There may come a day when diehard video game fans ditch their consoles completely in favor of PC gaming. Following the unveiling of Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 4 console, and just ahead of Microsoft's (MSFT) next Xbox's debut, the CEO of leading game lab Crytek offered Eurogamer a grim dose of reality: neither of these next-generation consoles can compete with PCs in terms of the technology that powers them.
[More from BGR: Report outlines '5 biggest problems facing Apple']
"We used Moore's Law. If you predict how hardware evolves at the current speed of evolution, and then take consumer pricing evolution, already two years ago you could see, whatever launches in 2013 or 2014 or 2015, will never beat a PC again," Crytek boss Cevat Yerli told the site in a recent interview. The executive believes PC video games will "remain the place to be for the best possible visuals."
[More from BGR: Coming this summer: Plummeting phablet prices]
And because technology advances so quickly, affordable PCs with far more impressive capabilities than the PS4 and next-gen Xbox will be available to consumers long before any follow-ups Sony and Microsoft may be brewing see the light of day.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sony may have subscription video game service in the works for PlayStation 4
Although we still don't know what the PlayStation 4 will look like, Sony (SNE) has continued to release additional details about its upcoming gaming console since announcing it at an event last week. Shuhei Yoshida, the head of Sony's Worldwide Studios, revealed in an interview with The Guardian that every single PlayStation 4 title will be available digitally and only some will be offered on discs.
[More from BGR: Why every rival tech company should be scared to death of Samsung]
The executive also hinted at a possible subscription service that will give users access to thousands of games by paying a monthly fee. He noted that different payment models are possible, using a cable company as an example, Sony could offer "gold, silver or platinum levels of membership," however this won't happen until there is more content to be offered.
[More from BGR: Google exec calls Motorola acquisition an insurance policy against Samsung]
The PlayStation 4 is scheduled to launch this holiday season for a rumored price between $350 and $400.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
[More from BGR: Why every rival tech company should be scared to death of Samsung]
The executive also hinted at a possible subscription service that will give users access to thousands of games by paying a monthly fee. He noted that different payment models are possible, using a cable company as an example, Sony could offer "gold, silver or platinum levels of membership," however this won't happen until there is more content to be offered.
[More from BGR: Google exec calls Motorola acquisition an insurance policy against Samsung]
The PlayStation 4 is scheduled to launch this holiday season for a rumored price between $350 and $400.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
Monday, February 25, 2013
Playstation 4 Games Warn of PS-Style Surveillance
The debut of the PlayStation 4 in New York City Wednesday (Feb. 20) was as remarkable for what it showed as for what it didn't show: Sony unveiled a raft of beautiful, incredibly realistic new games, but not the console itself. The device, perhaps in a straight-from-the-lab rough appearance, was somewhere offstage, driving the giant projectors that broadcast previews of upcoming games around the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Out-of-site-yet-everywhere seems to be the overall metaphor of the PlayStation 4 (PS4), as Sony described it. The PS4 (which Sony plans to sell by year's end) is not so much a machine as a network - with games delivered from the cloud, games that can follow you as you move from the PS4 to a mobile device, and the ability to post video clips of your adventures or even broadcast entire games online.
'We're making it so your friends can look over your shoulder virtually and interact with you as you play,' said David Perry, co-founder of Gaikai, a company that Sony bought to build its cloud-gaming network.
But not only friends will be watching. Sony will. 'The PlayStation network will get to know you by understanding your personal preferences and the preferences of your community and turn this knowledge into useful information that will enhance your gameplay,' Perry said.
Every important technology has good and bad uses. Some of the upcoming games that Sony showcased for the PS4 explore, perhaps unwittingly, the darker side of omnipresent, omniscient networks similar to what Sony is building.
Suckerpunch's new game 'inFAMOUS: Second Son' explores the surveillance state. 'Right now, there are 4.2 million security cameras distributed all around Great Britain. That's one camera for every 14 citizens,' said game director Nate Fox, in a dramatic introduction to the game. 'It is hard to put your finger on what that sense of security is worth, but it is easy to say what it costs - our freedom.'
Like Great Britain, the PS4 will also have a vast network of cameras - not one for every 14 citizens, but one for every console owner. At the presentation, Marc Cerny, head of the PlayStation hardware platform, showed a photo of a depth-sensing stereo camera for the PS4, designed to track the new Dualshock controller as it moves.
The danger in 'Second Son' is that some individuals have developed super-human powers (a la 'Heroes') that make them living weapons. They carry no traditional weapons and show no physical signs of danger - rendering all the modern surveillance tech impotent.
But what if new security technology could go beyond the physical? What if it could read people's intentions and predict their next moves?
What if it were like the PS4?
Sony believes that PlayStation owners simply give off so much data as they interact intensively with the console, other devices and the network that it can know what its users intend to do.
'People haven't' changed, but now everybody's broadcasting. And once you've seen it, all of it, how do you look away?'
That's not a quote from a Sony or game-company executive. It's from the lead character in the upcoming Ubisoft game 'Watch Dogs.' It follows a vigilante character with access to all that information. As he walks through Chicago, message windows pop up, showing details about the people he passes. Marcus Rhodes, a 43-year-old Iraq War veteran, is unemployed. Sandy Higgins, a grade-school teacher, recently won a child-custody battle and has a 30 percent chance of being a crime victim. [See also: Is Your Cellphone Under Surveillance?]
In the clip, the vigilante uses the knowledge to find a woman in danger and to track her attacker in a chase through the city. But as the police then pursue him, the game shows how much data the protagonist himself is giving off.
It's rather unlikely that the PlayStation 4 was designed to be a mass surveillance device, a Trojan Horse of a game console designed to slip spooks into the living room. Far likelier, Sony just wants the games to be more involving and better targeted for the customers, so they will buy and play more games.
'If we know enough about you to predict the next game you'll purchase, then that game can be loaded and ready to go before you even click the button,' Marc Cerny said.
But still, the PS4 will collect a lot of information. That itself, in the right imagination, could be fodder for a good dystopian video game.
This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @TechNewsDaily, or on Facebook. Follow Sean Captain @seancaptain
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Out-of-site-yet-everywhere seems to be the overall metaphor of the PlayStation 4 (PS4), as Sony described it. The PS4 (which Sony plans to sell by year's end) is not so much a machine as a network - with games delivered from the cloud, games that can follow you as you move from the PS4 to a mobile device, and the ability to post video clips of your adventures or even broadcast entire games online.
'We're making it so your friends can look over your shoulder virtually and interact with you as you play,' said David Perry, co-founder of Gaikai, a company that Sony bought to build its cloud-gaming network.
But not only friends will be watching. Sony will. 'The PlayStation network will get to know you by understanding your personal preferences and the preferences of your community and turn this knowledge into useful information that will enhance your gameplay,' Perry said.
Every important technology has good and bad uses. Some of the upcoming games that Sony showcased for the PS4 explore, perhaps unwittingly, the darker side of omnipresent, omniscient networks similar to what Sony is building.
Suckerpunch's new game 'inFAMOUS: Second Son' explores the surveillance state. 'Right now, there are 4.2 million security cameras distributed all around Great Britain. That's one camera for every 14 citizens,' said game director Nate Fox, in a dramatic introduction to the game. 'It is hard to put your finger on what that sense of security is worth, but it is easy to say what it costs - our freedom.'
Like Great Britain, the PS4 will also have a vast network of cameras - not one for every 14 citizens, but one for every console owner. At the presentation, Marc Cerny, head of the PlayStation hardware platform, showed a photo of a depth-sensing stereo camera for the PS4, designed to track the new Dualshock controller as it moves.
The danger in 'Second Son' is that some individuals have developed super-human powers (a la 'Heroes') that make them living weapons. They carry no traditional weapons and show no physical signs of danger - rendering all the modern surveillance tech impotent.
But what if new security technology could go beyond the physical? What if it could read people's intentions and predict their next moves?
What if it were like the PS4?
Sony believes that PlayStation owners simply give off so much data as they interact intensively with the console, other devices and the network that it can know what its users intend to do.
'People haven't' changed, but now everybody's broadcasting. And once you've seen it, all of it, how do you look away?'
That's not a quote from a Sony or game-company executive. It's from the lead character in the upcoming Ubisoft game 'Watch Dogs.' It follows a vigilante character with access to all that information. As he walks through Chicago, message windows pop up, showing details about the people he passes. Marcus Rhodes, a 43-year-old Iraq War veteran, is unemployed. Sandy Higgins, a grade-school teacher, recently won a child-custody battle and has a 30 percent chance of being a crime victim. [See also: Is Your Cellphone Under Surveillance?]
