Playstation 4 Countdown.

[backtomyroots]

Well, nearly at the release date of the "next generation" of gaming !

Personally, not a hardcore gaming fan but I occasionally like to unwind by blowing things up and racing.

Ironically though, was one of the first at the local game store to pre order and pay for my system with a few games and an extra controller.

Who else, if anyone is getting excited ?

I've ordered the following games with it:

• Driveclub (Just delayed until 2014 though )
• Call of Duty Ghosts (I'm a great target for fellow players, I'm terrible !)
• Killzone Shadow Fall
• Fifa 14 (To fill in for the delayed Driveclub - needed another multi player)

Some really great titles look like they will be coming in the new year too.

I even plan on lining up with the dedicated gamers for the midnight pick up and even better, I'm off for 6 straight days following the release.

Excited, I am !

Anyone else got one ordered ? We may have to create a master list of PSN usernames to start bulking up our friends lists .

[matman]

NO!! I don't like sony . Don't like anything they make in sony at all .

I do like the Xbox & i use my PC for Call of Duty games , as i can't

get my head around , using the hand controller on the Xbox . +

I'm not going to get the new Xbox at all ....

But i'm sure you will have fun playing it , Just not my cup of sony tea . ..

Do you play on Line ?. As i think they go through steam now ?, as sony got hacked a few years ago ( WOOHOO !! )

[30YrsL8r]

Well, that didn't take long to turn up some Sony-bashing.

[vrs55]

going to get a ps4 but going to wait a bit first looking forward to elder scrolls online and also the witcher 3 got a 360 just now but don't like the look of xbox one

[backtomyroots]

NO!! I don't like sony . Don't like anything they make in sony at all .

I do like the Xbox & i use my PC for Call of Duty games , as i can't

get my head around , using the hand controller on the Xbox . +

I'm not going to get the new Xbox at all ....

But i'm sure you will have fun playing it , Just not my cup of sony tea . ..

Do you play on Line ?. As i think they go through steam now ?, as sony got hacked a few years ago ( WOOHOO !! )

Well, that's unfortunate for you. I've never been drawn to xbox, perhaps we should try each others !

Well, that didn't take long to turn up some Sony-bashing.

No kidding !

going to get a ps4 but going to wait a bit first looking forward to elder scrolls online and also the witcher 3 got a 360 just now but don't like the look of xbox one

Good thinking, some of the really appetizing games won't be out till spring I think.

I'm really looking forward to the Driveclub game as it was developed by the studio that did the Motorstorm series which is a favourite of mine. A few other enticing titles too.

I'll have mine hooked up on the day of release and will be gaming with my step daughter the entire day ! (Well evening for her, it's not important enough to miss school that day - but close !).

I'm excited enough that I bought a new 55" tv to use and a set of wireless headphones too !

[BadWagon]

pppppffffffftttttt Sony haters.

I was an xbox guy (4 360s, 3 slims) and I've had NOTHING but problems. MS finally sorted out one of my slims (the other has been fine, the only xbox I've owned without an issue) but I'm not going to buy the ONE.

One of my clients bought me a Vita, and then a PS3. Playstation Plus is the best $50 you'll ever spend as a gamer. Tons of free games (not crap games, top notch, good games you'll want to play) and DLCs and more.

I have a PS4 on pre-order, and I can't wait for it to arrive.

[matman]

I have had ps games & problems . With sony putting bugs in to see who was down loading

music etc , on the cd's . I have not been a fan since , Then you wounder why the got hacked .

I had a mate that could not play on line for some time , as he had problems all the time .

Then when they got hacked , he could not play at all . Sony TV's , you can't play stuff off the HDD

& some can't play off there cam corder HDD .

I hate the new look on BOTH consoles , what is up with that ....

[Tamiya1/10]

I am no fan of any electronic company. My better half used to be a sony fan until she start noticing everything seems to break right after the warranty period. Their engineers are very good in making sure their product only last 1 or 2 years. I guess company no longer wants to make things last, The product don't break down, no repair business and no need for replacement.

[BadWagon]

Hmmmm, I'd say that Microsoft had the warranty time bomb down pat (4 gen1 360s to back up that statement). Of all of the sony products, the only one that has ever held up were the play stations. My ps1 lasted forever. My dog used to put his head on it to sleep. My ps2, also lasted a long, longtime.

