I may not have a PC that can handle the vast majority of games, but I think there are so many things Steam gets right about its service. The first ones that come to mind are the implementation of wish lists and being able to gift games to another person.
PlayStation? Are you listening?
Earlier this year I wrote about a handful of tweaks I’d like to see made to the PS4, namely the addition of wish lists and the option to gift someone a game digitally. How this isn’t already a thing is beyond me.
I mean, sure, I don’t know much about coding (my extent of coding knowledge was put into play when I designed and tweaked this website), but the addition of those two features could only result in more money for Sony.
On Steam, if a game on your wish list goes on sale, you get an email alerting you to that fact. You can pop in, buy the game, and it removes it from your wish list.
Easy peasy.
I would love it if Sony allowed you to add games from the PlayStation Store to a wish list, and then sent you a notification whenever one of those games went on sale. I’d also love to be able to look through my friends’ wish lists to see what they were hoping to get. If you could secretly buy them a game they wanted, then the next time they logged in they received a message stating, YOU HAVE A PRESENT! how much fun would that be?!
So much fun.
Anytime I’ve wanted to buy someone a digital game (or a physical one, for that matter), I’ve gone to Amazon. It’s a roundabout way, but it works. If you buy a game digitally through the site, you receive a code to redeem via the PlayStation Store. It’s functional, but it’s not nearly as fun or easy as just gift bombing someone something you know they want.
Over the years, I’ve wanted to get certain games for certain people, and I’ve had to resort to Amazon. Once I’ve gotten the code, I’ve sent it to the person with little explanation. It’s still fun to have an element of surprise, but I do feel like Sony is blowing it on this front. I’m sure it would be a feature that would require some amount of constant attention on the back end, but I imagine the financial benefits would greatly outweigh the costs.
But, again, I’m not familiar enough with how that infrastructure works to know how lucrative it might be. But I can dream. And hope. Often times, I will just buy a game physically and send it directly from Amazon. There is something wonderful about getting a surprise package in the mail, too.
Really it’s just nice when people get to play games they want to play. I’m all for people enjoying themselves and having the digital experiences they want to have.
So, Sony, if you’re out there, please, please, PLEASE add this functionality to the PlayStation Store at some point. I imagine I’m far from the only person who would love it.
With that I ask: what will YOU be playing this weekend?
I, myself, am planning on more Dark Souls 3 tonight (it looks like we are close to beating the main game), some more Ghost Recon: Wildlands this weekend, and I’d like to get further in Wolfenstein: The New Order. I feel like I’m knee deep in so many larger games and I’d like to make some solid progress in any/all of them.
Please be safe out there friends. Cheers!
Categories: games
Rebekah Lang 
It definitely needs to happen. More Pyre,Overwatch and Uncharted 4.
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I hope you had a good time!
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Hi, Rebekah!
I really dislike PS Store. It doesn’t work on my phone…it freezes every damn page! The pc version is okay, but it usually is slow…and the filters are not enough and I always get confused looking for things! The PS4 is also weird. I like the old design they had on early PS3 more
Having a wishlist like Steam would be super good. Gifting would be a fun addition too.
I beat Titanfall 2 yesterday(awesome game) and now I have a few small games to play, but I’m looking for a big one to play until Agents of Mayhem. Thinking about Mass Effect, Lost Odissey or Final Fantasy X…but I don’t know if I have the patience for a big RPG. I’ll see.
Have a nice weekend!
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Aww, really? I’m sorry you don’t like the store. I actually quite like the store, I just wish it had a couple of additional features. It is too bad you can’t choose how you would like it to appear. I’ve recently been a little frustrated with the sale section. Some games show up in some sale sections and not others. That’s a bit silly.
I really do wish I could make a wish list. And I’d love to be able to gift games easily.
Wheee! I super want to go back and finish Titanfall 2. It was so much fun. Just hearing you mention it makes me want to put it in the system.
