Sony: Raised R&D Costs Related to PS4 Launch

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

We are conducting an open call for US based participants* for a public preview to help us prepare for an updated Xbox 360 disc format.

http://majornelson.com/2011/03/29/xb...pdate-preview/

Before this rumor spirals out of hand, I happen to know a couple people who were involved in the private beta for this and they've said that it was just a change in the encryption scheme on the Xbox 360 DVDs. Right now, the encryption on the 360 discs eats up about 2GB of a 9GB dual-layered DVD. The new format cuts that down to something like half as much space, which gives developers a little more breathing room before needing a second disc.

Regarding the topic of MS PR comments about digital downloads:
I still doubt Microsoft would be shortsighted enough to stay with DVD for the next generation, but they're definitely not going to go download-only. They can talk all they like about going completely digital, but there just isn't enough internet connectivity penetration to make that practical yet. Too much of their customer base would be cut off.

A lot of Americans don't connect their consoles to the internet. Even amongst PS3 users, I doubt the figure is higher than 3 out of 4, and Xbox 360 users have somewhat less reason to do so. Even leaving the USA aside, a lot of smaller countries that Microsoft has a presence in would be left completely in the dark due to the lack of available broadband. A lot of countries in Europe have download caps (much like cell phone usage is metered), and I doubt those people will be particularly enthusiastic about having to pay for X number of GB of bandwidth just to purchase more than 1 game a month. Beyond Europe, a lot of developing countries have extremely limited penetration of broadband, and don't look to improve much in the near future.

Also: Remember the huge success of the PSPGo? Yeah, that.