310°

Interview with SCEJ President on PS4's selling point, backward compatibility and hardware

Backwards compatibility, the final hardware, Dual Shock 4, and the systems main selling point. Hiroshi Kawano discusses the PlayStation 4 announcement in this interview translated from Famitsu.

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ricedigital.co.uk
DaveyB4082d ago

Nice interview - I like how he 'expertly' avoids the Backward Compatibility question!

R_aVe_N4082d ago

He really didnt avoid it.

"Kawano: At the moment it’s not possible to play packaged software on the PS4."

So as of right now it will not play packaged games, but they did say however you can stream them later on as they roll it out.

Peppino74082d ago

I'm hoping they'll just announce backwards compatibility later on. It looks like it has the capabilities too.

JoGam4082d ago (Edited 4082d ago )

Here's the truth, like it or not. The PS4 won't be backwards compatible. Nor will the 720. Why? Because they lose money. Think about it. Both Sony and MS started a new business model by releasing HD classics and remakes For example, Sony, look at the PS1 and PS2 classics. Sony makes them in HD (PS2) and resells them for profit which is good business. MS did the same thing with Halo 1. I doubt PS4 will be backwards compatible just for this reason. Oh there will be PS3 classics.

MikeMyers4082d ago

"Kawano: At the moment it’s not possible to play packaged software on the PS4."

It will be through Gaikai instead.

"As a concept, we are thinking of that – but we have to investigate that more thoroughly. It is an important part of our strategy. Besides, Gaikai has joined the company…"

I expect PLus and Gaikai to be that strategy moving forward. It's about getting returns and this is likely a premium service.

"The way people enjoy games is going to change."

More social and perhaps an extension of Playstation Home. The Share button was a major highlight during the presentation.

"There’s not point to do the same announcement we did today again."

Good, more secrets we don't know yet. They don't want to show their entire hand too early and I expect a huge showing at E3.

askura4082d ago

May be able to register your game or something with a code and then just stream it to the console.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4082d ago
Patashnik4082d ago

By the looks of it, backwards compatibility will basically involve - stream or download old games for a price.

Being specific to 'packaged' suggests - the games ou've already bought physical copies of won't work.

Perhaps if you have they'll offer a discount on those titles - Vita style...

Oldman1004081d ago

It would be cool if every ps4 had an expansion bay (like the ps2) that would allow you to plug in a backwards compatibility dongle.

mananimal4082d ago

LMAO, packaged games? , sounds like some kind of new code word for PHYSICAL DISC, meaning it doesnt play them, but only streams games, digital downloads or DRM....if that is the case theyve just started WW3, should be interesting regarding how game consumers respond to this if its true. I for 1 will never by a game console that doesnt have a physical disc. So count me out of a PS4 IF thats what he means.

juandren4082d ago

Yes and that is why they put a Blu-Ray drive in the system. Lord help humanity

kreate4082d ago (Edited 4082d ago )

Read the comment wrong. Delete.

kwyjibo4082d ago

Gaikai will be the way to go for BC.

Maybe you insert the PS3 disk and then it confirms that your account has the right to stream it - something like that.

juandren4082d ago

I also imagine it will be something like that

r214082d ago

...Thats actually an idea I could get behind. Maybe they can use our trophies to verify games that werent bought second hand.

SamPao4082d ago

yeah, I just dont understand how people just take their old console and play the game there :P its not like my ps3 is going to destroy itself

KrisButtar4082d ago

i only got room for 3 systems by my main tv, its set up like this ATM, 360,ps3,wii.. in the future i want it set up like this 720,ps4,wii u.

there is no room, im not going to have my ps3 sit on the floor, i would like to put it in my attic with my other systems. (xbox,ps1,ps2,n64,snes,etc)

if the ps4 doesnt have BC in the hardware, i wont buy it launch, as i have a pretty big backlog of ps3 games with more coming out this year.

SamPao4081d ago

yeah I realy dont want your problems :)

also stop buying games for your backlog and work that up ^^

rainslacker4081d ago

It's a convenience for some, and a way for people who don't own a previous system to play older games, particularly important in the early stages of a consoles life as it doesn't shut out late gen games. It's not a deal breaker for me, and I grew accustomed to keeping systems in the early years of consoles, but have been spoiled by Sony with the PS1 and PS2.

It's a bit disappointing that it won't at least play PS1 titles, since that should be pretty easy with the current hardware.

Joe9134081d ago

I think that was the reason for the patent on linking games to a psn account causing the rumors of no used games I always thought they would use it this way once I found out they bought Gaikai and they was not using the Cell but was confirmed when the patent came out.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4081d ago
ajax174082d ago

It'd be great if it could run PS3 games! They'd run so much smoother with the 6x blu-ray drive!

DarkHeroZX4082d ago

Well they'd run smooth if the weren't coded for the cell. If it wasn't for that BC would have been easy.

ajax174082d ago

I know, it'd be great though.

feels4082d ago

very good and honest man

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150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos1d 1h ago (Edited 1d 1h ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers22h ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken8h ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g18h ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing17h ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H918h ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola14h ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn66917h ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle16h ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg1d 10h ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos1d 9h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion1d 8h ago (Edited 1d 8h ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola1d 4h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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techraptor.net
ChasterMies21d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken21d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga21d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken21d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6421d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long21d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197221d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic21d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 21d ago
DivineHand12521d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91321d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer21d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91320d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit20d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 20d ago
Christopher21d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6920d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit20d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher21d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken21d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197221d ago (Edited 21d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic21d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2321d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218321d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder21d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts21d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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