Sony’s PlayStation 4 could lose to the next Xbox before it’s even released

I love all game consoles equally. My Xbox 360 is used equally as much as my PlayStation 3. The Wii -- oh, I’ll just leave it at that. The current generation of consoles is all but over -- their 10-year lifecycle be damned -- and new consoles are rumored to be coming next fall. If not next fall, then in 2014. Whatever is the case, Sony (SNE) can’t afford to lag in third place again. Sure, the Xbox 360 and PS3 are neck-in-neck in global lifetime sales, and the Xbox 360 did have a one year head start, but coming off the disappointing PS Vita, “confidence is less high” that Sony will deliver a console next year in time to compete with Microsoft (MSFT), according to Kotaku.
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I want a new console just as much as any other gamer. There’s a reason people are still pouncing on those Wii U consoles and flipping them on eBay. Six years is unusually long for a console to still be kicking around.
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According to the well-informed Stephen Totilo, Editor-in-Chief of Kotaku, the game blog that first broke news on the next-gen Xbox, Microsoft’s “Durango” is ”on the mark” and "Sony appears to inspire less confidence…due to the on-and-off troubles of the PlayStation 3 and the struggles of the Vita vs. how much lost confidence is due to any problems looming for PS4."
Totilo says “confidence is high that the next Xbox will be out in time for next Christmas” and confidence is low that the PS4 will be right there on store shelves next to it.
The “on-and-off troubles of the PlayStation 3″ Totilo is referring to is the anchor that’s weighed the console down since launch: tougher development due to the Cell processor and less available RAM -- 256MB vs. 512MB in the Xbox 360.
In the months before the PS3′s launch in 2006, Sony said the console would be the most powerful console ever created, and here we are six years later and multi-platform games on the console consistently end up being buggier and uglier than on the Xbox 360 in many cases. Cases in point: Skyrim, Mass Effect and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Sony’s in a rut right now. It has the chops to build beautiful and powerful hardware that’s a developer’s dream (ex: PS Vita), but at the same time, it’s always launching after the competition nowadays.
If Sony’s learned any lessons in the last half a decade, it better apply them to the PS4. The console needs to offer next-level processing and graphics. It needs to be backward-compatible with PS3 games and play Blu-ray discs. It should be small and quiet. It should have a strong online platform, support a greater array of apps and most importantly be easy for developers to program for.
Game exclusives will always be important, but now that games are million-dollar productions, multi-platform will be where developers hope to reap back their costs.
With Microsoft said to be preparing an “Xbox 720″ and an “Xbox Lite,” Sony can’t make the mistake of launching late or pricing the console too high. A launch in spring of 2014 would mean Sony will miss Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the two biggest shopping days of the year that bring in massive sales. Ceding sales and market share to Microsoft and Nintendo by launching late would be disastrous.
The PS3 screwed up too many times. At this point, the PS4 needs to be perfect out of the door.

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What If There is Nobody or Nothing to Blame for Lanza? Guns, Video Games, Autism or Authorities

What if there is nobody or nothing to blame for Adam Lanza's heinous acts? Other than Lanza, of course.
What if school security and the school psychiatrist kept an eye on Lanza since his freshman year? The Wall Street Journal has a compelling narrative about the red flags addressed.
What if he had a form of autism that has little or no link to violent behavior? Lanza may have had Asperger's syndrome but, even so, that is not a cause.
What if it's too simple to lay the massacre at the feet of the gun lobby? Reader Larry Kelly tweets that shaming Aspies "makes about as much sense at stigmatizing the NRA. Pick an enemy ... any enemy. Let outrage and fear rule."
What if Lanza wasn't provoked by video games? David Axelrod, a close friend an adviser of President Obama, tweeted last night: "In NFL post-game: an ad for shoot 'em up video game. All for curbing weapons of war. But shouldn't we also quit marketing murder as a game."
When I asked whether he was laying groundwork for a White House initiative, Axelrod said no: "Just one man's observation." A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonytmmity, said today that Axelrod was not a stalking horse for Obama on this issue.
What if Lanza's mother did everything she could, short of keeping her guns out her adult son's reach?
What if there is nobody or nothing to blame? Would that make this inexplicable horror unbearable?
What if we didn't rush to judgement? What if we didn't waste our thoughts, prayers and actions on assigning blame for the sake of mere recrimination? What if we calmly and ruthlessly learned whatever lessons we can from the massacre -- and prevented the next one?

