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PS4 – Why Sony is Using ‘Cheaper Hardware’

Former Battlefield producer and EA executive, Ben Cousins, suggests that PS4 is made up of cheaper hardware than PS3 because of Sony’s fear of a smaller install base in next gen.

Cousins said, “We kind of feel that particularly tablets are becoming, will become, a solution for that problem or for that need. Soon it will be like actually, I’m getting everything I need here, do I really need to buy a console? These are the sort of guys who buy a console halfway through the cycle rather than right at the start.

He continued, “I think the problem with the console model and certainly with the previous generation was that it needed the ultra-hardcore, the kids, and those kind of mid-core or whatever you it call it, mainstream gamers, to a buy a console in order to make a profit because it just needed massive volume.”

He then went on to explain why this may have prompted them to go for cheaper hardware than it did with PS3. “It was interesting to see PS4 clearly go for what looks like cheaper hardware than last time around,” he continued, “so maybe that’s a kind of defensive move against their expectation that they’re not going to have the same install base, or maybe they just want to hit profitability quicker because of Sony’s less stable financial state at the moment.”

Cousins finished by saying that, “But I do still feel like…and maybe it’s a selection bias, but most of the people I talk to and whose work I read are kind of in agreement…that this time around console install bases will be smaller. And probably will be focused more on that core audience. It’s certainly not going to be kids and casual gamers buying consoles anymore I don’t think, they’re going to be all on mobile.”

What are your thoughts about PS4’s ‘cheaper hardware?’

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