PlayStation Now Possibly a Huge Step for Gaming

Last week we saw CES and a surprising huge presence of Sony at it.  It is surprising since CES while a great venue normally is just a venue for cool advanced gadgets and tech.  What I mean by that is companies like Apple and Google which are responsible for the majority of smartphone on the market didn’t have a press event or booth at the show.

It make senses since they have gotten so big that they would rather have their own tradeshow just like how video games have gotten so big  They have gotten so big that they branched off into multiple conferences from GDC, Gamescom, and E3.  So to hear Sony announce PlayStation Now at CES was surprising at least to me.

Though since Sony is riding high on their successful release of their new PS4 it makes sense that they want to continue the momentum.  By releasing more news about expanding their PlayStation brand they keep excitement on their already impressive launch.  With selling 4.1 million consoles by years end and becoming the most successful console launch ever momentum is looking good.

PlayStation Now actually doesn’t have too much to do with the PS4 but more about their ability to stream gaming content to multiple devices.  This means you will be able to stream gaming content directly to a Sony Bravia TV connected to the internet or on your most tablets when on the go.  This is exactly where gaming needs to go.

Content should not be locked to any one setting or environment but given to the consumer to decide where and when he wants to consume it.  Not everybody wants to watch movies in a theater or even at home not in the digital mobile age.  Gaming is no different especially when we already seeing gaming mobile market thriving.  If one can bring the home gaming experience on the go to devices that consumers already own then they should.

The problem though is the reality of bandwidth and if you can give them this experience at an affordable price.  The reason why bandwidth matters is because the core gamer will not use this if the quality of gaming is diminished in anyway.  The casual will not use this if the pricing is too high since they still have access to free-to-play casual games.

If these problems can be addressed than I think something very important will happen to casual gaming.  That is the accessibility to play certain immersive games that so far is only available to consoles and high-end computers will be available to much more wider audience.  By offering content to devices that most consumers already own have in their homes or carry with them everyday many casual gamers will start turning to core gamers.

This will change core gaming too in a great way.  If the core gaming experience can be taken on the go and retain its high quality then this will help the core gaming market.  Currently mobile gaming either needs a dedicated device or game designed specifically for the mobile market.  With PlayStation Now you will have the choice of both.

It is one thing to just bring the core gaming experience with you but it another to bring the same core experience from home with the same saves, profile, and network of online friends with you on the go.  We will see how much they can do given the bandwidth limitations or if this is a service too early for its time.

My Top 5 Games of 2013

Man was 2013 a great year for gaming.  Esports has reached levels where a game like League of Legends will sell out the Staple Centers in just hours, release of two new consoles both selling over 3 million units by years end, release of ton of great games to close out the old generation, and the continue success of mobile games.  I just want to talk about my personal five favorite games I got to play this year.

This year was my personal return to gaming as I found just a little more time to actually play games.  College cut my free time and my first year working wasn't any easier.  Even now I still don't find much free time to play all I games I would like to which is why you will see a good amount of my favorite games this year were short but amazing indie games.

This list is just my personal list of favorite games that I got to play this year in no particular order.

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V was an amazing game and definitely my favorite GTA game this console generation.  GTA IV was good but just a little too serious even in its gameplay.  While GTA V still had it’s moment where it tried to be more serious than I felt it should it still at least had really fun gameplay.

Switching between characters I thought was a great addition to the game since it made getting around the world so much easier.  Plus the world felt just right for the city of Los Santos and Blaine County. Though I wish there was San Fierro and Las Venturas since I live in the Bay Area now and finally got experience Las Vegas as a 21 year old.  Small gripes for still an amazing world.

I have always loved GTA games because of their style and attention to detail.  It is really unique and creative experience even their marketing is something special.  They reveal less content than other game companies during production than will start exploding with unique ads on buildings and subways.  Perfect for their city style game and it is no surprise they became one of the best selling entertainment products across all mediums.

Proteus

Proteus was a really unique game because personally I haven't ever played something like this before. The closest thing I would say is Journey which is probably my favorite game ever but Journey still felt had the goal of reaching the mountain top. Proteus feels like just a pure experience more than game.

The game focuses on very little but what it does focus on it does really well. The sense of mystery and discovery is portrayed very well. It felt like I woke up in a video game dream with all the sounds and pixels that reminds me of one. Being limited to just moving and looking it took those two senses and gave you something magical.

