But what does it take to get the best out of PlayStation game testing? Join us as we explore some insider tips from iXie that will help you thoroughly test your PlayStation game. But before that, let’s start with some basics.  

What is the Role of a PlayStation Game Tester? 

To become a PlayStation game tester, you must be well-versed in PlayStation game testing. This means one must be skilled enough to identify issues often affecting PlayStation game performance, gameplay, and more. But what does a PlayStation game tester do? Here are some common responsibilities of a PlayStation game tester: 

• Detecting bugs and glitches: PlayStation game testers have a hawk-eye for details and can identify even the smallest problems in a PlayStation game.  

• Documenting issues: The tester creates a comprehensive report of all the issues discovered in the game, including relevant videos or screenshots and how they can reproduce them.  

• Replicating issues. Testers replicate the identified bugs and glitches to understand how they occur and devise strategies to prevent them from occurring in the future. 

• Providing feedback. PlayStation game testers provide detailed feedback on the gameplay, controls, game balance, and user interface, helping improve the final product. 

10 Insider Tips for PlayStation Game Testing  

Here are some key tips for PlayStation game testing, as shared by a leading game QA partner, iXie: 

Understand the Game Design 

Each PlayStation game is unique, and so is the design. Therefore, you must familiarize yourself with the game design documents and understand the intended gameplay mechanics. Understanding the game’s design helps you identify issues that may arise due to inconsistencies in design.  

Platform-Specific Knowledge 

PlayStation hardware and software differ widely from other consoles and ecosystems. Therefore, you must thoroughly understand the PlayStation hardware and software environment before getting started.  

It is highly recommended that you familiarize yourself with the specific capabilities, features, and limitations of the PlayStation console you are testing on. This knowledge helps you identify platform-specific issues, ensure compatibility across different PlayStation models, and optimize game performance. Also, stay informed about the latest guidelines and updates provided by PlayStation to align your testing practices with the current platform requirements and standards.  

Comprehensive Testing  

Comprehensive testing is crucial for your PlayStation game. It helps you identify issues in the game across different scenarios, levels, and modes. Pay close attention to uncommon and common player actions to unearth potential bugs or glitches. This way, you can rest assured that the game delivers a seamless experience across different modes and scenarios.  

Performance Testing  

Gamers currently have thousands of games at their disposal. If your game’s performance isn’t satisfactory, players will quickly shift to an alternative game. This results in lost market share and revenue. Therefore, you must evaluate your game’s performance on the PlayStation platform to ensure this doesn’t happen. This may include checking for frame rate issues, lags, and other performance-related issues that impact the gaming experience.  

User Interface (UI) Testing 

Most gamers judge a game by its appearance, usability, and performance. Therefore, when testing the game on PlayStation, you must pay special attention to the UI elements. This includes ensuring they are visually appealing, responsive, and intuitive. Also, check for consistency in button placements, colors, and fonts. By ensuring the game’s UI elements are consistent, players can enjoy a smooth gaming experience.  

Compatibility Testing  

There are different PlayStation models on the market. The game’s performance may vary from one model to the other. Therefore, you must assess your game’s performance across all models in which it will be played. This testing is crucial to ensure a consistent and seamless gaming experience across multiple consoles, regardless of the potential variations in graphics capabilities, memory, and processing power.  

Localization Testing  

The world has become a global village thanks to the advancement of technology. This applies to games as well. PlayStation games are often intended for multiple regions. Therefore, they must be altered to help players from different regions to navigate the game seamlessly. And that’s where localization testing comes in. Check for language accuracy, cultural appropriateness, and other issues associated with different regions. This will help tailor the game to the specific audience, making it inclusive and location sensitive. 

Security Testing 

PlayStation games often handle personal information about the players. This data must be handled responsibly and protected against unauthorized access. Therefore, when testing your game on PlayStation, you must implement robust security measures to prevent unauthorized data exposure or access. Measures like encryption and anonymization are often employed to protect user data. Also, identify potential vulnerabilities in the game to avoid exploitation by malicious parties.  

Test Automation 

PlayStation game testing can be time-consuming. Creating test cases for every scenario can be challenging and repetitive, making the entire process cumbersome. And that’s where test automation comes in handy. Explore opportunities for test automation, particularly for time-consuming and repetitive test cases. Embracing automation can help increase test coverage while accelerating the testing process.  

