Should Sony work on a PS4 emulator for PC? An idea:

[Guest]

So, after the recent news about the Xbone and the losses that microsoft made by producing it there have been many discussions about the console model in general and how companies like microsoft and sony actually make a profit with them. Most of them have ended with the same conclusion: Console manufacturers usually sell the console itself at a loss, but they rake in the profits because they take a cut from every single game that is sold on their system (also, expensive proprietary controlers and their online services, of course). The thought that instantly crossed my mind was: What if sony themselves worked on an official PS4 emulator that made it possible to play PS4 games (I'm obviously talking about exclusive titles that are not available on other platforms) on your PC, given that you have the horsepower to do so. EDIT: Maybe that wasn't exactly clear, but you would buy actual, legitimate PS4 games to play. That's the idea behind this, not just emulating a PS4 and pirating all the games.

 

First let's get the elephant out of the room. It won't happen because piracy. Yes, of course. But we can dream, can't we? Let's say Sony has tight control over the emulator, there is a draconian DRM system in place and a large number of people are actually willing to pay for the games. That should at least mitigate the issue.

Another aspect would be the development cost. While the PS4 is an x86 machine and thereby very similar to modern computers, it would still cost them a fair amount to make this thing work on most systems. That cost, however, could be made into profit by charging, let's say, 50 bucks for the software and requiring playstation plus in order to use it to its full extent.

Performance is another issue, you would probably need an absolute beast of a PC to emulate a PS4 and have an enjoyable experience. I personally would just spend the 350€ (400€ for the PS4 - 50 bucks for the emulator license) on an upgrade to make the experience as good as possible. I wouldn't mind turning down the resolution and playing games at 30fps if it is a comparable experience to the console version (the only experience possible in this case).

 

So, what are your thoughts? If it was possible and it would run decently on a really good PC, would you consider buying the emulator for 50 bucks in order to play legitimate PS4 games on your PC? I know that I definitely would, instead of spending money on a device that will only be used to play a few exclusive titles (and will be pretty useless for anything else) I could spend it on my PC instead and have my PC experience profit from it as well. Sony would still make money on the sold games, on the emulator itself and on PS+ while giving PC players the option to experience their exclusive titles and giving them money in the process.

[Clyne]

I only way i pay for the emulator if you can play Gran Turismo on the emulator on pc.

[TheSLSAMG]

You really think the biggest concern is piracy?

The real elephant is the limitation of console sales. And as a PS4 owner, I think the Xbox One is better.

[Guest]

I only way i pay for the emulator if you can play Gran Turismo on the emulator on pc.

 

That would be the whole point, making sure that you can play exclusive titles on your PC.

 

You really think the biggest concern is piracy?

The real elephant is the limitation of console sales. And as a PS4 owner, I think the Xbox One is better.

 

If they sell those consoles at a loss then giving people the option to spend money on PS4 games (i.e. giving sony money) without owning a PS4 seems like a sensible thing to do. This shouldn't affect PS4 sales that much, most people buying a PS4 actually do so because they want to stick with consoles (at least from my experience). Your opinion on the Xbone is pretty irrelevant to this as well, since you could apply the same thing to any console, basically.

[Epitome]

You really think the biggest concern is piracy?

The real elephant is the limitation of console sales. And as a PS4 owner, I think the Xbox One is better.

Why do you think the xbox one is better, not questioning your opinion just interested in why you think that

[ZetZet]

Consoles would die even faster if they had no exclusives.

[Guest]

Consoles would die even faster if they had no exclusives.

 

Technically it would still be PS4 exclusive, you would just give people the option to emulate it. I doubt that this would kill consoles, there are way too many people that don't give a fuck about PCs and simply want a console, they want the console experience and they want that tiny box under their TV. It basically just applies to PC users who would've never gotten a PS4 otherwise or who would have just bought it for a few exclusive titles.

[ZetZet]

The only reason consoles compete now is because they sell the hardware at a loss. There is no way they would even attempt this they NEED you to buy games for consoles.

