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Tucom

Cancelled
Jul 29, 2006
1,252
310
If the rumored specs are anything to go by, there will be NO backwards compatibility with any of previous PlayStation software. Meaning the PS4 will be running on x86 AMD processors which is incredibly different than current PowerPC Cell architecture, and won't be powerful enough to emulate the PS3, which current PC's can't do eithe, no matter how powerful (Maybe a 12 Core Mac Pro)



It is entirely possible we'll see PS1 and PS2 games on the PS4 however.
 

peskaa

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2008
2,104
5
London, UK
Nonsense. When Apple shifted to Intel we had PPC emulation (Rosetta) from day one that ran plenty fast - and that was on Core Duo CPUs. Emulation on the PS4 would be pretty easy.
 

2nyRiggz

macrumors 603
Aug 20, 2005
6,161
76
Thank you Jah...I'm so Blessed
I pray for PS3 BC, I love all of my PS3/PSN games and would love to play them again without switching consoles. I think Sony won't let MS get the upper hand this generation so I expect the PS4 to launch November 2013.

I think the purchase of Gaikai will be a focol point of the PS4 and Vita.

This will be interesting.


Bless
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
Oh yeah, Gaikai. I wonder what they're planning with that? What use would that be for something as (probably) powerful as a PS4?
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Nonsense. When Apple shifted to Intel we had PPC emulation (Rosetta) from day one that ran plenty fast - and that was on Core Duo CPUs. Emulation on the PS4 would be pretty easy.

My Mac Pro struggles with Dolphin at decent frame-rates despite 32Gb ram, 8 cores and a 5870 GPU.

Doing PS3 emulation will require far more power.

The only way Sony will offer it is if they include a chip / core for backwards compatability.

The reality is backwards compatability only really seems to matter before a console is launched, or just after (if there are limited launch titles) .
 

boy-better-know

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
1,350
137
England
If the PS4 does not have PS3 compatibility, anyone else going to find it annoying bringing out your PS3 to play GTA5 on, especially the DLC that is sure to come out in 2014?

It's so weird, the biggest game of the generation (probably) coming out at the same time as new consoles (probably).
 

Bill Killer

macrumors 6502
Dec 29, 2011
495
98
It's interesting that Sony isn't going to wait until E3 and instead choose to do Apple-esque grand unveiling.

Anyway, Sony better come with their guns blazing. The PS3 had a slow start, and their indifference towards the Vita is borderline criminal.

The PS3 had a sense of arrogance about it when it was initially released. It's a fantastic console, especially for use as a complete home entertainment center, but it wasn't until the Kevin Butler ads kicked into gear that the system just took off.
 

blesscheese

macrumors 6502a
Apr 3, 2010
698
178
Central CA
Well, if it is the PS4 announcement, it will definitely be interesting...I am curious as to what the PS4 specs will reveal about the overall health of Sony. I'm rooting for them, but based on what I have been hearing, they don't have the money to fulfill all of our wildest dreams.
 

gkarris

macrumors G3
Dec 31, 2004
8,301
1,061
"No escape from Reality...”
As a launch Wii U owner with 14 games I do know this. However as Wii U's specs are more akin to current generation hardware, many of us here and in the industry do not class the Wii U as a next generation machine, but more a interesting take on the current.

The Wii U hardware is not an exponential leap on existing technology, it caught up and added the gamepad screen. The next Xbox & PS4 will be in order of magnitudes more powerful hardware and will not be matching existing console hardware but offering new hardware.

So it really is hard to classify Nintendo's Wii U in same 'next gen' category as the others.

It's next gen only to those who have not owned either a PS3 for 6 years or a 360 for the last 7....

It's more about the games than console specs....

Not to mention these next gen consoles will have high prices (if Sony repeats the PS3 launch pricing).
 

rezenclowd3

macrumors 65816
Honestly: I would rather they announce full PS2 and PS1 backwards compatibility on the 20th than the PS4 despite the fact that I have a Crystal Chipped slim PS2.

PS4...with new proprietary memory stick format to fight piracy! Backwards compatibility removed to optimize hardware build! Half the features we announce will be removed before, during AND after launch! Made from brittle plastic for weight savings! ONLY Motion support! All software purchased cannot be resold to protect users from game post launch hype failings.

