Featured

Sony PlayStation 4 Officially Announced!

Sony’s big press conference in New York City has just concluded and they finally revealed what we’ve all been waiting for. The PlayStation 4 is here. After weeks of promo videos dedicated to the history of the brand, we were assured that 2013 would be the year of PlayStation. Sony is taking some formidable strides with their new technology, boasting all kinds of new features to usher in the next generation of gaming. Connectivity and interactivity are the driving forces behind today’s newest technologies, and Sony is sparing no expense to make sure that the PlayStation 4 will be able to deliver on all fronts. Here’s what you need to know.

Release: Holiday 2013

Price: TBA

Console Specs

“Supercharged” PC architecture

x86 architecture CPU

Enhanced PC GPU

8GB of GDDR5 system memory

Local hard drive (size TBA)

Console Features

Everything, Everywhere

Sony is stressing that the PlayStation 4 is all about the cloud. In addition to game saves, players will be able to play demos as soon as they start downloading to their system, as well as instantly hop into some games in order to try before they buy. Gaikai, a cloud based company that Sony recently purchased, is fully implementing their technology in order to unlock the full potential of the PlayStation 4.

Advanced Power Features

The PlayStation 4 will have the capability of functioning while in standby mode or even when the power is off. Sony mentioned turning the power off in the middle of a play session; the system can store everything about your current play session in its system memory so you can instantly resume again when you power the console back on. The console will also be able to download games and apps both while another game is running and while the console is on standby.

Disc Drive

The console will support Blu Ray discs, although it will not be backwards compatible with PlayStation 3 games. Andrew House of Sony did say, however, nearly all prior generation PlayStation games would be able to be played through the cloud. There was no word yet on whether gamers would have to repurchase PS4 versions of all their current games or whether there would be some sort of discount/reimbursement program.

Personality

The new PlayStation Network will use real life names and pictures, attempting to bring you closer to your friends and fellow gamers. The console will also be fully integrated with Facebook and capable of sharing information with all kinds of other social media. In addition, PSN will actively keep track of what types of content you play and enjoy. By gathering this information the system will be able to learn what type of gamer you are, tailoring things like how content is displayed and what you see in the PlayStation Store specifically to you.

4k Ultra HD Support

The console has been confirmed to support the next great leap in display resolution, 3840 x 2160, or UHD. The PS4 will be capable of playing pre-recorded video like movies and trailers in 4k on compatible televisions once they are released. This makes clear sense due to Sony’s long history of pushing the limits of their televisions. Sony currently has several models of 4k televisions in production. Games on the PS4, however, will not support native 4k resolution. This is understandable because it’s simply not feasible to have enough processing power in order to render simulations at that high of a resolution, at least during this next generation of gaming consoles.

The Controller

Front Touchpad

While a front touchpad has been rumored for some time, Sony confirmed it at today’s event. Some rumors stated that the screen could display images but it looks as though it functions the same as the rear touchpad on the Vita.

Front Speaker

Just like the Wii Remote, the controller’s front speaker provides for additional sound and unique gameplay possibilities. It also might double as a microphone but Sony has yet to detail the full features of the controller.

Share Button

The new share button is used for sharing gaming moments such as screen captures or videos to social media websites. It can also be used to begin screen sharing with friends online or even giving control over your game to other online players.

Move Functionality

The rear of the controller has a thin light strip similar to the light balls of the Move controllers. It will interact with new camera peripheral, similar to Microsoft’s Kinect. This new PlayStation camera is a stereo camera that can detect the users movement in three dimensions.

Games

Deep Down (Capcom)
Destiny (Bungie)
Infamous: Second Son (Sucker Punch)
Diablo III (Blizzard)
DriveClub (Evolution Studios)
Killzone: Shadow Fall (Guerrilla Games)
Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)
The Witness (Jonathan Blow)
Knack (Sony Santa Monica)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt)

Quantic Dream and Media Molecule also are working on unannounced titles. David Cage did take the time to show off some of Quantic Dream’s latest in rendering technology, stressing that with the PlayStation 4 games will finally be able to convey the emotion that he’s always dreamed of.

Also, check out some pictures from the press conference below:

[nggallery id=25]

Alex Hanavan

Alex is a 23 year old Computer Science graduate working on his Master's of Business Administration. As an enthusiast of all forms of media he loves music, movies, and games. He likes to keep up to date with what’s happening throughout the world of science and technology but wishes that he had more time to actually sit down and read a good pleasure book. Alex plays trumpet and sometimes thinks that he was born in the wrong decade. His favorite video games include the franchises Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed, Legend of Zelda, Uncharted, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls. You can contact him at alexh@theyoungfolks.com.