Microsoft's xbox live is better than sony's online system, but the pay to do anything stinks (I am aware this is gonna change soon) but the Playstation plus membership is a far better deal than the gold subscription.

I do preferr the xbox controller to the ps3 controller, but I can live with it.

I'm stoked to see how the ps4 controller feels.

Oh, and for the record I am a Apple guy (since the Apple IIc), i tried to give the xbox a good run (7 consoles total across the versions) but it's just a pile. RROD and other issues just turned me off.

Sooooo what games has everyone preorded??

[backtomyroots]

Well you can't please everyone . . . . . . .

All I have ever owned was Sony TV's, playstations and dvd players, never a problem.

I have ordered the following and is ready for pick up on day of launch:

• PS4, of course
• DriveClub (Just delayed)
• Call of Duty Ghosts
• Extra controller
• Sony Pulse Elite headset

Will be picking another game to replace the Driveclub (until it hits shelves)stuck between Battlefield or Fifa.

Really looking forward to getting some gaming in.

[speedy_w_beans]

When PS4 was announced my wife and kids asked if we were getting one... My answer was no, but mostly because we have a collection of PS1, PS2, and PS3 games from the mid-90s to the present. For our family, we've seen enough Gran Turismo, Killzone, God of War, Call of Duty, etc. installments that I question how much better could a PS4 possibly be over a PS3...

If we didn't have a stash of old games, I would definitely pick the new PS4 over the Xbox One any day. Microsoft really bungled their announcement when they required a network connection to even use the console. I think they've backed away from that DRM policy, but still, their console is $100 more yet it's architecturally the same as the Sony -- multi-core x86 with a comparable GPU. That might be the biggest disappointment to me -- the two consoles are now very similar from a core hardware perspective. I liked it better when Sony partnered with Toshiba for the Cell chip and had something uniquely theirs.

It pretty much boils down to which game franchises you enjoy more... The hardware is not a significant feature now.

[bugone]

You can play all your old games on a ps4.

I've always played on PlayStation because all my mates do. We have done since the PlayStation 1.

I love GTA V. But I can see how it could be better woth more processing power. I hope they bring out a high resolution DLC add on for ps4.

[BadWagon]

the in engine rendering is ridiculous. The real time 3d is amazing, it looks like the cut scenes do now. I'm bummed that drive club and watch dogs release dates have been pushed back, but it's still gonna be awesome.

The remote and cross play features with the vita put it over the top.

[sabreuk1]

Ive never had issues with sony. I had ps1. Ps2 the original bulky thing it still works now and ps3 the original one and again never had any issues with it, call of duty now thats a different story lol.

On ps4 im going wait out and see what happens besides jan sales are not far off and im sure the prices will drop after crimbo so im in no rush but will defo get one.

[backtomyroots]

You can play all your old games on a ps4.

I've always played on PlayStation because all my mates do. We have done since the PlayStation 1.

I love GTA V. But I can see how it could be better woth more processing power. I hope they bring out a high resolution DLC add on for ps4.

NOPE. Not backwards compatible.

I went and paid for Fifa to pick up at launch to replace the delayed DriveClub and actually picked up the extra PS4 controller I had pre-ordered, already in stock !

Getting itchy now.

[bugone]

I thought you could play all your old games via a streaming service.

[speedy_w_beans]

Does the streaming service require additional purchases? What sort of bandwidth requirements are there?

I won't 'buy' the same games twice, and I'm cautious about the quality of the experience...

Nice comparison of PS4 vs. Xbox One specs:

http://www.ign.com/wikis/xbox-one/PS4_vs._Xbox_One_vs._Wii_U_Comparison_Chart

Nintendo is toast. Xbox One is a runner up. PS4 wins. Game over.

[backtomyroots]

I thought you could play all your old games via a streaming service.

Ah, perhaps, I know the discs are not backwards compatible.

Does the streaming service require additional purchases? What sort of bandwidth requirements are there?

I won't 'buy' the same games twice, and I'm cautious about the quality of the experience...

I haven't yet activated my PS Plus Membership as I'm waiting to have my PS4 first. I'm aware a large number of games are free and available once that's activated but not sure if they are digital specific or allow previous generation games.

