What does Sony need to do to win next gen on consoles?

[Joelcool7]

Sony will not go for a super power high priced console this gen. What do I think they should do?

Sony should release a platform on par with WiiU visually and performance wise. There is no reason for Sony to go much more powerful then that even if Microsoft decides to go super powerful. THQ and other publishers have said if manufacturers were to make a leap like they have in previous generations then game costs could jump as high as 100$ at retail or the publisher/developer would have to sell a shit load more software to break even.

A modest bump in power to the level of WiiU or slightly superior would make PS4 a great console to port to. Sony would get all the greatest software that publishers have. Say Microsoft goes higher end, well they would get a few graphical exclusives that would blow our minds. But most of the software coming to that Nex-Box would be upgraded ports from PS4/WiiU.

In the end I suspect not ready to call it a prediction. But I suspect Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo's next gen offerings will all be similar power wise. None of the consoles will be a "True next gen leap forward" it would be to costly and Nintendo has set the bar now. Microsoft and Sony could both go higher end and leave Nintendo with the scraps like last gen, but it would be costly. It makes far more sense for one of the two MS or Sony to go Nintendo's route and leave the other competitor high end picking up the scraps from the lower end consoles.

As far as software goes I expect Sony to drop some franchises like they have in past generations and create some new IP. If they go the Nintendo route expect a lot of Japanese developer support and similar third party support to PS3 outside Japan. Software retail prices can luckily remain about the same and most third parties will be satisfied with the improvements.

Online, PSN is bound to be more secure then when hacked. Offering a two tier system one free one for cost will work in Sony's favor they are directly competing with both Nintendo's online network and X-Box Live. Of course the service could be improved a bit but I think if Sony stays the course they could see much larger success with PS4.

Hardware manufacturing isn't about producing the most powerful hardware you can, its about creating a product that a consumer will buy. Affordability is a big factor for both the consumer and developers.