Since it was revealed a couple of days ago, one main question has been asked about Gran Turismo 6: why is it on PlayStation 3 rather than the upcoming PS4? GT6 will be coming to Sony’s current-gen console this Christmas, but the timing seems a bit odd. After all, all eyes will be on the next-gen, and it’s easy to imagine Gran Turismo getting lost in the shuffle of shiny new technology.

Well apparently it’s something that has crossed the mind of Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi. Speaking at the Silverstone event where he revealed the game on Wednesday, Yamauchi made it clear his team was still looking to the future.

“We actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind,” Yamauchi said. “So for this holiday season, we thought that it would be best for users to release the PlayStation 3 version. I thought the best scenario would be to have the game come out, to have new content and new DLCs every month, and updates coming in for the game; and once players have thoroughly played out the system and played out the game, if the PlayStation 4 version just came out naturally in the progress, I think that’s the best scenario.”

It makes sense for GT6 to come to PS4 at some point, although bearing in mind the franchises legendary development times, we might be waiting a while. Even on current-gen hardware, hopefully Gran Turismo 6 will be a blast when it is released later this year.

So, yeah. Any gameplay? Details? A confirmation of what it’s actually called? Nah. But it is shiny!

The site has been updated with a new date of 21 May, where hopefully we will learn more. Interestingly, that is also the date of the presumed next Xbox reveal. Considering the Sony logos all over this, we are assuming the two are not directly related.

So what is “Panopticon”? From the trailer it looks like a weird cross of sci-fi, MMOs, Monster Hunter and plenty of anime style. What it will actually be is anyone’s guess yet, but we are excited to find out. More great PlayStation franchises are always welcome .

We’ve all been suspecting for some time that Gran Turismo 6 will be announced in the near-future and now we have even more reason to believe. The official Gran Turismo website has been updated with a new section for GT6. It’s empty at the moment, but the mere fact it’s there is interesting.

A special Sony event at Silverstone later today seems like the perfect time to announce the game, so keep your eyes on the road and your ears to the tarmac because the next installment in the famous racing-sim series could be closer than you think.

With PS4-mania running wild and the next-gen race really kicking off, odds are that a hypothetical Gran Turismo 6 would be an early title for Sony’s next console. If our guesses are correct, we might know for sure later on today. Vroom!

We hope you like lists! Square Enix have announced two updated versions of Final Fantasy XIII-2, bundling the game with a variety of post-release DLC. The more expensive “Digital Contents Edition” will come with all this lovely stuff:

Colosseum Opponents
Omega
Lightning and Lieutenant Amodar
Jihl Nabaat
Ultros and Typhon
Gilgamesh
PuPu

Costumes
Sera: Summoner’s Garb
Sera: Beachwear
Sera: White Mage
Noel: Battle Attire
Noel: Spacetime Guardian
Noel: Black Mage
Mog: A Wondrous Wardrobe Costume Pack

Weapons
Sera: Genji Bow
Noel: Catastrophe Blade
Noel: Muramasa

Episodes
Sazh: Heads or Tails?
Lightning: Requiem of the Goddess
Snow: Perpetual Battlefield

If you’ve played XIII-2, we assume this all makes sense to you. Meanwhile, a cheaper “Ultimate Hits” edition will come with a smaller selection of DLC. If you already own the game and simply want all the DLC in one big glob Square Enix have you covered, with a “Additional Content Selection” bundling it all up and making it available to download for a reduced price. The two games hit Japan on July 18th and there is currently no word on whether they will make the trip across the pond. We’d bet on a complete edition of some description releasing eventually, though.

Both Sony and Microsoft are apparently telling developers they are focusing “heavily” on free-to-play and in-application purchasing models for the next generation, according to Epic Games VP Mark Rein.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion, Rein said that the business model now common on mobile devices would end up making its way to console.
“The next-gen consoles are going to be fully embracing the free-to-play and these IAP-type business models,” Rein said, “So in case you don’t know that I’m putting that out there. Sony and Microsoft are both going heavily in that area.”

