Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve been hearing a number of PlayStation 4 rumors over the past few months that discuss its hardware that may be stronger than the next-generation Xbox, its controller capable of touch inputs as well as its retail price.

A new PlayStation 4 rumor is circulating today from a Japanese news outlet Nikkei who is sourcing an unidentified official of Sony Computer Entertainment. The source revealed Sony isn’t focusing as much on its upcoming console’s ability to deliver amazing graphics, instead, it’s focusing more on delivering “new playing options” to its customers. In addition, Sony also has planned to make its next PlayStation a “nerve center” for home entertainment by connecting and sharing information via mobile devices. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Report: Xbox 720 To Feature Siri-Like Voice Control, Sony PlayStation 4 Rumored To Cost Around $400,

Many believe that the PlayStation 4 will be released this year, although when exactly remains to be seen, but at the same time it is speculated that the announcement at the very least will take place on the 20^th of February. The next question on everyone’s minds (we’re assuming!) is that how much will the console cost once it goes on sale? Now the PlayStation 3 was definitely not cheap when it was released, although considering it was a huge step up from the PlayStation 2, we guess we can understand why it was priced so expensive at its early stages.

Now according to a newspaper Asahi Shimbun (translate by Gematsu), word has it that the PlayStation 4 could cost around $427 (after conversion from the Japanese Yen). This is compared to the PS3 which cost around $500 at launch for the 20GB version, but perhaps with technology being more advanced these days, it is possible that manufacturing the PS4 could be cheaper which is why Sony is able to price the device more affordably. Either way it is speculation for now, but hopefully come 20^th February there will be more details to share, but in the meantime what do you think about the possible price tag? Fair?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Next-gen Racer For PS4 Expected To Be Announced On 20th February, PS4: Stronger Than Next-Gen Xbox With Touch-Based Controls [Rumor],

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us will be releasing on May 7 for the PlayStation 3, and the trailers that have been released for the game have already colored us impressed. We’ve seen the game’s story slowly progress as well as a number of stealth-action sequences, but the gameplay footage that’s been released today shows a completely different side of The Last of Us.

The gameplay footage that was captured by GamesHQMedia shows just three minutes of in-game footage, but it does a lot in those three minutes. In the video, we see Joel making his way through a dark train station that’s filled with what looks to be infected zombies, which are randomly shuffling around through the station. Ellie assists Joel as she whispers suggestions to him in order to help with the dangerous process of getting rid of each of the infected that are in their way.

What makes the footage so great is the sound effects, which we’re sure once the game releases, we’ll be jumping all over our couch at any little creepy sound effect we hear in the dark. Judging by the ending of this video, we’ll have a very good reason to be jumpy in the dark.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: L.A. Noire Blooper Reel Is Filled With Funny Faces And Passing of Gas, Sony Teases Possible God Of War Announcement For February 1,

Sony has just revealed a new PlayStation gaming console that will be launched in the Asian market. But don’t get too excited because it’s not the PS4. It is, however, a PlayStation Vita gaming console that has been painted in silver. Yes, Sony has showcased the Ice Silver edition PlayStation Vita on its website last week and stated that it will be launching on March 6th. The PlayStation Vita “Ice Silver” model will retail in Malaysia for MYR1, 099, in Hong Kong for HKD2,280, and in Singapore for SGD 399. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Beta Sign-ups Announced, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance For The Wii U Is A Possibility,

If you believe the hype, then Sony will be revealing the next PlayStation in just a few short weeks at a February 20 event. The announcement of a new console is all well and good, but once the party’s over and the reveal has been made, Sony then faces the difficult task of making the next PlayStation successful in the new generation. It’s something of a blank slate – the other competitors in the console space are releasing new machines as well, so the platform wars can begin anew. Sony did a lot of good things with the PS3, but in order to make the PS4 a smashing success, it’s going to need to ramp it up in a few areas.

