Items tagged with Sony
Epic Games is a massive company, but we already knew that between their battle against Apple and the ability to throw money to the wind with the Epic Games Store and free games. The behemoth gaming company is still chugging forward, though, with a new $1 billion round of funding and an equity valuation of $28.7 billion. This new round of funding, which was announced on Epic's website today, includes Sony Group Corporation, which invested $200 million. Besides Sony, there were also investments from "Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, GIC, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, funds and accounts...
Read more...
It has been around five months since the PlayStation 5 came out, and for those who have been lucky enough to acquire one—the PS5 is in short supply, like the Xbox Series X/S and various PC hardware—Sony is now readying its first major system software update. With it comes expanded storage compatibility. More specifically, the update enables storing PS5 games on external USB drives, essentially giving players a way to expand their console's built-in storage allotment. After applying the update, PS5 owners will be able to transfer games from the console's internal solid state drive (SSD) over to an external storage device, or the other way around. Sony also notes that is faster to reinstall...
Read more...
Many people didn't know what to think of Xbox Game Pass when it initially launched for the Xbox One back in 2017, but it has grown to become a formidable and "sticky" feature for Microsoft's game consoles. For $9.99 per month (or $14.99 per month with Xbox Live Gold included), you get access to an ever-expanding library of 100+ games that can be played on your console or even streamed to your Android device. On the other hand, Sony has PlayStation Now and gives gamers access to over 700 video games streamable to your PlayStation console or PC. However, new PlayStation games don't launch on the service; you're reliant on your internet connection for the best streaming experience (since not all...
Read more...
On-demand games are becoming one of the best ways to enjoy various titles without having to buy them. PlayStation Now is a solid service for PlayStation users to trial some new games or replay some old ones. This week, Sony is adding three games to the platform to make it that much more enticing, and you can start playing right now. Marvel’s Avengers The first game added to the docket is Marvel’s Avengers, an “epic, third-person, action-adventure game that combines an original, cinematic story with single-player and co-operative gameplay.” The game surrounds a future where Super Heroes are outlawed (not unlike The Incredibles), and Kamala Khan must reassemble the Avengers...
Read more...
Tomorrow starts a new month, which means that there will be a new crop of freebie games to download for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Although it will be April 1st, there is no fooling around when it comes to what Sony has in store for gamers. Kicking things off this month on the free list is Oddworld: Soulstorm. Interestingly, while the game will be playable on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles, only the PlayStation 5 version is free during April. So, if you're one of the lucky few that has been able to secure the next-gen console, enjoy it while it lasts. Oddworld: Soulstorm is a direct successor to Oddworld: New 'N' Tasty, released in 2014. The actual series dates back to 1997 with...
Read more...
As much as we sometimes want them to, nothing lasts forever. Big Bang Theory, Breaking Bad, and The Office? They all came and went. Toys R Us as we used to know it? Pour one out. And your favorite pair of socks with an increasingly bigger hole in the heel? Eventually you'll have to toss them in the garbage. In just a few months, we can add PlayStation Store access for various Sony consoles to the mix well. You will still be access the PlayStation Store to download games and apps onto your PlayStation 5 and/or PlayStation 4 consoles for a long time to come. But for owners of the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation Store will soon be locking them out forever,...
Read more...
Do you own a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 console? If so, then heads up that Sony has unlocked a whole bunch of games you can add to your library at no cost. Heck, even if you don't own one of the aforementioned game systems, it would be worth adding these games while you can, in case you ever do buy a PlayStation 4/5. All you need is a PlayStation account, which you can create for free. Once you have one, you can head to the PlayStation Store and claim the games Sony is gifting as part of its Play at Home initiative, which is meant to encourage users to stay inside during the pandemic. There are nine games in total, or 10 if you count Ratchet & Clank, which is still free for a few more...
Read more...
