Is Microsoft announcing tomorrow? Does Sony give a f***?
Nope!
Today Sony released a video hyping the actual, really real Playstation 4. I love how they have blurred the system to give a bit of mystery to the fact that it is a black box. Although mabye they are pulling a complete mindf*** and the image is not doctored and the PS4 actually is blurry like in the video. Now that is some powerful shit right there.
The Sony press conference will be on June 10th at 6PM PDT and we will have all the coverage you can stand.
The Playstation Vita’s biggest fall release is getting a change in release date to avoid Grand Theft Auto.
Killzone: Mercenary is moving from September 17th to September 10th wisely avoiding the release of Grand Theft Auto V. The portable shooter had already set its September 17th date before GTA changed from its spring release to its current one. At least Sony is giving the Vita title a chance instead of leaving it buried.
To celebrate Gran Turismo’s 15th anniversary, Sony has announced that they and Polyphony will hold a Gran Turismo event on May 15th that will unveil the future of the franchise while looking back at its history.
Rumors have swirled that Sony is planning to release Gran Turismo 6 on PS3 before the end of the year. Some would say that it should be released on the PS4, but they already have Drive Club coming for the next-gen system and GT6 would be a great way to keep interest in the PS3 high during the fall of a new console launch.
I will venture a guess that a Gran Turismo anniversary edition of some sort will be announced too.
Sony has released a new developer video on their Playstation Blog that shows off the new Dualshock 4 controller. The design of the controller is discussed as well as the uses of the front touch pad. They also talk about how integral the share button will be in the future of PS4 gameplay. I absolutely love the look of the Dualshock 4 and think Sony hit a home run with the design.
Three of the best platforming games ever are coming the the PS Vita this summer. Sony announced the Jak and Daxter Collection that was released on the PS3 last fall would make its way onto their handeheld in June. You will get Jack and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II and Jak 3 for only $29.99.
Here are the details first then I will let you know what this most likely means.
Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat gave an interview with The Guardian and was asked if the gaming community was ready for a console that is always connected to the internet.
“Well, that’s a question you should put to Microsoft and Sony! I would say that a lot of people are already always online through other devices – I would suspect that the audience is ready.”
Now Mallat could just be playing it safe and saying that we would have to ask either Microsoft or Sony, but I am assuming as the head of a major game development studio that he may actually already know if the next Xbox will be always-online or not. Sony has already announced that the PS4 will not require it and there is too much smoke around Microsoft’s camp to not say there is fire somewhere. I am not saying Microsoft will do it, but I am thinking there has been more than serious discussions about it and who knows, maybe their delay in announcing the new Xbox could be a rethinking of strategy after the negative reception to the possibility.
I am not in the practice of posting articles for every single Xbox rumor that passes in front of me. I like to wait and let them marinate and then serve them to you on a nice place setting and watch as you take tiny bird bites and see how you like them. Let’s go over the last few that are making the rounds. Need a refill before we begin?
1. The next Xbox will need to be online. As in always online.
This is the biggie that has everyone up in arms. I am not leaning one way or the other honestly so I will try and give you an objective opinion about both sides. Always online is going to be the future. It is undeniable. There will come a time when almost everything short of a refrigerator or toaster is going to need an internet connection. Microsoft was ahead of the curve when they introduced Xbox Live over ten years ago and made it require a cable internet connection leaving all the 56K users out in the cold. They knew that to have the speed needed it had to have a fast connection and Microsoft also saw that 56K, while being in the majority of homes, was on borrowed time. It was a gamble that paid off, but this is a different gamble altogether. If this rumor is true, Microsoft is hedging their bets on the future of the Xbox brand on it. I know that consoles will eventually require an internet connection for functionality, but I hope that Microsoft is not a generation too soon with it.
The outcry over an always online Xbox may seem like internet fanboy complaining and I hope that is all it is. But there is still a large part of the country that has spotty internet or no internet at all. Hard to believe in this time, but Microsoft has to realize this. I believe that is why Sony has already announced that the PS4 will not require an internet connection to play. They are placing their bets that some people will be turned off by Microsoft making them be online to play and will be waiting on them with arms wide open, ready to accept them into the Sony family. This is not a far-fetched idea when you think about it.