First and foremost, Sony needs to get even more serious about securing exclusive games for the PS4. Throughout the entire generation, Sony has offered some excellent exclusives to PS3 players. Microsoft had some good exclusives for the Xbox 360 throughout most of the console’s life, but these days it seems that the company would rather make timed-exclusive DLC deals. That’s all well and good, but timed-exclusive DLC is a poor substitute for exclusive full games. Sony not only needs to make sure the PS4 has a solid exclusive games library, but it also needs to kick it up a bit.

In the next generation, Sony can’t be stingy with its money – it needs to go out there, find good titles, and then plop down the cash needed to make those games exclusive to PS4. If it can offer a large number of exclusive games, that will drive consumers to the console, especially when its still in the early days after launch.

To give you an example, I have a friend who recently went out and bought a PS3 so he could play the US release of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. It’s hard for gamers to resist the lure of a really awesome-looking game, which is why I’m willing to bet he isn’t the only one who bought a PS3 for Ni No Kuni. Good games that players can’t find anywhere else will always pull in more consumers than fancy technical specs, despite what the technophiles of the world will tell you.

That being said, Sony needs to get better at recognizing when a franchise doesn’t need any new releases. God of War: Ascension seems to be the God of War title no one was asking for, while a number of Ratchet and Clank games released this generation have been a far cry from the Ratchet and Clank games of the PS2 era. Instead of putting money into franchises that could use a rest, Sony could take that money and invest it in exclusive titles from promising third-parties, or it could even take a risk and develop some new franchises of its own. The temptation to keep milking a franchise with a loyal fanbase is definitely great, but by releasing title after title, you end up alienating gamers who have fond memories with the series. Unfortunately, many of those gamers aren’t going to come back when you’ve finally figured out how to bring something new and exciting to the franchise.

I think Sony should look to Japan more often in the next generation, too. We’ve got a lot of interest in Japanese games at the moment – Persona, Ni No Kuni, Xenoblade, Pandora’s Tower, The Last Story – all of them have been popping up left and right here in North America. They’ve all been getting attention as well. Sony has an advantage over Microsoft in this case, as Japanese developers aren’t making too many games for the Xbox 360. Until Microsoft learns how to effectively tackle the Japanese market, that will remain to be the case, leaving Sony with a flood of unique and interesting titles for its own console.

Why not publish more promising Japanese titles with the intention of bringing them to western markets in the next generation? There seems to be a belief that western gamers aren’t all that interested in Japanese video games, but I think this generation proved that’s more a misconception than anything else.

Sony also needs to pay more attention to indies in the next generation. PSN is already a great place to find indie games, but it seems to be more or less on par with the offerings over on XBLA. It needs to be better with the PS4. Indie games exploded this year, and Sony needs to take a bigger slice of that pie for itself. It needs to make a PSN where it can try new and different things, unlike the by-the-books nature of Xbox Live. Granted, Sony is already doing better than Microsoft in the online market area, but I’d like to see it take even more risks with PSN in the future.

Above all else, though, Sony needs to admit when things just aren’t working out. When you launch something like Move or PS Vita and it doesn’t do much else other than fester, the correct course of action is not to pretend everything is okay and let it fester some more. Move is a cool peripheral, and as far as the other motion control peripherals go, I think it has the Wii remote and Kinect beat. However, that doesn’t matter much when there aren’t any games for it. The same is true of the PS Vita – here we’ve got some excellent portable hardware, and it’s not doing anything but collecting dust because no one’s buying it and no one’s making games for it.

Staying the course doesn’t help in cases like these. If something isn’t working with the PS4, Sony can’t just leave that problem hanging there and hope it gets better on the promise of cool things to come. It needs to get creative and shake things up a bit. I’m not entirely sure how you fix the problems with the Vita, but I’m positive that Sony’s current way of handling these issues isn’t working. Let’s not allow that to happen with the PlayStation 4.

PlayStation 4: What Sony must do is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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