Project Morpheus

A couple of days ago, Sony announced “Project Morpheus” as their latest product to enter the line for the Playstation system. It is their own virtual reality device for the Playstation 4.

As much as the hype go, this is very exciting. To think that Sony will be entering the virtual reality battlefield, with only Oculus Rift as their opponent, is by far one of the most interesting moves they’ve done recently.

They announced it at Game Developers Conference, where Last of Us won multiple awards. When they presented Morpheus, they used a modified version of the game “God of War” from the first person point of view. Could this be hinting at something for the next installation of God of War? Interesting…

Richard Marks, the senior director of research and development at Sony, mentioned that Morpheus is also planned to be used for other purposes, one in which he said that they have been working with NASA for an exploratory project.

The Morpheus will also work alongside the Playstation Eye and the Playstation Move systems, which will give it more usability when the time comes.

Honestly, in my opinion, Sony’s got it in the bag. As much as I try not to be biased, I think that the XBOX One’s got nothing on this project. Sure, Microsoft might go and make their own virtual reality system, but that would make them second in line (or third if you count the Oculus Rift). That also means that Sony beat them to the punch when it comes to innovating their young hardware. Also, the fact that Sony started working on this project hand in hand with the Playstation 4 means that they have high hopes for the console. I can’t wait for this.

Keep an eye out for more information!

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Source:

• Sony announces Project Morpheus, a virtual reality headset coming to Playstation 4

Jack Tretton Steps Down

We have some sad news today.

Jack Tretton, CEO and President of Sony Computer Entertainment America, stepped down today. It was quite shocking news considering Sony has been doing so well especially in the console wars, as PS4 outsold XBOX ONE last month. There’s no clear reason as to why he stepped down from his position, although according to the company itself, it is “a result of a mutual agreement between Mr. Tretton and SCEA not to renew their contractual relationship.” (according to Polygon).

This bugs me, especially after the praise I gave Sony about how powerful they are in the market today and how powerful they will be in the future. I, however, still believe that they will become, once again, a technological powerhouse only because I have so much faith in the company. The fact is, Sony strives for customer satisfaction. They want to make sure that their products, before even hitting the shelves, are up to par with what the world is screaming for. Unlike other companies with their immeasurable (kind of like microscopic soft) carelessness, Sony loves their community. Sure, they’ve made mistakes before but now they’re stronger than ever.

I can only wish Mr. Tretton the best in his future endeavors. Thank you sir for being part of Sony. A good part, too.

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The Strength of Sony

Sony: the company that changed (and continues to change) the world. It has been well known throughout the continents that Sony is an electronic Goliath. What started off as a small company turned into a massive, oversized monster that can eat other companies alive.

But, in the story of Goliath, there has to be a David — or in Sony’s case, Davids.

Companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, Samsung and Panasonic are always trying to topple the giant to its downfall, and much to avail, has failed through the years.

In my honest opinion, Sony, is probably (and this may sound controversial) the most powerful company in the gaming industry. Do you know why Sony is the king?

Sony is powerful in TWO different countries.

We know that Sony is a Japanese based corporation. They started their Japan and their HQ is in Japan. Simple enough, right? How about we take one product from Sony’s arsenal that has always been a big seller and a record holder: the Playstation. Sony, with respect to Sony of America, continually conquers the gaming world. They are bestsellers both in Japan and the United States. Of course, Microsoft has no chance in Japan, but the fact that Sony is seriously competing with Microsoft in their own home turf? That sends a statement.

Also, let’s not forget about Nintendo – another gaming company. You can argue that Nintendo and Sony have their horns locked in place, but I assure you, Playstation sales are far better than the WiiU sales. However, Nintendo does have Sony on a choke hold when it comes to portable devices (Nintendo’s 3DS and 2DS, only because of Pokémon). Nonetheless, Sony is strong in Japan.

However you want to look at Sony, behind the curtain of failures lies their success — and there’s no one stopping them now.

Except for, you know, Samsung in the smartphone game…

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Tech Highlights of CES 2014

CES 2014 was amazing! I can’t believe that it’s already over!

There are so many things to talk about from CES 2014, much of it being about the technology leaps that each powerhouse company took on their products. Here are my favourites from the show.