Communication Skills 

PlayStation game testing can be challenging and complex, especially when a sophisticated game is involved. Therefore, you must learn and master the art of communicating clearly and simply without overwhelming the development team. Share the test results using a simple and easy-to-understand language. Also, maintain open communication with the team and provide regular updates on the testing progress. You can also collaborate with the development team to effectively resolve issues, improving the final product. 

Final Thoughts 

PlayStation game testing is a critical QA process. It helps identify and fix issues in PlayStation games, enhancing the overall quality of the end product. This process requires a combination of technical expertise, attention to detail, and passion for gaming (as you may need to play the game repeatedly to identify hidden issues). While it may be time-consuming and challenging, these 10 insider tips can help you get started with the journey of delivering high-quality gaming experience to players.  

Looking for an ideal partner for PlayStation game QA? iXie has got you covered. With over 10+ years of experience and industry-leading certifications, we guarantee top-quality testing services. Contact us for more information on how we can help you improve your game’s quality. 

Frequently Asked Questions: 

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Listen to our Gaming Expert’s prediction on The Future of Console Gaming before jumping into the review.

Microsoft has been very vocal about their effort to bring exclusives from both first- and third-party studios. Yakuza: Like a dragon could be one of those attempts, albeit reserving console exclusivity for a short period of time. From this point of view, the Xbox platform’s first notable exclusive is Call of the Sea, which graces the old and new generation Xbox consoles alongside PC. And if this game is any indication of things to come, we have plenty of reasons to be excited about games on Xbox.

Call of the Sea is a first-person adventure game that puts environmental storytelling and engaging puzzles at the forefront. Right off the bat this game faces the threat of being branded a walking simulator. Sit through this adventure though and you will find that it is so much more than that. You play as Norah Everhart, a woman with a mysterious illness, who finds herself searching for her husband. The search leads you to a tropical land where your husband had ventured on an expedition to find a cure. The setup is intriguing enough to pique one’s interest and the game manages to keep the sense of intrigue alive throughout its run time. This is achieved by polishing the three main elements of the game to a mirror sheen. The setting, gameplay and story. Each of these elements are meshed intricately through stunning visuals, excellent puzzles and strong voice acting.

As good as the puzzle design and story is, the real star of game in my eyes has got to be the Island itself. The game’s art and sound deserve special mention for delivering environments that feel so lived in, despite the lack of inhabitants through the majority of the game’s run time. There is a sense of atmosphere that immediately captivates you and has you moving towards the next nugget of gameplay only to see what awaits in the next area. Despite its cartoonish, somewhat cell shade visuals, the world here is effortlessly immersive. Throw in story elements and puzzles that feed off of this world and you have a game where every little aspect works in tandem resulting in a tight yet fantastic experience.

Well, almost. The game isn’t without its issues. There is a fair bit of trial and error with a few puzzles. A lot more than one would be comfortable with. These are moments where the games feels like it has slammed on the breaks. Thankfully though, solving every sizeable puzzle usually, if not always, feels rewarding as the game finds ways to keep the player motivated through story progression, and then another interesting puzzle which is nothing like the last one. The game also offers tools for the player to overcome hurdles, should they choose to invest time reading through the various notes around the world, and Norah’s journal. There is a constant sense of progression every time a puzzle is solved. The story, which explores some heavy themes and isn’t afraid to take some dark turns, is unveiled with a steady bread crumb trail leading up to one of its endings based on your choices.

Call of the sea is a short and engaging game that deserves to be played by anyone who likes a good story. My journey in the shoes of Norah took me to various areas of a world which was breath-taking and sometimes nerve racking. The game makes the best of every element it has to offer, resulting in a must play experience. Call of the Sea is currently on Game pass and if you have about 6-ish hours to spare, you have no excuse to skip this game.

