Sony talks PlayStation 4

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http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/06/e3-2012-sony-talks-next-gen-its-about-being-the-best

The priority for Sony when it comes to the PlayStation 4 is to have the best console on the market, not the first nor the cheapest.

Speaking to Gametrailers, US boss of Sony Computer Entertainment Jack Tretton outlined the company's philosophy regarding the next generation of home consoles.

"We've never been first. We've never been cheapest, " said Tretton. "It's about being the best. If you can build a better machine, and it's going to come out a little bit later, that's better than rushing something to market that's going to run out of gas for the long term.

"Ideally, in a perfect world, you want the best machine that ships first, that's cheapest. But the number one goal is to be the best machine, and that's what we're always focused on."

Tretton's remarks indirectly acknowledge the fact that PlayStation 3 was slow off the mark, being released almost a full year after Microsoft's Xbox 360 with a comparatively high price point.

Over the last few months information has begun to surface on Sony's next generation home console, rumoured to be codenamed PlayStation Orbis. It's been speculated that major publishers have already begun development for the system, with the console slated for a 2013 release.
 
I honestly don't see the need for them to rush the PS4 out. My two cents.
 
I would love to see this console generation end if only so developers have more powerful hardware to focus on but really I don't think there is a huge need for it this year. Microsoft isn't doing anything, Nintendo likely won't be a threat right away. Sony might as well just wait and announce it when they're ready. I would love to see a situation where we have the releases staggered out across a couple years. Like the WiiU launching this year or Spring next year, the next Sony or MS console launching the end of next year, and the last one coming out sometime in 2014. If Sony and MS both launch late next year like the rumors state it will be a huge mess.
 
The PS3, while still doing great, is running out of gas. Sony needs the PS4 in 2013.
 
They have an impressive line up this year but yeah, 2013 should be the era of a new console generation. We are way overdue.
 
RobustDude said:
What's leading you to this conclusion?
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Have you seen this year's E3? It screams "end of the generation" especially Sony and MS' conferences. The tail end of a generation before new hardware is announced always produces kind of boring E3s.
 
I'm just hoping the dumbasses at Sony finally decide to change the controller layout. The six-axis is a joke. We want new, not something that was released in 1994 with only a few minor tweaks...
 
Doesn't the PS3 still have an unused CPU core that could be unlocked? I know that CPU power isn't the only thing holding the PS3 back but it would certainly help get a little more life out of the system.
 
acascianelli said:
Doesn't the PS3 still have an unused CPU core that could be unlocked? I know that CPU power isn't the only thing holding the PS3 back but it would certainly help get a little more life out of the system.
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No. The Cell is a single core processor. The SPUs are not cores.
 
RobustDude said:
What's leading you to this conclusion?
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I am at work, so ability to provide links is mostly blocked by bluecoat filters, but video game sales are down pretty hard on consoles for the last few months when compared with the same time last year. That could point to people beginning to become bored with their consoles, who are now 6-7 years into their lifespans, and outpaced horsepower wise by many cell phones and tablets on the market.

I don't personally like this vocabulary coming from Sony right now though. Studio Japan, makers of Shadow of the Colossus, have been making the "best possible experience" in The Last Guardian for the entirety of the current generation. Polyphony worked on Gran Turismo 5 for way too long trying to make it the best possible experience. At the same time, Naughty Dog has made and entirely new IP, and 3 whole top tier, bar setting games in for the PS3. They are what you get when you get timely, top of the line, and value all together into a game. They also I imagine are what you would call, profitable, which, at the end of the day does benefit gamers due to their continued existence.

This best possible experience bullshit sounds to me like they are going to make the same mistakes again they made last generation. They have already started lining up excuses for why they are going to launch their console behind Microsoft and more expensive. They can't do that again. Sony as a whole is losing metric shit tons of money every year, partially due to their gaming division. This can't last forever.
 
Wheresatom said:
I am at work, so ability to provide links is mostly blocked by bluecoat filters, but video game sales are down pretty hard on consoles for the last few months when compared with the same time last year. That could point to people beginning to become bored with their consoles, who are now 6-7 years into their lifespans, and outpaced horsepower wise by many cell phones and tablets on the market.
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Game sales aren't just down due to the generation being long in the tooth the economy being shit has a lot to do with it too.
 
