Sony

Sony breathed new life into its PlayStation Vita portable alongside the introduction of the PlayStation 4 today.

The gist of the news: The Vita can be used as a full screen and controller for your PS4, similar to what Nintendo's done with the Wii U. The idea is that you can continue to play a game on the PS4 through your Vita, even if someone needs to use the TV for something else. The only catch for now is that the two devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.

That should make the handheld gaming device more … Read more

Bungie, the creator of video-game franchise Halo, unveiled today that it is bringing its next project to Sony's consoles.

The new first-person shooting game, called Destiny, is coming to PlayStation 3 and the newly unveiled PlayStation 4, the team from Bungie said onstage at Sony's PS4 event today in New York.

Activision, which is publishing Destiny, characterizes the game as the first "shared world shooter" game, and the Bungie team said there will be exclusive content for the PlayStation community.

There was no mention of when the game will be available, but it's speculated that … Read more

Update, Feb. 21, 2013: We've added several bonus questions, as the more we learn about the PS4, the more we realize we don't know.

NEW YORK--Now that Sony has officially unveiled its next-generation living room game console, it's time to start speculating about all the important details that were left out of the press conference.

We know, for example, that the name of the system is PlayStation 4, and that it will feature a mix of disc-based and cloud-based games, and also that the new controller -- a modified version of the classic Sony game pad -- is adding a small touch panel.

We also know that Sony plans to push a wide-ranging list of games at launch (whenever that is), including Killzone: Shadow Fall, Watch Dogs, and The Witness. That's a deep software bench, and shows a clear emphasis on games and content, but many important questions about the PlayStation 4 hardware and user experience have been left unanswered. … Read more

Sony has inked a deal with Blizzard Entertainment -- maker of World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo -- to bring the last of those titles onto the PlayStation platform.

The two companies today announced a strategic partnership that will bring dungeon crawler Diablo 3 to both Sony's PlayStation 3 and the upcoming PlayStation 4.

On-stage in New York during the PS4's unveiling today, Chris Metzen, Blizzard's senior vice president of story and franchise development said the company already had Diablo 3 running on the PS3 and that it was "amazing," though he did not give … Read more

To show off the graphical capabilities of its upcoming PlayStation 4 console, Sony went with two mainstays of gaming: guns and cars.

That started out with a demo from Guerrilla Games to debut its upcoming title Killzone: Shadow Fall, the latest in the popular Killzone series.

The demo, shown off during the unveiling of Sony's PlayStation 4 today, started out with a landing on top of a city high-rise that quickly becomes ground zero for an attack, and lengthy shootout with the game's baddies, the Helghast.

Of note, the demo -- which included a dramatic escape from the … Read more

Sony's new PlayStation 4 will focus on streaming games across a network of devices and tapping into social gaming, executives said today.

This means faster downloading times, video clip share buttons, and the ability to take over a friend's controller when they are in need of assistance, the company highlighted at its event in New York today.

Mark Cerny, the lead system architect for PS4, said the console system's OnLive network will have a seamless upload experience. This means players can start playing the first part of a game before it is done downloading.

Additionally, PS4 boasts … Read more

Turns out the leaks were right.

Alongside the unveiling of the PlayStation 4 today, Sony showed off the new controller that goes with it called the DualShock 4.

Key among the new features is a built-in touchpad that goes in the very center of the controller, adding an extra level of control and interaction with games and on-screen menus. There's also a built-in microphone jack, and a share button nestled next to the trigger buttons that lets gamers stream their gameplay live to friends in real-time.

During its press conference, Sony promised that the new design improves the built-in … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- A what, where, and why primer on the Game Developer's Conference from guests Meggan Scavio and Simon Carless.

- The 15th annual Independent Games Festival opens its Audience Award voting window, now through March 1.

- Nominations open for 2013 Game Developers Choice Awards.

- Unity Engine coming to BlackBerry 10 smartphones, BlackBerry PlayBook.… Read more

Sony's PlayStation 4 event is today, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from continuing to churn out details.

The console, which hasn't been officially named but is expected to be called the PlayStation 4, will be made available in November in the United States, gaming blog Kotaku is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the company's plans. Those same sources told Kotaku that the console will ship in two different versions and cost $429 and $529, respectively.

Sony is holding a special PlayStation event in New York City today. So far, the … Read more