Playstation 4 to complete the 'Circle of Life?'

According to the recent report from Kotaku the next Playstation is known as the Orbis and is due for release in late 2013.

Current specs reported are an AMD x64 CPU and an AMD Southern Islands GPU, but these are obviously subject to change over the time period. The current GPU is reported to be able to display resolutions of up to 4096x2160, with the added ability to produce 1080p 3D visuals, which is enough to make any 3D fanboy jump for joy, affter the PS3 only managed to scrape 720p.

Major downsides include no backwards compatibility, which resembles the nightmare of the PS3's launch. Sony are also keen to back the elimination of preowned games, whereby new games will apparently be locked to the original users PSN account. However all games will be up for download on the PSN, along with the standard Blu-Ray disc versions.

One final point is the choice of name for Orbis. Orbis is latin for Circle or Ring which, when coupled with Vitae (PS Vita anybody?) would create 'Circle of Life.' Aka, Sony's next generation console collection!

Everyone is looking forward to more information on this, along with that of the next X-Box and maybe some more intel on the Wii-U. All eyes should be looking forward onto this years E3, it seems.

Locking games to user accounts is some straight up bulltrout. I understand the used video game market is also kind of bulltrout for developers, but that's no reason to straight up lock games like that. :colbert:

Didn't we hear that same "no more used games!" spiel before the PS3 was released? I remain skeptical.

So in order for everyone in a household to get the full experience from their console, would each person have to buy every game separately? :confused:

No backwards compatibility is a MAJOR problem for me. Locking games doesn't sound cool, either. I'm not sure what Sony is thinking when they make decisions like this.

Orbis? ptf Locked to an account pft. Sony pft

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Freya

Orbis? pft Locked to an account pft. Sony pft

---

I have nothing to add other than:
No backwards compatability? pft.

Well said.

They can name it what they want, but if the lack of backwards compatibility and locked out used games turns out to be true I will be very disappointed.

I barely play anything on my PS3 as it is. I will probably skip the PS4 all together when it comes because of a lack of exclusive games. With the majority of 3rd party games being multi console you should get the console that does what you want it to do. I also trust Sony the least out of the three console makers.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raistlin

Didn't we hear that same "no more used games!" spiel before the PS3 was released? I remain skeptical.

---

Did we? Hmm. Still sounds troubling that they'd even mention.

they hahaha

Quote:

---

A Sony spokesperson declined to comment about these details, citing the company's policy not to comment on "rumors or speculation."

---

the entire page is marked with a red RUMOR tag

whatever

if i can't play used games on it i'm not buying it but i'm not going to lose hair over it. is the next microsoft console doing the same thing? according to that article it sort of is.

i just also
don't
like
kotaku
and it's weird because i used to before they became a part of that giant media conglomerate that includes jezebel et alia.

krissy offers some important perspective here. I wouldn't base any conclusion off of that article; there's still a long way to go until we know anything conclusive.

That being said, I think it's highly unlikely that I will get a PS4 for myself anytime in the foreseeable future after the launch, regardless of whether any of this is true.

The no backwards compatibility also really gets to me. Without backwards capability it takes much, much more for me to justify buying a new machine.

I think Sony is dreaming of a world where everyone re-buys all of their favorite games every time a new system comes out.

That reminds me, the lack of backwards compatibility thing strikes me as more likely simply because newer PS3s have sucked on that issue too (and apparently so does the Vita). Which just makes me wonder wtf Sony is thinking. The PS2 was good with backwards compatibility, and it was a great system that everyone wanted. Instead of sticking with something that worked, they have gotten continually worse.

Coming this early I'm going to take this with a grain of salt and I most likely won't upgrade to the next generation as I still have plenty of catching up to do on the PS3, Wii, PS2, GBA, SNES, and NES.

I think this will be the moment where I turn into an old man, wave my cane and say: the PS2 days, now that was something!

I honestly don't see myself buying another console after this current generation. I find the older I get the more interests I have outside of gaming (fitness & weight training are taking over my life in a big way) & with the big game companies pretty much just churning out sub par games that will sell millions & the gravitation towards games almost completely based around online features, I find myself increasingly alienated as a gamer so I've found my free time is more lifting kettle bells then holding a controller. I very rarely get excited for new games any more. Borderlands 2 is honestly probably the only other new game I'll buy in 2012 & possibly MGS:R maybe.

