PlayStation 4: Next-gen is right now

Sony unveiled their next-generation gaming console, the PlayStation 4, yesterday at an event held in New York City.  The event can be watched in its entirety over at the PlayStation Blog.

The console itself was not actually shown at the event because it's final design has not yet been decided on, according to statements made by CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America Jack Tretton in an interview with AllThingsD.

I’m impressed. It’s a solid system with nice specs and some nice features like simultaneous downloading and playing. The instant on and off feature is cool too. Most of the really neat features require a constant internet connection and power supply though, which wouldn’t work for me because I always unplug my consoles when I’m done playing.

I’m wondering why they held an announcement event for the console before the console itself was actually finalized and ready to be shown. I’m afraid that the industry has come to a point now where content creators are too willing to sell promises that sometimes go unfulfilled.

When Nintendo first announced the Wii U in 2011 and only showed the Gamepad, most people – including those of us at E3 – were not sure exactly what we had been shown. Now, Sony announces the PS4 and only shows the Dualshock 4 controller. I’m not comparing Sony to Nintendo exactly, because Sony did give detailed specifications and real-time demos, but it’s still a trend I’m not totally comfortable with.

I think that interconnectivity between devices is certainly the way of the future for the games industry, and Sony is right on the money with their focus on sharing and connecting between players. The ability to stream gameplay and spectate friends' games will likely be strong selling points for the PS4 because it brings back a sense of community that has been hard to regain since playing with friends in the same room has become more and more rare.

PS3 titles like "Journey" won't be natively playable on PS4.

The really major thing that irks me is that the PS4 will not be backwards compatible out of the box and Playstation Network purchases will not transfer from PS3 to PS4, Present of Sony's Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida said in a roundtable discussion with journalists after the PS4 reveal event. Gaikai should solve that problem by streaming previous PlayStation titles to PS4 over the Internet, but it’s not guaranteed and it likely won't come at launch.

All of this – social features, Gaikai streaming, sharing and the like – completely alienates anyone without a regular connection to reliable internet, and, to some degree, people with internet data caps. I guess that’s the way of progress, though. Xbox Live used to be an optional feature for those who could afford it, and now it’s practically assumed to be as much a part of the gaming experience as a disk drive.

Of course, it's still very early to be making sweeping judgments about any of the next-generation consoles, so when more information becomes available we will all be able to decide for ourselves whether the future is bright for the industry.

Your gaming past is coming back for your money

SNK Playmore has recently revealed that there will be a large sale including NEOGEO titles (up to 50% off on certain games) on the PlayStation Network. So, if you've got a hankering to relive your past years of gaming on your current-generation handhelds, you're in luck from August 28 to September 25.

NEOGEO games were the cornerstone of many people growing up in the floundering game industry of the late 90s. Video games had established themselves as a hobby and pastime for many in their basements or in arcades shut away from the world. Pizza joints and laundromats soon became high-traffic areas that proudly displayed "The King of Fighters" or "Samurai Showdown."

I remember that near my house there was a Lampost Pizza that had at least two NEOGEO machines that had all of the sports and fighting games that the company offered. There was something so simplistic and easy about the titles that they really were worth a couple of quarters, but you always wanted to play them if you had time.

C'mon, you guys recognize this game.

Soccer, or for our European readers we shall call it football, is a foreign sport to me. Every night in the pizza place though, I owned at "Super Sidekicks." Italy was never trounced by Brazil in my perfect little NEOGEO universe.

This is an interesting move by SNK Playmore. The Japanese-based company might be on to something without realizing it at this juncture of the gaming industry, or maybe they're just that smart. The current generation of games are very recycled and the industry is indeed hearing and feeling the backlash from consumers.

Bringing back past hits like "Metal Slug" and "Fatal Fury" is an easy way to capitalize on nostalgia and will certainly sell well. Whether or not people will play the games is another question altogether. I have the entire "Metal Slug Collection" on my Wii, but I can't remember the last time I played it. Though I do remember that when I did play it, it dominated the same amount of time as a session of "Skyrim."