In the clip, the vigilante uses the knowledge to find a woman in danger and to track her attacker in a chase through the city. But as the police then pursue him, the game shows how much data the protagonist himself is giving off.
It's rather unlikely that the PlayStation 4 was designed to be a mass surveillance device, a Trojan Horse of a game console designed to slip spooks into the living room. Far likelier, Sony just wants the games to be more involving and better targeted for the customers, so they will buy and play more games.
'If we know enough about you to predict the next game you'll purchase, then that game can be loaded and ready to go before you even click the button,' Marc Cerny said.
But still, the PS4 will collect a lot of information. That itself, in the right imagination, could be fodder for a good dystopian video game.
This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @TechNewsDaily, or on Facebook. Follow Sean Captain @seancaptain
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Friday, February 22, 2013
AIG, HP, Abercrombie, Zynga are big movers
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market:
NYSE
American International Group Inc., up $1.17 at $38.45
The insurer posted a $4 billion loss at the end of 2012 on costs from Sandy, but its operating profit topped Wall Street expectations.
Hewlett-Packard Co., up $2.10 at $19.20
The latest quarter showed some progress at the PC maker, which has been struggling with a shift toward smartphones and tablets.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co., down $2.19 at $46.86
The teen clothing retailer's profit rose during the holiday quarter, but sales trends deteriorated. It plans to close up to 50 U.S. stores.
Rackspace Hosting Inc., down 74 cents at $54.59
The website hosting company is cutting prices for its cloud bandwidth by one-third and setting tiered prices for other services.
Nasdaq
Zynga Inc., up 23 cents at $3.19
The online games maker could be closer to offering lucrative gambling games in the U.S. after a Nevada law legalized online gambling.
Aruba Networks Inc., up $4.60 at $25.40
The maker of equipment for wireless networks reverted to a profit and posted higher revenue in its latest quarter as demand grew.
WebMD Health Corp., up $4.14 at $20.44
The health website predicted another sales decline for this year, but the drop was not as steep as Wall Street expected.
Charter Communications Inc., up $7.99 at $85.02
New customers and more video and advertising sales helped the cable TV provider narrow its fourth-quarter loss.
Sony announces PlayStation app for iOS and Android
Sony (SNE) finally took the wraps off its next-generation PlayStation 4 on Wednesday evening, and the upcoming gaming console is packed with premium specs that will help usher in the next stage in the evolution of gaming. Sony touted some great tie-ins with the PlayStation Vita during its two-plus-hour-long presentation, but its mobile ambitions extend beyond its own beleaguered portable console. Within Sony's PS4 press release, the company announced that it will soon launch second screen experiences on the iPhone, iPad and Android devices thanks to its upcoming "PlayStation App." Few details were provided, but the relevant section from Sony's press release follows below.
[More from BGR: The insane pricing of the new HTC One]
This article was originally published on BGR.com
[More from BGR: The insane pricing of the new HTC One]
PS4 Second Screens
[More from BGR: BlackBerry 10 browser smokes iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8 in comparison test [video]]
PS4 integrates second screens, including PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita), smartphones and tablets, to wrap gamers in their favorite content wherever they are. A key feature enabled by second screens is "Remote Play" and PS4 fully unlocks its potential by making PS Vita the ultimate companion device. With PS Vita, gamers will be able to seamlessly pull PS4 titles from their living room TVs and play them on PS Vita's beautiful 5-inch display and intuitive dual analog sticks over Wi-Fi networks It is SCEI's long-term vision is to make most PS4 titles playable on PS Vita.
A new application from SCE called "PlayStation®App" will enable iPhone, iPad, and Android based smartphones and tablets to become second screens. Once installed on these devices, users can, for example, see maps on their second screens when playing an adventure game, purchase PS4 games while away from home and download it directly to the console at home, or remotely watch other gamers playing on their devices.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Goldman: PlayStation 4 could send Sony into a 'downward spiral'
Count Goldman Sachs analyst Takashi Watanabe as being pessimistic on the PlayStation 4's chances for success. Per Business Insider, Watanabe has penned a new research note that casts doubt not only on Sony's (SNE) new console specifically, but on the gaming console business as a whole. Specifically, Watanabe thinks that smartphones and tablets are poised to erode consoles' installed base because more people can get their gaming fix through cheap games such as Angry Birds and Cut the Rope rather than spending $60 to buy the latest version of Call of Duty. This lower installation base leads to negative reinforcement where developers are less likely to invest in developing top-notch games for the platform, which further erodes consumers' willingness to shell out cash for the console.
[More from BGR: The insane pricing of the new HTC One]
"We see little reason for developers to produce top titles for platforms with a low installed base," he writes. "In turn there is a danger the installed base will not grow because the content lineup is weak."
[More from BGR: Google unveils $1,300 touch-enabled Chromebook Pixel [video]]
Just this week, mobile app data firm App Annie released a new report in conjunction with research firm IDC showing that mobile games for the first time ever generated more revenue than console games in the fourth quarter of 2012, so Watanabe certainly has some legitimate reasons to be concerned about the future upside of dedicated gaming consoles. Combine this with the fact that Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii U sales have absolutely tanked in the past few weeks, and it's easy to see why there's a lot of anxiety around the console industry at the moment.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
[More from BGR: The insane pricing of the new HTC One]
"We see little reason for developers to produce top titles for platforms with a low installed base," he writes. "In turn there is a danger the installed base will not grow because the content lineup is weak."
[More from BGR: Google unveils $1,300 touch-enabled Chromebook Pixel [video]]
Just this week, mobile app data firm App Annie released a new report in conjunction with research firm IDC showing that mobile games for the first time ever generated more revenue than console games in the fourth quarter of 2012, so Watanabe certainly has some legitimate reasons to be concerned about the future upside of dedicated gaming consoles. Combine this with the fact that Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii U sales have absolutely tanked in the past few weeks, and it's easy to see why there's a lot of anxiety around the console industry at the moment.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
Sony shows PlayStation 4 capabilities, but no box
NEW YORK (AP) - Sony showed off what the PlayStation 4 can do, but not what it will look like.
The Japanese electronics giant talked about its upcoming game console for the first time and said it will go on sale this holiday season.
But Sony didn't reveal the device itself. Presenters played games that were projected on screens in a converted opera house, but the PlayStations themselves were hidden backstage throughout Wednesday evening's two-hour event.
'I don't know that the box is going to be something that's going to have a dramatic impact on people's feelings about the game. It will be a color and a size fairly comparable to previous consoles,' said Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, the U.S.-based arm of the PlayStation business.
'There's a big story to tell here, and it's going to take between now and the holiday season to get all the details out there,' Tretton said in an interview.
Tretton said the price of the PS4 hasn't been decided yet, but hinted that it won't be as high as the PlayStation 3 was initially. The PS3 debuted in 2006 with two models for $500 and $600. It now sells for about $300.
The PS4 will be jostling for attention this holiday season with Microsoft's successor to the Xbox. Details on that device are expected in June. Xbox 360 came out a year before PS3 and has been more popular, largely because of its robust online service, Xbox Live, which allows people to play games with others online. Having an event this early allows Sony to grab the spotlight for a few months, though the absence of an actual device was noted by many people on Twitter and elsewhere.
Some analysts said the lack of details made it difficult to say whether Sony had a winner in PS4. The company's U.S.-based stock fell 2.6 percent in midday trading Thursday. Analysts at Jefferies & Co. called the announcement 'ho-hum' and said PS4 was 'not a must have.' Success will depend on further details from Sony and from Microsoft on its rival Xbox, they wrote in a research note Thursday.
Sony did reveal that the insides of the PS4 will essentially be a 'supercharged PC,' much like an Xbox. That's a big departure from the old and idiosyncratic PlayStation design and should make it easier for developers to create games. Sony Corp. is using processing chips made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
'One of the big challenges we faced in the past was that we created great technology that we handed over to the development community, and they had to go through a learning curve before they could harness it. And when they did, we saw some phenomenal games,' Tretton said. 'We wanted to lower that barrier of entry and really give them the ability to create tremendous gaming experiences from Day One.'
The adoption of PC chips also means that the new console won't be able to play games created for any of the three previous PlayStations, even though the PS4 will have a Blu-ray disc drive, just like the PS3. Instead, Sony said gamers will have to stream older games to the PS4 through the Internet.
Other new features revolve around social networking and remote access. With one button, you can broadcast video of your game play so friends can 'look over your shoulder virtually,' said David Perry, co-founder of the Sony-owned Internet game company Gaikai. With remote play, you can run a game on the PS4 to stream over the Internet to Sony's mobile gaming device, the PlayStation Vita, which debuted last year.