[Guest]

The only reason consoles compete now is because they sell the hardware at a loss. There is no way they would even attempt this they NEED you to buy games for consoles.

 

Yes, you would still buy the games. That's the whole point, you get the emulator and purchase legitimate PS4 games. You just ignore the actual PS4 hardware, which should actually be in favor for the manufacturer.

[Ciccioo]

Technically it would still be PS4 exclusive, you would just give people the option to emulate it. I doubt that this would kill consoles

"console exclusive" means that if you want to play the game, you must buy the console

if you can play the game without the console, it's not an exclusive anymore

it would have a big impact on console sales imho

in fact, when the consoles were presented to the public, one of the biggest "war" they had was about exclusive titles at launch

[ZetZet]

Yes, you would still buy the games. That's the whole point, you get the emulator and purchase legitimate PS4 games. You just ignore the actual PS4 hardware, which should actually be in favor for the manufacturer.

You don't get it, they need you to commit to buying games for ps4. With your model only game sony would profit from would be the exclusive title and thats no good.

[Guest]

"console exclusive" means that if you want to play the game, you must buy the console

if you can play the game without the console, it's not an exclusive anymore

it would have a big impact on console sales imho

in fact, when the consoles were presented to the public, one of the biggest "war" they had was about exclusive titles at launch

 

That war about exclusive titles was mainly between Microsoft and Sony, they called Titanfall Xbone exclusive even though it released on PC at the same time. I think that looking at this from a PC-gamer perspective is very misleading, the console market doesn't really care about PC all that much. People who play on consoles would never even think about spending 1500 bucks on a PC to emulate their console, many of them probably don't even know that something like emulation exists. It would just be a service for PC users who want those exclusives but don't need a PS4. Sony could potentially save the production costs on the PS4 and still sell games. I really don't think that it affects the whole console world all that much, no sane PC gamer would buy a multiplatform game on a PS4. They would just get the console for a few exclusive titles and they probably don't care about PS+ as well.

 

You don't get it, they need you to commit to buying games for ps4. With your model only game sony would profit from would be the exclusive title and thats no good.

 

The thing is, they're not losing out on too much here. As a PC gamer you wouldn't buy a PS4 for your exclusive titles and then say: "Hmm, I'll buy the next assassins creed and Battlefield game on my PS4 and pay more for a worse experience!". Even if you have a PS4, you're still going to stick with your gaming PC for multiplatform titles. They're not losing out on any actual sales. This is also not supposed to replace the PS4 in any way, it's just a different approach for PC gamers.

[ZacDaMan72]

They obviously wouldn't.

[Ciccioo]

That war about exclusive titles was mainly between Microsoft and Sony, they called Titanfall Xbone exclusive even though it released on PC at the same time. I think that looking at this from a PC-gamer perspective is very misleading, the console market doesn't really care about PC all that much. People who play on consoles would never even think about spending 1500 bucks on a PC to emulate their console, many of them probably don't even know that something like emulation exists. It would just be a service for PC users who want those exclusives but don't need a PS4. Sony could potentially save the production costs on the PS4 and still sell games. I really don't think that it affects the whole console world all that much, no sane PC gamer would buy a multiplatform game on a PS4. They would just get the console for a few exclusive titles and they probably don't care about PS+ as well.

people buy ps4 to play exclusives, i own a pc but i'm very very tempted to buy a console, and i probably will, sooner or later

if you buy a console, you're more keen on buying more games for it, to justify the initial cost. and that's exactly what i would do, if i end up with a ps4 in my living room: i'll buy ALL the good titles that i can't play on my pc

if the ps4 games were available for emulation on pc though, they would just become some more games in the infinite selection of steam, and i wouldn't bother getting many of them

 

and of course there would be a ton of butthurt on the argument "my console runs ps4 games better than your pc!" or vice versa, nah, it looks like a no-no to me

sony shouldn't do that

[GeathX]

