Right before the PlayStation 4 was announced, the crew at New Gamer Nation went bold and predicted some of the features, games and highlights of the console. Now that we had a chance to see how the PlayStation 4 launch went, let’s take a look at how we did. Feel free to check out the original predictions if you don’t want to take our word for it.

Joe Marchese NGN’s Editor in Chief / Owner

Original Prediction – “The event will be over an hour long. They are going to talk all about the console, and it will be called the PS4. Orbis is just the project name.

Grade: A
The console was indeed named the PlayStation 4 and Orbis was just the project name.

Original Prediction – “I think they will give a window for Holiday 2013 / Q1 2014. No price will be given; instead, we will be told it will be competitively priced. Expect $400, more or less.”

Grade: A-
The PS4 was released on November 15th for the US and Canada and it retails for $399.99. They did reveal the price at the show so we took off a few points for the technicality.

Original Prediction – “The PS4 will be fully compatible with the Vita, just as it works with the PS3 now.”

Grade: A
The PlayStation 4 is completely compatible with the PlayStation Vita and allows games to be played across both platforms.

Original Prediction – “I say the controller will be detailed; maybe not shown, but definitely featured. I see the controller working like the WiiU does, further pushing Nintendo back to the Stone Age.”

Grade: B
The controller was definitely featured during the conference. Not much was shown application-wise with the controllers touchpad, but we knew it existed. Whether or not the touchpad works like the Wii U pad does is debatable from a controller point of view, but since the Wii U pad does more with a screen, we’ll take off points for that.

Original Prediction – “They have to announce some games to go along with the console. I doubt we’ll see gameplay or screenshots, but we will get some titles expected on the console. Look for Killzone 4, LBP 3, and Uncharted 4 to lead the way in first-party support. Look for the next Assassin’s Creed, Yakuza, and Final Fantasy Versus XIII for 3rd-party support.”

Grade: C
Indeed there were games announced but the list is a little off. Killzone: Shadowfall was shown during the show so points for that. LBP 3 doesn’t exist and technically Uncharted 4 was being developed, it wasn’t shown so partial credit for that. Yes the next Assassin’s Creed game was shown and it did launch with the system. Yakuza isn’t yet announced for the PS4, but FFXII versus turned out to be FFXV and that was announced for next-gen systems so points for that.

Original Prediction – “Look for an XMB overhaul. I’d even say you’ll see some version of LiveArea outfitted for the console. Every console has different operating systems, and I wouldn’t expect the XMB to exist as is.”

Grade: B+
The XMB was retired with the PS3, but the Orbis OS which replaced it is very similar to its predecessor. If you took LiveArea and mixed it with XMB, you’d get Orbis OS. While not 100% technically correct, it is pretty close.

Original Prediction: “I believe the console will not require a constant internet connection or restrict used game access. There are lots of people without regular internet access, and restricting used games would cause resentment among their fans. This would create problems for them, and I can’t see Sony taking that risk when they are in a position to overtake Microsoft’s Xbox in popularity.”

Grade: A+
Not only was this statement 100% correct, but it was the turning point for PlayStation 4 over its competitors. Once this was announced, the place erupted in excitement and set the stage for the PlayStation 4 to overtake the Xbox One for dominance.

Overall: B+
While I didn’t exactly predict anything too far away from what one would reasonably expect, I did surprisingly well with console features, price point and even a number of games. All in all, you could take my words to the bank.

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Jose Sanchez, Contributing Editior

Original Prediction: “Within that package, they might show off a revamped XMB and/or a revamped online system, including a new browser.”

Grade: A
Sony did indeed reveal a revamped XMB and online system. The browser wasn’t anything particularly interesting on its own, but still spot on.

Original Prediction: “I don’t think we’ll see any specific games titled, but I think we see some major developers say something to the extent of “We’re excited to work on (development company’s name)’s next title for the PlayStation“, even if it’s not an exclusive title.”

Grade: C+
We did see a number of game announcements including Shadowfall, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Need for Speed Rivals, Driveclub and many others. However, we did get the “we’re excited to work with the new hardware” speech that was predicted.

Original Prediction: “I doubt we get any specs, price, or official launch date; I’m thinking more of a launch window for the console itself. Something to the extent of “Holiday 2013″.”

Grade: C
We did get specs and we did get a price. He was right about Holiday 2013 so definitely credit for that.

Original Prediction: I think we’ll see the controller and its expected functions. Maybe some motion tracking similar to the PlayStation 3′s Six Axis Controller.”

