Sony has been referring to their next platform as the "Orbis". More importantly, the name might not just be the platform's working title.
Kotaku has reported that Orbis is the name Sony has been using in-house to discuss the next PlayStation, however, as they point out, "Orbis Vitae" means "circle of life" in Latin. Given the push for increased connectivity between the PS3 and the Vita, giving the next platform a name connected to the Vita makes a lot of sense.
The report doesn't stop at the console's name: According to Kotaku's source, The next PlayStation console A.K.A. the PS4 A.K.A. the Orbis is on track to launch in 2013. Sony has been sending dev kits to select developers since the beginning of 2012, in the hopes of having solid launch lineup by 2013.
The console will feature an AMD 64X CPU and an AMD Southern Islands GPU. This isn't the first time that rumors have linked the Orbis and 64X. The new GPU, according to the report, will allow the console to play 3D games in 1080p.
It's not all great news, though: Sony is apparently instituting new countermeasures against used games sales. All games on the new platform will be linked to a player's PSN account, whether they're purchased digitally or on a disc. The console requires that players be online at all times, so you won't be able to game the system by going lo-fi and staying offline.
In the new system, used games sales would still be possible, but only if the new owner pays a fee to "unlock" the disc. Basically they're taking season passes to their logical conclsuion.
Moreover, the Orbis will not be backwards compatible. PS3 games will not run. It's possible that, similar to the Vita, games purchased on PSN may be available to re-download, but you'll have to hold on to your PS3 to play most of your games.
You ok? That's a lot of information to take in at once. A lot of this stuff - countermeasures against used game sales, better hardware, etc - is simply a more explicit version of we've have been hearing for the past few months. Many of the details, especially the connections to the Vita, does make the info sound genuine.
So what do you think? Is the Orbis everything you've ever dreamed of? More importantly, do you think it sounds like the real deal? Let us know what you think of all this comments!
[Via Kotaku]