The goal is to make the PS4 so good at figuring out what games and other content you want that it can download it without being asked, so that it's available when you realize you do want it, Sony said.
'Our long-term vision is to reduce download times of digital titles to zero,' said Mark Cerny, Sony's lead system architect on the PS4.
The PS4 is arriving amid declines in video game hardware, software and accessory sales. Research firm NPD Group said game sales fell 22 percent to $13.3 billion in 2012. With the launch of the PS4, Sony is looking to attract people who may have shifted their attention to games on Facebook, tablet computers and mobile phones.
Forrester analyst James McQuivey said Sony is missing the point by building what amounts to an upgraded PS3.
'Sony believes the future will be like the past and has built the game console to prove it,' he said. 'Tablets and smartphones now engage more people in more minutes of gaming than consoles will ever achieve.'
Sony showed an updated controller that adds a touchpad and a 'share' button. The controller also features a light bar, which means a new PlayStation camera can more easily track the device for motion control.
Dennis Fong, CEO of the gaming-centric social networking site Raptr, thinks Sony's focus on sharing with the PS4 will be good for both gamers and business.
'The ability to capture an image, video or instantly broadcast what's on players' screen to their friends is transformational for the new generation of consoles,' said Fong. 'Providing them with community tools to create videos and live broadcasts is a cool feature for gamers, and also great for business. User-generated content keeps players engaged with the game even while they aren't playing it and also attracts new users from the buzz generated around this content.'
The bulk of Wednesday's event was devoted to demos of games for the PS4, including a realistic team racing simulator, 'Drive Club,' super-powered action sequel 'Infamous: Second Son,' artsy puzzler 'The Witness' and several first-person shooter games, including 'Killzone: Shadow Fall.' Beyond games, the PS4 will let people create animation in 3-D using a Move motion controller - all in real time.
Last fall, Nintendo launched the next generation of gaming consoles with the Wii U, which comes with a tablet-like controller called the GamePad. The controller allows two people playing the same game to have different experiences depending on whether they use the GamePad or a traditional Wii remote, which itself was revolutionary when it came out because of its motion-control features.
Judging by Wednesday's event, Sony seeks to improve but not revolutionize game play. The games were updates to existing ones, with improved graphics.
'At the end of the day, this is a device by gamers for gamers,' Tretton said. 'The games that people go out and spend billions of dollars on are your traditional shooters.'
The original Wii has sold more units since its launch than both its rivals, but it has lost momentum in recent years as the novelty of its motion controller faded. Nintendo said it sold 3.1 million Wii Us by the end of 2012. It was a disappointing start for the first of a new generation of gaming systems.
In some ways, notably its ability to display high-definition games, the Wii U was just catching up to the PS3 and the Xbox 360, the preferred consoles to play popular games such as 'Call of Duty.'
All three console makers are trying to position their devices as entertainment hubs that can deliver movies, music and social networking as they try to stay relevant in the age of smartphones and tablets. The PlayStation online network will have access to Sony's video and music services, as well as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, with paid subscriptions to those services. People will also be able to access Facebook.
___
Lang contributed from Los Angeles.
___
Follow AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/petersvensson and AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.
The Japanese electronics giant talked about its upcoming game console for the first time and said it will go on sale this holiday season.
But Sony didn't reveal the device itself. Presenters played games that were projected on screens in a converted opera house, but the PlayStations themselves were hidden backstage throughout Wednesday evening's two-hour event.
'I don't know that the box is going to be something that's going to have a dramatic impact on people's feelings about the game. It will be a color and a size fairly comparable to previous consoles,' said Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, the U.S.-based arm of the PlayStation business.
'There's a big story to tell here, and it's going to take between now and the holiday season to get all the details out there,' Tretton said in an interview.
Tretton said the price of the PS4 hasn't been decided yet, but hinted that it won't be as high as the PlayStation 3 was initially. The PS3 debuted in 2006 with two models for $500 and $600. It now sells for about $300.
The PS4 will be jostling for attention this holiday season with Microsoft's successor to the Xbox. Details on that device are expected in June. Xbox 360 came out a year before PS3 and has been more popular, largely because of its robust online service, Xbox Live, which allows people to play games with others online. Having an event this early allows Sony to grab the spotlight for a few months, though the absence of an actual device was noted by many people on Twitter and elsewhere.
Some analysts said the lack of details made it difficult to say whether Sony had a winner in PS4. The company's U.S.-based stock fell 2.6 percent in midday trading Thursday. Analysts at Jefferies & Co. called the announcement 'ho-hum' and said PS4 was 'not a must have.' Success will depend on further details from Sony and from Microsoft on its rival Xbox, they wrote in a research note Thursday.
Sony did reveal that the insides of the PS4 will essentially be a 'supercharged PC,' much like an Xbox. That's a big departure from the old and idiosyncratic PlayStation design and should make it easier for developers to create games. Sony Corp. is using processing chips made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
'One of the big challenges we faced in the past was that we created great technology that we handed over to the development community, and they had to go through a learning curve before they could harness it. And when they did, we saw some phenomenal games,' Tretton said. 'We wanted to lower that barrier of entry and really give them the ability to create tremendous gaming experiences from Day One.'
The adoption of PC chips also means that the new console won't be able to play games created for any of the three previous PlayStations, even though the PS4 will have a Blu-ray disc drive, just like the PS3. Instead, Sony said gamers will have to stream older games to the PS4 through the Internet.
Other new features revolve around social networking and remote access. With one button, you can broadcast video of your game play so friends can 'look over your shoulder virtually,' said David Perry, co-founder of the Sony-owned Internet game company Gaikai. With remote play, you can run a game on the PS4 to stream over the Internet to Sony's mobile gaming device, the PlayStation Vita, which debuted last year.
The goal is to make the PS4 so good at figuring out what games and other content you want that it can download it without being asked, so that it's available when you realize you do want it, Sony said.
'Our long-term vision is to reduce download times of digital titles to zero,' said Mark Cerny, Sony's lead system architect on the PS4.
The PS4 is arriving amid declines in video game hardware, software and accessory sales. Research firm NPD Group said game sales fell 22 percent to $13.3 billion in 2012. With the launch of the PS4, Sony is looking to attract people who may have shifted their attention to games on Facebook, tablet computers and mobile phones.
Forrester analyst James McQuivey said Sony is missing the point by building what amounts to an upgraded PS3.
'Sony believes the future will be like the past and has built the game console to prove it,' he said. 'Tablets and smartphones now engage more people in more minutes of gaming than consoles will ever achieve.'
Sony showed an updated controller that adds a touchpad and a 'share' button. The controller also features a light bar, which means a new PlayStation camera can more easily track the device for motion control.
Dennis Fong, CEO of the gaming-centric social networking site Raptr, thinks Sony's focus on sharing with the PS4 will be good for both gamers and business.
'The ability to capture an image, video or instantly broadcast what's on players' screen to their friends is transformational for the new generation of consoles,' said Fong. 'Providing them with community tools to create videos and live broadcasts is a cool feature for gamers, and also great for business. User-generated content keeps players engaged with the game even while they aren't playing it and also attracts new users from the buzz generated around this content.'
The bulk of Wednesday's event was devoted to demos of games for the PS4, including a realistic team racing simulator, 'Drive Club,' super-powered action sequel 'Infamous: Second Son,' artsy puzzler 'The Witness' and several first-person shooter games, including 'Killzone: Shadow Fall.' Beyond games, the PS4 will let people create animation in 3-D using a Move motion controller - all in real time.
Last fall, Nintendo launched the next generation of gaming consoles with the Wii U, which comes with a tablet-like controller called the GamePad. The controller allows two people playing the same game to have different experiences depending on whether they use the GamePad or a traditional Wii remote, which itself was revolutionary when it came out because of its motion-control features.
Judging by Wednesday's event, Sony seeks to improve but not revolutionize game play. The games were updates to existing ones, with improved graphics.
'At the end of the day, this is a device by gamers for gamers,' Tretton said. 'The games that people go out and spend billions of dollars on are your traditional shooters.'
The original Wii has sold more units since its launch than both its rivals, but it has lost momentum in recent years as the novelty of its motion controller faded. Nintendo said it sold 3.1 million Wii Us by the end of 2012. It was a disappointing start for the first of a new generation of gaming systems.
In some ways, notably its ability to display high-definition games, the Wii U was just catching up to the PS3 and the Xbox 360, the preferred consoles to play popular games such as 'Call of Duty.'
All three console makers are trying to position their devices as entertainment hubs that can deliver movies, music and social networking as they try to stay relevant in the age of smartphones and tablets. The PlayStation online network will have access to Sony's video and music services, as well as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, with paid subscriptions to those services. People will also be able to access Facebook.
