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Let Sony's favorite developers help pick your next game (updated)
Four years on and the PlayStation 4's digital storefront is pretty well stocked. But finding more obscure stuff to buy isn't the easiest and the search function kind of sucks. As a way of addressing that on the store's web version, Sony is introducing curated lists of games from "the industry's most creative minds," dubbed The Creators. PlayStation's head of worldwide studios Shuhei Yoshida has his picks listed, as does Rocket League studio Psyonix, Street Fighter's Yoshinori Ono and the Final Fantasy XV team among many, many others.
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida 'understands the criticism' of 'No Man's Sky'
The vast and ambitious No Man's Sky didn't have the smoothest of launches. Even after pushing out a huge day-one patch, some players still encountered glitches and crashes, and some players even feel like the game didn't deliver on what the marketing campaign promised. Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony Studios president Shuhei Yoshida said he understands complaints from players who don't feel like they're getting what was promised to them.
BitSummit 4 takes over Kyoto with more indie games and devs
BitSummit is back. The annual Japanese indie game festival recently announced its lineup of musicians and speakers including Koji Igarashi of Bloodstained and Castlevania fame, Rez creator Tetsuya Mizguchi, Tom Happ (the man behind Axiom Verge) and Goichi "Suda51" Suda. Oh, and Sony Interactive Entertainment's president of worldwide studios, Shuhei Yoshida.
Sony confirms official PS4 Remote Play app for Windows and Mac
Well that was quick. It's only been a couple of days since someone came up with an unofficial app to stream PlayStation 4 gaming to PC, but earlier today, Sony's awesome Shuhei Yoshida confirmed on Twitter that his company is "indeed working on an official [Remote Play] application for PC/Mac." Yes, it will support both Windows and Mac OS X, which is already more than what the Xbox One offers, though Yoshida has yet to provide a date. Regardless, this is bad news for the unofficial app's developer, who has apparently been working on this project on and off for over a year and planned on charging $10 for the hard work, but at least we can give him or her some credit for getting Sony to up the game for its consoles.
Sony doesn't see a market for a PlayStation Vita sequel
You may be jonesing for a follow-up to the PlayStation Vita, but Sony isn't so sure that it's a wise idea. The company's Shuhei Yoshida told those at a recent developer session that the "climate is not healthy" for a Vita sequel. Simply put, he believes that smartphones have dampened enthusiasm for gaming handhelds. Why get a dedicated device and buy games when you can play free games on the device you already have? He hopes that the culture of portable gaming will live on, but he doesn't currently see Sony fostering that culture with new hardware.
Shuhei Yoshida on China and why PlayStation can never go Home again
One does not simply get enough of Shuhei Yoshida, the head of Sony PlayStation's Worldwide Studios. So following our nice, long chat with him at E3 (seriously, go read it), we managed to get hold of him again in Hong Kong and picked his brain with more questions about Project Morpheus. These include the VR headset's final form (you're looking at it), its compatibility with other devices and whether it'll revive the now-defunct PlayStation Home. We also took the opportunity to ask about the challenges of bringing PlayStation games into China.
An intimate chat with Sony PlayStation's Shuhei Yoshida
Sony PlayStation's Shuhei Yoshida is the best kind of corporate executive. The Worldwide Studios head is affable, open-minded and, best of all, he embraces competition from rivals. I'm speaking, of course, about Microsoft's recent move to partner up with every other company working on virtual reality that's not Sony, of which Shu (as he's commonly referred to) says is no concern. At E3 this week, I had a chance to sit down with the friendly face of PlayStation to pick his brain about making Morpheus more social, embracing crowdfunding to revive cult classics and just what is going on with The Last Guardian.
PlayStation is now Sony's top priority
Sony's an enormous multinational conglomerate. Some perspective on just how big it is: Sony's ranked 105 on the Fortune Global 500 (for 2014), has its hands in everything from chemical manufacturing to financial services to Hollywood films and employs over 140,000 people. Of that number, just 8,000 people make up Sony Computer Entertainment -- what's better known as the PlayStation brand. And that small group of people is now largely responsible for the near future of the mothership. In short, Sony's leaning on its PlayStation arm to buoy the whole company's financials for the next several years. No pressure! What does that feel like from inside Sony HQ in Japan? I asked SCE Worldwide Studios head (and video game character) Shuhei "Shu" Yoshida this past weekend at the PlayStation Experience in Las Vegas.
PlayStation at E3 2014: an interview with Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida
Sony Computer Entertainment's Shuhei Yoshida wants his company's new game-streaming service, PlayStation Now, to be the Netflix of gaming. When it launches later this summer, it won't be. In fact, it's launching in open beta. "We have to walk before we run," Yoshida told us in an interview this week at E3, the game industry's big annual show in Los Angeles. He sees the service as a long-term plan, part of Sony's ongoing initiative to bring PlayStation games to many devices. And that plan is just kicking off.