Well I hope you found something you wanted to play and that you had a good time with it!
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I got to agree that the Playstation Store is rather abysmal. I much prefer the Xbox Live Store both on the console and on PC. Still, Steam is by far the expert. Recently, I saw Steam giftcards at Target and I laughed wondering who gifts a Steam giftcard given how easy it is to give gifts directly on Steam. The e-mail when a game on the wishlist is on sale a near perfect touch. I’ll even forget that I want a game until Steam sends that e-mail. Genius. C’mon Sony and Microsoft, let’s get a move on updating your digital stores. I’m not sure what to play this weekend. Uncharted 4 has been my go-to given that it’s easy and immersive to pick up and play. I want to sink in time in Mass Effect Andromeda but I need to be awake enough to sort out my gear options and juggling my inventory. I’d also like to start Prey or Halo Wars 2…so we’ll see…maybe some Overwatch to take out over-confident Doomfist players.
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Oh wow, really? See, I super do not like the Xbox store. I generally really like the PlayStation Store, I just wish it had these additional features. But yes, Steam is definitely head and shoulders above either.
That has happened to me, too! I’ve forgotten that a game I was interested in was in my wish list and then the email comes and I pop back in to pick it up on sale.
I hope you wound up playing something you enjoyed! And you’ve reminded me that I still want to pop in to Overwatch to try out Doomfist against the AI. I’d like to see his skill set in action.
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Hey Rebekah, interesting blog post. Not sure if/when this maybe a possibility for Sony; I like it as an idea that may come into fruition somewhere in the future. Making progress in Sniper Elite 4. I’ll be playing that as time allows me. Also, I have an idea for a blog post. Do you restart a game from the checkpoint or beginning of level? I’ll explain! Recently, I have been playing Sniper Elite 4. I have been having some difficulty with a given section of the game. I decided to do a hard manual save. My question is do you play from the save point; do you just burn that save file & decide to start from the beginning of that level? For me, I use the manual save; it helped me to get over that hump. :)
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Thank you! I really hope they find a way to implement it at some point.
I hope you made good progress in Sniper Elite.
I would also choose to start from the manual save. If I don’t have to go back further, I wouldn’t elect to do so. If a certain section gets laughably difficult and I get frustrated, I will often just set the game aside for a while and return to it with a fresh outlook.
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Hey Rebekah! I have made decent progress in Sniper Elite; most likely won’t finish it before Uncharted drops. Oh well! I am enjoying the gameplay; it’s unique, imho! How often do you set aside a game? How do you know when to return to it?
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I’m glad you’ve made progress!
Oh man, I don’t know if there is a rhyme or reason to when I set aside a game. I’ve set aside games I’ve loved and when I look back I have no idea why. I definitely need to get back to several I’ve started (e.g.: Titanfall 2, Resident Evil 7). I wish I knew why I put them aside in the first place! And returning is the hard part. I don’t like to start over and picking a game back up can be SUPER confusing (when I did that with The Witcher 3, there were a solid few hours where I was lost).
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Some added functionality to the PS store would be nice. Unfortunately, the only thing Sony and Microsoft has seemed to pick up lately is letting in the asset flips and garbage games that litter the Steam storefront. Console digital marketplaces seem to only want to offer the bare minimum in functionality but desire to push closer and closer to digital only gaming. Hopefully working off of the good aspects of Steam, such as wishlist/gifting digitally would be a step in the right direction.
I’ve finished up Berserk and the Band of the Hawk for the most part so I’m thinking about what to start next. It’ll most likely be a smaller indie game: either Cosmic Star Heroine or Pyre. I’m also still working through Hollow Knight. Have a great weekend and happy gaming!
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I really wish they would. And sure, there are some less good smaller games on there, but there have also been some really interesting smaller games that I’ve found that way (Valley comes to mind).
Hey, nice work on finishing! I hope you had all kinds of good gaming over the weekend!
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