12 Reasons Why the PS4 Should Be On Your Christmas List

The overwhelming popularity and success of Sony’s PlayStation 4 is of course no big secret. It’s staggering sales as of late have eclipsed nearly every other thing out there, even leaving similarly featured and priced competitors in the dust. Clearly, there’s something special to be found in this 8^th generation console and no doubt many will be vying to pick one up this Christmas as well. That’s why we’ve slapped together a list of 12 easy-to-digest reasons why the PS4 should be on your list this holiday season…

There are great games for it currently available

Regardless of what type of gamer you consider yourself to be or what genres you prefer to delve into, the PlayStation 4 has (at the very least) a couple of really dynamite titles specially laid out for you. So far, 2014 has seen the release of some really awesome and dynamic titles, but you know what they say – the best is yet to come.

Upcoming Titles That Look Amazing

…which brings us directly to our next point: Many of these announced games (with a planned 2015 release) truly seem amazing. Often times developers don’t hit their stride or timetable until the platform they’re working with is at least a few years old.   Needless to say, that’s exactly where we find ourselves now – waiting for the golden hits to drop.

Sleek design

One of the biggest gripes we’ve heard from consumers when discussing the current state of affairs in console video gaming has been the selected designs the big guns decided to go with. For instance, whereas Sony went with a more modern-looking sleek, askew shape, competitors like Microsoft’s Xbox One went with a more rectangular design.

Great apps

If you were thinking that your PS4 might just sit there waiting to be used for gaming, otherwise collecting dust, think again. In short, there are plenty of little software additions that are accessible through the PSN (PlayStation Network) that can allow you to do all sorts of things, like stream content, for example.

It can be your all-in-one entertainment box

To put it bluntly, the PS4 can basically become your de facto all-in-one entertainment box. In other words, it can serve as the main interface between you and all of your entertainment needs, whether that’s the aforementioned content streaming, gaming or even serving as the guts of your own gaming channel (connecting to services like Twitch).

New and exciting Indie titles are always inbound

Moreover, Sony has made it a point to make it easier for third-party developers to create content for their platform. Naturally, this has led to something of an indie “revolution”, wherein more and more people are able to peruse what’s out there while creators are able to more easily put their products in front of an interested paying audience.

Again, 10 million units sold!

It might not bear repeating again, but perhaps it does… the PS4 totally crushed the market with over 10 million units sold. Again, these kinds of things don’t happen for any good reason at all. This seems to be a clear indication that everything is not only going well, but also that they console has an incredibly bright future ahead of it as well. People don’t rush out and buy rubbish; sales usually indicate a quality product, which is exactly the case with the PS4. Who knows, it might even outsell the fabled PS2 after all is said and done…

Sony’s working on a revolutionary VR system (Project Morpheus)

If you’ve been keeping abreast of the situation with the Oculus Rift and VR gaming in general then you already know how incredibly cool it is. The idea of being able to realistically insert yourself into a game is, well…a classic video gaming dream, of sorts. Not one to be left waiting in the wings, Sony is also developing their own VR system which should be able to compete with the Oculus, it’s called “Project Morpheus” and if all goes according to plan, it will likely change the way we think about gaming on Sony machines forever.

Social features out the wazoo

These days it’s common to see top-tier consoles acting not only as gaming stations or entertainment complexes, but also as integral social networking tools. The PlayStation 4 is no exception to this rule of course, it boasts and assortment of ways to directly link up to all your current accounts and more.

The Price / Value factor

If you want top-of-the-line gaming graphics and smooth gameplay, the PS4 is a great value. It remains more affordable than competitors and even challenges the PC market on multiple fronts. In other words, if you want to dish out as little as possible while also gaining access to the depths of what’s graphically possible out there as well as play all the modern games as they’re released, this console is your best bet. Likewise, unlike a PC, it won’t require you to update any hardware (although you can also do that too, if you wish, thanks to Sony’s drive to make user modification easier).

Plenty of power / amazing graphics

Again, we really can’t emphasize enough just how powerful this console truly is. In fact, we have yet to see any games released which actually push it to its limits. Not only can it handle the most hoggish titles out there which use up tons of processing power / assets, but it also juggles multiple threads simultaneously, thus allowing you to do several things at once without hiccups, lag or other issues. Furthermore, it is expected that many of the emergent titles of 2015 will significantly improve what we currently consider to be standardized gameplay.

All sorts of other less talked about features

There are so many little refinements and add-ons relating to the PS4 that you’d have to write a book to cover them all. Things like cross-play functionality with the Vita or the use of the PlayStation eye as well as the layout / way you navigate are all important things to consider. Needless to say, Sony has created a brilliant machine that’s a triumph of form and function.

Made your decision? Ready to buy? Check out our PS4 buyers guide.