A few days ago, we reported on the Wall Street Journal’s report indicating the PlayStation 4 will stream games, or at least PlayStation 3 titles. However, on Feb. 18 the Wall Street Journal had more to say about this, along with the Orbis’s interactivity with social networks.
In terms of Gaikai, here’s what WSJ had to say:
Since the acquisition [of Gaikai in July of 2012 for $380 million], Sony has been investing heavily to prepare Gaikai’s technology to enhance its new console, the people familiar with Sony’s plans said. Sony has been preparing the technology to be used to allow users to play current PlayStation 3 games on the device, making a broader array of titles available at the outset, these people said. The new device is also expected to play new games stored on optical discs.
This is very much in line with what we reported a few days ago, except it confirms what many had already assumed: Sony’s planning to use the recently purchased Gaikai to enhance their next-gen console.
There’s more news where that came from as well. Wall Street Journal’s sources indicate the PS4 will interact with social services, allowing users to directly upload videos to YouTube from their consoles, eliminating the need for a capture card and other third party hardware.
The new PlayStation also will allow players to share achievements on social networks through smoother links to Facebook or Twitter, while also enabling aspects such as sharing footage of game play online through YouTube, people familiar with Sony’s plans said. Sony’s new console may also allow users to compete against others using different hardware, such as smartphones and other portable devices, those people said.
Interestingly enough, they also note that Microsoft – Sony’s competitor in the next-gen market – is taking a different tact.
Microsoft, while it has tested cloud gaming, is putting greater emphasis on software that allows the Xbox to interact with mobile devices like Apple’s iPad. The company is also planning to create new interactive TV content to be played on its consoles, after opening up a new production studio in Southern California.
The expected reveal of Sony’s newest PlayStation Console (whether it be called PlayStation 4 or Orbis) will occur on Wednesday, Feb. 20, and IGN will be streaming the event live from New York, allowing others to get in on the action before, during, and after the event. The stream is scheduled to start an hour before the event, at 2 p.m. PST.
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