SCE UK boss Fergal Gara acknowledges retail market has declined in recent times, and says company will boost brick-and-mortar business with next console.
Just this week, Sony announced that it had purchased cloud-gaming giant Gaikai for $380 million. That, however, does not mean the PlayStation house is giving up on retail with future hardware. Speaking to MCV, Sony Computer Entertainment UK boss Fergal Gara acknowledged the retail business has declined of late, but said this is a "readjustment" period, rather than a total disintegration.
“We’d love to see as many of those retailers as possible maintain their interest in servicing the space because clearly down the road many of us are going to be doing our best to give another injection into the market whenever the next cycle starts," he said.
The next console from Sony--believed to be the Orbis-codenamed PlayStation 4--has been kept largely under wraps. It is rumored to boast the same graphics card as Microsoft's next Xbox, as well as measures to block out used games, though analysts do not find this claim likely. Sony said it will not show the console off until it can demonstrate a "significant" leap over the PlayStation 3.
For more on the PS4, check out GameSpot's rumor roundup feature.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
1 Like honestly and doing this in TONS of respect: i really think you should convert the idea of having the Playstation 4 100 percent backwards compatibility because a great best seller is about compatibility... dont ask why i know but i will tell you this though... i worked in my school's libraries.. elementary one and the high school... i worked at a gas station and still doo... i worked at a hospital and still do...
I think that in TWO console generations we will a transition from physical to digital. From books to music, there is a growing trend in digital distribution. Not many of us buy CD's to listen to music and I know a lot of us would rather use an Kindle/Nook to read our books instead of lugging 500 page books to class.
If you were to tell me 10 years ago if I would rather have a digital copy I would mock you. But now, I couldn't do without Steam. I no longer own a physical collection of PC games. And I would like to see it jump to console gaming as well.
There will ALWAYS be a need for a physical product, but the trend is people want digital! My own reasons is that I don't want to store CD keys and discs in my desk. I'd rather have one program that manages all that.
2 Like @decoy1978 the problem is alot of people do not have fast internet (i don't and my ISP does not offer any faster speeds then 1.5mpbs) it took over 10 hours to download a 7gig game on Xbox live. i rather drive a mile to my local game store and pick up my game in less then 20mins and be playing it then waiting 13 hours to play a darn game
@icebear8 Considering that no more than a decade ago we were all running on 56k modems I daresay I could not have imagined anything over 200MB. Time changes a lot and technology is accelerating in a crazy rate. Not on next generation, but maybe in two generations they would have already addressed that problem. 20 years is a long time to wait.. and for those of us who just simply can't afford fast internet (I have Charter Cable it takes me roughly an entire evening to DL 7GB) I do believe that there will still be a market for physical retail stores.
@decoy1978 I understand the convenience of more shelf space, but there's something special about actually holding the book and turning the pages and not a device that has it stored in a hard-drive. Same with games. If a game company went out of business or something happened to the online server, then where would we be? Not to mention you can re-sell physical copies if need be.
Totally with you on that. There is something special on just having a physical copy especially if its a CE!
Now I'm not saying its PERFECT, but there is plenty of things to improve on digital retail. Maybe they can find a way to sell used games digitally and lock a CD key from user to user. I'm just talking off the top of my head, but the possibility is there 20+ years from now.
I grew up on the NES era and I know what its like to own physical copies. But just think of our old gaming days.. we went from full scale arcade systems to cartridges to discs in a span of say 30 years or so. In another decade who's to say what format will we be using...
1 Like PS4 games is not cheap like a cellphone games,be classy and no digital please... :)
5 Like If anything, I think Sony is going to go the PS Vita route with the PS4 and release retail and digital copies of games. That way, gamers who like to purchase a hard copy, such as myself, and gamers who like to keep all their games digital and in one place, such as my friend, have the choice to do so. Still, all digital, IMO, is not the way of the future. There will always be people who prefer to purchase a hard copy and opposed to a digital copy.