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The Past

Video games have never had the best of reputations in India and to a large extent, they still don’t. However, with mobile gaming being synonymous with phone users, games are currently not being frowned upon as they were used to before. But in the past games were considered a waste of time and money, one that was meant only for kids, and an embarrassment for an adult to admit to his family members that he loves or plays games. As such, one would be forgiven to assume that the Indian market was nothing short of hostile when it came to videogame . So, how did video games penetrate such a market and grow to being what it is today. Enter Piracy. Shocking as it may sound, videogame piracy in the past helped games find a market in India today. I was among the kids who played the likes of Metal Slug and Tekken 3 in hand-built arcade machines, inserting a Rupee coin for each play. As time flew by and the PS2 and PS3 eras kicked in, the arcade machines were replaced by consoles itself, but with a new business model, pay a fee per hour depending on the choice of console and games. And all of it were pirated. Damned if I knew what piracy even was back then, but it was the accessibility of these pirated games, both in terms of how easily they were available and how low the price of admission was to play them, that kept kids like me coming back to them and play them for hours a week. And this happened across all major cities in India creating legions of young videogame lovers who would eventually convince their parents to buy a console or grow up and get one themselves when they started earning. And thus, started the journey of video games in India…for the most part. Today, advancements in technology and awareness of piracy has helped retail game sales and platforms like steam find a steady footing in India, albeit a small one compared to other major countries. But piracy seemed to have been the necessary evil back then for games to get into the hands of Indian gamers.

Also read “The 10 Most Memorable E3 Moments in the Past 10 Years” to know more about the past gaming scenarios.

The Present

Back in my Tekken 3, coin swallowing arcade days, if someone had mentioned that someday both my mother and daughter would love playing games and would play the same games with and against each other, I would have laughed it off. “My mother of all people…. Pfft.”, would have been my response. But today they challenge each other in Cut the rope. Work with each other to solve puzzles and figure out the levels. Such is the progress of video games in India. Largely thanks to the mobile market and more importantly ‘free’ games, video games have found some level of acceptance among different demographics. Suddenly video games were not taboo anymore. And a lot less people were questioning me on how much I spend on games. In the recent past we have had midnight sales for new game releases, tournaments centred on various specific games, and thanks to their immense popularity, we have a PUBG themed restaurants in India. All that said, India is still not the market that has grown to its full potential. Games are still very expensive for the average man and mainstream gaming is still considered a luxury. But the industry is growing, slowly but steadily. And when we look back 15 years, it feels like a miracle that we even made it this far. The good news is that there are much better prospects around the corner if things turn out the way some industry pandits have predicted lately, and for that let’s take a look at……

Read our article on “The Best Moments of The Game Awards 2018”

The Future

It is the best time to be a gamer and every year seems only to get better. Games are getting bigger and better every day. But such growth in quality comes at inflated cost of production. This is something that the industry has been struggling to sustain. While crunch time and delayed releases have been synonymous with the game development process, the last couple of years in particular have seen some shifts towards the extraordinary. From corporations starting to only make one game that makes them the most money, to reporting record profits and then laying off a huge number of its workforce, to the heavy reliance on questionable business models like loot boxes, all of these events have lead to some industry personalities screaming that it is all imploding and an inevitable major shift in direction is incoming. And, of the many different quotes and opinions from various individuals, what stood out the most to me was Amy Hennig’s interview with gameindustry.biz just before attending the DICE conference. Outspoken as always, Amy emphasized on the importance of games being made more efficiently. And that she feels that Outsourcing, among other changes, is inevitable. And during the DICE conference she explained that she is open to such changes and would want to deliver something in the future. And while India may not be the biggest market for games in terms of sales, we have proven time and again that we have best workforce at lower rates. Seen as a hub of outsourcing, India is among the first few countries to come in mind thanks to our diverse talent pool. And with number of gaming related companies steadily rising in recent times, (look at Ubisoft, IGN, AIGA, Rockstar, Zynga) games development, support and anything gaming related could well be the next big thing in India. And the very idea of it is fascinating as it is. Whether or not this turns out to be true is something that time will tell. But the future of gaming will still be strong in India thanks to the legion of boys from the past, who used to play on make shift arcades, who now have their own consoles and gaming PCs, who encourage their kids and their friends’ and families’ kids to play along with them. Whatever the industry provides, we receive it with a smile. Bring on that PS5 already!!

