Grave Gamer News & Views — consoles

kevinapocalypse:

Since my next-gen consoles have taken up the dresser, this is what my last-gen has been relegated to. #gaming #ps3 #console

Xbox One Price Dropped by $50 for the Holidays

Ah, yes. Time to dust off that floating Xbone pic – the Big X has got some news.

Beginning next week and running all the way to January 3rd of 2015, you can snag a brand new Xbox One starting at $350. Now, that’s the price on the core model sans the Kinect. But fear not, purveyors of motion technology/accidentally broadcasting yourself nude. Every Xbox One bundle is getting $50 knocked off the price tag.

The offer is only good at participating retailers, but honestly, throw a dart and you’ll hit a store hosting the deal. Best Buy, Gamestop, Walmart, Target, Microsoft’s own Apple-a-like stores; even the brick n’ mortar-less Amazon is offering the deal.

The price drop, temporary as it may be, isn’t very surprising. The PlayStation 4, having taken advantage of Microsoft’s serious missteps even before next-gen’s launch last November, is killing it. Undercutting the PS4’s already attractive price – not just matching it – may be Microsoft’s best hope at filling homes with Xbox One’s.

The higher ground will be lost, however, if Sony announces a similar pricing initiative, but given the goodwill already earned for the console, we’re unlikely to see a massive upset this Holiday.

Naughty Dog Founder Calls Nintendo “Irrelevant” in the Console Biz 

Mr. Jason Rubin, co-founder of acclaimed studio Naughty Dog as well as the last CEO at the helm of THQ before its public dissolution, recently had some biting remarks for industry titan and household name Nintendo.

A frequent, and outspoken, guest of the Geoff Keighley hosted Bonus Round, conversation on a recent episode gravitated from who will be successful in the new next-gen console race (Sony or Microsoft) to how Nintendo, in Rubin’s opinion, barely qualifies as a contender.

Rubin says both Sony and Microsoft stand to do “extremely well” because “Nintendo has stumbled.” Then he landed this juicy sound byte on the Japanese publisher’s chin: “Nintendo is irrelevant as a hardware manufacturer in the console business right now.”

In a cordial showing of impromptu damage control, Rubin rained praise on the company, calling them a “worldwide treasure” and that no developer alive “will ever be Miyamoto,” as in Shigeru, the living legend responsible for creating almost every A-list first-party franchise in Nintendo’s catalog. Rubin's singeing comments stem, no doubt, from the year old Wii U’s struggle to place itself in consumer’s living rooms. To add some perspective, IGN noted that the PlayStation 4 outpaced the Wii U’s life-to-date sales in the U.K. over the weekend.

Hearing that, it’s easy to chart the Sega course for Nintendo, in which they burn up their manufacturing business and stick strictly to software, doomed to becoming a third-party publisher in order to keep breathing. For Rubin, that may be the ideal outcome. “It is a crime that we do not play those games on the systems that we have.”

But Nintendo could hardly be called “irrelevant” when it comes to the handheld market, which they have in a damn sleeper hold. The 3DS and its various incarnations are dominating the world, time and time again topping the NPD’s hardware list. Sony’s own bid at handheld success, the PS Vita, has fought to find even remotely the same traction since its launch.

Rubin’s words may sting, but if truth hurts, they sting for a reason. The Wii U left a gaping maw of an opportunity for the competition to seize upon. For now, the console war is between two companies, and despite helping define the home console as we know it today, Nintendo is not one of them.

PS4’s Lack of MP3/DLNA Support: Yoshida Speaks

Nearly two weeks out from the PlayStation 4’s launch date, Sony shared with the public a gigantic FAQ composed of every known fact about the next-gen console.

A lot of the information are regurgitated tidbits we’ve been hearing over the months since the console was officially announced. But if you really sat down and poured over the list (because your time is as worthless as mine), some interesting facts stick out and slap you in the eyes.

Notably, the complete lack of MP3 and DLNA support. We’re talkin’ none. You can’t stream from your computer or a music device. You can’t even play a standard audio CD. Unlike the PS3, the PS4 doesn’t let you store music on the console’s hard drive in the very least. If you’re a custom tracks loving sort of gamer like me, that unpleasant feeling clouding your vision is rage.

What’s the ploy here? Music Unlimited is that ploy – the only way, at launch, to play background music during games… or any music at all on the PS4. And, yes, good guess; Music Unlimited does require a paid-for subscription.

Now, a lot of the folks I run into aren’t as prolific with the feature as I am. Understandable. A majority of PS3 games don’t allow for custom tracks. But enough of you out there shared your contempt for the removal of MP3 playback (you gorgeous people, you), and Sony’s Worldwide Studios president responded.

Shuhei Yoshida, taking to Twitter no less, stated, “Thanks for the feedback to the lack of MP3 and DLNA support at the launch of PS4. I’ll share with the PS4 Dev team for future consideration.”

All right, that’s… promising. It wasn’t quite “We’re fixing it” but it was a far cry from “Deal with it, jabronies.”

Then, being the man of his word he is, Shuhei took to Twitter again. “Had a very good discussion w the PS4 Dev team today.”

Hells yes. Yoshida saw our concerns, adjusted his tie, and said, “Not on my fucking watch.” Barging down the dev team’s door, I imagine he began slapping every team member there with a Dualshock 4 until it broke. Then he unboxed another one and broke it across their faces all over again. So what’d he accomplish? What’s the verdict, Shuhei?

“We’re happy & appreciative to learn so many people use and like PS3’s media feature.”

Goddamnit, he doesn’t sound like he even so much as fractured a jaw. Ah, well. At least they know what we want, and something in Yoshida referring to the MP3 lack of support as an “at launch” issue makes it sound like it’s a feature that can easily be implemented into the PS4. Eventually. Maybe. 

PS4 @ TGS: PS3 Games Streaming by 2014; External Capture Devices Welcome

The PlayStation 4 is making the rounds at this year’s Tokyo Game Show event and just as you’d expect/hope, Sony’s been releasing little caveats of information regarding the soon-to-be launched console.

Interviewed during a roundtable discussion with press, Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony Worldwide Studios, spoke on the planned Gaikai cloud streaming which, when announced that it’d be a part of the PS4’s suite of services back in February, was said to be a way to dip into previous system’s back catalogs.

Yoshida confirmed the Gaikai cloud streaming will begin for the North American region sometime in 2014 and that a decent selection of PS3 titles will be available to browse through from the get-go. These very same PS3 games will also be compatible for the PS Vita. Gaikai’s good graces don’t extend to European territories, sadly, due to uneven broadband speeds across the continent. The service is delayed in Europe until sufficient deals are secured between Sony and local ISPs.

Though the PS4’s on-board ability to record and upload short spurts of gameplay opens up a brave new world to casual gamers looking to share with friends, those with more than a few “Let’s Play’s” notched into their belts have wondered if the next-gen console would support external capture devices for extended sessions.

Well, friends, today you have your “Yup.” Sony’s Third Party Relations man, Brad Douglas, confirmed PS4 video capture support via HDMI. Now there’s no halting your ridiculous goddamn gaming feats in glorious HD.