___
Lang contributed from Los Angeles.
___
Follow AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/petersvensson and AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.
Will the PlayStation 4 Play Used Games? Maybe, Maybe Not
Ahead of Sony's PlayStation 4 announcement Wednesday night, the rumor mill put odds on the new game console's ability to play used games at right about zero. Bear in mind the rumors came from gossip blogs known for chasing the moon, but the notion struck a chord with gamers because it's been happening for years over on the PC side of the biz: bigwigs like Valve and Blizzard eliminated the secondary PC games market entirely years ago by tethering Steam and Battle.net accounts to game activations, whether via digital or physical copies. Maybe you'll make a few bucks reselling your collector's edition of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, but the disc inside might as well be a coaster: Whoever you sell to still has to pay for a code to unlock the game itself.
That's essentially how the rumor mill claimed Sony was planning to roll with the PS4, tethering game content to online user accounts and establishing an activation system that'd put the thumbscrews to resales, digital or physical.
Sony was mum on the subject at its PS4 press event, preferring instead to highlight the console's graphical brawn, tease the modestly redesigned controller and talk up social interactivity, but Eurogamer managed to corner Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida and pop the question "Will it or won't it?"
Sony's answer, concludes Eurogamer, is that the PS4 will play used games (the article's subtitled "PlayStation 4 will not block used games"). But reading what Yoshida actually said, I'd say the answer's still clear as mud.
"So if someone buys a PlayStation 4 game . you're not going to stop them reselling it?" asks Eurogamer, to which Yoshida doesn't immediately respond, eventually saying: "So, used games can play on PS4. How is that?"
Mission accomplished? Not so fast. Remember when you asked your elementary school teacher "Can I go to the bathroom?" and she/he answered "I don't know, can you?" Silly semantics, I know, but when you're parsing potentially game-changing corporate directives, they mean everything.
It's possible Yoshida meant "will" play, but without clarification, who knows? Technically he's saying "can" here, which formally means "is capable of," not "will without restrictions" (even "will" can be employed as synonymous with "can" - headache yet?). For example, the PS3 is technically capable of playing PlayStation 2 games (with a software emulator), so it's accurate to say "The PS3 can play PS2 games." But it would be inaccurate to claim the PS3 actually does play PS2 games.
Will the PS4 play used games, no gotchas? All or just some? Will digitally downloaded games be resalable somehow? The Eurogamer chitchat doesn't bring us any closer to an answer. If Sony wants us to know at this point, it needs to say so using non-evasive language. Barring that, I think it's safe to assume the question's either still up in the air at Sony HQ, or it's already been decided, and not in the secondary market's favor. If Sony's decision involves locking down used content as originally surmised, I wouldn't expect the company to say much at all, for the time being, in hopes of staving off the looming backlash.
That's essentially how the rumor mill claimed Sony was planning to roll with the PS4, tethering game content to online user accounts and establishing an activation system that'd put the thumbscrews to resales, digital or physical.
Sony was mum on the subject at its PS4 press event, preferring instead to highlight the console's graphical brawn, tease the modestly redesigned controller and talk up social interactivity, but Eurogamer managed to corner Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida and pop the question "Will it or won't it?"
Sony's answer, concludes Eurogamer, is that the PS4 will play used games (the article's subtitled "PlayStation 4 will not block used games"). But reading what Yoshida actually said, I'd say the answer's still clear as mud.
"So if someone buys a PlayStation 4 game . you're not going to stop them reselling it?" asks Eurogamer, to which Yoshida doesn't immediately respond, eventually saying: "So, used games can play on PS4. How is that?"
Mission accomplished? Not so fast. Remember when you asked your elementary school teacher "Can I go to the bathroom?" and she/he answered "I don't know, can you?" Silly semantics, I know, but when you're parsing potentially game-changing corporate directives, they mean everything.
It's possible Yoshida meant "will" play, but without clarification, who knows? Technically he's saying "can" here, which formally means "is capable of," not "will without restrictions" (even "will" can be employed as synonymous with "can" - headache yet?). For example, the PS3 is technically capable of playing PlayStation 2 games (with a software emulator), so it's accurate to say "The PS3 can play PS2 games." But it would be inaccurate to claim the PS3 actually does play PS2 games.
Will the PS4 play used games, no gotchas? All or just some? Will digitally downloaded games be resalable somehow? The Eurogamer chitchat doesn't bring us any closer to an answer. If Sony wants us to know at this point, it needs to say so using non-evasive language. Barring that, I think it's safe to assume the question's either still up in the air at Sony HQ, or it's already been decided, and not in the secondary market's favor. If Sony's decision involves locking down used content as originally surmised, I wouldn't expect the company to say much at all, for the time being, in hopes of staving off the looming backlash.
Sony seeks head start over Microsoft with new PlayStation
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Corp said it will launch its next-generation PlayStation this year, hoping its first video game console in seven years will give it a much-needed head start over the next version of Microsoft's Xbox and help revive its stumbling electronics business.
The new console will have a revamped interface, let users stream and play video games hosted on servers, and allow users to play while downloading titles as well as share videos with friends. Its new controller, dubbed DualShock 4, will have a touchpad and a camera that can sense the depth of the environment in front of it.
Sony, which only displayed the controller but not the console, said on Wednesday the PlayStation 4 would be available for the year-end holiday season and flagged games from the likes of Ubisoft Entertainment SA and Activision Blizzard Inc, whose top executives also attended the glitzy launch event.
It did not disclose pricing or an exact launch date.
Sony's announcement comes amid industry speculation that Microsoft Corp is set to unveil the successor to its Xbox 360 later this summer. The current Xbox 360 beats the seven-year-old PlayStation 3's online network with features such as voice commands on interactive gaming and better connectivity to smartphones and tablets.
But all video game console makers are grappling with the onslaught of mobile devices into their turf.
Tablets and smartphones built by rivals such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd already account for around 10 percent of the $80 billion gaming market. Those mobile devices, analysts predict, will within a few years be as powerful as the current slew of game-only consoles.
'It looks good and had a lot of great games but the industry is different now,' Billy Pidgeon, an analyst at Inside Network Research, said of the new PlayStation.
'It'll be a slow burn and not heavy uptake right away.'
MIGRATION TO MOBILE
Console makers will also have to tackle flagging video game hardware and software sales, which research firm NPD group says have dropped consistently every month over the last year as users migrate to free game content on mobile devices.
PlayStation 4 will have an app on Android and Apple mobile devices that connects to console games and can act as a second screen, Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said in an interview.
'Playstation 4 ... really connects every device in the office and the smartphone and the tablet out there in the world,' Tretton said.
The console, which has been in development for the last five years, will have 8 GB of memory and will instantly stream game content from the console to Sony's handheld PlayStation Vita through a feature called 'Remote Play,' the company said.
'What Sony is banking on is the ease of the use of this system,' Greg Miller, PlayStation executive editor at video game site IGN.com, said.
After six years, Sony PlayStation sales are just shy of Xbox's 67 million installed base and well behind the 100 million Wii consoles sold by Nintendo Co Ltd, according to analysts.
Tretton said it would be a big undertaking to manufacture and distribute the console in Sony's four major markets by the end of the year, adding that it would be a 'phased rollout' that starts before the end of the year.
Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia predicted Sony would probably get a couple of million units of the PlayStation 4 out by the 2013 holiday season and 7 million or 8 million out a year later.
Sony also announced a strategic partnership with video game publisher Activision Blizzard to take its Diablo III game to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 consoles.
Activision's upcoming sci-fi shooter game 'Destiny' in development by its Bungie Studio will also be available on PlayStation consoles.
(Editing by Gary Hill, Bernard Orr and Edwina Gibbs)
The new console will have a revamped interface, let users stream and play video games hosted on servers, and allow users to play while downloading titles as well as share videos with friends. Its new controller, dubbed DualShock 4, will have a touchpad and a camera that can sense the depth of the environment in front of it.
Sony, which only displayed the controller but not the console, said on Wednesday the PlayStation 4 would be available for the year-end holiday season and flagged games from the likes of Ubisoft Entertainment SA and Activision Blizzard Inc, whose top executives also attended the glitzy launch event.
It did not disclose pricing or an exact launch date.
Sony's announcement comes amid industry speculation that Microsoft Corp is set to unveil the successor to its Xbox 360 later this summer. The current Xbox 360 beats the seven-year-old PlayStation 3's online network with features such as voice commands on interactive gaming and better connectivity to smartphones and tablets.
But all video game console makers are grappling with the onslaught of mobile devices into their turf.
Tablets and smartphones built by rivals such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd already account for around 10 percent of the $80 billion gaming market. Those mobile devices, analysts predict, will within a few years be as powerful as the current slew of game-only consoles.
