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Sony tempts gamers with two $300 PlayStation 4 bundles
Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be behind us now, but Sony wants to keep people's shopping momentum going. The tech company today announced two PlayStation 4 bundles at a new low price: $300 each, albeit for a limited time. First up, there's the The Nathan Drake Collection version, which includes a 500GB console and three remastered titles from the Uncharted franchise. Your other option is the Star Wars: Battlefront bundle, and this comes with the Standard Edition of EA's newly released game, a code to download four classic Star Wars titles, as well as a 500GB PS4 model. If you missed out on deal these past few days, this could be your chance to save cash on Sony's console. Both bundles will be available starting on Sunday, December 6th, through the 19th.
Sony's selling 20th Anniversary Edition PS4s for £19.94, but only in London
Anyone that remembers the glory days of Sony's first PlayStation console won't find it hard to look fondly upon the recently revealed 20th Anniversary Limited Edition PS4. Marking two decades since the OG PlayStation launched, Sony's also released a retro-inspired theme to pluck at the nostalgia strings of PS4, PS3 and Vita owners. But, nothing does it with quite as much skill as the new hardware itself, which will also go on sale in the UK tomorrow (December 10th), with a few very big catches. Read: We took a tour of Sony's PlayStation '94 Store
Nothing says you're a Sony fanboy like a pair of PS4-themed Air Jordans
There's nothing like a set of fresh kicks to add the finishing touch to your get-up, but then there's the problem of tracking down the perfect pair. We know that's exactly why you haven't been cracking out your PS4-themed outfits recently, but luckily there's now a shoe for that™. Custom kick designer Jonny Barry from FreakerSNEAKS has seen this gaping hole in the market, and intends to fill it with the "JRDN X PS4," a remix of the Air Jordan 4 that takes inspiration from Sony's latest console. They're actually one of his less-extensive mods, with the PS4/PlayStation logos replacing the normal dunking graphics on the back of the sneakers, and an image of the mischievous robots from Playroom on the tongue. What's more, there's a (completely non-functional) HDMI port built into the sole, and a Jordan-branded cable for plugging them into, well, each other. As Barry tells DualShockers, he intends to produce a limited run of ten pairs, and sell them at around $950 each. Finally there's something that just works with that PS4 jumpsuit you've been dying to bust out, and what a bargain at more than double the price of the actual console!
The first limited edition PS4 is a regular PS4 with a gold emblem
Despite Japan's rich gaming culture, the new consoles that've taken pride of place in your living room are still considered next-gen in the Land of the Rising Sun. While Microsoft still hasn't offered a firm date for the Xbox One's arrival, Sony's PlayStation 4 makes its Japanese debut this coming weekend. Now, as reparations for the three-month delay, Sony and the snake-charmers (read: game devs) at Kojima Productions have partnered on the first limited edition PS4 console that'll launch exclusively in Japan on March 20th. This "Fox Edition" PS4 has been crafted to celebrate the launch of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, a copy of which'll be bundled with the console for 46,980 yen (around $462) -- the regular console will retail for 41,979 yen (around $413) sans game, since you asked. Unfortunately, this first limited run PS4 is less impressive re-skinning effort, and more, well, boring emblem.
Chinese students allegedly forced to build PS4s at Foxconn for school credit
Not all internships are as easy as making coffee in exchange for a glowing reference. In fact, according to Chinese media, over 1,000 students from the Xi'an Institute of Technology have been working on the PlayStation 4 production line at Foxconn as part of a work experience partnership. Apparently, the interns are treated much like employees, so apart from the work's questionable relevance to future careers, they get paid and have something for the CV. All is not quite as above board as it sounds, though, for Foxconn has admitted to Quartz that some students were designated night shifts and overtime in disagreement with internship protocol. Foxconn says it's taken steps to make sure it won't happen again, and was keen to highlight the voluntary nature of intern participation. However, reports claim the Xi'an Institute of Technology is withholding course credits necessary for graduation, thereby forcing students to pull drone duty and help address the rabid demand for Sony's next-gen console. While we're surprised to hear that an educational establishment is allegedly party to such a scheme, Foxconn has always had a penchant for controversial working arrangements.
PlayStation through the years: Mark Cerny on the PS4's roots and the brand's evolution (video)
The genesis story: the long-lead up to every console's launch usually leaves one in its wake. Typically, we get some sanitized version, appropriately molded by corporate PR and fed to the public with the crust cut off. But when you're Mark Cerny, lead PlayStation 4 architect, and you've literally grown up with the games industry and the PlayStation brand itself, the tale you get to tell tends to be more truthful, mesmerizing, and chock full of the hard knocks that make success stories so great. And that's just what Cerny delivered at Gamelab in Barcelona this week, recounting the whirlwind career that led him to have the heaviest hand in shaping Sony's next-gen platform. Not familiar with the man's esteemed background? Then sample this bit of historical trivia: Cerny was the youngest Atari employee at age 17 (!). How's that for inspiring? Oh, and what's more, Cerny even fesses up to the egotistical attitude that flattened Sony's PlayStation 3 launch (spoiler alert: it has to do with crushing third-party devs). There's much, much more insider-y goodness packed into the 45 minute-plus video after the break. Go on, now. Watch it. You'll be better for it, we promise.
PS4 production to begin later this year?
We're still waiting on that globe-like PS9 (aren't you?), but seeing as how wireless head-to-console gaming isn't yet available or ethical, we'll make do with PS4 rumors. Based on nothing more than a game of component-maker telephone, sources out of Taiwan are telling Digitimes to expect a brand new PlayStation 4 for launch sometime in early 2012. Reportedly on board for this latest iteration are baked-in motion controls à la Kinect and a holographic David Lynch virtual pet. We kid, but we do hope he helms those new ads. According to these anonymous insiders, Sony has a planned production run of 20 million consoles for launch -- all headed straight to eBay, we imagine. It should go without saying that news of this kind should be taken with a mouthful of salt, but with the PS3 turning five this November, it's a safe bet that there's a successor to the "It Only Does Everything" throne on the way. [Image credit via CNET Asia]
