E3 2013 | Sony Conference Thread | Summary in OP

[Rik]

Am I right that PS3 online will continue to be free when PS4 comes out?

So if I buy PSN+ to enable me to play PS4 online and access to everything, is this correct?

More or less, yes. Plus games out the wazoo, but yeah, that's correct.

What does more or less mean? When the PS4 comes out will all those people with PS3s but no PSplus still be able to play online MP for free. Have Sony said anything on this yet.

You can only play online ON PS4 if you have PS+

PS3 stays as it is.

[Delusibeta]

Am I right that PS3 online will continue to be free when PS4 comes out?

So if I buy PSN+ to enable me to play PS4 online and access to everything, is this correct?

More or less, yes. Plus games out the wazoo, but yeah, that's correct.

What does more or less mean? When the PS4 comes out will all those people with PS3s but no PSplus still be able to play online MP for free. Have Sony said anything on this yet.

It would make no sense to start restricting PS3 multiplayer on a certain date. They haven't officially denied it, but the concept sounds very silly.

That said, Vita online multiplayer, that could be different.

[Edit] And lo, confirmation. Online multiplayer to remain free for PS3 and PSVita.

[DaveDS]

Look at the difference between say a 7790 and a 7850 on PC, it's about 5-10 fps at the same settings, we're looking at that sort of difference here. The PS4 seems to be overpowered for just 1080p, so at normal TV resolutions there may not be a huge difference, if devs are porting from PS4 to X1 then they may drop the native resolution a bit or dial back on effects like draw distance to maintain the framerate.

I don't think third party games will end up looking that different if it all, especially at first.

Well, the PS4 GPU is higher spec than the 7850 as Digital Foundry pointed out, it's about halfway between that and a 7870. Then you're talking about 5-10 FPS on a game not built specifically to the hardware, or limited in other ways like CPU or bandwidth. Also better graphics requires mores power, resolution doesn't dictate the limit of how good a game can look. My Blu-Ray movies are at 1080p and they look considerably more impressive from a visual standpoint than any game.

I didn't say it did, but if we presume that 1080p is the target resolution then that goes out of the equation, the games I have seen on Xbox One looked pretty impressive and I don't know how far third parties will go to leverage anything extra out of PS4 that costs them money for no gain. First party wise you would expect Sony to be eventually be able to go further.

Most third parties won't, past a few higher quality effects and textures here and there, and most likely less examples of framerate drops and screen tearing issues. It all depends how optimized the games are for the One.

After a few years though, with PC versions offering the highest end graphics for multiplatform games, that extra 50% GPU power will come in handy for enabling certain things that would drop the One's framerate below the target. When you consider how identical the architectures are across the three platforms, there really shouldn't be any reason why this doesn't happen.

[Rik]

It might be like the difference on PC between Very High and Ultra I suppose.

[False]

I hope to see PC level games across all platforms. Its about time the console friends had something worth looking at.

[HSH28]

I had a thought earlier about the whole multiplatform DRM thing.

Now before I post this, I just want to make clear, it was just a fleeting though that occurred to me, I'm not saying it will happen, or I want it to happen or even that I think it could happen.

So with those qualifications out of the way...

What if multiplatform games on PS3 were more expensive than the Xbox One versions?

If the system by which publishers get a cut of second hand sales applies only to Xbox One games there must be something else MS is getting out of it, what if that is a lower RRP for the same games on both platforms? Would that make any difference to any of you?

[Rik]

It wouldn't to me, not because of used sales though, I just expect PS4 versions to be slightly better.

[HSH28]

Most third parties won't, past a few higher quality effects and textures here and there, and most likely less examples of framerate drops and screen tearing issues. It all depends how optimized the games are for the One.

After a few years though, with PC versions offering the highest end graphics for multiplatform games, that extra 50% GPU power will come in handy for enabling certain things that would drop the One's framerate below the target. When you consider how identical the architectures are across the three platforms, there really shouldn't be any reason why this doesn't happen.

Unless MSs tech really does let them offload stuff like lighting to 'the cloud'.

I know everyone is extremely sceptical about that, and with good reason, but if it really does work...perhaps they don't need the extra GPU power (assuming there is any that is).

[DrPepperMan]

Pre-ordered my PS4 this morning. Region free again which is great!

[Rik]

Unless MSs tech really does let them offload stuff like lighting to 'the cloud'.

We all know that is serious bullshit For graphics at least.

[Delusibeta]

I had a thought earlier about the whole multiplatform DRM thing.

Now before I post this, I just want to make clear, it was just a fleeting though that occurred to me, I'm not saying it will happen, or I want it to happen or even that I think it could happen.

So with those qualifications out of the way...

