The Next PlayStation is Called Orbis

While the official reveal of Sony's next home console could still be months away, if not longer, Kotaku has today learned some important details concerning the PlayStation 3's successor. For one, the console's name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it's being planned for release in time for 2013

The details in this story come from a reliable source who is not authorized to talk publicly about next-gen hardware but has shared correct information with us before. What they're telling us in specifics matches much of what we've heard and reported in generalities in recent weeks.

A Sony spokesperson declined to comment about these details, citing the company's policy not to comment on "rumors or speculation." A source supplied some basic specs for the console, but as the future is always in motion, bear in mind these could easily change between now and the Orbis' retail release. Still, if you'd like to know what developers are being told to plan for now, here you go.

AMD x64 CPU AMD Southern Islands GPU The former, that's largely something we've heard before, but the latter is interesting. That's the name given to many of AMD's 2012 roster of high-end PC cards. 

The PS4's GPU in particular, we're told, will be capable of displaying Orbis games at a resolution of up to 4096x2160, which is far in excess of the needs of most current HDTV sets. It'll also be capable of playing 3D games in 1080p (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p).   none outside none;"> Our main source tell us that "select developers" have been receiving dev kits for the new console since the beginning of this year. 

 Revised and improved versions of these kits were sent out around GDC, while more finalised beta units will be shipped to developers towards the end of 2012. That should hopefully give developers plenty of time to have launch games ready for the Orbis' retail release, which will be in time for the 2013 holiday season.

 If you can remember the PS3 launch—it's OK if you can't, it was a while ago—that too was in time for the holiday shopping season (November 2006 for Japan and North America). Remember how the PlayStation 3 swiftly dropped the ability to play PS2 games? Well, our main source tell us the Orbis won't even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backwards compatibility for its existing catalogue of PS3 games. 

  Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we've heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here's how our main source says it's currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date. 

Don't think you can simply buy the disc and stay offline, though; like many PC games these days, you'll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started. If you then decide to trade that disc in, the pre-owned customer picking it up will be limited in what they can do. While the sources were unclear on how exactly the pre-owned customer side of things would work, it's believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game. 

 This would allow used games to continue to be sold at outlets such as GameStop, while also appeasing major publishers who would no longer have to implement their own haphazard approaches to "online passes". >

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Black Ops 2: release date leaked

The following information, claiming to reveal the game's release date and a load of multiplayer features, was first posted on the official Black Ops forums in a thread that was later taken down,
None of this information is confirmed, but there's no reason it couldn't be genuine as it all sounds feasible. Here's the lot:

Leaked Black Ops 2 Multiplayer Information

• This year, Call of Duty will return with it's ninth installment with Black Ops 2. As expected it will be following Treyarch's previous game Black Ops. It's release date is set for the 6th of November.

Game Modes

• Escort, a new game mode similar to Search and Destroy however a live player must be escorted to one of three areas (or two depending on the map) without being killed. The match will have rounds, consisting of one life only.
• Drop Zone and Kill Confirmed will return
• Team Defender and Infected will not return

Pointstreaks

• Will follow from Modern Warfare 3's system
• Larger emphasis on objectives
• A bomb plant is worth 2 points
• A neutral flag is worth 1, however an enemy flag is worth 2
• flag assist capture is worth 1, a capture is worth 2
• The Specialist Pointstreak has be modified. 2 kills now gets you 1 perk. The 4th kill gets you 2 more perks. The 6th kill gets you 3 more perks. The 8th Kill gets you 4 more perks. You do not get every perk when you reach 8 kills. Perks only become "Pro" when you have them Pro
• RC XD will not return
• Heat vision is a new Pointstreak reward. When you get the required points, you can activate this Pointstreak and your player pulls out a scope and attaches it to your weapon. This scopes main advantage is it's ability to detect enemies through most walls. Note, the scope can only be attached to primaries not including shotguns
• Item Packages requires 5 points. Fall along side care packages and air drop traps. Features a list of package items only including ammo, mini gun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, and body armor

