Has Sony Broken Too Many Promises?
by Joshua Williams
The next generation of gaming is underway and Sony has gotten the ball rolling last month with the PS4 pre-veal. Much of the social aspects were to be expected but many of the other new features can really only be taken with a grain of salt. I say this only because we’ve been here time and time again with Sony. They announce something that you get excited for but then the feature never materializes. On top of that, maybe the feature is there and then one day that feature is removed never to be seen again. Not Cool! The following are just a few things Sony promised but never delivered and or took way for various reasons.
Online Connection CD
Playstation 1 Network Adapter
Online searches for any type of PS1 online capabilities will result in very little success. However, I do remember this feature being announced way back in the day. Before you dismiss it as farfetched just remember that the Sega Saturn had the ability to browse the internet in this same era.
Further digging has resulted in the discovery of Lightspan for PS1 which was online enabled educational software. The entire setup required a modem, software on a memory card and a controller port adapter for connecting a keyboard and mouse.
Backwards Compatibility
Missing from this list is anything in regards to the PS2. The most successful platform delivered in so many ways that it was a huge selling point having it’s library supported on the PS3. Then all of a sudden it wasn’t! As the newer models of PS3s rolled out, so went the ability to play games from the old school era. Instead, Sony began to slowly roll out PS1 and PS2 emulation which allowed them to profit by selling us digital copies of games we owned on disc.
So not only were they saving by not adding the PS2 architecture to the new models but they used the opportunity to re-sale titles if we wanted to play them on our PS3s. This was bad Sony, just bad! Not because we didn’t still have PS2s but because we probably gave them to younger relatives. On top of that, we still would’ve bought a PS3 without the promise of backwards compatibility.
Linux
Some cried, most could care less.
The PS3 had so much going for it early on. The security was sound. A decent library of growing titles. It even had the ability to run Linux…until hackers realized they could hack the system by exploiting the feature. This caused quite an uproar when Sony decided to remove Linux altogether. It was the classic case of one apple ruining the bunch. Sure you could’ve refused to update and kept the ability to run Linux but you’d also miss out on using PSN.
In the end we all moved on (up until the posting of this article) and put the whole experience behind us. To tell the truth, who really used their PS3 to run Linux? I believe the whole reason Sony made Linux a feature is so that the PS3 could be considered a computer, thereby reducing fees related to exporting.
Vita Promises
Let’s not leave out the little Vita that could! Prior to release it was touted as a workhorse that could deliver the PS1 and PS2 catalog but we’ve only recently been able to see PS1. Then there’s the Remote Play feature that hasn’t quite lived up to expectations but PS4 is now supposed to be the answer to that problem.
Pinky Promise!
I’m actually having to leave out some things that Sony never delivered because this isn’t a witch hunt, I’ve gotten many hours of enjoyment from their products. The intent is that their history of bait and switch shenanigans is brought to light and perhaps they cut that out. So as more PS4 features are revealed it’s important that you just be looking forward to a new experience. Anything on top of that may require you getting a pinky promise from Sony themselves.
How about you all, what did Sony have you looking forward to but never delivered? Has Sony broken too many promises?
