860°

Is PS4 Already Here?

MasonicGamer.com: Picture the scene; It’s E3 2013 in LA and in a conference center the gaming press have taken their seats, the lights dim and the big screens power up to revel the words THE FUTURE IS HERE. Darkness falls in the conference centre and there, lit up centre stage is a PS3. The PS3 fires up and a beautiful looking game like nothing we have ever seen before on current Gen consoles starts playing, the demo ends and on the screen are the words PS4 IS ALREADY HERE.

Do we already own the PS4? Do Sony have to release a new console? After all they have just spent $380 million buying Gaikai.

Lets look at the evidence…

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masonicgamer.com
SandWitch4301d ago

Gaikai is just a nice addition to PSN and an opportunity for Sony to enter streaming business.

just_looken4301d ago

exactly and fyi sony has always done tech demos or show off a concept for there upcoming device a year before they launch. So if they show off ps4 next year in anyway 2014 we will see ps4.

nveenio4301d ago

This article is a rip off of a comment I made the other day (that Sony could sell PS3 at $200 in perpetually, and run the next generation of games over Gaikai, always delivering the best games). Unfortunately, that comment didn't address the failures of the American internet system. Take my service, for instance (Centurylink). We are now being charged EXTRA for being at the front of this kind of technology. All US internet providers have bandwidth caps, and it is a business model that would kill this kind of move by Sony.

bobshi4301d ago

@inveni0
People made the same comment before the deal was even announced back when this was a rumour pre-E3.

So they didn't rip your comment off.

MostJadedGamer4301d ago

Thats not happening after the 2006 debacle with the PS3. The days of us seeing a console over a year in advance are over with.

Razmossis4301d ago

This site should change its name to 'Opinions For Gamers', cause that's all there ever bloody is

irepbtown4301d ago (Edited 4301d ago )

Jack Tretton has said that there will be no news what-so-ever on the PS4 this year (something along the lines of that).
So E3 2013 is my bet when PS4 will be unveiled.

Anyway, what happens if your internet connection goes off while you are playing a game through Gaikai (Or OnLive for anyone that uses it)????

# Gaikai will be brilliant for the Koreans and Japanese that all have 100mbps. While I'm stuck here in England with 8mbps at best :D

Bob Dole4300d ago

@inveni0

Bob Dole's never had an ISP with a bandwidth cap. EVER. So far he's used Cox and Charter, neither have caps.

krazeecain4300d ago

@a bunch of people

Bandwidth is not the most significant issue with Gaikai, it's ping. We're talking about an extra 100-500 ms delay between input and on-screen action. I don't care how amazing the games look, that kind of delay is absolutely intolerable.

N4g_null4300d ago

Differed rendering, AI, pre calculation of physics etc to augment the frame buffer maybe. Some thing like rendering some high input highly interactive things on the system while most of the high end lighting shaders and fluff are transformed by the cloud.

This is why I was excited about the ps3 s cell yet that did not pan out.

This is coming if they can get it to work. Since they went thur with the rumored purchases this could be a future weapon. Effectively making the ps3 the last playstation ever needed.

What is bad if this does become their ps4 plan is ms simply does networking better and the ps3 sort of sucks at even downloading. With them spend that much on this cloud client I'm worry this will put a real dent in r and d on the ps4 unless it is the psp go version of the ps3, yet in a home console.

I really wonder how many fans will be ok with this? If not what if a large portion of the games went free to play? We know Nintendo isn't thinking about f2p, yet they are actually ready for cloud gaming also... That is what the game pad is a cloud gaming device that is in home minus the server.

This is what epic should have been working on cloud based hifi rendering on a network. Crytek could easily do it on their current engine.

Yet this makes blu ray pointless but lowers the price by like $200 easily.

Even the later versions of unreal engine uses the cloud to bake the shadows into the level.

