Sony's 2013-dated new console supposedly code-named Orbis, will boast system that locks games to single PSN account; no backward compatibility for PS3 library planned.

Buckle up, Sony enthusiasts. A tipster has told Kotaku that the PlayStation 4 is named "Orbis" and that it will feature an anti-used-game system, offer no backward compatibility with PlayStation 3 titles, and ship in holiday 2013.

Orbis is just a code name£or is it?

As for the first part of the rumor, multiple sources told the blog that the Orbis will sport some sort of anti-used-game measure. Full Orbis games will be available via Blu-ray disc or as a PlayStation Network download and will be locked to a single PSN account. Players will not be able to circumvent the system by remaining offline, as the source said users will be forced to be connected to the PSN to boot up their games.

Gamers will be free to trade in Orbis games, but the person who purchases a secondhand disc will be restricted to a limited trial mode or "some other form of content restriction." These gamers will be forced to pay a fee to unlock the full title, according to the source.

An earlier report suggested Microsoft's next-generation Xbox would also include some method of blocking gamers from playing used titles. Microsoft has not commented on the matter.

As for backward compatibility, Kotaku's source says Sony has no plans to offer such a service with the Orbis. This would mark a change in approach for Sony, as the PlayStation 2, PS3, and PlayStation Vita have all supported their predecessors' games at launch in some form.

Concerning timing, the Orbis will ship during holiday 2013, according to the tipster. This person says Sony has been sending Orbis dev kits to "select developers" since the beginning of the year. New iterations of these kits were reportedly dispatched earlier this month, with "finalized beta units" headed to developers at the end of 2012.

This matches up with an earlier rumor, which suggested that several studios--including one "major Sony-owned" developer--had moved entirely to PS4 game development.

What kind of technology will the Orbis run on? The site is reporting that developers are being told to plan for an AMD x64 CPU and AMD Southern Islands GPU, the latter of which is capable of running Orbis titles at a resolution of 4096x2160 and 3D games at 1080p. It has been previously suggested that the next-generation PlayStation would be powered by AMD technology.

A Sony representative declined to comment on the matter. For more on speculation concerning the next generation of consoles, check out GameSpot's rumor roundup feature.

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