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In the digital age, just about everything we do can be monitored. It’s a fact of living in a modern era where everything is connected to the internet, that some privacy is going to be lost in the process. It seems that there is a new story about a major corporation encroaching onto a consumer base’s privacy by the day. The gaming industry has had to tackle this issue several times before such as when thePlayStation Network was compromised and more recently when there were worries about how the Xbox One could monitor its users. At E3, some held Sony up as the opposite side of the coin, supporting consumer rights and options.
With just two days to go until the PlayStation 4 hits it has now been revealed that Sony might not be the paragon of consumer advocacy that some held it up as.
According to their new terms of service (via CVG) Sony will have the ability to monitor “any and all” user activity.
In Sony’s Software Usage Terms it is asked:
“Are we monitoring PSN?
Yes but we can’t monitor all PSN activity and we make no commitment to do so. However, we reserve the right in our sole discretion to monitor and record any or all of your PSN activity and to remove any of your UGM at our sole discretion, without further notice to you.”
While many people fly past terms of services without a glance, they can be full of these kinds of stipulations. For the moment, this seems to be an exclusive policy for the PlayStation 4 as other consoles don’t seem to have put this kind of condition into their customer agreement.
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With Sony also being held up as pro-used games after their famous drubbing ofMicrosoft‘s then restrictive policies at E3, there is another interesting point in the conditions that has caused some worry:
“You must not resell either Disc-based Software or Software Downloads, unless expressly authorised by us and, if the publisher is another company, additionally by the publisher.”
It is worth noting that this is nothing out of the ordinary as almost all terms and conditions have a variant of this.
Nevertheless, fans shouldn’t worry too much – as President of Sony Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, clarified the statement on Twitter:
Where it could become interesting is in the future as it gives Sony the right to cancel their deals with retailers and install something similar to what Microsoft had in place when they restricted used games. There is no indication that that is going to happen but it does give the company some leeway going forward if their position changes. Something worth considering for owners of the new system.
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The PlayStation 4 launches on November 14th
It is the future. The year is… still 2013, but it’s slightly later in 2013. As the current console generation comes to an end and the future draws close, one of two new major competitors lies waiting in a room full of machines with lots of different colored blinking lights on them, because (as mentioned earlier) this is the future.
The marketing for the PlayStation 4 has been fun to watch so far, if only to see Sony frequently taking catty swipes at Microsoft and the XBox One, and with advertising as dramatic as the “Greatness Awaits” trailer – in which a man in a purple suit delivered a rather evil-sounding speech before kicking a pirate in the butt and clotheslining a clown – it would be disappointing if the official unboxing video of the PS4 was anything less than OTT.
Sony President Shuhei Yoshida does not disappoint in this official PS4 unboxing video, donning a pair of gloves to show proper reverence as he carefully extracts each cable and pamphlet from the box of dreams. The actual console angles a beam of light directly into his face that briefly looks as though it will melt his skin off – like the Ark of the Covenant. In case anyone misses it amidst all the drama, here’s what is included in this box:
Network voucher
Quick Start Guide
DualShock 4 controller
HDMI cable
AC power cord
Mono headset
USB cable
500GB PS4 system
Admittedly it doesn’t look as exciting when it’s laid out in bullet points like that, but the unboxing of new gaming tech is still one of those things that makes many people feel like a kid at Christmas, and that’s likely to be true whether you’re unboxing a PS4, an Xbox One, or just a fancy new graphics card to help meet theincreasingly demanding PC specs for next-gen games.
As cheesy and fun as the official version might be, this video of a Youtube celebrity unboxing an early release of the PS4 is undeniably a more accurate representation of what most people will do after purchasing one. Sony should probably just have used that instead.
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The PlayStation 4 is set to launch in the US & Canada on November 15th, 2013, and will be available worldwide from November 29th.
Xbox One or PlayStation 4? Black and blue or lime green hue? That’s the big question facing gamers this Holiday Season, as both Microsoft and Sony go all out to gain their first tentative footholds in the 8th generation.