2 Like I prefer a hard copy of what i'm purchasing, as a gamer and a collector. Plus, some areas still dont have internet, I just recieved satelite internet and I can only doing minimum gaming. Plus if it's going to be digital it better be a hell of alot cheaper, EA already tends to sell there digital stuff at the same price as ther hard copy products....gimmie a break!
wildBlue has the new satelite (excedus) its' 12mbps download/upload, however with satelite your ping is always going to be atleast 500(.5 sec delay) because of the high ping I can't connect to COD and other 1st person shooters, but 3rd person shooters I've been able to get on. before this I had dial-up and I remember conecting my xbox to my pc and it took me almost 2days to download the add-on to GTAIV. Now it takes a few minutes, I still prefer DSL with a ping of 35 and not 500
there going to help retail market by blocking pre-owned games on the next console nice one sony sounds to me like your going to destroy the retail market.
Are game developers idiots, the PSP Go flopped, so stop trying to make something that can't work. The reason games sell so well on IOS digitally is because there low budget games. If there low budget games like Pushmo, Angry Birds, Journey, or Walking Dead, then it's appropriate. But games like Uncharted 3, Halo 4, and Battlefield 3 high budget games remain retail. NSMB2, Gravity Rush, Ucharted GA, Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, and Paper Mario SS are somewhat low budget games. Thus is why they will be/are both digital, and retail.
I'm glad retail is still around for Playstation 4. Eventually that will not always be so. But until then. Orbis hopefully will be worth the wait. 2013 or 2014 whenever Sony can make that significant leap over PS3.
1 Like I just don't like the used games feature being dropped but in all fairness, I hope there will be something to compromise, even if it means to cut the ps4 price by only so much. I have only 2 words of wisdom: Surprise us
5 Like In all honesty retail is half the reason I play games at all. The joy of going to the shop, seeing my game, picking it out, forking over good cash for iut and then taking it home and adding to my shelf and my gaming collection that I pride in. It's almost like adopting a child. Maybe.
9 Like I hope retail games are always around. I like my cases, booklets, and limited editions.
Every time Eddie writes a story about the graphics cards in the upcoming consoles, I make a point to explain to Gamespot that cards are things that you plug into slots on computers, not individual chips, and Gamespot just ignores it. It boggles my mind how you guys keep allowing people to write articles that make them sound like they have no clue what they're talking about.
5 Like I want full backwards compatilbilty. If not, I won't be getting a ps4 for a long time :P
4 Like I am tired of people crying about BC.Sorry but if PS4 is released I'll be buying it for PS4 games.Not,PS3,PS2,and PS1 games.
2 Like @Promised_Trini Wow. Spoken like a true condensending jackass.
You do realize not everyone owns a PS1/PS2/ PS3/PSP at all times, Right? Some sell it due to money issues, some lost it, some gave it away, some stopped working, some never were part of the PlayStation family and want to try some oldy-but-goody classics, yet do not see the point in buying 3 different consoles.
I, for one, have a gigantic PS2 collection, and I was very depressed when I found out the Slim PS3 I bought had backward compability removed. It was a feature I really expected as switching ports all the time and going back to DualShock 2 is not on my priority list.
Maybe you don't care about old games, but alot of us do. And seeing how the Blu-Ray seems to STILL be in the business for SONY, I really don't see WHY would they not make it PS3-compatible.
Did I hurt your feelings or something Jackass....There is no need for BC in any of the New Consoles that are out...People in today's world are to spoiled like I have said already I will buy PS4 for PS4 games...Not PS1,PS2,and PS3 games....And now anyone can go out there and buy PS2 now....
@Promised_Trini I think, that BC was a great thing, and also a horrible thing to happen to games. When PS2 did it with PS1 games, I was so happy I could still play my PS1 games. Same with PS3, and so forth. Yet I don't really care if PS4 doesn't. I still have a PS3 for that. It's just now gamers expect it, and if they don't get it, they rage. I understand people want it, and I understand why. I just don't think Sony or anyone should waste precious development on Backwards Compatibility. Focus on the future.
7 Like One thing ill say to to sony microsoft and nintendo all will agree! if you make the game disc only usable to one console you will loose
1 Like @letario First of all, they will not lock it to a specific console but to an account. Secondly, are you calling them loose?
@DeadlyVip3r Sorry typo I mean the console companys will lose sales and business will fail......think about it gamefly more then likely uses used games to mail to people if a game is only used one console that will be a loss. its a trickle down effect that will reduce sales.....because I am sure at one time or another im sure you rented a game instead of buying.....am making sense right?
