Sony Repartee v2

[DrVenkman PhD]

Can anything be done about Free PS+ games that are no longer free if that happens? I assume it would be in your purchase history.

 

[Smues]

My understanding is as long as you 'purchased' them while they were free you can always re-download them as long as you are a + member.

 

[vivisectvi]

Yup! Once it's back to it's normal price in the store, as long as you picked it up when it was free it will still be in your purchase list and you can just re-download it.

 

[DrVenkman PhD]

Ok, cool. They always give you a big warning about downloading free Plus games but it's about keeping your membership, so I was pretty sure that was the case but not 100% sure.

 

[vivisectvi]

Yeah as long as you're a member you'll always have access to those freebies again, for free. I recently dipped on the new 1 year + 3 months promo for $50.. so I'm good up until late 2014.

 

[NoCalMike]

First gameplay footage of RAIN.....holy shit, I want!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wX8IEAt92HU#!

 

[vivisectvi]

Random PS4 bits from IGN @ GDC:

Overall Hardware
#PS4 CPU: 64-bit x86 arch, low power consumption, low heat, 8 cores, 8 HW threads, 2MiB L2 cache per 4 core group, 32kib l1 I/D-cache #GDC

PlayStation Shader Language, very similar to HLSL, allows featured BEYOND Direct X 11 and OpenGL 4.0

"GPU – Tessellation – adding geometric detail to smooth edges or create more organic shapes” ... Uh, #PS4 is doing that. #GDC

#PS4 RAM – 8GB 256 bit GDDR5 (GDDR5 is very high end graphics memory only found on PC graphics cards) #GDC

#PS4 will have a “very large hard drive in every console.” #GDC

#PS4 Dev Environment – Windows 7-bit, tools are fully integrated into Visual Studio 2010 and 2012. #GDC


The Controller
#PS4 Controller: Start/Select buttons are now “Options.” New System button is “Share.” #GDC

Speaker, headset jack and “extension port” on the #PS4 controller. #GDC

#PS4 Controller buttons are going back to digital over analog because no one used it on PS3. #GDC

#PS4 Controller L2/R2 - Curved design to get rid of the accidental @netflix fast forwarding. #GDC

#PS4 Controller: 1920x900 resolution on the analog touchpad. #GDC

#PS4 Controller colors are the Player Numbers: 1-Blue, 2-Red, 3-Green, 4-Pink (Like the buttons) #GDC

#PS4 will charge controllers when it's off. Unlike the PS3. #GDC

#PS4 controller light bar can be used for muzzle flashes, health bars, etc. #GDC


The Eye Camera
“The #PS4 Eye will enhance the PS4 user experience.” High sensitivity dual color cameras – 1280x800, 12 bits/pixel, 60Hz #GDC

Dedicated port for the #PS4 camera, exclusive SCE Connector. Means it won't use a USB port on the console, but won't plug into your PC. #GDC

#PS4 Cam suggested uses: walkthrough vids, taunting in killcam, login, speech recognition, etc. #GDC

Possible #PS4 Camera Magic – Sees the controller, you guys move, splitscreen moves to be on the right side. #GDC

Keep in mind for those reading along with my #PS4 #GDC Tweets: these are things devs COULD do. Not mandatory.


User Interface
#PS4 UI is meant to give you at a glance info without loading the game. See what new DLC is out and whatnot. What friends are saying. #GDC

Have to enable people seeing your real name on the #PS4. Auto-enabled if you import from another social network. (Can be turned off)

#PS4 RAISES THE PSN FRIEND LIMIT. #GDC

All the #PS4 streaming and sharing: that's on the hardware. Devs don't have to do anything special to their game. #GDC


Misc
#PS4 Remote Play: Screens are mirrored on PS4/Vita (Both on at same time). Hardware does it/not on devs. Start at any time; no special mode.

Talking about the @PlayStation App. Login, buy game, #PS4 starts downloading at home, you get home and start playing the part that's DWLD. ***

*** before anyone freaks out and plays the "OMG ALWAYS ONLINE BULLSHIT" card, read this, plz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake-on-LAN

 

[vivisectvi]

More random bits from Polygon: http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/27/4153760/playstation-4-interface-accounts-social-functionality-dualshock-eye-gdc-2013

-A "digest" screen tells you what your PlayStation Network friends are playing at the moment, and you'll have the option to use their real names, which will show up in games.

-If you link your PSN account to your Facebook account, you'll be required to use your real name (or, presumably, whatever name is on your Facebook account).

