Items tagged with PS3
AMD's nifty FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling technology continues to stretch its legs. It seems the decision to go the open source route is paying off, as multiple developers and platforms have been quick to adopt FSR in the early going. The latest to join the fray is the developer behind RPCS3, the popular PlayStation 3 emulator that works with multiple operating systems, including Windows and Linux. The intention of FSR is the same as NVIDIA's proprietary Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, in that both aim to improve performance by intelligently upscaling a lower resolution input. FSR and DLSS go about this in very different ways, but the general idea is that a GPU can...
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In late March, Sony announced its intention to shutter the online stores for several of its legacy gaming consoles; the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita. The consoles first launched in 2004, 2006, and 2011 respectively. At the time, Sony said that the PlayStation Store for the PS3 and PSP would close on July 2nd, while the PS Vita would see its access revoked starting on August 27th. We didn't think much of it at the time due to the age of the consoles -- especially the PSP -- but owners of those consoles were up in arms over Sony's decision and gave the company quite an earful. Sony is now reversing course, at least partially. The company admitted that "we made the wrong...
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Sony this week gave up some details on its gaming business while presenting its financial results for the recently completed quarter. The highlight of the announcement was that Sony shipped 19 million PS4 consoles for fiscal 2017. That is about a million its less than it shipped in fiscal 2016, but it was enough to push the total number of PS4 consoles sold to 79 million units. Compare that to shipments of the previous generation PS3 pegged -- which logged around 80 million units total -- and Sony has hit a home run with its latest console. The PS4 isn't going to retire anytime soon, meaning it will most definitely surpass lifetime sales of the PS3. In fact, the PS4 should pass the PS3 next quarter...
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If you have been thinking about getting a game console, now is the time to pull the trigger. There are multiple sales out there, the latest of which is a flash sale in the PlayStation Store with Sony marking down a whole bunch of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 games by up to 70 percent. And by "a whole bunch" we mean well over 100 titles available at massive discounts, along with a collection of movies in standard definition and high definition. "Take a little trip to PS Store this weekend and set your peepers on discounted games like Overwatch Game of the Year Edition, Dragon Age: Inquisition Game of the Year Edition, Uncharted 4, and so much more!," Sony says. Indeed, Sony is selling Overwatch...
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Emulator fans who want to play PlayStation 3 games on their computer may be familiar with the RPCS3 emulator that has been around for quite some time. The emulator has been updated and now supports high resolution rendering. The emulator can allow you to play favorite PS3 games at much higher resolutions than the PS3 could handle, all the way up to 10K resolution. Gaming at 10K resolution isn't something that we are ready for today, but there are lots of people out there who are ready for 4K gaming and the emulator will handle that. The video below shows side-by-side comparisons of games when ran in 720p, which was the native resolution for the PS3 compared to 4K rendering with 16x anisotropic...
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Sorry PlayStation 3 owners, your console is among the many devices that PlayStation Now will cease supporting this summer. The same goes for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV, along with all 2013, 2014, and 2015 Sony Bravia TV models. All Sony Blu-ray player models and all Samsung TVs are affected as well. The only platforms that PlayStation Now will continue to support after the bloodbath are PlayStation 4 consoles and Windows PCs. PlayStation Now is a subscription service that gives members unlimited streaming access to over 450 PS3 games. It supports a bevy of devices (for now) and added Windows PCs to the fray around six months ago. But come August 15, 2017, all that changes. 2016 model...
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Yesterday, we received great news from Activision with the formation of the Call of Duty World League, which will launch in January 2016. Today, however, we’re getting some not-so-great news for owners of last generation Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gaming consoles. Treyarch announced today that the Xbox 360 and PS3 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will not feature a single-player campaign mode. Treyarch explains that “delivering the best possible gameplay experience on all platforms is always our highest priority,” but that it “could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware.” “With that in mind, Black Ops 3 PS3 and Xbox 360 players can continue to look forward to a new experience...
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There will be no Mortal Kombat X for either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 console, not now, not ever. Unfortunately for fans of the franchise rocking one of those last generation game consoles, porting a version over has proved too difficult a task for the developers, so WB Games pulled the plug. "After months of development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has come to the regrettable conclusion that we cannot release Mortal Kombat X for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Please know our teams worked diligently to meet the quality standards set by the current-gen versions of the game. We were not able to get the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions to the quality expected of a Mortal Kombat game and are...
