It's time to get House in the house

I think, after reading in detail the reams of information that leaked regarding PlayStation 4K yesterday, that Sony is doing right by existing PS4 owners – but it's clear that not everyone agrees. Those of you that know me in person will know that I have a mild obsession with NeoGAF, spending incalculable hours trawling through the message board on a daily basis. But while I'm used to the forum's outrageous overreactions, I was quite shocked perusing the response to the strongly rumoured Neo – especially now we know more about it.

If you don't visit the website, then allow me to summarise the response: it's aggressively negative. To say that some people are upset would be a gross understatement – there's some real venom surrounding the hardware half-step. And that's been amplified by the response of influential names in the PlayStation community; the latest episode of PS I Love You, for example, sees ex-IGN editor Colin Moriarty practically ranting about the unannounced appliance. While his perspective is undone somewhat by his admission that he'll buy the box anyway, this isn't good.

And Sony's silence is making things worse.

It's mind-boggling to me that, with its fanbase up in arms and practically every detail about its upgraded platform laid bare, the manufacturer is still using the stock "we don't comment on rumours and speculation" response. Don't get me wrong, I understand why it's not saying anything: confirming that you're working on a new, superior system that's not set to launch until the fall is one sure way of ensuring that current sales stop dead. But this is the path that it's taken – and given the ease with which media outlets have obtained internal information, it's not exactly been locking the details down.

So it needs to make a statement – and, in my opinion, it needs to make it fast. Here's the problem: people are already coming to conclusions about the PS4K before Sony's even had a chance to state its case. That's a problem, and the danger is that if the platform holder waits too long, most people will have already made up their mind about the product before it's even officially revealed. If memory serves, the last time that the market was this upset about an unannounced product, it turned out to be the Xbox One.

And if Microsoft proved anything in 2013, it's that the drama surrounding video games is not as self-contained as some people think. There are still people who believe the Redmond firm's format can't play used games, and you can pretty much bank on uninformed individuals telling their friends that the PS4 is now "obsolete". That's all on Sony unless it comes out and sets the record straight. This may not be the way that it planned to roll out the PS4K, but the cat's long out of the bag, and is currently tearing lumps out of your brand new settee.

it's time to get Andrew House on the PlayStation Blog before things turn really toxic.


Do you think that Sony needs to make a statement on the PS4K, or will it be fine remaining silent until E3? Watch your language in the comments section below.