SONY had E3 announcements for the Vita all along!

Sony has had a strange relationship with their portable platform. They are no longer producing first party games, but the system is still getting tons of support from third party studios.

Vita sales pale in comparison to Nintendo's 3DS, but it still has a nice foothold on the market.
Check out the video below to see a few games coming to the platform. Most recently the platform has sold over 600,000 units in Spain, and that's nothing to scoff at.

E3 2015 Press Conference Review

With E3 going into wind-down mode, the folks here and Pixel Loadout decided to do a quick review and breakdown of each individual show and conference for this year.  We had some absolutely monolithic announcements to show for this year, but how does everything stack up when it's all said and done?

The nightmare scenario: incomplete stream

It's been an interesting sort of saga when it comes to Playstation Now, Sony's online streaming solution for customers looking to play older games.  Instead of offering traditional backwards compatibility options like the emotion engine chip found in launch PS3's, they've instead decided to invest in a streaming service not unlike what was offered by the late OnLive, electing to stream an intractable image from a remote server farm.  This has resulted in a fair bit of critique from various sources:  high prices for rentals and subscription services, gameplay with noticeable lag and input delay, a truncated available library, and for some, a total non-option for service due to high bandwidth requirements.

Playstation 4 Is Getting a Portable Monitor Thanks To Hori

In last week's Pixel Loadout hangouts session, our fearless leader Kevin Harrison reminisced about an era in gaming history where each console of the generation (PS2, XBox and Gamecube) had a dedicated monitor.

Well here we are and like a blast from the past Hori has stepped up and is giving us gamers a monitor to game on!

While I am normally dismissive of such peripherals for being either low build quality or having poor performance, Hori is a well-known Arcade Stick manufacturer that is regarded as being at the top of the market. Being so engrained in the competitive fighting game scene I expect that they have performance in mind so hopefully we have something to look forward to.

Reported Specs are as follows:
Size 11 inches wide
External Measurements: 279mm x 275; 8mm x 28mm (10.9in x 10.8in; .3in x 1.1in)
Weight: 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs)
Full screen resolutions: 1920x3 (RGB) x 1080
Display Color: 18 bit color (262, 144 colors)
Maximum Brightness: 350cd/m2
Response Time: 25ms TYP
Video Input: HDMI x2
Audio Output: Internal Stereo Speakers, 2 headphone Jacks
Resolution: 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Power Source: Attached AC adaptor DC 12V/2A
Electricity Usage: 24W maximum
Other: 250 mm (~10 in) HDMI cable

Source: www.dualshockers.com by way of www.gamersbook.com

Sony Press Conference E3 2014 Review

You've...uh...got some dead person...on your...ok then...

FANCY DUAL REVIEW TECH IS GO

DJ and I managed to catch Sony’s press conference at the same time and figured we’d do a back and forth on their press conference as it happens.

KEVIN: This is how you start a press conference, an M-16s on Mars

DJ: Peter Dinklage sounds different

KEVIN: He was such a troll on IGN, check that out

DJ: I did, probably contractual obligations.

KEVIN: I’m just glad we are looking at something than Old Russia finally.  Looks like a lot of new stuff to see, trailer hounds will have a field day with this one.

DJ: 1 year ago, he obliterated Microsoft, well all of Sony did.

KEVIN: Andy da Brick House, also finally where is that Beta?  July 17th on sony stuff.  Lots of Betas today.

DJ: Beta is such a loose term in todays market. It’s a demo.

KEVIN: Psch, screw that, have a damn alpha!  Eat it other betas!

DJ: New ps4, It’s friggin pasty white. As white as milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm.

Mark Cerny and The Road to PS4

I'm always fascinated about looking at video games from a historical perspective and the kind of decisions that have lead to what we play today.  Mark Cerny is a hugely important person in the gaming world when it comes to the success of the Playstation brand.  This sort of all-inclusive history as told by him gives us some fascinating insight to a console's creation process (as well as admitting some failings of such work as well).  While this kind of presentation isn't for everyone, if you have a vested interest into various topics such as the growth of game development teams or the choice to use the Cell processer in the PS3, you might like this.

Microsoft backsteps on DRM & Always Online

Coming as a shock to some, and expected to others,  Microsoft is switching their stance on some major policies and decisions regarding their new console due out this November.  Microsoft's president of interactive entertainment Don Mattrick shared this on Xbox's news site:

---

Last week at E3, the excitement, creativity and future of our industry was on display for a global audience.

For us, the future comes in the form of Xbox One, a system designed to be the best place to play games this year and for many years to come. As is our heritage with Xbox, we designed a system that could take full advantage of advances in technology in order to deliver a breakthrough in game play and entertainment. We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future. 

Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One. 

You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

• An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games– After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.
  

• Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
  

In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console -- there will be no regional restrictions.

These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray.

We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.

Thank you again for your candid feedback. Our team remains committed to listening, taking feedback and delivering a great product for you later this year.

---

Widely regarded as the most caustic features of the console, the loss of a 24 hour check-in window and the ability to trade-in and share disc based games is a huge boon to consumers.  This does come with some caveats though: discs will once again be required to be in the tray in order to play disc based games again.  This also cuts out some of the functionality of always having access to those games based just on gamer profiles.  Also, this functionality is going to require a day 1 patch before it can be used offline.  On another plus side however, the loss of an always online connection is said to also remove region locking for the console, which I'm sure CDProjekt Red appreciates.

