Why the PS4 will probably not be named the PS4
2013 is coming, the PS3 is not getting any younger, and rumors on the PS4 are increasing. Some people were expecting an announcement at the Tokyo Game Show this year, but that didn’t happen, so we’re now all looking toward E3 2013 for some sort of public announcement from Sony themselves.
I was discussing with a source close to Sony’s game division, and we were commenting on some random article on the web that claimed the PS4 kept changing names. As far as I can tell, there as always been only 2 somewhat “official” names for the PS4: PS4, or Orbis.
This led my source to explain the PS4 would probably not actually be named the PS4.
That was for internal reasons at Sony he couldn’t immediately remember, but after thinking for a few seconds we all reached the same conclusion: the number 4 being an unlucky number in Japan (depending on the context, it is pronounced the same way as the word death, which is why you’ll never give 4 flowers as a present in Japan, or why some buildings don’t have a 4th floor), the next Playstation will probably not be named the Playstation 4, for cultural reasons.
Will the name Orbix stick? Not sure, as this might still be an internal codename, just like the Vita was initially codenamed NGP (Next Generation Portable)
Just thought this was an interesting anecdote to share, and we will see if it turns out to be true… I mean, Final Fantasy 13 was ***, so clearly number superstitions mean something (ow, just kidding, stop throwing me those rocks! Ouch!)
(Thanks to my source, he’ll know who he is)
Ill buy 1 no matter what the name is. It will be a must own for me as I have this gaming affliction that I must have the best and newest of everything.
Orbis means Circle and Vita means life
soo yeah Circle of Life
To be honest, I think if people are worrying more about what the system is called than what titles and stuff it may have, we have a problem. I’d buy a console with some horribly awkward name if it had good enough games. heck, I’ve bought shameful games with a smile on my face. It’s not so much about the name as it is the quality. Besides that though, even if they try to name it something else, people are probably going to call it the PS4/playstation 4. Consoles generally get nicknamed or abbreviations even if the owner of said calls them something else..and orbis doesn’t roll off the tongue like PS4 does. Then again, maybe I’m just crazy…But i generally mention the games on the console before i mention the console in coversations, you know? ‘Man, i loved mana khemia, ever played that?’ ‘Nope, what system?’ you know? ._.
He is right, we should worry about sheltering and gathering supplies, so we can survive December.
i played mana khemia in ps2 and psp. however mana khemia 2 didnt get NA release for psp i think. any news?
I don’t know what is the hype about it! WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE IN DECEMBER 2012! Now if we happen to survive that, be free to talk about PS4 all you want. WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE…my apologies, I am suffering of Pre-apocalyptic depression.
Actually, it would be real fun if Wololo made article about this 2012 thing. What do you say Wololo, are up to it?
lol you can’t be serious.
I have never been this serious in my life. Not even when I said Yes in my wedding day!
Heh.. My girlfriend and I are throwing an end of the world party.
Can I come?
@Guardian: sorry but I’m not really a superstitious person, not sure what I could write about 2012 except that no next-gen console was released on that year 🙂
Dumb people with their dumb superstitions.
and Dumber people who are not able to understand when someone is joking!
Hope fully it will be named PSY
OPPA GANGNAM STYLE
Too many royalties to pay. Just like Apple, $1 lost = A BIG F***IN’ DEAL!!!!
As of right now we have 24 days until Armageddon comes
OLD news thes news 10 days old
This is original content from my brains, how could it be old news?
Mind reading and Divination, it’s the future of news reporting.
I knew I had taken the wrong Major in College!
We’re watching you, Wololo.. We’ve come from the future where Sony owns everything. We already know of your plans. We’ve known for years. Your brains have been in our tubes long past your life cycle. Maratu will be released at 1200$ and will not have backwards compatibility with any of our previous consoles. It will have 16GB of ram, an 8 core processor. It will run a custom OS where you must sign in to access your games. There will be no game sharing. Sony is the future, Wololo. Maratu will bring us there.
