SonyRumors

Editorial: Why ‘Always On’ Turns Me Off

by Sarah Ingram | Apr 6, 2013 | 31 comments

The flurry of rumors surrounding the Playstation 4 and NextBox announcements for the incoming new generation of consoles are in full force. Things have escalated as of late, however, with whispers spreading that the upcoming XBox console will be required to be always on in terms of internet connectivity for firing up games and apps. The issue was exacerbated a couple days ago when Microsoft’s Creative Director Adam Orth not only did not deny these rumors, but defended them, and told Twitter to #dealwithit.

Now all rumors that “these rumors are fake to hype up the Microsoft announcement” aside, I’m going to tell you why the idea of an ‘always on’ console really turns me off.

1. Not everyone has a reliable internet connection

I live on an island on the East Coast of Canada. It’s windy, and snowy, and the majority of the island is populated by moose and tiny little towns that literally still do not have an internet connection. If a console requires an always on connection, I’m guaranteed to not be able to use it probably 25% of the time I want to use it. Weather and location regularly at least interrupt the internet for ~5 minutes. Cyrus says it best: Technology should make it easier to play games. Not more difficult.

The rumor is you get three minutes to fix your internet before the Xbox kicks you off and you lose your game. That has “rage induced blackouts and broken controllers and televisions” written all over it. I understand what Microsoft could be going for if this rumor is true – like Sony, they want everyone to be connected. But it’s the wrong approach to it.

Sony, on the other hand, comes at the internet and connectivity aspect in gaming in a different, and already more successful way. By focusing more on social connection and sharing vs. technological “progress”, the Playstation 4 can have the best of both worlds – connecting gamers with other gamers, and maintaining usability in any internet down time.

David Hayter Not in MGS 5 In Order to “Recreate the Metal Gear Series”

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 2, 2013 | 20 comments

To say that the Japanese game industry has been in a downward spiral this past generation would be an understatement. Once dominant in the era of PlayStation and PlayStation 2, it seemed that Japanese game makers could do no wrong. Japanese games always delivered rich stories, interesting characters and vastly different worlds to gamers. Mega studios like Square-Enix (then SquareSoft), Capcom, and Konami continued to produce hits with solid franchises like Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and Metal Gear Solid to name a few.

Then, next generation consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 came into the market and something happened. It’s as if the entire Japanese game industry decided to collectively fall asleep. Many of their games no longer offered the same visual polish as their Western counter parts. Projects also started to take an endless amount of time to accomplish. Since the PS3 has launched, Naughty Dog has pumped out three Uncharted titles, each being a blockbuster and is on the cusp of releasing The Last of Us. Square-Enix on the other hand has only published Final Fantasy 13 which by all accounts is a mediocre game at best and has followed up two sequels (the latter being almost out) which continue the subpar experience and are really large expansion packs, rather than a new entry. Furthering their demise has been that many of the classic games like Final Fantasy 13 bare little resembles to a traditional JRPG that the series is so well known for, instead opting for more button smashing. Games like Resident Evil titles now have the urge to be more of an FPS title than survival horror with the mindset that they are being more Western and that this will help the franchises gainnew fans. Not only do sales numbers beg to differ:

Final Fantasy X (PS2) – 8.05 million
- Final Fantasy X-2 (PS2) – 5.95 million
Final Fantasy XIII (PS3+360) – 6.88 million
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3+360) – 2.93 million

But even if it’s true that more Western audience are playing them, guess who no longer is, the old fans who liked the games for what they were. Now, sadly, another Japanese icon is falling into this trap. When we first reported that David Hayter, long time voice actor behind Solid Snake/Big Boss would not be reprising his roll, we among others speculated that it might be due to the nature of the games story which wouldn’t incorporate Solid Snake. Seeing how Big Boss was voiced previously by Hayter though not in MGS4, we decided to give Konami and Kojima the benefit of the doubt that it simply didn’t fit or that there might be a surprise in order for us. Boy were we wrong.