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Sony is expanding its PlayStation Vue service to the Dallas-Fort Worth and Miami-Fort Lauderdale areas, the company announced. If you're scratching your head wondering what in the flip PlayStation Vue is, don't feel bad -- it's a relatively new offering that's only available in select areas, and one that hasn't seen any kind of heavy marketing efforts.PlayStation Vue is a streaming web TV service for cord cutters (it doesn't require a cable or satellite TV subscription) available through PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 consoles. Sony launched the service earlier this year, though unlike Sling TV, which is available all over the place in the U.S., PlayStation Vue plans are only available in a...
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If you’re an ardent PC racing fiend, chances are that you either own or have heard of Logitech’s G27. The G27 replaced its predecessor, the G25, way back in 2010. The G27 has been a popular gaming peripheral (it supports the PC, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3) that not only includes a steering wheel and three pedals (accelerator, brake, clutch), but also a six-speed “H” pattern gearbox. But five years is a long time in the PC gaming industry and a replacement for the G27 has been long overdue. Thankfully, Logitech has a two-pronged approach for its successor. Logitech is introducing the G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel that is compatible with the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 and the G920 Driving...
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Sony is all about pushing as many PlayStation 4 consoles into homes as it can, but at the same time, it hasn't forgotten about owners of the previous generation PlayStation 3 system. Beginning May 12 (next Tuesday), Sony's cloud-based PlayStation Now service will be available on the older console with a free 7-day trial for new subscribers. PlayStation Now gives gamers access to a growing library of more than 100 PS3 games, which was previously made available to PS4 owners, along with select Sony-brand Blu-ray players and TVs. The service lets you rent most games -- prices vary by title, starting at as low as $1.99 for a few hours. Full week rentals typically run about a buck per day, and there...
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Here's a bit of good news if, for whatever reason, you're hoping to use your PlayStation 4 (PS4) controller wirelessly with your PlayStation 3 (PS3) console. Courtesy of a recent firmware update Sony rolled out, it's now possible to pair the new controller with the previous generation game system using Bluetooth technology. The functionality became public knowledge from a Reddit forum thread discussing the topic. Since it's through Bluetooth, you need to head into your PS3's Settings menu and have it search for devices. Here are the steps: Go to "Accessory Settings" and select "Manage Bluetooth Devices" Select "Register New Device" and start scanning Press and hold the Share and PlayStation buttons...
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When Sony bought the Gaikai streaming service and announced it was building custom PlayStation 3 boards to drop into servers for its PlayStation Now game service, a lot of folks got excited by the potential. This type of service delivery could mark the future of gaming, make backwards compatibility a non-issue, and in the long run, completely transform the console business. Over the long run, a game console might function more as a media and control hub than a standalone rendering machine -- and Sony seemed to have their finger on the idea much more firmly than Microsoft, which was off chasing Kinect and offering vague statements about cloud rendering. Unfortunately, this is Sony we're...
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“Doom” is one of those titles that is both legendary and also has been a frustrating tease. Back in 2012 “Doom 3” was remastered (we guess) for the Xbox and PS3, and earlier this year you could get access to a new Doom beta if you preordered “Wolfenstein” (what?). But now, in conjunction with QuakeCon 2014, it seems that an actual Doom game is coming. Or at least, there’s a trailer, so that’s something. Unfortunately, the trailer shows us next to nothing about the actual gameplay, but you can see a very dark, very frightening emergence of a beast--”an unholy union of flesh and metal”--that definitely wants to kill things. If you’re...
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For many game developers, simply striking it rich on a single platform is a lifelong dream. But for Minecraft, one platform just isn't enough. In a world where fads come and go, and the time that gamers spend can shift from one title to another almost overnight, this particular game has remained atop the most-played list for an atypically long while. So long in fact, that it'll soon be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. In a tongue-in-cheek advertisement, Minecraft says that a "slightly improved" version will hit those three platforms "soon." The Xbox One edition will land in the Xbox Live Marketplace in August, boasting huge worlds and a greater draw distance as compared...
