Tag: PlayStation 4

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Sony Confirms It’s Working On PlayStation 5

Finally, Sony offered some official details on the PlayStation 4’s successor. According to a recent statement, Sony’s CEO confirmed that the Japanese company is working on PlayStation 5.

“At this point, what I can say is it’s necessary to have a next-generation hardware,” stated Kenichiro Yoshida, the Sony’s president and CEO, during a discussion with the Financial Times journalists. However, Yoshida did not say anything regarding what the next-generation video games console would be called, but given the previous models’ names, we can presume he referred to PlayStation 5.

John Kodera, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, on the other hand, indicated earlier this year that the next PlayStation is at least three years away. “We will use the next three years to prepare the next step, to crouch down so that we can jump higher in the future,” said Kodera.

Sony confirmed it’s working on PlayStation 5

As reported by the Financial Times, the next console “might not represent a major departure from the PS4, and that the fundamental architecture would be similar.”

That is possible since both Sony and Microsoft released more powerful and 4K-capable consoles, the PlayStation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X, respectively, that are both compatible with regular PS4 games.

However, PlayStation 4, as well as the Pro version, are the best releases Sony made in years since PlayStation 2 emerged on the market. Accordingly, there’s no rush from Sony’s part to launch the next-generation of video games console, so the statement made by Kodera in May this year might indeed be correct.

In short, Sony confirmed it’s working on PlayStation 5, the successor of PlayStation 4. In addition to that, given the statement John Kodera, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, made in May this year, we might expect the next-generation video games console from Sony to hit the shelves somewhen around 2020-2021.

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Fortnite Cross-Platform Play Finally Implemented By Sony On PlayStation 4

While this possibility seemed unrealistic for Fornite players and developers, now, the PS4 adopted cross-platform play. Fans of the famous Fortnite Battle Royale on PS4 will be able to compete with those that play the game on other platforms, such as Xbox, Android, Microsoft Windows, and so on.

For several months now, the possibility of allowing gamers that use different platforms to compete with each other has been a hot topic. Also, Fortnite, the game developed by Epic Games, continues to bring in new players and this very popularity made Xbox and Nintendo to accept cross-platform play last June, a measure that, before, nobody considered possible. However, Sony had been very skeptical on this one, arguing its refusal to join other manufacturers with commercial and security reasons.

Luckily, Sony changes its mind and now allows Fortnite cross-platform play.

Sony adopts Fortnite cross-platform play on PlayStation 4

The official announcement was made on the PlayStation blog by no other than Sony Interactive Entertainment President John Kodera. It states that “after a thorough evaluation, Sony has found a way to implement cross-platform play function support for some third-party content.”

The cross-platform play allows players on different platforms, be it Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, or smartphone, to play with each other online. So this feature was well-received by fans as it’s enhancing the multiplayer gameplay of the accepted titles. Also, according to Sony, the Japanese manufacturer is working now working on the cross-platform play for other titles than Fortnite, as well.

Available since today, the Fortnite cross-platform play on PlayStation 4 “will enable multi-platform gaming, progression, and commerce across PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Mac operating systems.” That is an important step forward for Sony and its PlayStation, but also for all gamers of the famous Battle Royale title.

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Games News Tech

PlayStation 4 Cross-Play For Games Like Fortnite Dismissed Again By Sony CEO

Sony created some buzz among gamers worldwide when decided to block cross-play feature for popular games like Fortnite between PlayStation 4 and its fiercest rivals, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Although Microsoft and Nintendo accepted the cross-platform play feature without many debates, Sony refused it, and it’s still against it, as the Sony CEO recently stated that “PlayStation is the best place to play,” so there’s no reason for them to support cross-play.

“On cross-platform, our way of thinking is always that PlayStation is the best place to play. Fortnite, I believe, partnered with PlayStation 4 is the best experience for users, that’s our belief,” said Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida during the IFA 2018 in Berlin, Germany.

The Sony CEO also stated that they already opened cross-platform play for some titles, but they only do it depending on the best user experience. “But actually, we already opened some games as cross-platform with PC and some others, so we decide based on what is the best user experience. That is our way of thinking for cross-platform,” Kenichiro Yoshida added.

