PS4?s PlayGo background downloading & installing explained

[HawkMan]

well, if the rumors about the nextbox is true, it will have Windows RT/WP8 like multitasking and you will be able to run Modern UI apps in the background while playing the game, so you can just switch to the Pizza hut app and order just like you would change your music on the 360 :)

[TheLegendOfMart]

I'm hoping PS4 is going to have decent multitasking this time round as well.

[HawkMan]

little is known about the software so far, except a few simple screenshots.

hopefully they will have messaing and music properly baked in this this. and hopefully support for "apps" so we can run Spotify/Wimp/Rdio/pandora/whatever in the background. I know some developers think they went through a lot of work to pick the perfect music for their game and you should be able to use other music while playing or you ruin the game, but some of those devs have seriously crappy taste, and even when it's nice orchestral background music,sometimes(all the time) you just want some nice music of your own to listen to in the background.

I disliked how the Halo devs in some of their games went about it ti discourage you from playing your own music in the background by pretty much killing all sound when you played music.

[Emn1ty]

Say you are playing Halo 5 and you suddenly have this insane urge for a steaming hot pizza from Pizza Hut ( :x) and you realize "Oh my, that Pizza Hut app thingy will be really handy!!" but you don't want to shut down Halo 5 completely - so what do you do? In comes PS4/nextBox with the suspend feature and you have best of both worlds.

Now, are you sold or not? :shifty:

Not really, since I can basically just hit the 360's dashboard button and walk away. Sure, the console isn't "off" or in any sort of power save mode but my game is effectively suspended, and then I order my pizza with the phone app instead.

That's my point, the feature being added here is not the suspension of games, but the lower power consumption while doing it (and possibly some multitasking). But I still see no point since suspension is spur of the moment, "Oh crap I forgot X" or even "I'll be back in 10-20m and want to keep playing". If aren't coming back for and it isn't urgent you may as well save the game and just turn the console off or go open your app.

[TheLegendOfMart]

little is known about the software so far, except a few simple screenshots.

hopefully they will have messaing and music properly baked in this this. and hopefully support for "apps" so we can run Spotify/Wimp/Rdio/pandora/whatever in the background. I know some developers think they went through a lot of work to pick the perfect music for their game and you should be able to use other music while playing or you ruin the game, but some of those devs have seriously crappy taste, and even when it's nice orchestral background music,sometimes(all the time) you just want some nice music of your own to listen to in the background.

I disliked how the Halo devs in some of their games went about it ti discourage you from playing your own music in the background by pretty much killing all sound when you played music.

Yeah I always turn down the music for games apart from a select few.

I am hoping that they are going to have some kind of app store so that developers can publish apps on the platform instead of hoping Sony will get round to adding apps.

Id love to have all the TV catch up services in the UK whereby its not just an icon that opens up web browser and goes to the site.

[fusi0n]

well, if the rumors about the nextbox is true, it will have Windows RT/WP8 like multitasking and you will be able to run Modern UI apps in the background while playing the game, so you can just switch to the Pizza hut app and order just like you would change your music on the 360 :)

That would a good use for it :D

[dead.cell]

I'm hoping PS4 is going to have decent multitasking this time round as well.

Doesn't the Vita allow for multitasking? If so, I can't imagine why they wouldn't bring something like that to the PS4.

[DPyro]

PS4 will have 1GB RAM dedicated to non-gaming stuff.

[ichi]

This is exactly what I mean. By hitting the Home button, or any other central console button on either the 360/PS3we essentially "suspend" our games as is. The only difference between that and this is power consumption. Yes, it makes sense on the PS Vita and the 3DS because you are constantly turning them on and off to either save battery life (something a console doesn't have) or because your 5m's of downtime ended but consoles are not handhelds nor do they fulfill the same purpose.

To me, it makes very very little sense for this feature to be present on a console.

That only works if the game pauses itself when you hit the button, which doesn't always happen. Case in point: Dark Souls.

[Emn1ty]

That only works if the game pauses itself when you hit the button, which doesn't always happen. Case in point: Dark Souls.

I don't think I've ever run into a game that doesn't, and seeing as I've never played Dark Souls on a console I wouldn't know (and iirc it does pause itself when pulling up the Steam overlay, which is basically the same thing).