Going the hardware route would be painful for Sony and amd fusion isn't ready yet the power7 would crush it and cause the code base to split once more.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4300d ago
DeadlyFire4301d ago (Edited 4301d ago )

If Sony ever wanted to expand to Sony's favorite compatible mobile devices it now can do so with Gaikai at some point in the future. That and well the PC/Mac/Linux crowds if they chose.

Gaikai can indeed offer a next gen experience if you have the bandwidth. Gflops won't matter with Cloud gaming as most hardware on the other end will be running with clusters of GPUs. Its still a long way away, but its nice to see Sony has an incentive.

I can easily see PS3 adopting Gaikai, but it would have to have a real full featured browser or app to do so. Sony might leave PS3 out of Gaikai altogether if that is the case, but on PS4 we might see many PS3 games and a full functioning browser.

Now that Sony owns Gaikai it could blend the server communities together as well. So anyone playing a PS3 game on a PS4 with Gaikai could play together with PS3 players. That is if the game's servers are not canned. The one flaw to console Multiplayer gaming. That 2-4 year time limit. A PC MP game lasts as long as someone pays for a server.

InactiveUser4301d ago

@the start of your last paragraph

You could play PS2 online games with a PS3, no Gaikai needed for that. I tried it years ago with a Ratchet & Clank game and I think I tried some Killzone 1 online also on my old 60gb.

Not sure if you were saying that wasn't already possible or not (to play against players on the old console while being on the new console).

nukeitall4301d ago

"Gaikai can indeed offer a next gen experience if you have the bandwidth."

What you need isn't just bandwidth! Low bandwidth just means the picture will be reduced in quality similar to how Netflix adjust quality.

The main problem is latency, even on an excellent connection (I have a 10MBPS symetric line right now where I am staying). That is why people with super high MBPS still get laggy online games.

It is the way internet is built, so don't expect this awesome experience. It will be glitchy as hell and on some games that do not matter, but when you get hardcore gamers talking about 30fps vs 60fps, and a round trip network packet takes 50ms minimum, you know it ain't gonna take off.

Will PS3 adopt Gaikai? Sony would be idiots not to introduce it soon since they own the company!!!

Diver4300d ago

I haven't seen so many people so scared of something like gaikai in a long time. some peeps is so worried they have to go into ever thread about it an attack it in vain. that right there is a huge sign of how much an impact gaijai is gonna have. peeps are scurrying for cover. gaikai is gonna be huge an sony will shift the industry again.

DeadlyFire4300d ago

@EeJLP
Depends on if its peer to peer or dedicated servers as the backbone of the game. Any game with only server support without Peer to peer = dead whenever they pull the plug. Peer to peer generally lasts until whenever. If there is someone playing it typically would work in most cases.

It might already be possible honestly with the playing together. Its the one thing that I have never heard answered from cloud gaming people. If it would lock them away from a platform. Since Sony owns Gaikai I don't think it would for them, but in general idk if OnLive players play against non-OnLive players.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4300d ago
ChronoJoe4300d ago (Edited 4300d ago )

This is true but I think it'd be nice if PS3 users could also play PS4 games alongside those that owned a PS4 console through the cloud services.

Obviously it's an inferior experience to owning the hardware yourself, but it'd be a nice extra option for those who can't afford to shell out for new hardware yet allow Sony to continue selling new products to their previous 80million or so install base.

LiamDirish4301d ago

I'm just looking under my TV and........nope the PS4 is not there.

GribbleGrunger4301d ago

This is a very interesting thought and one that I've also considered, but I think it's one generation too early. PS4 will be the last console Sony make, not the Ps3

SandWitch4301d ago

I don't know why you got so many disagrees. I tried to play some Gaikai demos today and the service is pretty good actually. Very easy to use, no need to download, no need to install, you can access your collection from any device and games would probably be cheaper than PSN releases.

It's definitely too early for a cloud gaming technology, but who knows, maybe in a near future we will have some kind of reliable WiFi network all over the world, just like we have GSM/CDMA mobile communications.

Sooner or later digital distribution will become more convenient than physical distribution.