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As if 2014 hasn't already delivered plenty of video gaming goodness to keep you occupied well into the weekend (as in, every single weekend), here's a bit of news that'll have avid RPGers excited: Borderlands is back. The next rendition of the heralded title will be a "pre-sequel," described as a "full-on co-op shooter RPG set in the five year gap between Borderlands 1 & 2)." It will reportedly be set on the moon of Elpis, and players can select "one of Jack/Johns four lieutenants to play as in Athena The Gladiator, Wilhelm The Enforcer, Nisha The Lawbringer and Fragtrap, a militarized claptrap." Per usual, you'll be overwhelmed by the amount of weaponry options, and yes, laser-based weapons...
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The latest data from NPD is in and it shows a significant jump in Xbox One's relative sales position versus PS4. In January, reports indicated that the PS4 had been outsold by the PS4 nearly 2:1, but February closed that gap with the Xbox One moving an estimated 258,000 units against the PS4's 286,000 units. Year-on-year hardware sales increased 60% over 2013, but software sales still fell 11% over the same time period. The NPD, however, is upbeat despite the decline in game sales. Because these consoles are at the beginning of their life cycles, they must generate insane attach rates to actually drive those figures <em>up.</em> To put it in perspective, consider that assuming there...
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Ever since Ubisoft unveiled its upcoming open-world, action-adventure game Watch Dogs, the game press has been looking towards the title as a no-holds barred example of next-generation innovative gameplay. Unlike most games, which place an emphasis on run-and-gun shooting, Watch Dogs revolves around the idea of hacking. The main character, Adrian Pierce, can penetrate a variety of devices from phones to traffic lights and use the knowledge to steal cash, destroy equipment, trigger malfunctions, and wreak general havoc on an unsuspecting populace. It didn't hurt that when the game debuted, it was jaw-dropingly gorgeous and seemed to promise an impossibly gorgeous environment for next-gen platforms...
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For months on end, the Xbox 360 outsold every other major game console on store shelves. But then, the next-generation war began, pitting the Xbox One against the PlayStation 4 and the WiiU. My, how the tables have turned. The NPD Group's latest research report shows that in January 2014, the PS4 outsold the Xbox One, and by a health 2-to-1 margin. A Sony spokesperson stated that demand has remained "incredibly strong" for the PS4 console, even after the holidays, making it the number one next-gen console to kick off 2014. Not surprisingly, he was quite proud to "nearly double" the sales of the nearest competitor. In terms of software sales, Call of Duty: Ghosts continues to rule, though interestingly,...
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Human adaptability is a hell of a thing, and one needs to look no further than quadriplegics who refuse to miss out. There are many quadriplegic gamers out there, and thanks to the work of Ken Yankelevitz, they’ve been able to enjoy a great deal of gaming for decades with his specially-designed joysticks. However, Yankelevitz has been unable to continue his work due to age and health issues of his own, but the mantle has been picked up by Fred Davison, who is raising Kickstarter funds to develop the next generation of adaptive game controllers. His case is compelling. “Video games today are as much about the social aspects as they are about presenting an intellectual puzzle or entertainment,...
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Calling all PlayStation 3 owners, if you're wiling to "ditch" your PS3, Microsoft will give you $100 of store credit for it at the Microsoft Store, which you can then apply towards the purchase of an Xbox One console. The promotion effectively eliminates the price difference between a PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Xbox One and could help tilt gamers who are on the fence in Microsoft's favor. Microsoft's trade-in offer is available at select Microsoft Stores in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and Canada; it's not valid online. In addition to accepting PS3 consoles, Microsoft's promotion also includes Xbox 360 S and Xbox 360 E, the latter of which is a semi-recent redesign to make the last generation...
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News from gaming insider Pete Doss is that Microsoft is mulling significant changes to the restrictions it places on developers regarding the Xbox One's GPU. Reportedly, some 10% of total GPU horsepower is reserved for the Kinect -- 8% for video and 2% for voice processing. Microsoft is apparently planning changes that would free up that 8% video entirely, leaving just 2% of the system's GPU dedicated to voice input. If Microsoft makes this change, it could have a significant uplift on system frame rates -- and it's not clear that developers would necessarily need to patch the architecture to take advantage of the difference. Generally speaking, in the PC realm, swapping between two GPUs within...
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