2 Like @letario sometimes it seriously worries me how many people on the internet can't spell the word 'lose'. all joking aside though, I couldn't agree more. the war on piracy implies attacking pirates, not loyal consumers. most drm measures should be called anti-commercial practices from a consumer perspective.
1 Like @BadHungryWolf People like you need to realize that a new console isn't just about graphics. We need consoles with more RAM simple as that. It would be nice to get a faster blu-ray driver. It would be nice to be have to have as many on screen characters in Battlefield 3 that the PC version has. It would also be nice to see what they will do with the hardware and if they will match anything like the Wii U.
You need to stop thinking so narrow.
@Mkeegs79 I like how you say "people like you..."
Basically, you've responded to my post saying that a new console isn't about just about graphics...well that was my point! I believe that any new hardware needs being introduced needs to go to improve the experience, whether that be more characters on screen etc.
You need to pull your head out from your ass and read my post properly. You people... lmfao!
@Mkeegs79 more ram is not really an issue for consoles becuaes consoles does not need to support an OS like the PC does with all the app needed to run the computer.
if am remembering right the PS3 only has 256mb of ram and the Xbox 360 has 512.
It makes a difference. Why do you think there is so much lag on Skyrim and Fallout 3 on the PS3? Its because it doesn't have enough RAM to support everything on screen. It is why the 360 versions ran better.
@rarson Oh whatever then. I said developers said that and they have. Plain and simple. I would think seeing how sluggish Skyrim is on the PS3 (Which I have) would show you the limitations of the hardware. My source? Give me a break.
Yeah? So where's your source? "Developers" is not a source. You claiming that developers said something does nothing to negate any of the technical arguments that I made.
You know what else consoles would benefit from? More of everything else.
"Why do you think there is so much lag on Skyrim and Fallout 3 on the PS3?"
Because it's running on an entirely different architecture that is much harder to optimize. The cell processor has one PPU and seven SPUs; harnessing all of those elements simultaneously is hard to do efficiently.
I've seen quite a few people talk about RAM in consoles as if the amount is the only thing that matters. But unless a manufacturer equips the console with a drastically small amount, the speed and bandwidth of the memory is more important than the total amount, which is why the consoles don't have a whole lot of it (the PS3 uses expensive but very fast XDR DRAM).
@Mkeegs79 except for the fact that with the patches skyrim funs very similar to the xbox version. you cant patch in ram so how do you explain that?
1 Like There seems to be an obsession with next gen consoles sporting better graphics. Current generation consoles are doing just fine in that departments with games like Heavy Rain on the PS3 for instance.
I think next gen consoles should focus on making more emersive experiences like what Nintendo have done with the Wii and Wii U.
I love Spec Ops: The LIne, because you characters react to the horros of war - they're exhasted and their voices start to break half way through the game, the stresses kick in and so the protagonists start to argue and turn on each other and mental stresses start eg PTSD. In a lot of third person shooters the characters always seem distant to the world and death around them. Ths is the sort of thing next gen consoles should focus more on.
1 Like
Graphics aren't everything, but the current consoles are quite outdated. None of them can actually render anything in 1080p, let alone at 60 FPS.
I agree though, Nintendo seems to be the only company actually focusing on improving the experience, rather than just cranking out more software.
hopefully it will be one and last console and not make the mistakes with PS3 bLU-RAY ALL THE WAY
I am curious when all that "significant" magic leap over PS3 will happen?....however im seriously hoping it'll b significant as they saying and that will have some break through in technology of gaming not as we all expected lets say huuuuge boost from iphone 4 to iphone 5 and yet we got lame ass Siri and a single gram better processor....hope itll b big difference !
@Enlil_The_Great that statement 'significant leap' is a camouflager statement. I agree Sony and microsoft are waiting for there tech to be affordable- and Im talking around 3 to 4 hundred dollars at launch with some of the games that they are working on as well. I bet all are playing a factor.
@awheaten Sadly I think that the Graphics unit will be outdated by the time the system launches. PC will be ahead of it.
@eckob that is the trade off here. reliable universal hardware or more expensive diverse newer tech. you just described the situation between the 2 setups since almost forever.
@eckob That's kinda obvious as consoles could never use recent hardware for R&D and cost reasons alone.
Unless everyone's happy to pay around a $1000 bucks for it.
Inside Network analyst says new platform "has to be" under $400 and may release in two models.
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