PlayStation

PS4 System Software Update 4.50 brings external HDD support, custom wallpapers, & simplified notifications

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 3, 2017 | 6 comments

Off a stellar quarter for Game and Network Services division and PlayStation shows no sign of slowing down. With PS4 system software update 4.50, Sony is looking to bring some welcome changes to PS4 and PS4 Pro, including the coveted external HDD support. According to PS Blog:

It’s easy to upgrade the HDD that came with your PS4, but if you’re still looking for more storage space on the console, we’ve got you covered. With this update, you have the option to store content to an external HDD. Just plug a USB 3.0 HDD into your PS4, and voilà, you now have more space on the console.

This is compatible with HDDs up to 8TB in size. You can download and install applications directly to your extra storage, and the saved contents are easily manageable through the settings menu.

Also, all the applications saved in the external HDD will appear in the Content Launcher of the Home Screen so it’s easy to keep track of what apps you launched recently.

For many people, this has been one of those “finally” features which I didn’t quite understand. When I bought a PS4 on launch day, the first thing I did was swap out the internal drive for a 1TB unit and I’ve yet to run into any problems. Now I hardly consider myself a hardcore gamer, but seeing how I’ve gone digital downloads only, I know I’d be more likely to bump into the problem that others. Still, there is an angle I didn’t think about until I asked about it on Twitter.

@SonyRumors I have a bandwidth cap so not having to redownload games will be a huge bonus for me. I always run out of space on my 2TB HDD

— Bruce Burns (@wuvein) February 3, 2017

I have the privilege of having 100Mbps down internet with no monthly bandwidth but depending on which state or country you live in, you might not have the same luxury as I do which makes something like an external HDD far more compelling. After all, there are games that easily exceed 30GB+ and not needing to waste precious bandwidth on redownloading it would be a welcome feature.

Sony Pictures drags down Sony Q3 FY16 earnings with profits dropping 84%

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 2, 2017 | 2 comments

Sony_Q3_FY2016_Profits_Opertaing_Income_1

(note that you can click on all charts for a much higher resolution version)

It’s been a rather tumultuous week for Sony with news coming out that Sony Pictures would be responsible for a nearly $1 billion writedown which you can see in the above profits chart. Though Sony begs to differ, I think Sony Pictures is either quietly being put up for sale or that was the result of a sale falling through which meant Sony had to balance the division out but I’ll leave that for another piece. I’ve already broken down the earnings report for two divisions:

So where does that put Sony as a whole for Q3 FY16? Profitable, but not by a lot. Jon Russell writes this for TechCrunch:

Sony ships 9.7 million PS4 units during Q3, chugs towards PS3 lifetime sales

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 2, 2017 | 0 comments

Sony_Q3_FY2016_PS4_Total_Sales

There is little doubt that PlayStation is the leading division within Sony. Not only is PlayStation massively profitable and likely keeping many other divisions under Sony afloat, but it’s also the only part of Sony that continues to bring in large sale volumes. For the period between October 1 and December 31, 2016, Sony managed to ship 9.7 million PS4 units. Compared to the quarter a year ago when Sony shipped 8.4 million units, that’s an increase of 1.3 million units, impressive when you consider the PS4 isn’t getting any newer, unless we take PS4 Pro into account. Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida:

PS4 Pro is running as we had assumed, but Pro maybe is doing more than we anticipated

For another comparison, PS3 sold 80 million units as of November 2013 and PS4 is already nearing 60 million units. At its current pace, by the end of 2017, PS4 will have matched seven years of PS3 sales in just four years. Many analysts believe before Sony retires the PS4 for whatever comes next, that the console will pass 100 million units sold and at this pace, there is little reason to doubt that.

Oculus Rift just got $500 million more expensive for Facebook

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 1, 2017 | 0 comments

A follow up on an earlier post regarding Facebook purchasing Oculus and with it, Oculus Rift. Thanks to an ongoing lawsuit with ZeniMax, it was revealed that Facebook paid a total of:

$2 billion USD for Oculus when the transaction was initially announced in 2014. Now, according to Zuckerberg’s testimony, Facebook actually paid an additional $1 billion for the company that consisted of employee retention packages and goal targets. This means Oculus paid a total of $3 billion for the virtual reality headset manufacturer.