;-)
 

peskaa

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2008
2,104
5
London, UK
My Mac Pro struggles with Dolphin at decent frame-rates despite 32Gb ram, 8 cores and a 5870 GPU.

Doing PS3 emulation will require far more power.

The only way Sony will offer it is if they include a chip / core for backwards compatability.

The reality is backwards compatability only really seems to matter before a console is launched, or just after (if there are limited launch titles) .

Yes, but Dolphin is not made by Nintendo, it's a third party effort without the intimate knowledge of how everything works at all levels. Dolphin simply works via brute force, rather than finesse. Take the PS3 as an example - the EU and later US/JP models lacked the PS2 hardware required, so there is a lot of software emulation going on. Yet it works, despite the architectures of the PS2 and PS3 being totally and utterly foreign to one another.

The big issue is converting the PS3's PPC code to x86, which can be done using a Rosetta-style emulation layer, as used by Apple and known to be of high quality and good performance. It's also remarkable that the PS4's octocore design magically matches up with the Cell - 8 cores on the x86 versus 1 core + 7 SPEs on the Cell. Assign them one for one, and the only difference is clock speed, but the new CPU is going to be way more efficient so that difference is negated.

Throw in the fact that the PS4 will have a way better GPU, I think software emulation is easily possible. Not having emulation for PS3 titles would ruin the system, Sony simply have to include it to remain competitive.
 

boy-better-know

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
1,350
137
England
I find it strange when people complain about the pricing of home consoles. I think, as consumer products go, they are probably one of the best things you can buy in terms of value for money.
Take the PS3 for example, I bought it at launch in the UK, it cost me £425. I played that console every day for over 4 years. Never had a problem and it still works now, I upgraded to a slim because I didn't want my launch PS3 to die.

Now compare that to a mobile phone that you would pay around £500 for, it will look terrible after a year and you will replace it after 2 years, by which time it might be fit for the bin. Yet we don't really hear people complain about mobile phones, but if a console is deemed to be overpriced, you never hear the end of it.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Yeah I paid around €600 (possibly more) for my imported USA launch PS3. It's still going strong 6 years later.


If the PS4 is decently specced and a nice looking device I have no qualms about spending €500-600

A decent AMD 7950 or 7970 GPU to put in my mac would cost me around €350-600 anyway....




and after all the Wii U Zombi U pack cost me €420....
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
No PS4 for Europe until 2014?
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2013/02/01/rumour-ps4-wont-launch-in-europe-until-2014/
I will be incredibly annoyed. Might import if true.


See this is how BS news gets spread.

Edge speculated that it won't launch till 2014 and then Eurogamer and SixAxis report their speculation as if its factual news rather than just someone's opinion and guess work.

To be honest I'd have as much validity if I claimed it was out in October....

Edge's opinion seemingly based on PS1,2 & 3 releases and they take no note of the fact PS Vita was released in the US & Europe on the same day, and generally we now live in a climate of near simultaneous releases.

Don't pay heed too much to this report...
 

boy-better-know

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
1,350
137
England
See this is how BS news gets spread.

Edge speculated that it won't launch till 2014 and then Eurogamer and SixAxis report their speculation as if its factual news rather than just someone's opinion and guess work.

To be honest I'd have as much validity if I claimed it was out in October....

Edge's opinion seemingly based on PS1,2 & 3 releases and they take no note of the fact PS Vita was released in the US & Europe on the same day, and generally we now live in a climate of near simultaneous releases.

Don't pay heed too much to this report...
Yeah, it is pretty pointless speculating at this stage. I will wait to see what happens on the 20th before crying about it.

Question to everyone - Apart from the announcement of the Playstation 4, what else would you love to hear on the 20th?

I don't expect anything more than "Here is the PS4, it's hella cool" - But I would boil over with excitement if we were teased a next generation Gran Turismo or Uncharted (in that order). However, a nice glossy PS4 is enough excitement for me.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Yeah, it is pretty pointless speculating at this stage. I will wait to see what happens on the 20th before crying about it.

Question to everyone - Apart from the announcement of the Playstation 4, what else would you love to hear on the 20th?

I don't expect anything more than "Here is the PS4, it's hella cool" - But I would boil over with excitement if we were teased a next generation Gran Turismo or Uncharted (in that order). However, a nice glossy PS4 is enough excitement for me.


