PlayStation 4 Make Believe

This is just part 1, I still have many things I would like to cover. I just briefly ran over a few ideas in my head and this is the result.



As people of this world we have expectations about everything. We expect things to be on time, to run according to plan, and to be flawless. This does not exclude those same envisions in our gaming systems. We have come along way since the days of pac-man and Pitfall. We all remember our first time playing a video game, we were opened to a world of unlimited imagination. The only restriction we had were limitations in our technology. We are now in the year 2013. Never being at a higher technological level. We are faced with the development of the next generation of video gaming. 



Our belief is that something should always be improving in an upward motion. If I release a product that is a great success, then when I release my next product, it shouldn't just be as good, but much better than my last. When you have these kinds of trends when do these successful products end? 

The best example of this is the history of Sony’s PlayStation. Sony has had a great success in the video game industry. With the PlayStation, PSone, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3, Sony has made their mark and proven they can run with the best; of course with the exclusion of handheld products. Sony is now faced with a problem that can make or break their next console. This would be trying to meet the expectations of the consumer. 

I was reading an article recently by an author named Tynan Muddle at  His article got me thinking, what do I think Sony needs to do to make their next console a success? Then I was wondering what is the criteria for success?  Is it sales? Power of the system? Gaming library? Quality of the product? In this article, “PlayStation 4 Should Focus on Innovation, Not Power” Tynan has come to the conclusion that Sony needs to step down on the power and focus on the innovation aspects of the next console. In Tynan’s opening statement, “Sony need to focus less on sheer power for PlayStation 4 and more on groundbreaking features if they want to recapture their former glory”. That is a great idea. I mean, what has made Sony so popular over the years? It has been great innovations to make gaming easier while giving you a product that you want to play. They gave us an easier way to game over the internet with the PlayStation 2. As we have seen with the PlayStation 3 they have grown this aspect with features such as “PlayStation Home” and “NetFlix”.  

Tynan also claimed something needed to change, “But the demise of PlayStation 3 presents Sony with an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start again. To shock the gaming and non-gaming populations alike with never-before-seen features and abilities, packed into a modestly powered machine”. While he may want a modestly powered machine, I want something much different. What could fill expectations more than having a “complete” multimedia system in your living room? The PlayStation 3 is a powerful system. But, it doesn't provide an excellent online surfing experience. Could Sony make a gaming system that could also be used like a home computer desktop? Think about it, how hard would it be to make this sort of system. Honestly it wouldn't be very hard at all. I know a lot of people like to play games and they also use the internet. If you strengthen the online capabilities with the next console you could integrate a system where you could play games and use the internet at the same time on the same screen. I’m just shooting in the dark here, but has any other console done this? No. None of them have done it at least to the extent that has already been done by Sony. 

We could go on and on about what each one of us wants from this upcoming console. But, the fact remains that there will always be expectations that won’t be met. Here is a list of a few things that I wouldn't mind to be thought about:



I recommend they also continues to use the Blueray player because the quality if continue to be high. 

In conclusion, power and innovation go hand-in-hand. It has been like this ever since the days of Atari, then SEGA vs. Nintendo, and now Nintendo vs. Sony vs. Microsoft. It will continue to be about power and those expectations that that power brings. 

Not so clear; imagine a world where Sony could afford to license google chrome instead of netfront, or ignore TDP, form factor and price considerations and create a hardcore 700e console and a 99e gaikai one...

Those are the kind of wild options we should at least have by now, but the business model is so predictable and conservative that both competitors abandoned PPC and created some custom x86/x64 PC's, so the tendency is towards convergence, unifying options in an homogeneous development/sales model.
This could end up being dull if developers keep on being absorbed by bigger developers like EA and Activision, but it could also be a fairly rich soil for traditional PC developers to shine, ironically on consoles this time. 

