Hasta La Gadget!

Amazon has sold out its “Launch Edition” of the PlayStation 4.

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We’ve seen several videos demonstrating what games might be like when played with the Oculus Rift VR headset, and while the list of supporting games is growing slowly, will we ever see it be compatible with Sony’s upcoming PS4? While […]

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The next-generation of consoles has finally and fully arrived here at E3, and the companies building the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U are doing their best to differentiate their consoles from the competition. However, there is a common thread that connects them under the hood: AMD silicon. Naturally, we wanted to know more about the process of building chips for these next gene consoles. So, we spoke with AMD VP Saeid Moshkelani — who heads up the Semi-Custom Business Unit that built those SoCs — to get the inside scoop.

Moshkelani wouldn’t get into the details of the differences between the chips he built for the consoles. Instead, he talked about how AMD developed custom silicon for each and the necessity of secrecy in the process. In fact, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft had no idea that they were each going to the AMD well to get silicon for their next-gen platforms until they were announced. So, head on down past the break to hear Moshkelani discuss what it’s like working with the big three and AMD’s role in making next-gen gaming a reality.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, AMD

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

It seems, at least according to the editorial and social rhetoric I’ve read over the past few days, that the console war has ended before a single unit has sold, and the Sony PlayStation 4 has won. Meanwhile, after a series of questionable announcements and policies, Microsoft’s Xbox One is a battered warrior before it’s had a chance to make an appearance.

It is, of course, silly to predict or even recognize this, but I’m going to do so anyway. Why? It’s worth mentioning why gamers have — at least for now — turned their backs to Microsoft. The issues are numerous, and they all point to features and functionalities that hardcore gamers don’t want, don’t get or simply don’t like. Average consumers haven’t chimed in yet — they will do so at the register this fall once they’ve asked the likes of you and me what to get — but here’s a very quick look at what troubles the Xbox One and how the PlayStation 4 appears to be doing things right.

Filed under: Gaming, Sony, Microsoft

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It’s E3 time, people, and the launch of a pair of brand new consoles has the gaming world abuzz with the possibilities they bring. The success of those platforms isn’t just about the black boxes, however. Gaming publishers like Electronic Arts are building many of the games people will want to play on Xbox One and PS4. So, when we got the opportunity to speak with EA’s CTO Rajat Taneja and COO Peter Moore about the company’s plans for next-gen, we jumped at the chance.

Rajat regaled us with tales of all the back-end work going into preparing Origin for next-gen, and chatted about the challenge of scaling up to accommodate all of the new users that will come with the new consoles. Naturally, that led to a discussion about the company’s single identity framework that allows gamers to access their EA account on any gaming platform. Meanwhile, Peter talked of the importance of Origin’s single login service, EA’s ability to produce games that take full advantage of the new capabilities of next-gen consoles and even how the lesson’s learned from the problems with Sim City will be applied to future games. You don’t have to take our word for it, though — check out the pair of videos after the break to hear for yourself first-hand.

Filed under: Gaming, HD

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