$3 billion always struck me as a really expensive entry price to compete with the likes of PlayStation VR which has cost Sony a fraction of that. I have no doubt that Zuckerberg and Co. have greater plans for VR than just video games, but so does Sony. PlayStation VR is simply a smart entry way for them to capture an audience with and learn about what works and what doesn’t. Now that price tag is about to go even higher for Facebook.

Xbox and PlayStation piracy forums hacked, 2.5 million passwords leak

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 1, 2017 | 0 comments

Now I know none of you would partake in piracy forums so you can snag yourself free PlayStation and Xbox games, but in case you know somebody who frequents such sites, you might want to tell them to reset their password. Matthew Hughes writes from The Next Web:

If you ever held an account on Xbox360ISO.com or PSPISO.com, now’s the time to reset your password. Both sites were hacked by an unknown attacker in late 2015, with the details of those affected splashed on the Internet late this weekend.

The details encompass an incredible 2.5 million users, and include email addresses, IP addresses, usernames and passwords. It seems that the operator of these sites did nothing to protect the latter, as all passwords were ‘protected’ using the MD5 hashing system, which is trivially easy to overcome.

Insomniac Games takes a stance on the current US immigration policy

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 1, 2017 | 4 comments

Just the other day, Insomniac Games posted a brief two-minute video outlining their beliefs in regards to the current US immigration policy clusterfuck under Donald. In such a volatile political atmosphere, it’s refreshing to see a company, who typically has to be a bit more careful with their views towards social issues, take such a clear and bold stance.

I’m of the belief that one of the reason today’s youth (or millennials, if you prefer) lack a connection with the political system and what’s happening with the country is that they often don’t see how things can directly affect them, including immigration policies. Though not going as far to directly outlining that aspect of it, Insomniac Games, led by Ted Price, makes it very clear that this is something that directly affects their company which in turn affects the games you and I would play from them.

In addition to IG, the Video Game Lobby has also weighed in on the matter as have various members of Naughty Dog like head writer Josh Scherr.

Video Game Lobby speaks out against Donald’s ban on immigrants

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 31, 2017 | 0 comments

As you may have heard, starting on Saturday, the US issued a ban on travelers and dual-nationals from Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, and Syria, making it nearly impossible for them to enter the country. The ban, which is unprecedented, has sent ripples throughout the tech and gaming community which employ talent from all around the world.

Now, the Entertainment Software Association, which represents the U.S. gaming industry, is speaking about Donald’s ban on immigrants.

PlayStation sponsors bootcamp to get young girls into tech

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 26, 2017 | 0 comments

Jake Tucker writes for develop online:

PlayStation is backing a Liverpool-based “bootcamp” by Liverpool Girl Geeks that’s aiming to get more local girls working in the technology and video games sectors.

This six-week Bootcamp is for school age girls aged from 11 to 14, and will be held at Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle starting next month. Sony’s PlayStation brand has signed up to sponsor it, with their endorsement ringing a clear bell that projects like this should be supported.

Bravo to PlayStation for investing in getting young girls involved with technology. One of the biggest challenges tech faces is diversity within their ranks, be it of minorities or that of women and a key part of that is lack of investment from early on in those communities. Some of the most talented people that I know at PlayStation happen to come from all different walks of life and to be given that opportunity from early on. To be told that these different carrier paths exist make a huge difference in one’s path, especially when so much stigma and stereotypes still exist regarding what one should be when they grow up.

Michelle Tilley, senior release manager at PlayStation:

Meet Anne Torstensen, the most breathtaking Aloy cosplayer from Horizon: Zero Dawn

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 26, 2017 | 0 comments

One of the most interesting aspects of entertainment (which I’m lumping games, movies, comics, etc. under) is the cosplay community that’s arisen around it. From younglings to grownups, fans of differing mediums have taken to heart their favorite characters and brought them to life in their own ways. Sometimes you have cosplayers like Jessica Nigri, who tends to put her own spin on a characters, and on the other end of the spectrum you have Anne Torstense, the Norwegian cosplayer known as Ibelinn Cosplay who embodies that character in an unimaginable way.