'It looks good and had a lot of great games but the industry is different now,' Billy Pidgeon, an analyst at Inside Network Research, said of the new PlayStation.
'It'll be a slow burn and not heavy uptake right away.'
MIGRATION TO MOBILE
Console makers will also have to tackle flagging video game hardware and software sales, which research firm NPD group says have dropped consistently every month over the last year as users migrate to free game content on mobile devices.
PlayStation 4 will have an app on Android and Apple mobile devices that connects to console games and can act as a second screen, Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said in an interview.
'Playstation 4 ... really connects every device in the office and the smartphone and the tablet out there in the world,' Tretton said.
The console, which has been in development for the last five years, will have 8 GB of memory and will instantly stream game content from the console to Sony's handheld PlayStation Vita through a feature called 'Remote Play,' the company said.
'What Sony is banking on is the ease of the use of this system,' Greg Miller, PlayStation executive editor at video game site IGN.com, said.
After six years, Sony PlayStation sales are just shy of Xbox's 67 million installed base and well behind the 100 million Wii consoles sold by Nintendo Co Ltd, according to analysts.
Tretton said it would be a big undertaking to manufacture and distribute the console in Sony's four major markets by the end of the year, adding that it would be a 'phased rollout' that starts before the end of the year.
Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia predicted Sony would probably get a couple of million units of the PlayStation 4 out by the 2013 holiday season and 7 million or 8 million out a year later.
Sony also announced a strategic partnership with video game publisher Activision Blizzard to take its Diablo III game to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 consoles.
Activision's upcoming sci-fi shooter game 'Destiny' in development by its Bungie Studio will also be available on PlayStation consoles.
(Editing by Gary Hill, Bernard Orr and Edwina Gibbs)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
PlayStation unveiled with social, remote features
NEW YORK (AP) - Sony unveiled its next-generation gaming system, the PlayStation 4, and promised social and remote capabilities. Wednesday's announcement gives the struggling Japanese electronics company a head start over Microsoft and an Xbox 360 successor.
The PlayStation 4 will be Sony Corp.'s first major game console since the PlayStation 3 went on sale in 2006. Microsoft Corp. is expected to unveil the next Xbox in June at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles. Last fall, Nintendo started selling the Wii U, though it plays catch-up in some respects in bringing the ability to play high-definition games.
Although the Xbox 360 came out a year before PlayStation 3, Microsoft's game machine has been more popular, largely because of its robust online service, Xbox Live, which allows people to play games with others online. The original Wii has sold more units since its launch than both its rivals, but it lost momentum as the novelty of its motion controller faded. Sales of the new Wii U have been slow.
Underscoring the importance of a new PlayStation and the U.S. market, Sony is holding its announcement event in New York rather than in Japan, as it had in the past. The event is at the Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan.
Here's a running account of the PlayStation event, presented in reverse chronological order. All times are EST. Presenters include Andrew House, president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.; Mark Cerny, lead architect for the PlayStation 4; and David Perry, co-founder of the Internet game company Gaikai, which Sony bought last year.
___
6:50 p.m.
The event continues with demonstration of games that can be played on the new PlayStation.
___
6:45 p.m.
Like Nintendo and Microsoft, Sony is trying to position its device as an entertainment hub that can deliver movies, music and social networking as it tries to stay relevant in the age of smartphones and tablets.
The PlayStation online network will have access to Sony's video and music services, as well as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon - as long as you have subscriptions to those services. You'll also be able to access Facebook.
___
6:40 p.m.
Perry talks about Gaikai's vision of letting people explore any game in the PlayStation store for free. The idea is gamers will then buy what they like.
He says PlayStation 4 will allow for virtual spectating. With one button, you can broadcast your game play so friends can 'look over your shoulder virtually.'
It will have a feature called remote play, in which you run the game on the PlayStation, which then sends the video to your handheld PlayStation Vita device over the Internet so you can play remotely.
___
6:30 p.m.
Cerny says the new PlayStation will have hardware compression so sharing video of game play will be easier. You can browse live game video of games your friends are playing.
Adopting Facebook's philosophy, Sony will transition to an online game network based on real names, even as people will also be able to keep their aliases.
___
6:25 p.m.
Cerny appears in a plaid shirt and jeans as he touts the ease in which computer programmers will be able to write games for the new system. He says that with so many devices around, the value of having a powerful computer on a single chip has diminished. Instead, Sony is building the new PlayStation on top of a traditional PC architecture, and in doing so, game creators will have an easier time developing games.
___
6:10 p.m.
Just before announcing the PlayStation 4, House refers to 'a moment of truth and a bold step forward for PlayStation and the company.' He says Sony is looking to offer powerful opportunities to connect and play, including on mobile through a companion PlayStation Vita released last year.
___
6 p.m.
The PlayStation event begins with a light and video show at the storied Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan. In attendance are analysts and journalists representing news organizations around the world.
The PlayStation 4 will be Sony Corp.'s first major game console since the PlayStation 3 went on sale in 2006. Microsoft Corp. is expected to unveil the next Xbox in June at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles. Last fall, Nintendo started selling the Wii U, though it plays catch-up in some respects in bringing the ability to play high-definition games.
Although the Xbox 360 came out a year before PlayStation 3, Microsoft's game machine has been more popular, largely because of its robust online service, Xbox Live, which allows people to play games with others online. The original Wii has sold more units since its launch than both its rivals, but it lost momentum as the novelty of its motion controller faded. Sales of the new Wii U have been slow.
Underscoring the importance of a new PlayStation and the U.S. market, Sony is holding its announcement event in New York rather than in Japan, as it had in the past. The event is at the Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan.
Here's a running account of the PlayStation event, presented in reverse chronological order. All times are EST. Presenters include Andrew House, president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.; Mark Cerny, lead architect for the PlayStation 4; and David Perry, co-founder of the Internet game company Gaikai, which Sony bought last year.
___
6:50 p.m.
The event continues with demonstration of games that can be played on the new PlayStation.
___
6:45 p.m.
Like Nintendo and Microsoft, Sony is trying to position its device as an entertainment hub that can deliver movies, music and social networking as it tries to stay relevant in the age of smartphones and tablets.
The PlayStation online network will have access to Sony's video and music services, as well as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon - as long as you have subscriptions to those services. You'll also be able to access Facebook.
___
6:40 p.m.
Perry talks about Gaikai's vision of letting people explore any game in the PlayStation store for free. The idea is gamers will then buy what they like.
He says PlayStation 4 will allow for virtual spectating. With one button, you can broadcast your game play so friends can 'look over your shoulder virtually.'
It will have a feature called remote play, in which you run the game on the PlayStation, which then sends the video to your handheld PlayStation Vita device over the Internet so you can play remotely.
___
6:30 p.m.
Cerny says the new PlayStation will have hardware compression so sharing video of game play will be easier. You can browse live game video of games your friends are playing.
Adopting Facebook's philosophy, Sony will transition to an online game network based on real names, even as people will also be able to keep their aliases.
___
6:25 p.m.
Cerny appears in a plaid shirt and jeans as he touts the ease in which computer programmers will be able to write games for the new system. He says that with so many devices around, the value of having a powerful computer on a single chip has diminished. Instead, Sony is building the new PlayStation on top of a traditional PC architecture, and in doing so, game creators will have an easier time developing games.
___
6:10 p.m.
Just before announcing the PlayStation 4, House refers to 'a moment of truth and a bold step forward for PlayStation and the company.' He says Sony is looking to offer powerful opportunities to connect and play, including on mobile through a companion PlayStation Vita released last year.
___
6 p.m.
The PlayStation event begins with a light and video show at the storied Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan. In attendance are analysts and journalists representing news organizations around the world.
Sony PlayStation 4 expected at NY event Wednesday
NEW YORK (AP) - Sony is expected to unveil its next-generation gaming system at a New York event Wednesday evening, a development that would give the struggling electronics company a head start over Microsoft and an Xbox 360 successor.
The PlayStation 4 would be Sony Corp.'s first major game console since the PlayStation 3 went on sale in 2006. The unveiling would give Sony the spotlight on video games, at least until Microsoft Corp. unveils the next Xbox in June, as expected, at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles. Although the Xbox 360 came out a year before PlayStation 3, Microsoft's game machine has been more popular, largely because of its robust online service, Xbox Live, which allows people to play games with others online.
Besides Microsoft, Sony has been struggling to keep up with powerful rivals such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The company is promising nifty mobile devices, sophisticated digital cameras and other gadgetry as part of its comeback effort. Underscoring the importance of a new PlayStation and the U.S. market, Sony is holding its announcement event in New York rather than in Japan, as it had in the past.
