Sunday, February 17, 2013

Sony To Announce Three Games When PS4 Is Revealed This Week?


February 20
You can't have a great video game console without the games. It could be powerful enough to fly us all to Mars; without the software, it doesn't interest anyone.

So perhaps the most important aspect of the rumored PlayStation 4 announcement set for this week is the possibility of seeing some launch titles. And according to 30PlusGamer, there's a chance we'll see three titles...and they're all plenty recognizable.

The first is Killzone 4, which we've heard rumored before. In fact, another source had previously stated that the fourth iteration in the critically acclaimed franchise was in development at developer Guerrilla Games and would debut on the PS4. The second is a project from Media Molecule, which may or may not be a new LittleBigPlanet. We do know the team is working on an unannounced project right now but it's still a mystery. Lastly, there could be a newMotorStorm, which may have been teased by Evolution Studios this past week. And we're overdue for a new series entry.

Sounds great. Now, how's about some Uncharted 4?

GameStick pre-orders begin for console and accessories


GameStick preorders begin for console and accessories
PlayJam has initiated pre-orders for its ultra-portable GameStick Android console over on its official website. The main $79.00 bundle includes the dongle-like console itself, as well as the controller it's stored inside of when not plugged into a television's HDMI port. The GameStick's wireless charging dock/port hub and protective case are both up for pre-order as well, priced at $24.99 and $9.99, respectively.

Delivery is expected to begin once an initial run of devices have been shipped to Kickstarter supporters, which is scheduled to take place during April. Currently, the website lists April 30 as the "available on" date for all three items.

Sony patents 'Eyepad,' a Move-enabled PS3 tablet controller


Sony patents 'Eyepad,' a Moveenabled PS3 tablet controller
It's important to remember, especially in situations like this, that the existence of a patent does not necessarily correlate to the existence of a product, or even a company's desire to build what it has patented. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at Sony's ridiculously named PlayStation 3 tablet controller patent.

The device Sony refers to as an "EyePad" in its patent application, seen in the sketch above, would theoretically come equipped with the usual trappings you'd expect from a PS3 controller: D-Pad, buttons, analog stick, SIXAXIS motion sensors, etc. The more interesting bits, however, are a bit harder to pick out from the drawing. 

First of all, those shaded stripes on the edge are not a creamy nougat center, as we had originally surmised, but rather illuminated strips of LEDs or comparable light source. This would allow the EyePad, in conjunction with an EyeToy camera, to function as a PlayStation Move controller.

Secondly, those dots on either corner of the apparent display (which could actually be a normal display, touchscreen or Vita-esque touchpad, according to the filing) are paired stereoscopic cameras. The cameras are arranged in such as way that their respective fields of vision provide a full, 360-degree view of any object placed onto the surface of the EyePad's screen, allowing for objects to be fully scanned in three dimensions and then rendered in game. Theoretically the player could also place their face within this field, allowing for face mapping in character customization applications, for instance.

Again, we doubt this patent represents anything more than a combination of day-dreaming and butt-covering on the parts of Sony's engineers and legal department, respectively, but the ideas presented here are definitely interesting.