14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has talked a bit more about the ongoing trend of including microtransactions in full-priced games and the debate concerning the 1080p and 60fps benchmarks and how they're not reached by some games on different platforms.
E3 2014 took place last week, and quite a lot of new games and existing ones have received plenty of details, videos, screenshots, and other such things. However, many of them have also got technical performance data, with some titles bragging about their 1080p native resolution and their 60fps framerate.
Others, however, have emphasized their focus on high-quality visuals and effects, while confirming that they'll run at a lower framerate of 30fps.
Sony's Scott Rohde has talked a bit with GameSpot about the performance debate and how many games have been shown to run much better on the PS4 than on Microsoft's Xbox One. He emphasized that better visuals will always result in better games.
"I think that the better fidelity you can get, the better the gaming experience will be," he said. "We're proud of the power that the PlayStation 4 offers and whenever we can we want to make sure to emphasize that and work as hard as we can to deliver that to gamers. It's what they want."
Another hot topic debate in the gaming industry, that of microtransactions, has also been tackled by Rohde.
Lately, more and more full-priced games have come with microtransactions for different content, customization items, and more, including Sony's own Gran Turismo 6 on PS3 or the upcoming Driveclub on the PS4, which is set to sell different items to players.
Rohde has emphasized that this strategy is used only when it makes sense for the game and that Sony doesn't want to force them into titles.
"This is a case-by-case decision on every single game," Rohde explained. "In some games, it makes more sense. In other games, you could argue that it makes absolutely no sense. I like to say that at PlayStation, we don't have a distinct policy. If it makes sense in the universe of a game, then certainly, we'll look at it. But it's not something we try to force into any game, nor do we try to force it out."
Considering that the new PS4 and Xbox One consoles make it even easier to have microtransactions in games, don't expect this trend to discontinue anytime soon, especially since it's a great way for developers and publishers to expand the profits gained from a game.