6060-842 redy for Zombi and dragon killing in real life in 2013? cus im XD
OR PS4bis
Stupid superstitions.
yeahhhhhh it is…
Lol
I Say they call it the Playstation Ultimate…
ps 4 vita
Will it actually look like that concept picture?!??!? If so, WOW! 😀
i hope orbis or orbix or whatever sticks, as that sounds pretty badass.
Hehe so I have a better phone, a psv and likely a better computer… woot for me.
I mean while we are just mocking people.
Playstation is really famous brand,so if not use this name
for the console … really stupid idea.
they’ll use the name ‘playstation’ for sure.. just not 4, apparently.
i think playstation orbis is ok.. something like that
Yeah, just like we have the “Playstation Vita” we’ll have the “Playstation Orbis”. It’s best to break the number cycle now anyway. Also Vita and Orbis go rather well together.
Good that you got to return your Vita if it was something wrong with it. Luckily there is nothing wrong with my Vita 🙂
Orbis roughly translates “the whole world”, so it’s definitely just a code name. I assume this means that the console will be very well connected, I guess, but it certainly won’t be released without an actual name.
That could actually be a pretty solid name if it works like that, because vita is life (at least I think) so it could kinda go well… (Just my thoughts)
They should call it PlayStation 8 just to *** MS up xD
I agree with what stoneskull said. I think they will stick with the Sony Playstation part and they’ll add some crazy ending like Microsoft did with Xbox 360. I find it kind of silly that Microsoft will probably name their new console Xbox 720. Will it be Xbox 1080 after that? 🙂
That would be the resolution they run at, so of course. XD ~I’m just playing.
PlayStation Android HD much better, lol. Maybe it will have a chance in the market.
Playstation Four, there, problem solved.
If I recall correctly, the Iphone 4 sold pretty good in Japan, so I don’t think they have to worry about that. And even so, Playstation Death sounds pretty bad ***.
heck yeah
they cold also go with an android style name like “the playstation ex4g HD2”
When I landed in Japan in the late 90s (god I’ve been in Japan a long time), on tv commercialls the Nintendo “64” was pronounced “roku-yon,” as “64” is usually pronounced. I think if Sony calls it PS4, it will be pronounced “four” or “yon” over there. It will always be the 4th PlayStation console no matter what, and people should have sense to not associate every single thing with a 4 on it with death, just like with N64. But if it under-performs, you can bet “PS shi” will be the system’s nickname on 2ch.
I’m betting Sony will use some foreign or abstract word for “4,” same way Vita or PS “V” is the fifth PlayStation product, since every console maker is shying away from numbered iterations anyway.
What about PSU (ultimate) or PSE (extreme) or anything related to the product, like glass in a different language? They could call it Super PlayStation or PS itself, wouldn’t be bad. Not saying that they should name it “PlayStation” like the original PSone but I mean PS itself. In my opinion, let it be named PS four, & in Japan they pronounce it “four,” not yon…
anything new ?
I am also tired of the ps(numbers)
it will give more confidence to new customers who never tried sony’s consoles before, and also it will free fanboys from their obligations and it will certainly bring new flavor to the gaming industry … at the end it’s more of a marketing stratege.
And Personally i don’t give a s**t about the name, i just hope for a mature and elegant design, as i am leveling up biologicaly i still keep my interests in video games.
Well… Orbis = Circle = Circulo
Vita = Life = Vida
Result = Life Circle Or Life Cycle Or Circulo de la Vida
Sony could do it like Winamp and just skip the 4 to call it (PS2+PS3=) PS5. But that would somehow be stealing the idea…
I think it’s going to be called the PS4. I remember back in the day when they code-named the PS2… PS2, and they actually went with it since all the fans already knew it as such.
And remember the first PS2 commercial? It was actually a PS9 commercial which then showed the PS2 at the end saying that it was “just the beginning”. It kind of shows that Sony planned on continuing this traditional name.
Duh, it’s just a code name. They use code names for all new devices before release. We aren’t playing with our shiny NGPs now are we? No, we’re playing with Vitas.
FOUND A NAME! PS Quattro is very good!
What a ***….PS Vita is the best