There are a lot of facets to this announcement worth considering.  First off, this speaks volumes of exactly what kind of beating Sony served to Microsoft last week at E3.  Most sites have been comparing it to some kind of boxing or MMA match with Sony delivering a TKO.  Indeed, everybody involved at the blog was amazed at what a direct attack Sony sent out to their main competitor.  In some ways, it takes a lot of guts for a company to go back on what before they believed to be major selling points of their new box.  In another,  it's extremely reactionary and makes you wonder who's bright idea it was in the first place.

In the end, this is straight benefit to the consumer.  Old-school capitalism.  Making the Xbone more competitive to the PS4 means we should be seeing better deals vying for the public eye this holiday season.  The PS4 still holds a lot of cards with it's $100 cheaper price point and it's seemingly total devotion to indie developers.  Still, the gulf isn't nearly as wide as last week.

All of this while 4.45 firmware for the PS3 seems to be bricking consoles.  Good week for Microsoft it seems.

Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III in development

During the Sony E3 Keynote this year there was a brief segment where Square-Enix were allowed to strut their stuff. In this, it was finally confirmed that Final Fantasy Versus-XIII  had been re-branded as Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3 has finally popped out it's head.

That's all we basically know. The Final Fantasy XV footage looked to be pseudo in-game rendering with some CGI spliced in between. There was some magic sword wielding and gun shots galore but the game we have virtually only been able to see through pre-rendered scenes finally seems to be coming along quite nicely. 

I have recently had some sort of crisis in how Square-Enix has been handling the Final Fantasy IP. As games have been coming out they have felt less and less "Final Fantasy" and more Sci-Fi Fantasy with high end cut scenes and esoteric story lines that struggle to sprinkle in series icons and fanservice.

Final Fantasy XV seems to be teetering on this as well with it's mind-boggling combination of Modern Existence, Advanced Technology and High Fantasy. But if you didn't notice what that huge serpent thing was it was none other than Leviathan, a classic Summoned Creature from the series. I was glad to see such an impressive rendering of the series' legacy but felt conflicted as what seemed to be in-game footage looked like a hi-res version of Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. 

It's too soon to actually form an opinion but I hope that Square-Enix gets its stuff together and not make another relative dud like Final Fantasy XIII. 

Finally there is Kingdom Hearts III, for the last 5 or so years there have been hopes that this game would in some form debut its existence at E3 but we were constantly fed spin off titles on non-console systems. The tidbit we were showed from a pre-rendered Kingdom Hearts III should be enough to satiate the hordes of fans that have been near demanding this game be made. Now we can rest knowing that the game is finally "in production" and knowing Square-Enix, it may be years before we even see more.

And...Boom goes the dynamite!

That's right folks, it's as easy as that! Sony has unveiled that there will be NO always online DRM with the Playstation 4. They also announced that used games will not be blocked and can be traded in whenever the purchaser wants. The console was also shown and priced at $399, which is cheaper than the xbone I might add by $100. 

I don't know about you but this pretty much is hook, line and sinker for me. At this point I fully support the Playstation 4 and look forward to being a Sony consumer. Also, this is my face when all this wonderful news was announced. 

Xbox One: presentation afterthoughts

It’s been roughly two days since the unveiling of the Xbox One, just enough time to let the announcement be processed and consumed by most around the net.  Interpretations by most have not been favorable to say the least.  While some may claim it to be a typical case of the gaming media being in an echo chamber of negativity, it all keeps coming back around to a very simple truth of the press conference itself:

The announcement was not for gamers.

In some ways this isn’t surprising.  We’ve seen the Xbox 360 shift its intended usage from blade-swapping game machine to blocky ad-delivery Netflix box.  The Xbox One continues Microsoft’s grand plan to dominate and control every facet of media in the living room, hoping that one day all consumers will have open floor space for their cameras whilst you integrate your surface to whatever smartglass app happens to coincide with the program on the screen.  It’s an ambitious goal for sure.  But for hardcore gamers and even mild gamer aficionados alike, this isn’t what we want to hear.

Hard to think I’d quote John Riccitiello, but his recent article at Kotaku says it best:

“The first and most obvious of these pitfalls is if Sony or Microsoft forgets who brought them to the dance in the first place. Gamers.”

At this time, the only attractive features gamers have seen about this console is the console specs, which end up being largely in line with Sony’s PS4 and dwarfing the WiiU, all standard stuff like an 8 core cpu with a 64-bit architecture, 8 gigs of ram, an AMD gpu, 500 gigs of onboard storage, etc.  This and an actual look at the box and controller all are positives in the books for gamers, but thats about it when it comes to the presentation.  Everything else being shown off if you go back and look at the conference are exclusive deals for TV content and Kinect functionality.  

What’s been worse has been almost all the info being presented after the conference that Microsoft of course would not present up front.  Always Online isn’t as bad as was speculated, like kicking you out of a game if the connection drops, but the Xbox One does need to check in online, what’s being speculated at least once every 24 hours.  Used games are somewhere between a small licensing fee and having to rebuy the entire game every time.  Live accounts still have a premium feature, which does share over the One and 360, but will no doubt be required for online gaming and probably other online services like Netflix.  Kinect is bundled with every system and is required to use the console, and will always be on, even if the console isn’t in use.

All of these “features” just serve to fragment the consumer base for a new console.  Gamers would rather see software.  Software is what sells a system, and Forza, Call of Duty and Quantum Break aren’t nearly enough to sell this monolith on its own.  The onus is now on Microsoft to make a phenomenal presentation at E3 in terms.  Comparatively,  Sony is still riding a wave of goodwill of presenting first, as well as advertise the ease of publishing for third-party devs and indie publishers.  Rest assured,  E3 this year will be very interesting, as we haven’t seen a true presentation for a new console generation for years now.

If I had to make a choice now though, Sony is looking far more attractive than Microsoft.