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What If Nothing or Nobody is to Blame for Lanza? Guns, Video Games, Autism or Authorities

What if there is nobody or nothing to blame for Adam Lanza's heinous acts? Other than Lanza, of course.
What if school security and the school psychiatrist kept an eye on Lanza since his freshman year? The Wall Street Journal has a compelling narrative about the red flags addressed.
What if he had a form of autism that has little or no link to violent behavior? Lanza may have had Asperger's syndrome but, even so, that is not a cause.
What if it's too simple to lay the massacre at the feet of the gun lobby? Reader Larry Kelly tweets that shaming Aspies "makes about as much sense at stigmatizing the NRA. Pick an enemy ... any enemy. Let outrage and fear rule."
What if Lanza wasn't provoked by video games? David Axelrod, a close friend an adviser of President Obama, tweeted last night: "In NFL post-game: an ad for shoot 'em up video game. All for curbing weapons of war. But shouldn't we also quit marketing murder as a game."
When I asked whether he was laying groundwork for a White House initiative, Axelrod said no: "Just one man's observation." A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonytmmity, said today that Axelrod was not a stalking horse for Obama on this issue.
What if Lanza's mother did everything she could, short of keeping her guns out her adult son's reach? What if he wasn't bullied?
What if there is nobody or nothing to blame? Would that make this inexplicable horror unbearable?
What if we didn't rush to judgement? What if we didn't waste our thoughts, prayers and actions on assigning blame for the sake of mere recrimination? What if we calmly and ruthlessly learned whatever lessons we can from the massacre -- and prevented the next one?

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What If Nothing or Nobody is to Blame for Adam Lanza? Guns, Video Games, Autism or Authorities

What if there is nobody or nothing to blame for Adam Lanza's heinous acts? Other than Lanza, of course.
What if school security and the school psychiatrist kept an eye on Lanza since his freshman year? The Wall Street Journal has a compelling narrative about the red flags addressed.
What if he had a form of autism that has little or no link to violent behavior? Lanza may have had Asperger's syndrome but, even so, that is not a cause.
(RELATED: How To Make Sense of America's Confusing Patchwork of Gun Control Laws)
What if it's too simple to lay the massacre at the feet of the gun lobby? Reader Larry Kelly tweets that shaming Aspies "makes about as much sense at stigmatizing the NRA. Pick an enemy ... any enemy. Let outrage and fear rule."
What if Lanza wasn't provoked by video games? David Axelrod, a close friend an adviser of President Obama, tweeted last night: "In NFL post-game: an ad for shoot 'em up video game. All for curbing weapons of war. But shouldn't we also quit marketing murder as a game."
When I asked whether he was laying groundwork for a White House initiative, Axelrod said no: "Just one man's observation." A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said today that Axelrod was not a stalking horse for Obama on this issue.
What if Lanza's mother did everything she could, short of keeping her guns out her adult son's reach? What if he wasn't bullied?
What if there is nobody or nothing to blame? Would that make this inexplicable horror unbearable?
What if we didn't rush to judgement? What if we didn't waste our thoughts, prayers and actions on assigning blame for the sake of mere recrimination? What if we calmly and ruthlessly learned whatever lessons we can from the massacre -- and prevented the next one?
What if it wasn't one thing, but everything, that set off Lanza?

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Home invasion victim gets help over Xbox headset

NORTH APOLLO, Pa. (AP) — Police say a Pennsylvania man used his Xbox headphones to call for help after being bound with duct tape and menaced with a gun during a home invasion.
Investigators say the 22-year-old suburban Pittsburgh man was playing video games in an upstairs bedroom when he heard his front door open. The man initially thought it was a family member but saw an armed man wearing a ski mask when he looked downstairs.
Authorities say the intruder bound Derick Shaffer and led him around the North Apollo home to locate valuables, then fled in Shaffer's car. Shaffer reached a friend over his Xbox Live headset and had him call police.
The missing car was located about an hour later. Police questioned three people but are still trying to identify a suspect.

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Baseball-McGehee to join fellow former Yankee Jones in Japan - report

 Infielder Casey McGehee is on the verge of joining another former New York Yankee Andruw Jones at the Rakuten Eagles in Japan's professional baseball league, according to a local media report on Friday.
Rakuten, who signed former All-Star outfielder Jones earlier this week, have agreed to a 130 million yen ($1.54 million) one-year contract with 30-year-old free-agent McGehee, Kyodo news agency reported.
The deal would be announced after a medical, the report added.
McGehee, who has also played for the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, batted .217 with nine homers and 41 RBIs for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Yankees last season.

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McGehee to join fellow former Yankee Jones in Japan: report

 Infielder Casey McGehee is on the verge of joining another former New York Yankee Andruw Jones at the Rakuten Eagles in Japan's professional baseball league, according to a local media report on Friday.
Rakuten, who signed former All-Star outfielder Jones earlier this week, have agreed to a 130 million yen ($1.54 million) one-year contract with 30-year-old free-agent McGehee, Kyodo news agency reported.
The deal would be announced after a medical, the report added.
McGehee, who has also played for the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, batted .217 with nine homers and 41 RBIs for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Yankees last season.