Editorial: Why the Sony 70-inch R550 LED TV is a Potential Blockbuster

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 29, 2013 | 5 comments

Once an extremely lucrative part of any company’s portfolio, the television industry eventually followed in the path of the PC business in a race towards the bottom. Each company, eager to gain more market share than their competitor would do everything in its power to drive the cost of units down, which has now lead to razor-thin margins and even the selling of sets at a loss in hopes of making up the money in another avenue. While in theory good for consumers who get to enjoy larger television sets, the long term effects turn into a sector with low innovation as it becomes hard to justify major shifts with little profits on the balance sheet.

The PC industry famously experienced this in the last decade with cookie cutter desktops from HP, Dell, Compaq, and Gateway to name a few. Each manufacturer would create more or less the same box with some tweaked specs and out the door they went. In the early days of LCD televisions, the industry enjoyed beautiful units, mostly notably from Sony who pumped out units like the XBR 3 with a beautiful glass bezel design. But as profits slipped from the industry, so too have designs which now primarily consists of a black rectangle from factor. With stores like Walmart and Costco coming to the TV sector in a big way, most consumers concern themselves with two things: size and price, while picture quality and design follow in the distance.

While manufacturers continue to stuff televisions with internet-connected features like Netflix and web access, consumers have indicated that they care little for them, instead wanting the bare necessities as long as the two important factors (price and size) are met. In some ways, how can you blame them when an Apple TV or PS3 will always do Netflix or Hulu better? And no, I don’t need a weather app on my TV that gets updated once every 2 years where I have 1,ooo weather apps that get updated routinely on my iPhone. Sony has long struggled with this market, opting to give their televisions connected features and extra processing power like their Bravia engine processors which can even up convert YouTube videos for better clarity. While all fine features, with size and price king, consumers did little to reward them for the additional options and have opted to purchase a cheaper Samsung or Sharp. Now with the new Bravia 70-inch R550 LED TV, Sony is looking to change all of that and get back in the consumer television market in a big way.

Joel Dale has a bio

by Joel Dale | Mar 27, 2013 | 1 comment

Hello readers of SonyRumors,

My name is Joel and I come to you from the far away, exotic land of Seattle, Washington. I studied mathematics at Michigan State University en route to becoming a high school math teacher. The cool climate and grey skies of Seattle captured my attention and alleviated my general distaste of squinting, so I moved here. My career switched to software development a few years later and might shift again, who knows.

What hasn’t changed is my life long love of video games, movies, and performance. My childhood memories of playing on my friend’s Atari 2600 began an addiction that led me to owning a PS3 and the subsequent connection to SonyRumors. Throughout the years I’ve kept myself active performing improvisational theater and writing essays about the strange aspects of my life and how I interpret things, some of which are published online. There’s a great art culture in Seattle and I end up seeing a good number of films and plays and having long discussions about each. So I jumped at the chance to write my grey skied, hopefully humorous spin on movie reviews for SonyRumors. Thankfully they saw fit to take me on judging only by my NSFW essays about my life. I sincerely hope you enjoy my take on film.

Editorial: Do You Play Well With Others?

by Sarah Ingram | Mar 23, 2013 | 5 comments

One of the big reveals that came out of the Playstation 4 announcement last month was the new abilities the system will have for multiplayer and connectivity with others, a huge leap into social media and sharing. Things like the “share” button, linking your social media accounts directly through your system, and especially the ability to have “spectators” or even helpers from your PSN remotely come into your experience are stretching the limits of what “playing together” can really mean. Sony is really stressing a continued focus on multiplayer, togetherness and sharing for its next generation console. Which got me thinking – how many of us out there are really shaped by playing with others?

Growing up with a younger brother, we were forced to “share” our consoles, taking turns and setting timers on who got to play when. Over time, we developed a system where I would play the “storyline” and Kyle would take over for boss fights and battles. This eventually became me watching him play, but not because he took over – because I liked watching. And growing up experiencing games in this manner has really shaped the way I approach gaming now. I still gravitate towards experiencing games together rather than alone, and still enjoy watching others play, especially games that I would find challenging and frustrating. To this day my friend Dave and I get together to play Mass Effect, where he plays and I sit on the edge of the couch and yell at him to shoot at things. Nothing has really changed in 20 years.

except for us – we’ve changed a little

SRN – Then and Now [Poll]