-If some players haven't linked their accounts, then everyone will have to agree to use their real names in order for all players to see them.

-User accounts are tied to a player or controller, not a single PS4 console. (this pretty much turns your PS4 controller into a "profile to go" type device - awesome!)

-The spectator mode enabled by the Share button on the DualShock 4 controller is built into the PS4 hardware, so developers don't need to code it for every game.

-Users can send comments while they're spectating on a game.

-A long press on the Share button will take a screenshot.

-The DualShock 4's touchpad features a 1920x900 resolution, and it will click when you push it down. (don't let the word "resolution" confuse you, it's not a screen)

-Remote Play with the PlayStation Vita is also baked into the PS4, and both the handheld screen and TV will mirror each other, instead of the TV showing a message telling you to look at the PS Vita.

 

[vivisectvi]

Similar coverage, with some added smaller details, from Destructoid: http://www.destructoid.com/ps4-friends-system-sharing-and-ui-detailed-at-gdc-249821.phtml

Sony detailed a bit more in regards to the PS4's UI today at GDC. For starters, the Xross Media Bar of the PS3 and the LiveArea UI of the Vita stay on those systems. The new UI for the PS4 "goes in new directions", said Chris Norden, Senior Staff Engineer at Sony.

Mockups of the new UI were to shown to give people an idea of the new interface. Up-to-date information is to be shown for all games, including DLC, videos, friend recommendations, social links and more.

The Friend system has been improved greatly over PS3, said Norden. As a side note, the social network features the use of true names. A player has two identities on the PS4 -- your user name and your true name. The true name will not be shown by default, but will be visible to those linked via Facebook or other trusted methods. Otherwise, you'll have to mutually agree to show true names (think Google and YouTube).

Here's some good news: the cap on the friends list has increased for PS4 over PS3, though no specific numbers were given.

So how about that Share button? Well, "Share" on the PS4 controller uses the system's hardware encoder, which is always recording the last several minutes of gameplay without using any additional system resources An example of a Share menu shows off the fact that you can upload a video to YouTube or Facebook easily -- background uploads can take place after you add a comment.

A new spectating feature lets you stream video of live gameplay, but you can also watch other people play. This is all built into the PS4 hardware, so no work is needed from developers. Users can type comments in real time, and developers can implement those comments via an API in their game.

Remote Play lets you connect your PS Vita to your PS4 via a local network or internet -- the screens are mirrored this time, unlike the PS3 and PSP. No system resources need to be allocated to Remote Play -- it's all built in. Remote Play can be started at any time, and Sony stated that they used code from Gaikai to make this feature work.

For the buttons that the Vita is missing from the PS4 controller, mapping will be supported. Multi-user support is important for the PS4, which is a vast improvement over the PS3. Multiple players can log in, earn trophies and more, just like LittleBigPlanet (finally!).

"Play during download" is a key feature of PS4 for digital games, so you don't have to wait hours to play a hot new release -- immediate play is the goal. The game data will be split into multiple chunks and will enable the player to start when the minimum amount of data has been pulled down to the hard disk. Developers will be encouraged to create this minimum package to start players off.

Finally, an official PlayStation App will come to the Android and iPhone platforms. The app will also work as a second screen for PS4 games (Smartglass?!).

I really love the play during download feature. So many PC games have been doing this for the last little while and it's great to see a console hopping on it.

 

[oldskool]

It sounds like a warhorse, but considering it's constantly recording video I have a feeling its output won't be as good as the specs make it sound. Live LPs though, that sounds ridiculous.

 

[vivisectvi]

I am hoping that the video recording is something that can be toggled, as there is no way you would need that all the time.. Or at least have it processing on the second chip.

 

[vivisectvi]

One more tidbit, via IGN: The PlayStation Network is a quiet place right now. Why? Well, the PS3 didn’t bundle a mic with the console, so lots of players never grabbed one. The PS4 will put a headset in every box so that communication is easy.

 

[Smues]

Millions of teenagers are rejoicing that they'll FINALLY be able to tell everyone what a bunch of faggots they are.

 

[vivisectvi]

lmao

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

Holy shit! Smues just killed me! LMFAO!!!!!!!

 

[Baby Shoes]

Not sure if there is a big enough following for a thread in Film folder but Sony announced plans & initial trailer for a feature length Ratchet and Clank theatrical release. Currently set for 2015.

 

[FLAM]

I've only played A Crack in Time, but that game felt like a Pixar movie. Looking forward to this for sure, especially since they've got a lot of main cast members reprising their roles for the film.