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida loves that Facebook bought Oculus, says it helps validate PlayStation's efforts
"I woke up that morning and saw the announcement," Shuhei Yoshida tells us, remembering the day Facebook acquired Oculus VR. "And I was like, yeah!" Yoshida laughs and thrusts his arms in the air like an excited child. "For me, it was a validation for VR." As head of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios, virtual reality (and Sony's Project Morpheus) has become important to Yoshida. He wants to see it, as a medium, succeed.
How PlayStation Move shaped the PS4
The PlayStation Move has been called a lot of bad names. It's the PlayStation peripheral that's least used by game devs, least purchased by console owners, and least spoken of by Sony itself. Some of that sentiment's been turning lately, ever since Sony showed off Project Morpheus a few weeks ago and demonstrated what an impact something like Move has on virtual reality immersion (the controller works for both PS3 and PS4). And the guy who heads up PlayStation's worldwide game studios, Shuhei " Shu" Yoshida, says Move is responsible for far more than it's given credit. "This project was one of the very first hardware projects formed with three groups: the software engineering team at SCEA, the hardware engineers at SCEI in Japan, and the Worldwide Studios team making games using the motion controller," Yoshida told attendees of a presentation tonight at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. He and PlayStation 4 lead architect Mark Cerny explained that this trifecta was the first in a string of major collaborations: PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, and now Project Morpheus.
Exploring virtual reality on PlayStation 4 with Shuhei Yoshida and Richard Marks (video)
It was 2010 when Sony engineers first explored virtual reality concepts. The idea of a VR headset sprang from another project at the company: PlayStation Move, a wand-like motion controller for the PlayStation 3. Company engineers attached the controller to head-mounted displays, enabling a form of homemade VR via motion and depth tracking. Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida was asked to try these early prototypes, one which put the player into the role of Kratos in God of War 3 and the other a mod of Half-Life 2 where you could lift up and look at your own gun. "That was a totally compelling experience, so I became a believer," Yoshida told us in an interview this week, post-Project Morpheus announcement. "It was a 'wow' moment!"
Future DualShock 4 update for PlayStation 4 will add option to dim light bar (updated!)
It may seem like minor news, especially considering the hoopla over Sony's Virtual Reality this week at GDC, but the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 controller is about to get a firmware fix. In an interview with Geoff Keighley of Spike TV, Shuhei Yoshida, Sony PlayStation's head of Worldwide Studios, confirmed that a future firmware update (we're not sure if it's console- or controller-specific like on Xbox One) will give gamers the option to turn off dim the controller's light bar. If you own a PS4, then you know just how preciously short-lived the DualShock 4's battery life can be. The ability to muffle that glaring light should help extend the DS4's longevity, but only slightly. Still, it's a major boon for the community, and those of us that like our controllers to be less of a night light and more of a gamepad. Update: Yoshida clarified on Twitter that the firmware update will only dim the DualShock 4's light bar, not disable it entirely.
'Project Morpheus' is Sony's virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4
The rumors are true: Sony's working on virtual reality. The hardware is called "Project Morpheus" and it's headed to the PlayStation 4. The headset is two pieces: a closed display and what looks like a PlayStation Move sensor built in. SCE Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida unveiled it on-stage tonight at GDC 2014; he said the "prototype" is "by no means final." It's the culmination of over three years of work, Yoshida said, and the prototype unveiled tonight will also double as a dev kit. As seen above, a subtle PlayStation-themed blue light is emitted by Morpheus. A single wire can be seen exiting the unit on-stage; apparently carrying both an HDMI and USB connection. Sony's clearly drinking the VR Kool-Aid: there's serious talk about "presence" on-stage (the term Valve coined as the target for "true VR"). What are the specs in the headset? It's got a 1080p display and just over a 90-degree field of view. There's positional head tracking, a 3-meter working volume with full 360-degree tracking that works with the PlayStation Camera, and games can recognize the PS Move controller as a virtual object. In terms of audio, the device has "true spatial sound" using binaural audio -- pretty neat! It's also apparently "highly adjustable" and supports custom headphones if you'd prefer your own audio choice (it plugs right into the headset). Head below for more!
Sony discussing 'how and when' the PS4 will get CD and MP3 playback
News that the PS4 can't play MP3s or CDs out of the box caught many off guard, and it turns out the backlash also surprised Shuhei Yoshida, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios head, and other folks at the company. While Yoshida previously announced that he'd conferred with the PS4 developer team about the matter, he revealed in an interview with Giant Bomb that "the systems guys are discussing how and when we can put these features on PS4." In addition, the head honcho says DLNA support is being looked at as well. Oh, and stow away your tinfoil hats, as the PlayStation boss says the functionality omission wasn't part of an elaborate ploy to rack up more Music Unlimited subscriptions. Instead, he says game features took priority when it came to launch day software, while media-focused ones took the back seat. "We didn't really think about MP3 or DLNA," Yoshida said. "We thought, 'we're going to do that eventually.' We've been doing it with all the products, so it caught us off guard." For now, you can rely on your Xbox One to spin your CDs -- and play MP3s as a PlayTo device -- or blow some dust off that stereo system of yours.