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 1, 2013 | 6 comments

After a year-long design process and nearly 6 months of building and testing, I’m proud to unveil our new website to all of you. Long-time readers will note this as our third major design shift since 2008. Back then, the site resided on a simple black background and one top header with a bit of red in the mix. Our second design shift happened in late 2011 (pictured above), which brought our design philosophy a major step forward. Our design then offered a mobile theme for the growing transition towards mobile consumption while our main theme continued our brand color of red and black. The site during that time had equally matured with a sliding feature section and more back pages like our About Us, Careers, and Tips page. While each iteration of the site got us one step closer to a more content rich-website, each site also had a fair share of issues. Since the previous two themes were not built from the ground up for us, much of the work relied on tweaked codes which resulted as a coat of fresh paint on an archaic infrastructure.

Enter SRN 3.0 (as it’s been internally called), designed entirely from the ground up for us. While the concept is not entire original, every single design decision (for better or worse!) was made to offer a more robust experience for you. Exploring our back pages like our Editors Page and FAQS etc. will reveal a slightly modified layout that pushes the noise aside and brings the material front and center. The top of the website now houses an array of social media links for you to connect with us, while we’ve moved from a one sidebar design to a duel sidebar layout. While there was a lot of debate between the number of sidebars for the site to house, I ultimately went with two sidebars to better separate the material from the advertisements. This makes navigation easier for readers and allows for prominent ad placement for our advertisers without sacrificing the two or blending them in for a jumbled mess of content.

Since 2011, the mobile market has grown exponentially and readers have continued to demand a more sophisticated approach. Generally, websites choose to lock mobile readers in desktop mode which offers more content, but can be harder to navigate, or readers are forced in mobile view which can be more content rich, but tends to lack desired features. This feat only becomes tricker as the number of mobile devices with different resolutions and screen sizes grows. The solution? A fluid design. Our site no longer picks and chooses between one version or the other. Instead, our content will morph to any given screen size out there. Don’t have time to test it on your mobile device? Just grab the corner of your browser and maximize or minimize the screen by dragging on the window corners and watch the website morph. In fact, for the true mobile experiences, say on an iPhone 5, the site pushes the sidebars, the top social media icons and purely offers you the articles to read which still offer all the features that our normal site would. In fact, the website was built with touch in mind as you will discover with our menu system and galleries which come to life and fully navigate as you would expect them in a touch environment.

In 2013, our goal for the website more than ever is to connect with you and offer you the news and content that you care about. So I encourage you to check out our Editors Page and get to know and socialize with our staff. Have an opinion on something? Let us know in the comment section of our articles and remember that you can find us on Facebook and Twitter to further continue the conversation. Speaking of opinions, let us know what you think about our new design in the poll below; if there are any specific things you’d like to see, let us know in the comments section after the jump.

Allow Me to Reintroduce Our Staff

by Allegra Osati | Mar 1, 2013 | 3 comments

SRN is undergoing some big changes, including the site renovation and the hiring of new staff! We are always looking for new and exciting ways to bring the best coverage of everything Sony to our readers. We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce our staff; some you know, and some you don’t yet. We look forward to interacting with you and bringing you the best that we have to offer!

CeraTopz, the new recruit

by Sarah Ingram | Feb 27, 2013 | 5 comments

Everyone, I am so excited that you are reading this!

I’m Sarah, aka Cerajoy or CeraTopz on the internet, and I am the newest SRN team member, which is really exciting for me! As a Sony fan since 1995 and a gamer since I was 6, I love writing about one of my favorite things and sharing my knowledge, complaints and successes with the rest of the community. Sony has even helped me find the perfect career path for me – I have always wanted to be Lara Croft, and now I’m making that dream come true with a graduate degree in Historical Archaeology.

I began writing on my own platform The Geekmates in early 2012, covering the entire geeky gambit of topics. Now, being a part of the SRN team, I can focus my energy on the Playstation, the Vita, and Sony in general. I’m very thankful for this opportunity to be a part of the SonyRumors.net team, and I am looking forward to the future and to what can be accomplished in this new endeavour! I can’t wait to share this journey with you!

