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PlayStation 4 unveiled but has no backwards compatibility with PS3 games

Posted February 21, 2013 By David
Twitt

Sony unveiled PlayStation 4 its next-generation gaming console at an event in New York on Wednesday.

Sony PS4The development provides the struggling Japanese electronics company the lead over Microsoft and its next gen Xbox system.

The PlayStation 4 will be Sony‘s first major game console since the PlayStation 3 went on sale in 2006. Microsoft is expected to unveil its next Xbox in June at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles.

A few months ago, 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. Read the remainder of this entry »

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PS3 steals crown from Xbox 360

Posted January 18, 2013 By David
Twitt
Sony’s PlayStation 3 pushed Microsoft’s Xbox 360 from the game console sales throne in December, according to a report by industry tracker International Data Corporation (IDC).
Pipped .. the PS3, left, has stolen the game console crown from the Xbox 360, right.

The number of PS3 units shipped by Sony hit an estimated 77 million units, topping Xbox 360 shipments by approximately 1 million despite the fact that Microsoft released its latest-generation console a year before Sony did.

The report by IDC gaming research manager Lewis Ward projected that shipments of Nintendo’s recently-launched Wii U game consoles would top 50 million by the end of 2016.

Ward contended that consoles will retain their strongholds in homes while also expanding to include streaming movies, television shows and other digital entertainment.

“The console ecosystem is in a state of flux since these platforms need to support an ever-growing array of non-gaming features and services at the same time that game distribution and monetisation is moving in a digital direction,” Ward said.

“It doesn’t appear that alternative platforms — set-top boxes from cable companies, web-connected smart TVs, and so on — are positioned to materially disrupt the trajectory of the ‘big 3′ console OEMs in 2013 or 2014.”

He believed packaged game discs will remain the console game revenue mainstay for years to come despite a gradual shift by players to downloading game software online in digital formats.

Game industry sales should be bolstered by the arrival of next-generation game consoles from Sony and Microsoft, according to Ward.

“With the advent of eighth-generation consoles, starting with the Wii U, historical norms strongly imply that game disc revenue will stop bleeding in 2013 and rise substantively in 2014,” he said in the report.

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Sony to release new, slimmer PlayStation 3

Posted September 22, 2012 By David
Twitt
Sony Computer Entertainment has announced a sleeker version of its PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console will go on sale next week.

The PlayStation 3 has not lost momentum and continues to deliver powerful home entertainment.

The move comes as the Japanese consumer electronics giant works to shake off its financial woes with help from its Vita handheld gaming device and new content for its PS3 consoles.

Sony says it completely redesigned console innards, reducing volume and weight. The new PS3, closer to the size of a laptop, is half the size of the original model.

A new PS3 with 12 gigabytes of flash memory priced at $299.95 will be released in Australia next Thursday, October 27, along with a 500 gigabyte hard drive model for $399.95.

The first model will be made only in charcoal black, with a white version to be released in Japan in November, with other countries to follow. A 250 gigabyte external hard drive, called the “Dedicated HDD”, will go on sale in Australia and New Zealand in November; it’s price is not yet known.

Games that were designed for the PlayStation2 and original PlayStation models are not compatible with the new PS3.

In a sign that the consumer technology price wars between Australia and the rest of the world are far from over, the 500 gigabyte model will be available for $US299 from October 30 in the States, in addition to a 250 gigabyte model for $US249.

The 500 gigabyte model will be available in Japan on October 4 for 29,800 Yen, and in Europe on September 28 for 299 Euros.

Memory capacity for consoles has become increasingly important to users as lifestyles shift to downloading games, films, and other digital content from the internet.

Sony has been beefing up its PlayStation Network online service for games, movies and music and made free games available for PlayStation Plus members.

More than 4,000 games have become available for download on the PS3 since the console was launched in November 2006, according to Sony.

The company plans to expand entertainment based on cloud computing, which offers storage and other computer services over the network, after recently acquiring Gaikai, a US game company.

Hiroshi Kawano, who heads Sony’s game business in Japan, said the networking feature of PS3 allows users to enjoy millions of tunes, karaoke at home and a growing library of movies.

“Even after six years, the PlayStation 3 has not lost momentum and continues to deliver powerful home entertainment,” he said in Tokyo.

Some speculation is buzzing about a PlayStation 4, possibly before the end of 2013, but officials were quiet on that topic.

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Sony to ban PlayStation users if they don’t agree to the new online terms

Posted September 18, 2011 By David
Twitt

New terms added to Sony’s PlayStation Network online gaming network could ban users from connecting to the service unless they agree to accept new clauses added that protect the Japanese electronics giant from class action lawsuits brought as a result of a security breach.

It’s reported that the new terms are now live for all PlayStation users and will be displayed next time they log in to the service, a move that has seen Sony increase protection and safeguard itself from online attacks that were brought against it by online collectives LulzSec and Anonymous.

Gamers will have the option to opt out of the agreement within thirty days, but to play on the PlayStation Network users must agree to the terms to begin with. Once agreed, users will not be able to bring a class action lawsuit against Sony, instead they will have to resolve legal issues with an arbitrator chosen by the company, before being able to file action against it.

The new clauses, dubbed “Binding Individual Arbitration,” state that “any Dispute Resolution Proceedings, whether in arbitration or court, will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class or representative action or as a named or unnamed member in a class, consolidated, representative or private attorney general action”.

Those that want to opt out will have to send a letter to Sony’s Los Angeles headquarters in the US. Once they do, the subscribers will be able to keep their right to file a class action lawsuit without any need for arbitration.

But before subscribers have a chance to opt out, they will still be required to agree to the new terms the next time they log into their accounts.

Between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity user accounts were compromised in an online attack, which became the start of a dedicated campaign to compromise numerous Sony websites worldwide.

The company recently hired Philip Reitinger, a former official at the U.S Department of Homeland Security, as its new chief information security officer to protect the company from online threats, reporting to general counsel Nicole Seligman, reinforcing the company’s defences to prevent future attacks.

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