Prestiges

• There will be 15 prestiges
• There will be 50 ranks
• Every two prestiges there is a 5 rank increase
• The final prestige has 90 levels

ELITE 2.0

• ELITE is being fully incorporated into Black Ops 2
• Combat record has been modified and re-named as ELITE Stats
• There will be a specific lobby for clan matches (new way of leveling clans)
• Clan Tournaments can now be implemented

Removed

• No MOAB or Nuke
• No last stand
• No death streaks
• No flame thrower attachment

Map Design

• Map design and size will be following Black Ops not Modern Warfare 3

Sniper Rifles

• Improved sniper rifle usage.
• No aim assist for any sniper rifle.
• Less sway

Customization

• No longer just perk 1 chooses the players appearance
• Appearance is a combination of all perks and type of Pointstreak being used.

Hardcore

• Larger emphasis on hardcore than ever before
• No grenade launchers
• Only vehicle guided rocket launchers permitted
• Respawn timings decreased (for most modes)
• 1 bullet in the foot will no longer kill a person, a head or chest shot is usually required.
• A person will now bleed out if severely injured.

Perk System 2.0

• The Perk Pro system has been upgraded
• There is now 2 options a perk can advance to.
• Both require different challenges to unlock
• Once the desired Pro version is unlocked, the player can select that as their "Perk Pro".
• Once selected, the only way to choose the other option is by entering prestige mode.
• For example Perk slot 1 has the perk called Speed
• Speed - Reduces the time taken to aim down the sight. Pro I - Swaps weapons faster. Pro II - Throws equipment faster

Combat Training

• Will be returning with vast improvements.
• Difficulty is no longer based on how long the bots take to start shooting.
• Bots now have an advance AI system
• Similar to the behavior seen in the MW3 Spec Ops survival

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said  "This year we expect to further expand our presence with the launch of an all-new epic first-person shooter title under the Call of Duty brand. From what we've seen to date, the game already looks fantastic and will bring meaningful innovations to the franchise."

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Durango coming in 2013, no disk drive

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox game console, codenamed "Durango", will arrive in 2013. More importantly, it is said to completely lack an optical disc drive.

The lack of a disc drive could mark a milestone in the evolution of console game distribution. Microsoft already has a high-volume digital distribution platform in Xbox Live, its significance in a post-disc console era will only increase.

This is not to say that Microsoft will completely do away with physical media, an interchangeable NAND flash-based media could also take shape, seeing how prices of NAND flash-storage has come drastically down over the past couple of years.

 It would be a going back to solid-state game cartridges, for home consoles. Some portable consoles use solid-state media even today.

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Valve Working On Steam Box

According to The Verge, Valve is working with hardware partners to develop and release a home console called the “Steam Box.”

Valve CEO Gabe Newell has said recently that “if we [Valve] have to sell hardware we will.”

But the Steam Box is not going to be yet another locked down propitiatory console. At its heart, the Steam Box will consist of a Core i7 CPU, 8GB RAM, an Nvidia graphics card and Steam client installed on Windows operating system. The system will be usable on computer monitors as well as TV screens thanks to Steam’s soon-to-be-released Big-Picture mode.

Interestingly, the Steam Box will be able to run all PC games, including ones that are sold through or depend on competing services such as Direct2Drive or EA Origin. The “console” will ship with a proprietary controller that features swappable components.

To make the system even more open, Valve will allow all interested hardware manufacturers to produce it without paying any licensing fees, Game developers won’t need to buy any new development kits to develop games for the Steam Box.

 

The Steam Box can be thought of as an attempt to standardize and unify a set of PC hardware specs so that game developers would be able to target. In other words, any PC that matches or exceeds Steam Box’s hardware specs will be able to play Steam Box games simply by plugging in a suitable controller through the USB port.

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