[ichi]

I don't think I've ever run into a game that doesn't, and seeing as I've never played Dark Souls on a console I wouldn't know (and iirc it does pause itself when pulling up the Steam overlay, which is basically the same thing).

DS doesn't pause. If you are playing offline and/or standing in a safe area when you hit the ps/xbox button you might not notice, but during a fight you'll just get killed and if you are online there's a good chance you might have been invaded and killed if you leave the console there for a few hours.

It sucks when you get a phone call while you are in a boss area.

Thing is, most games have some kind of ingame pause (usually showing the game menu) and that's what you get in the background when you hit the ps/xbox button. DS doesn't have anything like that and it keeps running instead.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Whether a game pauses or not (a few don't, including Dark Souls), the power saving feature is the best. If you can easily ignore that I can only think you either live at your parents home, or live somewhere where your electricity isn't as big a concern.

It's not a "game changer" or anything, but a feature that can be appreciated without any downsides nevertheless.

[compl3x]

It's not a "game changer" or anything, but a feature that can be appreciated without any downsides nevertheless.

Wrong. It's on a Sony console therefore it is a crap, pointless & idiotic feature.

:rofl:

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Wrong. It's on a Sony console therefore it is a crap, pointless & idiotic feature.

:rofl:

Well it is strange for this feature, it has no negative trade offs no matter what console its implemented on. Really is one of those features you seriously do not expect anyone to see in a negative limelight.

[Emn1ty]

Whether a game pauses or not (a few don't, including Dark Souls), the power saving feature is the best. If you can easily ignore that I can only think you either live at your parents home, or live somewhere where your electricity isn't as big a concern.

It's not a "game changer" or anything, but a feature that can be appreciated without any downsides nevertheless.

You severely overestimate the power consumption of the previous generations consoles. Leaving my computer on for the last month my power bill was still under $70. I don't know about you, but I'm sure A/C consumes much, much more power than any electronic device sitting at your television.

Btw, the 360 used a 200W PSU judging from this, and apparently the 360 already had a standby mode:

The console uses an external power supply with a 10 A/100?120 V or 5 A/220-230 V (AC) input and DC output rated at 203/175/150/135/115 W (depending on revision). An estimated 2 W of power are used while the older versions of console are in standby mode giving a yearly usage of approximately 17.5 kWh.^[34] The new version uses around 0.5W while in standby.^[33] Saving the console size and weight, the power supply displaces 1300 cm³.^[35]

PS3 being similar, in fact the Slim version is very low power:

The power consumption of newer 40 GB PlayStation 3 (65 nm process Cell/90 nm RSX) units ranges from 120-140 watts during normal use.^[33] The latest 80 GB units use both 65 nm Cell and 65 nm RSX, and have further lowered power consumption to between 90?120 W. The PS3 Slim reduces this power consumption by another 34% with the use of a 45 nm Cell, to around 76 W.

I could leave both consoles running and they'd still be less than my PC and from what I can tell they are around the same power consumption as your cable box, if not just a little more. Sure, the next systems may take up more power but honestly there are far more detrimental things to your electric bill than these. Your refrigerator, for example.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Every little counts and at the start these next gen consoles will pack a little punch. Most PCs already have power saving features/underclocking on the fly.

Again though, its not a feature to argue against. Its not like there's two sides to the pond, its simply a beneficial feature.

[Emn1ty]

Every little counts and at the start these next gen consoles will pack a little punch. Most PCs already have power saving features/underclocking on the fly.

Again though, its not a feature to argue against. Its not like there's two sides to the pond, its simply a beneficial feature.

I agree, but nothing can really make this sound as great as they are trying to make it sound is my point. There is literally nothing remarkable about this feature.

[BajiRav]

I agree, but nothing can really make this sound as great as they are trying to make it sound is my point. There is literally nothing remarkable about this feature.

That I agree with. It is a benefit of using a x86 processor that supports the ACPI G0/S0 state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Configuration_and_Power_Interface#Global_states

[compl3x]

I agree, but nothing can really make this sound as great as they are trying to make it sound is my point. There is literally nothing remarkable about this feature.

Marketing and advertising fluff. All companies are guilty of doing it.