With news emerging of the old Wii and 3DS eShops closing, numerous digital games are going to be lost forever. Even Sony caught flack last year when they initially tried to announce the closure of the PS3, Vita, and PSP stores. They’ve since reduced this to just the PSP store, but all of this has sparked a conversation about game preservation. I love digital downloads as much as the next person, but what happens when those servers are gone? Up until now, the games are gone too, save for that SD card or external drive you have, which in and of itself could go back. It’s scary to think about, but it got a little less scary in April of 2022 when news came out that Sony is starting up a game preservation team. Let’s dive in and see what the new team has planned! New PlayStation Roles Point to Game Preservation Team A tweet from a new PlayStation employee by the name of Garrett Fredley announcing his new role revealed the existence of this new team. This confirms other roles spotted on platforms like LinkedIn that pointed to the formation of a game preservation division. On a personal note, I’m not jealous at all. He describes the team’s focus will be preserving PlayStation IPs, and ensuring that “our industry’s history isn’t forgotten.” Today is my first day as a Senior Build Engineer at @PlayStation, working as one of their initial hires for the newly created Preservation team! Game Preservation was my first career passion, so I'm ecstatic that I get to go back to those roots 😊 — Garrett Fredley (@SomeCronzaGuy) April 25, 2022 PlayStation Studios’ global QA manager, Mike Bishop, hired Fredley and went on to further describe the new team in a LinkedIn Post saying “the day-to-day focus is on IP Preservation for the business, ensuring the titles of today are captured, catalogued, and secured for the games industry of tomorrow.” While the team seems to be in the early stages of hiring, the goal seems to be on preserving games from the entirety of the PlayStation catalog, dating back to 1994 when the first PlayStation was released. All of this comes as PlayStation recently unveiled project Spartacus, which includes new tiers of PlayStation Plus and access to classic titles via download and PlayStation Now game streaming. What do you think about game preservation? Are you a diehard fan who wants access to classic titles through means other than things like piracy and emulation? Let us know in the comments! Article by – Bradley Ramsey Insert date – 4/26/2022
Helping Shape The PS5: The Voice of Gamers
In the last generation, we have seen a massive surge of change as result of gamers speaking out. Whether it’s the loot box scandals, features disappearing, or issues with the state of a game, we have seen countless times that the voice of gamers is a powerful one. It’s also been refreshing to see how much communication has improved between customers and developers/publishers. While it’s far from perfect, they’re willing to listen more than ever. Now is the time to speak out about what you want from the PS5. Our Top 5 Polls of All Time Gamers have spoken out in the past via our polls, so join us as we look at what you have said about the PS5 in our past polls. We’ll also glimpse into how we can continue to shape the PS5 together. 1. Would You Pay $2000 US Dollar For a PS5? The price of the PS5 is something we’ve discussed at length, and our most popular poll reflects how passionate gamers feel about the cost of their consoles. In this poll, we asked if you would pay $2,000 for the system. The majority of you said no, of course, but there were a large number of votes that said yes or maybe, which is interesting. This poll essentially shows us that price is very important, and that there is most certainly a limit to what people will pay. It also shows that there are a dedicated few who would pay just about anything, but these people would be a small percentage of consumers. 2. If the PS5 Releases in 30 Days, Would You Buy It? Our next poll asked gamers if they would rush out and buy the PS5. What if Sony just dropped a bomb that the system would be available in the next 30 days? This is nigh impossible, but assuming it did happen, how would gamers react? Over 50% of the responses said yes, while many others said maybe, and a small percentage said no. This shows us that the release date of the PS5 could come sooner than later, and many people wouldn’t mind. It also shows that just under half of gamers would still wait, as they are probably happy with their PS4s. It’s true that the system still has some life left in it, as the latest exclusives have been nothing short of incredible. Ultimately, the release date of the PS5 is going to be a balancing act on Sony’s part. Too soon, and you risk alienating your user base, too late, and the hardware of the PS4 won’t be able to keep up with new ideas. The good news here is that gamers are already excited about the next system. Over time, more will join this school of thought, and that will be the prime time to release the PS5. 3. Do You Want The PS4 to be 4K Resolution Compatible? The PS4 Pro introduced 4K resolution into gaming for the first time on a console, but … Read More
PS5 vs Xbox One X: How Sony Will Dominate
The gaming industry is in a weird place right now. With the release of PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X, we received new consoles that exist in the same generation as their brethren. The power of the Xbox One X could easily be touted as “next-gen,” and yet, Microsoft prefers to keep it in this generation. We already know that Sony is planning to release a PS5 in the future. How will the PS5 compete with the Xbox One X, if at all? Is it all about power and 4K, or are there some key features that should be included in Sony’s next generation console? Join us as we look at how Sony is going to put Microsoft in their place with the PS5. Microsoft Talks Big About Xbox One X Microsoft has been extremely proud of themselves since E3 2017. They often refer to Xbox One X as the “most powerful console ever built” and, while they’re not wrong, it seems to be going to their heads. Even the Microsoft E3 2017 press briefing saw the entire staff wearing t-shirts that stated “I witnessed the most powerful console ever.” They should be proud, though, because the specs on Xbox One X are certainly impressive. Where they should be careful, however, is how they stoke the flames of competition. They’ve poked the bear that is Sony before, and it didn’t go well for them. We all remember the unveiling of the Xbox One and Sony’s excellent rebuttal. Despite this, Phil Spencer still sent some warning shots across Sony’s bow in an interview with Eurogamer. During this interview, he was asked if the $100 price difference between PS4 Pro and Xbox One X concerned him. His response: “I look