SONY PLAYSTATION 4 – EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW [UPDATED]

Tonight (20.08.2013), Sony will be revealing its biggest flagship gaming console that has made all the members of various gaming communities and enthusiasts wait anxiously over their next sensation – PlayStation 4!

Here is all the information and the things you can expect from the next gen gaming console based on the rumors.

CONSOLE

Allegedly titled the ‘Orbis’, this console is packed with features you couldn’t even imagine in a gaming console 5 years ago. For starters, it has an unbelievable 8 core processor based on AMD’s Jaguar technology, 4GB of system memory and a Blu-Ray drive. It’s already giving me goosebumps. If rumors are to be believed, it will support a less expensive architecture as compared to the PlayStation 3. This new architecture is already being used by coders on in the high-end PC hardware.

UPDATE – The console itself was not revealed by Sony last night (20.02.2013). However, another addition to the list of compatible devices with PlayStation 4 will be a 3D tracking camera, known as the 'PlayStation 4 eye’ for motion sensing games.

UPDATE – The Hardware configuration has finally been revealed at the E3 conference held in Los Angeles, earlier today. The console features a game controller that was revealed earlier during a special event. However, back then, the console was not disclosed. Sony has now given a first look at what the console would actually look like.

Image Courtesy Engadget

It seems that the console will sit vertically on a stand and the shell is a combination of black and gray design with glossy black and grayish matte finish divided into 4 sections. 3 out of the 4 sections will have that grayish matte finish. The curvaceous design on the PlayStation 3 has given way to straight cuts in its successor. The Hardware includes –

• 8-Core CPU
• 8 GB System Memory (RAM)
• AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next Engine (1.84 Tflops)
• Blu-Ray Drive
• 802.11n Wireless with Wi-Fi Direct
• USB 3.0 port

Further hardware details can be seen here. 

CONTROLLER

The game controller of the PlayStation 4

Based on the leaked images that surfaced on the internet almost a week ago, it seems as if Sony has put in a lot of effort to rework the whole device. It looks like a controller for the futuristic spaceships. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating it a bit, but they seem to have made it from the ground up; well almost. It is rumored to support a multi-touch pad with mechanical click. The start and select buttons have gone and possibly that functionality has been given to the touch pad. Further dissections of the rumored controller suggest that it might have a dedicated ‘share’ button, allowing screen grabs and recording videos of gameplay. The controller also seems to have microphone and headphone compatibility. There have been speculations that the controller supports motion sensing which will come in handy for racing games.

SERVICES

Last year Sony bought a cloud gaming based company, Gaikai, for $380 Million. Based on this fact, it should be safe to assume that cloud services will be added to the PlayStation 4. However, it remains to be seen that how the company integrates this feature into the gaming console.

Cloud gaming provided by Gaikai will remain a key service feature for the PlayStation 4.

UPDATE – A variety of older games will be available through cloud service, Gaikai as reported earlier.

UPDATE – Sony has revealed that it will build a PlayStation app for iOS and Android that will double up as a 2^nd screen. This means, it adds the ability to ‘share’ your gameplay with your friends when the new feature of ‘screen compression’ set to ‘Always On’. With the app, you can also download the game of your choice to the console directly. Ironically, there was no mention of an app version for the Microsoft Windows Phone 8 OS.

PRICE

This section has always been the deal breaker for Sony. They have launched their premium console at ridiculous prices, only to slash them later to maintain their share in the gaming market. Rumors suggest that this time Sony has learnt its lesson and will be launching the device for a reasonable $400-$500 price tag.

I for one am excited to see Sony’s latest offering. Will it be a game changer for Sony and have they finally played all their cards right to give a stiff competition to Microsoft’s Xbox franchise? That remains to be seen.

UPDATE – Sony has priced the console cleverly at $399. Lessons truly learnt, Sony.

USABILITY (UPDATE)

Sony Worldwide Studios President, Mr. Shuhei Yoshida, has confirmed that consumers will be able to reuse their games, which means that you can borrow games from your friends, or vice versa, and use them on separate consoles. This brings a huge sigh of relief to gamers worldwide and their pockets as well as they had to buy games separately for separate consoles before this feature was introduced.

PS4 is NOT natively backwards compatible with the PS3

Unfortunately, Sony has confirmed that for now, games will not be backwards compatible. Your stack of games compatible for the PlayStation 3 will not work on the PlayStation 4. However, the company has provided a ray of hope by saying that they are looking at ‘advanced technologies’ that can provide some sort of an emulator on the PlayStation 4 which will make it backwards compatible.

GAMES (UPDATE)

The intial games that have been confirmed for the PS4 platform include, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Deep Down, Watch dogs, Diablo III (for PS3 and PS4) and Destiny. Other than these mainstream games, another game which will make it to Sony’s latest gaming platform is Knack, developed by the company’s in-house gaming studio in Japan. For gamers who love racing games, PlayStation 4 will offer a team-based game called Drive Club. The game will have integration with the apps that are being developed for the Smartphones.

RELEASE DATE (UPDATE)

To be honest, this was bit of a disappointment. The company didn’t give a glimpse of the console and has revealed that it will be launched in the holiday season. Will Microsoft cash in the opportunity by launching its next gen gaming console early? We’ll have to wait and watch.

Let me know what you think of Sony’s PlayStation 4 in the comments below. I would love to read your views.

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