Items tagged with PlayStation
As someone who doesn't own any of the current-gen consoles, there hasn't been too much coming out of the ongoing E3 to truly grab me. A major exception, though, is Sony's PlayStation TV, a "microconsole" device that's set to compete with the likes of Amazon's Fire TV. Released in Japan this past winter as "PlayStation Vita TV", the device ties into Sony's PlayStation Network to deliver all of its content. That content can include movies, TV shows, and of course, games. It's the latter that helps this device scream potential: Sony is experienced at making game consoles, and great games, too. The PlayStation TV is in effect a non-portable version of the PS Vita, so anything that portable can do,...
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China is a curious market for game consoles, but Sony is about to dive in and try to make its bones in the populous country by selling its PlayStation there. According to the New York Times, Sony and Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group are setting up two ventures to sell Sony’s hardware and software, respectively, in China. The NYT noted that consoles have been banned in mainland China since 2000, but the country lifted the ban in January. As a result, although there’s a certain amount of piracy of consoles, many Chinese gamers prefer PC and mobile games. Obviously, Sony is hoping to change that, and it’s not hard to imagine that gamers could be swayed by a sudden surge of (legal)...
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One of the hot topics in the wake of Titanfall's launch has been whether or not DirectX 12 would make a difference to the game's sometimes jerky framerate and lower-than-expected 792p resolution. According to Titanfall developer Jon Shirling, the new Microsoft API isn't needed to improve the game's performance, and updates coming down the pipe should improve Xbox One play in the near future. This confirms what we've expected since DX12 was announced -- the API may offer performance improvements in certain scenarios, but DX12 isn't a panacea for the Xbox One's lackluster performance compared to the PS4. It's an API that appears to mostly address scenarios where the CPU isn't able to keep the GPU...
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There’s a new member in the small-but-growing virtual reality headset club, and it’s from a major player, as Sony announced that’s developing Project Morpheus, a VR headset that will rival the likes of the Oculus Rift. “I have long dreamed about VR and the possibilities it brings in regards to game development”, wrote Sony Computer Entertainment president Shu Yoshida in a blog post. “This new technology will deliver a sense of presence, where you as the player actually feel like you’re inside the game and your emotions feel that much more real.” Project Morpheus is designed to work with the PS4’s DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller, and the PlayStation...
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While Sony managed to hit a home run with its PlayStation 4 being priced $100 below the baseline Xbox One, the company's other divisions aren't faring as well. The mega-corporation has largely struggled ever since the economic downturn began in 2008, and things have finally come to a point where it's going to have to make major changes in order to maintain a sustainable business model. Sony has this week introduced plans to "restructure its organization to maintain its competitiveness in an evolving consumer electronics market." It's a tough pill for a company as large and as prominent as Sony to swallow, we're sure. Sony's looking to cull headcount by 5,000 globally, and here in the United States,...
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Sony has just announced a new edition of its longstanding PlayStation Vita handheld console, destined for North American shores this Spring. Bigger may oftentimes be better, but when it comes to mobile gaming, slim is most certainly in. Sony's PS Vita has done reasonably well over the years, changing design a couple of times but never name. Now, the company is bringing a slimmed-down version (which is already available elsewhere on the planet) to a new market. It'll initially ship with Borderlands 2 for $199.99, giving U.S. gamers the chance to pick up a console that European gamers already have access to. In total, this model is around 20 percent slimmer and 15 percent lighter, arriving with...
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Ever since Sony cut a major deal for the Gaikai cloud gaming service, pundits have watched to see how the company would integrate the technology into the PlayStation product line. At CES this week, Sony finally took the wraps off that announcement and the initial program looks amazing. The upcoming PlayStation Now service will stream games from central servers to the PS4, PS Vita, PS3, TVs, tablets, and smartphones. Sony says PSNow will be supported on "most" of its upcoming 2014 Bravia televisions, but hasn't announced any additional partnerships with specific hardware vendors. The company claims that users will be able to "stream popular hits and classic games from the PS3 library, first on...