If I'm paying full retail price for a game I want minimum 30 hours or at the very least reasons to play the 5 or 6 hour game 3 or 4 times over (multiple endings, new game plus etc). Bethesda (for all their buggy problems) & Rockstar are the only 2 game companies I feel haven't forgotten about gamers such as myself. If they lock games to PSN accounts & since pre owned games make up 3/4 of my PS3 collection that means I definitely won't bother.

Honestly, I'm thinking it's about time for a fourth party to enter the arena with a product that is better than everyone elses.

Locking games would be console suicide and Sony knows it, I call bull. They need two things to keep me interested, PS3 grade customization options (ie; swap in any laptop SATA drive, User created themes, accepting most/any Usb and blue tooth accesories rather than Officially Licensed only garbage, etc.) and at least allowing download/play of PSN purchases from this generation. I don't particularly care about disc based backwards compatability, I keep my old gen consoles hooked up all the time anyway, but not rolling over PSN stuff would bug the hell out of me.

:D
well a lot of gaming distributors are moving toward an account only 'license' system. for example steam games you own are actually licensed, for when 'steam' goes bankrupt one day or shuts down, all of your games will be lost forever.

Sony appears to be going this route, according to the rumour. I'm okay with that, but instead of locking the game to a particular console, which is difficult to maintain (what if you change consoles bc you damaged it?), it should be tied to your PSN account.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hypoallergenic Cactuar

Honestly, I'm thinking it's about time for a fourth party to enter the arena with a product that is better than everyone elses.

---

Sega and the Dreamcast 2? :D

I'm skeptical about whether any of this is true. The tech garbage makes it sound authentic but even I can't imagine Sony trying to lock out the used game business. It is a necessary evil of the gaming market that's mainly a by product of the high cost of games and systems, which in turn created the viscous circle the gaming world has found itself in. The backwards compatibility doesn't quite bother me cause I feel the PS3 has definetly been the weakest of the Sony systems so no real love loss if I can't play them on the PS4, and I find it hard to believe that Sony is going to just drop old PSN accounts and make you re-buy your old school PS1 games and PSN exclusives titles. So I'm pretty confident that at least that will transfer over unless Sony want it's only decent part of it's company to go down in flames like the rest of the company has been.

As far as tech goes, and this goes for all three companies, I don't give much of a crap about HDTV, excellent audio and compatibility with every electric device in my house. I just want a gaming console, not a home entertainment center that will jack up the price to absurdity. As far as the tech side goes, all I want to hear about the next generation is from the developers themselves who I hope will simply explain how the games hardware will be cost effective and easy to use, so I can get great games in half the development time of today's titles and a fair bit less expensive since those development times will be cost effective.

If they make a dreamcast 2 within five years I will buy you one.

Backwards compatibility has been pretty smurfed since the PS2. 360's was shoddy at best, PS3 was great if you got the original 40G version, otherwise you only have PS1 emulation. While nice, it kind of sucks it won't play PS2. The only one of this generation that was fully backwards compatible at all times is the Wii, the console in which no one gave two trouts about it's ability to play Gamecube games.

I'm not as skeptical as some about removing used games for a few simple reasons:
1) Half the industry is going on about how bad they are. I don't think half of them have thought things through (what happens to the industry when the people who resell games to buy new ones can't do that anymore? Particularly when everyone has yearly releases of something or other?), but the reality is that many developers are in favour of stopping resale, and sadly, they're even succeeding in convincing customers that giving up their rights for absolutely nothing in return is necessarily a good thing.
2) Steam has basically already done away with used sales (though honestly, I think they may move to being able to trade games now that trading is built into Steam. They seem to be making that progression there). Steam has shown that under the right circumstances, many gamers are ok with not being able to resell games.

The big problem for Sony and Microsoft though is that the reason people put up with that aspect of Steam is because of frequent, ridiculously awesome sales, and a service that is both free, and generally just works better than anything on consoles. There's also the problem that if Sony or Microsoft don't both get rid of used sales, then the one who allows them basically wins price conscious customers and game traders by default.

We'll have to see how it all plays out, but honestly, there is good reason to be a lot more concerned about a used game ban by console makers now than there was when the PS3 was coming out.

