PS4 vs. PS3

The video game evolution continues! For console gamers, not only is it still the seemingly eternal battle of Xbox vs. Playstation, it’s “do I keep my PS3 or finally bite the bullet and upgrade to the PS4.” The short answer? Yes.

PS4 has been with us now since 2013, but up until recently, little argument could’ve been made for its ownership. It’s a brand new platform that’s not retro-compatible with your PS3 gaming library, so all those games are now immediately null and void upon purchase of the new system. You can stream PS3 games via Playstation Network on the PS4, but only in a rental capacity ($$). Oh, and the Playstation Network is no longer free on the PS4 ($$$), though as of this writing it still is on PS3 (-$).

Additionally, the PS3 is still a far better media machine than the PS4. Sony’s older console can play videos stored on memory sticks or external hard drives, and the PS4 still won’t. Sony just introduced the ability to play music files from a USB stick, but you can’t store them on your PS4 or play video files just yet. The PS3 can also wireless stream files from other devices, which is yet another media feature the PS4 doesn’t have. The first-gen PS3 (the big, bulky sumbitch), also plays Super Audio discs (mp3s on crack) for the audiophile in your home.

The PS4 does have a increasingly strong app line-up though, so don’t sign it off entirely as a media center. Currently, the PS4 has the following apps: Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, BBC iPlayer, Demand 5, BBC News, BBC Sport and Now TV.

What the PS4 does do, it does well. It’s faster, quieter and somehow only just as sleek as the last iteration of the venerable PS3. If you just saved the princess in Zelda, the PS4 has been taping your progress. So, just hit the share button on your new controller and it’ll put it up on your YouTube channel. This is a supremely cool feature, however, we’re not sure who’s actually gonna watch it. We put up our video of us racing the Batmobile in Batman: Arkham Knight and so far only 1 person viewed it. Thanks, mom.

The Effing Cloud

More importantly, the PS4 is your supreme gateway into an online gaming experience, whether you want it or not. For instance, playing the new Need for Speed requires you to have an online connection, a Playstation Network account and an EA account or you can’t even play what you just paid $70 bucks for. They practically tell you to go call Comcast and get wifi or get f**ked. In fact, it seems every new PS4 game in late 2015 has a rich online gaming component, which, in some cases, negates a story arc or campaign mode altogether (hello, Star Wars Battlefront).

The hardest case we can make for PS4 ownership, though, is proprietary gaming and planned obsolescence. So if there’s a new 2015 game you want to play, such as Star Wars Battlefront, you’ll be forced to purchase a new console of some sort or resort to being a nerdy PC gamer, which, with the meter continually running upon plugging the PS4 in, is starting to seem like a damn good idea.

Also, in the new evolution of gaming, every game now has a Season Pass, which is an additional $60 you can pay to have the complete gaming experience once inherent in the initial product. Sony seems to be predicating on the memory loss of gen-X stoners and the immaturity of millennials in this new means of tripling their profits at our behest. All this said, we’re still kinda glad we got one. We’re just not ditching the PS3.

If you do buy a new PS4, don’t dick around. Get the Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition. It’s got collector value, but more importantly, it’s got 1TB of hard drive space.

Flat and black like 50 Cent’s abs, the Call of Duty PS4 is the heavy hitter of consoles.