Derangel said:
Game sales aren't just down due to the generation being long in the tooth the economy being shit has a lot to do with it too.
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The economy has been shit for 4-5 years. Game sales verses just last year are down.

All I am saying is for the people that are really enjoying your PS3s and Xboxes, that is fine, I am too. But I am really looking forward to seeing what a team like Naughty Dog or Sony Santa Monica can do with more than 512MB RAM. The resistance to advancing the hardware platform just doesn't make any sense. When the iPad has similar if not greater graphical capability to our consoles, it might just be time that they can be replaced.
 
Q-BZ said:
I honestly don't see the need for them to rush the PS4 out. My two cents.
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I think that the PS3 has reached its apex about a year ago. Sony needs to refresh its strategy and a new console could make that possible.

I think there chief goals for the PS4 should be :

1. Make it cheap to mass produce , stop throwing in custom chips that cost too damn much and spend more time using parts that are easy to develop for and are powerful. This can be easily achieved.

2. Strong launch line up. You could make the case that this could be number one but a strong launch line up is very damn important. The PS3 had a weak launch line up and they need to step up there game.

3. Make it easy to develop games for it. Stop trying to over complicate with fancy custom chips and use software that developers are familiar and comfortable with. This will make it possible for them to tap its full potential sooner rather than later. This was a major issue with the PS3 , every time a multi-platform title released the PS3 was often the inferior version with frame rate issues and overall sluggish performance. Not every developer had this problem but many did.


If Sony has half a brain (which I doubt) and follows just these 3 rules then they can have a shot at taking back the number 1 slot. But based on what Jack said it sounds like they want another technological marvel versus a safe and strong performer.
 
I'm not sure this is the right way to approach their problem, pretty sure the 360 has beat the PS3 in terms of profit and it now seems Sony is deliberately repeating history.
 
If naughty dog can make games that look awesome there is no reason why other companies can't do the same thing. Look at last of us, that game looks bad ass. The only console that needed re done right now was the wii. Xbox and ps3 still have gas left in them for sure.

They do need to make the next ps whatever easier to program then a lot of companies will have no excuse for not making awesome looking games. I just don't think that if a new system comes out next year it will have the same aww factor we got from ps2 to the ps3
 
That dude sitting next to the Sony CEO at e3 kinda looked like Nvidia ceo... but it isn't.
 
I don't care if the new system isn't BC, the ps3 will go in a different room and use it to stream media to a hdtv from netflix and my pc over wifi. I don't know why people fuss about a system being BC or not, it really isn't a big deal.
 
Bman123 said:
I don't care if the new system isn't BC, the ps3 will go in a different room and use it to stream media to a hdtv from netflix and my pc over wifi. I don't know why people fuss about a system being BC or not, it really isn't a big deal.
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I agree , if you want BC just hold on to your PS3. Or buy it in the future when its dirt cheap on Ebay.

You'll be focused on playing PS4 games more than likely.
 
Stereophile said:
Yeah screw BC, I'd rather they spend that money on better graphics.
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Screw better graphics. Work on better animation, AI, and physics engines. Graphical advancement is hitting a brick wall and sick of brown and grey "realistic" games. They're ugly as shit to me.
 
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Wheresatom said:
This best possible experience bullshit sounds to me like they are going to make the same mistakes again they made last generation. They have already started lining up excuses for why they are going to launch their console behind Microsoft and more expensive. They can't do that again. Sony as a whole is losing metric shit tons of money every year, partially due to their gaming division. This can't last forever.
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This is what I thought when I read it, they just fired 10,000 people and are worried about the technologically "best" console?
 
The economy is going to be worse next year around the world than it is this year. I pity the company striving for simply "the best" console and equating that with the highest priced.
 
Derangel said:
Have you seen this year's E3? It screams "end of the generation" especially Sony and MS' conferences. The tail end of a generation before new hardware is announced always produces kind of boring E3s.
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Wheresatom said:
I am at work, so ability to provide links is mostly blocked by bluecoat filters, but video game sales are down pretty hard on consoles for the last few months when compared with the same time last year. That could point to people beginning to become bored with their consoles, who are now 6-7 years into their lifespans, and outpaced horsepower wise by many cell phones and tablets on the market.