The one scene that sold me was when I saw my first shooting star. That moment of beauty in a world so simple truly was breath taking. There were plenty of other scenes that captured my amazement but I honestly can't talk about it since if you love simple beautiful experiences of discovery check it out for yourself. This game if you can even call it it that is definitely not for most people but those that love games like Journey should check this game out.

The Novelist

The Novelist was a game that when it was released perfectly captured a feeling that I going through myself. You are a spirit that is living inside a house that a family has decided to live in for the summer. As an outsider of their lives you try to discover more about them and try to influence their lives for the better.

The Novelist himself is struggling between finding time for his passion as career writer, the women he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and son he helped bring into this world. Not easy choices by any measure since all are important to maintain a family.  One needs to provide for a family but also needs to be their for them.

Ever since I decided to write content for websites I have had a lot less time to spend with the people I care about most in life. My friends were supportive and understanding but I could tell it changed some friendships. I understand how hard it is to find time for all the things that you love especially when what you love are all important to your life.

The Last of Us

The Last of Us is tied for my personal game of year.  This game melded action and story telling so well.  All the other games on this list either had an amazing story in a casual setting or an action packed game with an average story.  The Last of Us managed to do both and do both so seamlessly.

The relationship between Ellie and Joel made for a great gameplay and storytelling experience.  The relationship of relying on each other to survive was action packed, intense, and emotional.  They use this connection even during action sequences in a way where I was worried about Ellie when something went wrong.

The Last of Us was the first game I got to review professionally and I am glad that is what I got to enter this amazing industry with.  As this console generation ended I thought this game was the perfect game to end this amazing generation that melded technology and gaming to create experiences that could have only been done this generation.

Gone Home

So Gone Home was my other favorite game of the year.  Gone Home was such a shock in terms of emotional experiences.  This game has you actually feel like the character since the home you have gone to is one that you have never been.  Your family has just moved into it too and nobody is home.

The game understands human nature by understanding how to use the setting to great effect.  Going to a new home for the first time during a thunderstorm is down right creepy.  They also use the setting of the being set during the 90s so well since you will see things like VHS tapes, cassettes, and of course Super Nintendo.

If there was one game I had to recommend to anyone it would be Gone Home.  It is short and simple enough for anyone to play.  Gone Home reminds me something only games can accomplish since this is a medium that you can not only interact with but one that will also react back.

Other Notable Mentions

The Stanley Parable - Man did this game mess with my mind and in a great way just a little too much though for my simple mind.

Battlefield 4 - I had a blast online once I got the hang of things and I was lucky enough not to have too much online troubles.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - I love Studio Ghibli so of course I loved the art and refreshing story of such an innocent little boy.

My Favored Daughter, my favorite book of 2013

The best book I read in 2013 was The Favored Daughter: One Woman’s Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future.  This book is about how Fawzia Koofi, a woman in conservative Afghanistan who not only survived invasions, civil wars, and the many attempts on her life but would eventually become the first female Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament for her country.

As an American I find it important to try and understand even just a little about why my brothers and sisters are risking their lives in foreign places.  I have read other books such as I am Malala, the amazing story of Malala Yousafzai a girl who wants education for women in Pakistan.  This amazing little girl spoke up for a simple basic right to education and was shot in the head for it.  Instead of quieting her voice they made it louder and stronger than ever.

I am Malala was a great book and I recommend this book to anyone that wants to see Pakistan through the eyes of an amazing little girl.  I just wished Malala had even more stories about her in the book because she was so interesting.  Understandable though for such a young girl who has already accomplished more than I ever will in my entire life especially since her story I believe has just begun and we will be hearing even more great things from her.

What was so amazing about Fawzia Koofi story though was the struggles that she faced all through her life.  From the moment to she was born she nearly died since her mother almost didn’t have the heart to raise another daughter in a society that treated women so badly.  Growing up she had to deal with numerous civil wars and invasions it is amazing that she actually survived all these horrible events.

Here is a women that has been through so much suffering and hardship but still believed in hope and helping others.  Even now as she fights for the rights of her fellow citizens she is targeted by insurgents and terrorists.  After growing up and barely escaping death time after time, she is still risking her life to help her country.

It was so intriguing to see Afghanistan through not only the eyes of a local but the eyes of a women so amazing.  This book taught me so much about a country that pre 9/11 I would say most Americans did not even know much about.  Granted Afghanistan is a complicated place and majority of Americans including myself will never fully understand it but still Fawzia still gave such great basic and interesting understanding of this country.

What is so humbling about Fawzia she did this all in a society that doesn't treat women fairly.  This is a society and culture that believes in marriages as a way to gain political influence or improve the lives of family.  Even with that disadvantage she believed in herself and worked hard everyday helping others.

