Be Excellent To Each Other

"The Jackbox Party Pack" is You Don't Know Jack, but on a PS4.

It's really, really good.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/04/ ... -tomorrow/

Remote play comes to PC!

Honestly, I'm more interested in the gaming calendar and the online notifications.

They're like buses!

In 720p if your connection is fast enough. Might as well game on the PS3.

Because having access to a PC means you've also magically got access to a PS3?

It wouldn't work on an HP Envy because the wireless drops.

That's...good to know? I suppose?

It is. I have decided to be grumpy about tbis for a while.

Can you play CDs on it whilst it reconnects?

He spends the time winding up his gramophone.

Wait? When did he upgrade from the wax cylinder player?

This remote play thing works really nicely, not sure I'll ever really use it but still, it's nice to have.

will it work only on wifi, or can i e.g. access my ps4 from my parents house over internet?
+

Yeah it works over the Internet although I think they recommend at least a 12Mb/s connection.

I trie dit and it is quite easy... went well for half a robot league game..

i just wonder now if it also can turn my ps4 on from another place..


this looks like our kind of thing too..
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016- ... eon-review

It can turn it on, you just need to enable that on the PS4 first.

Lots of details on the PS4K. Might be a terrible idea, it's a bit of a weird one, but I think I could see me buying this.

http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/sourc ... 1100-5437/

1.3x more CPU power, 2.3x more GPU power, 1.2x more RAM bandwidth. No mention of PSVR in the leaked docs the article is based on but that's a clear use case -- this PS4K would probably be able to deliver better-than-2d-PS4-standard graphics in VR mode.

Yeah I really don't know about this at all.

All possible outcomes involve some kind of compromise or limitation.

I think part of the reason such regular hardware iterations on phones and tablets are so widely accepted is because people expect it. I don't think many people buy and iPhone or and iPad expecting them not to release a new one in the next year or so. There's no precedent of a "Ten Year Life Cycle"

Remember when they sold the PS4 as being the most powerful console, and now we might need upgrade to a better one if we want to get good framerates on games. I understand why they didn't, but telling people upfront that they planned to take a more iterative approach with future revisions would probably make me more accepting of it. It doesn't feel like this was part of the plan (I wonder how many older games will get an upgrade), and it feels like a move that is less because the PS4 needs it (it's dominating the market and it has great momentum), but because Sony need it (they want to ship 4k TVs, produce 4k movies and shows, sell 4k cameras and lenses, and cement themselves in VR).

Maybe they looked at how putting Blu Ray in the PS3 at launch worked out, and thought that this time around it might be better to do the equivalent of releasing a PS3 without Blu Ray, and two years later thinking about putting out a revision with a Blu Ray drive. A PS4 with these kind of specs, but $599 back at launch would have been a tougher sell. Even $499.

Dunno if I get one, but I'll be irritated if/when games feel significantly compromised on PS4 og. And then probably think about buying one.

I wonder how the hardware roadmap for Xbox and Nintendo will go. Surely MS have to respond, they're getting somewhat painted into a corner with the Xbox One, and surely they'll want to at the very least match the PS4k performance for the majority of games with an Xbox 1.5. Nintendo will probably benefit here, since the likelihood is that their new console will surpass the performance of the PS4 and Xbox One, so the technical barriers they've had for widespread support from the industry for their past two consoles should be gone, although they will still have work to on the barriers not of a technical nature. Their handheld could be interesting too, since I can certainly see them putting out a handheld that could manage to share the library of their next home console assuming they keep the resolution low (ie 540p) and use a modern CPU architecture (ARM)and have broad engine/middleware support.

I'm not sure how likely I am to upgrade assuming this is true.
I expect it will depend on whether I buy a VR headset or not, and I won't know that till I've tried one.

Microsoft are already pointed towards going this way with UWP. I suspect they'll just have PCs branded as Xbox like the Steam boxes are and new iterations every couple of years.

God knows what Nintendo will do. Who wants to predict that?

They don't care now. They made enough money off Zardoz to bring out a console that is controlled with your ears and still be solvent.

To play devil's advocate for a moment: why shouldn't consoles adopt this iterative improvement approach? It's never been that way before but perhaps we need to challenge that assumption and see if it's a good thing. People seem happy enough with annual updates to phones; would once-every-three-years updates to consoles be such a bad thing?

It would remove the period at the tail end of the generation where the hardware is on its last legs and clearly outshone by other devices, and it would reduce the pressure on each platform redesign to be created around a projected 5+ year lifespan. It would allow the creation of multiple hardware price points (to adopt Apple's nomenclature: a 'good' console, a 'better' console, and a 'best' console) which allows manufactures to appeal to different segments of the market. And it moves us away from the precarious model of console hardware that is sold at a loss for the first year or so of its life, hoping to recoup that loss in later years.

Best of all: it might move PlayStation and Xbox to APIs that remain standard over time, giving us full software library compatibility (forwards and backwards!) by dint of not having lurching changes in architecture every X years. I'd really like to have that.

I feel that you're describing a more regulated PC gaming market there.

The difference with iterative hardware for consoles is the mobile phone model is essentially tied into contracts. After two years you can then get the shiniest newest model with no change in your monthly outgoings.

