Microsoft and Sony, ever at one another’s throats, are embroiled in yet another competition: the race to put a next-gen console out onto the market first. According to reports, Sony is in the lead and plans to release the Playstation 4 sometime prior to the end of next year, beating the Xbox 720’s projected release date of Christmas 2013. Early speculation indicates that the Playstation 4 will not be backward compatible with the Playstation 3, so gamers would do well to hold on to their old consoles — a bit of a cashgrab, undoubtedly, but such is the way of technology today.
One wonders just how much room is left for technological improvement in gaming hardware. Developer Warren Spector observed recently, and we wholeheartedly agree, that the biggest next-gen challenges have to be creative, not technical.
In other gaming news this week, we touch on the disappointment that was Duke Nukem Forever, video game tie-ins for movies, movie tie-ins for video games, Prince of Persia, and more:
- Duke Nukem Forever was “a victim of high expectations,” according to Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. You know, as opposed to a victim of being a shitty game.
- Rumor has it that Monolith Productions is developing a video game tie-in for The Hobbit: Part One. Can anyone remember the last big-screen (or small-screen, for that matter) tie-in video game that didn’t suck? The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, perhaps? The original Aliens Versus Predator game from 1999? Not sure if Arkham Asylum counts. Readers?
- In other tie-in related news, the Bioshock movie is, unsurprisingly, now on hold.
- Jordan Mechner, creator of the first Prince of Persia game developed for the Apple II, recently re-discovered the game’s original source code and plans to update and re-release it for modern systems. We here at Tor.com love kicking it old-school from time to time, and are looking forward to a little more nostalgia.
- Teeth of Naros, a new DLC for Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning, will be available on April 17.
- Finally, Journey is now officially Playstation Network’s fastest-selling game ever. Congratulations to thatgamecompany for a job well done.
If there are games you’d like us to cover or blogs you think we should be following for more news, please let us know @tdelucci or @pritpaulbains.
