President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida caused a stir on Twitter recently, suggesting that a future firmware update for the PS4 that would allow the user to save more battery in the controller by changing how the light bar worked.
There was some confusion about whether this would be a full disable of the light bar or a dim setting, and finally Yoshida has cleared this up.
Lots of cool things are happening at this year’s Game Developers Conference at San Francisco’s Moscone Cente, many of them revolving around the PlayStation 4. Project Morpheus is bringing virtual reality to the system (at some point), new updates are adding functionality to the Share features and allowing you to pre-load your upcoming games, and there’s even a way to control inFAMOUS: Second Son with your eyes (thanks, IGN). True story. But if you don’t already have a PS4, you may find yourself waiting for a few months still before picking one up.
The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets, sat down with Sony Computer Entertainment group CEO Andrew House at GDC, who cited high demand in all regions, and especially in the US and UK, for the PS4’s scarcity. “Conservatively, as we get into the early summer months, we’ll be closer to a full supply situation,” House told the Journal. Previous reports from Sony had expected supply to ease up by April. House had no new sales figures for the report, but with over 6 million consoles sold before the end of February, and Sony’s fiscal year ending on March 31, we’re likely to hear new figures before long.
Brien has already reported on the extensive list of goodies that are set to come to the PlayStation 4 via a firmware update next month. While the list is extensive and includes new features like a video editor and export capabilities to USB drives, Sony itself went on record about how more unannounced improvements would be coming with the same firmware update in April and we might have just stumbled upon one of those, thanks to Sucker Punch.
The Share Button on the PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4 controller has been one of the most highly-touted features of the new console. In fact, the ability to share your screenshots, gameplay videos, or broadcast live to Ustream and Twitch has been at the heart of the social focus of the PS4. The stats for how many pictures have been uploaded and how many hours people have broadcast to Twitch show just how right Sony was to build social integration into their hardware. But the folks at PlayStation aren’t done yet, and today the PlayStation Blog let us know just what we can expect in the next firmware update–and it’s all focused on Share.
Welcome to the PlayStation Store update for March 18, 2014. Even though the delay wasn’t quite as lengthy as last week, the store still failed to miss it’s targeted 2 PM PDT update time by almost 12 hours. Hopefully the team updating the store works out whatever technical issues they are having and future updates will be back on a more regular schedule. Delay or not, we have a great update this week packed full of new content and sales. Even though it does not release until March 21st, the PlayStation 4 exclusive inFamous Second Son is easily the biggest release for the week.
Both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 users receive Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes which this week. Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster is also now available for both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The spring fever sale also continues this week with major sales on titles in the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Finally, PlayStation Plus users will be receiving Unit 13 (PS Vita) and Thomas Was Alone (PS3 & PS Vita) for free along with many discounts on several games. Keep reading to see a complete list of content available on the PlayStation Store this week!
Dateline: March 18, 2014 —
This just in! Sony announces new product, set to revolutionize the industry! ‘Project Morpheus’ the first step for PlayStation into the world of Virtual Reality! Oculus beware, there’s a new player on the block, and its name is Morpheus!
Dramatic newsreel introduction aside, the second day of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco was marked by the official announcement of the long-rumored PlayStation 4 VR headset, currently known as ‘Project Morpheus.’ The “Driving the Future of Innovation at Sony Computer Entertainment” panel, like last year’s PlayStation 4 reveal, took little time in unveiling what everyone had assumed was the case: PlayStation was moving into the world of virtual reality headsets.
A bit of background before we dive further into this story. Stig Asmussen, has been a part of Santa Monica Studios for over a decade. During his time there, Stig has worked as an Environment Artist (God of War), Art Director (God of War 2), and finally as Creative Director (God of War 3). Most recently, Stig had been working on a brand new IP for Santa Monica Studios for the PlayStation 4. During the last two years that Stig has been working on a new project, Corey Barlog, Creative Director of God of War 2 rejoined the studio to work on what many believe is another GoW title. Besides these two titles, it was believed that a third project was taking place though little was known about it. Many have now come to believe that the secret project at SMS was a scraped sci-fi shooter which was revealed last month, after a massive layoff hit Santa Monica Studios which helped shed light on the game that will likely never been seen.
While details remain scarce, it seems likely that it was none other than Stig Asmussen, who was the lead of the canned project as the long-time veteran, has just parted ways with Santa Monica Studios.