We need some real vision for the vita. Maybe as a controller for the PS4 ?

Also more games other than just Tearaway and Killzone. The only games worth noting coming out on it.


Also new OS for the vita that will speed it up, so settings isn't a seperate application, an ability to apply a wallpaper easily to your home screen rather than having to do it on every single screen, and drop the stupid circular icons and replace them with a proper grid and an ability to create folders.
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
Oh I definitely think the Vita will be an alternate controller for the PS4. They're gonna want a slice of the WiiU pie and they already can (LBP Cross Controller pack).

From here on I wouldn't believe any rumours. It's going to be such a mess.
 

peskaa

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2008
2,104
5
London, UK
Yeah, it is pretty pointless speculating at this stage. I will wait to see what happens on the 20th before crying about it.

Question to everyone - Apart from the announcement of the Playstation 4, what else would you love to hear on the 20th?

I don't expect anything more than "Here is the PS4, it's hella cool" - But I would boil over with excitement if we were teased a next generation Gran Turismo or Uncharted (in that order). However, a nice glossy PS4 is enough excitement for me.

We need some real vision for the vita. Maybe as a controller for the PS4 ?

Also more games other than just Tearaway and Killzone. The only games worth noting coming out on it.

Definitely the Vita being used as a controller, that would be really quite good - and a match for the WiiU's offerings.

I'd like to see some game announcements, but I'm not sure if this is a bit early for that. Sony do need some good titles for launch - an Uncharted title would fit nicely.

Beyond that, I actually think there won't be much else.
 

2nyRiggz

macrumors 603
Aug 20, 2005
6,161
76
Thank you Jah...I'm so Blessed
Also more games other than just Tearaway and Killzone. The only games worth noting coming out on it.

Wait what? come on now there's Soul Sacrifice, Guacamelee, KickBeat, Sly Cooper 4 and Muramasa just of the top of my head...its not that bad. I do agree its time to kick the vita games in gear though.

I do believe the PSV is going to play a big role with the PS4. I think Gaikai will be linking the systems together but I don't know in what way. PSV as a PS4 controller would be an excellent idea in the vein of the WiiU(of course its going to set off a fanboy war though)


Bless
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Wait what? come on now there's Soul Sacrifice, Guacamelee, KickBeat, Sly Cooper 4 and Muramasa just of the top of my head...its not that bad. I do agree its time to kick the vita games in gear though.

I do believe the PSV is going to play a big role with the PS4. I think Gaikai will be linking the systems together but I don't know in what way. PSV as a PS4 controller would be an excellent idea in the vein of the WiiU(of course its going to set off a fanboy war though)


Bless


Yeah but I've already played muramasa ;)

I've got sly cooper on pre-order simply because its comes free with ps3 version.

Is Guacamole and Kickbeat retail releases or PSN titles ?

And I'm reserving judgment on Soul Sacrafice as if its Monster Hunter mixed with Demon Souls it probably won't be for me.



What Sony really need to announce is they are letting third party's make Vita memory cards and are brining down the price and introducing a 64gb one. I am pig sick of managing my 16gb card and will not pay near €100 for a 32GB one.
 

peskaa

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2008
2,104
5
London, UK
What Sony really need to announce is they are letting third party's make Vita memory cards and are brining down the price and introducing a 64gb one. I am pig sick of managing my 16gb card and will not pay near €100 for a 32GB one.

Amazon UK have a 32Gb one for a hair under 60GBP, is that a better price?
 

boy-better-know

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
1,350
137
England
Vita as a controller would be good, but I'm not too sure about it not having L2/R2 buttons, yes it can use the rear touch pad, but triggers are preferable. Wouldn't mind them bringing out a new controller with a screen on. Maybe bundled as an option.
 

sikkinixx

macrumors 68020
Jul 10, 2005
2,062
0
Rocketing through the sky!
Vita as a controller would be good, but I'm not too sure about it not having L2/R2 buttons, yes it can use the rear touch pad, but triggers are preferable. Wouldn't mind them bringing out a new controller with a screen on. Maybe bundled as an option.

Vita sticks are horrible compared to DS3 sticks so that immediately forces that out of my mind.
 
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