Just as everyone expected, today Sony officially announced their next generation console the Playstation 4. Set for a release “this holiday” the Playstation 4 is said to completely change the way we consume videogames for the next decade or so.
Sony’s new console will sport a host of new social features and cloud-based services that are sure to render the PS3 obsolete. Here are just a few highlights from today’s Playstation Meeting;
The Playstation 4 will use Sony’s new DualShock 4 controller which is essentially a DualShock 3 with a touch panel in the middle and a glowing light on top of it. Paired with Sony’s new Light Bar peripheral, that is designed to sit either above or beneath your TV, the Playstation 4 will be able to accurately identify your location even in a dimly lit room. What this means for gaming is still unknown but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued! The Controller will also have an improved pair of analog sticks and re-worked triggers, as well as a fancy new d-pad alongside Sony’s all-new share button.
The Share button will allow gamers to easily share their most epic gameplay moments with just a few bullon clicks. Whether you choose to do so by uploading specific gameplay segments or by live streaming your current play session is entirely up to you. If you opt for the latter, your PSN buddies will be able to cheer you on or attempt to sabotage your progress in real time. Sony also stated that your friends will be able to take over for you if you become stuck on a difficult level or boss although they failed to elaborate on how exactly this would work.
Sony’s recent acquirement of cloud streaming service Gaikai will make the PS3’s tedious download speeds and game installs a thing of the past. Every game you purchase from the Playstation 4’s store can be streamed instantly while you wait for the full game to download in the background. You will also be able to stream game trails for all digital software alleviating the need for demos which often aren’t truly representative of the final product. The Playstation 4 will also have a stand-by feature that will allow you to shut down your console at any point during a game and pick back up exactly where you left off the next time you power on the console.
As for the Vita, Sony announced that the struggling handheld will play an integral role in the Playstation 4’s future allowing you to remotely play all PS4 games directly from the device. Sony also hinted that they would like to bring the Vita experience to the living room at some point in the future with more details on this initiative would be coming later this year.
In terms of specs, the PS4 will ditch Sony’s propriety chipsets in favour in “top of the range PC components” . This will make the system extremely easy for developers to develop for but it also means that the PS4 will not be backwards compatible. Sony are hoping to solve this problem by allowing you to stream full PS1, PS2 and PS3 instead
It’s also worth noting that despite holding a 2 hour conference centred around the PS4, Sony neglected to show the actual console itself. They have to save something for E3 I guess….
Confirmed games for the Playstation 4 include;
| Deep Down | Capcom | TBA |
| Destiny | Bungie | TBA |
| Diablo 3 | Blizzard Entertainment | TBA |
| Drive Club | Evolution Studios | TBA |
| Final Fantasy (PS4) | Square Enix | TBA |
| Infamous Second Son | Sucker Punch | TBA |
| Killzone Shadow Fall | Guerrilla Games | TBA |
| Knack | Studios Japan | TBA |
| The Witness | Thekla, Inc | TBA |
| Watch Dogs | UbiSoft Montreal | TBA |
List courtesy of: IGN
We will have a lot more PS4 coverage on the site over the coming days including news, trailers, podcasts and editorials so make sure you keep it locked to the site for the foreseeable future!