If this sale goes well, it definitely signifies that the industry is in need of some very hardcore thinking and reworkings. Perhaps it's time to go back to basics rather than sticking with what makes money and what is easiest to fund. The money machine is starting to lose its shine, and gamers are tired of the product.

For those interested in the NEOGEO titles now available on the PlayStation Network, here is the list of games:

"ALPHA MISSION II"

"ART OF FIGHTING"

"BASEBALL STARS 2"

"BASEBALL STARS PROFESSIONAL"

"FATAL FURY"

"LEAGUE BOWLING"

"MAGICIAN LORD"

"METAL SLUG"

"METAL SLUG 2"

"SAMURAI SHODOWN"

"SHOCK TROOPERS"

"SUPER SIDEKICKS"

"THE KING OF FIGHTERS '94"

"THE KING OF FIGHTERS '95"

"THE KING OF FIGHTERS '96"

"WORLD HEROES"

Open for Discussion: Downloadable Games

With the demand for digital versions of games now at a record high, Parker and Anders discuss their feelings about downloadable games. How do you feel about the Live Marketplace and the PSN Store? Do you like them? Do you miss physical copies of games? Tell us what you think!

It's an Amazing Journey

Journey, developed exclusively for the Playstation 3 by Thatgamecompany, is an absolutely visually stunning piece of interactive art that manages to evoke emotions without so much as a single word that most full-length AAA games can't manage with a fully voiced-over script.

The story of the game is revealed to the player through short cutscenes at the end of each chapter of the game. Essentially, it is the player's job to travel to the glowing peak of a massive mountain that looms in the distance of each chapter while collecting glowing symbols to lengthen a cloth around the main character's neck that grants the ability to fly for short periods of time and interact with other pieces of cloth throughout the game world to solve puzzles. The looming mountain itself serves as a very subtle and incredibly useful pathfinding tool in some of the more spacious environments.

Journey's most noticeable feature is the beautiful imagery and artistic style that give the game its personality. Each chapter has a distinctive color pallet and architectural and environmental feel that helps to move the story forward.

Enjoying the scenery as a team.

 The entire game can be played alone or, when online and connected to the Playstation Network, with a random person who can appear at any point in any chapter. Players are not required to cooperate with their random partner, and the game can be completed completely alone, so there is no stress of having to deal with a bad teammate. If matched players choose to help one another, the only way they can communicate is by shouting with the circle button, although it's really more of a musical note than a vocal sound. Other players are made visible even when not in direct view by a slight white glow at the edge of the screen nearest to their location. The game does reveal the PSN IDs of players met at the completion of the story.

There are absolutely no words spoken throughout the entire game, so a player must rely on the sounds of wind, cries of creatures and the shouts of other players in conjunction with visual cues provided by the in-game camera to figure out what to do next. The player character also makes small movements with her head when interesting things are happening on screen and very believably trudges through the vast deserts of Journey,which leads to a strangely intimate feeling of connection between the character on screen and the player behind the controller by the end of the story.

Camera angles provide amazing views and a sense of motion.

The camera work throughout Journey is superb. At certain points throughout the chapters, the camera gently guides the players view to important areas or events. This very subtle camera movement creates an immersive experience and helps to evoke emotions in players, but unfortunately also creates some frustration during action sequences that require relatively precise movement. Movement frustrations can easily be forgiven, though, because the purpose of each chapter is to experience a story rather than get a high score.

Journey's controls are smooth and slow, and the camera angles can make moving around areas slightly frustrating at times. As game controls go, Journey is one of the most visceral games I've played in a long time.Trudging up hills of sand feels realistically slow and sluggish, and surfing on wind-blown sand waves is slick and smooth and so satisfying. The controls are simple enough that anyone can grab the controller and find their way through chapters, but still finely tuned enough that veteran gamers can navigate areas stylishly and collect some trophies along the way.

The game only takes about three hours to complete, which makes sense to me because I think that Thatgamecompany meant for it to be played in one sitting. Journey is one of the best examples of a video game connecting gameplay, storytelling, visuals, sound and music into a truly engaging experience that affects players emotionally. The experience that is delivered through playing Journey is well worth $15.