Sony could have a big advantage over Microsoft thanks to a feature of the PS4 that many people seem to have forgotten about.
The PS4 and the Xbox One are very much alike when it comes to features they offer, hardware and games. Some people have said that this means that there isn’t one clear winner between the two next gen consoles.
However thanks to Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition for PS4 this is a reminder to people of the potential the PS4 and Sony have for a game changing idea.
This doesn’t come about thanks to it being an HD re-release of a game that was launched three years ago, even though the game is superb.
It is due to the feature on the PS4 that seems to have been forgotten that has been on the PS4 since the PS4 came out, but which only very few games have made use of, interactive broadcasting which is better known as live streaming and which can get feedback from viewers.
With interactive broadcasting the developer is able to create ways for those playing to change the course of the game while the game is being played.
When it comes to Dead Nation on the PS4 users will be able to vote and this would make the game harder or easier. For instance there could be more ammo given enhanced speed or maybe a limit on the ability to sprint. This isn’t the only game that offers this feature of course, interactive broadcast has functioned since the console launched. However not that many games have used the option.
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition does come with the feature, but it seems that only a handful of people know it or have used it.
In a livestream viewers can take the opportunity to choose whether Lara is revived or whether she dies, when the gamer suffers fatal damage.
In Japan gamers found that Dynasty Warriors 8 came with the interactive broadcast feature. Gamers could give a gift to a player and provide them with items that could help them in a fight.
In Yakiza: Ishin the amount of comment in the stream is dependent on the health regen buff.
Of course while none of this is out of this world, Sony does have an advantage with live streaming. They also take a popular medium and add on a new level of interactivity, but it seems that for the most part Sony is not bragging it off. At the same time they are also not making it clear to developers for them to take advantage of it. Even the first party games of Sony don’t seem to have jumped onto the band wagon.
The concept is very exciting but only if Sony pushes it, if so it could add on a new element to gaming.
For instance in Dark Souls 2, there could be a scenario where viewers could unlock entrances that were locked or activate traps, simply by becoming involved. While this game isn’t coming out on the PS4, if it was to and it came with the interactive broadcast feature, it would enhance what is already an intriguing multiplayer game.
It could open up games wide to a brand new type of multiplayer experience, this could be by playing along but with the sense of interaction along with having the benefit of people watching you play.
Interactive broadcasts should be pushed by Sony and you have to wonder why they are not doing so as it could essentially help them to win the war of the consoles.
