General gaming discussion

[Raoul Duke]

Today, Sony unveiled its newest addition to its console lineup, the long-rumored PlayStation 4 Neo, which is being called the PlayStation 4 Pro. During the company’s meeting in New York City, Sony confirmed that the upgraded model of its current generation console would support "true" 4K gaming and HDR display.

Sony also confirmed some of the specs for the PlayStation 4 Pro that had been rumored leading up to the event. It will have more than double the GPU power than the current model, as reported back in April, and a boosted clock speed to the CPU. The Pro will also come with a 1TB HDD internal hard drive.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/9/7/1282...-neo-specs-pro

[Dark Soldier]

Improved performance on all games, that's about it.

EDIT: @Mahow

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm undecided then. It does look pretty though :\

[Shindig]

1TB hard drive, as well. No Ultra HD Blu Ray player, which has some wankers needlessly annoyed. Scorpio's out next Christmas, if you really want something faster but I'd rather wait til 4k HDR TVs become affordable.

[Raoul Duke]

I'll look at getting a 4k monitor at a later point too. It's been on my list for a while, but I've not really had a reason to get one.

[Mazuuurk]

When is Final Fantasy VII remake out? I'll get the PS4 just for that.

[phonics]

When is Final Fantasy VII remake out? I'll get the PS4 just for that.

2018 (the first half)

[Mazuuurk]

U wot? Damn. Will there not even be like a PS5 by then!?

[John]

U wot? Damn. Will there not even be like a PS5 by then!?

The cycle is about seven years, and the PS4 hasn't even been out for three yet.

[Demerit]

I think this cycle will be longer than most anyway with the Pro and Scorpio adding a few more years to the lifespan.

[Mazuuurk]

The cycle is about seven years, and the PS4 hasn't even been out for three yet.

Ah, I see. Seems like a lot longer!

[phonics]

I don't think there will be a console cycle anymore. With the Pro they'll start going Apple style and introducing a new one when it's economical to do so. They'll do Pro 1,2,3 then rebrand etc. They're basically PC's nowadays since they're both running off x86 architecture.

[Disco]

If people buy this just a couple of years after the PS4 was launched then you can bet there'll be a new one every few years, there'll be incremental improvements (ooohhh 4k, or you know just 1080p upscaled in order to placate graphics wankers) and they'll want you to pay £400+ each time for the privilege. I really don't know why anyone would fall for it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

If people buy this just a couple of years after the PS4 was launched then you can bet there'll be a new one every few years, there'll be incremental improvements (ooohhh 4k, or you know just 1080p upscaled in order to placate graphics wankers) and they'll want you to pay £400+ each time for the privilege. I really don't know why anyone would fall for it.

Yet it works incredibly well for Apple.

[Disco]

And I'm continually amazed that people fall for their shit too.

'Oh you have a new thing that's functionally identical to the one I have now (and pretty much all the others you've made) apart from you took something off and made it even flimsier, of course here's several hundred pounds see you again next year!'

It's baffling behaviour.

[John]

Clearing a load of shit out of the loft today and I've happened upon the box with my PS2 and Gamecube in it. San Andreas and Final Fantasy 10.

[Shindig]

If people buy this just a couple of years after the PS4 was launched then you can bet there'll be a new one every few years, there'll be incremental improvements (ooohhh 4k, or you know just 1080p upscaled in order to placate graphics wankers) and they'll want you to pay £400+ each time for the privilege. I really don't know why anyone would fall for it.

In a few ways, its different to the Apple situation in that developers are clearly pushing for this. EA, Activision and Ubisoft all got prominent demos yesterday. They want better looking games for better looking sales and more expensive games. Sony needs the software sales because no console maker (with the possible exception of Nintendo) makes money off hardware. The boxes that hit the market in 2013 were seen as modest PCs. Since then there's a GPU scrap going on between AMD and NVidia's new cards. 4K TV is desperate to get traction and now HDR is another bulletpoint.

Its a perfect storm for a technology-driven marketplace. And they've been thinking about this probably since the first year these consoles launched. The PC's become more of a threat and they have to advance like this to keep the big developers sweet.

Sony's messaging to developers has been decent, mind. They released a list a while back that was effectively a code of conduct. You cannot cut out the 'have nots' from the 'haves'.

[Raoul Duke]

I would expect to see something like major/minor upgrade cycles of around 5-7 years (total). So:

- PS4 (Nov) 2013
- PS4 Pro 2016
- PS5 in about 2019/2020
- PS5 Pro approx. 2023

()

[Shindig]

Yes. Technology doesn't move fast enough for the usual 7-year itch to get upset. With the Pro being forwards compatible, I could theoretically grab one on the cheap by the time 4k HDR sets hit my desired price range.