Cerajoy

Editorial: How Sony Can Save the PlayStation Vita, Part 2

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 19, 2013 | 2 comments

Last week, we ran an editorial on ‘how Sony can save the PlayStation Vita,’ which focused on the devices price point. Despite launching a lower price than what many had expected, the $249 for Wi-Fi and $299 for 3G/Wi-Fi model proved as a stumbling block for consumers. With declining sales, soon developer support began to trickle away, creating a catch 22 for the PlayStation Vita. Why should developers support a system with low volume sales and why should consumers by a game console with low developer support. While the idea of dropping the price to funnel interest towards the Vita is not an original one, we attempted to answer how exactly Sony could achieve this and still have a profitable, if not a break-even, price point console. In the end, Sony is here to make money.

Now, prior to the February 20th announcement which will likely be the PlayStation 4, Sony held a smaller video stream conference for the PlayStation Vita. While Sony highlighted many new RPG’s that would be coming to the Vita, mostly notably Final Fantasy X in HD, the biggest news was the consoles price drop. Currently intended for Japan only, though we expect Western audiences will equally receive a price cut come the 20th, effective February 28th, both the 3G/Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi-only models will cost ¥19,980 (around $215). Yes, both models will sell for the same price, translating into roughly 20% off for the Wi-Fi edition and 35% for 3G/Wi-Fi. But price cuts alone will not save the PlayStation Vita. After the jump, our editorial part 2 looks at what Sony must do to entice consumers to give the powerful portable another look.

Editorial: How Sony Can Save the PlayStation Vita, Part 1

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 11, 2013 | 7 comments

It should come as no shock that the PlayStation Vita, which is nearing its first full year of release is struggling. While there was great hype leading up to the powerful handheld’s release from an excited consumer and lots of developer support, things quickly became derailed. It’s true that the PS Vita launched at a lower price than many had anticipated but the price still remains an obstacle for a device that caters only to the hard core, due to its form factor that makes it a conscious decision to carry around, versus say your smartphone that easily slips into your pocket.
Mix that with the fact that, soon after the PS Vita’s release, Nintendo slashed the price of the 3DS by nearly half where before, it loomed much closer to the PS Vita’s price point. With Nintendo’s rich history in handhelds and now a much lower price point for the 3DS, those itching for a new portable gaming system gravitated towards the 3DS while the average consumer was satisfied with playing mobile games on their iPhone which continues to get more and more powerful with each release.

And so, the great Catch 22 had begun for Sony. While publishers were quite enthusiastic about the PS Vita which boasted a powerful processor and GPU and consumers were quite satisfied with its new UI, as sales fell, so did publisher support. Publishers of course have little reason to support a device that garners a small market share while consumers have little reason to buy a gaming console that offers only a small library of support. So nearly a year later, how can Sony break the cycle and get consumers and publishers on board again?

Simple: by offering a price cut. Now I’m not the first to suggest this and nor is this idea original. However, what many tend to miss is that prices are created based on manufacturing costs and its not as if Sony is making a $250 profit on each unit sold. In fact, for the first four to five years of its life, Sony lost a big chunk of money on each PlayStation 3 unit sold. So what has changed in the last year that would allow Sony to drop the price of the Vita?

Pre-CES 2013 Loot Giveaway

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 3, 2013 | 0 comments

Join us on Twitter for our pre-CES 2013 giveaway. We’ve got plenty of goodies that are just taking too much space in our offices and we’re looking to clear them out! The rules are as simple as they can be; just follow us on Twitter and help RT our cause to your followers:

Unlock a loot giveaway by RT! 1200 followers=5 shirts. 1350=3 movies. 1500=2GB Sony wristband @Sonyrumors

As we cross each threshold of new followers, we’ll be asking a series of questions on Twitter. That means, at 1,200 followers, we’ll be asking 5 questions and giving away 5 shirts. At 1,350 followers, 3 questions and 3 Google Play movie codes, and at 1,500 followers, 1 question and a 2GB Sony flash drive wristband. First to answer each question will win the designated prize.

Also, be sure to follow us on here, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube throughout CES week for live coverage from the Sony press conference.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Now What did you get?

