Grave Gamer News & Views — playstation 4
PS4’s Lack of MP3/DLNA Support: Yoshida Speaks Nearly two weeks...
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.
The Order: 1886 - First Screens and Story Details This game has...
The Order: 1886 - First Screens and Story Details
This game has become my most anticipated next-gen title practically overnight. Game Informer’s feature in their November issue made sure of that.
Revealed at E3, Ready At Dawn’s trailer for their third-person shooter debuted devoid of info. Only two things permeated in the public’s mind: “It looks like Victorian Gears of War” and “Those can’t really be in-game graphics.”
Well, they are in-game graphics; brought to you by the stunning horsepower beneath the PS4’s hood. And, yeah, “Victorian Gears of War” is a tough comparison to shake, but The Order’s concept is wickedly cool and fresh on its own merits. While the game’s history closely mirrors our own, the key division revolves around the genetic split between us, humanity, and the “half-breeds,” a new sub-species of human beings that have taken on more animal-like traits.
Though we share the same gene family, the difference is enough to put both factions at bloody odds for centuries. Jump to The Order, or more famously, the fabled Knights of the Round Table. Instead of crusading for the Holy Grail, however, the Knights of this alternate history seek to protect humanity from the half-breeds.
Part of their calling requires these holy agents to imbibe a rare substance; “black water.” Drinking black water is just south of gaining immortality, allowing knights to serve for years beyond an average human’s lifespan. The result is highly tested guardians shaped and hardened by centuries of experience. Your character, Grayson, is one such veteran – the third man in history to bear the moniker Sir Galahad.
Galahad and his team’s fight is aided by a pivotal point in human achievement: the industrial revolution. But with the war against half-breeds nearly won yet still in play, technology blossoms in volatile ways, meaning this version of 1886 sees you equipped with gatling guns, thermite tossing launchers, and electric arc guns that can cut an enemy down before they’re afforded a chance to blink.
RaD’s imaginative, gritty, and strangely captivating mix of real world history and grim fantasy are the right ingredients for a head-turning, new IP. An in-house engine capable of astonishing feats of real-time physics – like bending metal and wood that splinters and cracks before breaking – also make for some strong arguments in favor of next-gen tech. I can’t wait to see more. Really, though. I can’t wait. It verges on painful.
The Order is scheduled to hit in 2014, exclusively for the PlayStation 4.
PS4 @ TGS: PS3 Games Streaming by 2014; External Capture Devices...
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.
Capcom Goes Deep Down on TGS It’s doubtful I could be more proud...
Capcom Goes Deep Down on TGS
It’s doubtful I could be more proud of a headline. Thank you, Capcom, for enriching my day.
The questionably named role-playing action game, Deep Down, first unveiled all the way back in February has resurfaced at Sony’s pre-Tokyo Game Show presentation (doing pre-shows is the new black in industry eyes, dontchaknow?).
We were served new gameplay footage, hosted by the one and only Ono – I hope you understand Japanese because the translation overlayed in the video is the kind of gibberish you’d expect from smashing keyboards together, except spoken aloud – along with our first concrete details on the game.
Deep Down, developed on Capcom’s new Panta Rhei engine, is first and foremost a PS4 exclusive. Unlike Dragon’s Dogma – which is unrelated despite also being a Capcom developed role-playing game with the initials D.D. (thems the makings for a conspiracy) – Deep Down is an online RPG. A brief segment at the end of the stage demo shows two knights on separate screens duking it out with a dragon.
The most curious fact about the game comes in its setting which depicts New York circa 2094. Before you Reign of Fire fans both combust with excitement and start existing (not in that order), the game’s trailer alludes to a character being able to relive others’ memories, meaning the medieval action could be period-specific instead of evidence of a post-apocalyptic drag-geddon.
With generation-hopping storytelling, online multiplayer, particle effects beautiful enough to warrant a next-gen, and screen-filling, fire-belching dragons, Deep Down, only two public showings in, is already making a name for itself. Even if that name is depraved.
PlayStation 4 Release Date Finally Announced Sony’s Gamescom...
PlayStation 4 Release Date Finally Announced
Sony’s Gamescom conference today brought much in the way of news for just about everything slapped with the PlayStation logo today. I’ll get to the notables in a tic, but I wanted to get it out of the way since Sony’s hour and a half conference was an hour and fifteen minutes of too much foreplay:
The PlayStation 4 is launching November 15th in North America and November 29th in Europe.
We were already treated to the revelation that a PS Plus subscription is the new requirement for online play (but, gracefully, little else, meaning services like Netflix won’t be barred from use without Plus). With your PS4 purchase, however, Sony is throwing in a 14-day trial of the service at no cost.
Additionally, Music Unlimited – the PS3’s, uh, unlimited music service – is back in a modified form where you can easily access it by pressing the DualShock 4’s PS Button, allowing you to play music in the background of any and all games. As someone who is swayed by a custom tracks option even if the PS3 version of a game is technically superior, this is a triumph (I’m sorry Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3, I cannot listen to your bullshit loop indefinitely in my eardrums).
Also, those looking for style in their accessories will be pleased as a plum to see the Magma Red and Wave Blue DualShock controllers (above) releasing alongside the console, priced at $59.99. You’re gonna earn yourself a hard, squinted look from me if you ask which one I’m springing for.
PS Vita’s Price Dropkicked
The thing that needed to happen, thankfully, went and happened. Sony’s impressive yet struggling handheld, the PlayStation Vita, has taken a $50 price cut, dropping its tag to $200. Additionally, Sony promised the bloated pricing found on the system’s proprietary memory cards will see a significant reduction in the future.
Remote Play functionality, in which PS4 games can be remotely streamed via WiFi to the handheld turning the Vita into a second-screen controller, will be found on “almost every” title according to the company.
Increased affordability and unique compatibility with PlayStation’s next household device, along with an up-spike in third-party support – yes, Borderlands 2 on the system is a humongous win – may just surge some life into the Vita (it’s a pun if you know Italian; it’s also a bad pun if you know humor).