The Next PlayStation is Called Orbis, Sources Say. Here are the Details

Kotaku: While the official reveal of Sony's next home console could still be months away, if not longer, Kotaku has today learned some important details concerning the PlayStation 3's successor.

For one, the console's name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it's being planned for release in time for the 2013 holiday season.

[Hellsvacancy]

I hope not, sounds dumb, ill still refer to it as the PS4

[Emilio_Estevez]

Probably a code name, as per usual

It sounds pretty hefty if it can do 1080p 3d and 4k res.

[NewMonday]

PSO, if you try to pronounce it it sounds like "p!$$ off"

"ource claims that the console will come with a AMD x64 CPU and a AMD Southern Islands GPU"
is this good tech?

[dark-hollow]

Southern islands gpus are basically the RADEON 7000 series which can range from the radeon 7570 to the high end 7950.

They are the most recent gpus from AMD.

[Shikoro]

It depends which GPU in the Southern Islands family it is.
If it's the 7950 or 7870, this thing is going to be a beast. The only thing I don't like is AMD's CPU. Really, Sony? A modified Cell with more local storage, branch prediction and more effective parallelism would do wonders. God, I hope they got the CPU wrong...

[gaffyh]

The used game info makes no sense at all. Why don't they just do the same thing that PCs do and have a serial key and require activation? That will pretty much wipe out used game sales completely, and because consoles are a closed system, it is unlikely that pirates will be able to make keygens/activation cracks readily available, at least straight away.

Then if someone buys a used game, they must purchase a new serial key online. Seems like common sense to me, but they keep trying these stupid methods.

[Pacman321]

Yes but the pre-owned system sounds pretty s**t and i hope it's not true.

[NewMonday]

@Shikoro

they want AMD for a cpu gpu Fusion, will this give them extra advanteg over split cpu and gpu?

her is an interesting story:
http://www.pcmag.com/articl...

[DFresh]

4K yeah right!
1080P/60 frames per second will be the standard of PS4/Xbox720/Wii U.

Edit:
Just so you know 1080P is different from 4K resolution.

2K = 2X better then 1080P. (Future development for console gaming.)

4K = 4X better then 1080P. (Future game development for PC gaming.)

8K = 8X better then 1080P. (Pretty sure it'll be used for movie projectors in theaters. Sony as far as I know have an 8K projector in the works.)

[NiKK_419]

@DFresh Sorry, but that's not true. You're just confusing people.

And this is only to be futureproof. This doesn't mean the games will be in 4K.

2K is barely higher than 1080P but it's not an exact resolution. 2K can be defined as a few resolutions. Same with 4K and 8K.

An easy way of defining it would be looking at the first number of the resolution (the length, which is bigger.) 2K would be around 2000, 4K would be around 4000 and so on.
For reference 1080P is 1920x1080.

[SilentNegotiator]

4K res.....riiiiight. And the ps3 can do 1080p on multiple screens.

"2K is barely higher than 1080P but it's not an exact resolution. 2K can be defined as a few resolutions. Same with 4K and 8K"
-
Eh.....even if it were the same vertical res as standard 1080p, it would then be like 4x the resolution. "barely"?

If consoles have anti-used crap, though, they will not have much of a future. You can still play an NES, n64, playstation, xbox, etc....imagine a few years down the line, you would need a console with ALL the games you want attached to it. That would BLOW. That system breaks, say goodbye to your entire collection.

[DeadlyFire]

AMD CPU is alot faster than PowerPC. Just clock to clock comparison. Kinda of an oddball choice if you ask me though. Still more powerful, but its not something you would expect.

What kinda of AMD CPU will it be sporting? A custom one or one that is already on the market? I am going to assume it will use one of the upcoming FX Series CPUs coming in Q3 2012 or custom variation CPU based on one. Hopefully not gimped to far to save costs.

GPU I am going to assume will be one that puts out at least 2.5 Tflops since that is requirement of 1080p on that Samaritan demo. Which means 7870 or 7900 series GPU. Either way that means lots of heat though. I am expecting this means PS4 won't be cheap.

[BattleAxe]

If there's no continuity with the PSN and allowing you play PS3 games that you've downloaded, then I will not be participating with the next generation of consoles.

I'm hoping that even after the PS4 launch, that the PS3 continues to be supported with major releases for at least a few years after.

[gamingdroid]

I think the used game policy on PS4 is untrue. What happens to people that play offline if internet connectivity is a requirement to even play the game?

They aren't going to ditch a lot of people that don't connect their PS4 to the internet. If so, it would be pretty stupid and I won't support them. Instead, I will support a competitor that doesn't. At present time, it doesn't seem Wii U has any disgusting used game restrictions.

I guess, they could do the whole "phone in your activation" thing a ma jigg.

Also, no BC kind of sucks too....

I hope it is false!

[pixelsword]

If I can't sell the games or get them used I'm not getting the system; so no PS4 or NextboX for me, I guess.

[sikbeta]

1. Obviously a codename, no way they're going to call it Orbis, the hell is that s***?

2. FINALLY! a rumor about the Next PlayStation Console, all these months were all about Xbox3, it's nice to have something at least :P

3. You people think it's going to be called PS4?

[Darrius Cole]

@pixelsword

There is no way in hell that Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo is going to sell a system that doesn't work if it is not connected to the internet. Or at least that won't be the only system that they sell. That anti-used game system is a pipe dream.

EDIT:

Nor will it lock games discs to a single username. That would require a writable disc and a drive that could write to disc. There is no way we are getting that.