4K TVs, UHDTVs and Curved Display

Seriously, we cannot seem to get enough of this. Television sets are once again becoming significant in the living room. Remember when there was a downfall in television sales because the Internet took the world by storm (I don’t remember either, but it felt like it). At some point, people were less likely to watch and use their TVs and much rather just sit down and use their PCs. Of course, that doesn’t mean TV is dead. With the latest display resolutions, possible future standards and other unique capabilities TVs will get (I’m talking about Smart TVs), I’m sure we’ll be back sitting on our couch watching the latest episode of the Big Bang Theory.

GAMING

I can’t stop talking about gaming! CES 2014 became a gaming hub this week, with companies like Sony and Valve showing up at the party. Sony revealed Playstation Now, a game stream service for their consoles and Valve opens up the information about the Steam Box, specifically about all the companies that will be making their own Steam Box with their own specifications and modifications. Razer also revealed Project Christine. It’s a modular design PC that makes it easy for the average consumer to change and switch out any hardware. Oculus Rift also made a big splash at CES 2014 with other makes of their already awesome device. 2014 will definitely be a gaming year. Definitely!

Wearables

Wearable technology also took off this year. Although wearables like the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Pebble came out last year, the attention towards the idea has only increased a during CES 2014. Intel and Sony are getting into the game, with Intel’s idea of wearables already in the works and Sony’s Core revealed in their keynote. Although the presence of wearables in this year’s CES was weak and disappointing, the technology surely has gotten a lot more attention than before.

Google Chromebook

I didn’t really talk much about the Google Chromebook only because I’m not really a big fan of it, but nonetheless they made a statement at CES. Dell and Toshiba wanted to tell the world that they’re putting their full support on this young project. The Chromebooks are nothing compared to what we currently have, but I guess that’s the point. It’s not for everyone, but it can be for someone.

Playstation Now

I’ve been waiting for Sony to talk about their plans for Gaikai since they bought it. Playstation Now is their online cloud streaming service for the Playstation consoles. They’re planning to start a closed beta and hoping to open the service this coming summer. I can’t wait!

The Consumer Electronic Show was a success! Everyone enjoyed the information, previews, sneak peeks and reveals. It was a great way to celebrate technology at its finest.

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Playstation Now

Sony has been teasing their cloud service since the announcement of the Playstation 4. After a long wait, Sony finally announced Playstation Now at CES 2014. It’s functionality is quite superb, letting users to stream games “across multiple platforms.”

This allows Sony Entertainment Network users to have the following uses:

• Stream your video games onto any device.
• Stream full games between Playstation and non-Playstation devices.
• Play games on the cloud.

Does this mean that the Playstation 4 can play Playstation 3 games and vice versa? We know that the Playstation Vita can play Playstation 4 games, but can the Playstation 3 do so as well?

It’s a great deal for Sony and it was worth waiting for.

A closed beta is set to begin in the US at the end of January. They will be implementing the service this coming Summer 2014.

Are you excited? Is it just me or did they get the name idea from Google Now? I don’t know. Two different services, similar names. Well played, Sony.

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Five Gifts of Awesome

Having a hard time getting your special someone who is also a big computer lover/geek/gamer a present? Here are five things you can buy them as a gift (or gifts).

A New PC

Buying a PC will be difficult, therefore I do recommend the Speed Dating process for it. It’ll take some knowledge to buy the right PC, whether your family member needs a nice laptop for school or a desktop for more powerful processing. You also have to take into account if they play video games. Computer packages nowadays come with a keyboard and mouse, but maybe they’ll need different types of peripherals (i.e. gaming mouse, gaming keyboard). Figure them out so that you can figure out what they need for a new PC.

Hard Drive (Internal and/or External)

Storage is important! Hard drives nowadays are cheap and easy to buy. Your techie will surely love the gift because it’s thoughtful and it’s the thought that counts, right? Surely, they need the space, either for backup purposes or just for extra storage. You can never go wrong with hard drives. One terabyte of an internal or external hard drive would be great. They don’t cost much and most of them run on USB 3.0, which is the new USB standard for computers. This allows the hard drive to move around files at a rate of 10 Gbps! The price will depend on how much storage it can hold. Remember, one terabyte will not equal the exact capacity. Same thing for other storage capacities.

Headphones

Who doesn’t need headphones right? Music is such an important part of, well, anyone’s life. Whether they listen to their Rock ‘N’ Roll music from Kiss or listen to Classical music from Mozart. A pair of headphones is a great gift. Just make sure that whoever you’re giving it to, they don’t listen to Miley Cyrus.

Video Games!