OT: I would like a PS4 option without BR and a big SSD, yes I would buy a cheaper PS4 without optical drive.
Linux option.
Multitasking, browsing the internet seamlessly, auto switching to low power mode while downloading or listening to music, etc

***SSD should not be necessary, a faster RPM for both the HDD and BR drive should suffice, although leaving the option for those that want it should be expected. ***The PS4 will be supporting 4k at minimum for movies. Reference: This can be deduced from Sony's choice to wait until the HDMI 2.0 (supporting 4k@60FPS)standard has been set forth, and the announcement of their own 4k BR disk format, and the adoption of 4k by TV channels and the FIFA world cup in 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_2.0 http://ces.cnet.com/8301-...on-system-this-summer/ http://www.legitreviews.com/news/15053/ ***release in 2014. Reference: 4k info above, PlayStation 20th anniversary. ***Cross game video chat is a strong possibility for the console, with vanilla party chat and personal music during games being a given. The install/update system will be ensured as well. Trophies will transfer over. Internet capabilities will improve. Reference: PS Vita capabilities. ***price point to be $500, keeps it under $600, yet if they go cheap and aim for 1080p60fps the hardware will be $350 and replaced in 2 years easy. There is also no real stop gap like 720p this time. Reference: My gut and reasoning above. ***games will be as they always are; ever improving as personal favorites come and go. Reference: History. ***PS4 tagline: It's Only Beyond Everything. Reference: JK, but still awesome.

Playstation 4 will be make believe because it doesn't exist since Sony is practically bankrupt :)

4K BR disk format hasn't been met yet. BDA has failed at the purposed 2012 deadline for the format, and now BDA believes that a new format won't be possible for another 2 years, if they can even do it.  They have also stated that any new format will make current BR players useless.

And there is no need to worry about backwards compatibility, the PS4 won't be.

@Rane The two halves of the 4k BD format are the h.265 (High Efficiency Video Coding) HEVC Codec and the HDMI 2.0 standard both are set to be finalized mid-2013. ***The base of h.265 has already been completed, they only have to finish the standardization of the extensions to allow for higher refresh rates beyond 60hz, increased bit depth, 4k 3D, etc. In other words future proof the codec. Fairly easy in comparison to making the actual HEVC codec. ***HDMI 2.0 is also in the finalization stages, mostly waiting on h.265 teams confirmation of maximum required bit rates. ***The actual disks data storage requirements and read speed requirements for any reasonable 4k codecs have been completed and surpassed for quite some time now. If fact it will mostly just be a matter of how many layers will be required, as the Blue ray format has proven it can support up to 16 layers, 12x read speeds, and 500+ GB disks, but that won't be necessary and would be a wasted expense on both producer and consumer ends. ***Don't give me any BS about "Oh, we didn't make a deadline, lets wait 2 years to finish this project" unless you have a sh*tload of legit links to back up your claims. The sooner they finalize this the sooner they have a new high end consumer revenue stream as well as a future low end consumer revenue stream.

But they didn't meet the 2012 deadline, and have stated they need 2 more years.

Several manufacturers currently produce BDXL standard media, which provides customers with triple-layer 100GB RE (rewritable) and R (write-once) discs as well as quad-layer 128GB R discs.
There is nothing yet beyond 128R disks as of yet, either way, BDXL will be making present BR players useless. Just another added expense to consumers as they will require buying a new player compatible with 4k.

Anyway, this isn't on topic any longer.

@Rane...What technologies may be incorporated in the next PS is perfectly on topic. I see your just trying to avoid it. ***“We created a task force three months ago to study the prospects of adding new technologies to the format,” Parsons (BDA president) reveals. “We will evaluate three criteria, starting with the technical feasibility of doing 4K, which is four times the picture quality of 1080p.” - quoted from CES 2013. Still working on it, buddy. ***referencing 128GB disks - "Hitachi stated that such a disc could be used to store 7 hours of 32 Mbit/s video (HDTV) or 3 hours and 30 minutes of 64 Mbit/s video (Cinema 4K)." BTW a 12x drive speed is 432 Mbit/s to alleviate fears there. ***Also, try 400GB with a firmware update. "In December 2008, Pioneer Corporation unveiled a 400 GB Blu-ray Disc (containing 16 data layers, 25 GB each) that will be compatible with current players after a firmware update. Its planned launch is in the 2009–10 time frame for ROM and 2010–13 for rewritable discs. Ongoing development is underway to create a 1 TB Blu-ray Disc as soon as 2013." They won't need to phase out older BD until they switch to 1TB disks. ***"On July 20, 2010, the research team of Sony and Japanese Tohoku University announced the joint development of a blue-violet laser, which will help in creating Blu-ray discs with a capacity of 1 TB using only two layers (and potentially more than 1 TB with additional layering)." - from various sources; all of which can be found at a glance on Wikipedia. *** A 6 layer reading 2x drive speed would support 4k. ***TL;DR...In other words, my PS3 drive would support it with a firmware update, but not the HDMI port. Just because you haven't heard it's possible doesn't mean it isn't.