Is the PS4 flopping on launch?

[andrew172]

My facebook feed has blown up with people complaining about the PS4, here are just some examples:
"Super excited to plug in my brand spanking new PS4 and what happens? It's doesn't even switch on"
"PS4 is a flop guys just... dont'"
"PS4 for sale if anyone wants it..."

This is really surprising to me, I wasn't planning on getting on right away but I was also hedgin my bets on Sony to have the best console this generation- Is my social circle just over-reacting or is this a world wide problem?

 

[GetSome]

And..... this is why you NEVER buy launch day anything.

Launch day electronics hardware is ALWAYS flawed. You guys are literally just paying to be BETA testers.

 

[SpaceTiger]

I'd say they're over-reacting on Facebook...plus what GetSome said. Launch day is like Russian roulette on getting a bricked console, plus the greater bulk of titles on a console right at launch are ones already out or not as impressive a lineup. This is always the case.

 

[DrRipley]

Unless all those comments are from friends you actually know personally, I wouldn't put too much weight on it. Granted, some of the comments might be legit, but some are just looking for attention or for whatever else reason. It's just too easy to complain nowadays since you only have to type and press enter. I'm seeing a lot of exaggerated reports like giving the PS4 1 or 2 stars on Amazon just because Amazon (not Sony) is a day or two late with their delivery. Then again, they could be telling the truth, we'll have to wait for the dust to settle and hear the official reports. From what I can tell, however, it looks to be a relatively successful launch - 1M units sold in 24hrs, and only 0.4% defective. Not bad at all, in my opinion.

 

[jardantuan]

Would people stop using the word 'flopping' to talk about games consoles?

For a start, the PS4 has barely been out, so it's impossible to judge anything yet. We have no reliable (or any?) sales figures yet, and even if we did, launch day/week isn't a fair representation. Look at the Wii U - the first month or so was fantastic for it, outdoing the opening sales of both the 360 and PS3, whereas now it's seriously struggling.

And while I'm on the Wii U, people throw the word 'flop' around a lot when talking about the Wii U, but it really isn't. Sure, 4 million is far below what Nintendo had originally forecast, but they're only just starting to bring out the games that make it worth owning.

As other people have said though, console launches are generally a bad time to buy. Only so much can be tested before they release the console, and only so many people can test it. When hundreds of thousands of people are trying them out simultaneously, things are bound to go wrong in abundance. Give it time, perhaps a couple of months, and then we can talk about how it's doing.

 

[CpmPanda]

I have a friend who keeps bugging me and bugging me about getting a PS4 and how he wishes he could game with me on it. I told him not only can I not afford one, but even if I could I wouldn't buy one on launch day or even the same month. The reason? The title of this post haha. Seriously, I figure i'd let everyone else test it out for me.

 

[SpaceTiger]

Would people stop using the word 'flopping' to talk about games consoles?

"Flopping" gets thrown around freely now. That comes from people of different fanbases worrying about the business stuff that doesn't really concern them. In gaming and comics it's sales, in music it's albums sold, in wrestling and MMA it's TV ratings, PPV buyrates, and attendance. As long as you have you have your console and games that's all that should matter for the most part. "Flopping" or being unsuccessful should only come in when it concerns if a game will get a sequel.

...totally agree about the Wii U as well.

 

[Ghost_of_Crash]

I don't feel the PS4 is flopping, it's just been a weekend roughly. Flopping occurs after an amount of time and sales just start to sink and show no signs of recovery (and end up not recovering).

 

[Strelok]

I'd say people are overreacting, as if they were expecting something incredible, but the truth is that it's just another console, which in my opinion, has had the most minimal improvement over it's previous version (the difference between PS1 and PS2 or PS2 and PS3 was a lot more noticeable than PS3 to PS4).

But still, 1 million sold so far is a great amount and is hardly a flop. Europe hasn't even started selling them yet, remember.

Also, I'm sure Sony will replace all those faulty consoles, which are actually less than a percent of all consoles sold so far.

 

[BioLee]

People never learn that the first day consoles are most of times still in "beta phase". They will always have problems since they are produced in masses and were never used with the average joe. It will get better they just had a rough start as usual with most electronic devices in their first days, this is a product with 6~ years life spawn there will always be improvement in the first 6 months.

 

[dragoonblade]

I never buy hardware on the first day, it's always got issues. I always prefer waiting a couple of months until they've ironed out the kinks and PSN is running smoothly. I've had to many day one issues in the past to go through it again with more advanced consoles.

 

[themarting]

people misunderstand the concept of "flop"

to flop is to have a lot of hype and then fail to live up to the hype, especially by sales numbers.

Its only been a couple of days and i doubt anyone on the internet knows the true sales numbers

I can also guarantee neither system will be a flop.

 

[Legendoflore]

people misunderstand the concept of "flop"

This 100%. When we say "flop" people mean that it's something that doesn't live up to it's hype or in this case sales. The best example of this is movies. Like After Earth, it was supposed to huge number but no one really saw it. The PS4 isn't a flop. If we're talking about people having hardware issues that is to be expected but the reports are so minor that it's really a huge step forward.

 

[The Unlosing Ranger]

I bet they're overreactions, or maybe they're disappointed because they were hyped as hell. If they ARE having issues with the hardware, they should contact Sony instead of whining on Facebook, anyway.

I do think it's pretty dumb to get consoles day 1, personally, but yeah...

 

[hellsing006]

I'm not a fan of grabbing console on day 1. Really of getting any piece of technology on day one. I feel like companies consider day one buyers as guinea pigs to see what's wrong with the units before more come out to the mass public. The PS4 isn't a flop, it's just that the people that got some bad units are complaining everywhere online when it's kind of expected.

 

[Stuck_X_Button]

They're overreacting. A hard flop would've been like 10,000 sold or something lower. A preemptive flop would be Panasonic saying it's rejoining the console game with the M2 and that Plumbers Don't Wear Ties 2 would be their flagship title.

 

[Ghost_of_Crash]

You can't tell me with a straight face that you wouldn't buy an M2 if PDWT2 and Wing Commander were announced.

 

[Murphtasticc]

I have had mine since Launch and have not had a single problem with the system in over 25+ hours of gametime. The PSN was down release night but thats expected, its tough to test these kinda things before it even happens. I can't wait to hear what people say when the One drops in a few days.

 

[SpaceTiger]

It'll be largely the same response. Microsoft is probably hoping that XBL doesn't have those issues and feel confident that they've done a good job of nipping it in the bud early, but I'm Sony did as well. It'll be interesting for sure.

 

[Legendoflore]

A flop would be if over the course of the holiday season they don't sell any more consoles. Until then the launch has been going very well for them, in any case we can't say anything about the PS4 launch or even the Xbox One launch until at least 6 months has passed since a lot of people are holding off on buying them until the typical launch issues are solved.