Early Xbox One delivery reveals 500MB initial update, 17 second startup -- then banned (update 3)
Now that there are Xbox Ones in the wild -- thanks to Target's apparently leaky pre-order system -- we're finding out more and more about the system. Moonlight Swami has been busy messing around with the console, and while not everything is available two weeks before the official launch, there are some things that we haven't seen before. He's timed the bootup at 17 seconds to get to the dashboard, and the update that downloaded during setup measured at 500MB. The listings for games on the Xbox Live Marketplace reveal some hefty downloads in store for next-gen -- interestingly NBA 2K14 is 43GB while EA's Madden and FIFA are 12GB and 8GB, respectively. Other notables include Forza 5 at 31GB, Dead Rising 3 at 19GB and Call of Duty: Ghosts 39GB. Update: We've contacted Microsoft about the nature of the ban but have not received a response yet, however over at Sony, president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida responded to a question on Twitter indicating his company would not ban anyone who got online early with a PS4. Update 2: Microsoft's Major Nelson has reached out to Moonlight Swami on Twitter saying he'll "get this sorted out" but so far there's no word on a change in the status of his console. Update 3: A Microsoft spokesperson tells Engadget that the Xbox One consoles some consumers received by accident well ahead of launch on November 22nd cannot access Xbox Live until closer to launch. The statement says: "Due to a retail partner's system issue, a very small number of Xbox One consoles were shipped to consumers before the November 22 street date. We're pleased to see the initial response to Xbox One has been so positive, but given we are still putting the finishing touches on our games, UI and online services, as well as confidential partner and media agreements, these consoles units will be restricted from connecting to Xbox Live until closer to our launch date." [Image credit: @MoonlightSwami]
PlayStation 4 mobile app headed to Vita in next update, dubbed 'PS4 Link'
When is Sony's PlayStation 4 mobile app coming to Android and iOS? That's still unknown, but apparently it'll arrive on Sony's own PlayStation Vita handheld in the "next update." That's according to SCE Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida answering questions on Twitter (as per usual). He also refers to the app as "PS4 Link" -- in previous sightings, the software was referred to as the "PlayStation App." As for when the next update arrives on Vita that's another unknown, though we'd expect as much before the PS4's November 15th retail launch. Sony says the app will enable browsing your friends list and messaging players, watching and sharing streamed gameplay clips, and more -- it also stands to reason that Vita's version of the app will enable Remote Play functionality, though we'll have to put it to the test later this year when Sony's new game console arrives at Engadget HQ.
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida: DualShock 4 will be compatible with Windows for 'basic functions'
You won't be using a DualShock 4 on an Xbox come November 15th, but that doesn't mean it won't work on any of Microsoft's platforms. Sony's Shuhei Yoshida recently confirmed via Twitter that the PS4's gamepad will be compatible with Windows for "basic functions." In response to inquiries about said functionality, he specifically pointed out that "the buttons and joysticks will work just fine." There's no word on whether the drivers will allow PC games to automatically see it as a DS4, though; Yoshida replied in the thread further, stating that folks will have to "wait for [a] field report after the launch." As Joystiq points out, third-party controllers can show up as Xbox controllers on Windows thanks to the XInput API -- something that's non-existent in the PS3's DualShock 3. And with that, we're left to wait and see what PS4 insights Yoshida will reveal next.
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida takes a quick tour through the PS4 dashboard (video)
Just in case you missed it during Sony's Gamescom 2013 presentation (and our live coverage), the company kicked things off in a fresh way, letting the PlayStation 4 experience do all of the talking. No words were necessary as Mr. @yosp himself, SCE prez Shuhei Yoshida, casually sat in a chair flipping through the new UI and loading up a quick game of Killzone Shadow Fall. Whether you have loved or loved to hate the PS3's XMB, this nearly three minute-long demo should fill in many blanks about what life will be like if you pick up one of Sony's $399 boxes on or about November 15th. Check out the video embedded after the break plus a list of launch window games while you weigh the pros and cons of pre-ordering.
PlayStation 4's game recording and streaming features not tied to PlayStation Plus
Sony's PlayStation 4 allows any owner to stream, record and share game footage with or without a subscription to Sony's PlayStation Plus service. That stands in stark contrast to Microsoft's admission yesterday that the aforementioned features (and some other functionality) won't work on its Xbox One without a subscription to Xbox Live Gold. SCE Worldwide Studios head and extremely active Twitter user Shuhei Yoshida answered as much when asked by fans directly if Sony's upcoming next-gen game console would require a PS Plus membership for recording and streaming gameplay, as well as watching streaming content (such as Hulu or Netflix). He flatly stated "no" when asked about the Plus requirement, and elaborated that all users will have that functionality. That's a reflection of the current state of PlayStation Plus on PS3 and PS Vita, neither of which require PS Plus membership for media streaming or online play. Most online multiplayer on PS4 will require a Plus membership, unlike the Vita and PS3. In any case, though Yoshida's answers are short, we appreciate the black and white messaging -- something Sony's rival could be doing a much better job of at the moment.