If the console manufacturers can tie users in to a 24 month contract paying for the live/psn sub and the hardware then that might actually work. I'd sign up for it just so I can get new and shiny without having the conversation with the other half as to how it's definitely needed and "LOOK AT ALL THE PIXELS!".

Gradually piss away all their money releasing increasingly desperate and weird consoles in an attempt to recapture the Wii glory years before finally going bankrupt without ever really understanding why?

Well, sort of. But there's a very big gap between one console every three years and one iPhone every year; and then an even bigger gap to get to the fragmentation of the PC market.

I'm sure they've got lots of talented teams working out the best model for maximum piss extraction.

Everything that is successful in this market is because they have some 'productive' use. Yes you have a core fanbase who buy each edition, but the majority I buy a new laptop/PC/Phone/Mac when the old one becomes too frustrating to use anymore.

Consoles USP (ick) is the it is a joy box. That 'just works' and provides fun. The best games on the console are coming out as you get hyped for the next one. If the upgrade schedule becomes like a PC, you'll have a hardcore by all means, but the unwashed majority will keep their console until it is too frustrating to use and then either a) upgrade or b)drift away from gaming.

Despite being a spod who would probably by the PS4k, long term I think switching from an upgrade-due-to-hype to an upgrade-due-to-frustration model is a terrible idea, despite the huge amount of money it would make in the short term.

Now that I could maybe actually get behind. £20 a month for PS+ and a new console every other year. Even though I still think it would sink the ship long term as it forced people to drift away.

The moment I'm given system settings and can choose the screen-rez etc, I'm out though. Thats not extra choice, that is extra work.

It's not just concern for feeling like you get a compromised experience without upgrading, but it also means that (potentially) the new capabilities of the new hardware will be underutilized. Instead of trying to use new hardware to fundamentally change the technology a game is based on, the extra capability is just going to be used to play the same game with more pixels. Like with phones, no one is going to ignore customers without cutting edge hardware, so newer hardware is hamstrung by not being used to it's full potential in a way that more clearly defined breaks between hardware generation isn't.

It already feels like so much of the PS4's early lifetime was filled with crossgen releases, and it looks like that trend is set to continue, even if leapfrogging from PS3 and PS4 to PS4 and PS4k.

This isn't inherently the worst possible outcome, but it is a strategy with some disadvantages.

I agree that MS seem to be going in this direction with UWP (although for the immediate future I think most games played on Xbox One will still be native Xbox One games), and Nintendo are indeed planning for some kind of shared library with their next home console and handheld, with software remaining compatible on future platforms too.

As long as they've got Pokemon, Nintendo will never go bankrupt.

This could set a dangerous President!!!

'Pay £300 for a new console every two years!' Um. No. Fuck off.

I could see attach rates falling through the floor, and would almost certainly do huge damage to Mono-gaming mega franchises like CoD. Who's going to want to pay £400 for two CoDs?

People are still playing the latest CoD on the 360, they won't give a shit.

Sony's security finally gets some aspect of it's shit together:

http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/20/play ... ntication/

About time too!

Housemarque's new game Alienation gets a good review from YerpGonks.

Excellent. I'd preordered that one.

Yeah, that looks pretty ace. Only £15, too!

Had an hour or so on it tonight and it's basically Dead Nation with Aliens instead of zombies and four player coop.
Should be a nice game for a group of friends to work through.

Hahaha my PS4 has broke, it just won't turn on any more. I've tried a different socket and a different cable.

It's outside of the manufacturer warranty (1 year) but just inside the EU Product Warranty Directive (2 years), for which I have to deal with the retailer, and the onus is on me to prove that they sold me a faulty device. Said retailer doesn't even sell PS4s or any games hardware any more. Doubt I can get a replacement, but maybe they can get it repaired for me.

Apparently Sony charge £170 for out of warranty repairs, which is Pretty Fucking Steep. Amazon occasionally sell open box systems for less than that.

Not sure what to do. I've emailed Sony and the retailer. I'll see what I can get out of them. I might have better luck with the retailer given that from SavyGamer I send them quite a lot of business.

No way I'll pay £170 to get it fixed. I probably just wait for the PS4 Neo. I've got fuckloads of stuff I've bought on PSN, so they've kind of got me by the balls.

Something like thins maybe:

http://www.consolewizard.co.uk/kes/play ... rvice.html

I have no clue if these lot are any good but I'm sure there must be someone out there making a living out of doing competent repairs on PS4s.

Oh also it doesn't help that I now live like 6000 miles away from England. I will be back later in the year for my Sister's wedding though.

Edit: Thanks for the suggestion though, I'll look into it.

so out of nowhere, suddenly ps-now appeared on my ps4..; apparantly holland has been added.... started free trial, is there any must play on there?

(had some fun with raiden 4, even if it crashed out before defeating the second boss)..

PS4K is officially official:

https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/10/son ... not-at-e3/

I assume i would not see a benefit with my non 4k tv?

Not having a 4K TV and not being overly interested in PSVR, I'm not sure there's a compelling case for me to get one.

We don't know. But: yes, I think you will. Unless the rumours were way off and Sony have cheated the laws of physics, this thing won't be doing much gaming at 4k; rather, the extra power will go to games which are prettier at 1080p.