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 26, 2012 | 0 comments

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from myself and the SRN staff. Hope you’ve been able to have a relaxing day or two and spent it with loved ones (for better or worse). This time of the year is usually filled with snow, hot chocolate (mmmmm), coffee (double mmmm), and of course thanks. Be it thanks for a great year or that we survived 2012, thanks for the friends and family you’re with or thanks for the gifts you’ve received. We at SRN have plenty to be thankful for, starting with the great readers we’ve had. Throughout thick and thin, you’ve stayed with our site and have followed and liked us on Twitter and Facebook. 2013 will be even a bigger year for us but more on that later. On behalf of the staff and myself, thanks for helping us create an awesome Sony community. Now lets get down to the juicy stuff. Did you get to unbox a new tablet, game console or reindeers sweater? Heck, maybe you just gave a really great gift and you wanna let it be known. If so, share with us after the jump!

Violence and Video Games: Scapegoatism

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 16, 2012 | 3 comments

Forward

The following story was written by friend of the site and contestant on PlayStation’s The Tester, Krysti Pryde. You can find more of her work by visiting her official website and following her on Twitter. Those who follow SonyRumors on Twitter will be familiar with the outrage that we all witnessed with the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and my response afterwards. While I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember and action movie buff for even longer, my personal views never lie towards violence and thus, I’ve never supported civilian gun rights. This is especially true when we have access to high-powered assault rifles and handguns that can empty a hundred rounds in mere minutes. Equally outraging for me has been the expected lashing out towards video games and those who consume them, perpetrated by Fox News and others who’d rather cast a wide net and blame others, instead of looking at the politicians who enable easy access to guns, while mental health treatment and counseling seems like a distant dream for those who need it. Of course, there is the fine folks at the NRA whose answer always seems to be after a tragic event that “this isn’t the time to discuss gun control laws” or “if only one of those kids had been packing heat in self-defense, this never would have happened.”

Krysti’s wonderful piece takes a look at our culture of scapegoatism and the unjust blame that falls on video games and the gamers who enjoy them.

Violence and Video Games: Scapegoatism

I usually stray away from blogging about sensitive content that may offend people. I would never want to offend any of you, and always try to keep my blogs fun, light, personal and informative. I decided tonight to make a slight change and blog about a relatively unpopular opinion. Now please, before I begin, let it be known I value and appreciate other people’s opinions. I am open-minded and friendly in all my debates, and I do not want anyone to read this and feel I am being patronizing. I write on the subject hoping it will be regarded as an open forum and would love to hear all your opinions on this.

Deals: PS Vita PlayStation All-Stars, LittleBigPlanet $20 (updated)

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 9, 2012 | 0 comments

If you’ve been on the fence about PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale for the PlayStation Vita, Amazon might have just the deal to entice you. For a limited time, the online giant has marked the game down by 50% to $19.99. Not bad for a AAA title which allows for Cross Play with the PlayStation 3. Would be buyers should take note that if you purchase the game for PlayStation 3, that you will receive a free copy for the PlayStation Vita though that game still retails at the full price of $59.99, even on Amazon.

Updated:

Amazon now has LittleBigPlanet listed for $20 as well. If the deal doesn’t appear on the main page, make sure to click ‘More Buying Options’ on the right hand side.

After the jump, the link to purchase both games.

Dear Forbes, 7 Reasons to Buy A PlayStation 3 Instead Of A Xbox 360

by Sohrab Osati | Dec 6, 2012 | 2 comments

In a recent article by Forbes contributor Erik Kain, it’s pointed out that the Xbox 360 sold like hotcakes during Black Friday, beating the PlayStation 3 and Wii U, the latest console from Nintendo. The success of the 8-year-old console led Mr. Kain into concluding that you should buy an Xbox 360 over the PlayStation 3 this holiday season. While the facts he presents aren’t off, we’d like to humbly disagree and provide a rebuttal with 7 reasons why the PlayStation 3 is the perfect choice this Christmas and beyond. It’s also worth noting that, despite the PS3 having been out for only 7 years while continuing to cost more than the Xbox 360, in some time periods by more than $200, the PS3 has officially caught up with its rival system and achieved 70 million units sold world wide. This was reported a week before Sony announced PS3 Black Friday sales which tallied past the 525,000 sold mark.

After the jump, 7 reasons to buy a PlayStation 3 instead of a Xbox 360 this holiday season.