The holiday season is the best time to stock up on summer games to play. You can buy brand new video games at an average price of $60. Also, consider buying them Steam gift cards if they play on the PC. That way, it won’t be much of a hassle for you and they’ll still love you for it. All you can hope for is that they won’t get addicted and just ignore you for the rest of the Christmas break.

New Gaming Console

This goes hand in hand with the PC, because most of the time, your techie friend likes to play on a PC. But, in the case that they don’t, Sony and Microsoft just recently launched their next-generation (or current-generation, considering they are already out) consoles. It’ll be tough to find one, considering most of them are sold out (except for the XBOX One).

Nintendo also announced nine (9) new console bundles for the holiday season. Prices are ranging from $99 – $299.99 (I’m only hoping that my parents get me the Nintendo 2DS Pokémon X/Y bundle).

It’ll be tough picking which one to get for whom, but hopefully this can help you this Christmas.

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Playstation 4 Release Date Released!

Sony has confirmed the release date of their next generation console, the Playstation 4.

The PS4 will be competing with Microsoft’s next-gen console, the XBOX One, which does not have a release date yet. However, considering the PS4 will come into retail in November, it’s almost positive that the XBOX One will come out in November.

To be quite honest, I have no plans to buy the PS4, rather, I plan to save money and build my PC this coming summer. Hopefully, I’ll be able to show you, my fellow computer lovers, my first build!

Also, according to recent reports, Minecraft will be coming to the PS4, PSVita and PS3! I cannot wait for that day to come!

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XBOX One vs. PS4 – Games

This is a three part series on the XBOX One and PS4. Part 1 will be Specifications, Part 2 will be Features and Part 3 will be Games.

After looking at specifications and features, we finally enter the final stage of the battle: GAMES

Let’s talk games. Both consoles and companies seem to have a good grasp at their main focus: games. But the real question is who will have the best?

The XBOX 360 and PS3 have amazing games to choose from. Although most games are cross-platform (meaning each console gets the game), we’re actually here to talk about EXCLUSIVES.

XBOX have their HALO series to thank for putting them on the market. HALO, being an exclusive only to XBOX, is one of the most popular first-person shooter games in this generation. Usually, when someone thinks XBOX, they begin to think about HALO.

Then, Call of Duty comes to mind. Activision signed a contract with Microsoft so that all the DLC (downloadable content) would come out first on the XBOX consoles. This was also confirmed for their next-gen console (XBOX One). Call of Duty, being a loved and hated franchise, is also very popular with the gaming community. It is, however, a cross-platform game.

XBOX also offers XBOX Arcade. It has not yet been confirmed with the Microsoft whether or not XBOX Arcade will be featured on XBOX One (at least according to my research). In the arcade, oldies are offered for players who just want to game for the fun of it.

Other than that, XBOX offers great exclusives, such as:

• HALO series
• Alan Wake
• Gears of War series
• Fable series
• Forza series

Playstation offer an HUGE amount of exclusives (far greater than XBOX exclusives). Probably the most popular (currently) would be the Uncharted series.

Uncharted follows the adventure of Drake. It is, by far, one of the most popular video games on the market. But, recently it has been topped by another PS3 exclusive, Last of Us. Last of Us is “post apocalyptic” game where a dangerous virus infected many civilians, causing them to turn into hideous, disgusting, scary, filthy zombies. Yes, it is another zombie game, but who cares? It truly highlights how human emotion can get the best of us. The characters are very easy to connect to. Last of Us will surely take GOTY for 2013.

Then, there are those that are not exclusives, but have connections with Playstation. Games such as the Battlefield series (CoD’s opponent) are not exclusives, but offer DLC earlier to PS3 gamers. Ubisoft also signed a contract with Sony to assure PS3 gamers that they will get extra content for the Assassin’s Creed series. This will also more likely happen with Watch Dogs, where DLC will be offered earlier or extra content will be given.

The PS3 (and surely, the PS4) offer a large amount of exclusives, like:

• Infamous series
• God of War series
• Uncharted series
• Last of Us
• Little Big Planet series
• Ratchet and Clank series

Overall, I think it’s a tie. Both consoles offer different games. Some may like FPS on the XBOX while others love murder dash (AC3 joke) on the PS3. In other words, there is no clear winner. Games will always be games and cannot change under the situation of differing consoles.

Thank you very much for reading the series XBOX One vs. PS4. I appreciate the support!

Follow me on Twitter: @DR34DNOUGHT.