So, after the recent news about the Xbone and the losses that microsoft made by producing it there have been many discussions about the console model in general and how companies like microsoft and sony actually make a profit with them. Most of them have ended with the same conclusion: Console manufacturers usually sell the console itself at a loss, but they rake in the profits because they take a cut from every single game that is sold on their system (also, expensive proprietary controlers and their online services, of course). The thought that instantly crossed my mind was: What if sony themselves worked on an official PS4 emulator that made it possible to play PS4 games (I'm obviously talking about exclusive titles that are not available on other platforms) on your PC, given that you have the horsepower to do so. EDIT: Maybe that wasn't exactly clear, but you would buy actual, legitimate PS4 games to play. That's the idea behind this, not just emulating a PS4 and pirating all the games.

 

First let's get the elephant out of the room. It won't happen because piracy. Yes, of course. But we can dream, can't we? Let's say Sony has tight control over the emulator, there is a draconian DRM system in place and a large number of people are actually willing to pay for the games. That should at least mitigate the issue.

Another aspect would be the development cost. While the PS4 is an x86 machine and thereby very similar to modern computers, it would still cost them a fair amount to make this thing work on most systems. That cost, however, could be made into profit by charging, let's say, 50 bucks for the software and requiring playstation plus in order to use it to its full extent.

Performance is another issue, you would probably need an absolute beast of a PC to emulate a PS4 and have an enjoyable experience. I personally would just spend the 350€ (400€ for the PS4 - 50 bucks for the emulator license) on an upgrade to make the experience as good as possible. I wouldn't mind turning down the resolution and playing games at 30fps if it is a comparable experience to the console version (the only experience possible in this case).

 

So, what are your thoughts? If it was possible and it would run decently on a really good PC, would you consider buying the emulator for 50 bucks in order to play legitimate PS4 games on your PC? I know that I definitely would, instead of spending money on a device that will only be used to play a few exclusive titles (and will be pretty useless for anything else) I could spend it on my PC instead and have my PC experience profit from it as well. Sony would still make money on the sold games, on the emulator itself and on PS+ while giving PC players the option to experience their exclusive titles and giving them money in the process.

Please, before thinking along the lines of trying to write an emulator for the current consoles ( or even previous gen...) research, Draw calls consoles vs PC

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/03/16/farewell-to-directx/2

Or at least have a read of that article

 

There is so much more to emulation than just matching up hardware, or even just having more powerful hardware. There are fundamental limitations in DirectX that consoles simply do not have. DX12 and mantle could very well be what PC needs to really show its strength, that they are a year or 2 away from being mainstream or even released.

 

I'd say a more realistic sequence of events is Sony pushes out their Playstation Now service to PCs for online streaming. That way they keep just as much control as they do on consoles.

[Cruiseshipfan]

The PS4 is not sold at a loss. Unlike other consoles which usually have. They learnt their lesson from the PS3 not making profit from hardware until the late years. 

[KABAR432]

So, what are your thoughts? If it was possible and it would run decently on a really good PC, would you consider buying the emulator for 50 bucks in order to play legitimate PS4 games on your PC? I know that I definitely would, instead of spending money on a device that will only be used to play a few exclusive titles (and will be pretty useless for anything else) I could spend it on my PC instead and have my PC experience profit from it as well. Sony would still make money on the sold games, on the emulator itself and on PS+ while giving PC players the option to experience their exclusive titles and giving them money in the process.

It will never happen. Why would Sony give us the same product for $50 whilst charging $400 to everyone else? Think about it mate. Yes in a utopian world it would be great... but we live in the real world with global corporations and shareholders.. How would they view this? If it were my money invested, I'd be pretty pissed.

[Erosa86]

I realize there are inherent challenges in creating an emulator this complex but I think the idea has merit. From a company standpoint it makes sense. First, selling an emulation license would create an extra source of revenue for Sony. Second, it would drive game sales. Third, it expands their market. Lastly, I don't think the emulation license would cannibalize too many of their hardware sales. Given the option most PC gamers will opt for the PC version anyways. 

 

my 2c