The PS Vita, despite being a relatively powerful device, has continued to struggle in a market where mobile devices are making it easier for consumers to enjoy good standards of gaming on their smartphones and tablets. Despite this, Sony remains determined to plug its handheld marvel, and today, a new firmware iteration brings some much-needed updates. As well as enhanced streaming support, version 2.60 brings some slick alterations to the user interface. Details after the break.
When you stack up the graphics prowess of the PlayStation 4 against the Xbox One, there's no doubt that the Sony console is reflected favorably, but as we know, there's a great deal of difference between the on-paper checklist and real world gaming. The PlayStation 4, overall, offers around 50 percent more GPU power than its Redmond counterpart, you can't really draw any firm conclusions from these figures alone. Eurogamer, in collaboration with Digital Foundry, has sought to compare the two unreleased machines by mocking them up using parts similar to those announced, offering a relatively strong idea of what we can expect from each.
The battle between Microsoft and Sony for console supremacy this generation is certainly beginning to capture the imagination of gamers and press alike, and one of the biggest differentiators between the two companies has been their approach to pricing. Whilst Microsoft's Xbox One will retail for a hefty $499, Sony's PlayStation 4 offering will land at a considerably more wallet-friendly $399. That $100 could be the difference between making an Xbox One purchase or going for the Sony option instead, and the Japanese company knows it.
As lead architects of pivotal tech gadgets go, it's fair to point out that Sony's Mark Cerny is a bit of a maverick. Far from being a fusty, out-of-touch droid, he's a gamer to the core, and at this week's Gamelab in Barcelona, told a refreshingly candid tale of his career from the days of working at Atari aged 17 to being the key figure in the development of the PlayStation 4.
Microsoft's ambiguous, stingy and questionable Xbox One DRM policy was dramatically ditched by the Redmond company after a backlash from bemused gamers, and that decision looks to be paying dividends already, with Xbox One pre-orders having surged ahead of the PlayStation 4 in the UK, according to Amazon. Don Mattrick piped up a short while ago to declare that the online checks on games and the policies concerning used games had been completely dropped, and since then, it would seem the gaming community sees the forthcoming Microsoft console as a much more palatable acquisition.
Sony has gone to great lengths to gatecrash the Xbox One launch event by showcasing its PlayStation 4 right atop the ceremonious entrance of the next-gen Microsoft console, and to further push the PS4 envelope, the Japanese electronics giant has just introduced a new video showing off some of the machine's features. Included in the new clip are some glimpses of the next-gen user interface, a look into how the so-called video sharing feature will work, as well as insight into game downloads. Check out the details, as well as the video, after the jump.
When a rumor takes hold prior to a big announcement, a few utterances can often escalate into pure scaremongering, and in the run-up to the grand unveiling of the next-gen games consoles, many had feared we were moving towards a generation of so-called 'always on' connections being a prerequisite for enjoying any game. Suffice to say, Sony has stepped out and confirmed that gamers can happily enjoy games without an Internet connection, and what's more, used titles can be played without any fuss.
Retail price of both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have been confirmed by their respective manufacturers. Here are all the details.
With Microsoft having held a special event last month to announce the Xbox One, the comparisons between it and Sony's PlayStation 4 have already begun. Irrespective of the features of each console, one area in which the battle could be won or lost is in pricing, and according to one analyst, the PS4 will start at $50 cheaper than it's Redmond-made rival. The utterances of Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter are merely predictions based upon the cost of materials used to make the consoles, but with the forthcoming PlayStation's components weighing in at $275 compared with the Xbox One's $325, Pachter reckons the former could start from $349, with the Xbox One costing $399.
The battle of the next-gen consoles is really hotting up, and both Microsoft and Sony will be vying for the attentions of the gaming faithful come the end of this year. In fact, the fight to secure the interests of gamers worldwide is already in full swing, with Sony having announced the PlayStation 4 back in February, and the announcement of the Xbox One last week finally put a name and a face to the plans of Redmond-based Microsoft. While some key details remain a mystery at this point in time, we now have a general idea of what to expect, and designer Ralph Cifra has put together a nice little infographic based on the information currently known.
