GameStop won’t sell consoles bundled with digital games
Perhaps more than any other retailer, Gamestop has serious clout when it comes to selling video games. The retail chain makes money hand over fist on game trade-ins and the resulting used game sales, and in an effort to protect that, it’s made an edict that it’ll only sell bundles that include a physical disc rather than a download code. In a shareholders call (PDF), chief operating officer Tony Bartel specifically cited the current Madden ’16 Xbox One bundle. Rather than carrying the official deal, the company worked to offer a free physical copy of the annual football title with the purchase of a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, refusing to stock the digital bundle at all.
“We expect that if a game is provided as a promotional item in a hardware bundle, GameStop will see more of these physical offers than digital pack-ins on upcoming third-party releases,” Bartel said.
He continued that if Microsoft and Sony keep with the digital pack-in game trend that his stores will see more physical bundles. And considering that the most recent NPD report stated that game-and-console packages were extremely popular, with 93 percent of console sales coming in the from the deals, those bundles aren’t likely to stop anytime soon.
On one hand, Gamestop’s push is great because not everyone has super speedy internet and new games are averaging about 30GB each. The fact that you need to spend so much time updating a new console before you can use it (again, depending on your internet speeds) is frustrating enough as it is — potentially waiting hours for a game to download before you can actually use the console only adds to that. But the fact is, Gamestop isn’t doing this for you, it’s doing this to pad the company’s ample bottom line.
Via: Giant Bomb
Source: The Street (PDF)
Your PS4 is screaming out for some color (and a gold DualShock 4)
Admit it: these new DualShock 4s and color plates for your PS4 are going to make that living room obelisk pop. Slideshow-320584
Tags: colorpanels, controllers, dualshock, dualshock4, hands-on, playstation, ps4, sony, tgs2015
A giant rat bird was the closest I got to ‘The Last Guardian’
Well, I got to tease it with a giant pink ball. To promote The Last Guardian, which is very much happening and also very not playable (so far) at the Tokyo Game Show, the team at genDesign hooked up a 20-foot screen with a projection of the lovable / grotesque (delete as applicable) Trico. The feathery giant rodent is projected at fictional life-size, while two hidden depth cameras pick movement of anyone near its cage. We seemed to get the best reactions when the organizers brought out that aforementioned pink ball to catch its attention. It still roars a lot, which only scares the crap out of you the first… twelve times. It’s a simple little technical demo that doesn’t reveal anything more about the game, but it’s better than watching similar gameplay videos again. Hand me a controller.
The Last Guardian beast is kind of adorable — until it roars down your ear. #tgs2015
A video posted by MT (@thtmtsmth) on Sep 16, 2015 at 9:58pm PDT
Tags: japan, projection, sony, tgs2015, thelastguardian, trico, video
Sony clarifies its new waterproof guidelines, still sounds ambiguous
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Last week it was revealed that Sony had changed its waterproof guidelines slightly, with a statement on its support website telling users to “remember not to use the device underwater”. Well, Sony has come out to clarify its new waterproof guidelines, and well, they said pretty much what we expected them to. Here’s their full statement:
“Sony Mobile is committed to providing the highest standards of product quality and customer service. Xperia models that feature levels of dust and water-resistance are validated independently and based on Ingress Protection (IP) standards agreed and used across the industry. We have every confidence in the qualities of Xperia devices, which are built to exacting technical standards and are designed to perform to high standards in normal usage.
“The recent changes to guidance we provide to our customers are designed to more clearly illustrate the best ways to protect devices in day-to-day usage. We communicate necessary precautions, and the specific parameters of ingress protection ratings, to help customers to protect their smartphones and tablets in line with the applicable warranty we provide.
“We have also recently updated our marketing visuals to better advocate sensible usage of our devices. The warranty terms provided for our products remain the same and any customer concerns will continue to be considered on a case by case basis in line with these terms.”
If you’re finding it hard to cut through the diplomatic language, basically what Sony is saying is that they design their devices with certain waterproof capabilities in mind, but reserve the right to judge on a case-by-case basis whether a warranty claim is legitimate or not. It’s a little bit disappointing that Sony has had to change its standpoint on this – no doubt because it’s costing them quite a bit in warranty claims – but business is business and Sony has to protect themselves somehow.
What do you think about Sony’s new waterproof guidelines? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: XperiaBlog
The post Sony clarifies its new waterproof guidelines, still sounds ambiguous appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Sony’s retrotastic 20th Anniversary PS4 controller lands in the UK
So, you didn’t manage to get your hands on a 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4, just like everyone else. Well, nevermind, as you can now have the next best thing. Sony has today released the Anniversary Edition DualShock 4 controller in the UK (and the rest of Europe), with its retro gray colour scheme and home button sporting the original PlayStation logo. Unfortunately, this model’s lacking the engraved touchpad found on those shipped with the limited edition console, but it’s close enough. The nostalgic pad can now be found at stores including GAME and Amazon for £50, which is probably more than you’d spend picking up an OG PS1 and a copy of Crash Team Racing on eBay — not that we should be telling you which is the better purchase, of course.
This is for the PlayStation generation. Which one are you? 20th Anniversary Dualshock 4 out now #20YearsOfPlay pic.twitter.com/Qd56UPGXCF
— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) September 16, 2015
Filed under:
Gaming, Peripherals, HD, Sony
Source:
PlayStation Europe (Twitter)
Tags: 20thAnniversary, controller, dualshock4, hdpostcross, playstation, playstation4, ps4, sony
Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium only renders media in 4k to preserve battery life
Sony’s new Xperia Z5 Premium stole the show at IFA 2015. It’s the first smartphone in the world to feature a whopping 4k display with nearly 8 Million pixels. However, there are some things that should be noted.