With most major retailers having sold out of their pre-sale allocations months ago, the odds of locating a launch day console are now as hopelessly slim as prospective profits are fat – but, is that necessarily a bad thing?
Given what we already know about launch day difficulties, should gamers really be diving into the next generation of video game consoles with both feet , or has the worm finally turned in favor of the early adopter?
Late to the party: lame or lucrative? Game Rant decided to find out…
Launch Prices vs. Price Drops
Weak Launch Lineups
Hardware Reliability
Console War Defeat
Feature Loss/Addition
Conclusion: Your Big Decision
Launch Prices vs. Price Drops
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Video game hardware manufacturers bank on excitement, building up a buzz before unleashing their latest kit at a premium price point. Of course, no sooner have they done this, than those same manufacturers begin slashing prices in a vain attempt to renew flagging sales and interest (see: Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita). As such, conventional retail wisdom tends to suggest holding off on your purchase, in order to take advantage of the absolute best deal possible – but does this wise advice apply to video games?
From the mid-90s all the way to today, the average cost of a premium-level console has tended to remain at around $350. The average time it took a major console manufacturer to drop prices during this 18-year span, was seven-and-a-half months (ten if you include the Wii’s three year price fix), meaning that patient gamers could find themselves waiting until the June-to-August period of 2014 for a cheaper PS4 or Xbox One (if then). Interestingly, the average amount of money lopped off a console’s opening day price tag during that time was $83, the same figure a player might expect to spend on a special edition game release today.
Verdict – Is a saving of $83 worth a near-eight month wait? Probably not, but there are many more launch day factors to consider, including…
Weak Launch Lineups
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Widely recognized as one of the major drawback of early adoption, poor launch title selections aren’t usually enough to scupper a console on their own, though they do beg the question of why gamers would willingly buy into an experience sporting little more than shovelware. Sure, the better games are on their way, but for the time being you may be stuck with an expensive platform, and only a selection of overpriced and rushed titles to choose from.
Investigating the launch lineups of over a dozen consoles doesn’t exactly do much to generate confidence – outside of a few key franchise-spawning hits like Haloand Resistance. Every past machine seems to feature the same checklist of genres, including at least one exclusive shooter, platformer, racer, fighting title and as always, a healthy selection of licensed sports games. Notable examples from the previous three generations include –
PSX – Air Combat, Rayman, Ridge Racer
Nintendo 64 – Pilotwings 64, Super Mario 64
Saturn – Virtua Fighter, Panzer Dragoon, Daytona USA
PS2 – Tekken Tag Tournament, Timesplitters
Xbox – Halo, Project Gotham Racing, Jet Set Radio Future, Dead or Alive 3, Munch’s Odyssey
Gamecube – Luigi’s Mansion, SSX Tricky, Super Monkey Ball, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
PS3 – Call of Duty 3, Resistance: Fall of Man, Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Xbox 360 – Call of Duty 2, GUN, Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo: Elements of Power
Wii – Call of Duty 3, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, Red Steel, Wii Sports
As video game consoles continue to morph into fully-fledged ‘multimedia devices’ this issue is steadily becoming less and less apparent. Modern gaming systems are outfitted with enough connectivity to ensure that here’s always something to do, whether the platform’s gaming lineup is strong or not. Plus, the relative ease of use involved in Xbox One & PS4 development has led many studios to jump at the chance to headline their respective launches. As such, gamers can expect many credible cross-platform releases this holiday season, including – Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Verdict - If a gamer can’t find something to enjoy on tomorrow’s multimedia-rich consoles, then the chances are – they aren’t looking hard enough. While it’s true that most launch titles do tend to be weaker than their successors, improved ease-of-development appears to be stamping out this issue.
