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PlayStation Plus subscribers were promised a free version of the game when DriveClub was first announced. Sadly that hasn’t happened yet, partially due to the serious issues the developer faced.

SCEE boss Jim Ryan in a recent interview with Metro UK, made some comments that has made gamers wonder if they will ever see the free iteration of the game.

Good News, Sony told GameSpot that they’re trying to create a network which can handle the additional stress when the free product hits the PlayStation Store, The statement reads:

“Although currently we do not have an update regarding the timing for the launch of the PS Plus Edition, we are continually working on improving the server capacity to enable us to launch the PS Plus Edition as quickly as possible."

As you might already know, Sony is going through a bit of a rough time. Even though the PlayStation side of their business is booming, a few of the other sides are suffering major losses. In total Sony has reported of expecting losses of over $1 billion.

Even the high level executives have decided to not take their bonus and also only half their wages to show support for the company. Although, there was some positive news at Sony’s second financial briefing for overseas investors and and investors. The briefing was attended by Sony CFO Kenichiro Yoshida, Corporate Executive Hiroki Totoki, and Senior General Manager Kazuhiko Takeda.

Yoshida started off by first apologized for the big losses sustained by the company. He explained that this was due to the massive restructuring they underwent for future growth purposes. They are expecting losses to continue till 2015 but that will be the last time.

After this they are expecting a “bright” future. He also added that PS4 has been doing amazingly and will be turning a profit in 2014 itself. Vita on the other hand has not met expectations. The most significant news was that Yoshida believes the PS4 will reach profit levels that the PS2 had. That is a lot to expect but so far the PS4 has surpassed every expectation.

More games coming to PlayStation, even though it is very early in its life cycle, the PS4 is seeing a host of games coming out. Most of these games for now are the indie titles everyone is enjoying and some AAA titles such as Knack, Killzone Shadow Fall and Infamous. We are still waiting on a few more of these AAA titles such as The Order: 1886 and Drive Club which are on their way.

If we are to consider new trademarks filings as any indication, then I guess we will be seeing two new franchises pretty soon. For now we can only speculate if they will be PS4 exclusives or available on the PS3 and PS Vita but I guess we just have to wait till E3 to find out.

The credit of this find goes to a NeoGAF user who somehow managed to find the two new trademark filings from the database of the United States PPatent and Trademark Office. Both of these filings were made sometime mid-April 2014 and are connected to Sony Computer Entertainment America.

The first trademark is for a game called Entwined and the second one for a game called KILL STRAIN (in all caps, I am not adding this for dramatic effect). For now not much else in known about these games, not even which studios are responsible for them. The only solid info we have is that these trademarks are classified as - "Computer game software; Downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless devices; Video game software.", which confirms that these are indeed 2 new games.

Although The PlayStation Now service will be rolling out this summer in North America, we already have the option of renting certain games right now. As reported by MP1st, a recent PSN update has allowed access to links for 1, 7, and 30 day rentals for the game Catherine. If you attempt to rent the game, the title is places on the transaction history.

Right now, the cost for rental is set to “Free”. This could possibly be a promotion for PS Plus members though as the cost of buying the full game is $9.99. It definitely is a cool idea and can’t wait to see what games pop up here. For gamers who just want to enjoy the game and not spend $60 on it, this sounds like the best way to do it.

Only time will tell how this will shape up. For now the PS Plus itself might be more than enough for some gamers. I for one have more games than I can play! Would you consider renting games out?

The PS Vita is for sure an impressive piece of technology. But we all know it has been doing less than spectacular, more like average. In a recent interview with MCV, Sony UK managing director Fergal Gara has called the Vita a “niche device”,

"Vita is proving to be a big niche device. Using the term 'niche' makes it sound tiny, but it's not. The console is occupying an interesting space for interesting games built for more committed gamers. Yes the market place for it isn't as big as it might have been had smartphones not arrived, but it is still a more thorough, more complete experience.

And it is therefore appealing to people with a more eclectic taste in games. And many of these indie developers are proud to be on the platform. All of this is before we even talk about its role alongside PS4, which is clearly exciting and we seeing some good results from that."

This is where it will be decided. The PS4 is the last hope for the Vita’s success and honestly the combination of these two devices does hold great potential. Although some have loved the Remote Play functionality that allows PS3/PS4 games to be played on the Vita, it hasn’t yet hit home with everyone. But with more titles coming out, it will be a matter of time that everyone adopts this, if they do it right that is.

So Sony recently revealed the slimmer and lighter PS Vita 2000 model will be launched in the US sometime in spring.  It is only logical that gamers like us start wondering whether we will be getting a PS4/PS Vita bundle in the US soon.

John Keller, PlayStation hardware marketing boss, told GameSpot that they would “certainly look at it” and that it is “an interesting proposition.” Although they do not yet have any “firm plans” regarding this proposed bundle. He said,

"I like the idea personally of being able to put them together if not as a bundle but as a marketed experience point. So Vita we think fits very, very well as a companion device for the PS4. But, I stop there because I want to make sure Vita retains the beauty of what makes Vita Vita. And that's that it's got it's own unique kind of bespoke games."

This bundle is definitely in Sony’s favor. The vita sales has not been that amazing and being coupled with the PS4 could really boost its sales. Plus, the PS Vita, PS4 and the PS Vita TV seem to be integral parts of the gaming ecosystem Sony’s is trying to create.

Remember back in somewhere near the middle of 2012 Sony acquired the online game streaming company called Gaikai for a cool $380 million? Look like we have to wait a bit more for this to become fully functional on the PS4.