In anticipation, here's what I've purchased and picked up already:

I know at launch the chat function is not going to function as I've been reading online forums and game sites but I always mute people anyway. Just need the headphones to keep the noise to myself at odd hours .

Found some info online for backwards compatibility:

Quote #1

But for now, downloaded PS3 games won’t work “unless, somehow, some games work on emulation. And the easiest thing,technically, would be to make PSone games work on PS4 with emulation. But we’re not talking about our emulation plans as yet.”

In short, “There are two ways [to play legacy content]: emulation or cloud services [from Gaikai]. But native support [of digital games from PS3], no, sorry. It doesn’t work.”

Quote #2

Based off of statements made at Sony's PS4 reveal event, it is believed that Sony will be using Gaikai's capabilities to provide access to games from previous PlayStation consoles through Gaikai's cloud streaming capabilities

I hope they come up with something, I really enjoyed the MotorStorm franchise !

[BadWagon]

The PS Plus Membership is the JAM!

I had no idea that the PS4 isn't backward compatible with PS3 Downloaded games... that's horrible. I assumed it would be, I mean why the heck wouldn't it be? That's a FAIL in my book.

I hope they come up with a work around for that as I have so many games from PS Plus that I still need to play... PS Plus is the best money spent for a gamer... so many GREAT games, for $50... win win win.

[speedy_w_beans]

I had no idea that the PS4 isn't backward compatible with PS3 Downloaded games... that's horrible. I assumed it would be, I mean why the heck wouldn't it be? That's a FAIL in my book.

The technical reasons are pretty straightforward. PS3 games are written for the Cell processor (PowerPC+DSPs), PS2 games for the Emotion Engine (MIPS III/IV+VPUs), and PS1 games for the MIPS R3000.

Let's call PS1 the baseline for starters. Everything ran on the MIPS R3000 processor.

PS2 was backwards compatible with PS1 games because the PS2 includes both the Emotion Engine and the original PS1 MIPS R3000 processors. When playing PS2 games, the Emotion Engine runs the game code and the R3000 functions as a simple IO controller. When playing PS1 games, the R3000 actually runs the code natively and the Emotion Engine has a greatly reduced role in the console. So in a way the console flip flops between which processor takes the lead role depending on what generation of game is being played.

When PS3 was first released, it actually contained both a Cell processor and an Emotion Engine in it. PS3 games play natively on the Cell processor, PS2 games would play natively on the Emotion Engine, and PS1 games were emulated on the Cell processor since it is so much more powerful than the original R3000. Sony reduced the cost of the PS3 by eliminating the Emotion Engine and thus breaking PS2 backwards compatibility, but even current generation PS3 consoles can play PS1 games since the R3000 emulation doesn't really cost anything in hardware. I can still play my old mid-90's copy of "Return Fire" on the PS3.

PS4 is a whole new animal. The main processor is based on the x86 architecture, just like laptops and desktop PCs. The graphics are handled by an ATI Radeon GPU. Backwards compatibility is now limited because emulating the Emotion Engine or the Cell processor on x86 is difficult or impossible to do and get reasonable performance -- this is a technical consequence of completely changing the architecture. The financial issue is if Sony put x86, Cell, and Emotion Engine all in the same console they would probably have to increase the selling price of the console to $800-$900 at launch, just like the launch price of the PS3 was high initially. That was a major issue and a reason why they eventually dropped PS2 compatibility. They probably don't want to meet a technical goal at the cost of market share, so backwards compatibility takes a back seat to providing the best gaming experience possible at a specific price point. All the legacy code would hold them back and burden the design too much. I think that's why the backwards compatibility statements are so vague right now.

[BadWagon]

GREAT info speedy!!

thanks for the breakdown.

[bugone]

Surely, all the developers have to do is recompile the games for an X86 architecture, then release it as a PS4 DLC for people who own and insert the matching PS3 disk into the PS4.

Not practical for older games, but for titles that have just been released for PS3, thats what I'd be hoping for.

[backtomyroots]

ALMOST THERE !

[speedy_w_beans]

Well, it's 12:05 AM EST on 11/15... Did you buy your PS4 yet?

[backtomyroots]

Well, it's 12:05 AM EST on 11/15... Did you buy your PS4 yet?

All set up and running ! So far, it's wonderful though, I am terrible at Call of Duty !

Killzone campaign is beautiful to look at graphics wise.