The new device arrives amid declines in sales for video game hardware, software and accessories. Research firm NPD Group said game sales fell 22 percent to $13.3 billion in 2012. One reason for the decline, analysts believe: It's been years since a new game machine was released. Most people who want an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or a Wii already have one. But people also have shifted their attention to games on Facebook, tablet computers and mobile phones. Sony and other game makers face the task of convincing people that they need a new video game system rather than, say, a new iPad.
Sony has said it 'will deliver and speak about the future PlayStation business' at Wednesday's event. Most analysts expect that means the company will be introducing the PlayStation 4. Analysts and gamers will be looking for details such as whether PlayStation will have a better online service to rival Xbox Live and whether it will have non-traditional controllers akin to the ones Nintendo offers. Other unknown details include how much it will cost and when it will go on sale.
Last fall, Nintendo started selling the Wii U, which comes with a tablet-like controller called the GamePad. It allows two people playing the same game to have entirely different experiences depending on whether they use the GamePad or a traditional Wii remote, which itself was revolutionary when it came out because of its motion-control features. The GamePad can also be used to play games without using a TV set, as one would on a regular tablet.
The original Wii has sold more units since its launch than both its rivals, but it has lost momentum in recent years as the novelty of its motion controller faded. Nintendo said it sold 3.1 million Wii Us as of the end of 2012 -a disappointing start to the first of the new generation of gaming systems.
In some ways, notably the ability to play high-definition games, the Wii U was just catching up to the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, the preferred consoles to play popular shooters such as 'Call of Duty' and 'Red Dead Redemption.'
All three console makers are trying to position their devices as entertainment hubs that can deliver movies, music and social networking as they try to stay relevant in the age of smartphones and tablets. The Wii U has a TV-watching feature called TVii. With it, the console's touch-screen GamePad controller becomes a remote control for your TV and set-top box. But Microsoft and Sony were ahead of the game in this front, too.
The PlayStation 4 would be Sony Corp.'s first major game console since the PlayStation 3 went on sale in 2006. The unveiling would give Sony the spotlight on video games, at least until Microsoft Corp. unveils the next Xbox in June, as expected, at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles. Although the Xbox 360 came out a year before PlayStation 3, Microsoft's game machine has been more popular, largely because of its robust online service, Xbox Live, which allows people to play games with others online.
Besides Microsoft, Sony has been struggling to keep up with powerful rivals such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The company is promising nifty mobile devices, sophisticated digital cameras and other gadgetry as part of its comeback effort. Underscoring the importance of a new PlayStation and the U.S. market, Sony is holding its announcement event in New York rather than in Japan, as it had in the past.
The new device arrives amid declines in sales for video game hardware, software and accessories. Research firm NPD Group said game sales fell 22 percent to $13.3 billion in 2012. One reason for the decline, analysts believe: It's been years since a new game machine was released. Most people who want an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or a Wii already have one. But people also have shifted their attention to games on Facebook, tablet computers and mobile phones. Sony and other game makers face the task of convincing people that they need a new video game system rather than, say, a new iPad.
Sony has said it 'will deliver and speak about the future PlayStation business' at Wednesday's event. Most analysts expect that means the company will be introducing the PlayStation 4. Analysts and gamers will be looking for details such as whether PlayStation will have a better online service to rival Xbox Live and whether it will have non-traditional controllers akin to the ones Nintendo offers. Other unknown details include how much it will cost and when it will go on sale.
Last fall, Nintendo started selling the Wii U, which comes with a tablet-like controller called the GamePad. It allows two people playing the same game to have entirely different experiences depending on whether they use the GamePad or a traditional Wii remote, which itself was revolutionary when it came out because of its motion-control features. The GamePad can also be used to play games without using a TV set, as one would on a regular tablet.
The original Wii has sold more units since its launch than both its rivals, but it has lost momentum in recent years as the novelty of its motion controller faded. Nintendo said it sold 3.1 million Wii Us as of the end of 2012 -a disappointing start to the first of the new generation of gaming systems.
In some ways, notably the ability to play high-definition games, the Wii U was just catching up to the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, the preferred consoles to play popular shooters such as 'Call of Duty' and 'Red Dead Redemption.'
All three console makers are trying to position their devices as entertainment hubs that can deliver movies, music and social networking as they try to stay relevant in the age of smartphones and tablets. The Wii U has a TV-watching feature called TVii. With it, the console's touch-screen GamePad controller becomes a remote control for your TV and set-top box. But Microsoft and Sony were ahead of the game in this front, too.
Let's Play the PlayStation 4 Expectations Game
Sony is set to unveil the first new PlayStation console in seven years at an event this evening, in hopes of catching up to Microsoft and Nintendo. The PlayStation 3, which has sold an estimated 77 million consoles to date, never lived up to the runaway success of its predecessor PS2, which posted sales of 150 million. And without any major updates since its launch in 2006, besides the whole Wii-inspired motion control trend, Sony is facing big expectations to turn out an entirely nex-generation device. What that will look like, exactly, is not that clear. But, thanks to rumorers we have some idea.
RELATED: Sony Hit With Lawsuit, Still Can't Fix Network
RELATED: Tech Companies Not Taking a Stand on Censorship Are Being Blacklisted
Although Kotaku warned that this is just a prototype, yesterday The Wall Street Journal's sources confirmed social capabilities in the console, with sources saying that the new PlayStation will allow players to share 'achievements' and footage on Facebook and Twitter. Here's another view:
RELATED: How Microsoft Can Come Back in 2013
Physically, the most notable change is the light blue touch pad in the middle. One WSJ report suggests that the controller might have a touch-screen, but it's more likely a pad.
Kotaku's sources also say that Sony will also allow users to control their home console with their cell-phones, although it doesn't sound like you'll use them for playing. 'You'll be able to use a mobile device to chat with your PS4 friends or buy games which are then automatically downloaded to your machine,' Jason Schreier writes.
RELATED: Sony Hit With Lawsuit, Still Can't Fix Network
The Social Controller
Just like all gadgets of the future, social is the big life-saving buzzword for the PlayStation, too. Leaked prototype photos of the controller, which gaming blog Kotaku has confirmed as real, have what the blogs believe are 'social' and 'share' buttons:RELATED: Tech Companies Not Taking a Stand on Censorship Are Being Blacklisted
Although Kotaku warned that this is just a prototype, yesterday The Wall Street Journal's sources confirmed social capabilities in the console, with sources saying that the new PlayStation will allow players to share 'achievements' and footage on Facebook and Twitter. Here's another view:
RELATED: How Microsoft Can Come Back in 2013
Physically, the most notable change is the light blue touch pad in the middle. One WSJ report suggests that the controller might have a touch-screen, but it's more likely a pad.
Welcome to the Cloud
Here's another fun Internet future word that has also infected the video game business. Not only can people buy video games, but they will also be able to stream them, sources told The Wall Street Journal. That could mean you could pick up a game and play it from anywhere and anything, suggests The Verge's Sam Byford:Right now, gamers can play against friends on console using a handheld device, but only when the games have been built explicitly with that in mind, and aren't too graphically intensive for a handheld to run. With Gaikai, this could become a standard feature: you could theoretically play the exact same game on any system, because neither would be running on the actual hardware in your living room.If people are no longer shelling out money for discs or downloads, it may present a business model problem for the gaming world. It's unclear how Sony would charge for streaming games. CNET suggests that only older titles would be available to stream.
Kotaku's sources also say that Sony will also allow users to control their home console with their cell-phones, although it doesn't sound like you'll use them for playing. 'You'll be able to use a mobile device to chat with your PS4 friends or buy games which are then automatically downloaded to your machine,' Jason Schreier writes.
New, Better Insides
Of course, the console will have upgraded technology, too. The Sony will switch to Advanced Micro Devices chips, a shift away from the Cell chip, sources told WSJ. Other rumorers suggest the that AMD processor will be 8 core and run at 1.6GHz.Will There Be Games?
As much as all these 'next generation' updates will bring fans, exclusive games sell consoles, as CNET's Jeff Bakalar explained. Right now, it's unclear what will run on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 only. Byford mentions a few titles that will run on all consoles, including Watch Dogs, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, and Destiny. It's possible The Last Guardian, from the maker of co and Shadow of Colossus will make its way to PS4.Price and Release Date
Although Sony will likely show off its console tonight, it's not likely to go on sale until next fall, sources tell Kotaku, around the same time when Microsoft will unveil its new Xbox update. The game-maker probably won't announce price either, but the rumorers have it at $429.99 and $529.99 for two different models.We'll be reporting live from Sony's PlayStation 4 unveiling tonight at 6:00PM!