According to PhoneArena, in order to lengthen battery life, the Sony Xperia Z5 will only render media in 4k resolution. Otherwise, when scrolling through your homescreen, apps and web pages you’ll be looking at 1080p. This is because Sony’s UI is yet to be upscaled to 4k quality. Until manufacturers figure out how to sustain battery life with the addition of pixels, many might follow Sony’s lead by only rendering media in 4k.
Sony stated users can still set 4k wallpapers in their full native resolution if you so choose. Everyone is still in debate whether the human eye can see the difference in quality. Sony’s stance on this might be appreciated by many but spec heads will see it as a downfall.
Sony made the following statement depicting the 4k rendering:
Xperia Z5 Premium features a 4K display with a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels based on SID Standard and enables all video and image content to be enjoyed in 4K resolution. All other content is displayed at 1080P or lower resolution in order to optimise the performance and battery stamina for this device, ensuring you can enjoy the 4K resolution when you need it most.
On the spec sheet, the display remains a 2160 x 3840 pixel screen and battery life is clocked at two days. It looks like those wanting a full-fledged 4k smartphone will have to wait a little bit longer. We can’t wait to get our hands on the new Xperia line and test them out for ourselves.
So, what side are you on? Extra battery life, or full 4k screen?
Via: PhoneArena
Come comment on this article: Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium only renders media in 4k to preserve battery life
Customers are redirected to retail partners as Sony shutters it’s Online Store in Europe
Europeans looking to purchase products online from the company will have look elsewhere from now on it seems, with Sony having closed its online store in the region. While you can still browse through Sony’s products on the website, selecting a purchasing option will steer you to other online retailers such as Argos, Curry’s and John Lewis in the UK.
@nkellerns Hi, customers in Europe are no longer able to purchase products directly from Sony, but only from our retail partners.
— Sony CH & AT (@SonyCHAT) September 15, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
This is all part of Sony drawing down its retail presence across the globe, having shut down similar operations in the US and Canada previously. While the US and Canada were given some warning, the European closure came without notice.
The Sony Mobile Store website appears to be operating normally at present if you were planning on pre-ordering a Xperia Z5, but if you were planning on buying a TV or camera, you’ll be guided to a partner retails store to complete the purchase.
Source: Sony (Twitter)
Via: XperiaBlog
Come comment on this article: Customers are redirected to retail partners as Sony shutters it’s Online Store in Europe
Sony’s 4K smartphone shows most content in 1080p
Sony made much ado over the Xperia Z5 Premium being the first phone with a 4K resolution screen, but at least a few IFA attendees noticed that the device described itself as 1080p. What’s the deal — is Sony trying to pull the wool over your eyes? Yes and no, it turns out. The company tells Phone Arena that you will see photos and videos in glorious 4K, but that “all other content” displays at 1080p or less in order to maintain that vaunted two-day battery life. The compromise is understandable (4K is taxing on a laptop, let alone a smartphone), but it also explains why you haven’t seen other companies leap on the technology. Simply put, it’s not ready for everyday use. You won’t see ‘true’ 4K phones (that is, where 4K is used at all times) until there’s hardware that can handle the resolution without begging for mercy.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Sony
Source:
Phone Arena
Tags: 4k, android, mobilepostcross, smartphone, sony, ultrahd, xperiaz5premium
More Sony 4K TVs will support HDR color this fall
If you splurged on one of the many 4K TVs Sony released this year, you’re likely in for a treat. Sony is expanding the reach of its high dynamic range (HDR) color update to include more sets. It was originally destined for just the X930C and X940C, but the upgrade is now slated to reach the X850C, X900C and X910C this fall. If you’re one of the fortunate few in line for this image quality bump, you can expect more vivid colors, greater contrast and more details in both highlights and shadows.
And yes, Sony knows that this kind of improvement is meaningless without content. If you buy one of the supporting TVs “for a limited time,” you’ll get as much as $100 in HDR-enabled Sony movies from Amazon Video, like The Amazing Spider Man 2 and Fury. Amazon’s original shows will also display in HDR, of course. This still doesn’t give you a whole lot to watch, but at least it’s a free update — and if you need more titles, you can always snag an Ultra HD Blu-ray player.
[Image credit: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, HD, Sony, Amazon
Source:
Sony
Tags: 4k, amazon, amazonvideo, bravia, hdpostcross, hdr, internet, sony, streaming, television, tv, ultrahd, x850c, x900c, x910c, x930c, x940c
The next ‘Resident Evil’ game is an online competitive shooter
Resident Evil‘s recent track record for hits is… patchy. And we’re being nicer than we should because of how fondly we remember the earlier games. More recent spin-offs and adventures for the series that all-but invented survival horror might have watered down that (t-virus) formula, but that’s not stopping Capcom’s very own hideous experiments. Tying into the 20 year anniversary of Resident Evil (or Biohazard), the company announced Biohazard Umbrella Corps, a game that’ll see you shooting zombies and… other people that also seem to also be shooting zombies. The trailer was heavy on the action and gore, but expect to control your characters in first person when accuracy demands it, as well as a bunch of new zombie not-so-friendly gadgets and weapons. The game arrives in early 2016 on PS4. (Update: and also PC.)
Tags: biohazard, residentevil, sony, tgs, tgs2015, umbrellacorps, video
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