Sony’s PlayStation 4 Is Called Orbis
Sony is getting a holiday 2013 release for Playstation 4 but it is not going to be called that. The next Playstation will be called Orbis.
The Orbis will support 3D games and a maximum screen resolution of 4096 x 2160. The new console will not be backward compatible with PS3 and games will be locked to a single PSN account.
Sony Changed Playstation Network Name
Sony has told users that PlayStation Network will now be known as Sony Entertainment Network. Just the name and logo change. Users can still
login using the same PSN username and password.
This transition is based on Sony’s goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering. This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account.
Sony Promotes Kazuo Hirai As President And CEO
Sony replaces Sir Howard Stringer with Kazuo Hirai as president and chief executive of the struggling consumer electronics and entertainment giant. Howard will step down on April 1 and remain as chairman to the company.
Mr Hirai said:
As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position.
Samsung, LG, Sony Showing Off Google TV
Three giant TV makers, Samsung, LG and Sony are working on Google TV. Google powered TV will be shown at the consumer electronics show (CES) next week at Las Vegas.
LG will come with passive Cinema 3D capability and 2D to 3D conversion on the fly.
Google TV allows users to access the Internet on TVs, using its popular Chrome browser. In addition, it allows users to search a pay-TV provider’s listings and offers about 150 apps to shuttle people to digital media.
Playstation Vita Launch Titles
Playstation Vita, the PSP replacement will launch on February 22. Launch titles from Sony for this handheld game devices is now
announced to be:
- Escape Plan (PSN Only)
- Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
- Hustle Kings (PSN Only)
- Little Deviants
- ModNation Racers: Road Trip
- Super StarDust Delta (PSN only)
- UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss
- wipEout 2048
Launch titles from Sony’s third-party partners will include Touch My Katamari, FIFA Soccer, Lumines Electronic Symphony, Touch My Katamari, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Michael Jackson: The Experience, Plants vs. Zombies, and Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition.
The Wi-Fi-powered PS Vita model will be available for $249.99. The 3G/Wi-Fi PS Vita model will be available for $299.99.
Full list of launch titles can be found on Sony Playstation blog.
Sony Selling 50% Of LCD Venture To Samsung For $940 Million
Sony, the maker of PS3 and Bravia TV, has agreed to sell 50% stake in an LCD joint venture to Samsung Electronics for $940 million. Sony was negotiating an exit, aiming to switch to cheaper outsourcing for flat screens for its TVs while Samsung pushes ahead with next-gen TV displays.
Sony Revealed PSP Vita
Sony has announced at E3 their new portable gaming console called PlayStation Vita or PSVita. This will be made available towards the end of this year at around Christmas.
The portable will feature two cameras, motion-sensors, 5″ multi-touch OLED screen, two analogue sticks and rear touchpad, HD graphics, touchscreen motion-control capability of the handheld gaming console and location-based service called Near, which shows friends and discoveries in your vicinity.
Sony Pictures Hacked By LulzSec
Sony Pictures Entertainment website based in Culver City has been hacked by ‘LulzSec’. Sony said they have confirmed that a breach has occurred and have taken action to protect against further intrusion. The group posted the data to the website Pastebin and it includes user names, passwords, addresses and phone numbers. LulzSec is also responsible for hacking PBS website.
Sony PlayStation Network was previously hacked and only this week it is back online.
Sony Playstation Network Store Back Online
After six weeks of downtime due to hacking, Sony PSN Store is now back online. Welcome back packages as described in our previous post is not live yet. See below for the full story.
Sony’s game developer and publishing partners received a memo from the company stating that they will plan to have Playstation Network up and running on May 24.
Once the store is online, users can pick from a selection of free games as compensation for the PSN’s downtime. PS3 users will be able to select two titles from a list including LittleBigPlanet, Wipeout HD, Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty and Dead Nation.
The PlayStation Store has been down since April 20 due to fixing the URL exploit found in the sign in form. And the company has clearly stated PSN has not been hacked.
From Sony PS3 Blog:
We temporarily took down the PSN and Qriocity password reset page. Contrary to some reports, there was no hack involved. In the process of resetting of passwords there was a URL exploit that we have subsequently fixed.
Consumers who haven’t reset their passwords for PSN are still encouraged to do so directly on their PS3. Otherwise, they can continue to do so via the website as soon as we bring that site back up.After an embarrassing breach that compromised millions of users’ credit card and personal information, Sony has switched back on the PlayStation Network around the world. Users will have to download the mandatory System Update v3.61, which enables your machine to connect to the revitalized network.
Sony’s PlayStation Network has been down last few weeks and the outage was due to their network being hacked. Hackers using an alias signed up to rent a server through Amazon’s EC2 service and launched the attack from there.
Sony Playstation Network Will Be Up May 24 With Free Games
Sony’s game developer and publishing partners received a memo from the company stating that they will plan to have Playstation Network up and running on May 24.
Once the store is online, users can pick from a selection of free games as compensation for the PSN’s downtime. PS3 users will be able to select two titles from a list including LittleBigPlanet, Wipeout HD, Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty and Dead Nation.
The PlayStation Store has been down since April 20 due to fixing the URL exploit found in the sign in form. And the company has clearly stated PSN has not been hacked.
From Sony PS3 Blog:
We temporarily took down the PSN and Qriocity password reset page. Contrary to some reports, there was no hack involved. In the process of resetting of passwords there was a URL exploit that we have subsequently fixed.
Consumers who haven’t reset their passwords for PSN are still encouraged to do so directly on their PS3. Otherwise, they can continue to do so via the website as soon as we bring that site back up.After an embarrassing breach that compromised millions of users’ credit card and personal information, Sony has switched back on the PlayStation Network around the world. Users will have to download the mandatory System Update v3.61, which enables your machine to connect to the revitalized network.
Sony’s PlayStation Network has been down last few weeks and the outage was due to their network being hacked. Hackers using an alias signed up to rent a server through Amazon’s EC2 service and launched the attack from there.
