Sony might be keeping quiet and silent, but that never stopped the rumor mill. New sources hint that the PS3 Successor might be called PlayStation Orbis.
Now, let’s not act surprised. We knew from the start that getting an eventual PS4 was a matter of time, and with time passing by, more and more sources keep adding small bits of information. Of course, Sony has been all hush-hush about this, particularly now that the PS3 seems to be dominating over its direct competitors thanks to its architecture which still holds up decently, but above all, great games that keep the console selling strong. Still, that doesn’t mean they aren’t already working on it, right?
So, here are the fresh news: the codename that’s been thrown around as of late is Orbis, which would make a hell of a combination with Sony’s recent hand-held, the PS Vita (both together would signify “circle of life” in Latin). We know PlayStation 4 is an obvious candidate, but such a wordplay might prove to be too tempting for the executives. The release date would have to be the 2013 holiday season, so that means Sony would stick to its original idea of an approximate 10 year cycle, and that your PS3 has some good years left in any case – consoles do not die right away.
The source, according to Kotaku is a reliable one who “is not authorized to talk publicly about next-gen hardware but has shared correct information with us before.” Furthermore, these seem to match previous rumors and hints from a couple other sources, but should still be taken with some skepticism. Also, when confronted with this data, a Sony spokesperson declined to comment, as it’s their policy not to comment on “rumors or speculation.”
Info on the hardware mentions that Sony are moving away from the little-ram, fast-processor console to a more standard architecture, with a AMD x64 CPU and a AMD Southern Islands GPU. As a reference, the GPU is the name given to many of AMD’s high-end PC cards of 2012. This GPU should be, in theory, capable of displaying resolutions of up to 4096×2160, which is way more than any current HDTV is capable of. Also, playing 3D games at 1080p is a given (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p). Now, it’s not all good news, though. With an architecture so different from the PS3’s, backwards compatibility will likely be non-existant, so take good care of your machine if you’re planning to replay Uncharted 3 or Metal Gear Solid 4.
Some other bad news hint that, just like with the Xbox Durango, used games will be a thing of the past, and games will be “locked” to a single PSN account. That means that if you get your hands on a friends blu-ray copy of a game, you’d only be able to play a “trial mode”, and would have to pay extra to fully unlock the game. If you ask us, this seems a bit draconian and excessive, although we’ll be the first to admit that the used games market tend to hurt the developer, while giving benefits only to the middle man.
More rumors hint that “select developers” already have dev kits for the PlayStation Orbis, and have had them for a couple of months now. These versions should be improved and updated once the beta versions are finalized by the end of 2012. With any luck, and all this time to prepare, this means that the launch line up should be nothing short of stellar.
Source: Kotaku
If you can’t wait to see what the console looks like, why don’t you check out some artists ideas, and what they think the future holds up? Check out Dare to Dream: The PS4 Concept by Joe Dumary andAmazing New PS4 Console Design.