Grade: B+
We did see the controller and its function to a certain extent. The touchpad was a mystery still, but for the most part it is right. Up until recently, he might have been right about the motion tracking. However, we later learned that the light bar was originally supposed to be used for VR applications. Motion controls was just not in the cards.

Original Prediction: “There could be a slight possibility of Move 2.0, but it may have more to do with a better camera than the weird looking controllers with the bulb.”

Grade: D
The PlayStation Move is dead period. As mentioned earlier, the light bar had nothing to do with move. He avoided an F by saying that there would be a better camera, because a new PlayStation eye was released with the hardware, though not part of the retail box, it was still available, so that has to count for something.

Original Prediction: “I think the Vita will be featured as an extra controller type, similar to how they showcased it with LittleBigPlanet. I think it will be an extra option for an “enhanced experience”, but not mandatory.”

Grade: A
Indeed, the PlayStation Vita was featured as an enhanced experience device and as a platform for PS4 games as well. While this may be a little outside of the intention of the original prediction, I say it is close enough.

Original Prediction: “I think this presentation will last somewhere between a half-hour and an hour. I don’t see it going toward the hour-long mark, unless they really get into details of the console; I don’t think they’re ready for that just yet.”

Grade: F
The PlayStation Press Conference at E3 2013 went an hour and a half and did get into the details of the console. Sorry Jose, this one gets no credit.

Overall: C
Jose did an okay job at predicting the conference. He hit the nail on the head with the PlayStation Vita, Timeline and some details. However, he felt PlayStation was going to hold its cards a little closer to its chest. Instead they went all out and make a historic splash at the show.

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Jason Rose NGN’s Community Manager/Editor

Original Prediction: “The presser will be nearly an hour long. They wouldn’t be flying in industry folk from around the globe for a simple 30-minute conference.  It will be called the PS4, not the Orbis.”

Grade: A-
The press conference was in fact over an hour long and it was called the PS4 not the Orbis.

Original Prediction: “Price will not be announced, and only a release window will be given. My feeling is that they will say holiday 2013.”

Grade: B
The price was announced as well as a window but the window was correctly predicted as Holiday 2013.

Original Prediction: “Short of a full connectivity announcement with the PS4 (crossing fingers for that one), the PlayStation Vita will not be talked about whatsoever.”

Grade: D
The Vita was most certainly talked about and it was mentioned that it would connect with the PS4.

Original Prediction: “I’m hesitant to say that the controller will be shown, as they won’t want to split the discussion from the hardware, but I think they will show a slightly redesigned Dual Shock featuring a detachable touch screen of sorts.”

Grade: F
Despite going for the gold and making a bold prediction, this one was mostly off. The controller was detailed at the show and the touch screen was acutally a touchpad that was build into the controller.

Original Prediction: “A sizzle reel will be shown, but more importantly, specific exclusives will be announced and teased at the event. Killzone 4 and Media Molecule‘s new game have already leaked, but I believe we will see what Naughty Dog is working on as well.”

Grade: C-
A sizzle reel was shown and Killzone: Shadowfall was detailed. The Media Molecule project was for their Vita project Tearaway not LBP 3. Unfortunately, the Naughty Dog project was for the PS3 not the PS4.

Original Prediction: “The Last Guardian will be announced as a PlayStation 4 launch window title. Finally!”

Grade: F
Nope, not yet.

Original Prediction: “Going out on a limb for this one, but Square will announce that Final Fantasy Versus XIII is now Final Fantasy XV and is being developed exclusively for the PlayStation 4.”

Grade: A+
Completely correct for everything mentioned and bonus points for going on a limb and being correct.

Original Prediction: “No specific details will be discussed in terms of online plans, redesigned XMB layouts, etc.”

Grade: F
All of the above was talked about and featured on stage.

Overall: C
Jason did a nice job and made some big predictions that paid off. On the flip side, some big predictions didn’t go so well and hurt him in the long run. Either way, a solid effort in shooting for the stars.

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Overall, the PS4 press conference was an overwhelming success for Sony. It single handedly set up the PS4 to be the dominant console of this generation. PlayStation fans got a great console and the future of gaming is secure for many years to come.

 

About The Author

Joe Marchese is the founder / Editor in Chief of New Gamer Nation. He has been a gamer for his whole life but has been focusing on his passion to deliver the industry's new to New Gamer Nation. He is an expert of video game culture and has been featured on Fox News Online. Don't be shy to reach out and let him know what you think!