Playroom were the only PlayStation 4 titles were camera-enabled.

At present, Sony's abandonment of the Eye in favor of a lower priced PlayStation 4 seems to be paying off — the company claims to be boosting internal sales estimates and online retailers are reporting record breaking pre-sales — but will it be able to incentivize consumers and developers to adopt the device in the future? The odds are seemingly stacked against it, but perhaps Sony has a killer app waiting in the wings.
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I don't think the camera would be very useful for gaming, much for the reason why the kinect is driving the Xbox one down.
 
The Camera is useful if you share your console with young kids, and casual gamers who enjoy motion and dancing games.

The Kinect can also double as a Microphone, so no headset is needed when online gaming with voice chat.

I suspect if you buy a Quality Headset with a noise cancelling Mic, and the Camera for the PS4, it would cost as much, or more than a Xbox One.
 
If I remember right the eye toy is dead on PS2/3 and that wonder book thing Sony announced last year is also sitting in dead water and the motion controller struggles. Huh, where is that for PS4?

Anyways, Gamers was the system and the controller and their headsets. Nothing fancy.
 
The Eye died on the PS2 and PS3, and the Kinect was only a commercial success for Microsoft. Every game for it has been shit basically. If they want to make motion gaming, make it right. 
 
I remember the PS3 Move had a Gun attachment for it which look pretty fun. It is a shame it never took off. Light gun shooter games are pretty fun to play at the arcade since it's like a real gun.

Without the eyetoy, the Move gun won't work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYYNKnnq-VQ

The Kinect for Xbox One can track your finger and hand movements, so I bet you can make a gun shape with your finger and move your thumb downwards to shoot.

I think there are Gamers which may want motion controls like looking around a room in a game by moving your head left, right, up, and down instead of using joysticks.

Dance Dance Revolution and Duckhunt are one of the first motion games, and both were popular.
 
Why don't they just include a non-camera tracker for this? It shouldn't be too complicated, considering a Wiimote can be software-adapted to PC.
 
They built the eye to be tracked by a camera because it's much more accurate for them. (Nintendo's motion control system worked for the most part... but it wasn't nearly as accurate. They had to release an extra hardware piece, the motion plus, to increase it's accuracy to even near PS Move levels.) Sure they could likely use other methods but they'd be very costly to develop, would take time and wouldn't be ready for this generation. 
Plus they have the technology to make this work for a camera already so it just makes sense for them to go ahead with that.

And I'm sure that there will be support for the PS4 Move, and I'm sure that people will buy the PS4 eye. There may not be as much support for the PS4 Move like if the Eye were bundled with the system as planned, but giving gamers/consumers the option of whether or not to buy and use it is a massive step over microsoft. It allows people to choose whether they want to use it (especially in an age where privacy concerns are at an all time high thanks to the NSA and Prism being revealed to have been spying on citizens and people are thusly worried about allowing an always listening/watching device into their homes.)

And the fact it reduces the cost by 100$ is a nice touch. 
 
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