If anyone was to lock games to eradicate the used games market then it'd probably work out like how EA does it with Fifa and Mass Effect 3 and so forth whereby: An Online License is required for full online play (note the higher level of online multiplayer in games, even Mass Effect 3 had it) Now if you buy the game second hand, you can buy a license seperately online but they cost around £10 or so. Now purchasing the license isn't so bad if you're paying £20 less than the retail new copy considering £10 saved is £10 in your pocket. However when you consider popular titles like Mass Effect 3, Fifa 12 and so forth are guaranteed to remain at a high price on the product market until the end of their "hype" (in effect for Fifa this is when the next Fifa comes out) it becomes a moot point. Fifa 12 pre-owned for example will set me back around £35 in most places. Then I'll have to buy the online license to play Paul and Dan (about the only people I would consider buying the game for) which costs more than the money for a new copy

EA does that?! Wtf. :colbert:

There's an image that's been circling around!

http://www.assumingcontrol.net/wp-co...le-of-life.jpg

Who knows if it's legit or not!

that is a really really old picture.

Makes sense now though huh? :D

That is the ugliest console I have ever seen.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NorthernChaosGod

EA does that?! Wtf. :colbert:

---

Yes, they do, in fact it's common practice now. Which is therefore the reason why people like Quin waiting to pick ME3 up second hand are wasting their time, might as well suck it up and buy it now at market price it'll cost more otherwise. I mean I'm guessing at the cost of an online license a bit but £10 is the minimum I would assume they'd charge, if not more. Considering in most games especially sports titles like Fifa, the multiplayer is 50% or more of the games appeal.

Quote:

---

There's an image that's been circling around!

---

I highly, highly doubt that Sony would change the controller shape away from something that's silhouette has become synonymy with their brand.

Kotaku is so full of trout it's embarrassing to read their articles anymore.

The no back-compatability makes sense to me since they did that with the newer ps3's. (I was lucky enough to buy one of the first models that has it). It is bull to eliminate that feature.

Also if its true that ps4 is coming out in 2014, I am highly disappointed in the console non-shooter RPGs for this generation. PS1 had a lot of them and some great ones, same thing for ps2 and ps3 is just lacking (of-course my opinion).

I'm used to the whole no used games thing since I play a lot of stuff on PC, and it's been like that for years. Still curious how well the console market could handle the transition to that though. Definitely not a fan of systems that lack backward compatibility though. Most new consoles experience a dry spell after they launch, and having the BC on board at least makes me feel like I'm getting some use out of that system during that period, even if it's for older games, as opposed to the thing sitting there gathering dust and I start to regret having bought it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by I Don't Need A Name

According to the recent report from Kotaku the next Playstation is known as the Orbis and is due for release in late 2013.

Current specs reported are an AMD x64 CPU and an AMD Southern Islands GPU, but these are obviously subject to change over the time period. The current GPU is reported to be able to display resolutions of up to 4096x2160, with the added ability to produce 1080p 3D visuals, which is enough to make any 3D fanboy jump for joy, affter the PS3 only managed to scrape 720p.

Major downsides include no backwards compatibility, which resembles the nightmare of the PS3's launch. Sony are also keen to back the elimination of preowned games, whereby new games will apparently be locked to the original users PSN account. However all games will be up for download on the PSN, along with the standard Blu-Ray disc versions.

One final point is the choice of name for Orbis. Orbis is latin for Circle or Ring which, when coupled with Vitae (PS Vita anybody?) would create 'Circle of Life.' Aka, Sony's next generation console collection!

Everyone is looking forward to more information on this, along with that of the next X-Box and maybe some more intel on the Wii-U. All eyes should be looking forward onto this years E3, it seems.

---

>>> Worst console ever..:luca:

I don't intend to buy either of the only gaming devices worth any kind of damn (:colbert:), but I hope that the locking games thing is true so that my smugness can increase and my present contempt for the games industry will prove reasonable.

First of all it's a rumor article on kotaku. No need to get the pitchforks yet.

I've kinda moved on from the whole current gaming scene so I doubt I'll be ready for this by 2013. I'm somewhat ashamed to say I recently bought a tablet over a PS VITA. There's just too many classics and hits on console and portable for me to keep up anymore. I'm still a Call of Duty addict so I may end up getting one anyway.

All that stuff you pointed out is admittedly pretty outrageous. I feel it will be interesting to see a next gen because I do not believe the publisher corps. can adequately support one. Looking at these measures I don't think consumers can either.

Well considering I have had my ps3 for about four and a half years now and probably only have about five games (that I hardly ever play) and will often go months on end without even turning the machine on I think I will pass on the ps4 no matter what the features are.

I used to be a huge final fantasy fan during the original playstation era but I have gotten no more than maybe ten hours into either final fantasy 12 or 13.

>implying anyone in this thread won't still pay through the nose for it and its games regardless

I heard if you put a PS4 next to an Xbox or Nintendo console, it burns your house down.