This is it, gamers - the moment you've been waiting for. Nintendo (NTDOY) was the first major console vendor to unwrap its next-generation offering, but the Wii U isn't quite shaping up to be the smash hit Nintendo was hoping for. Microsoft's (MSFT) next Xbox is expected to be unwrapped later this year at the E3 conference, so Sony (SNE) is looking to get a jump on the competition by unveiling its new PlayStation 4 at a special event in New York City on Tuesday. Rampant rumors already paint a pretty impressive picture of Sony's next home console but Sony may very well have a few surprises in store as it gears up for the imminent next-generation console battle.
[More from BGR: BlackBerry Z10 sales estimate slashed by 83% due to slow launch, upcoming competition]
Bookmark this link, which will go live shortly before the event begins tonight, and make sure to head there for our live coverage of Sony's press conference! Coverage will begin just before 6:00 p.m. EST / 3:00 p.m. PST.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
[More from BGR: BlackBerry Z10 sales estimate slashed by 83% due to slow launch, upcoming competition]
Bookmark this link, which will go live shortly before the event begins tonight, and make sure to head there for our live coverage of Sony's press conference! Coverage will begin just before 6:00 p.m. EST / 3:00 p.m. PST.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
6 Things Not to Expect from Sony's PlayStation Event
Would it be fair to call Sony's Manhattan-based Feb. 20 shindig "P-day"? We might as well, what with that PlayStation logo headlining Sony's "Meeting 2013? event teaser site - a site that's now sporting a mini-history of most of the hardware that falls under the renowned moniker's umbrella.
My memories of the first PlayStation's earliest days are mixed. Maybe that's because I was playing the thing months in advance. The guy I worked for - the store manager of a Babbages - paid a shedload of cash for a Japanese import model. He liked to drop it in the store display window, then run the Ridge Racer start screen demo to see how many passerby would stop to gawk, or ask what the heck it was. Remember when video games still had that power over us?
(MORE: The Great Hotmail-to-Outlook.com Transition Begins)
Don't worry, this isn't my PlayStation retrospective, which, like yours, could probably fill a book three people want to read. Let's talk instead about Sony's ballyhooed Wednesday evening event, 6:00pm ET, where we're expecting to see the company's next-gen game system. TIME Tech editor Doug Aamoth is kindly attending in my stead and should have all the details straightaway, and you'll be able to watch things unfold live courtesy the event site.
I've already scribbled down a few lessons I hope Sony's learned since the PS3's debut in November 2006, so here's another list - this one of things I'm not expecting from the event. Like.
.something that isn't the next PlayStation. We don't know what we don't know, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, but the way this typically works is, a company announces it's holding a major media event, the press speculates irresponsibly, and if that speculation morphs into certainty (as it has in this case), the company typically follows up with some sort of off-the-record denial to recalibrate expectations. Sony's done nothing to quiet the rumor mill here. In fact you could say it's poured rocket fuel on the rumormongering with its PlayStation retrospective videos, all but guaranteeing that what we'll see tomorrow night is the next PlayStation. That said, whether Sony dubs it a "PlayStation 4," something awful like "PlayStation Orbis," or just goes with something catchall like "PlayStation," Apple iPad-style, is anyone's guess.
.a look at the new console and nothing else. Hardware, schmard-ware, we want software that's interesting, not just pretty. I don't expect Sony to go into elaborate detail about the next PlayStation's backend systems, but I'm predicting (okay, really more hoping) that we'll see event time given to whatever nifty new ecosystem this thing's going to live in, including some of its hypothetical features, like game streaming (recall that Sony picked up streaming company Gaikai for about $380 million last summer and may be planning to tap that technology in lieu of, say, hardware-based backward compatibility). I know, I'm not a huge fan of game streaming either, but I'd rather hear about stuff like that than how many polygons this thing can shove around.
.much about motion-control. Motion-control's spotlight moment may have passed, but it's still pretty young technology. Microsoft's seemingly cool but too often clumsy Kinect did well enough off the block (driven, I suspect, mostly by hype), but sales slowed to a crawl by mid-2012. Sony's more precise PlayStation Move - better received overall by critics - started even slower and never quite caught on. (Sony blames this on a lack of compelling software; I concur.) That said, I'm betting Sony's going to redouble its motion control efforts, angling the experience more toward casual players, but that we won't see much (or anything) about this at the event. That'd be fine by me, and shouldn't be interpreted as the company jumping ship.
.much, if any, talk about pricing. The PlayStation 3 was, by all accounts, way too expensive at launch: $500 to $600, plus $60 a pop for games, plus whatever else you had to buy to get started, say an HDMI cable, which back then could go for upwards of $50. Whether you blame Sony for not taking a bigger margin hit (by selling for $300 to $400 at launch) or simply the hardware design team for overbuilding (some estimates put Sony's PS3 manufacturing costs at $800 per system), the sequel to the bestselling game console in history (Sony's own PS2) launched with negative momentum and, though it eventually made up for some of that lost time with price cuts, still lags behind the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales today. Early reports are that Sony's next PlayStation could debut for $400, but given how much time there is between now and a probable fall launch timeframe - a timeframe during which manufacturing costs could change - don't expect Sony to throw out specific numbers.
.a quiet, respectable, Apple-style briefing. This is Sony we're talking about after all. Like Microsoft, the company doesn't seem to know how to stage a presser that doesn't feel like a garish Lady Gaga, WWF, Cirque de Soleil mashup. Speaking of, hopefully the company won't be as pretentious as Microsoft was with its E3 2010 Project Natal (Kinect) launch, forcing everyone to don creepy cult-like ponchos and watch Cirque performers pull off crazy-cool gymnastics that had nothing to do with the actual technology.sort of like suggesting Taylor Swift is going to come play your house if you buy her new album.
.actual hands-on time. I'm thinking this event is meant to be a tease, a chance to highlight a handful of key system features while showing a few graphics-angled sizzle reels and maybe trotting out a few developers to demo stuff. My guess is Sony's going to keep its powder dry for E3 2013, where, having hyped the merciful you-know-what out of this thing for months, it'll pull the curtain all the way back and let us scribble to our heart's content about what it's like to actually use the thing. Expect to walk away with more questions than answers when the curtain drops, in other words.
What else might we see? In the "wishful thinking" column you could put a Sony designed and branded PlayStation phone (unlikely), a Sony designed and branded PlayStation tablet (surely not), a PlayStation Vita price cut (probable: Sony just dropped the Japan model's price) as well as news about new Vita games (or updates on previously announced ones) and maybe even a swan song PlayStation 3 price cut. The irony of Sony announcing a reasonably priced next-gen system while dropping the cost of its original wallet-burner would be sweet indeed.
MORE: From Innovation to Marketing: Understanding Technology Cycles
My memories of the first PlayStation's earliest days are mixed. Maybe that's because I was playing the thing months in advance. The guy I worked for - the store manager of a Babbages - paid a shedload of cash for a Japanese import model. He liked to drop it in the store display window, then run the Ridge Racer start screen demo to see how many passerby would stop to gawk, or ask what the heck it was. Remember when video games still had that power over us?
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Don't worry, this isn't my PlayStation retrospective, which, like yours, could probably fill a book three people want to read. Let's talk instead about Sony's ballyhooed Wednesday evening event, 6:00pm ET, where we're expecting to see the company's next-gen game system. TIME Tech editor Doug Aamoth is kindly attending in my stead and should have all the details straightaway, and you'll be able to watch things unfold live courtesy the event site.
I've already scribbled down a few lessons I hope Sony's learned since the PS3's debut in November 2006, so here's another list - this one of things I'm not expecting from the event. Like.
.something that isn't the next PlayStation. We don't know what we don't know, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, but the way this typically works is, a company announces it's holding a major media event, the press speculates irresponsibly, and if that speculation morphs into certainty (as it has in this case), the company typically follows up with some sort of off-the-record denial to recalibrate expectations. Sony's done nothing to quiet the rumor mill here. In fact you could say it's poured rocket fuel on the rumormongering with its PlayStation retrospective videos, all but guaranteeing that what we'll see tomorrow night is the next PlayStation. That said, whether Sony dubs it a "PlayStation 4," something awful like "PlayStation Orbis," or just goes with something catchall like "PlayStation," Apple iPad-style, is anyone's guess.
.a look at the new console and nothing else. Hardware, schmard-ware, we want software that's interesting, not just pretty. I don't expect Sony to go into elaborate detail about the next PlayStation's backend systems, but I'm predicting (okay, really more hoping) that we'll see event time given to whatever nifty new ecosystem this thing's going to live in, including some of its hypothetical features, like game streaming (recall that Sony picked up streaming company Gaikai for about $380 million last summer and may be planning to tap that technology in lieu of, say, hardware-based backward compatibility). I know, I'm not a huge fan of game streaming either, but I'd rather hear about stuff like that than how many polygons this thing can shove around.