 

[vivisectvi]

Of course there is a Hulu Plus update today and now the app performs like shite... ugh.

 

[fazzle]

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/05/sony-ps4-streaming/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Top+Stories%29

So..remember that whole streaming thing? Yeah it turns out developers can turn it off for their games, or for certain parts of their games they don't want shared.

 

[NoCalMike]

Fatal Frame I & II are on PSN.

$9.99 each, I wish the price was a bit a lower. Played 'em both when they were brand new. Pretty creepy, especially playing at night with the lights off, however it seems like the PS1/PS2 era is the worst when it comes to re-visiting games. I've spent a decent amount on old games in the last couple of years and it seems like anything from the NES/Genesis/SNES years holds up almost because you expect an 8-16 bit experience, but when you are dealing with 1 Gen removed there is this expectation that the games won't feel that off from today's standard, but it takes less than 10 minutes to realize you were wrong and get annoyed pretty quickly.

 

[FLAM]

I remember only playing a demo of Fatal Frame, but I wasn't feeling it. Reading about it now, I'd probably be super into something like that these days. I replayed Resident Evil 1-3 via PSN and I thought those still hold up for the most part. Most people hate the controls, but it was never a problem for me.

Sleeping Dogs is also free for PS Plus users. I'm glad I held out on buying it.

 

[fazzle]

I remember thinking Fatal Frame 1 was the only game to legitimately scare me when it came out. I wonder if it's held up at all.

 

[vivisectvi]

Rockstar Games sez:

ext week, the roster of downloadable Rockstar titles in the PS2 Classics collection at PlayStation Store is set to get bigger - and grislier - with the addition of Rockstar North's dark stealth thriller Manhunt, originally released 10 years ago. Beginning on May 14th Tuesday when the PSN Store does its weekly update (Wednesday for those in Europe), you'll be able to step back into the shoes of James Earl Cash, a Death Row inmate playing that most dangerous game of kill-or-be-killed at the mercy of the maniacal Lionel Starkweather.

Manhunt will be available from PSN for $9.99 / €9.99 / £7.99 and joins Bully and Red Dead Revolver, as well as all PlayStation 2 entries in the Grand Theft Auto and Midnight Club franchises, in the PS2 Classics category of PlayStation Store.

It will also soon be joined by The Warriors

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

I've been looking for Rock Band 3 for PS3 for about 9 months. My friend has a copy, but something is wrong with the disc, and the bass lines are all muted. For whatever reason, all the Gamestops in my area are sold out, but always have it for 360. Well, I was in a Wal-Mart today and was looking through their case of random old PS2 and PS3 games. There before me was 2 copies of RB3!!!!!! I asked an associate if I could get a price on it. So, she came over with a scanner and it said it was $19.99. So, said I would go ahead and pick it up. While she was ringing me up, she said that I was the first person to buy something out of that case in quite a while, and she was going to give me a discount (SCORE!). I ended up getting it for $9.99!!!!!!!!!

 

[FLAM]

I'm playing the God of War: Ghost of Sparta PS3 port. It's great and I hope more PSP games get ports to maximize exposure. I bought a PSP specifically for Metal Gear Peacewalker, but enjoyed it way more when it was ported a couple of years later. I'd definitely replay FF7: Crisis Core, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep if they were given the PS3 treatment. Never even finished Birth By Sleep, and I have no idea where my PSP is. Seems like no one paid attention to the new Parasite Eve because of it just being on PSP as well. Shame.

I don't know much about Vita as I have very little interest in handheld gaming, so perhaps all of these games are getting the Vita treatment instead. But damn, I just want 'em on my PS3.

 

[Sabre]

I think read somewhere that Sony has all but given up on the Vita.

fake edit: http://n4g.com/news/1251689/sales-projections-indicate-sony-is-giving-up-on-the-vita

 

[vivisectvi]

It's probably for the best. Concentrate on consoles. Leave the handheld stuff to Nintendo.

 

[Smues]

Dumbest $250 I've ever spent. The best part is how Sony seems surprised by the Vita failing. We put out an expensive piece of hardware that requires another expensive piece to work and has little to no games, why aren't these fucking people buying it?

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

I bought the full 3G version, and it's sat on my shelf for the past several months. One of the main things that killed it was expensive as shit proprietary memory cards. 32GB costs $99.99? Fuck you, Sony!

I do like being able to play FF7 on the go though.

 

[Just Burny]

I remember the (decent enough) deal they had for black friday & I still couldn't pull the trigger. I just knew it was something I wasn't going to use (or very little) and my money could be better spent elsewhere.