Judging by the silence of many of the Sony studios I'd say expect a Playstation Meeting in February-April territory like what happened with Vita. It'll be called NGC and we'll get a full unveiling at e3. It'll be much sooner than MS shows anything, so people will be excited for it. Also by being vague until the e3, they shouldn't really hurt the sales of GoW or TLOU.
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vg247-PS4: new kits shipping now, AMD A10 used as base, final version next summer
- Thread starter Globox_82
- Start date
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
sony filed a patent early this year (might have been last year) for a separate unit that connects to your "game console" that will play the previous console's games.
this is pretty much a dead giveaway that PS4 won't have BC, but you'll be able to connect it to a PS3-BC device that will handle everything "through" the PS4.
think of it like the sega CD, where you were still "playing the genesis" but the sega cd stuff was funneled through it. (except in sega CD's case it the genesis was the older device instead of vice versa)
James Sawyer Ford
Member
PSN profiles with Plus should migrate over automatically, I imagine. It'll be interesting to see what Sony does with the PS4 plus benefits though.
I hope things like automatic updates, trophy syncing, etc are completely seamless and in the background, along with cross game chat WITHOUT REQUIRING A PLUS SUB.
I think Playstation Plus is doing great on the back of its content, not the features it adds.
I figure as much as well, but you never know. Sony could decide to hold everything back until E3. Or, hold it back until right before E3 at a separate event. It would give these devs a few more months of polish to show off their next-gen products.
First impressions are huge, so Sony absolutely cannot mess this up. Which is why I wouldn't mind if Sony waited until E3 to have a massive showing for the PS4 and just blow people's minds with information overload.
I think we'll see the console, get the final name, tech specs, and some game announcement teasers before E3 but we won't see any games until E3.
I have 100 disk games and don't care about that but for some reason my 50+ digital titles I care about BC. I guess it's probably because I'm less likely to hook up a PS3 just to play one of those versus a big disk game. I would love an attachment though, especially if it would let me redownload all of my digital titles on it.
James Sawyer Ford
Member
Because it would allow them to have a better first impression if they hold back everything to show off all at once.
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
yeah im hoping they do it like wiiu/360's initial unveilings where they hit some major bullet points but they don't go into any specifics. ie:
-here's the design
-(MAYBE) here's the controller
-here's a handful of game studio logos that are supporting it
-(MAYBE) a few game titles here and there, but they would be obvious, like KZ4 and 1313
-here's a cool feature that PS3 didn't do that we want to be a focus of the PS4 (for example, the rumored tablet device that takes your games with you)
-here's another but less amazing feature like the one above (like eye2 and/or split-apart DS4)
-PS4 is going to be the best forever yay guys hooray party hard
then at E3 show game trailers, demos, titles, brief hardware specs, details on features they want to focus on, PSN briefing, PS+ briefing, and a release window. not expecting a price.
That can do that with a PS Meeting before E3, if that's their aim.
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
I´m expecting leak followed by a announcement in January or February.
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Why would they announce 12+ months before launch?
shinra-bansho
Member
The inclusion of hardware to support BC added to build cost.
Are you seriously implying that the elimination of backwards compatibility from PS3 SKUs was the reason for the lack of generational transition from the PS2, particularly for the "casual market"? Because that's utter nonsense.
People will not buy a $500 or $600 machine just because it's compatible with their old games, case in point the launch PS3. People will buy a $300 system regardless of it's compatible with their old games, case in point the 360 or the PS3 slim.
From a personal standpoint, BC would be nice. From an cost-benefit standpoint, it's not remotely worth it if it drives the price up beyond consumer-friendly pricepoints. Or if utilising old hardware as a base for the new system could hamper development down the line (see Wii U).
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
Sony did the same with the Vita and it launched in Japan in the same year as it was announced.
what separate unit can emulate the cell/RSX combo not to mention XDR itself?
People are looking too much into it. Just like the gaikai stuff where someone said ps3 games would be streamed via internet which is literally impossible given the logistics needed.
Iacobellis
Junior Member
phosphor112
Banned
You can't have download games work and not have the disc based ones work. It's all or nothing. I expect them to include all.
James Sawyer Ford
Member
RSX can be emulated by the GPU, XDR can be emulated by the much faster memory that's included in the system
All they need is CELL
Following what they did with Vita, I expect the design, a few features and services, a presentation of the companies showing their support and a flagship launch title to get people excited for it (like Uncharted GA) for example Killzone, GT or Uncharted my bet being on Killzone.
If they were going to include the Cell for BC it could also have been used as an additional processing unit for PS4 games. There's even a Toshiba notebook that was just that: regular Intel x86 CPU (running Windows) with a Cell for specialized multimedia processing.