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With the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 both launched, the pressing question is: Which one should you pick? Comparing stats on the two is the typical way websites tackle this issue. I'm not going to. If you've read anything about the two devices, you already know the following: The PS4 is more powerful than the Xbox One. The Xbox One has Kinect. Some people hate Kinect. Some people don't. The PS4 is smaller and has a replaceable hard drive. The Xbox One is quieter, and will eventually support external storage. As of today, the Xbox One's menus and organization are nicer. It also supports MP3 playback. PS4 doesn't. Games look almost identical between the two. Rehashing this for the umpteenth time...
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We discussed over the weekend of reported issues with Sony's new PlayStation 4 that has been plaguing some of its not-so-fortunate owners. Dubbed the "Blue Light of Death", the result of turning on the console is reminiscent of the Xbox 360 with its famed "Red Ring of Death" - essentially, a non-functioning console. For those demanding answers, there's a bit of good news: A Sony representative has posted a detailed how-to of diagnosing a BLOD'd console, along with possible fixes. But, don't get too excited - there are few reports of successful recovery currently. Sony details the BLOD as when the console is turned on and A) The blue light blinks; B) There's no output to the television; and/or...
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Sony's PlayStation 4 console has undoubtedly roared off to a great start, shipping over 1 million units in North America in just 24 hours but amongst those fast and furious hot new PS4 shipments apparently are a fair percentage of duds. Microsoft fell victim to a thermal issue early on with Xbox 360 units when they first shipped, with end user experiencing the dreaded RRoD or Red Ring of Death. Apparently now Sony and new PS4 owners are feeling the burn but in the form of a blue hued source known as the "BLOD" or Blue Light Of Death. Instead of pulsing blue and then turning white, a troubled PS4's blue light will remain on pulsing. BLOD sounds even more menacing, doesn't it? Apparently...
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The next-generation console bar has been set... at least as it pertains to opening day sales, anyway. With just 24 hours under its belt, the new PlayStation 4 console has surpassed one million units sold in North America. The console became available to the masses on November 15, and while that tally obviously was bolstered by the many folks who pre-ordered, it's still impressive. Overall, reviews of the console have been positive, noting that the Dualshock 4 controller is the company's best yet, and that the launch lineup is fairly impressive as well. Plus, pricing the base PS4 at a point where it wasn't tremendously more expensive than the competition (as was the case when the PS3 arrived)...
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Sony's PlayStation 4 is so close that most gamers can almost taste it, but if the PS2's lifecycle is any indication of how the PS3 will be treated even after it's not the top dog, we're guessing it'll be around for a very long while. The PlayStation 3 is no slouch, even today, and it's one incredible media machine. Besides gaming, the PS3 has always marketed itself as a "do everything" set-top box, and a couple of new applications are being ported over to further prove that it's not kidding about that stance. TuneIn Radio has quickly become a go-to radio app for mobile users, and now it's coming to the PS3 and PS Vita. You'll get access to over 70,000 radio stations, live music, sports, talk...
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Crime might not pay -- but video games about crime certainly do, particularly when they're the follow-up to one of the biggest franchises in gaming. Grand Theft Auto V -- easily one of the biggest titles left for the Xbox 360 and PS3 -- went on sale today and cleared $800M in revenue in just 24 hours. That's not just a record for Grand Theft Auto, it's a record for Take Two, and possibly for the entire gaming industry. Last year, Activision touted Call of Duty Black Ops II as raking in a record $500M in revenue, but this has blown way past that. Reviews of the game are excellent, with an average Metacritic score of 98 and praise lavished on the degree of detail and visual effects squeezed out...
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Sony's PlayStation 4 is scheduled to land in the United States on 11/15 for $399. But, believe it or not, there's still a big market out there for the PlayStation 3, and Sony realizes it still has a few months to milk its existing console before the new one comes to town. That's the only logical reason we can muster for the emergence of this Azurite Blue PS3 console, which will land on October 8, 2013 as a GameStop exclusive. It'll ship only in a 250GB (HDD) model, and will only be available for sale at U.S. and Canada GameStop / EB Games locations. The bundle includes a blue console, a blue DualShock 3 wireless controller, a 250GB HDD, Blu-ray player and... well, not much else. No games, nada....
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