Sony PlayStation 3 (2012)

Sony is making a big announcement tomorrow, and many are assuming it will be the next PlayStation. There are a lot of features the next PlayStation (let's call it the PS4) might have, but that doesn't mean it should have them.

The last game console generation was filled with experiments, missteps, and technical advances that point to potential upgrades, but considering how many of them were received in other systems, Sony might not want to go the same route with the PS4. Add to those experiments a slew of rumors regarding online services and copy protection, and the next PlayStation is a minefield of potential garbage, which could sink the system before it has a chance to develop. Here are features the PS4 might have, but really shouldn't.

Motion Controls
The Nintendo Wii was a hit, but like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, the motion control fad has come and gone. Sony tried to get the motion control attention with the Sixaxis and PlayStation Move controllers on the PlayStation 3, but at the end of the day everyone preferred to play with buttons and analog sticks instead of waggling controllers. The PlayStation Vita has motion controls, but even that's vestigial at this point, used about as much often as Sixaxis motion controls in PS3 games. As for no-controller motion controls like Microsoft Kinect, Sony shouldn't even try; after two years, even Kinect doesn't have any real killer app besides the same generic dance games over and over. It's time to move on, as long as that movement doesn't control a game.

Touchpad Controls
Speaking of vestigial Vita features, the touch-sensitive pad on the back of the Vita is used about as often as Namco's Taiko Drum Controller. Blindly fiddling with a touchpad is about as fun as waggling, only without being able to pretend you're doing something more fun. A touch screen might work well on the PS4, if Sony doesn't mind being accused of copying Nintendo again, but a blank touchpad like the Vita has on the back just won't fly.

Always-On Online 'Services'
I use the word "services" euphemistically because they tend to translate more directly into "hideous weight wrapped around your ankle" rather than "useful activities." EA's doing always-on "service" with SimCity. Ubisoft used to do always-on "service" with its Uplay system and its games. Playing games online is great, but I don't need to have my hand held every time I turned on the big plastic box I purchased. Make it optional, instead of a chain around our necks. Speaking of which, any thoughts toward preventing gamers from playing used games should be thrown right out the window along with it.

Proprietary Media Format
Sony has had a strange history with media formats. For the main PlayStation systems, Sony has made new formats a success. The formats weren't solely Sony's own, but the PlayStation, PS2, and PS3 popularized CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, respectively, in game and movie use. On the flip side, nearly every time Sony tried to popularize its own proprietary media format, it fizzled. UMDs on the PSP, the Memory Stick formats on Sony's cameras, and even now the Vita's whopping two proprietary media formats just aren't clicking very well. Since it doesn't look like there's a new general media format coming any time soon, let's hope that Sony won't try to use the PS4 to make a new Sony MegaMediaHolographicUltravioletDiscCardStick happen.

No Media Format
Remember the PSP Go? Neither does anyone else. It was Sony's attempt to make a download media-only version of the PSP, but thanks to its higher price and inability to use the UMD media on which PSP games came, it flopped. The Vita is faring a little better with lots of downloadable content, but it still uses Sony's Vita game cards. If we buy the system in a store, we should be able to buy the games in a store. It will be a bonus if we can play older games on the PS4 (Blu-ray discs don't exactly need the same bizarre machining to get to work in a home console that UMDs did to work in a PSP, which is the only reason the Vita gets a pass on that), but the PS4 needs to have some kind of physical media format. This goes back to the subject of used games, too. Video games are a community experience, and while downloaded games are great online and understandably can't be traded, being able to share your collection with friends is a decades-old tradition, and a way to get gamers to buy more games when the communal benefit is factored into the purchase. Digital downloads can't do that.

Barebones 'Core' System
Back in the 8- and 16-bit days, we were spoiled by pack-in games. It seemed natural that a game system came with a game to get you started. Nintendo has been sporadic with that tradition, but Sony and Microsoft never embraced it. However, Sony has spoiled us in another way thanks to PS Plus, and it can work in the PS4's advantage. Instead of selling PS4s with just the system, they should come with a game. This is where PS Plus comes in, and where Sony has a prime opportunity to let gamers game out of the box. Thanks to Sony's premium online service that offers a selection of free games for $18 per three months, all Sony has to do is offer a few months with each system. No cost of media packaging for them, nothing needed beyond putting a code in the box, and gamers can enjoy whatever games are free on PS Plus during that time. It also helps whet the appetite of customers, who might want to pay for PS Plus after that initial membership runs out so they can keep playing. Of course, if Sony wants to put in the latest God of War or Sly Cooper game into each box, that's cool, too.

Update: As expected, Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4, or PS4, which will be released in time for the 2013 holiday season.