I don't personally like this vocabulary coming from Sony right now though. Studio Japan, makers of Shadow of the Colossus, have been making the "best possible experience" in The Last Guardian for the entirety of the current generation. Polyphony worked on Gran Turismo 5 for way too long trying to make it the best possible experience. At the same time, Naughty Dog has made and entirely new IP, and 3 whole top tier, bar setting games in for the PS3. They are what you get when you get timely, top of the line, and value all together into a game. They also I imagine are what you would call, profitable, which, at the end of the day does benefit gamers due to their continued existence.

This best possible experience bullshit sounds to me like they are going to make the same mistakes again they made last generation. They have already started lining up excuses for why they are going to launch their console behind Microsoft and more expensive. They can't do that again. Sony as a whole is losing metric shit tons of money every year, partially due to their gaming division. This can't last forever.
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RIPATI said:
Sony's stock price.
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Sorry... Didn't realize this was mainly going to turn into an economics issue.


PS3 still fulfills my needs... I was hoping for responses more in that direction... Wheresatom started off going there but then 180'd back to $$
 
RobustDude said:
Sorry... Didn't realize this was mainly going to turn into an economics issue.


PS3 still fulfills my needs... I was hoping for responses more in that direction... Wheresatom started off going there but then 180'd back to $$
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New consoles will be coming regardless of what your particular needs are. We can only realistically discuss how they will fare based on important things like price.
 
Agreed, having the "best" console hardware wise, is just marketing BS filler to get people excited about it's capabilities.

What good are the capabilities, if the developers can't use it in a manner that is easier to them.

Sony just needs to clean house. Fire anyone who hasn't come up with a great feasible idea.. To me, all of their products are mediocre for this so call "best of the best".

They need to hire fresh blood and some BA engineers to create something usable.

I think Sony just needs to get this out of their head.. Their really not a hardware business to create custom chips. If they are the only ones using it and nobody else is licensing it to use in their products.. it isn't good at all. If at all... Sony needs to be more like Samsung. They are always creating good stuff and make their hardware around the current software offerings.

What's the point of making something that has a lot of potential, but is not even easy to make that potential.

Sony is just repeating history again. And the fanboys might grow tired of that so called console.
 
I skipped this generation. I'll likely skip the next. I guess Sony forgets that the physical console is the least important attribute. Quality software and a solid marketing strategy will trump hardware every time.

Ps3 had few good titles and a piss poor marketing strategy. I'm expecting the same for ps4......which sucks because I'm finally out of ps2 rpg's.
 
wiseoracle said:
What good are the capabilities, if the developers can't use it in a manner that is easier to them.

I think Sony just needs to get this out of their head.. Their really not a hardware business to create custom chips. If they are the only ones using it and nobody else is licensing it to use in their products.. it isn't good at all. If at all... Sony needs to be more like Samsung. They are always creating good stuff and make their hardware around the current software offerings.

What's the point of making something that has a lot of potential, but is not even easy to make that potential.

Sony is just repeating history again. And the fanboys might grow tired of that so called console.
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What a dumb rant. Have you been paying attention to anything ? Sony is going the opposite direction of PS3.

PS4 is using a commercial APU from AMD - X86 based so it will be very easy to develop for.
 
Derangel said:
I would love to see this console generation end if only so developers have more powerful hardware to focus on but really I don't think there is a huge need for it this year. Microsoft isn't doing anything, Nintendo likely won't be a threat right away. Sony might as well just wait and announce it when they're ready. I would love to see a situation where we have the releases staggered out across a couple years. Like the WiiU launching this year or Spring next year, the next Sony or MS console launching the end of next year, and the last one coming out sometime in 2014. If Sony and MS both launch late next year like the rumors state it will be a huge mess.
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I don't understand this way of thinking. The PS3 and 360 are still highly capable of delivering great experiences. I'm not ready for a new gen yet. The jump from ps3 to ps4 won't be anywhere near the jump (visually) that we saw from ps3 to ps4.

A perfect example is Quantic Dream's latest concept game. And even Heavy Rain if made into a full game instead of a series QuickTime events would look visually amazing.
 
