We spoke recently about Sony’s presence at Gamescom 2014 and how, along with dating several indie titles and allowing games like DriveClub and Bloodborne to be playable on the show floor, we may the return of Until Dawn. For those unaware, Until Dawn was a survival horror title that was announced for the PS3 years ago and was known for using the PS Move as a flashlight to survive a stormy night against a serial killer.

Supermassive Games was insistent that the game wasn’t cancelled despite multiple delays and instead revealed that it would heading to the PS4. Now Sony is teasing us with a PlayStation Gamescom video that briefly shows snowflakes mixed with slight blood splatter. If this isn’t Until Dawn, what else could it be?

Regardless, we’ll find out next week when Gamescom 2014 is under-way. It will begin on August 13th and conclude on August 17th so stay tuned for more information on the same.

There are plenty of questions people would like Sony to clarify for them, or maybe share a few ideas they’ve explored. There seems to be no shortage of people wanting to know more about the upcoming console. The PS4 is still ways off, so the company could still come forward with new information about the console.

Video Sharing – Managing And Length:

We know for sure that we’re getting an option to share video and other game content that’s been created by players and it’s going to be at our  fingertips. With the long-used select button going the way of the dinosaur we’re getting a share feature. What we don’t really know about this share feature is how it’s going to be managed and used. Will it be limited to 15 minutes only? What if I want to record a puzzle which say lasts for 25 minutes?

Limitations will be there and we shouldn’t expect to be able to go willy-nilly and upload whatever we feel like. Sony or the developers could go the route of limit sharing content within games. This could easily be something that’s different from developer to developer, and probably game to game. There is no doubt that the sharing feature is a powerful tool that’s never been available to console gamers before and it will be interesting to watch this play out and how Sony as well as the developers decide to manage sharing.

Revamped Trophy System:

Sony has teased about a new trophy system, but for the most part not all that much is known about it. There is definitely room for improvement with the current system in place. With issues like long load times and a very simple sorting system, they were an obvious afterthought on the PS3.

From the E3 reveal we do know that there can be multiple accounts all earning trophies simultaneously. The Xbox One will have dynamic achievements but at this point there is not much information on how trophies will play out on the PS4.

Cross Chat Integration:

The PS4 is getting cross chat for the platform. Not only that, but it’s a feature that will not require PSN Plus network either.

Sony is being kind of vague on this one though, and while we’ve seen some of it in action in promotions but how it’s going to work and be controlled is still missing. Some folks are even curious about group or party chats, how many people they will hold and if this will function the same as the standard cross chat system. Sony just hasn’t gone into specifics about it. Worst-case scenario is that we will just find out on release.

The DualShock 4’s Six Axis support and PS Move:

With those lights blazing on the backsides of the controllers and the addition of share button are the biggest changes Sony have made to their controller since the adoption of the DualShock design.

But do you know that the new controller also includes a sensitive, six-axis motion system? Sony have stated that DualShock 4’s Sixaxis will be “Significantly More Accurate” and that it is supposed to also couple with the camera for better detection. Sony has also said the PS MOVE is not going anywhere, so what are the improvement’s we’re supposed to see?

Friends List size:

With all the extra social options that are going to be available on the PS4, hopefully we’ll see a fairly substantial jump in the number of friends someone has. As it stands, the PS3 currently allows up to 100 friends. While it may seem like a lot right now, the new social focus may change all of that. With MMO’s moving to the consoles and plenty of cooperative games that are on their way, Sony should probably plan on giving the maximum available friends a bit of a bump. Sony has confirmed that the number will be raised but by how much is still unknown.

The extend of interactivity with 3rd party devices like the iPAD:

So we know that we are going to be at least partially connect to the PS4 from other electronic devices like tablets. Games like The Division have shown that there are going to be features for the game that are playable from those devices.

What we don’t know is if the tablet will be connected to the console itself in a pairing fashion, the way the controllers do or if it will be connecting to a 3rd party website that is set up by the developers.