This was an amazing book that looks at the culture and history of Afghanistan through her eyes and tells a story of a women that would eventually become a high ranking political official for her country.  I recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand Afghanistan a little better and to learn about a woman's inspirational rise and drive to help others.

With that I will leave a simple lighthearted interview she gave on The Daily Show and I liked from her book.

“Who win the world would not want to vote if it was safe to do so and they were given the opportunity?”

- Fawzia Koofi

If Money Wasn't A Issue

Just wanted to talk about a famous speech by Alan Watts.  It asks the real question of what you would like to be if money was not a matter of importance.  I think this is a really great question to ask oneself but I think this speech forgets one important reality.

Without a doubt we are all given only one life so no matter what we should all follow our passion.  Following your passions will help drive you to work hard and become a skilled professional.  The one problem is when you ask yourself what you would really want to do with your life can you honestly say to yourself you really know?

Life changes so much that telling yourself right out of college to follow your dreams is telling yourself you know what you are destined to do.  Many people actually do know what they are destined to do but for the rest of us we don’t.  Many people in fact spend most of their life not knowing what they want but still live a fulfilled life.

It is really easy to say to yourself follow your dreams but the hard part is finding what that dream is.  I don’t think many of us know it right out of college as most of us are still in a stage maturing and discover.  Something like your dream should take time to develop and most importantly evolve with yourself.

It is easy to be hear this speech and then cynically look at our education system and workforce as a bunch of people miserable.  Caught in a way of thinking that forces them to think about money and not to follow their dreams.  I personally see many of them following one of the best dreams ever, being part of a family.

VGX an Insult to Gamers

I was so surprised and angered about VGX this year.  It is one thing to have just a horrible and awkward award show but it is another to have one that truly doesn’t understand the industry and the audience.  The main problem with the award show could be best summed up by the host Joel Mchale.

He basically not only didn’t seem to care about video games but didn’t care about anything at all.  I love Community but this made me lose a lot of respect for the man.  If you didn’t want to be their then don’t there are plenty of other very capable people that could have been a great host and not waste our time.

Award shows are built for two things, celebrating the developer who create the amazing entertainment, or celebrating the fans that support the creators to make everything possible.  VGX this year was able to amazingly insult both groups.

Joel Mchale insistence to ask stupid repetitive questions to developers like when a title was going to released was extremely annoying.  These developers took time to showcase and interact with their fans.  The fans themselves were insulted by Joel when all they wanted to do was interact with their favorite developers.

In fact Joel has no idea how Twitter even worked.  He kept joking like the developers knew who exactly the Twitter user asking the question was.  The whole point of Twitter is being able to interact with your fan base regardless of background or location.  It would be one thing if he was trying to be funny but you can only make the same joke so many times before it's just insulting.

It sad too considering how big social media has become in our society. Even General Martin Dempsey has a Twitter account.  Thats right even the highest ranking military officer of the most powerful military the world has ever seen has a Twitter account.  In fact he even had a townhall meeting over Facebook respectfully answering complicated questions such as the budget and China.

There are bigger more important discussions to have without a doubt.  The thing is all the more important discussions are actually so complex and complicated.  I am more than happy to have those discussion but don't go insulting an industry that provides content for billions of people.

Video games may be an entertainment medium but it still deserves a spot to celebrate like industries in the entertainment world..  Granted I understand this isn’t DICE but something less serious but even MTV awards at least puts on a show that appreciates fans of the music industry.

Granted VGX was also poorly organized with many Twitter questions already being answered during the interview with Geoff.  That could have been overlooked if the show treated the audience with respect though.  I actually really appreciated the show trying incorporate changes in the industry such as streaming and interactivity too bad it was overshadowed by insults.

It just pains me to see video games insulted like it was when we are seeing such great growth in our industry.  We are seeing growth in every type of video game model from mobile to consoles across the globe.  The only exception is subscription based mmo's but that is because of the huge growth free-to-play online games have created just a great an experience.

When Grand Theft Auto V becoming the fastest selling entertainment product ever, the entire Staples Center being sold out in less than an hour for an esport event, and 70% of revenue on the Apple App Store driven by games, I see the video game industry as a very serious entertainment platform.