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1. Gaming service/console will be announced

It is no secret that Google has been investing in gaming and looking to penetrate the ever growing market. But what they have been working on has been a mystery. GDC 2019 seems to be the perfect place to reveal it all. The way I see this, there are three possibilities here and one of them is likely to materialize. First is what most would anticipate but, in my opinion,, the least probable, Google unveiling a fully realized console much like Sony and Microsoft. The reason this is unlikely is due to the fact that streaming services are gaining traction and advances in technology are pointing towards consoles being irrelevant in the near future. That said Sony and Microsoft seem to think otherwise, at least for one more generation as they are currently working on their next generation of consoles. The second possibility and the most likely one is that Google will integrate their gaming service by streaming them through smaller multimedia-centric devices like Chromecast, Google home or something like Apple TV. Google seems to have the resources and tools to combine the capabilities of these devices with cloud computing to deliver a unique gaming experience. The third and the most ambitious possibility, at least in my opinion, is that Google’s gaming service could be entirely cloud-based and all one needs to play their games would be a Chrome browser in a modest PC or a decent Android phone. While this was pretty much conceived on the PC back in October last year with ‘Project Stream’ making Assassin’s Creed Odyssey playable on a Chrome browser, I am not sure if the same can be applied on a larger scale with millions of users accessing games at the same time. Whatever the case is, just the idea that any of the above (or none of it) can happen is just enough to keep the anticipation meter at peak. We’ll just have to wait and watch. All this only brings us to the second point which is……

Read our blog on “A Peek into the Next Generation of Consoles” to know more about the future of gaming.

2. 2019 will be spicier than we anticipated

I did not see this coming. While news of Google ‘investing heavily’ in gaming has been whispered here and there for a while now, seeing them actually make their move in 2019 is something that I did not anticipate. This year was already shaping up to be one of the best years for gaming, thanks to much-anticipated titles releasing this year and the possibility of new console announcements from two of the industry juggernauts. Google joining the fray only makes things that much more exciting. Looking back, we have seen various companies try entering the industry with their consoles and services, only to fail. But there is one important aspect of Google that makes it not only a competent competitor but a force to be reckoned with. And that is……

3. This is Google

Google is one of the largest entities on Earth. As mentioned in point 1, they have the resources and tools to properly conduct R&D and make a splash in any industry. So, them wanting to enter the ever-expanding gaming market should not be taken lightly. The gaming industry dwarfs Hollywood in revenue and challenges technological limits constantly, and Google would certainly be aware of this fact. So it is reasonable to expect nothing short of revolutionary or mind-blowing from them. If they do exactly that, then they have a greater chance of success and in the process prove to be a formidable rival for Sony and Microsoft. In my opinion, if they reveal something unimpressive and lacklustre, they are just letting go of a golden goose.

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4. Sony and Microsoft will have to keep their guard up

Assuming Google does impress and also assuming that they would likely take the streaming route, it raises a question of what type of content will be supported. If we strictly talk games, we have already seen Ubisoft (AC Odyssey) involved in their project, and can only assume that they would support whatever platform Google creates. If this is the case many other third party developers and publishers could likely join. This would only mean that there is one more platform where a Call of Duty or FIFA can be played. So, Sony and Microsoft will have to come up with new strategies to one-up Google, if not strengthen their existing ones. Not to mention work on a shift in focus towards a streaming oriented generation if Google succeeds in it.

5. Gaming as we know it could change entirely

I may sound like I am getting ahead of myself here, but if the above speculation turns true then we could see games streaming and cloud computing enter the mainstream a lot sooner than we thought. This could make gaming consoles dormant and gaming will suddenly be more accessible and more appealing to a much larger audience. The exciting thing in all of this is that there is a very good chance that all of this could actually happen. Microsoft is rumoured to already be working on a streaming based console alongside a more traditional successor to the Xbox One. Amazon is also rumoured to be investing in gaming and is likely to take advantage of its Echo and Firestick install base to stream their games. All of this paint a completely different picture than the usual couch, console and TV that are associated with games. In an industry that evolves as rapidly as it grows, this does not seem out of the question at all.

Of course, all of the above is just speculation and the whole thing could turn out to be something entirely different. But to see a behemoth like Google cast its eye on gaming and to show up at GDC is proof enough that the industry is a lucrative business opportunity for the ones who are up for the challenge. Apart from a few missteps (remember Google glasses) in its storied history, Google has been known to deliver the goods when it comes to technology and innovation and gaming seems to be right up their alley. Only time will tell how everything will pan out. The good news is that we don’t have to wait long. Google will hold its keynote at GDC on March 19, 10 AM PST. Here’s hoping for an early E3.

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