Morning DLC: Video Games News And Rumors 5/24/14
By Nick Tylwalk
"Sony has been very coy about their upcoming PS Now, their cloud based game streaming solution powered by Gaikai, that will allow us to play PlayStation games even on non native hardware (one perk of this being backwards compatibility over the cloud). It makes sense that they have, though- PS Now is a massively ambitious undertaking, and relying on the cloud to play games probably comes with its fair share of problems, problems that Sony simply does not want publicized, at least not now, when they are still in the testing stage.It seems like there are a lot of problems with the entire setup right now- it simply does not sound like a feasible way to play games."
"Letting buyers choose whether they want a Kinect with their Xbox One will mean more games created for the system, Microsoft’s European Studios boss Phil Harrison has reasoned.Microsoft hopes to boost system sales with a new $399 / £349 Xbox One package planned to launch in June, which drops the previously standard Kinect sensor.The first part of Harrison’s cycle appears to already be working: US retailer GameStop has observed increased consumer interest in the console thanks to the cheaper, Kinect-less version, GameSpot reports."
"PlayStation 4 may only be half a year old, but it’s already pulling its own weight. According to a recent speech by Sony CEO Kaz Hirai, PS4 has already reached profitability, which as he notes is a marked change from previous generations when companies would take a loss on consoles in their early years.Hirai also mentioned that “approximately half” of PS4 owners are member of PlayStation Plus. On PS4 that means access to multiplayer games, though the paid subscription service is likely most known for its “Instant Game Collection” that grants a handful of downloadable games monthly."