What if multiplatform games on PS3 were more expensive than the Xbox One versions?

If the system by which publishers get a cut of second hand sales applies only to Xbox One games there must be something else MS is getting out of it, what if that is a lower RRP for the same games on both platforms? Would that make any difference to any of you?

Possible, but at the end of the day I don't think that price drops would be any slower next gen than this gen. So you have to wait a couple of extra weeks, I can wait. Especially if Sony keeps up the quality of the PS+ games.

[outoftime101]

I had a thought earlier about the whole multiplatform DRM thing.

Now before I post this, I just want to make clear, it was just a fleeting though that occurred to me, I'm not saying it will happen, or I want it to happen or even that I think it could happen.

So with those qualifications out of the way...

What if multiplatform games on PS3 were more expensive than the Xbox One versions?

If the system by which publishers get a cut of second hand sales applies only to Xbox One games there must be something else MS is getting out of it, what if that is a lower RRP for the same games on both platforms? Would that make any difference to any of you?

Well, at the very least it would explain MS's mystifying decision to go it alone on the drm route. Cannot see it myself.

Frankly, there is absolutely no reason why download versions should not be 10-15 quid cheaper than the retail disks. If it was the case that new games were 25-30 online and 40 in the shops on disk then I could see the logic. Again, given that the newer editions of halo and cod were on demand at £49.99 I cannot see this happening.

[DaveDS]

Look at the difference between say a 7790 and a 7850 on PC, it's about 5-10 fps at the same settings, we're looking at that sort of difference here. The PS4 seems to be overpowered for just 1080p, so at normal TV resolutions there may not be a huge difference, if devs are porting from PS4 to X1 then they may drop the native resolution a bit or dial back on effects like draw distance to maintain the framerate.

I don't think third party games will end up looking that different if it all, especially at first.

Well, the PS4 GPU is higher spec than the 7850 as Digital Foundry pointed out, it's about halfway between that and a 7870. Then you're talking about 5-10 FPS on a game not built specifically to the hardware, or limited in other ways like CPU or bandwidth. Also better graphics requires mores power, resolution doesn't dictate the limit of how good a game can look. My Blu-Ray movies are at 1080p and they look considerably more impressive from a visual standpoint than any game.

Surely his point is that it takes more power to render a frame in 1080p than it does to render it in 720p. That being the case you could have PS4 using more grunt to push a game around at 1080p with the Xbox One doing it at 720p which for many people will lead to no discernible difference on normal 32 inch TVs.

I take the point that the real world gpu performance gap may be bigger in more bespoke hardware.

The X1 is clearly more than capable of pushing 1920x 1080 games @ 60fps at launch though, it is clearly designed to meet that resolution. The PS4 seems to be geared to eventually go beyond that, maybe Sony want to push 4k tech at some point and then the 32rops will show a huge advantage over X1.

Again, why are you linking graphical quality with resolution? Just because a weaker chip can achieve 1080p 60fps, doesn't mean a more powerful chip is "over powered" for that target. It comes down to how much can that chip process while maintaining that target, before it starts to falter. It's like you're suggesting next gen graphical fidelity is something set in stone, and the only option is to add more pixels.

[SEP]

The X1 is clearly more than capable of pushing 1920x 1080 games @ 60fps at launch though, it is clearly designed to meet that resolution. The PS4 seems to be geared to eventually go beyond that, maybe Sony want to push 4k tech at some point and then the 32rops will show a huge advantage over X1.

Or maybe they'll use the extra power to make games look better.

[KK]

Most we can hope for with multiplatform titles is Xbox to PS2 I think. PS3 and 360 is barely noticeable in real world terms most of the time.

Occasionally you'd get a big blow-away title, like Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.

[Harry Bizzle]

PS4 will not do 4k. That resolution is stupidly high and will bring a Titan to it's knees.

[Drunken_Master]

PS4 will not do 4k. That resolution is stupidly high and will bring a Titan to it's knees.

Besides, by the time 4K technology becomes prevalent in the home it'll be time for another generation.

[HSH28]

Unless MSs tech really does let them offload stuff like lighting to 'the cloud'.

We all know that is serious bullshit :lol: For graphics at least.

That's the accepted wisdom sure...but then everyone thought OnLive was bullshit before they launched.

[Rik]

I think Sony have got higher resolutions in mind eventually, it is in their interest as a company to be pushing 4k sometime during the lifecycle of PS4, I don't think MS have taken that into consideration.

[Rik]

PS4 will not do 4k. That resolution is stupidly high and will bring a Titan to it's knees.

People with 2 x Sli Titans couldn't run Metro Last Light at 1080p/60fps.

It's not a comparison worth making.