Sony is also releasing the PlayStation App that is compatible to iOS and Android which is great news but we don’t really know to what extent the devices interact with the console.

Digital sharing:

As it currently stands the PS3 can share digitally downloaded games upto two different consoles. Sony has confirmed that users can play all their digital games on anyone’s PS4, but the questions is: What is the maximum number of PS4 consoles from which your account can be accessed from?

Gaikai:

Although Sony have confirmed that Gaikai will be available for the PS4 in 2014 and will support wide range of titles, there is no clear indication of how it is actually going to work and what can one expect the titles to be.

Gaikai is a powerful distribution system for older, smaller indie titles but Sony is keeping tight-lipped about what we are going to be seeing from this cloud-based gaming service. Recently Sony released a video stating that Gaikai will support the ‘best’ PS3 games but again that is a pretty vague statement.

Closing Note:

We’ve got a ways to go to get our hands on Sony’s new golden child. The Holiday season is closer than most of us think though, and with more information that Sony appears to be giving us all the time about the console there’s really not much more we can ask for while we wait. It’s going to be exciting to see some of these questions answered, though I am sure we’re just going to have to wait and see with some of these features. There is plenty to look forward to and the wait will be well worth it.

We spoke to Avalanche Studios CTO and co-founder Linus Blomberg about the next generation of consoles, including their out-performing the PC, used game sales and how Cloud functionality on the Xbox One is a mere marketing tool.

"I think we need to accept that connectivity is becoming an integral part of our lives. I’m pretty sure people complained about new machinery requiring electricity to function too, back in the days. "

Rashid Sayed: You famously mentioned to us in March that the PS4 will out-power PCs for many years to come. Now with the Xbox One revealed, will you say the same thing about it and why/why not?

Linus Blomberg: Many people misinterpreted that quote to mean that the PS4 will outperform every gaming PC for years to come, which obviously isn’t the case. Consoles aren’t designed to outperform high-end PC gaming rigs, they are designed to excel in the price/performance ratio. Looking at surveys on what hardware most PC gamers use to play games on, and which way we’re headed, it’s evident that both the PS4 and Xbox One will outperform the majority of PC’s for years to come.

Rashid Sayed: Xbox One has 8GB DDR 3 RAM and out of that 5GB is allocated to games, compared to the PS4 which has 8GB GGDR5 RAM and out of that, 7GB is allocated to games (reportedly). From a development perspective, will games on the PS4 look and run better compared to the Xbox One down the line?

Linus Blomberg: I think that is too early to say. Naturally it’s easier and cheaper for the developers to develop for the smallest common denominator, but if that difference becomes too large we’ll definitely see specific implementations for each platform.

Rashid Sayed: The Xbox One has a number of constraints. These include Kinect needing to be switched on all the time and an internet connection to work. Microsoft thinks that this will make the system eventually better. What is your stance on this and how does it affect your future game development plans for the Xbox One?

Linus Blomberg: I think we need to accept that connectivity is becoming an integral part of our lives. I’m pretty sure people complained about new machinery requiring electricity to function too, back in the days. Hopefully this development will force internet service providers to shape up and provide cheaper and faster connections. As an open-world games developer it’s very exciting, because it enables us to make our worlds much more social and alive.

But it’s nothing new for us – our open-world hunting game theHunter (www.thehunter.com) has relied on internet connectivity since the launch in 2009. As for the Kinect, my only concern as a consumer is having more hardware cluttering my living room. But as a developer, it’s of course good to have guaranteed access to the Kinect as an exciting input device.

Rashid Sayed: According to a couple of reports, the PS4 is apparently 50% more powerful than the Xbox One. In terms of raw processing power, does that figure really play a part when you actually develop games?

Linus Blomberg: Of course it does. But specs on paper are one thing, and actual performance is another. It’s not just about the TFlops, there are other hardware and environment differences coming into play too. We don’t know what the actual difference – if indeed there is one – will turn out to be yet, as drivers and system software isn’t final at this point.