In late February, Sony teased the next generation of PlayStation VR for the PlayStation 5 and a new controller. The new controllers' goal was to create a “future-proof technology” that was both ergonomic and improved the user experience. In a blog post posted today, Sony shows off the new controllers, and they certainly look impressive. Sony Senior Vice President Hideaki Nishino indicated that “the new controller that will play a critical role in providing gamers with the VR experience [Sony is] working to deliver.” Previously, the PSVR controller was a stick-style controller, which was similar in ways to a Wiimote. Now, that style has been thrown out of the window in...
Read more...
Sony is getting in the groove of giving games away to PlayStation owners, and we could not be happier about it. Last month, for example, it gifted Ratchet & Clank to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners (there's still time to claim your copy, more on that in a moment). And later this spring, it will be handing out digital copies of Horizon Zero Dawn (shown above), in between which there are nine other games up for grabs. If you have not done so already, we suggest heading to the PlayStation Store, logging into your account, and grabbing Ratchet & Clank while you still can. It is completely free—no subscription to PlayStation Plus is necessary. However, time is running out to claim...
Read more...
Last year, the Sony's WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones leaked early, and then officially launched with solid features that put them ahead of the pack in a lot of areas. Now, Amazon is offering up these headphones for sale at 21% off, bringing them down to a relatively palatable $278.00 price point. Though that may still seem like a bit of coin for headphones, what you get out of these may be more than worth it in the long run. Sony's WH-1000XM4 headphones took some design cues from its predecessor, but they have some rather nice new features. First up is what Sony calls “Industry-leading noise canceling with Dual Noise Sensor technology.” These headphones use two microphones on...
Read more...
If you've been trying to score a PlayStation 5 since launch but have struck out at every possible opportunity, we've got some good news for you. It appears that Target is getting ready for a big console drop this later this week, so you're going to want to be on your toes in the early morning hours. According to console tracker Jake Randall, Target stores nationwide are starting to receive inventory for both the standard PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. For those that don't know, Randall has been on the money in recent weeks (and months) with PlayStation 5 availability, specifically from Target. So, when he says he has inside info, we listen. Randall notes that based on the...
Read more...
Last week, Sony teased the next generation of PlayStation VR with DualSense technology, which got many gamers excited. As that new headset and technology is still on the horizon, current PSVR gamers want new games to play with their current hardware. Today, Sony brought back the PSVR Spotlight to announce six new games launching later this year. After The Fall From the creators of Arizona Sunshine comes a new fast-paced co-op FPS game called After the Fall. This game takes players back to an alternate frozen reality in 1980s LA to “pit you and your friends against a post-apocalyptic VR world in a raging fight for survival.” In the coming weeks, we can expect to see an all-new gameplay...
Read more...
Sony's PlayStation 5 launched back in mid-November with two configurations: the standard PlayStation 5 with a Blu-ray drive and the disc-less PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. No matter which you select, you'll get an 825GB SSD with just 667GB leftover for your games and other data you wish to store. Some people saw this as a liability compared to the Xbox Series X, which comes with a slightly larger 1TB SSD (802GB useable), but Sony has one critical advantage. The PlayStation 5 can expand its storage via an open M.2 slot inside the console, and better yet, it can use a garden variety PCIe 4.0 SSD. However, Sony didn't enable this functionality at launch and has been mum about the timeline for allowing...
Read more...
While it was never going to a launch title for the PlayStation 5, development studio Polyphony Digital had every intention of wrapping up work on Gran Turismo 7 this year for a 2021 release by publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment. That is no longer going to happen. Covid-19 has thrown a wrench into those plans, causing the highly anticipated game to be delayed until sometime next year. The latest installment in the popular racing simulation series was formally introduced last year during the PS5 reveal event. A launch video showcased the game'ss high resolution graphics with real-time ray tracing effects, and even teased onlookers with some footage of actual gameplay on the PS5. If you missed...
Read more...
The past year has been a difficult one, and in an effort to encourage people to stay inside during the pandemic, Sony in 2020 launched its Play at Home initiative, giving PlayStation 4 owners a pair of free games: Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey. Now for 2021, Sony is reviving its Play at Home program with another free title, Ratchet & Clank (rebooted for PS4) by Insomniac Games. "In these historic times, the team at PlayStation wanted to thank the community by giving something back. These days, we could all use something to look forward to and another reason to stay safely socially distanced, so we are happy to be able to offer a free selection of great games and some entertainment...