Derangel said:
Screw better graphics. Work on better animation, AI, and physics engines. Graphical advancement is hitting a brick wall and sick of brown and grey "realistic" games. They're ugly as shit to me.
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Ding! ding! ding!
Somebody gets it. This generation offered nothing new over the last one, AI wise, gameplay wise, physics wise. I am sick of stupid AI. In fact, by this point, games without good AI are trash from completely lazy developers and not worth the money. Its not a racing game if all the opponents follow a stupid line and are oblivious to your existence.

This is the reason I'm not impressed by this gen, and from the looks of it, maybe the next one. Has everyone forgot what the word innovate really means?

Thats right man, I want some fucking coat physics:)D) that sways in the wind, resists the rain and doesn't clip. This week was the first time I ever saw that this gen, and guess what? It was a demo running on a PC.
 
zamardii said:
I don't understand this way of thinking. The PS3 and 360 are still highly capable of delivering great experiences. I'm not ready for a new gen yet. The jump from ps3 to ps4 won't be anywhere near the jump (visually) that we saw from ps3 to ps4.

A perfect example is Quantic Dream's latest concept game. And even Heavy Rain if made into a full game instead of a series QuickTime events would look visually amazing.
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Quite frankly I don't give a damn about better graphics. I want advancements in other areas and that simply will not happen while this generation is still going.

LeviathanZERO said:
Ding! ding! ding!
Somebody gets it. This generation offered nothing new over the last one, AI wise, gameplay wise, physics wise. I am sick of stupid AI. In fact, by this point, games without good AI are trash from completely lazy developers and not worth the money. Its not a racing game if all the opponents follow a stupid line and are oblivious to your existence.

This is the reason I'm not impressed by this gen, and from the looks of it, maybe the next one. Has everyone forgot what the word innovate really means?

Thats right man, I want some fucking coat physics:)D) that sways in the wind, resists the rain and doesn't clip. This week was the first time I ever saw that this gen, and guess what? It was a demo running on a PC.
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The team behind Star Wars 1313 are working a lot with PhsyX too so hopefully we'll see some good effects out that game.
 
zamardii said:
I don't understand this way of thinking. The PS3 and 360 are still highly capable of delivering great experiences. I'm not ready for a new gen yet. The jump from ps3 to ps4 won't be anywhere near the jump (visually) that we saw from ps3 to ps4.
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The first few years of a new console usually won't be all that impressive. You'll need to compare games developed around the same time of a generations life (ie: year 5 of ps2 and year 5 of ps3 year 5 of ps4) to see what can be done. It's not fair to compare visuals of year 7 PS3/XBox360 to year one of next gen. This is do to developers doing more to enhance or squeeze power out of the hardware as they learn how to optimize for it.

This generation has been optimized to the fullest as of a few years ago. It needs to die for the industry to progress (with AI, scripting, physics, etc.).
 
Stereophile said:
What a dumb rant. Have you been paying attention to anything ? Sony is going the opposite direction of PS3.

PS4 is using a commercial APU from AMD - X86 based so it will be very easy to develop for.
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Hopefully this isn't true. A shitty APU, not even a proper GPU. Console ports shall be of shining high caliber...:(
 
So Sony has learned nothing from the PS3, PSP, and Vita?

Oh boy.
 
The graphics argument has been beaten to death in this thread. Whether you are on the side of they look fine to me, or I want more polygons, its hard to argue that the PC games aren't far outpacing the console games right now. They talked on the latest Weekend Confirmed podcast about how games available on PC, were demoed at E3 on PC with a controller. It just looks better in almost all cases.

While I am sure the next gen consoles will bring better graphics, (rumor has it that it wont just be an APU, but an APU coupled with a discrete graphics card in Crossfire) they also may better tie in with services. Then who knows? Maybe the PSN would be able to be a ton better if it didnt start at a 6 year old console with only 512 mb RAM. Suddenly cross game chat could work, or faster updates, or the ability to download games in the background while playing still.

I know new consoles are almost always expensive, and I know that can make it hard to play the games we sometimes want to play, but I just do not understand the reluctance to anticipate new consoles that i have been hearing lately. I wasn't that into gaming at the turn of the last generation, but were there as many people saying "these games look good enough, we dont need new consoles" then? This "good enough" attitude is kind of depressing.

