Hasta La Gadget!

Sony’s PSN woes aren’t over just yet. The company has temporarily stopped taking PlayStation promo codes following a surge in traffic on the gaming service; for the moment, money cards and game vouchers won’t work. There’s no estimate for when code redemption will return. It’s easy to see the potential causes, however. Between the weekend, the PlayStation 4’s European launch and a big discount on PlayStation Plus subscriptions at Amazon, there’s guaranteed to be a deluge of PSN activity — Sony may have unintentionally created a perfect storm.

Update (12/1/13): According to the PlayStation Europe Blog, Sony is “continually increasing the availability of the voucher redemption functionality,” so you should see it soon if it’s not on your system already. The next step, which we should hear more about tomorrow, is to switch on the What’s New activity feed and Live Item in the Content Information Screen for users outside North America.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony

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Source: PlayStation Community Forums, PlayStation Blog

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of livestreamers’ dreams shattering, as Twitch has decided to strip its directory of all shows that broadcast through the PlayStation 4’s Playroom. The decision comes shortly after the website started to crack down on PS4 streams that focus on non-gaming (and often risqué) topics, which is against its terms of service. From the sound of it, Twitch probably thought suspending accounts wouldn’t be a proper solution, because — as a spokesperson told Joystiq — a majority of Playroom content wasn’t related to gaming anyway. Those that still dream of fame with the help of their PlayStation 4 Cameras and new consoles shouldn’t lose hope, though. This move might be temporary, as the outfit says it could bring bring back Playroom shows once PS4 owners become more familiar with the platform’s gaming focus.

Filed under: Gaming, Sony

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Source: Joystiq

Today is the day: Xbox One is available in at least 13 territories. The PlayStation 4 launched last Friday to massive sales. The next-gen is officially on, having kicked off last year with Nintendo’s Wii U. Don’t believe us? We even reviewed all three!

• Nintendo Wii U review
• PlayStation 4 review
• Xbox One review

Of course, Nintendo’s not playing the same game that Microsoft and Sony are. The latter two are pushing serious horsepower and attempting to woo gamers with the promise of very pretty games and gameplay streaming, while Nintendo’s pursing a second-screen input approach. As such, it’s Microsoft’s and Sony’s new consoles that we’re here to examine today — the two big console makers that are taking each other on directly in the decades-long battle for the living room.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD, Sony, Microsoft

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The time it took for my brother to get our new Super Nintendo out of the box and connected to our television couldn’t have been more than five minutes. I’m pretty sure we used the same coaxial cable connector that the NES before it used, though it’s possible he was bold enough to forge a new connection dedicated to the SNES. The time between when he arrived home with the console box and a copy of Super Mario World, and when we saw Mario’s astonishing level of detail, was extremely short. Open game console box, plug in game console, insert game, play game — pretty simple. I’ll never forget the yellow on Mario’s cape!

Today’s kids don’t have it so easy. The anticipation while waiting for holidays or birthdays or while saving enough allowance has turned into anticipation during firmware updates or software patches or mandatory installs, and all manner of nonsense. Even for those of us who grew up with PCs, the state of modern game consoles is a sad one when it comes to what’s inside the packaging representing what the outside says.

This is all the internet’s fault, as most things are. I’m joking! Partially, anyway. It’s really internet ubiquity that’s to blame for game publishers and console makers leaning on day one updates. With most buyers living in places with relatively strong connectivity, games can launch without, say, multiplayer, and consoles can launch without the ability to even play games. It might sound nuts, but it’s the story of the now-current generation of game consoles.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo

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The reviews are out, and the PlayStation 4 is, in fact, much of what we’d hoped it’d be: a fabulous gaming machine with a social personality. It has lived up to it’s next-gen label, thus far. But there’s another aspect to the PS4 that may prove to be equally as important to the console’s long-term success against its main rival from Microsoft. I’m talking about video and music services.

Filed under: HD, Sony

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