Hardware Reliability
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With the Xbox’s popularization of online console gaming came many other unique possibilities; multiplayer-only adventures, downloadable add-on packs and even post-launch patches. Unfairly abused by some studios as a way to ship out and then fix up broken titles, these patches can act to alleviate otherwise game-breaking bugs, glitches and assorted hardware failures. They can also occasionally cause them.
A 2009 survey conducted by SquareTrade found that the failure rates of otherwise ‘healthy’ new consoles amongst major 7th gen competitors was – 23.7% for the Xbox 360, 10% for the PlayStation 3 & 2.7% for the Wii. While many of these early Xbox 360′s were undoubtedly the victims of the hardware’s weak soldering agent – resulting in the now-infamous Red Ring of Death scandal – that doesn’t explain every single failure encountered. The survey goes on to state that the platform’s failure rate fell to a much more manageable 4% with the introduction of the new ‘Jasper’ model 360 in Q3 2008. Simply put, those gamers who had waited to take the plunge were rewarded with a more reliable console.
Verdict – Following the RROD disaster, neither Sony nor Microsoft will be looking to skimp on extensive hardware testing this time around. While the eventual introduction of slim-line models could affect failure rates in some fashion, you can expect both the original Xbox One and PS4 models to perform much better than their predecessors.
Console War Defeat
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Caught between generations, SEGA’s innovative Dreamcast system started out strongly enough, before the power of the almighty PlayStation 2 came crashing down on top of it. In an industry filled with failed competitors, SEGA still seemed too big to fail. When they did, gamers everywhere suddenly became much more wary about backing the perceived winning team. Supporting your favorite IPs was one thing, but watching them disappear halfway through the race was quite another.
It’s important to remember that just about anything can happen between now and a prospective 9th generation, and no one wants to become saddled with an unloved, unsupported console two years from now. Of course, even if your console itself survives, there’s no telling if all of its features – features you may end up investing both time and money in – will also endure. HDDVD had as much right to exist in the post-DVD environment, as did Sony’s Blu-ray. Gamecube’s mini-discs and PSP’s UMDs seemed to reflect the industry’s move towards increasingly small storage devices. Yet all of these technologies ultimately failed. For better or worse, the hardware, features and services for both the PS4 and Xbox One are extremely similar, possibly more than any consoles prior.
Verdict - Obsolete/unsuccessful tech is probably the best reason to embrace a wait-and-see approach. The console market had seemed to crystallize into three major competitors as recently as last year, yet Nintendo’s recent struggles with the Wii U have reinforced the idea that nothing can be taken for granted. On the plus side, the 8th gen really isn’t presenting us with too many new, or exclusive technologies (the Xbox One features Blu-ray, for example) so it’s unlikely either Xbox One or PS4 will become outright failures, especially with the amount of non-gaming services they will also offer.
Feature Loss/Addition
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A somewhat less important factor, later console models often cut production costs by removing seemingly unnecessary features, meaning that late-arriving customers may miss out. The PlayStation 3 launched with PS2 backward compatibility, a feature that was later dropped – even before the system’s slim line debut. Given that Sony is now reselling PS2 titles via their network, some gamers will likely have shelled out for an experience they already own in disc form. While it’s difficult to predict exactly which Xbox One or PS4 features will be culled (should the consoles eventually receive slimmed down makeovers) feature losses should always be expected.
Of course, later editions can also spark some notable additions. Microsoft’s horrifying ‘Duke’ controller was eventually replaced 6 months after the original Xbox’s debut by the shapely S-variant, a design that the company has continued to iterate on ever since.
Verdict – It’s tough to say where and how later cuts may occur. Xbox has already cut its always-online requirements, meaning it’s highly unlikely to budge any further, at least as far as feature sets are concerned.
Your Next-Gen Decision
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Hardware launches are not an easy thing to pull off, but at least both of the 8th-gen contenders – PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – appear better placed than their predecessors. Whether any of these noted improvements equate to an ASAP-type buy is entirely up to you, but for those on the fence, try considering the following questions.
