“And when is there time to remember, to sift, to weigh, to estimate, to total?” – Tillie Olson

We’re finally back with the fourth edition of Sonydo. GDC has kept me swamped even after the conference for so long. Guess I just need to manage my time better…either that or somehow produce a time turner out of thin air. But I digress, let us get to this week’s Sonydo.

Next Gen Rumors Want to Smite Me [PlayStation Orbis]

Orbis. For a good clean feeling. No matter what. I had to do that dear readers, please forgive me and put down the stones you’re about to hurl at your computer monitor…Anyways Kotaku has received a tip from an anonymous, yet apparently very reliable, source that the next PlayStation’s code name is Orbis. The system will most likely be coming out around Holiday 2013 and that devs received dev kits for the system around the time of GDC. I’m actually ambivalent about this despite my ranting and raving about people continuously talking about next gen consoles. I have yet to own a PS3 and if this system comes out next year I’ll have a good excuse to get a new game system. Those would be my thoughts if not for MORE RUMORS. Similar to the “Next XBOX” it has been rumored that the Orbis will not be able to play PS3 games and won’t play used games at all. Oh dear, I guess I’ll just have to buy a used PS3 instead of buying the Orbis.

Seriously though, if Microsoft and Sony are really thinking about removing used game compatibility from consoles then they’re really in for a lot of hurt. Not only will this, in my opinion, raise the number of people pirating games it will not bode well for either company. I have a new computer now, why bother getting a console that can’t play used games if I can just wait for them to go on sale on Steam? I highly doubt this rumor is true and will not stand by any console or company that tries to tear a part the used games industry.

It is also rumored that the Playstation Orbis will be coming out before the next XBOX, holiday 2013 to be precise (this is a rumor as well). Allegedly the PS Vita will play a similar part as the Wii-U’s tablet controller, being able to act as a controller for the system. It’s highly unlikely that the holiday 2013 release date is actually true. A sony spokesperson already said that they would not be mentioning next gen hardware at E3 and do not have time to think about next gen hardware because of the PS Vita.

[Thanks Joystiq]

PS Vita 1.65 Update Go Down the Drain

Well it looks like Sony has made a mess of things again. What was supposed to be a simple update turned into a disaster (sort of). Players who downloaded the 1.65 firmware update for the PS Vita were met with the inability to connect to the PS3 for ad hoc parties. This isn’t as big as the PlayStation Network being brought to its knees last year by hacker group Anonymous, but still speaks volumes to Sony’s customers. Yes, I understand technology can be faulty at times and that people are only human. However, this is what contingencies are for and this is what testing is for. The only reason this goof up slipped through the cracks was probably because it was just a small update and no one thought of thoroughly testing things. Hopefully Sony will learn from this experience and grow from it. The 1.66 update for the PS Vita is up for those of you still unawares.

Source: Destructoid

PS3 Getting Amazon Instant Video

The Playstation 3 has finally jumped on the Amazon bandwagon and now has Amazon Instant Video available as an application. If you did not know already with Amazon Instant Video you can rent or buy videos from the Amazon Instant Video store and stream them on your device from the cloud. With Amazon Prime users have the ability to watch certain videos for free if they pay the 80 dollar  a year Amazon Prime subscription fee. With the PS3 app you will get the recently watched, next episode features, as well as the personal recommendations which are based on what you’ve been buying.

I like that Amazon Instant is coming on more and more devices, however I wish that it was on my 3DS…I MEAN PS VITA. God, what type of Sony fan has a 3DS? Geesh, expensive hardware all the way dude bros.

Source: GameSpot