That's not looking very likely at the moment. The costs are just not worth it.
Edit: here's said notebook.
phosphor112
Banned
I honestly expect this to happen. Use the cell for multimedia, BC, and part of the AMD package.
Captain Tuttle
Member
PS+ without BC on the PS4 is going to be pretty barren for the first 8-12 months or so I think. Sony won't put new games on the service for download will they? I suspect that third parties would be even more reluctant.
I think for ps plus I'd expect a scenario similar to Vita, 6-8 months down the road we might start getting launch titles for it.
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
you're assuming this PS3-BC unit won't have cell/rsx/xdr in it. it could potentially just be a mega-stripped down PS3 that uses PS4's HDD, BD drive, controller, and inputs/outputs.
think WiiU's "Wii mode" except the PS3 mode would require this unit to be connected to your PS4. EDIT: and also, what if sony could figure out a way to get the PS4 GPU to help scale/smooth out PS3 games that are played through the add-on unit?
Graphics Horse
Member
Doubt they'd make it a mandatory component when the AMD chip would already be good enough for the rest. If it's in there at all, it'll be a removable component like the PS2's chips were in the PS3.
Melchiah
Member
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
That doesn't make it right. Announcing stuff 12+ months before release is outdated now. People want to buy shit a few weeks after announcement.
New leaks around @CES
More leaks or some iota of information from official sources @GDC to generate hype for E3.
phosphor112
Banned
Announcing it around e3 or whatever will slow down sales for Wii U. Sony and MS can say "hey, this is what we can do, not the 'last gen' stuff Nintendo has."
CES has been more dead than a stone when gaming is concerned for almost ten years.
No new info at CES...
GDC though is almost a guarantee...
Wishmaster92
Member
Can't wait for the unveiling.
Gemüsepizza
Member
Maybe they will start with a PS4 version of Planetside 2? Everyone with a PS4 could play it immediately. Additionally they could make a few SingStar songs available for PS+ users.
Leaks my friend, leaks much like this rumour in OP. Reason: As aforementioned by member, Sawyer, January is when the 2nd final dev kit is rumoured to be rolled out.
Iacobellis
Junior Member
Well, it's not easy for some people to get $400+ in a matter of weeks.
Ehh wasn't it summer?
It's always exciting when new consoles are just over the horizons.
That's when the final one is supposed to be out.
So it has 3 FINAL dev kits...makes no sense. there should be only one final....
It has 3 devkits, but only 1 final devkit
Semantic... just semantic. So for your convenience, sir, let me reiterate, that another iteration is to come out in Jan followed by the final kit which will be out in summer.
Zoe
Member
How are the costs not worth it when they regularly sell peripherals at a huge markup?
jeff_rigby
Banned
To be clear and correct if wrong but a Thebe chipset, the first developers will see, will be out in January. A Final version of Thebe, the production version by next summer. All other iterations were off the shelf PC parts that are close to the final version as far as performance and with the A10 version, HSA efficiency/performance.
*Looks at Final Fantasy*
I'm actually very interested in what they do with the controller. Will they just keep the DS3? Allow the DS3 to still work but release a revised model with the Vita d-pad and better triggers and maybe move nearer the 360/wiiu pro pad shape/size?
I can't believe they wouldn't do SOMETHING that would drive peripheral sales, but I also doubt they'll block DS3 out.
systemfehler
Member
Wouldn't that mean that Thebes is rather a custom HD8xxx solution especially made for Sony? Otherwise I don't see the need of so many iterations (without looking at DDR4 right now) - (G)DDR memory is available, A10, Jaguar, etc. aswell. So the wait is solely for Thebes and I doubt there would be much waiting if it is a HD7xxx (mobile) solution or older.
jeff_rigby
Banned
That's been going through my mind also. When was the design done? IF using older hardware and off the shelf/custom then it's a process like 20nm that is causing the wait. If it's a near future design then that explains the wait.
Jeff do you expect 7xxx or 8xxx GPU series in ps4?
jeff_rigby
Banned
I suspect that Sony want's the HSA efficiencies and the 8XXX GPU is 1.2X faster plus has more HSA features.
What could have delayed the CUSTOM design is implementing TSVs for the following:http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=43333064&postcount=58
Yeah, I think I'm with Jeff on this one. Sony feel like they need to think ten years down the line. 8 series> 7 series in terms over future proofing.
Having said that, by that measure 9 series > 8 too. I just wonder whether the Wii U being so expensive might have urged them to seek that little bit extra.
Having said that, by that measure 9 series > 8 too. I just wonder whether the Wii U being so expensive might have urged them to seek that little bit extra.