.much about motion-control. Motion-control's spotlight moment may have passed, but it's still pretty young technology. Microsoft's seemingly cool but too often clumsy Kinect did well enough off the block (driven, I suspect, mostly by hype), but sales slowed to a crawl by mid-2012. Sony's more precise PlayStation Move - better received overall by critics - started even slower and never quite caught on. (Sony blames this on a lack of compelling software; I concur.) That said, I'm betting Sony's going to redouble its motion control efforts, angling the experience more toward casual players, but that we won't see much (or anything) about this at the event. That'd be fine by me, and shouldn't be interpreted as the company jumping ship.
.much, if any, talk about pricing. The PlayStation 3 was, by all accounts, way too expensive at launch: $500 to $600, plus $60 a pop for games, plus whatever else you had to buy to get started, say an HDMI cable, which back then could go for upwards of $50. Whether you blame Sony for not taking a bigger margin hit (by selling for $300 to $400 at launch) or simply the hardware design team for overbuilding (some estimates put Sony's PS3 manufacturing costs at $800 per system), the sequel to the bestselling game console in history (Sony's own PS2) launched with negative momentum and, though it eventually made up for some of that lost time with price cuts, still lags behind the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales today. Early reports are that Sony's next PlayStation could debut for $400, but given how much time there is between now and a probable fall launch timeframe - a timeframe during which manufacturing costs could change - don't expect Sony to throw out specific numbers.
.a quiet, respectable, Apple-style briefing. This is Sony we're talking about after all. Like Microsoft, the company doesn't seem to know how to stage a presser that doesn't feel like a garish Lady Gaga, WWF, Cirque de Soleil mashup. Speaking of, hopefully the company won't be as pretentious as Microsoft was with its E3 2010 Project Natal (Kinect) launch, forcing everyone to don creepy cult-like ponchos and watch Cirque performers pull off crazy-cool gymnastics that had nothing to do with the actual technology.sort of like suggesting Taylor Swift is going to come play your house if you buy her new album.
.actual hands-on time. I'm thinking this event is meant to be a tease, a chance to highlight a handful of key system features while showing a few graphics-angled sizzle reels and maybe trotting out a few developers to demo stuff. My guess is Sony's going to keep its powder dry for E3 2013, where, having hyped the merciful you-know-what out of this thing for months, it'll pull the curtain all the way back and let us scribble to our heart's content about what it's like to actually use the thing. Expect to walk away with more questions than answers when the curtain drops, in other words.
What else might we see? In the "wishful thinking" column you could put a Sony designed and branded PlayStation phone (unlikely), a Sony designed and branded PlayStation tablet (surely not), a PlayStation Vita price cut (probable: Sony just dropped the Japan model's price) as well as news about new Vita games (or updates on previously announced ones) and maybe even a swan song PlayStation 3 price cut. The irony of Sony announcing a reasonably priced next-gen system while dropping the cost of its original wallet-burner would be sweet indeed.
MORE: From Innovation to Marketing: Understanding Technology Cycles
Sony's "Evolution of PlayStation" Videos Lead Up to Wednesday's Event
Sony's PlayStation brand has been around almost 20 years now, in the United States. And in anticipation of its Wednesday '#PlayStation2013' event, at which it is widely expected to unveil its next-generation PlayStation console, Sony has published a series of 'Evolution of PlayStation' videos on YouTube and its own site. These videos present a (somewhat one-sided) history of the PlayStation brand, and its consoles and major highlights through the years.
Here's a timeline with links to the videos, for those who could use the recap:
1994 -- The First PlayStation
That's what it was called: Just 'PlayStation.' Launching at $299, $100 less than the competing Sega Saturn, the Sony PlayStation -- originally developed as a CD drive add-on to one of Nintendo's consoles -- soon became a major force in the video game industry.
Partway through the PlayStation's lifecycle, the DualShock controller added twin analog sticks and a built-in vibration feature, echoing similar features found on Nintendo and Sega's consoles. Meanwhile, the hard-to-find black Net Yaroze PlayStation console let people make their own games.
Sony would continue to sell slim, redesigned 'PSone' consoles during the PlayStation 2's heyday, until production was finally stopped in 2006.
2000 -- The PlayStation 2
Known as the PS2, Sony's next PlayStation would go on to become the best-selling game console of all time, with more than 150 million sold. Production of new PlayStation 2 consoles just stopped this January, and while some PS2 games have received HD re-releases on the PlayStation 3 the vast majority can't be played on Sony's current console.
The PS2 played new games designed for its 'Emotion Engine' processor, and could improve the graphics of PSone games played on it. It also played DVD movies, and the original large PS2 had optional network and hard disk add-ons, which let enthusiasts install Linux on it or play online games like Final Fantasy XI. (The 'slim' PS2 has built-in networking capability, but can't be upgraded with a hard disk.)
2006 -- The PlayStation 3
The PS3's disastrous North American launch became a veritable fountain of memes, as Sony showmen's lines were quoted and remixed endlessly afterwards. Sony exec (now CEO) Kaz Hirai's announcement of the PS3's launch price tag -- '$599 U.S. dollars!' -- was met with stunned silence, and the console debuted to mediocre sales numbers.
The PS3 soon rebounded, however, and with a retooled interior design (which now lacked the processor chips necessary to run PlayStation 2 games) it also became much smaller and cheaper than its launch model. The DualShock 3 controller added force-feedback support to the original SixAxis, while the PlayStation Move controller challenged Wii MotionPlus and Kinect.
According to an IDC report, after being on the market about half as long as the PlayStation 2 the PS3 has sold roughly half as many consoles, with 'about 77 million' sold.
2013 -- The PlayStation 4?
Code-named 'Orbis,' Sony's next-generation PlayStation console is widely expected to be unveiled Wednesday. Dan Graziano of BGR News says that it may use a Move-enabled controller with a PS Vita-style touchpad, and that while it probably won't be compatible with PS3 games it may be able to stream them online.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
Here's a timeline with links to the videos, for those who could use the recap:
1994 -- The First PlayStation
That's what it was called: Just 'PlayStation.' Launching at $299, $100 less than the competing Sega Saturn, the Sony PlayStation -- originally developed as a CD drive add-on to one of Nintendo's consoles -- soon became a major force in the video game industry.
Partway through the PlayStation's lifecycle, the DualShock controller added twin analog sticks and a built-in vibration feature, echoing similar features found on Nintendo and Sega's consoles. Meanwhile, the hard-to-find black Net Yaroze PlayStation console let people make their own games.
Sony would continue to sell slim, redesigned 'PSone' consoles during the PlayStation 2's heyday, until production was finally stopped in 2006.
2000 -- The PlayStation 2
Known as the PS2, Sony's next PlayStation would go on to become the best-selling game console of all time, with more than 150 million sold. Production of new PlayStation 2 consoles just stopped this January, and while some PS2 games have received HD re-releases on the PlayStation 3 the vast majority can't be played on Sony's current console.
The PS2 played new games designed for its 'Emotion Engine' processor, and could improve the graphics of PSone games played on it. It also played DVD movies, and the original large PS2 had optional network and hard disk add-ons, which let enthusiasts install Linux on it or play online games like Final Fantasy XI. (The 'slim' PS2 has built-in networking capability, but can't be upgraded with a hard disk.)
2006 -- The PlayStation 3
The PS3's disastrous North American launch became a veritable fountain of memes, as Sony showmen's lines were quoted and remixed endlessly afterwards. Sony exec (now CEO) Kaz Hirai's announcement of the PS3's launch price tag -- '$599 U.S. dollars!' -- was met with stunned silence, and the console debuted to mediocre sales numbers.
The PS3 soon rebounded, however, and with a retooled interior design (which now lacked the processor chips necessary to run PlayStation 2 games) it also became much smaller and cheaper than its launch model. The DualShock 3 controller added force-feedback support to the original SixAxis, while the PlayStation Move controller challenged Wii MotionPlus and Kinect.
According to an IDC report, after being on the market about half as long as the PlayStation 2 the PS3 has sold roughly half as many consoles, with 'about 77 million' sold.
2013 -- The PlayStation 4?
Code-named 'Orbis,' Sony's next-generation PlayStation console is widely expected to be unveiled Wednesday. Dan Graziano of BGR News says that it may use a Move-enabled controller with a PS Vita-style touchpad, and that while it probably won't be compatible with PS3 games it may be able to stream them online.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
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