by Matthew on February 8, 2010
We have mentioned in the past that Sony could consider dropping optical drives on their next generation Sony Playstation 4 when launched, although Sony have more recently indicated that they are not yet ready to abandon physical medium just yet. Also the poll we ran also indicated that 74% of our readers would want an optical drive.
This leads us on to another thing to discuss that we have also mentioned before, and that is if Sony will continue to use Blu-ray optical discs, or if they will move on to something else as they traditionally do between generations of consoles. One idea is that they could make use of Holography on their optical discs to cram even more data on to them. A while back GE were apparently testing HVD for storage with theoretical capacities of up to 3.9TB per disk that would provide plenty of space for a game or even a good number of games. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on January 12, 2010
Over a year ago we first heard of a technology referred to as both Super Hi-Vision or UHDTV as it was also known as. At the time the resolutions it was expected to show were a very high 7680 x 4320 making it the equivalent of 16 HDTV’s.
We spotted a TV built by LG recently that claims to show a UHDTV resolution although this particular screen has a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. What it allows you to do is get real close up to the TV and still see a clear image.
The main problem is that it is expected that the higher 7680 x 4320 resolution screens could be seen in around 2020 along with content created at that resolution. The question has to be asked if an in-between resolution that LG have made would be worth aiming for. Currently no content is created at that resolution, so is it worth switching equipment over to something that wont be around for much longer after that? [click to continue…]
by Matthew on December 28, 2009
Some speculation about the Sony PS4 has been doing the rounds on the web today with some supposed inside information saying that Sony are looking at using a multi-core processor for the next generation console.
Reasons stated for this are that the PS3 used Cell architecture which was challenging to work with for some developers. Other processors have also been reviewed which included Intel’s Larrabee although more power was wanted by Sony. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on November 12, 2009
Although I think Sony will stick with the regular design for the next-gen Playstation 4 controller I thought I’d still show this concept controller called Project Cobra.
The Cobra was designed by Jiang Qian and looks a little different from the usual PS4 controller shape we commonly see. The controller has a d-pad to the left, 4 buttons to the right along with 2 analogue sticks and a number of function buttons in between the mentioned buttons. 2 left and 2 right shoulder buttons can also be found. One of the unique features (although unconfirmed) is that the whole controller seems to be vented through out on both sides which looks to take in air from the top to keep your hands cool while holding it. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on September 7, 2009
We haven’t seen too many PS4 design concepts just yet apart from a few silly ideas and a few PS3 concept ideas with a scribbled out logo saying PS4. These images represent a rather cool looking PS4 games console and are the work of Tai Chiel.
The PS4 3D model was created to show that gamers already have an interest in what the future console will look like. Looking at this concept it is partly transparent and the transparent section also houses what appears to be an OLED style screen that shows the various menus, picture, saved games etc… [click to continue…]
by Paul on August 26, 2009
Upon reading more about the new improved slim PS3 it became apparent to us that Sony appear to have “overcooked” the PS3. When the PS3 was released it had full backwards compatibility, 4 USB Ports, Linux Capabilities, fancy touch sensitive on/off and eject buttons (clutching at straws here with that one), a 60GB HDD and a Card Reader. This has steadily all been removed. So, the PS3 price has dropped which is great news, but so has the feature list, and quite extensively. Sure the Slim PS3 HDD is 120GB, but it did temporarily drop to 40GB, which sucked. I don’t seem to remember any features being dropped from either the PS1 or PS2, even with the slim-line models they released.
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by Matthew on August 10, 2009
A few days ago NVIDIA launced a new interactive ray tracing engine called OptiX. This also happens to be a worlds first which caught my attention.
The NVIDIA OptiX engine can be programmed by engineers to bring a new level of realism to applications by using the C programming language. By using the engine more photo realistic images and rendering can be achieved. If Sony want to improve the level of graphics for the PS4 then OptiX could be the way forwards. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on August 9, 2009
We’ve spoken in the past about different screens that the PS4 will use such as will the PS4 use 3D or will the PS4 be ready for Super High Vision. One we haven’t touched on yet is the possibility of virtual reality which would allow the games player to completely be immersed in to the PS4 with both sound and audio. By tracking the users head movements, a head mounted display could allow the user to freely look around any 3D world which would cover many types of games from car racing to first person shooting.
With technology advancing and the Playstation 4 being more powerful than the Playstation 3 it could bring VR technology closer to realism allowing those who play the games to almost be immersed fully in the virtual world. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on August 6, 2009
While a good number of people have made the switch to high def (HDTV), a surprising statistic was recently mentioned which claims that “Over half the users who played Gears of War 2 so far do not have HDTVs…My point is, of the systems that are out there now, the majority of them aren’t plugged into HDTVs. So there’s no way we’re ready for the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox Whatever.”
Certainly an interesting thought as surely Sony want a HUGE push to move everybody to HDTV and until the majority of PS3’s are plugged in to HD then they quite possibly wont bother launching the PS4 until this happens. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on August 5, 2009
Matt Spall, a gaming industry veteran, has been speaking recently about upcoming next gen gaming consoles. His views are that gaming will move in to the cloud when the next generation is here in a few years time. He claims that “we will never see another ‘traditional’ console coming to the market.
”. It’s certainly an interesting view in light of how Google has recently announced the Chome OS which will be cloud based. Will next gen consoles follow the pattern that Google is trying to set? or is cloud technology still too far in it’s infancy for such a big task? [click to continue…]
by Matthew on May 14, 2009
During a meeting with Ubisoft the CEO, Yves Guillemot, said that they are already preparing for the next generation of gaming consoles to be launched. However, this preparation wasn’t in the way of starting to develop anything and instead, Ubisoft are being prepared financially. Next gen games will no doubt be a lot more complex and details then the current complex PS3 games that we see on sale. This will put a financial strain on those not ready for it.
“We need to get ready for the future generation of consoles,” Guillemot told investors. “In the next few years, there will be new home and handheld consoles, and if you don’t invest… you will not be able to cope with both [the existing and new generation consoles].”
Not only do developers need to get saving for a PS4, Wii 2 or an Xbox 720… they also need to look at next gen hand held gaming. Nobody really knows what the gaming scene will be like in 3 years time, but if Sony follow their 10 year plan then we can expect a console with in 3 years. Back on to handheld gaming for a minute… we also do not know what to expect here. Possibly larger roll out screens, projected screens etc… What ever they might be capable of Ubisoft feel it is a time to be prepared.
by Matthew on May 14, 2009
As ever, rumours are still moving around the net about the arrival of a PS4 in a couple of years time. No official specs or even a mention have been found yet except for a few comments made by Sony people saying the expect there to be more and more playstations over the years.
The next question asks if Sony will dump blu-ray in favour of holography. Some content over on the NY Times recently indicated that GE were researching storage capacity on holographic disks (HVD). The technology has been around a few years but isn’t yet available on the market. A theoretical 3.9 TB of data could be stored if the companies working on it get it right. Given those numbers and the time left until a PS4 launch (2012 at a guess) it would appear that HVD’s might be the way forwards.
“This could be the next generation of low-cost storage,” said Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering, a technology research firm.
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We have mentioned in the past that Sony could consider dropping optical drives on their next generation Sony Playstation 4 when launched, although Sony have more recently indicated that they are not yet ready to abandon physical medium just yet. Also the poll we ran also indicated that 74% of our readers would want an optical drive.
