Decker

Hey, maybe by 2019 you'll be able to change your Gamertag as well!

For the record, I don't know what Play Together does differently than before. Maybe currently you can only see what your Friends are playing but not other party member are? Does anyone really care about finding out what players who aren't their Friends are playing?

Dan

Speaking of this...
I'm okay with not being able to change it. I mean, it's dumb... and I hate the one I have, but whatever. Not the end of the world.

What IS fucking ridiculous is that you can't change regions. At all. Moved? Start a new PSN account, loser. When I got my shit set up here in TX, the first thing i wanted to do was buy and play The Witness. But it wouldn't accept my US gift card (sorry, I'm not giving Sony my credit card info...) because my account was created in Canada. I tried to find an option to change it, but nothing.

So I had to create a new PSN gamertag just so I could redeem my US gift card and buy a digital game. I have to keep both gamertags active, of course, because I have a handful of digital games on the Canadian one (including P.T.) and now The Witness on my US one.

Dumb dumb dumb.

Anyway...

I didn't think remote play worked out of your house... only on the same local network. I could be very wrong about that and didn't read that press release in detail.

For me, it's that currently, I can still play my PS4 or Xbox One while my wife uses the main TV to binge-rewatch Prison Break. Plus, I think I like sitting a bit closer to a computer screen for certain types of games, instead of lounging on the couch.

dom56

Waiting for my Seagate Momentum 2TB HD very soon from Amazon. Meanwhile I got the lastest update save on usb flash drive. Have PS+ and have my save games on cloud. I seen bunch of YT video on how to switch the HD so I shouldn't have any problem. I hoped.

Michael Corvin

I mean shit, to me they hit the OS out of the park. Way better than that junk MS put on the X1. The level of features just needs to rise to the level of the OS now.

Decker

It's easy. Restoring all your saves and digital games and (most significantly all your game updates) are a pain in the ass. But the actual swapping of the HDD is really simple and straightforward actually.

slop101

Drive swapping itself is easy and brainless. What sucked was reinstalling everything. I had to do each save one by one, and had to do them after putting in each single game - then the games themselves take for ever to install and download patches, etc. Took me two weeks to reinstall everything - pain in the ass. But I guess worth it in the long run.

redbill

borrow a large USB drive next time and do a backup.

slop101

Well, it's not just the stuff on the 500gig drive, it's all the stuff I've already deleted too, to make room - otherwise, I wouldn't be getting a new 2tb drive.

RichC2

I just do that as I need it. PS4 installs pretty seamlessly, and restoring saves from the cloud only takes a minute.

Also, remote play for PC/Mac starts after today's PS4 update: https://remoteplay.dl.playstation.ne.../en/index.html

dom56

I check the Sony PS4 update page since I have to download the latest on the flash drive when I getting ready to put the 2TB HD but it only showing 3.15 and not 3.50 on the page. Is Sony going to update the the web page?

Decker

No biggie, just install 3.15 and once everything is up and running you can update your console to the latest Firmware.

BTW : 3.50 installed itself on my system last night. Thought that was a little weird. Normally it asks before updating, doesn't it?

Dan

3.50 installed in a breeze for me. When it comes to OS updates, Sony's definitely got the quickest install times, even if I don't like the OS as much (make one 'bar' just for games, thanks).

Anyway, Remote Play is a bust in my tiny house. My PC is wired to my gigabit router, but my PS4 is wireless (although gets a full 5 bars). With settings at 720p/30fps, it lags and glitches out every 10 seconds or so. Not ideal. It's usable for something like The Witness, but would be hell for Bloodborne.

RichC2

IMO, it's more important that the PS4 is hardwired than the machine you're streaming to. The Wifi chips they used are not great, not PS3 bad, but not great.

This update included support for 4TB hard drives, streaming to DailyMotion, and USB music support.

slop101

This was a good explanation of the PS4K, and I especially enjoyed his analogy at the end (10:55)

Sonny Corinthos

Sony Reportedly Unsure If There Will Ever Be a PlayStation 5.

One of the more interesting storylines in gaming this year has been the rumors and reports about Sony and Microsoft potentially planning to launch new hardware before the existing cycle is over. Not everyone has been pleased with the idea, but now gaming veteran Lorne Lanning has come out in support of it.

Lanning said on the latest Game Informer Show [YouTube link] (via NeoGAF) that, back in February 2015 at the DICE event, he asked PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida at a private dinner to give him some details on what the PlayStation 5 might look like. Yoshida's response surprised Lanning.

said, 'What does the PlayStation 5 look like?' And he said, 'You mean if...' And I was like, 'Whoa. Are you willing to say that on stage?' And he said, 'Yeah, it's an if.'"

This topic didn't end up being discussed in the Lanning/Yoshida presentation at DICE 2015, however. You can watch the full presentation here on YouTube.

If Sony is indeed working on something like a PS4.5, it's an idea that Lanning would support, it seems.