Well although it can only be taken with a grain of salt, it seems that "trusted sources" have told Eurogamer that the game streaming capability of the PS4 powered by Gaikai will launch in North America around Q3 2014, sometime in 2015 in Europe.

It seems that game developers have already been contacted and briefed regarding Gaikai. Some developers have even been invited to join the beta tests for the cloud service which would begin early 2014. The streaming feature is set to arrive first to the PS4, and then for to the PS3 and PS Vita. No titles have yet been announced that would take advantage of this service but Sony has already promised “critically acclaimed” games.  SCE president Andrew House says they intend to really push Gaikai:

"We think there's a great opportunity to broaden the market, because you essentially remove the need to make the console purchase in order to have access to that experience. It may sound counter-intuitive, because, aren't you replacing a business that is your bread and butter? But part of being an innovative company is being a pioneer in new forms of distribution of content, and we would like to be there first and take a leadership role."

Everyone knows that Sony lost quite as bit of money on every PlayStation 3 console they sold. Yes, even at a hefty launch price of $600. Only now have they slowly been able to make a profit out of the console, but that is at the very end of the console’s life.

Although Sony have not mentioned exactly how much of a loss they are seeing per console sold but this time it is supposedly considerably less. Mainly since Sony PlayStation 4 is a cheaper (so to say) console built using off-the-shelf PC components, unlike the PS3 which came in with the future proof and super expensive Blu-Ray drive.

So stands within reason that Sony expects to make little loss over it, let alone recover it soon after the console’s release. It seems that Sony plans on doing that sooner than we might think. Sony recently told Eurogamer that they plan or recovering their losses “immediately” when the PS4 launches in the US and Europe this November.

Sony Japan executive Masayasu Ito mentioned that system will be sold at a slight loss which will be recovered when typical gamers pick up a subscription to PlayStation Plus "and at least one launch title." Supposedly the potential loss per console is about $60, so what he says make sense.

Considering that PSN Plus membership is pretty much a necessity now, everyone who gets a PS4 will be getting it. Even if it wasn’t necessary, the PSN Plus is way too good to miss out on. Thus this leaves each consumer to grab one game, which they definitely will. So it seems Sony is in a pretty secure state right now.  I guess they really learnt from their past mistakes.

To match Microsoft’s Xbox SmartGlass, Sony has come up with what it calls the PlayStation App. This app has been hinted at several times during the last few months and would allow numerous mobile devices to connect to the PlayStation 4 and allow additional functionalities. The Playstation app basically allows the PS4 to act as a server that streams mobile games to a smartphone or tablet.

The iOS and Android version of this application was demoed live on stage during Sony’s Keynote at the Tokyo Game Show 2013. Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida personally showed off some of its features via the app’s integration into the upcoming PS4 freebie, The Playroom.

Following the keynote event, in a roundtable interview Mr. Yoshida explained that the app allowed PS4 to become a hub for mobile games – which suggested a wider use than the previously assumed second screen console experience. For example, thanks to this App one no longer would need to download mobile titles to his/her phone, as one could simply stream them to the phone via the PS4.

Signing into this app provides the gamers access to the mobile version of the social feed feature of the PS4, in which details such as what friends are playing now are highlighted. In addition, consumers can receive and sent text and voice messages, and even multiplayer game invites. You can also start downloading purchased PlayStation Store content to the PS4.

The app also featured a “Connect to PS4” button which basically pairs the mobile device to the PS4, much like the SmartGlass, which allows second-screen content and touch-controlled gameplay. This feature was highlighted by Mr. Yoshida who used his smartphone to make a doodle of Knack which he then sent to the Playroom mini-game, thus turning the sketch to a 3D model.

But it was clear to assume that not all PS4 titles will be integrated with this app however and Mr. Yoshida could not comment on which other PS4 titles other than Knack would feature Playstation App compatibility. Mr. Yoshida did mentioned that the following games Knack, Driveclub, Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed 4 will all get their own integrated applications.

Check out the PlayStation App demonstration here - http://youtu.be/q06nWmhv4Gs

Sony announced that it will begin hosting quarterly indie developer events at its London offices later this year. These events will be used as an opportunity to update developers about the changes that are coming to the PS4, PS3 and PS Vita, as well as get feedback about the state of the PSN. As can be expected from the location, these events will focus on European developers; however, Sony has confirmed that any developers from around the world will be welcome should they wish to attend.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe senior account manager Agostino Simonetta spoke to Developers:

“You know we do these things very with all our partners, but with the indie community it is so vast and they are spread out, that it is hard for me to go and work with developer days in the Middle East. So while we do these things, we want to make sure it is that on a regular basis. With the great success we are having actually of indie developers registering, we are seeing incredible numbers of new companies coming to the platform. There is a real sense that PS 4 - and Vita as well, PS3 still has a long life - that this is a great opportunity for them to come back to console.

“We are really accelerating and changing the way we approach this. So before was more of a narrow cast, now there is a real opportunity for us to go what I call broadcast a lot more visibility to be able to answer the questions.”

Simonetta also explained how the burst of indie developers’ interest on the platform has influenced the developers’ events.

“I can tell you I have been there for four years, and one of my colleagues has been in third-party relations for ten years, and we’ve never seen anything like this. And this is not just PS4, it applies to Vita and PS3 as well,” he said.

Sony has been pretty open about their support for indie developers. With the rise of quality indie games that has been published on both PS3 and Xbox 360, this news can only mean good things for gamers who are looking forward to the next generation consoles.