Is a prospective eight-month wait worth $100 or so? Are cross-gen titles a worthy addition to launch? Will Sony or Microsoft skimp on hardware testing to save money? Which features will end up on the scrap heap, and will both sides survive the upcoming struggle? Give us your opinions, and tell us which console you plan on picking up, (and when), by heading to comments section below.
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The PlayStation 4 will debut on November 15, 2013 across North America and November 29, 2013 throughout Europe. The Xbox One launches worldwide on November 22, 2013.
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With the growing success of the Oculus Rift, and more recent developments like castAR, it seems that the next wave of immersive game development can be found in head-mounted displays. Both those examples have very different goals, but whether it’s Virtual Reality or simply Augmented Reality, gamers have been hoping that major manufacturers would take note.
So it will interest tech-savvy gamers that the latest patents uncovered by Sonydon’t just hint that the company is looking to outdo their previous attempts at head-mounted displays, incorporating noise-cancellations, image detection, and much, much more. Will Sony take on the Oculus Rift with the PlayStation 4?
There have been reports for some time that Sony was developing a VR headset for some time, with many believing it would be officially unveiled at TGS 2013. But the show came and went with no reveal, presumably to keep Sony’s message for the coming year clearly focused on the PlayStation 4.
Now, new patents filed by Sony in May of 2013 have been uncovered on NeoGAF, giving a better sense of what technology the company may be pursuing in the realm of head-mounted displays.
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One patent pertains to the likelihood that many users will be wearing the head-mounted displays along with noise-cancelling headphones – to maximize the immersive experience. Sony’s patent allows for certain emergency sounds – fire alarms, doorbells, babies crying, etc. – to be detected and allowed through. That functionality would address the most obvious concern for skittish gamers seeking immersion, but the patent also allows for the the “unobscuring of vision” if a hazard is detected moving towards the user.
That would seem to imply a new form of viewscreen than a simple display, and it’s not the only mention of semi-translucent displays that can be found in the patent. The other telling advancement patented by Sony is in regard to image stabilization by detecting head movement. Those terms might conjure images of Oculus-Rift level immersion, but are actually dealing with a more passive problem. Mainly, if users are attempting to watch any content that isn’t meant to be moving with each slight shake of the head, the display would be able to move the screen in the opposite direction so the image remains stable.
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Most interestingly, those patents seem to aim at experiences fairly different from those offered by Oculus Rift. Those same previous reports claimed that the headset would work in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye camera, able to pick up markers on the headset itself. If that is the case, then the means by which the headset could correct head movements seem a bit clearer.
So it may not be confirmation that Sony is targeting the same audience as other developers of head-mounted displays, but interesting nonetheless.
What do you make of Sony’s patents? Does this seem like a move to simply bring traditional gaming to head-mounted screens, or are you hoping for something greater? The possible advancements in both noise cancellation and image stablization are intriguing on their own, so we’ll keep you updated as more information arrives.
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After years of development, Sony’s next generation hardware, the PlayStation 4, is set to release on Friday, November 15th. Armed with a host of features, which are detailed in the trailer above, the PS4 will debut at a full $100 less than itsMicrosoft-owned competitor, Xbox One (since Sony opted to sell their new PlayStation 4 Camera separately). We’ve been actively reporting on the new PlayStation console for over a year, breaking down pricing and sales speculation, as well as featured rumors and games, but with only a few short weeks before the hardware releases (from the time of this writing), official information is trickling out more frequently.
Following an extensive PS4 FAQ that detailed the full release day line up of games, confirmation of swappable PS4 hard drives, and more, we’re now getting word from Sony on the various entertainment apps that will launch alongside the new console on release day.
In the face of crunch time tweaks to the PS4 launch, and day one software update, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding how long it would be before Sony, and partner developers, were able to bring essential entertainment apps to the new hardware.
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However, in a post on the Official PlayStation Blog, Sony has confirmed that eleven apps will be available to download on November 15th – including Netflix, Hulu, and other famous content providers.
