25w ago - Following up on the previous
rumor and
PS4 (Orbis) details,
IGN has shared some video footage and details on Version 2 of the PlayStation 4 (PS4) Developer Kits below.
According to their source, a new version 2 of the PlayStation 4 dev kit is currently being distributed to developers with the final version expected next year.
To quote from their page (linked above): Anonymous sources have reportedly told
VG247 that new versions of the Orbis kit are winging their way to developers, replete with Blu-ray support and housed in the humble cases of normal PCs.
This is apparently the second iteration of the dev kit; the first, which appeared earlier this year, was in essence just a graphics card, while this version is now a "modified PC". The report asserts that the next update will come in January, when it'll be close to final specifications, with the ultimate version landing with devs next summer.
The shipping of the Orbis kit apparently follows a series of meetings held by Sony in the US this week, where the company explained what the machine was designed to do and how to get the most out of it. Interestingly, at these meetings it's been claimed that Sony didn't refer to the machine as "the PlayStation 4" at all, instead opting to use the "Orbis" title at all times.
The dev kits are apparently based on the AMD’s A10 APU series and come with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM, as well as the Blu-ray drive already mentioned and a 256GB hard drive as standard. This is to ensure that the console will be able to run 1080p60 games in 3D.
The Orbis kits have both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, as well as HDMI out slots; so pretty much exactly what you'd expect to find on your current PlayStation 3. However, the big reported difference comes with the UI, which has been designed to be more fluid and allow extensive navigation anywhere on the system simply by pressing the PS button mid-game. This was demoed to the assembled masses by purchasing DLC from the PS Store without quitting the game.
No details were leaked about the system's controller. IGN reached out to Sony for comment, but were told the company "doesn't comment on rumor and speculation."
Hello, I finally got some vacation so I decided to start looking into unlocking my PS3 in order to play undubbed games, nice to meet you all....
...
I'm expecting faster loading now, and higher quality textures. Hopefully the 500MB system reserved memory is enough to let us multitask like we wanted to do on the PS3 but never really got it due to RAM limitations (Think in-game XMB limitations and how long it took to even get it).
PC games are only going to look better on a high end gaming PC, not just your average PC. That means a PC costing at least $1,000 compared to a console that will cost around $500. People don't want to spend insane amounts of money on a closed system that can't be upgraded which will be overshadowed by the next generation system about 7 years later. The PS3 launch was evidence of that with it's $600 price tag.
Now I'm all for better hardware specs, but I don't think people are willing to pay enough to get what you are looking for in a console. People with money build a gaming PC, people with a lower upfront budget will probably be happy with a console. There are two different niches there, and it wouldn't really make sense for consoles to try to be a direct competitor to PC since PC would obviously win due to the nature of how consoles are (closed system, no upgrade path).
If you really want that premium experience, you're going to have to buy premium PC parts and build your own PC, and be willing to shell out a greater amount of upfront money (assuming you don't already own a gaming machine to upgrade just certain parts).
With all that said, just the fact the memory is unified and much larger than before should be heaven for developers coming from the PS3.
Just coz they say this is what it will have the final retail version wont have this. Some parts will be shrunk and some will just be missing. then with every update to the console more and more will be removed.
Thats why I'm going to boycott Sony for as long as I can, till they release a game I want to play and only if its not on another console will I get one.
And I dont understand why they make it with 4GB ram? The PC is using a lot more ram and struggling with some games. They really need to look at PCs and see what is needed for the latest games then add that or more so over the years its not looking crap or left behind like it is with the PC.
Oh it looks like 3.5GB ram for games and it looks like thats going to be shared ram between CPU and GPU. MOST PC games will crap out at those specs. So even when the PS4 is released the PC will still be better. I would've expected it to be better than the PC but with those specs it wont be.