GribbleGrunger4301d ago (Edited 4301d ago )

I'd say it's partly because some people legitimately disagree and some people just can't handle where this industry is heading. I'm not particularly keen on it myself, but the writing is waiting to be written on the wall... and sooner than people realise.

Offer a manufacturer a way of increasing the lifespan of their tech and offer devs a way of raping our wallets easier, and you've got a compelling reason why those in control will MAKE this happen even if the minority (and we are a minority) don't want that change

Cyfyxtfg4301d ago

i think the xbox 720 and the ps4 are def the last generation. nintendo still has two to go tho.

PATRIOT7ME4300d ago

It's probably because every time something like this acquisition happens, all of the rabid fanboys who seem incapable of even the smallest feats of logic come out trumpeting their wild speculations about how the face of gaming is changing yet again. Kinda makes sense why people refer to N4G "the cradle of idiocy".

YamiHoshi4301d ago

It might be revealed at Gamescom, next month.

guitarse4301d ago

It's an interesting though, but you failed you unify your point, why sure the idea is theoretically great, the bandwidth restrictions for both the end user and the general infrastructure for data transfer on this scale just isn't up to par in enough markets yet.

I use OnLive at the moment (sometimes) and it works reasonable well, I do also predict there will be forward compatibility options available for PS4 games on PS3, but end of the day, hardware is what people need and want for this next generation, with or without streaming.

TL:DR - I somewhat disagree.

MasonicGamer4301d ago

I totally agree with you, when I putting the article together i did have a section about data limits & pros and cons of cloud gaming but felt the article lost it's way and decided to cut the section and revisit it in a future post.

I know that a lot people(Gamers) have data caps which is a massive problem with cloud gaming and something I strongly believe will be not be a problem in the future.

On the new Hardware point I added this section to the post "At the moment the world is in deep depression with one of the biggest recessions since the end of World War 1 meaning that any new console coming onto the market and costing £300-£400 or $500-$600 is going to struggle. Wouldn’t it make sense for a company like Sony to use their existing consoles and spend their R&D (research and development) money to buy a Cloud Gaming company and update their consoles both in graphics and the way we play from behind the scenes?"

I intended the article to be thought provoking and tried to use facts where possible to look at what Sony may be planning in the future, at the end of the day it's a opinion article, and it's nice to see that a couple of other readers have had the same thoughts on this.

joeorc4301d ago (Edited 4301d ago )

good read but this section:"over the counter PC parts" is many of a gamer's dream since consoles were created. that is not the point of a game console!

Sony use existing system's but they would still need newer hardware designed for the much newer grid.

I would say the more likely outcome is lower cost distribution grid computing.

If anything Sony would USE ARM cortex processor's and chipsets. The chipsets are more than viable to run, for a game console for your living room than Using off the shelf PC parts that would require more power per/clock cycle than ARM chipsets. ARM chip's run DirectX 11, shader Model 4+ So they already are uptodate with what you need.

Remember ARM cortex chipsets are made and put into mainly consumer electronic's because the mass production and lower cost. Sony would have little to almost zero cost in R&D on the design of the chip parts going into the unit. Even if Sony was going to take the PC route, it would still cost more over ARM.

the Chips ARM Has is quite viable, example Sony with developer's imput from 1st all the way to 3rd party for the PSVita. Instead of using MIPS processor's like they did with the orig. PSP they used ARM instead, development is cheaper and the cost in production of said PSVita unit will lower in cost much faster.

with Sony's action of starting with processor's like the Cell it was only natural that Gaikai would be a prime target.The Cell was designed from the get go to be a grid computer that mean's every PS3 has the direct design to be part of a distributed computing network, but made for Gaming like an example:

Microwulf!

what is a Microwulf:

A normal computer with a multicore CPU is a shared memory multiprocessor, since programs/threads running on the different cores can communicate with one another through the memory each core shares with the others.

but on a microwulf:

On a Beowulf cluster like Microwulf, each motherboard/CPU has its own local memory, so there is no common/shared memory through which programs running on the different CPUs can communicate. Instead, such programs communicate through the network, using a communication library like MPI. Since its memory is distributed among the cluster's CPUs, a cluster is a distributed memory multiprocessor.

Many companies only began writing their programs for shared-memory multiprocessors (i.e., using multithreading) in 2006 when dual core CPUs began to appear. Very few companies are writing programs for distributed memory multiprocessors (but there are some). So a game (or other program) will only run faster on Microwulf if it has been parallelized to run on a distributed multiprocessor.

if your designing a distributed gaming network, you would want more developed and lower power requirement's to get the best performance in a grid. The PC off the shelf part's is not designed for the grid from the get go. Server's are but, that's the point is it not the Cell was designed as a server processor!

and the PSVita already is designed from the get go to connect to the PS3 by remote means, and that also means ARM development API's that Sony is already being used would not only work for the handheld but also the next PS4 with connection to from the PS4 to the PS3 with the PSVita connecting to both the PS3 and PS4.

in warhawk the PS3 was already being used for grid computing.

http://www.gamespot.com/war...

question was the xbox360 or the wii being used for grid computing?

that tell's you something!

Show all comments (71)
80°

Rolling the Dice: Do Modern RPGs Miss the Point of Team-Based Play?

It seems it was long time ago. A bunch of friends spending hours on end playing RPG games, sitting around the table with the box of cold pizza. Excited about the story, listening to the Game Master, they were completely engaged in the worlds only visible to them and their imaginations.

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gameskinny.com
Takwin2617d ago

The GM is the programmer, and in MMOs and co-ops, you can play with others. If you want to ONLY use your imagination for the visuals, read a book.

210°

Record of Agarest War 2 announced for PS3

Scrawl: "Looks like we know how that new Compile Heart countdown is going to end. The latest issue of Famitsu has confirmed that Agarest Senki 2, known as Record of Agarest War 2 in the US, is Compile Heart’s newest title."

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scrawlfx.com
Godmars2905062d ago

1) Hope they put it on disc this time.
2) Hope this is a positive for Neptune coming over as well.

Demons Souls5062d ago

If so, that's being developed & published by Idea Factory. Compile Heart has nothing to do with it (Thank God for that).

Godmars2905062d ago (Edited 5062d ago )

Thought Compile Heart was one of the companies lending characters.

Was also speaking in general as in regards to a US of Neptune. If these guys are offing a second game, NIS or Atlus, both of whom offer quirkier titles, will put that one out.

@kagon01:
My issue isn't - wholly - with the DL-only option, but the price. The first game should be $30. Maybe $40, and by that I mean $39.99. The only reason its $45 is the 360 disc version which has extras. Nevermind that by all rights its a PS2 game. Something that proabbly could have been done if the devs had the GOW2 engine or tools.

ClownBelt5062d ago

I approve of this god damn message.

Could have gotten my 60 bucks if they just put it on a disc.

5062d ago Replies(1)
Tripl3seis5062d ago

Another exclusive damnn the ps3 keeps on rollin wit games awesome ;)

Jack-Pyro5062d ago

Is this a half decent SRPG, porn aside, cause if it is, i might just decide to go and buy it for the 360.

Anon73495062d ago

There's no porn just some sexual innuendos but that's it.

Also it is a great game by itself, maybe not graphically but everything else is top tier.

RedDevils5062d ago

so it had some kind of "top tier" porn story jk

ThanatosDMC5062d ago

Yup, it's a decent game. I just hate that a move has to go first before any attack options.

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120°

Bless Online Korean MMORPG Gets Server Merge

This is not the first time that Bless Online receives a server merge in Korea. An announcement was made on the official Korean site.

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mmoexaminer.com
2654d ago
Bismarn2653d ago

Bless must be an amazing game to be on all these platforms (according to the tags): iPad iPhone Nintendo DS PC PS Vita PS2 PS3 PS4 PSP Wii Wii U Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One