Backward compatibility is a big deal in the gaming world, and when Sony announced its PS4 console, much of the talk was about the lack of any ability to play those back catalogues of games that everyone had spent the last few years accumulating. Sony has since sought to rectify that by announcing PlayStation Now, the game streaming service that will see PS3 games streamed over the Internet, but there is no local support being added to consoles.
Whenever a new console hits the scene, it's almost a given that teething issues and early bugs will arise. However, while both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launched late last year without too much incident, the former seems to be suffering save-game errors with certain titles. Those encountering the "CE-34878-0" error will be somewhat pleased to learn that Sony has identified this coded error as being problematic, and is currently launching an investigation in order to find a solution.
We're currently well into the opening lap of the renewed console battle between Sony and Microsoft, and with the latter having stepped out and claimed a haul of 3 million Xbox One units pushed before the turn of the new year, its Japanese adversary has well and truly trumped it with the revelation that 4.2 million units were sold as of December 28th.
Keeping up with the latest game technology sure isn't a cheap proposition. You go out, possibly lining up to get your hands on the latest and greatest gaming machine that money can buy - we'll let you argue over which one that is! - and then you're faced with the question of what software to get for that machine. The problem is that you've spent so much on that shiny new box of tricks that you want to be sure, really sure that you're choosing the right games. Especially when they're as expensive as the current generation of games seem to be.
Sony and Microsoft have both attempted to continue the console roller-coaster by issuing separate statements about their hardware. The individual statements both take the opportunity to reflect on the sales and successes of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One during the first calendar month of availability. As you might expect, neither company is initially prepared to accept that they are playing catch-up with the other, and as a result have opted to put their own individual slant on November's sales figures with the intention of claiming an early victory.
Although the PlayStation 4's lack of backwards compatibility threatened to spill over into hysteria, Sony promised that Gaikai, a service recently acquired by the Japanese company, would allow gamers to enjoy PlayStation 3 titles via cloud streaming, and now, it has been revealed that the service will also be launched on the PS3 and PS Vita. Although the Vita had been looking like a bit of a dead horse - particularly given the popularity of mobile gaming via smartphones and tablets - its integration with the often record-breaking PS4 could bring a new lease of life to the handheld, and Gaikai support will certainly do its cause no harm.
Sony's PlayStation 4 may have launched a week sooner than the Xbox One in the United States, but here in the UK, the opposite was true, with the Sony blockbuster arriving a week behind the Redmond company's effort. While early pre-order figures seemed to swing in Microsoft's favor - particularly after it sorted out those issues with regional locking, the playability of used games, and so on - the PS4 has, in its first 48 hours on sale, emerged as the fastest-selling console of all time in the UK. Considering that Sony has some ground to make up after losing out in the previous-gen console war, this is hugely indicative that the tables - and Sony's fortunes - could finally be turning.
Although the PlayStation 4 might have released a week earlier than its Microsoft-made rival in the United States, the opposite is true in the UK, where tonight, avid gamers will begin queuing for Sony's latest and greatest console. But while Microsoft has indicated that the Xbox One is built to last and should see out the next ten or so years, Sony's UK boss has suggested that the PS4 mightn't even manage the lifespan of its predecessor, the PS3, which released some seven years ago.
Sony is currently in the process of bringing a little additional joy to PlayStation 4 owners by rolling out its 1.51 firmware. An earlier post on the PlayStation blog had teased about the imminent release of the updated firmware claiming that it would be available "later today". Now that the time has arrived, Sony has flipped the switch of pushing the required update to PS4 consoles.
You may not have ever heard of Seattle based Teague. You may not be familiar with how they do business or even the list of famous clients that they've worked with, but trust us when we say you are more than familiar with the work that they produce. The Teague design consultancy is responsible for the design of the original Xbox console that launched over a decade ago and has acted as the platform for the development of the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One. As we approach the official release of Microsoft's latest gaming system, Teague has used their console design experience to give their professional opinions on the aesthetics of the One's biggest rival - the Sony PlayStation 4.