Industry insider Pete “Famousmortimer” Dodd, who normally enjoys a good track record, has some damming news for Microsoft and the Xbox One. According to his insider sources, Activision is on the cusp of changing the lead platform for the mega Call of Duty franchise away from Xbox and to the PS4. While Microsoft has continued its massive marketing blitz with the Xbox One since launch, something that Sony cannot afford to do, the PS4 has continuously outsold its rival. Beyond that, games on the PS4 like Call of Duty: Ghosts have enjoyed higher resolutions than their counterpart on the Xbox One and higher digital sales, a winning combination for developers.
On the heels of a massive launch in the North America, and over six million sales through four months worldwide, there’s been some shakeups recently within Sony Computer Entertainment America. Long-time executive Jack Tretton is leaving the company, Amy Hennig has left Naughty Dog, and layoffs have cut back the mighty Santa Monica Studios, all in the span of a month. You’d hope that would mean there’s some good news on the horizon, right? Well if you live in Canada, this isn’t the kind of news you were hoping for.
Welcome to the PlayStation Store update for March 13, 2014. As you know this update normally comes on Tuesdays, but due to some technical issues the update was pushed back almost 48 hours. Even though it is late, we still have a great update this week packed full of new content and sales. PlayStation 3 receives the punishing Dark Souls II today.
PlayStation 4 users now have access to the highly anticipated Towerfall Ascension featuring fast paced local multiplayer archery combat. There are also deep sales on many games in the Call of Duty franchise. Speaking of promotions, Sony has brought back the popular $10 for $60 promotion. This entitles you to receive a $10 store credit when you spend $6o on the store.
Finally, PlayStation Plus users will be receiving Lone Survivor The Director’s Cut (PS3/Vita Cross Buy) for free along with many discounts on several games. Keep reading to see a complete list of content available on the PlayStation Store this week!
The PlayStation Blog recently revealed the list of PlayStation Store Top Sellers for February. Strider led the way for PlayStation 4 while Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition continued to dominate for the PlayStation 3. The PlayStation Vita saw Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z take the top spot with Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (see our recent review here) taking 6th place. Keep reading to see the entire list!
Image courtesy of Naughty Dog
When word broke earlier this week that Amy Hennig, the creative force behind Naughty Dog’s award-winning Uncharted francise, would be leaving the studio she’d worked at for over ten years, many people were saddened. What puzzled even more of us was the rumors that she had been ‘forced out’ of her role and her job, specifically by the directorial team behind The Last of Us. While Hennig herself has not commented on the circumstances of her exit, the co-presidents of Naughty Dog, and Sony’s VP of Software Product Development, have spoken up in hopes of quelling the rampant speculation.
Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America and one of the division’s earliest executives when it was founded in 1995, is stepping down at the end of March, according to a press release from Sony Computer Entertainment International. Tretton, who has been the face of PlayStation in North America, and worked at PlayStation through all of the company’s console launches up to and including last year’s record-breaking launch of the PlayStation 4, will serve his last day on March 31. His replacement, Shawn Layden, will assume Tretton’s responsibilities on April 1. Layden currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office of Sony Network Entertainment International, which encompasses the PlayStation Network, Music Unlimited, and Video Unlimited services.
According to a report from IGN, Amy Hennig, the creative director and writer of the Uncharted series, has left Naughty Dog. Hennig, who joined Naughty Dog during the Jak & Daxter series on PlayStation 2 and just celebrated her 10th anniversary with the studio, was the driving force behind Nathan Drake’s adventures on the PlayStation 3, serving as writer for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Hennig’s role as writer and creative director had continued through the development of the latest Uncharted games, which was announced for PlayStation 4 in November.
Welcome to the PlayStation Store update for March, 4 2014. We have a great update this week packed full of new content and sales. PlayStation 4 receives two new games this week in Awesomenauts Assemble! and Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (Free for PS Plus Members).
As we reported yesterday, the Spring Fever promotion returns to the PlayStation Store this month and is focused on indie titles. New indie titles for all platforms will be released weekly and at a discount for PlayStation Plus Members. This week the PlayStation 3’s indie title is Master Reboot and users will also be able to buy the highly anticipated South Park: The Stick of Truth. Episode 2 of The Walking Dead: Season 2 is also available for download on the PlayStation 3 today.
Finally, PlayStation Plus users will be receiving Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (PS4) and Tomb Raider (PS3) for free along with many discounts on several games. Keep reading to see a complete list of content available on the PlayStation Store this week!
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