Frankly at times, I’ve seen cosplayers build something better than what companies themselves might create in order to promote their given movie/game/comic which goes to show that throwing money at something is often not the solution. In the case of Aloy, the heroine from Horizon: Zero Dawn, Anne has brought her to life in a way I didn’t think was possible but from the business perspective of it, it’s also fascinating to see PlayStation actively promoting her content as you’ll see from the video below.

Guillermo Del Toro not involved with Death Stranding

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 24, 2017 | 0 comments

At E3 and again at PlayStation Experience, Hideo Kojima wowed PlayStation fans by showcasing the latest in Death Stranding, his all-star-casted game. As of right now details on what exactly the game will be about or what type of genre it will even fall in are scarce. What we do know is that Hannibal’s Mads Mikkelsen (most recently seen in Doctor Strange) is playing the villain role while The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus is the lead. At PSX, we also learned about a new character, played by none other than Guillermo Del Toro, which led to speculation that he’d be involved with the game as well.

Sony comments on the future of indie games on PlayStation

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 20, 2017 | 0 comments

Some time around July of last year, Adam Boyes, then head of Vice President of Third-Party Relations at Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced he’d be departing from PlayStation in order to get back into game development which is how he originally started out his career. Since that time, his role has remained vacant for a good reason: Boyes brought so much to PlayStation and specifically PS4. With him at the helm, Sony saw a palpable growth of indie developers wanting to bring their titles to PlayStation.

After nearly 6 months without a head, Sony is officially filling in the position with former Harmonix COO, Florian Hunziker, who shared his thoughts on how he wishes to utilize his role at the company:

Facebook paid nearly $3 billion for Oculus, nearly $1 billion more than initial announcement

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 19, 2017 | 0 comments

Holy. Shit.

Facebook has paid nearly $3 billion for Oculus and they’re still getting their ass kicked by PlayStation VR which costs a fraction and has a far higher marketshare. Patrick O’Rourke tackles the story for mobilesyrup:

Zuckerberg visited a Dallas, Texas courtroom to testify in the ongoing lawsuit against Oculus by video game publisher Zenimax, which claims the Rift is based on technology John Carmack — who at one point was working for ZeniMax and Oculus at the same time — created while still working for his previous employer.

Facebook revealed that it paid a total of $2 billion USD for Oculus when the transaction was initially announced in 2014. Now, according to Zuckerberg’s testimony, Facebook actually paid an additional $1 billion for the company that consisted of employee retention packages and goal targets. This means Oculus paid a total of $3 billion for the virtual reality headset manufacturer.

Sony & Numskull launch PlayStation VR headset stand

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 16, 2017 | 0 comments

If you love your PlayStation VR and want to showcase it instead of just shoving it in a cabinet when you’re done gaming, the following is just for you. Sony and Numskull have teamed up to design an official PlayStation VR headset stand.

Display your VR headset the best way with this stylish officially licensed PlayStation VR Headset Stand. This high-quality build obsidian headset stand comes with an adjustable metallic base with engraved logos, and a velcro tie to manage your VR headset cables.

According to Numskull, the headset stand offers:

Ratchet and Clank movie now available on Netflix

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 11, 2017 | 0 comments

Just a quick heads up to all you Ratchet and Clank fans: the duo’s 2016 movie, which has been available for some time on Blu-ray, is now available to stream on Netflix in the US, UK, and other various countries. Though I’m a big fan of the series, I’ve admittedly not had a chance to see the movie yet so this might be my opportunity. For those of you who have seen it, let me know what you thought of it.

Horizon: Zero Dawn story trailer sets the stage for an epic tale

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 11, 2017 | 0 comments

Earlier this morning, Guerrilla Games dropped what’s likely to be the final story trailer we’ll see for Horizon: Zero Dawn before it launches in February. Though previous pieces have given us a glimpse of the world, this is the first trailer that truly depicts the story that we’ll be following and it’s looking epic. If I had one bone to pick with the trailer release, it’s that after experiencing the game run on PS4 Pro at 4K, it’s hard to see the game in 1080p and that’s the only format the trailer has thus far been released in.

Hopefully PlayStation and GG change that soon. Till then, here is the Horizon: Zero Dawn story trailer for your viewing pleasure.