What is the compelling argument for not having new consoles? And not "these are good enough." This generation has already lasted far longer than any of its predecessors, and sales statistics are already slipping year over year. The competition is broadening to include more devices and many of those come out with a new, updated version every year. The consoles are going to be quickly left behind if they dont try to do something.
 
Wheresatom said:
While I am sure the next gen consoles will bring better graphics, (rumor has it that it wont just be an APU, but an APU coupled with a discrete graphics card in Crossfire) they also may better tie in with services. Then who knows? Maybe the PSN would be able to be a ton better if it didnt start at a 6 year old console with only 512 mb RAM. Suddenly cross game chat could work, or faster updates, or the ability to download games in the background while playing still.

I know new consoles are almost always expensive, and I know that can make it hard to play the games we sometimes want to play, but I just do not understand the reluctance to anticipate new consoles that i have been hearing lately. I wasn't that into gaming at the turn of the last generation, but were there as many people saying "these games look good enough, we dont need new consoles" then? This "good enough" attitude is kind of depressing.

What is the compelling argument for not having new consoles? And not "these are good enough." This generation has already lasted far longer than any of its predecessors, and sales statistics are already slipping year over year. The competition is broadening to include more devices and many of those come out with a new, updated version every year. The consoles are going to be quickly left behind if they dont try to do something.
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The geforce 7000 and the HD 2000/3000 series only had at most 512mb ram (most had 256mb some had 128mb or even 64mbs). That was 6/5 years ago. Most computers at the time weren't exactly filled with 12gbs of system ram either. Comparing the a 6 year old PC from then to now is never going to come out shining.

Theres also the 1080p thing. For a single 1080p display you aren't probably aren't going to need masses of memory. Say more than 1gb. There is the problem of UHD TVs coming soon, which would need more. Or game makers could just drop AA almost entirely (which is less needed on higher pixel density monitors). Also the power of the 2006 GPU would be more of a limiting factor rather than a small amount of ram. They could have stuck 1gb on it (would have been expensive/financially impossible at the time) but all games still wouldn't have been 1080p/60fps.

Cross game chat isn't really a power issue, more a just not having it issue (the vita has it though, and is weaker). The downloads in the background are stopped (like with steam) so it doesn't interferre with network play during a game. There are a few games you can pause/restart and have it continue.
 
The next generation of consoles will most likely be cheaper than the current generation. I cannot imagine that a PS4 will launch with a price tag of nearly $600 this generation, and I would imagine it would be more inline with the $400 price range. The hardware for the upcoming generation is not looking to be cutting edge like last generation so I foresee cheaper launch prices on the consoles themselves...
 
DeathPrincess said:
Hopefully this isn't true. A shitty APU, not even a proper GPU. Console ports shall be of shining high caliber...:(
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Well the rumors say the PS4 has the most graphics computing power of the all the next gen consoles, 1.9 Teraflops or around that with either 2 or 4GB of unified GDDR-5 vram depending on if the denser chips are available in time. Durango is rumored to be in the 1-1.5 range with 6-8GB of slower ram. Epic recently announced the minimum target spec for the full featured version of Unreal Engine 4 is only 1 Teraflops.

They can't put top of the line GPUs in consoles anymore like the old days. The heat and power requirements have gone up tremendously since last generation.

The next gen consoles aren't going to have anything on a top of the line PC, but the graphics are still going to offer a tremendous improvement, a 10x jump from what this gen of consoles put out.

I disagree with zamardii. I think the leap in graphics will seem just as large going from PS3 to PS4. Yeah it's already HD, but the HD of this generation has been sort of a quasi-HD experience. I'd bet money the next gen consoles will have better graphics than anything we've seen from the best PC games out today, i.e. Metro 2033, Crysis whatever..
 
hdawg06 said:
The next generation of consoles will most likely be cheaper than the current generation. I cannot imagine that a PS4 will launch with a price tag of nearly $600 this generation, and I would imagine it would be more inline with the $400 price range. The hardware for the upcoming generation is not looking to be cutting edge like last generation so I foresee cheaper launch prices on the consoles themselves...
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$400 is probably a good guess for PS4. MS will likely stay at $400 too, but may go a little cheaper at $350. And Nintendo seemed to hint Wii-U will launch for the same price as the Wii did 6 years ago, $250.
 
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