[Dark Soldier]

Tropico 4 is completely free for the next day and a half or so on the Humble Bundle website. Supposed to be a good series of games so I've grabbed it. Its a Steam code they give you, if you've never used the site before.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I've not gotten 3, 4 and 5 for free.

Mon 1 and 2.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Wasn't necessarily planning on buying the new Lego Star Wars but CDkeys are doing the deluxe for £11.39 and couldn't help myself.

[John]

Journey is free on PS+ at the moment for those who haven't played it.

[Shindig]

It was lush. I especially liked the bit when the person that was with me dropped out. "Oh, they're medita... ARGH!!!"

[Disco]

Original Sin 2 out in early access, that's going to be hard to resist.

[phonics]

I don't see why you'd want to play an RPG before half the content is in it. May as well just crack open KOTOR 2.

[Disco]

Well I do, so I might.

[Shindig]

Lords of the Fallen is a complete cunt's dinner. I don't feel like I've missed much but this compulsory enemy I have to face is actually invincible. I've found the bosses to be an alright challenge but now the bread and butter is some serious no-poise bullshit.

[Disco]

I've finally got Divine Divinity working and it's quite fun (if a touch impenetrable) so far, unfortunately there's no windowed option so I can't watch it while the GP is on.

[Disco]

I decided to try and finish off Ronin but I'd forgotten what a fucking shitheap the last level is, developers should be lined up and shot for such dickery.

PUT A FUCKING CHECKPOINT IN YOU WANKER, THE FIRST HALF OF YOUR LEVEL IS NOT SO GOOD I WANT TO PLAY IT A BILLION TIMES.

[Disco]

Done, deleted, snotty review written. Fuck off the list you dickhead.


Last level aside it's pretty good by the way.

[Shindig]

Restarted Lords of the Fallen because like, I apparently missed a lot of stuff. Powered through back to where I was but I encountered this mad slowdown thing that feels like a memory leak. I'm hitting harder but not feeling much more accomplished.

[John]

I played Journey before on PS3 and didn't bother getting it again because although it looked absolutely beautiful it didn't seem like the sort of graphics intensive game that would benefit too much from being on a more powerful platform. Fuck me was I wrong, it's somehow even more beautiful on PS4. Every bit as great as I remember.

[Disco]

Having read this today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7u0...st=WL&index=19

I did have a chuckle at this.



There's also an episode of Fuck Konami at the end (about the 11min mark) for the curious.

[Shindig]

I really don't understand the thing Konami do with PES on the PC. Anyway, I've followed Journey up with Dear Esther. That was an alright two hours. Really, really nice to look at and it builds.

[Ian]

On the subject of walk 'em ups I think my next game will be Firewatch.

[Shindig]

That's probably my favourite one.

[Disco]

I really don't understand the thing Konami do with PES on the PC. Anyway, I've followed Journey up with Dear Esther. That was an alright two hours. Really, really nice to look at and it builds.

What's to understand, it's simply a lazy way to shovel something out the door in the hope that some people don't realise what they're buying.

[Boydy]

What have they done?

[Disco]

The PC version is an old 360 build rather than a port of the current game.

[Boydy]

Oh right, that again.

I still bought it last year as I tried FIFA and didn't like it Pro Evo still played a better game of football. Maybe EA does the same thing anyway, I don't know.

[Shindig]

EA used to do the same thing for a fair few years.

[Baz]

On the subject of walk 'em ups I think my next game will be Firewatch.

i should probably finish that because I'm apparently less than ten minutes away from the end. Problem is I just don't care about the dickhead characters enough to bother.

[Shindig]

Thinking back, I'm not sure I care that much about them either. Although I did care about how to direct their relationship, if that makes sense. Henry's going through some shit, to be fair. I've went through Dear Esther with the commentary on which now really helps flesh some stuff out.

EDIT: Lords of the Fallen's given me a really decent boss at last. 3 left but my new weapon is clattering fools.

[Ian]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...w/#more-400261

The Signal from Tolva, by the Sir, You Are Being Hunted devs. Sounds interesting, or as much as it can based on that incredibly small hands-on.

[Shindig]

Looks like I'm heading back into Bloodborne. The Old Hunters is £6.39.

[Yevrah]

Is The Bunker any good?

I'm guessing not.

[Disco]

Reviews praise the performances and production but by all accounts is more of a vaguely interactive film than a game.

[phonics]

FMV games are always bad games. I enjoyed Contradiction quite a bit for what it was due to the fact it had an actual mechanic.

[Shindig]

Okay, this UK copy of Bloodborne doesn't get on with the UK DLC. Sony's shut up shop for the night and can't manage a simple email.

Fuck sake. Having some fun with CUSA numbers. Disc says 00208 (UK), as does the box art. The save file has it down as 00207 which is Australian. Or it could just be that neither of my characters have beat the boss to trigger it.