Grand Theft 5 will win VGX Game of the Year

Grand Theft Auto 5 will win VGX Game of the Year.  I am so certain of this that I am writing this before they even announce the winner.  Without a doubt Grand Theft Auto 5 was an amazing game and has changed open world games forever  and it deserves recognition.  I loved playing GTA V it and I thought it improved upon GTA IV in so many ways. Just by looking who will be judging the game this year I can say for certain Grand Theft Auto 5 will win but that isn't a bad thing it is the more popular game.  Personally though on that list of nominees they had for game of the year I would have to say The Last of Us had a bigger effect on me.  Both were amazing games but The Last of Us gameplay, story, and themes were intertwined so well to create such a complete experience.

Now I will be talking about spoilers so if you are one of the few people that haven't played this game yet but want to know what I thought of it without spoiling anything you can  check out my full review.  To thoroughly understand my issues with the game I will be talking about specific things.  I do want to remind you though I thought Grand Theft Auto 5 was the best GTA experience this generation.  

My problem with GTA V would be probably with the most basic truth that I really enjoyed Vice City and San Andreas just a little bit more.  GTA V was by far much more playable in its approach to better controls and check points but the overall story did not draw me in an engage me as I thought it would have.  To me a game that connects every aspect of it together perfectly is better than a game that offers more.

Vice City had a protagonist that not only fit in the world he was in but also the story being told.   Tommy was a really interesting character put in a plot that made sense for him.  Also the story of his rise in Vice City was extremely entertaining.  The story didn’t take itself too serious but had its moments to make you care.

Franklin while great at times were just not that interesting to me.  Franklin was kind of bland character who seemed to a little too attached to one of his ex-girlfriend and a not that great of a friend.  I get that he wants to get out of the hood and that his friends don’t make the best choices but still man did I not really care.

Then well there's Trevor.  Don’t get me wrong he is an extremely hilarious and funny guy with awesome missions to partake too.  It’s just I couldn’t have any sympathy for this man period and he wants to make me feel bad about his friend Brad?  The dude tortures and kills people like it is nothing plus he treats his friends like they are nothing.

The ending best sums up how I thought the story of this game was.  Alright but just not something that totally grabbed me.  The choices given to you are to kill Michael, Trevor to let both live.  I mean how is that really a heart wrenching choice when its obvious you should let them both live just for pure gameplay reasons.  The ending was trying to be all serious but in my opinion wasn’t when you gave such an out like that.

Don’t get me wrong though I loved playing the actual game.  I enjoyed the missions and I enjoyed the heists.  I just wish there were more than two heists where you actually got to pick your entire crew from driver, gunner and hacker.

When it comes to the world I have to say San Andreas was much better California than Los Santos and Blaine County.  I thought Los Santos was the perfect size in GTA but having access to only one city when my previous adventure in Los Santos also had me access to two more cities kept on having me think in the back of my head man I wish I could explore San Fierro.

People loved Blaine County but to me I barely explored it but then again I am just a city guy I guess.  A shame for me too cause I get that there's so much to explore in Blaine County the place is homogeneous but I definitely missed driving down the strip in Las Venturas.  Couldn’t imagine what it would look like on my PS3.

It’s definitely not fair for me to compare two different games from different times.  It’s just hard for me not to miss San Fierro and Las Venturas after the rise of the startups in Silicon Valley or the rise of electronic dance music in Las Vegas.  That journey Carl Johnson took across San Andreas will still be my favorite Grand Theft Auto experience.

Is GTA V one of my favorite games of this generation?  Maybe but there were so many good ones I just don’t know.    Was it my favorite game this year? Probably not but only because I personally love great stories.   Was this the best GTA experience I had this generation?  Absolutely and I hold Grand Theft Auto V in very high regard.

Xbox One's Best Feature

Xbox One was released with its focus on it multimedia function with its ability to watch TV, and use other various other multimedia programs such as Skype and internet explore at the same time.  I went to a Microsoft store to see if I could try out their extensive features but oddly enough they didn't have it set up.

I found that a little strange considering the functionally appeals more to casual entertainment consumers than a gamer.  Don’t get me wrong Forza 5 looks gorgeous but even at the press event of the Xbox One reveal was their such a focus on the multimedia of the new Xbox.  This holiday season is the time to show it off to regular consumers that happen to go into your store.

I say that because the multimedia function has quite the potential to be an amazing feature of the Xbox One.  Especially for the consumers that are still are watching their programs through broadcast providers since the Xbox One providers a much more seamless experience.  No more do you have to switch between inputs to go from watching the football to playing football.

I only got to experience this from videos and but speaking on a more broad basis there is a lot of potential here.  The reason why the smart phones became so popular was it fit so many devices that we used to carry and compacted it to a more useful device in fact your smartphone can control your Xbox.  Having your living room experience all in one input device would make the experience much more enjoyable and convenient.

