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The next generation PlayStation console is internally codenamed Orbis and will utilise technologies that will curb the damaging effects of pre-owned game sales, according to a new report.
An anonymous Kotaku source says the system will also pack an AMD x64 CPU and AMD Southern Islands GPU – the latter being a new line of graphics cards used for high-end PCs.
The information is not verified. Sony has declined to comment on the matter.
It is said that games will be shipped either on Blu-ray or downloaded; the same distribution model that the PS3 operates with.
Yet Kotaku claims to have heard “from multiple sources” that the PS4 will implement anti-pre-owned technologies. The theory is that games will be registered to a single PSN account, meaning that Sony can detect the same game being played on other systems and, in turn, lock out certain features.
It should be stressed that this, being one of the most contentious aspects of the new hardware, has not been confirmed by Sony nor Kotaku’s sources.
Many in the publishing a development sector have long lamented the damage that pre-owned sales can have on revenues – as a resale of a game will only provide money for the retailer. Some developers believe pre-owned is a bigger problem than piracy.
Meanwhile, there are signs already that the alleged codename Orbis is accurate. DevNet – the PlayStation online portal for developers – can be accessed through the URL Orbis.SCEDev.net.
Last year Develop revealed that several internal Sony studios were working on early PlayStation 4 game prototypes. At the time, Develop sources said the system will likely be released in 2014. Kotaku today claims the hardware will retail at the end of 2013.