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Greenberg gets minor league deal from Orioles

Adam Greenberg is getting a chance to resume his baseball career with the Baltimore Orioles.
The 31-year-old returned to the major leagues for one at-bat in October, more than seven years after he was beaned in his debut. He agreed to a minor league contract with the Orioles and will have a chance to earn a job at their Triple-A farm team in Norfolk, Va.
"To get the opportunity with the Orioles means everything to me," he said Saturday.
He had contacted Baltimore manager Buck Showalter at the winter meetings this month in Nashville, Tenn.
"I just walked up to him, introduced myself," Greenberg said. "I've always kind of looked at Buck and said that would be the guy that I would love to play, that type of hard-nose mentality."
Showalter put him in touch with Orioles special assistant Brady Anderson and general manager Dan Duquette.
"I'm going to spring (training) with the opportunity to make the Triple-A squad," he said. "Being 31, they said I'm not going to be going to Double-A and taking away a prospect's spot. It's Triple-A, big leagues — obviously I'm not going to make the big league team out of camp — it's Triple-A, big leagues or nothing, and that's great."
Selected by the Chicago Cubs in the ninth round of the 2002 amateur draft, Greenberg made his big league debut as a pinch hitter on July 9, 2005, and was hit on the back of his head with the first pitch from the Marlins' Valerio de los Santos. Greenberg sustained a concussion and was removed for a pinch runner.
Released by the Cubs in June 2006, he had minor league stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals, the speedy outfielder signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds and was cut at the end of spring training, hampered by a rotator cuff injury. He spent 2009, '10 and '11 with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.
After a petition on Change.org urged a big league team to give him another chance, the Marlins signed him and sent him up as a pinch hitter on Oct. 2 against New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Greenberg struck out on three pitches against the eventual NL Cy Young Award winner.
"The last few years have been very, very difficult and challenging, but I got myself physically where I need to be and more important than anything, mentally I'm at a point in my career where I'm able to commit 110 percent back to the game," he said.
His agreement was reported by several media outlets on Thursday.
NOTES: Baltimore assigned OF Steve Pearce outright to Norfolk on Friday.

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AP Source: D-backs, Ross agree to 3-year contract

Outfielder Cody Ross has agreed to a three-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Saturday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.
Ross, who turns 32 Sunday, adds to the abundance of outfielders on the Arizona roster, leading to speculation a trade may be ahead. He .267 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs last season with the Boston Red Sox. He's a career .267 hitter in nine big league seasons.
The addition gives the Diamondbacks four veteran outfielders — Ross, Justin Upton, Gerardo Parra and Jason Kubel — along with two youngsters the organization has deemed ready for the majors — Adam Eaton and A.J. Pollock.
That would indicate a trade could be in the works with Kubel the center of that speculation. In his one season with Arizona, the left-handed slugger hit .253 with 30 home runs and 90 RBIs. He was hitting .300 on July 22 but batted .176 with 19 RBIs the rest of the season.
Ross, who throws left-handed and bats right-handed, was a fourth-round draft pick of Detroit out of Carlsbad, N.M., High School in 1999. He had brief major league stints with the Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati before becoming a full-time big leaguer with the Florida Marlins. Ross was claimed by San Francisco off waivers in August 2010 and was MVP of that year's NL championship series, when he hit .350 with three home runs in five RBIs against Philadelphia. He also homered against Texas in the World Series.
He committed one error in each of the last two seasons.

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OF Cody Ross and Diamondbacks agree to 3-year deal

 Cody Ross and the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a three-year contract Saturday with a club option for 2016.
Ross, who turns 32 on Sunday and lives in nearby Scottsdale, adds to the abundance of outfielders on the Arizona roster, leading to speculation a trade might be coming. Ross batted .267 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs last season for the Boston Red Sox. He's a career .267 hitter in nine big league seasons with six teams.
"Could not be happier to be in the Dbacks family! Truly Blessed!" Ross posted on his Twitter account.
The addition gives the Diamondbacks four veteran outfielders — Ross, Justin Upton, Gerardo Parra and Jason Kubel — along with two youngsters the organization has deemed ready for the majors: Adam Eaton and A.J. Pollock.
That would indicate a trade could be in the works, with Kubel the center of that speculation. In his first season with Arizona last year, the left-handed slugger hit .253 with 30 home runs and 90 RBIs. He was hitting .300 on July 22 but batted .176 with 19 RBIs the rest of the season.
Ross, who throws left-handed and bats right-handed, was a fourth-round draft pick of Detroit out of Carlsbad, N.M., High School in 1999. He had brief major league stints with the Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati before becoming a full-time big leaguer with the Florida Marlins.
Ross was claimed by San Francisco off waivers in August 2010 and was MVP of that year's NL championship series, hitting .350 with three home runs and five RBIs against Philadelphia. He also homered against Texas in the World Series and batted .294 (15 for 51) with five homers, five doubles and 10 RBIs in 15 postseason games for the champion Giants.
He committed one error in each of the last two seasons.
The Diamondbacks also announced that infielder Gustavo Nunez cleared waivers and was returned to Detroit, opening a spot for Ross on the 40-man roster. Nunez was claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh in October after the Pirates selected him from the Tigers in the 2011 Rule 5 draft.

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