If Xbox One would be able to partner up with cable and satellite providers and provide subsidies like the mobile market you could see Xbox One expanding to even more homes.  With a much cheaper Xbox on the market one would assume it would gain in popularity and also keep more households with their broadcast provider being a win for both sides.

The only question is how relevant will cable and satellite television be in the near future?  Since 2006 when subscription was around 65% of US households has now begun to drop to around 55%.  With the rise of more affordable streaming capabilities one does not know how much it affect traditional broadcast providers.  Though the Xbox One also provides support for other streaming services so it has it bases covered.

Xbox One is a solid piece of hardware that has the potential to become the one box you always use on your living room.  No wonder why they called it the Xbox One.  With even more functions and features coming to this new device who knows what can be possible. Remember when smartphones first came out and we didn't realize the potential?

Leadership in an Uncertain and Dangerous World

Last week The Wall Street Journal hosted a pretty cool meeting of leaders in government and businesses across America.  Leaders like Barack Obama, Daphne Koller, Chris Christie and Drew Houston to name a few attended.

I won't be talking about the politics discussed during this chat because understandably it is a complicated matter and we all have different opinions.  What I do want to focus on is the leadership of someone whose job it is to protect a nation and is responsible for the lives of over 2 millions people and their 3 million family members.

Speaking about leadership in a dangerous world was General Martin Dempsey the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the highest ranking military officer in the United States of America.  The Chairman directly advises the President of United States knowing that the advice he gives will directly affect the lives of every soldier in the military.

The first characteristic of leadership he talked about was humility.  It is extremely important for a military leaders to be connected to all their soldiers since they are directly put into danger.  He points that even though being at a senior level with the capabilities with social media it is a lot easier to stay connected to all levels.  In fact, General Martin Dempsey actually even has his own Twitter account.

Any organization benefits when the leaders of the organization can show that they care and understand the needs of the people that help run it at all levels.  Having leaders that understand the privilege they have when given the responsibility to make decisions will make better choices when understanding the needs of those who make the organization run.

Trust was what General Dempsey said was the foundation of leadership in the military.  In fact in his confirmation hearing to be Chairman when asked about budget cuts for the military he talked about a photo with the word trust underneath it.  In the picture one soldier is watching the flank of another soldier using the radio for support.  He said what is most important is that soldiers trust that their leaders will give them the tools they needs to accomplish their mission given to  them.

Leaders in the military have a responsibility provide soldiers the tools needed to succeed.  You need leaders to manage an organization to be able to support a non-commissioned officer with whatever he needs to accomplish the mission.  That level of trust between leaders and soldiers is what makes the US military exceptional.

As someone who has worked in many different offices I can say trust is definitely also needed in the business world.  Many companies have many different departments or partner with other companies but they always trust that the different components needed to finish that project will get done efficiently.   Workers need to trust that management are making the best possible decisions to meet the needs of the competitive world.

A quote he said that I really liked was “you are not a profession just because you say you are you have to earn it and re-earn it”.   I think that speaks so much about leadership not just at the upper levels but at all levels.  Being a leader does not just mean being the best leader at the moment but improving oneself to be able to lead in the future.

I thought it was really interesting when he was discussing a character he liked in his favorite novel about leadership.  It was about a military officer who slowly rose through the ranks and made mistakes but learned from them and became a great leader.  I found this very intriguing because the first thing I thought of was our previous Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Michael Mullen.

Admiral Michael Mullen was not your average Navy officer since he grew up in Hollywood.  He joined the Naval Academy and actually was short 35 demerits from getting expelled and graduated in the bottom third of his class.  The first ship he commanded struck a buoy which caused a lot of damage to his career.  Even with all that he learn from those incidents and never gave up.  Then on October 1, 2007, he would be sworn in as the highest ranking military officer in the United States.

This lesson is probably important to everyone but especially leaders.  When given so much responsibilities it is very understandable to give yourself a level of pride to never want to make mistakes.  Humans make mistakes though especially those given a lot responsibilities but what is important is to learn from those mistakes.

It is not easy admitting mistakes either but it is without a doubt the most important step if you want to thoroughly learn from them.  In fact one learns more from mistakes than accomplishments.  Having this will allow you to quickly adapt to the ever rapidly changing world.

I really enjoyed listening to General Martin Dempsey speak about leadership especially when he is tasked with such great responsibility in really complicated times.  I was also impressed by his careful responses to the current world events but that's a totally different topic.

