Sony Computer Entertainment Celebrates 15 Years of Gran Turismo

Sony will provide more details on the future of the Gran Turismo racing franchise next week at an event to commemorate the series’ 15th anniversary, according to an update to the game’s official website.

The event will take place on Wednesday, May 15 in Northamptonshire in the U.K. at the Silverstone Circuit raceway. Series designer and producer Kazunori Yamauchi will be in attendance at the event to “provide an update on the future of the Gran Turismo game,” according to the site.

“The Gran Turismo franchise continues to be extremely important to PlayStation,” said Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Jim Ryan in a statement on the site. “We felt that 15 years of GT was an event worth celebrating along with our colleagues from the Americas, Asia and Japan. We are very grateful to our manufacturer partners for helping us to bring together a fantastic event. As well as experiencing the development of the game and comparing the virtual and real, it will be a pleasure to see Yamauchi-san and hear what’s next for Gran Turismo.”

Sony’s E3 2013 conference to follow Microsoft’s

Sony has announced its E3 2013 press conference will be held on the same day as Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft’s events.

Sony’s event, which is expected to give concrete details regarding the PlayStation 4, will take place on June 10 at 6:00PM PST.

It’s the fourth major conference announced so far. Microsoft’s is scheduled for the same day, at 9:30 AM PST. Ubisoft is next at 1:00 PM PST, followed by EA at 3:00PM PST.

Nintendo will not be hosting an event this year.

E3 2013 itself runs June 11 through 13 in Los Angeles.

Thanks, VG247

Here’s what developers are saying about the all new DualShock 4 for the PlayStation 4.

Rumor: Sony Planning Big PS4 Reveal Before E3

Expect a big announcement from Sony about its next-gen PlayStation 4 console this month or possibly in early May, a source familiar with the company’s marketing strategy told PCMag this week. 

GDC was probably the last big stage for the company to talk up the successor to the PlayStation 3 before the E3 gaming conference in June, unless Sony manufactures its own event. That’s precisely what Sony plans to do, according to the source, who said late April/early May will be the likeliest timeframe for a full-blown launch of the PS4. 

PlayStation 4 out November, has Xbox Live-style subscription

Sony’s sparkly new PlayStation 4 will be released this November, a new report suggests, and include a number of features familiar to Microsoft fans.

The PS4 will require a subscription for “most” of its online features, similar to Xbox Live, and the ability to hook up your smartphone, similar to SmartGlass.

Two models will be made available, a source told Kotaku, provisionally priced $429 (about £277) and $529 (£342).

Sony’s new PlayStation subscription service will be named PlayStation World, and replace the existing PlayStation Plus offer. It’s highly likely that the PlayStation 4 will offer at least the same level of cross-game chat and multiplayer features as Xbox Live, a service that Sony is apparently just as eager to ask money for.

Connect your smartphone to the PS4 and you will be able to “control the PS4 remotely” - but whether this means actual games or just navigating the system’s menus is unclear.

The report mentions using a smartphone to chat with PS4 friends or buy games - similar functionality to that available via Microsoft’s SmartGlass app for iPhone, Android and Windows Phones, and Nintendo’s future plans for the eShop.

You’ll get a new PlayStation Eye in the box - similar to how Microsoft will reportedly include Kinect 2.0 with the next Xbox - and be able to stream live gameplay from friends.

That last feature is one familiar to streaming service OnLive, and likely comes as part of Sony’s deal with rival offering Gaikai. Domains set up by Gaikai and spotted last night include mention of a service named Playstation Cloud, rumoured to be the way PS4 offers backwards compatibility.

Sony is set to (hopefully) confirm all of the above later tonight. The show starts at 11pm.

Eurogamer

Next Sony PlayStation to Stream Games

Sony is planning to offer technology to stream games to its next videogame console, people familiar with the company’s plans say, alongside other enhancements to bolster its position in the market.

The new technology, to be unveiled Wednesday along with the new console, will allow users to play games delivered over the Internet, these people said. The streaming service, they added, is designed to use current PlayStation 3 titles on the new console; the new device is also expected to play new games stored on optical discs.

Sony’s plans come after it acquired Gaikai Inc. last year for $380 million. Though many companies now offer simple games over the Internet, Gaikai was one of several companies that offered online access to visually intense games, which ordinarily require specialized circuitry found on high-end personal computers and gaming consoles.

The streaming technology is one of the new features and enhancements expected to be offered with the new console, which Sony plans to unveil at an event in New York. Sony’s new PlayStation, for example, may control the action with higher fidelity cameras for its “Move” motion-sensing technology and touch-sensing pads on new controllers, according to people who have seen and been briefed on the devices.

Microsoft, a longtime Sony rival that is expected to unveil its own next-generation console this year, has shown similar enhancements to that device, upgrades for the cameras and other components in its “Kinect” motion controller to better identify, track and hear gamers as they play, according to people who have been briefed on the company’s prototypes.

But Sony’s streaming technology may become one of the most talked-about parts of the new device. Industry executives often say they expect cloud gaming to become an important segment of the gaming market, noting that it keeps costs low for customers and allows them to easily play intricate games on mobile devices.

Still, Sony is pushing ahead and has been investing heavily to prepare Gaikai’s service, people familiar with the matter say. Microsoft also has experimented with its own version of cloud gaming, people at the company have said, but has in the past questioned the costs associated with building a service large enough to reach all its customers.

PlayStation 4 controller prototype ~ New Photo