I get the feeling that Microsoft is feeling like Sony after the success of the PS2. They feel they can do no wrong and people will follow no matter what. Sony learned a harsh lesson about that in the first few years of the PS3. They learned they were not invincible and it looks like they are trying to correct a lot of this with the PS4. Be wary Microsoft.
2. The next Xbox will cost $500 straight up with a second model at $300 with a subscription fee.
I think this is a rumor you can go ahead and count on being true. It was most likely the whole reason why they tried the approach last year with the Xbox 360 where you get the console for $99 and agree to a two year subscription to Xbox Live. I think it will be a harder sell for the next Xbox, but that’s not to say it won’t be a success. A $99 360 is an easy sell to some, even with a subscription model. Now, asking $300 for a new console AND a two year subscription may be a bit more of a stretch. If I am going to save and spend $300 on a console I, personally, would just get 200 bucks more and buy my console outright. However, we do buy phones like this so I can see where Microsoft would think this is a viable option.
3. The next Xbox will essentially become your cable box.
This goes back to #1 on the list. Rumors are that the system will be able to connect with your cable boxes and communicate with them. This would fit in with Microsoft’s mission to make the Xbox the entertainment center of your living room. How Microsoft will make this a unique experience like Nintendo TVii remains to be seen. There will need to be some kind of special feeling to this to have some people (me) adopt it. I am sure that Microsoft has some tricks up their sleeve for this.
4. Microsoft is shooting for a late-May announcement for the next Xbox.
May 21 is the date that rumors suggest when the big event will happen. If this is true then it means that Sony will have had three and a half months of time for people to learn the ins and outs of every bit of PS4 info they can find. Did Microsoft wait too long? And because Sony had such a great announcement and Microsoft waited so long, are the expectations unattainable? If they do wait till May 21, why not just do it at E3 a couple of weeks later? Microsoft has wasted valuable time while many have begun to question items about their next console. Let’s hope they blow us all away.
Microsoft are taking so long to announce the new XBOX that Ubisoft will have announced 3 more Assassin’s Creed games by the time they do it
Xbox Live is having another sale and there are some great XBLA titles available for 50% off. With all these sales over the past few months it’s almost like Microsoft is realizing how right Sony has been getting it with their Playstation Store sales. No complaints on this end, especially when I can get Mark of the Ninja or Deadlight for half off.
Check out the list of titles that are getting price reductions from Microsoft Studios:
Not to be outdone by Tomb Raider’s numbers, EA has released their own set of numbers for SimCity in a press release. If you really want to read the entire, long winded thing then I applaud you. I am just going to post the numbers that EA touted this morning.
In just two weeks:
– SimCity players have logged more than 15 million hours of online gameplay.
– More than 5.7 million original cities have been created since launch.
– More than 780 million buildings have been built.
– SimCity mayors to date have built enough road and railroad tracks to circle the globe more than 40,000 times.
First thought from me is exactly how many of those cities have been created, lost and recreated because of the SimCity servers not being able to handle the number of players online at one time? It is like when Sony mentions the lifetime sales of the Playstation 2. Sure it may be the best selling console ever, but how many of those consoles were multiple buys by customers because the first few years of PS2’s were pieces of shit? I had three, how about you?
I am happy that Maxis and EA are finally getting the game to a serviceable level, but there is no other way to describe SimCity’s launch other than one of the biggest cluster fu**s to happen in gaming.
One of the reasons to love your Vita right now, besides the fact that Sony is giving you a long list of free or cheap games on PS Plus, is Killzone: Mercenary. The guys at Guerrilla are really trying to make sure that this is the best looking Vita game and that it will be the first quality shooter on the console.
This new developer video shows how the team is using the power of the handheld to bring a true console experience. The game looks decidedly Killzone which is to say dark and dystopian, but it also is stunning considering it is on a handheld.
The reason for the title?
Watching the video you see how simple touch screen swipes will handle the melee kills in the game and one of these being you straight up stabbing guys….in the dick. Yeah, I may hate my enemy, but come on, do you really need to stab them in the dick?
Oh, we do?
OK, well let’s get to some dick stabbing!
[amazon_link id=”B0050SWYTC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Killzone: Mercenary[/amazon_link] releases on September 17th.