Some game industry figures accused Sony’s refusal to embrace PlayStation 4 cross-play for games like Fortnite

However, the remarks made by Yoshida didn’t go unnoticed by the rials from Microsoft Xbox, and Xbox engineering chief Mike Ybarra commented on Twitter that Sony is still not listening to its gamers.

“[Sony] still isn’t listening to gamers. All games should be cross-play and progression with the right input flexibility and gamer options,” wrote Ybarra on Twitter. “Larger gaming audience who wants to play together. Gaming is diverse, if you only serve to bring joy to the part of an audience then you are behind in many, many ways,” Mike Ybarra added.

Also, Pete Hines, the Senior VP at Bethesda, considered Sony’s stance on refusing PlayStation 4 cross-play for games like Fortnite as annoying. As regarding Elder Scrolls: Legends, one of the Bethesda’s titles, Hines stated that the “cross-play is non-negotiable.”

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Sony Breaks the Ice With New PlayStation 5 and an Eight-Year PlayStation 4

Even if Sony has started to mention new information about the company’s future PlayStation 5, it seems that they are not done with PlayStation 4 either. It is still going strong and consumers don’t feel the need for a new hardware or consider the platform out-dated. So, the discussions about Sony’s products are either focused on the future PlayStation 5 or on keeping the PlayStation 4 on the market for longer.

Sony is almost as important as Nintendo, a position which will enable the company to gain even more market share in the future but it shouldn’t be distracted by using more resources for one console than the other.

The PlayStation 4’s popularity

In 2018, PS4 will be on the market for five years. Sony may follow the PlayStation 3’s trend of lasting over seven years and go even further to confirm that it will last for three years or more, breaking the company’s record of such a lasting presence. Its lifespan may have been extended, but fans need to know what a future PlayStation will bring to the table.  The company will consolidate the PlayStation 4 in order to catch the consumers’ attention and raise brand awareness for its next console.

The shift from the SNES-era systems to the PlayStation and from the PlayStation to the PlayStation 2 made Sony what it is today. The PS4 has introduced the 4K gaming together with Xbox One games but it seems that it would remain the last “traditional” console generation after the PlayStation 5 will be launched. However, the technological advancement will be a subtle one, making it easy to understand that consumers are really satisfied with the PS4.

The future PlayStation 5

Sony’s console will be the closest thing to a cutting-edge successor, leaving the days of testing proprietary hardware and Emotion Engine far behind. Whatever configuration of hardware Sony will use, it will look almost as a linear evolution of the PS4. The PS5 is expected to perfectly run your digital library of PS4 games, depending on the Blu-Ray drive. Since losing an entire library of digital games would be a great drive not to switch to a different platform, it would additionally lock consumers into their console choice.

Sony hasn’t made all the decision regarding the PlayStation 4 yet but it would be surprising if the company hadn’t already tried PS5 prototypes with a hybrid home console model for Switch or even with an eGPU for a portable device. However, in such cases, the hardware would likely be compatible with the PS4. The next console model will certainly have an upgraded hardware for the first time in Sony’s platforms.

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News Tech

Does PlayStation 4’s Story End Here?

Even if the present is all about technology, there are some cases when not even technological products keep up with this fast pace. Play Station 4 has been the go-to option for many people, but lately the product’s fate hasn’t been so certain.

The glory of PlayStation 4

Sony Interactive Entertainment launched the video game console in November 2013 and since then it sold 73.6 million units. It was even praised and compared with Microsoft’s products regarding its features and accessibility.

Is Sony willing to let go?

Takashi Mochizuki, reporter at Wall Street Journal, has translated an investor presentation where John Kodera, the chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, told investors and analysts that PlayStation 4 will reach its final destination. Of course, the company’s sales will be affected. But would sales really be affected after such news or this decline was already visible? The answer is that anyone who has been analysing Sony’s financials would figure out the state in which PlayStation 4 actually is – and it’s not a good one. After so many units sold and shipped, sales decreased dramatically to 20 million units in 2016.

In 2017, figures were expected to fall even more, but the company recorded only a small difference of 19 million units. However, this is not encouraging. The company doesn’t expect to sell more than 16 million units during the current year. But we still don’t know when the final phase will be. The console sales have declined over the past two years, but John Kodera didn’t mention a specific period for this stage.

Kodera is still in a strong position regarding this situation. Sony relies on software sales and membership services in order to increase their revenue. He has also promised that there would be more exclusive titles for PlayStation.

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