Check out the full list below, including descriptions of each service:
Amazon Instant Video — Users can choose from over 150,000 titles to rent or purchase, including new release movies and in-season TV episodes.
Crackle — A part of Sony Pictures Television, Crackle is a freely accessible multi-platform television network delivering original series such as Emmy Award nominated Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and hit movies and television programs in a variety of genres.
Crunchyroll — Watch the latest and best selection of Anime right from Japan such as Naruto Shippuden, Attack on Titan, Bleach and more up to one-hour after Japanese broadcast!
EPIX — Authenticated subscribers on the PS4 system can instantly access and stream more than 3,000 titles on-demand, including top blockbusters such as The Avengers and The Hunger Games in HD, classic Hollywood franchises, award-winning original documentaries plus music and comedy specials.
Hulu Plus — Hulu Plus offers unlimited instant streaming of current hit shows like Family Guy, The Simpsons, and South Park as well as original series including The Awesomes and The Wrong Mans.
NBA Game Time — Stay connected to Live out-of-market NBA game action on the PS4 system with NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband on an authenticated basis for subscribers. Get access to real time stats, complete scores, stats and schedules for every game, and video highlights and recaps.
Netflix — Netflix members can instantly watch a wide variety of TV shows and movies, including exclusive series such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, on the PS4 system.
NHL GameCenter LIVE — Instantly stream live out-of-market games in HD quality with your NHL GameCenter LIVE subscription.
Redbox Instant by Verizon — Subscribers can stream from a library of hit movies on the PS4 system and receive 4 DVD or Blu-Ray rental nights every month for new releases at the Redbox kiosk. Everyone can purchase and rent the latest movies on-demand.
VUDU — Watch the world’s largest selection of HD movies and TV shows, including thousands of blockbusters, Hollywood classics and indies. Stream new releases before they¹re available on DVD, or build a collection of favorites without ever paying for a subscription.
YuppTV — YuppTV offers over 150 Indian TV channels Live and on demand, including a selection of over 600 Movies to watch anytime, anywhere.
Entertainment enthusiasts (and sports fans) will, no doubt, be relieved to discover that some of the PS3′s keystone apps will be available day one on the PS4. Inclusion of high profile apps might seem like a no-brainer, but considering the PS4 won’t even support Sony-made wireless headsets at launch, the jump to the next-generation has already required gamers show some major patience – as developers scramble to make sure the next-gen console offers key features already present in the current-gen.
It’s great to see Sony has prepared a solid line-up of apps for gamers to enjoy on the PS4, with many more on the way, but there are a few major oversights in the launch list – including HBO Go, NFL GamePass, and YouTube, to name a few, that undercut the system’s ability to be a one-stop entertainment hub (especially now that it has been announced the console will not support CD or MP3 playback).
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Nevertheless, unlike Microsoft and the Xbox One, Sony has been clear that while they’d love for gamers to use their console as an entertainment/media center, their primary goal for the PS4 is to provide great game experiences. As a result, while certain consumers might be disappointed at the lack of custom soundtracks and missing apps on PS4, it’s hard to fault Sony for focusing on delivering superb gaming experiences on their next-generation gaming machine.
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The days until the official start of the next console generation continue to fall off the calendar and bring gamers closer to November 15 and November 22, when the PS4 and Xbox One release, respectively. Console enthusiasts who plan to pick up either (or both) may have already secured a pre-order, but plenty of gamers are still weighing the pros and cons of each system. A fair share of bad press and rumors about the Microsoft console facing pre-launch problems has given Sony fans plenty of ammo to use against the Xbox One army, but some analysts still suggest that the Xbox One has a slight edge over the PS4 – which we recently found out can’t play MP3s or upload YouTube videos – in terms of prospective sales.
Consumers still coming to a decision on which console to side with have plenty to consider. It’s undeniable that the Sony console has had a much more successful series of pre-launch press releases and announcements, while Microsoft has continued to stumble through the summer and live up to the less than flattering “Xbone” nickname. Savvy shoppers who are interested in looking beyond name-calling and getting down to a heads-up comparison of the two consoles to help make their decision have a new tool thanks to Xpango.
