The Codename Heard Around the World

We want to keep backing Sony into a corner about their new PlayStation console, but they haven't budged. However, unconfirmed sources are leading us to believe that we pressed Sony so hard that they couldn't breathe, so we have a couple of answers. Those answers, however, are definitely not exactly the ones we wanna hear.

Codename: Orbis. It's expected arrival date is Holiday 2013, around the same time that Xbox (with its codename: Durango) is supposed to come around. It's going to be a ridiculous holiday season, that's for sure, but there are some awesome upsides for those who nerdgasm at gorgeous graphics and fps, and some really serious downsides for anyone who cares.

Kotaku has recently recieved this information from an anonymous source, but has shared correct information before, however due to policies, that person isn't allowed to really share much of anything. Bah humbug.

The rumor mill is saying that the new consoles won't let you play pre-owned games which would really kick retailers like GameStop, Best Buy, Play-n-Trade and other stores in the balls since they make a huge profit margin off of their pre-owned inventory. Saying to your friend "Hey! I just bought this new game and beat it! Wanna borrow it?" Noooooope. What might just happen is the in-between - you can play a pre-owned game on your console, but you'll be limited as to what you can do.

Players will have to possibly pay a fee and register the game to access its full features. I'm seriously hoping it's not true, but all one can do at this point is just hope. On the other hand, rumors also say that you won't be able to play used games PERIOD. None. Zip. Nada. No way, Jose. If that happens, GameStop and all of its affiliate stores would go under, and so would privately owned franchise game stores.

The really cute thing about its codename is that the recently released Vita in Latin means life. Orbis means circle, or ring.. anyting synonymous to that. Sooo... put them together, and you have Orbis Vita (or strict Latin of Orbis Vitae) which would translate to Circle of Life. I can't help but think of Lion King, but seriously, maybe the Vita is a strong harbinger to what the alleged Orbis will hold for us.

Ok, so enough with the depressing news and the Latin lesson. Let's move on to the goodies!

First off, the PS3 can only handle 3D gaming at 720p, but the Orbis will let you play in full 1080p. Um, what? We're also looking at a resolution capability of 4096x2160, or 4K to make it easier on the tongue and brain. That's way ahead of what current HDTVs are set at right now.

So ok, great graphics, but basically what's happening with these new consoles is that it'll be just like buying a PC game - you buy it, register it, and now it's yours. While you might be able to trade in your Orbis games, the lack of capability as to what you can do with it is going to piss off way too many consumers to even buy it. It'll be like buying a demo of a game.

Looking at a glance, the Orbis isn't isn't worth the goose crap on the bottom of my flipflops. I'm really disappointed in you, Sony. I feel like I just got sold out. You're gunna have to do a lot better than this to grab PlayStation fans' attention.

Again guys, even Kotaku said this - these aren't absolutely confirmed, just super likely, but take everything you're going to hear with a grain of salt until Sony gives their announcement (and no, it won't be at this year's E3 either, so don't hold your breath).

Read it yourself here