Sony utterly destroyed Microsoft today in a bloodbath of an E3 presentation that stands out as one of the most comprehensive consumer victories in the last ten years of gaming. Faced with growing consumer backlash over their draconian game policies, Microsoft decided to try and ignore the problem and hope it would go away. Sony, [...]

A teaser page released by Sony indicates that February 20 is the day they’re going to spill the beans about the PlayStation 4. Well, not officially. They didn’t even mention the words ‘PS4′. But you know. Anyway! Tune into their site at 6PM EST on Febuary the 20th, and all will be revealed. Just in time for Microsoft to steal it and put it into their console, too.

Another year, another increasingly hard-line attempt to quash the used game market. PC gamers rarely have to worry about used games, but console gamers can look forward to a new approach from Sony that links individual game disc ID’s to a player’s ID when they are inserted for the first time — and then subsequently checks for an ID match, preventing that game from being played on new device.

The system, according to a patent discovered here, works via a contactless RF tag that is shipped blank and only set once the user inserts the disc into the device for the first time.

It should be pointed out that this isn’t the first time Sony or other companies have patented technology such as this and then not implemented it, and it’s no indicator that the next PlayStation will incorporate this sort of tech. But it’s something to think about.

Source: NeoGAF via PA Report

A normal PC case housing the next PS4 development kit is reportedly on its way to developers, housing an AMD A10 APU as the base chip.

VG247 is running rumours of the machine from what it cites as “multiple sources”, indicating that a meeting was held last week with major publishers detailing the machine’s purpose: to run 1080p games at 60 frames per second in 3D “with no problems”, on a machine intended to run in both “today and tomorrow’s market”.

The development kits reportedly have either 8GB or 16GB of RAM, with a Blu-Ray drive, wi-fi, ethernet and of course HDMI out. The system is designed to allow seamless background downloading, switching between games and other apps, and an improved UI.

Sony is widely expected to announce the PS4′s final specs — currently codenamed ‘Orbis’ — shortly before or at E3 next year. According to sources, those specs should be finalised around January to give developers maximum lead time.

Source: VG247

Sony are pushing their 3D products pretty hard, but now they’re saying consumers have been pushing back — with apathy.

Speaking with Eurogamer on the state of declining Vita sales, Sony’s UK boss Feral Gara explained that consumers weren’t really feeling it.

“Consumers decide how relevant it is,” said Gara. “It’s fair to say consumers have decided it’s not hugely important at this time.”

“It’s a capability we’ve got,” he continued, “It may have a bigger life a little further down the line. It’s great we can do it. It doesn’t seem to be the most powerful USP at the moment, so you’ve seen us shift our effort onto fresh new exciting IP.”

Source: Eurogamer via VG247.

When was the last time you heard the term ‘biometrics’ outside of an episode of Star Trek or video game? Unless you’re in the industry for that sort of thing, it’s not the sort of thing many of us would connect with everyday life. But a patent that Sony filed back in May could potentially change that, describing fingerprint sensors that would pick up on a user’s biometric data.

The sensors would identify the user while they had their mitts all over one of Sony’s phones, keyboards or gaming controllers, and, the patent continues, use it to automatically generate context-sensitive content for the user it has identified.

What do you think? Totally convenient, or Big Brother taking always-on DRM to the next level?

Source: Joystiq

The opening of the Tokyo Game Show yesterday began with Sony’s press conference, for which one of its biggest announcements was the newer even slimmer-than-before PS3. At 20% smaller and 25% lighter than the current ‘slim’ model, the new PS3 represents a strong step in Sony’s continual drive to reduce their console to a wafer-thin slip of black plastic.

Sony have also slimmed down the price, offering a new $299 model which only ships with 12GB of flash memory, as well as a 500GB HDD option for $399.95. Australia will not get access to the 250GB model that other territories will receive — the 500GB or 12GB are our only options.

The new console will launch in Australia next Thursday, September 27.

Source: Press Release

Sony Pictures have been caught out registering eighteen (18!) seperate ‘Console War’ movie-related domain names. Names range from ‘console-war.net’ to ‘theconsolewarmovie.com’ and ‘consolewarsmovie.com’. You’re probably sensing a theme going, am I right? All the domain names were registered on August 23, so whatever Sony have planned is seemingly a recent event.

Sony have not released an official statement or any comment on the matter, but current thinking is something relating to the release of the PlayStation 4 rather then an actual movie based on different consoles fighting for market dominance. Stay tuned?

Source: Fusible

games.on.net has received a press release this morning outlining Sony’s acquisition of cloud-based gaming company, Gaikai Inc. The purchase of Gaikai, which set Sony back in the order of USD 380 million, will establish a new cloud service for the company and expand its network business even further.

“By combining Gaikai’s resources including its technological strength and engineering talent with SCE’s extensive game platform knowledge and experience, SCE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences,” President and Group CEO of Sony, Andrew House said. “SCE will deliver a world-class cloud-streaming service that allows users to instantly enjoy a broad array of content ranging from immersive core games with rich graphics to casual content anytime, anywhere on a variety of internet-connected devices.” How this will work out for Australian users, however, is not known.

Source: Press Release

Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream’s new title, Sony’s answer to Smash Bros., and why the company has signed on J.K. Rowling to developer augmented reality books – all here, at the Sony press conference.