Old school gamers and traditionalists might not be too happy, but it’s not that surprising. In the most recent issue of Game Informer Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida said the company was working on a free-to-play style game and that the company was open to trying out a variety of different revenue models.

“We are developing a free-to-play type of game, but we haven’t announced it yet,” Yoshida told Game Informer. “We don’t have any subscription-based games in development, but we are not crossing out any type of game; if it makes sense for a particular project, we’ll look at adopting different models. We are open for any types of models. Overall, we are increasing investment in the digital side of development, either through digital titles like Journey that we’ve been doing, but also trying to add more service-based models to our games going forward, like DLCs or additional features post launch.”

Head over to Joystiq for the full story. 

The launch of the PlayStation 3 was an expensive time for Sony, with the company making a loss on every PS3 sold. Taking the loss leader approach, Sony chose to sell the console as cheaply as possible in the hope of making up profits through software sales. How successful they were is debatable, but the facts show that they lost a lot of money in those early days.

Luckily, that doesn’t seem to be the case this time. ”Unlike PS3, we are not planning a major loss to be incurred with the launch of PS4,” said Sony CFO Masaru Kato in an earnings report earlier today.

“At the time we developed PS3, we made a lot of in-house investments to develop the chip, the Cell chip. Development of the chip saw the silicon processing and all the facilities invested by us ourselves. But this time, yes we have a team working on chip development, but we already have existing technology to incorporate and also product investment and all the facilities will now be invested by our partners, other foundries, so we don’t have to make all the investment in-house.”

It’s great news and hopefully will give the PS4 a much smoother and more profitable launch than its predecessor. From what we’ve seen so far, it definitely deserves it. Head over to Eurogamer for the full story. 

You can all stop worrying. In an interview with Game Informer, Sony Worldwide Studio’s president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed the PlayStation 4 will not require a constantly-connected line to the internet. That’s right – always online is off the table.

“Did we consider it? No, we didn’t consider it,” said Shuhei. ”The main reason being that many countries don’t have robust internet connections. It makes sense for people to have internet connections to play online games, but for offline games there are many countries that we saw do not really have robust internet.”

It’s great news and will hopefully be warmly received by the gaming community. A time will probably come when consoles are always-on, but many people’s internet connections are not up to the task at present. Most of us play with our consoles permanently connected to the net anyway, but having the option to offline is the right call by Sony.

The news comes amidst several rumours that Microsoft’s new Xbox will require a constant net connection. Hopefully we’ll know one way or the other before long, but you cant help but feel that Sony have put the pressure on with this announcement. Hoorah.

The New Order is set in 1960 in an alternate history where Germany won the Second World War. Players control series hero B.J. Blazkowicz as he attempts to fight back against the oppresive Nazi regime that now controls the world. It all seems quite silly, in keeping the with the franchises spirit, and hopefully will be a bit more fun to play than the last few entries in what was once a great series. After all, shooting Nazis never really gets old.

There are three constants in life: death, taxes and a new Call Of Duty game every year. Love them or loathe them, as long as Activision keep making millions of dollars each time, they’ll keep pumping them out.

The recently launched teaser site has been updated with the text “The Ghosts Are Real”, all but confirming the speculated name. The rumoured release date of November 6 has yet to be confirmed, but considering every other leaked detail has now turned out to be true, we’d bank good money on that being the day.

Little else is known about Call Of Duty: Ghosts, although judging from the cover image it looks to be in a similar modern setting to Infinity Ward’s other recent titles. Quotes calling the game “the next-generation Call Of Duty” have raised expectations that Ghosts will launch on PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox as well as current consoles and PC.

So, speculation. Will you play as Ghost from Modern Warfare 2? Will it be a survival horror game? Will it have guns in? Will most people playing it online be way too young to have purchased an 18-rated game? Will it be exactly the bloody same? Will it sell millions anyway? Yes to all the above. Perhaps.