AND

Of course it is going to be called Playstation 4 or PS4.

[pixelsword]

@ Darrius Cole:

That's where "if" and "I guess" comes into play...

...as opposed to "since" and "I'm sure".

:)

[decrypt]

Lol so console gamers will be most likely not getting any BC next gen.

Wake up guys you are being taken for a ride with these consoles(Specially they dont even look like consoles any more, they look more like locked down PCs to me). Buy thousands of USD worth of games, then they are unplayable next gen.

I personally have over 150games on Steam, no fears of losing my entire library here lol.

Console gaming is supposed to be cheap, looks more like a rip off.

Now before some retarded fanboy comes up saying "oh we can have a PS3 plugged in with the PS4". Good luck having a PS2, PS3 and PS4 plugged in at the same time lol.

@at anyone hoping for 4K gaming and 1080p 3D

Its the same crap Sony fed you the last time when they mentioned 1080p and 120fps lol. Dont get sucked into it another time lol.

[milohighclub]

I think the orbis thing is true.

I recently got a vita and noticed like a lot of vets would that they have used the ps logo as it boots up like the playstation did.

I think the author is right about the symbolism comment, but barking up the wrong tree.

If orbis means circle, orbit....etc I think it means they are doing a full circle and going back to the old days... Games come first, other media second.

[ProjectVulcan]

Meh. Those specs have been floating around for aaaaaaaages.

It has also been mentioned that the thing will have a bunch of extra DSPs and FPGAs i.e additional process units for various other functions, all dumped on an interposer and connected with a chunk of very fat memory on it like a 512 bit bus to make sure there are no memory bandwidth bottlenecks which would of course be the major obstacle with such a busy chip.

Chances are that would be an expensive chip to make, not to mention difficult.

But it should be stonkingly fast, if Sony get it right. Sony must nail the GPU and they will be able to have the outright performance crown, with no chance of a dispute.

[STEWIE_PLAY_PS4]

I Hope want PS4 3D free :P.

[Eyesoftheraven]

Well, they were boasting about the PS3 being able to do 1k-2k @ 120fps at its unveiling. Look how that turned out.

[MaxXAttaxX]

Hmmm
Can anyone tell me how reliable these Kotaku insiders are when it comes to rumours???

[2pacalypsenow]

whats the point of 4k? tvs are not even 2k

[frostypants]

Even if they have anti-used game features on the PS4 and NextBox, you'll all buy one of them. Seriously, deny it all you want, but you know it's true. Let's be honest here...

[InactiveUser]

Code name, fine.

Release.. PS4.

Also, agreed with 2pacalyosenow. They should shoot for all games to be 1080p 120fps, so they can have every game in 1080p 3D 60fps if that's how that works. Let it be able to run some future 4k2k PSN games though if they think 4k2k tvs will be out before 5-8 years.

[andibandit]

Dont get too excited with specs on the next gen of consoles. Sony/MS get alot of free marketing on the hype factor alone, and they are playing that card.
But anyways you're problably too busy dreaming about OMZG 4K REZ, NEWEST CPU/GPU TECH, INTERNATIONAL SPACESTATION CONNECTION NEEEEEEEEERDGAAAAAAAASMMMM.

When you finally get that console and find out it it's only half of what you expected it to be, you'll go into denial about if that was money well spent, and you'll defend the product to the death.
OMGZZZZ THIS 450$ RED LUNCHBOX IS THE BEST PURCHASE EVER!!!!, ANYONE WHO GETS THE BLUE ONE ARE LOOOOSSEEEEEEERSS!!!!!

[humbleopinion]

This sounds like a bunch of bull: throw all kinds of rumors at the wall and see what sticks.

The thing that makes least sense and probably classifies this rumor as false is the 4K resolution: even if you want the console to be like 10 years futureproof this doesn't sound reasonable.
This is because the 4K standard is 4096 x 2304 in cinemas. This is over 4 times 1080p which current consoles don't really handle bar a few games, or over 8 times the resolution of most 720p games.
So you will basically need 4 times the memory, 4 times the processing power etc just to keep games looking *exactly like this gen games* with the only difference being the resolution boost.

Not to mention, 1080p TVs are not even the standard today in the western world and many people still have 720p displays. Do people have any idea how much time it will take for TVs to reach this 4K resolution at a reasonable (ie, not 10000$+) price? Investing in 4K resolution is just focusing on the wrong aspect and it makes no sense for Sony to do this.

[slayorofgods]

No used games
No backwards compatibility

No thanks,

I really hope MS puts more effort into PC games next generation because it is re-gaining momentum and allows the user to be in control of their gaming experience.

[JsonHenry]

Might as well just get a gaming PC if any of this is true. AMD CPU/GPU. No used (or restricted use) games.

Not sure this is why people buy consoles over gaming rigs. In fact, I think it is the exact opposite of why people stick to console gaming instead of PC gaming.

And @ Shikoro- you are completely wrong. The AMDx64 cpus make the CELL look stupid in comparison. They would have to change a LOT of the CELLs architecture to make it even remotely close to being on par with either Intel or AMDs CPUs. The instruction set alone is worth not having a CELL in the new console. I am not blasting the CELL as being useless. But go read the hundreds of quotes by programmers who wished that consoles had either intel or AMD CPUs in them. More cores (or in the case of the CELL "helper" cores) does not= greater power by default. The instruction sets such as SSE and architecture of the chips play a more important role.