Rashid Sayed: Just Cause 2 was amazing on the PC (massive JC2 fan here!). The game was extremely optimized even for lower end gaming PCs. The Xbox One and PS4 are following the x86 architecture which means easier development. So in concerns to PC gaming, will this put PC titles on an all-together different level during the era of next generation consoles?

Linus Blomberg: I definitely think so. We pride ourselves on working extensively with optimization, but with such diverse platforms as in the current generation it’s simply not viable to squeeze the last drop of juice out of each platform. There always had to be some compromises, considering constrained development times and budgets. But this time around there’s so much more in common, which enables us to take it to a whole new level on all platforms.

Rashid Sayed: Speaking about Kinect and Move: Do you think you will be using them in future projects?

Linus Blomberg: If we find that it would benefit gameplay in any of our games, then definitely. But never as a gimmick.

"The cloud functionality is pushed as a marketing tool to compensate for the less favorable hardware specs. I understand why they feel they need to do this, as the specs on paper aren’t necessarily representative of the actual performance. "

Rashid Sayed: There has been a strong reaction towards the Xbox One using DRM for used games. Microsoft says it will charge a small fee if people want to play second hand games. There are also reports of certain publishers supporting this move. On the other hand, smaller retailers that make their business off second hand games will be wiped out due to this. Where does Avalanche Studios stand on the issue?

Linus Blomberg: The economies in games are changing; they have to in order to be sustainable. No one’s complaining about not being able to trade iOS games. Naturally that’s because they are much cheaper, but if second hand games contributed to the income of AAA game developers, then they could become cheaper too. In the end I think it will come down to how big that fee is.

Rashid Sayed: Microsoft believes that the Cloud will make the Xbox One more powerful over a period of time. But there are certain hurdles given that everyone doesn’t possess a high speed internet connection. Do you feel that this is simply a reason to justify an always online environment?

Linus Blomberg: The cloud functionality is pushed as a marketing tool to compensate for the less favorable hardware specs. I understand why they feel they need to do this, as the specs on paper aren’t necessarily representative of the actual performance. But the way it’s presented I feel is misleading at best. It’s just common sense that sending data over an internet connection isn’t even remotely comparable to sending data over a high-speed internal memory bus.

Of course it can be used to perform high-latency computations, but it won’t really increase your FPS or anything like that. That is not to say that the cloud functionality isn’t an advantage, it’s a great advantage! It offloads the burden of running a backend infrastructure for connected games, which is a huge win and opens up for very interesting game designs.

Rashid Sayed: The Wii U was heavily criticized for its lower CPU clock speed. There has been no confirmation, neither from Microsoft nor Sony over the clock speed of their respective next gen consoles. Of course I won’t ask you to reveal the actual clock speeds of the PS4 and Xbox One. But will developers face the same problem that they faced with the Wii U with regards to the same in next gen consoles?

Linus Blomberg: Clock speed isn’t really a very good measurement of performance. Modern processors are capable of processing much more data than last-gen processors, even at lower clock-speeds. Lower clock-speeds also have the benefit of consuming less power and producing less heat, meaning that that hardware can be more silent. What matters the most is the number of processors available, and luckily the PS3 forced developers to become much better at utilizing parallel processing power.

Rashid Sayed: I came across an interesting comparison chart (you can check it over here). It’s interesting to see that the PS4 has a significant advantage of 107.7 GB/s in terms of system memory. How will this matter while developing a game?

Linus Blomberg: I can’t comment on specs that aren’t public yet, but I commend Sony for their bold move of choosing blazingly fast GDDR5 memory. It’s definitely an area where the PS4 has a leg up over PC’s for a while to come, and I’m sure Avalanche Studios will make great use of it in our huge open worlds.

"Much of the criticism on the Xbox One launch was around the lack of focus on games, which I think shows that people still see consoles as high-end gaming machines, as opposed to social entertainment systems."

Rashid Sayed: The gaming market and its demographics have changed a lot, especially in the last five years. People are becoming more socially savvy and look out for more connected options. Does the saying ‘Games are all that matter’ still hold in this environment?