A detailed infographic (shown below) posted by an admin account on Xpango illustrates side-by-side comparisons of the two new consoles on everything from tech specs to online multimedia services. The infographic may weasel out of offering a decision on which console will reign supreme, but it is full of stats and information that will be useful to shoppers. Take a look…
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It’s nice to see that gamers on both sides of the fence will be equipped with a powerful enough processor and enough RAM to deliver a noticable difference in performance compared to the aging current gen consoles, but the upgradable PS4 HD is a big perk for gamers that like a little extra control. 500 GB sounds like more than enough for now, but if this upcoming console life cycle is really going to last for a decade, the potential to upgrade seems like a valid selling point to us.
The infograph also bring up some good points about aesthetics and controller design. I don’t think anyone is arguing that either console is very pretty, but the PS4 is slightly less of a potential living room eyesore. We’ll reserve judgement on the controllers until we’ve put in a respectable about of hours on each, but at first glance, the Xbox 360′s offset joysticks and tried and true layout may seem more appealing, especially for shooter fans. That said, the folks at Sony do have research to support the decision to stick with the symmetrical stick layout which they believe is better.
The neck and neck nature of nearly every category will likely bring the decision down to exclusive launch titles for most consumers. Options for exciting new games aren’t quite as uncommon as they were when the Wii U launched last November, but there still aren’t enough highly-anticipated exclusives to make the choice easy. Titanfall (releasing next year) and Dead Rising 3 (a launch title) are likely to win over a fair number of buyers for Microsoft, while Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack will be the big draws for the PS4.
How are you making your decision on which console to pick up this holiday season (assuming you’re lucky enough to find one) or is it better to wait for lower prices, more games, features and potential bug fixes? Sound off in the comments.
If there’s a single most common criticism of Infinity Ward’s annual modern military FPS Call of Duty, it’s that the series is suffering from franchise fatigue and each new game is far too similar to the last. Infinity Ward has made some effort towards rejuvenating things in Call of Duty: Ghosts, which has a playable dog character called Riley and female soldiers in the multiplayer, but the latest round of reviews have been unforgiving and have criticized the game for being over-familiar. New evidence suggests that this feeling of deja vu is not just an illusion.
Video game developers often reuse existing assets, such as textures or character models, when making a sequel, but it appears that Infinity Ward has gone one step further. As the side-by-side comparison above shows, a cutscene from near the beginning of Call of Duty: Ghosts singleplayer campaign is virtually identical to a cutscene from the end of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The characters have been reskinned, the environment is slightly different and the player is being dragged towards a truck instead of a helicopter, but the motion capture animations and camera movement appear to be a direct copy-and-paste job.
There are a few possible explanations as to how this might have happened. Infinity Ward could be trying out some hilarious self-referential humor by literally taking cutscene material from an old game and sticking it in a new one, or there could be some kind of profound subtext to the scene that comments upon the nature of war and the endless cycle of death that repeats itself without apparent end.
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The somewhat less kind interpretation is that the copy-and-paste job is the result of either laziness on the part of the game designers or a symptom of the crushing time constraints required to get Call of Duty: Ghosts completed on schedule. The latter is probably the far more likely explanation, as it’s easy to imagine the developers reaching into old motion capture scenes in order to finish piecing the game together by the deadline.
If the cutscene is an homage to Modern Warfare 2 then it’s a very obscure one, but if it’s not an homage then it was somewhat naive of Infinity Ward to hope that no one would notice. Tell us in the comments if you’ve spotted any more cutscenes in Call of Duty: Ghosts that seem to use recycled motion capture material.
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Call of Duty: Ghosts is now available for PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 platforms. Next-gen editions of the game are scheduled to launch alongside their respective consoles, on November 15th (PlayStation 4) and November 22nd (Xbox One).