"It was a really interesting thing; he didn't give me a clear answer, but he's hinting at, 'We need to be more agile, none of us know what the future really looks like so how do we adapt to it faster?'" Lanning said. "To me, that's the way he was sort of thinking about it, which I think is the right way think about it."

Gaming consoles are quite different from smartphones, which are typically upgraded on a yearly basis or so. Consoles, on the other hand, usually remain viable for 5-7 years. This longstanding cycle could change, however, if the reports about upgraded PlayStation and Xbox consoles prove accurate.

"The idea that you're going to release a piece of technology that's going to last for seven years into the future is becoming I think less and less viable even though the generations of platforms are lasting longer," Lanning said. "So it seems like it's in conflict."

Just this week, another report claimed Sony's new, more powerful PS4 was indeed real, while a follow-up story said development kits are going out now to developers.

Sony may not be alone in releasing new hardware, as a recent report claimed Microsoft was experimenting with a "variety" of new Xbox device prototypes. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has also said Microsoft will eventually "come out with new hardware capability during a generation." The executive never said it would be this generation, and has made it clear that you won't be opening up your Xbox One with a screwdriver to install new parts.

Additionally, more recently, Spencer said Xbox fans should not expect an Xbox One and a half.

Not everyone is thrilled with the idea of mid-cycle hardware upgrades, however. BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk recently said such a thing would be a "gigantic pain in the ass" for developers and consumers alike.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/son.../1100-6439011/

slop101

slop101

On a more serious note:



Seriously, how could Sony not understand this?

Developers know that there's a user base of around 50 million PS4, and there'll be a far lower amount of these new Neo systems. So are devs actually going to bother wasting resources, time and money developing games to take advantage of the NEO, for a much smaller user base?

mattysemo247

You can bet your ass there will be a PS5, because only a small percentage of people will upgrade to the PS Neo. I love how people are using the comparisons between the phone and console upgrades. It's pretty much apples and oranges. You have to remember, people are going to be more inclined to upgrade their phones every couple years because they use them every single day for multiple hours and you also have to factor in wear and tear. Most people are not going to have the same situation with their consoles.

Sonny Corinthos

Report: Upgraded PlayStation 4 codenamed 'Neo,' includes upgraded GPU and processor.

Giant Bomb reports that Sony is not only planning an updated version of the PlayStation 4 in anticipation of both 4K video content and its upcoming PlayStation VR platform, but that hardware specifications have been locked down in advance of an unknown release window.

Austin Walker reports that according to multiple sources, the new console, codenamed "NEO" — likely an allusion to PlayStation VR's working codename, "Morpheus" — will feature graphics hardware whose specifications are approximately 2.25 times more powerful than the AMD system-on-a-chip inside the current PS4, as well as a 500 MHz increase to the system's CPU clock speed and a 42 GB/s increase in memory bandwidth.

According to Walker, developers have been informed of a requirement to ship titles from this October onward with "base mode" specifications compatible with the existing PS4 architecture and a "NEO mode" for the updated hardware. Games running in the updated mode will have access to the upgraded hardware to deliver greater visual fidelity, though it is unlikely that titles will be able to use the added horsepower for true 4K in-game visuals.

Giant Bomb reports that the PS4 and the NEO will coexist, remaining fully cross-compatible with regards to software, PSN and multiplayer communities, as well as the same user interface.

Word of an upgraded PS4 console originally spread in March during GDC via a report by Patrick Klepek at Kotaku. According to Klepek, Sony briefed several developers on their hardware plans with the NEO at GDC, though, according to the site, "one source told us that the device felt 'exploratory' and that it may not even be released this year." In February at an Xbox event, Xbox head Phil Spencer suggested that the Xbox One may also see its own hardware upgrades in the future.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/4/18/114...ation-4-report

E Unit

Now let's make it backwards compatible for PS3 games.

stingermck

Well you had to assume, somehow Sony would blow all the goodwill they got this generation.

Dan

I don't think they're blowing their goodwill but... what's the point of this? They already have a performance lead over the competition. They already have a unit sales lead over the competition. What none of the consoles have is a UHD disc drive, so I could see why Sony would want to add that: they were at the forefront of DVD adoption as well as, arguably, the single-handed reason why Blu-ray obliterated HD DVD starting in mid-2006 and ending in early 2008.

But... maybe the money would be better spent on a wider variety of exclusive games? I'm not making the "Sony has no games" argument. They obviously seem to be doing very well with getting console exclusivity on a lot of titles (more and more, I see "coming to PC & PS4" mostly for digital titles) and they have some great exclusives like Bloodborne and Until Dawn, among others.

So... why a hardware upgrade?

Maxflier

I don't get these type of complaints. How would this hurt current PS4 owners? You will have no need whatsoever to purchase one of these if you already own PS4. I don't see how it is bad to give someone the OPTION to buy something that can improve their experience.

dsa_shea

Yep. I will be buying one as long as it is not too expensive. Besides, if you want an UHD player then you better be ready to buy another piece of hardware.

joeblow69

I thought it was because VR needs a super high resolution for it to not look crappy.