Linus Blomberg: I would say that the market has grown into new areas, rather than that it has changed. There are new audiences and new markets now, which obviously is good. But I am confident there is a strong future for the good old high-end core gaming as well. Much of the criticism on the Xbox One launch was around the lack of focus on games, which I think shows that people still see consoles as high-end gaming machines, as opposed to social entertainment systems. For Avalanche Studios, games are definitely all that matters. Even though we’re excited to expand into mobile devices, our core focus will always be epic open-world games for high-end platforms.

Rashid Sayed: From a technical standpoint, what is one the thing that Sony and Microsoft need to do to win their audiences over?

Linus Blomberg: Good games that reinforce consoles as high-end gaming machines. We need to make use of all that power and create fun experiences that simply are not possible on mobile devices.

Thanks to Thomas Wiborgh from Avalanche Studios  for setting this interview up.

The game will feature an all new game mode, Legends of the Majors, in which you can experience six different periods of golf with their very own equipment. You can even play night golf and play for the Grand Slam by going through the four majors’ historical events.

Executive Producer Brent Nielsen states, “We wanted to celebrate the world of golf in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14 and give gamers and golf fans a chance to learn about the amazing legacy of the sport of golf through legendary players and iconic moments in majors history.

“We are excited for gamers to start taking down legends and earn their seat at the table of golf’s greatest players.”

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 will be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and support Kinect and Move respectively.

“The research shows the movement in active video games may get heart rates up briefly, but usually not enough to meaningfully contribute to the 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity children and youth require daily”, according to Dr. Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer with Active Healthy Kids Canada.

This came after reviewing roughly 1367 papers on the subject, with the group concluding that, “Active video games also don’t offer the fresh air, vitamin D, connection with nature and social interactions that come with outdoor active play” and that they should not replace actual sports and exercise.

Which is all well and good, but it’s been known for a while now that games like Wii Fit don’t really help you lose weight. And we seriously doubt this will effect Kinect’s popularity (or further nosedive the Move’s).

Source: Sun News Network

Overall, with Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs and Outlast, the horror game market is starting to show some life again. Hopefully, with it’s implementation of horror movie scares and “sexy” thrills, Until Dawn will be able to bring a new spin of horror to the Playstation 3. And hell, having another Move game (remember those?) doesn’t hurt.

Enough can’t be said about the puppet theatre art style. The scissors gameplay was also showcased, along with the rote platforming and a heaping of story cutscenes. The entire game looks to be coming together well, and one could only hope that it releases soon enough.

The art-style embodies a gonzo-esque aura, though obviously more family friendly and less Hunter S. Thompson. The game boasts a story mode and 3 party modes, with 50 mini-games, 150 challenges and 200 achievements. Eight players can take part in total, and if embodying the entire Funzini family frightens you, then happy playing!

The songs are: “Love You Like A Love Song” by Selena Gomez and The Scene, and “The Final Countdown” by Europe.

So the collection so far includes:

Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Disturbia – Rihanna
Good Feeling – Flo Rida
Love You Like A Love Song – Selena Gomez and The Scene
Maneater – Nelly Furtado
Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera
Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley
Rock Lobster– The B-52’s
So What – P!nk
Super Bass – Nicki Minaj
The Final Countdown – Europe
You’re The First, The Last, My Everything – Barry White
What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction
Wild Wild West – Will Smith

Something for everyone, then. Just Dance 4 releases for PS3 Move, Wii and XBox 360 Kinect. A Wii U version is also in the pipeline.

Sony’s Play.Community blog has recently released 6 minutes of footage from the re-release, which will feature visuals remastered by Hexadrive (who also worked on Rez HD).

By the way, did we mention it looks phenomenal? Okami was ahead of it’s time – and didn’t fare well financially – but holds up well today.

The game has also been updated to include Trophies and will be released as a download title for $20 over the PlayStation Network in North America later this year.

Source: Siliconera