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XBOX One vs PS4 – Features

This is a three part series on the XBOX One and PS4. Part 1 will be Specifications, Part 2 will be Features and Part 3 will be Games.

Ever since Microsoft’s XBOX 180 move, they’re back, and back with a vengeance.

We’ve covered that both consoles are very similar in specifications, other than the PS4 giving more processing power compared to the XBOX One. The next important factor for one of the two consoles to achieve victory are features.

Between the XBOX 360 and PS3, XBOX offered better online connectivity and service. The XBOX 360 offers their XBOX Live accounts. XBOX Live accounts are paid for. The PS3 offers no charge for their Playstation Network accounts, but this made them lag and fail with multiple maintenance problems and overall online service shutdowns. One thing that Sony did right with their PS3 online services is the Playstation Plus – which is similar to XBOX Live. Playstation Plus offers a wide array of full, free downloadable games for players that are willing to pay a yearly fee. These include AAA games like Infamous 2, Little Big Planet, Walking Dead and Borderlands.

After turning one year old, Playstation Plus holds 64 games for gamers to download for free!

So, what does that say about the new consoles?

None has changed for the XBOX One. This means that users must have an XBOX Live account to fully use their online services (this includes multiplayer capability). XBOX Live offers many free downloadable games, discounted games and their annual XBOX Marketplace sale. XBOX Live also offers XBOX Arcade, featuring arcade games that we all know and love. It’s a great value for the buck.

Sony, on the other hand, changed it up for the PS4. They now offer Playstation Plus as their base account for each player. Each player must purchase a Playstation Plus account to access their online services and multiplayer capabilities. Playstation Plus also offers free games, discounted games and early access to BETA versions of games. Although Playstation Plus does not offer arcade games, they do offer PSone Classics, which are games from the PSone like Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider.

Who wins this battle? It’s got to be Microsoft and XBOX Live. Their services are stable most likely because they use the money that gamers pay to manage and maintain their servers for maximum performance. This allowed them to have lesser crashes and online failures. But, considering that Sony now requires Playstation Plus for gamers to use their online services, all we can hope for is for them to use that money to improve their servers and give the Playstation Nation the online capabilities and performance that they deserve.

We’re back at level pegging, with PS4 taking Specifications, and XBOX One taking Features. Check out Tech Gum for Part 3 – GAMES!

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XBOX One vs PS4 – Specifications

This is a three part series on the XBOX One and PS4. Part 1 will be Specifications, Part 2 will be Features and Part 3 will be Games.

A new generation of gaming consoles have been revealed this year. Sony revealed the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft revealed the XBOX One. Both are huge upgrades compared to their predecessors, but only one can achieve true greatness. Which one will it be?

Before entering this very sensitive topic, I must say that I will do my best to be as unbiased as possible considering I am a one sided PS3 gamer.

Part One: SPECIFICATIONS

Let’s take a look at the specifications.

XBOX One

The XBOX One holds an 8 Core MS custom processor with 8 GB of DDR3 RAM. It also has a 500 GB Hard Drive. The 802.11n Wireless with WiFi Direct is a standard. There is no information on what their GPU is, although a Microsoft rep has told IGN “AMD is our primary partner for the custom silicon that makes up our GPU/CPU SOC that is the heart of the XBOX One.”(Source: IGN)

They also include their typical cross game chat (party chat) that came along with the XBOX 360. With the new USB standards, built in USB 3.0 ports are a must for the system. It has a Blu-ray and DVD drive. Lastly, it has your typical HDMI input and output port that supports 4K and of course your good old optical output.

PlayStation 4

The PS4 boasts the 8 Core AMD Jaguar with 8 GB of DDR5 RAM. The PS4 also has 500 GB of HDD storage. It has a different networking hardware: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n. The GPU is an AMD next-gen Radeon based graphics card/engine.

It has two built in USB 3.0 ports, an auxiliary port, an HDMI port and an optical port.

Processing Factor

Recently, XBOX Product Planning Executive Albert Penello said that comparing specifications is meaningless. “It’s not going to matter,” he says. He also mentioned the generation of gaming when 16 bit and 32 bit battled. Surely, in that time, there was a huge difference. I beg to differ, Microsoft.

I found this video by WoodysGamertag to be very informative. It compares the processing power between the PS4 and XBOX One.

For now, I must say that the PS4 is taking the lead with specifications. It holds true to being slightly more powerful than the XBOX One (based on CPU and GPU power).

All specifications are subject to change.