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Playstation 4 Will Stick To Blu-Ray

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As the popularity of digital downloads has increased over the years many of us were wondering if the next-gen consoles will focus less on actual discs. We keep seeing more and more content available for download and some games aren’t even shipping manuals anymore, instead they are available in a digital format.

However, the Playstation 4 will still rely on Blu-Ray as it primary game delivery medium. In a recent interview with IGN, Sony’s Jim Ryan mentions this about the format.

Clearly, and this applies not just to games but to pretty much every form of entertainment, there is a trend to increased digital consumption, and that is happening now on PS3 and will continue and will probably accelerate on PS4, but the primary delivery mechanism for the big games on the PS4 platform will continue to be Blu-Ray discs, for the foreseeable future.

I’m not surprised by this at all and actually I’m quite thrilled to hear that they are sticking with Blu-Ray. First of all, our broadband still lacks the bandwidth that’s necessary to make digital downloads attractive. With some games possibly being as large as 40 gigabytes and up, something Jim Ryan says he’s encouraging developers to do, there’s no way you can download that in a reasonable amount of time. The Blu-Ray disc is still reaching it’s peak potential and has plenty of years ahead of it.

I’m still quite fond of having the case and actual game disc. I never feel like I should have to pay full price for a digital download, it feels like I’m not getting the whole game. It’s a strange thought to imagine that one day we may not be using discs at all. Let’s not forget to mention that if we go all digital that will also be the death of the used game business.

At least for now we will be living in a hybrid world of both digital and physical content for not just our games, but movies and music as well. One thing I am wondering about now is whether or not Microsoft will be using Blu-Ray or some other type of proprietary media.

 

Playstation 4 Details and Quick Thoughts

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Dual Shock 4 Controller
Dual Shock 4 for the Sony Playstation 4

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “leave them wanting more” but the Playstation 4 announcement from Sony was lacking pretty much everything. Fortunately, we did get a little bit of information about the new console. So here is a quick breakdown of what we learned about the Playstation 4.

-The Playstation 4 is designed like a gaming PC and will feature a custom x86 CPU, custom PC graphics hardware that utilizes GDDR 5 (very fast memory), 8GB of Unified Memory, and of course a hard drive. All of these hardware choices were made in order to make it as developer friendly as possible, unlike the PS3 which is notoriously difficult to program for.

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A rendering showing off the graphics capabilities of the Playstation 4.

-The new console will allow you to pause and instantly resume gameplay without having to wait for the console to boot up. It will go directly where you left off, much like sleep mode for your computer. This is a great feature and I can’t wait to see it in action.

-The new PS4 Controller has a touch pad and offers up a share button that quickly uploads your best or worst gameplay moments to social media. The new controller does feature a 3.5 mm headphone jack which confirms earlier rumors. There is an additional stereo camera system that will work with the Dual Shock 4 for added interaction with your favorite games; it reminds me of a larger version of the Wii(U) sensor bar. The top of the Dual Shock 4 has a light on top of it which looks similar to the  PS Move controller, this is what the camera system uses to track the controllers motion.

-The PS4 will be coming “Holiday 2013”

Unfortunately, that’s about all we know for right now and we never actually got to see the console it self. I don’t want to completely trash the new console and I know it hasn’t even been released yet, but I have to admit that I’m not blown away with the PS4. It feels a lot like a PS3.5 and not a PS4. The hardware is solid and it looks like it’s going to be the most powerful console this generation but it’s still missing that “WOW” factor. We will just have to wait for more details from Sony.

 

 

Lego Marvel Super Heroes

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Lego Marvel Super Heroes

The Lego video games just keep on rolling in and I say bring it on. The team at TT games has had some amazing partnerships that have allowed us to experience our favorite films in a whole new way. Now, TT games has teamed up with Marvel to bring us LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. The game will be released this fall for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, Nintendo DS/3DS, and PS Vita.

Fans of both LEGO and Marvel have wanted this game for years, and we’re addressing that demand with more Marvel Universe characters than ever in a console game. If you’re a fan of Spider-Man, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy or scores of other Marvel characters, this is the game for you.” -TQ Jefferson, Vice President, Games Production, Marvel Entertainment.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes complements the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes construction toy collection, which brings the characters, vehicles and action of Marvel’s renowned universe to the world of LEGO build-and-play adventure. There are currently eight iconic scenes from the X-Men, Iron Man and Spider-Man franchises available and more construction sets tied to the new Iron Man 3 feature film will launch later this spring.

Players will unlock more than 100 characters from across the Marvel Universe, including fan favorites like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Deadpool, Loki and Galactus! The game will pack in a plethora of super-cool character abilities, combat-like action sequences, epic battle scenes, puzzle-solving and a unique story told with playful LEGO humor.

Here’s an awesome look at what’s been going on at TT games surrounding the production of the game, video courtesy of GameInformer.

Sony Playstation 4 to be Announced Soon?

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Well we are just getting into the second month of the new year and the rumors are pouring in from everywhere in the tech world. There is a lot of buzz going on about the next generation of gaming consoles and to add even more into the mix, sources at the Wall Street Journal have mentioned that they believe Sony is planing on releasing the Playstation 4 before the end of 2013, they have also suggested that Microsoft will be doing the same with the next Xbox. All of this comes after Sony held a press event mentioning something big coming up.

To catch you up, the PS4 project is codenamed Orbis and is slated to utilize a 4x Dual-Core AMD64 “Bulldozer” processor and will also contain a next-gen AMD graphics processor with over 2GB of memory. Rumors have also suggested that both the PS4 and Xbox 720 will still have optical drives despite earlier rumors that mentioned them going to an all digital download system. Blu-Ray will remain the primary media for games on the PS4. The new console is likely to have new controllers and they will likely have a touchpad. Finally, Sony will likely incorporate a rich social experience into it’s next console in order to better compete with it’s competitors.

According to sources, the next Playstation will be unveiled sooner than originally thought in New York City on Feb. 20, 2013.

-Thanks to VG247–