PL4YST4TION 4

[brkl]

By the way, I wouldn't be posting in this thread if Sony hadn't managed to bloody win me over again.

[Thrik]

All this talk of mega-PCs is great but the one thing that's always made consoles special is their exclusive games. Some of the best gaming experiences I've ever had were console-only, including generation-defining classics like Journey and Uncharted.

As long as that happens, consoles rock. Of course PCs do too and I'll be soon building a beast for Battlefield 4, but when discussing hardware it's sometimes easy to miss the point: the games.

[melmer]

[darthbator]

All this talk of mega-PCs is great

 

I don't really understand how they're really "mega PCs". They have some interesting built in hardware (I am sure both of them have hardware video encoders, also unified memory access is nifty). However as was said earlier current high end PC hardware is already able to outclass it. Meaning the high end of 1-2 years from now will be EXTREMELY upspec (then again with how high res monitors are becoming we might need it!). 

[Thrik]

I don't really understand how they're really "mega PCs". They have some interesting built in hardware (I am sure both of them have hardware video encoders, also unified memory access is nifty). However as was said earlier current high end PC hardware is already able to outclass it. Meaning the high end of 1-2 years from now will be EXTREMELY upspec (then again with how high res monitors are becoming we might need it!). 

 

Eh? When I said mega-PCs I was referring to actual high-spec PCs, not the consoles.

[Frenetic Pony]

Eh? When I said mega-PCs I was referring to actual high-spec PCs, not the consoles.

 

Now I'm just imagining mega-PCs as these giant PCs, large gentle creatures roaming the plains, grazing on wild silicon in their vast herds. Seemingly docile beasts, they can be quick to charge when provoked by their smaller console brethren's jeering and hollering; a thing which appears to be a rite of passage wherein the new youngling consoles attempt to oust the old.

[clyde]

I love how both of the console threads have come to the point where they are talking about PCs

[dibs]

Technological singularity.

[miffy495]

Now I'm just imagining mega-PCs as these giant PCs, large gentle creatures roaming the plains, grazing on wild silicon in their vast herds. Seemingly docile beasts, they can be quick to charge when provoked by their smaller console brethren's jeering and hollering; a thing which appears to be a rite of passage wherein the new youngling consoles attempt to oust the old.

 

In order to preserve the habitat for smaller machines, computing enthusiasts often will resort to the use of charismatic mega-PCs to rally the masses to their cause.

[melmer]

The PS4 UI

 

 

Will and Sarah are blatantly going to end up fucking, whilst Brain watches through the Playstation eye

[Thrik]

Sounds like Sony is actually pretty serious about this whole 'download part of a game and start playing before the rest downloads' thing:

http://kotaku.com/so...for-p-514144920

In principle I love the idea, but it's far from trivial to implement in a game and it certainly isn't going to work for games that haven't been specifically engineered to take advantage of it. But, if programmers to start seriously getting on board with this at Sony's behest, could it work well? As someone who deals with preloading techniques a bit I can definitely speculate about ways they could manage it, but it'd require a fairly careful strategy for each game.

I guess the question is whether or not developers want to do it. But programmers are often known for wanting to be innovative rather than just sticking to the status quo, some might want to integrate this just for the sheer challenge of it. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out because I personally have experienced the pain of downloading increasingly big games on a slow internet connection and it is truly the worst.

[melmer]

Maybe they'll force their first party studios to implement it.

 

i downloaded uncharted 3 a couple of days ago, clocking in at around 40Gb, and it took half the day. Not very good if they want to grab people doing spontaneous purchases through PSN. I know everyone's circumstances are different but i could pop to the shop and buy a game for cheaper and in a 1/6th of the time

[tegan]

ill and Sarah are blatantly going to end up fucking, whilst Brain watches through the Playstation eye

 

This console is being made for people with the grubbiest apartments.

[melmer]

yeah, it looks like he lives in a garage

[Salacious Snake]

That video is full of great reaction shots, but I think my favorite is his "I'm turning on a video game console" expression. He's like, "Yeah... heh."

[Dewar]

Putting aside the marketing excellence in that video, it looks like the PS4 is doing a lot of what the Xbox One takes 3 different OS's to do. If all that social and multitasking stuff looks as pictured, I'm seeing a PS4 in my future.

[Dewar]

Sounds like Sony is actually pretty serious about this whole 'download part of a game and start playing before the rest downloads' thing:

http://kotaku.com/so...for-p-514144920

In principle I love the idea, but it's far from trivial to implement in a game and it certainly isn't going to work for games that haven't been specifically engineered to take advantage of it. But, if programmers to start seriously getting on board with this at Sony's behest, could it work well? As someone who deals with preloading techniques a bit I can definitely speculate about ways they could manage it, but it'd require a fairly careful strategy for each game.

I guess the question is whether or not developers want to do it. But programmers are often known for wanting to be innovative rather than just sticking to the status quo, some might want to integrate this just for the sheer challenge of it. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out because I personally have experienced the pain of downloading increasingly big games on a slow internet connection and it is truly the worst.

 

MMOs are starting to do this already. Rift, WoW, and Diablo all will let you start part of the way through, and Cryptic's games (Neverwinter and STO) pull additional assets from the server as you need them to keep the initial download small. Hopefully, that will get others on board.

[brkl]

To me, having never owned a 360, that looks like the 360 UI.

[Dewar]

To me, having never owned a 360, that looks like the 360 UI.

 

It does kinda look like the new 360 UI, but the Xbox interface is based on pages while the PS4 one appears to be more free scrolling.

[Zeusthecat]

Sounds like Sony is actually pretty serious about this whole 'download part of a game and start playing before the rest downloads' thing:

http://kotaku.com/so...for-p-514144920

 

I don't get it. Is the whole "going to the store and buying a game" thing really as big of a problem as they are making it? It seems like such a weird thing to be making such a big deal out of.

[Twig]

I never go to the store if I can help it. Except for groceries. But that's mostly because I can walk across the street to a grocery store. U:

[Thrik]

Well we're in the impulse buy digital age now. It's become standard for much PC, tablet, and phone software — now the vendors are trying to equip consoles as best as possible.

After all, it kind of takes the gratification out of impulse buying while browsing the in-console store when it then takes 2—20 hours to get playing. Easier to just go to the store or have it delivered, which is the point — it shouldn't be easier.

[Zeusthecat]

I never go to the store if I can help it. Except for groceries. But that's mostly because I can walk across the street to a grocery store. U:

 

Yeah, I definitely see how downloading games can be more convenient than going to a store and buying them. I just think it's weird that they're making such a big deal out of being able to start playing it a little bit sooner. Maybe it's more of the general trend of immediate access with technology that I find weird. It seems like I hear a lot about how important it is to get new things in front of consumers as quick as possible because of our apparent diminishing attention spans. To me, it really wouldn't impact my life all that much if I had to wait for a game to finish downloading before playing it. But that's just me.

 

Edit: Oops, missed your post Thrik. Looks like you beat me to the punch on the immediate access thing.

[Dewar]

I imagine there will be people with more... regular... speed connections than folks around here to which download a 20gb game might be an all day affair. An early start playing might be the difference between "I'll play it after lunch" and "I'll play it tomorrow."

[Justin Leego]

That video is full of great reaction shots, but I think my favorite is his "I'm turning on a video game console" expression. He's like, "Yeah... heh."

 

Yeah!

 

 

...heh.

 

I also enjoyed the Lynchian /

closer: