Rumor: PlayStation 4 Slim Leaked
UPDATE: Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry went to the leaker’s house to film PS4 Slim boot screen. At this point, it’s pretty much confirmed it’s the true deal, and next month Sony is going to reveal it to the public. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2cIwkg7OVQ It would seem like Sony is following the anything you can do, we can do better mantra. Since Microsoft took E3 by storm and announced the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio people have been left waiting for Sony’s rebuttal. Although nothing has been confirmed people are expecting the upcoming September event to be used to announce the PlayStation 4 Neo, but what about a slim version of the current PlayStation? The latest rumors seems to indicate that the PlayStation 4 slim, the expected name, could be coming soon. Pictures, which can be seen below, have been circulating the internet today of the box of this supposed slim console. According to these pictures the PlayStation 4 Slim will be a 500GB version of the current console. This should be all taken with a grain of salt though as it is just a rumor and nothing has yet been confirmed by Sony. We will ensure to update this article one any new information is released, so stay tuned.
Sony Rumoured to be Revealing PlayStation 4 NEO During Special Event Next Month
After Project Scorpio was announced at the end of Microsoft’s E3 press conference people have been wondering when Sony will follow suit and debut the NEO. The latest rumours coming out may indicate it is much sooner than anybody originally thought. According to the latest rumours from French website GameBlog, Sony is planning a special event which will be held on the 7th of September. Sony is expected to make a major announcement at the show, with many speculating that it will be the reveal of PlayStation 4 NEO. Although this rumour goes against the long standing speculation that this year’s Tokyo Game Show was going to when the NEO was unveiled, there is some credibility to it. GameBlog notes that the original PlayStation 4 was revealed in a similar event in New York, and that the Nintendo NX could also be revealed at the Tokyo Game Show thus stealing some of the spotlight. The PlayStation 4 NEO is currently shrouded in secrecy with very little being known about it. However due to some leaked technical documents have revealed that 4K display support will come built in along with improved and more stable frame rates, graphical updates and much more. As usual with rumours, this could all turn out to be false and until Sony make an official announcement take it all with a grain of salt.
Hearthstone Adventure Announcement Coming July 28th
The third expansion for Blizzard’s hit game Hearthstone Whispers of the Old Gods is less than three months old, but the developers have already started teasing the next release. The team sent out the above invite which invites all players to come and join them this upcoming Thursday, July 28th, for a once-in-a-lifetime event. Many people are presuming that this is going to be an announcement of the next adventure, and this theory is backed by the invitation itself saying “we have an unforgettable adventure planned.” Although it is impossible to tell which mechanic will be the feature of this adventure, the picture included on the invite seems to hint that the location will be Karazhan. Karazhan is an abandoned citadel in World of Warcraft, the game Hearthstone is based on, and was released with the Burning Crusade update. It included a ten-man raid instance for level 70 players. The event will be streamed on Hearthstone’s twitch channel starting at 11:00 PM PDT and any announcements posted here soon after.
Nintendo Publishes 2016 Annual Report
Earlier this week Nintendo quietly released their annual report for the 2015-2016 financial year. This document is a standard document for all companies and gives an overview of the company, it’s key financial data and trends, any research and development activities and subsidiaries to name some. The first key point from Nintendo’s report was the net sales of $4.64 million dollars. This encompasses all products sold from the Wii to Amiibo. Although this figure is lower than Microsoft’s, Microsoft has a much larger product list than Nintendo. In terms of hardware sales, the 3DS was the biggest seller for Nintendo with 6.79 million units being sold worldwide. This was more than double that of the Wii U which only sold 3.26 million units worldwide. These figures stand as a testament to the 3DS and its popularity outside of just the Pokémon franchise. The upcoming NX did also receive a mention in the report, with the company stating “Nintendo is also devoted to the development of a gaming platform codenamed “NX” with a brand-new concept, which will be launched in March 2017 globally.”
Microsoft Appears To Roll Back On Xbox Play Anywhere
Microsoft’s E3 press conference was full of surprises from Project Scorpio to Dead Rising 4. One of the biggest reveals is suddenly not as big though. When first announced the Xbox Play Anywhere program was going to allow gamers to play “every new title published from Microsoft Studios” on either their Xbox or their PC. However that original statement has since been altered. According to Microsoft “every new title published from Microsoft Studios that we showed onstage at E3 this year will super Xbox Play Anywhere.” This is quite the change with many wondering what this means going forward. The original statement had led fans to hope that console-stalwarts like Halo would experience simultaneous release on both Xbox and PC. Although this is still possible it is no longer a certainty. The Play Anywhere program allows people to purchase one copy of a game, either on consoles or computer, and then play it on both.
PlayStation 4 Slim Being Worked On Along With The Neo
Microsoft and Sony are known to follow almost identical strategies when it comes to consoles. If one company makes an announcement of a new console expect the other to follow suit, and it seems like this is happening again. Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s E3 announcement of the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio. Sony is now rumoured to be preparing to announce the previously unheard of PlayStation 4 Slim and the PlayStation Neo at the Tokyo Game Show later this year. This news is courtesy of the renowned analyst Takashi Mochizuki, who is reporting that the PlayStation 4 Slim will be released along with the PlayStation Neo. The previous rumours of the next Sony consoles have been focused on the Neo with the Slim almost unheard of. But after Microsoft’s recent announcement of the Xbox One S it was only a matter of time before Sony announced their own version. If previous slim versions of the older models are anything to go by, it is expected that this updated model will be smaller, slimmer and more energy and cost efficient.
Xbox One S Pre-Orders Off To A Fantastic Start
The Xbox One S was announced just a few weeks ago, but it has been received very well according to a recent report. This report states that pre-orders for the limited launch edition of the Xbox One S “have got off to an amazing start.” This amazing start is not just due to fans. The report states that retailers have also been getting behind the new console. “With all the new innovation we’ve seen and experienced with Microsoft’s new Xbox One S console, we anticipate this creating among our customers” senior Vice President of Merchandising for GameStop Bob Puzon said. Puzon highlighted the “new sleek design and the ability to watch Blu-Ray movies and stream videos in 4K Ultra HD” as key selling points for the console.
Titanfall 2 To Have Non-Linear Single Player Campaign
Titanfall, the popular game from Respawn Entertainment, was best known for its online multiplayer gameplay. Even the campaign required you to be online and was more like a multiplayer mode than a campaign. However the sequel is looking to change that. Announced back in February, details on the campaign are sparse. According to trailers the story will follow a solider who is linked with a robot after its previous pilot dies in battle. Many people are expecting a very linear narrative, as is the case with most campaigns in modern first person shooters. However Respawn recently debunked this expectation stating explicitly that the game will not contain an “average linear campaign.” “It really isn’t your average linear, for lack of a better word, corridor FPS.” The developer said in an interview with CNET. “It’s not like you’re getting pulled through this series of explosions or people yelling at you. There’s going to be very quiet moments where you’re taking in a broad environment and you have to figure out how you’re going to traverse it.” The developers went on to say that the game’s director Steve Fukuda wants the game to feel like a “big swimming pool,” with players having the option to dive in one side moving around and then getting out another side. Whether they can pull off this vision is yet to be seen, but taking a different approach is sure to be welcomed by players. The game is set to release on October 28th for Xbox One, PlayStation and PC.
Microsoft Doubling Down On Consoles Not Leaving The Market
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has come to the defence of Microsoft after a report was published earlier this week stating they plan to leave the console business. Analytics company DFC published a report earlier this week stating that Microsoft’s recent E3 presentation was a sign the company intends to move out of the console market. Even though the company announced two new consoles during their presentation this report still attracted a great deal of attention. So much so that Xbox head Phil Spencer chose to reply to it. Spencer took to Twitter to say that “announcing 2 consoles would be a strange lead in to that.” in reference to the report. Although there is a slim possibility that Phil Spencer is lying, it is so remote that it does not bear thinking about. The fact that the company is doubling down on consoles is a clear indicator that Microsoft intends to stay firmly embedded in the console market for the foreseeable future. Check out the console Microsoft revealed this past E3 – “The most Powerful console ever”
Tekken 7 May Have Cross Platforming
After announcing that Tekken 7 would be coming to all major consoles and not just the PlayStation at E3, the developers have just gone one step further. In a recent interview with GameSpot about Tekken 7, series creator Katsuhiro Harada was asked about the possibility of cross platform implementation between the Xbox, PlayStation and PC. According to Harada this is something that the development team is already looking into and it is not too difficult to accomplish. Harada then went on to say that the development team already has an idea on how to proceed, but they want to first work some issues. The biggest issue that Harada and the team want to tackle? Cheating on PC. The team are trying to decide whether the benefits on having a larger player base outweigh this negative. The idea of cross platforming is bought up at the 4:00 mark in the video below.