Leaders definitely need to have many other qualities to make them excel and not all organizations can be run by the same type of leader.  Still I think the qualities of trust, humility, and determination are important attributes for most if not all leaders to have across any organization.

Miyazaki's Legendary Farewell

When I first watched Spirited Away I fell in love in such a magical world with such artistic beauty.  Ever since then I have been a huge fan of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.  I felt really fortunate to have been able to see an early screening before the American release next year. For my official review check it out at Anime Courtyard.

Don’t worry since this movie has not been released I won’t talk too much about the story line.  This is an experience I can't describe just one you have to experience yourself.  Really I just wanted to talk a little about some of the beauty Miyazaki film's have had on me and how they affected me emotionally.

With any Studio Ghibli film the art style and music is always creative and beautiful.  I will always remember the first time I saw a Ghibli film with Spirited Away with all the amazing color combined with the creative character model.   The scene with Haku flying away from the Shikigami will always be etched into my brain.

His films in my opinion always struck the right tone with serious and fantasy.  I remember watching Princess Mononoke thinking this would be a another sweet story about a child.  While it was about a teenager man did that first action scene catch me off guard.

As any fan of Miyazaki could notice was this guy was really fascinated with flying.  So many of his movies had someone that could fly in fact I can't think of one that hasn't off the top of my head.   The love that Miyazaki has with flying is shared in this beautiful tale.

You get to understand his love for flight in The Wind Rises since the main character, the real Jiro Horikoshi also has a love for flying and works to become an plane designer.  The beauty of flying is shown gorgeously in this film even though that very plane would later become one of deadliest weapons in World War II.

Though the story is about Jiro Horikoshi fascination with flight  I couldn't help but feel it was also showing the audience Miyazaki love with flight.  Not only with flight but Miyazaki’s own desire to follow his own dreams and passions which as an artist which I could imagine was not easy task.

Miyazaki's final farewell beautifully shows what inspired him through a medium that he best knows.  His art style has always been creative and gorgeous.  There were moments where I  smiled, cried and laughed at the same time.

What I also loved about The Wind Rises was how the main character was a young adult.  Miyazaki films normally deals with children, teenagers, or even a teenager who turns into an elderly adult.  While I love childhood stories Jiro’s story resonated with me right now since I am slowly turning into a young adult myself

Jiro struggles to achieve his dream at his age is something I can totally relate to.  As I am trying to find and follow my passions I could understand the hardships associated with it.  I really respected the characters determination to achieve his goals even given all the harsh realities happening around him.

I could talk about The Wind Rises or in fact any Miyazaki film for days but honestly if you loved his work just go see it for yourself when the official release comes out cause I know I will again.  I am extremely sad that he is retiring but what a way to go out.

PlayStation 4's Best Feature

PlayStation 4 got released last week and I have to talk about in my opinion the biggest game changing feature. The ability to easily stream your gameplay online. This one feature I think is the most important for next gen consoles. Keep in mind I actually do not own a PlayStation 4 but I have watched people streaming it. The PlayStation 4 has teamed up with Twitch and Ustream to create a seamless way to stream your gameplay footage. Now your friends and if you want strangers can watch your gameplay footage. Now why is this so important to next gen systems?

The fact is I didn't even need to have a PlayStation 4 to see how amazing the PlayStation 4 looks. That is a ton of free marketing to not only get people exposed to the PlayStation 4 but excited about it too. Streaming on consoles is going to help the gaming community and industry become even stronger.

To be fair streaming gameplay is not anything new to gamers it has been available to PC gamers for a while now. Many popular games like League of Legends, Starcraft 2 and Minecraft will have thousands of viewers on any given moment. The significance of next gen consoles having this feature though is a much bigger market is being exposed to this opportunity.

With the streaming ability even having a devoted button to controller just symbolizes the importance Sony has given to streaming.  When League of Legends had over 30 million viewers it easy to see how big the audience is for people wanting to watch steamed game play. The question is what the PlayStation community will stream and what games will benefit from this feature the most.

Xbox One will also have the ability to stream though at the moment not out of the box. They announced the ability to stream directly to Twitch will be released early 2014 and considering how few of us will actually be able to even get a Xbox One even if we wanted waiting a while to get it right is definitely the right move.

What I do know about the PlayStation 4 from what I have seen through streams is that it has definitely looking impressive. Though I won’t be getting a PS4 anytime soon I do see myself getting it one day. Until then I will just watch other people play it.