Read more...
In 2016, PlayStation launched PlayStation VR, bringing virtual reality into many gamers' homes. Since then, Oculus and Valve have come out with new headsets, overall technology has improved, and the PlayStation 5 is now the "must have" console for gamers. Over four years later, Sony is announcing the next generation of PlayStation VR for the PS5, likely arriving next year. Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President, Platform Planning & Management for PlayStation, made a blog post today expressing his excitement for the future of VR with the PS5. He explained that once the headset is released, it will enable "the ultimate entertainment experience with dramatic leaps in performance and interactivity."...
Read more...
Earlier this month, we talked about a class-action lawsuit that was being formulated against Sony's PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP, the law firm that sparked the lawsuit, alleged that the Dual Sense controllers were prone to joystick drift, which means that the controllers "will automatically register movement when the joystick is not being controlled and interfere with gameplay." Now, the teardown experts at iFixit have revisited the DualSense controller following this new legal action to see what's going on under the surface. Most importantly, iFixit describes that the basic joystick mechanism has not been updated with this next-generation...
Read more...
The latest generation game consoles from Microsoft and Sony lean heavily on PC hardware, and that includes the core components—both sport a custom system-on-chip by AMD comprised of Zen 2 CPU cores paired with RDNA 2 GPU cores, to enable ray-traced visuals and gameplay at up to 4K. There are some key differences, though, between the custom chips and their PC brethren. Some of those differences are visible in a set of detailed die shots of the PlayStation 5's SoC. Let's talk about the core specifications before getting to the die shots. The PS5 is an impressive console kit featuring an 8-core Zen 2 CPU sporting a variable clock speed up to 3.5GHz. On the graphics side, 36 compute units based...
Read more...
Valentine's Day is upon us and if you're a procrastinator like some of us, then it's highly probable that you don't have a gift in hand for your significant other. If your “sweetie” is in to tech gadgets, and if they don't mind waiting until tomorrow or Tuesday to get their gift, Amazon has some deals that might be worth considering. Amazon Hardware Is Discounted By Up To $50 Right Now The fourth-generation Echo was launched in late 2020, and brought with it an all-new spherical shape, a built-in smart home hub, better sound, a digital microphone disconnect, and a low-power mode. The latest Echo is priced at $99, but Amazon is currently running a promotion where if you buy two, you...
Read more...
If you are currently in possession of an Xbox Series S/X or PlayStation 5, consider yourself lucky. All the consoles have been in high demand since they launched in mid-November and are quickly snapped up when retailers managed to restock their shelves. Earlier this month, Sony confirmed that it has sold 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles since launch, which is roughly the same as the number of PlayStation 4 consoles sold after its launch in Q4 2013. So far, Microsoft hasn't given us any concrete numbers on how many Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X consoles that it has sold, but data from Ampere Analysis (via GamesIndustry) suggests that the figure is a combined 2.9 million...
Read more...
Back in late December, we reported on some troubling issues that Sony PlayStation 5 owners were having with their DualSense controllers. At the time, it was reported that the adaptive triggers -- which are the hot new feature of the DualSense controller -- were prone to failure. The problem seemed to mostly stem from a rather undersized spring used for the controller's triggers. However, the DualSense controller is now coming under fire for a separate issue. The law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP is investigating the potential for launching a class action lawsuit over joystick drift with the DualSense controller. Joystick drift is nothing new in the gaming world,...
Read more...
It should come as no surprise to anyone that pent-up demand for next-generation consoles has been immense. Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have been hot-sellers ever since they launched in mid-November, and now Sony is giving us some insight into just how strong demand has been. The company revealed that it shipped 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles during the October through December quarter. Interestingly enough, that 4.5 million exactly matches the number of PlayStation 4s that Sony sold during that console's Q4 2013 launch. Sony said that it shipped just 1.4 million PlayStation 4 consoles during Q4 2020, which represented a 77 percent decrease year-over-year....
Read more...