at Pro as more of a competitor to the Xbox One S, than I do to the Xbox One X. This is a true 4K console. If you just look at the specs of what this box is, it’s in a different league than any other console that’s out there.” He doesn’t even acknowledge the PS4 Pro as a competitor! It’s true that Xbox One X does have more power than the Pro, but if it’s not going to compete with Sony’s current lineup, then the only other option is to compete with the PS5. Should Sony be Worried About Xbox One X? Phil Spencer’s comments about the PS4 Pro were certainly more harsh than one would normally expect from corporate banter, but if he truly believes the PS4 Pro isn’t in the same league as the Xbox One X, does that mean Sony should be worried about the gap in hardware while we all wait for the PS5? Since there is a large gap in the hardware, it’s hard not to wonder if Sony is worried about Xbox One X games looking or playing significantly better. The interviewer mentioned titles where Sony has a marketing deal with them, and asked if Sony anticipates a major difference in image quality for … Read More
The Top 9 Features Gamers Expect On The PS5
It’s well known that gamers have a loud voice when we band together. Companies like Sony listen to us when we tell them what we want from our consoles. That feedback is what makes PlayStation such an amazing console. Well, we decided it was time to ask you, the players, what you want on the PS5. The results from our poll ( Vote! ) are in! It’s time to look at the top 9 features that you want on the PS5! We’ll also weigh in on how these features could manifest themselves on the next generation console from Sony. Let’s dive in! The Top 9 Features Fans Expect to See on The PS5 We asked you to tell us what you expect to see on the PS5, and you delivered! The many came together to form one voice. Let’s find out which features are most important to you on the PS5! 1. Backwards Compatibility With about 28% of the votes, backwards compatibility won the top spot by a 6% margin! In a world where Microsoft is touting backwards compatibility on their new Xbox 2/Project Scorpio system, the pressure is on for Sony to match that with the PS5. Of course, when we talk about backwards compatibility, we have to consider how far back we want. PlayStation has a lot of classic titles from PS1, PS2, and PS3. In fact, the PS4 has already racked up several titles that will no doubt be remembered fondly by history. PlayStation fans want compatibility as far back as we can get. There’s so many games we want to have access to on our latest console. Sony has made some progress here with PS2 Classics on PS4, and they’ve certainly done plenty of remasters to bring games like The Last of Us and God of War III to the new console. For PS3 games, we have the streaming service known as PlayStation Now, but that’s yet another thing to pay for, and it’s selection is good but not overwhelmingly great. Meanwhile, Xbox players are getting more and more 360 games on their system for free if they already own it. I have to give them a point for that, because it is the right way to handle backwards compatibility. Ideally, PS5 will take this approach where you can keep the games you own and play them on the new system. Digital titles will be accessible, and physical games can be inserted to validate them and add them to your library like Xbox does. This feature deserves a top spot, so let’s hope it shows up in a way that benefits us all. The ball’s in your court, Sony! 2. Graphic Processing Power Second up is graphics processing power with 22% of the votes. Any time there’s a new console, graphics are a major point of discussion. After all, power is the selling point of any next generation system. How much better will make games look and play on this system? Microsoft’s upcoming console boasts 6 … Read More
The PS5 Will Be Backwards Compatible, Thanks to Microsoft
Every time a new console is announced, the first question on everyone’s minds is “will it be backwards compatible?” We are happy to tell you that on 4/16/19 Playstation’s Mark Cerny confirmed the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PS4 games in an interview with Wired Magazine. That being said the fear of a new generation invalidating all of our purchases from the previous one is very real in gamers everywhere. The very structure of the PS4 was completely different than the PS3, which was the basis for why Sony said the PS4 could not be backwards compatible. Even so, they’ve made concessions here and there. Looks like they are getting it right for the PS5. Meanwhile. Microsoft is making more and more Xbox 360 games compatible on the Xbox One every week. Sony’s been backed into a corner. It’s time to bring out the claws and make backwards compatibility a feature on PS5. Thankfully, rumors are pointing to this being the case. PS5 Backwards Compatibility: All The Latest Evidence The PS4 is absolutely killing it this generation, with millions of consoles now comfortably sitting in gamer’s homes. That’s an impressive install base, but if Sony releases a brand new console without backwards compatibility, they would essentially starting from scratch. Yes, the PS4 would continue to exist for several years, but when it comes time for the PS4 to go the way of the dodo bird, all those gamers will have a huge library of games that they can no longer play on PS5. It doesn’t make sense any way you slice it, and with Microsoft already offering backwards compatibility on Xbox One X, so Sony had to step up. Here is what some of the evidence was that Sony was going to include backwards comparability: Software Testing Patent If you’re feeling like you need more technical documentation in your life, you should check out this full patent listing from Sony. If you’d rather get to the point of it all, here’s a quick excerpt: “If the CPUs of the new device have lower performance than the CPUs of the legacy device, many errors in a legacy application may arise due to the inability to meet real-time deadlines imposed by display timing, audio streamout or the like. If the CPUs of the new device have substantially higher performance than the CPUs of the legacy device, many errors in a legacy application may arise due to the untested consequences of such high speed operation.” Breaking this down, the excerpt describes an issue with running legacy software on more or less powerful CPUs. If the hardware is more powerful, such as the case with PS5, there could be unintended consequences of throwing an older game into this new environment. The goal of this patent is to create a timing testing mode that can “disrupt” the processors and test for errors while in this mode. On it’s own, this doesn’t guarantee anything, but it does prove that the concept of backwards compatibility was … Read More