My Opinion: Everything You Need to Know About the PlayStation 4 and Much More

The PlayStation 4 (PS4) was announced last night so to summarise everything that was mentioned in the conference I have put together this post. The PlayStation 4 will be the fourth home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the console successor of the PlayStation 3. It will be part of the eighth generation of video game consoles and currently has as release date of Q4 2013.

Timeline

Sony asked developers several years ago what they would like to see in the new PlayStation 4 console. While they didn’t say they were making a new console developers would have knew what they meant.

In January 2013 Sony made a website teasing a big announcement to be made on 20th February 2013. The announcement was made at the 2013 PlayStation Meeting which took place in New York and revealed details about the new console, games and much more. The announcement was also streamed live through the Ustream streaming service and many video game journalist websites had their own streaming events such as on ign.com and giantbomb.com.

The console was revealed to be scheduled to be released in the winter of 2013.

Hardware

The PlayStation 4 will have a custom-designed single-chip processor, with an 8-core 64-bit x86 central processing unit (CPU) developed by AMD.It is code-named “Jaguar”.

The graphics processing unit (GPU) will be based on next-generation AMD Radeon graphic Cards and will perform at 1.84 TFLOP/s and is likely to perform better than a current middle range graphics card in a PC.It will include dedicated graphics technology for seamless compression and decompression of video media.

The PlayStation 4 will include 8 GB of GDDR5 system memory allowing for 176 GB/s of bandwidth.The console memory will be unified so that the console will now have dedicated video RAM as all RAM is shared between the processing and graphics capabilities.

The optical drive will be able to read Blu-ray discs at 6x and DVDs at 8x.A hard disk drive will be included.

The PlayStation 4 will feature 802.11 b/g/n network connectivity as well as Ethernet.USB 3.0 will be included and Bluetooth 2.1. An auxiliary port will also be included. The system will come with a microphone headset which can be plugged into the DualShock 4 like the Xbox 360.

The console will have HDMI, analog AV-out, and optical S/PDIF audio out.

Controller

The DualShock 4 will be the PlayStation 4’s main controller and is similar to the DualShock 3 and connects to the console via Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

It will have a few new features:

• A built-in two-point capacitive touch pad on the front of the controller, which can be clicked.
• The controller will support motion detection via a three-axis gyroscope and three-axis accelerometer and improved vibration.
• It will include a non-removable rechargeable lithium-ion battery tentatively capable of storing 1000 mAh.

The current controller design weighs 210 g (7.4 oz), has dimensions of 162 × 52 × 98 mm (6.4 × 2.0 × 3.9 in), and etched plastic backing to enhance grip.

The controller has several output connectors:

• A stereo jack (3.5 mm TRS connector) will allow the connection of a headset to allow a user to speak and hear audio simultaneously.
• A micro USB port and an extension port are also included.
• It can be charged via micro USB, a dedicated charging station, or the console (even when the console is off).
• It will include a mono speaker.

The DualShock 4 features the following buttons: PS button, SHARE button, OPTIONS button, d-pad, action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), shoulder buttons (R1/L1), triggers (R2/L2), analog stick click buttons (L3/R3) and a touch pad click button.

The START and SELECT buttons have been merged into a single OPTIONS button.

A dedicated SHARE button will allow players to upload gameplay video and much more.

The joysticks and triggers have been redesigned based on developer input. The joysticks will now feature a concave surface.

A light bar on the controller can display different colors, which will be used to show which player is player 1 etc and to indicate other messages such as low health. It can interact with the camera attachment; the external camera attachment senses movement and depth by using the controller’s light bar. The PlayStation 4 will offer support for the existing PlayStation Move controller.

PlayStation 4 Eye

The PlayStation Eye has been slighty redesigned. It will include two 1280×800px cameras and the lenses will operate with an aperture of f/2.0, with 30 cm focusing distance, and an 85° field of view.

The PlayStation Eye will feature a four-channel microphone array. It is currently set to be 186 × 27 × 27 mm (7.3 × 1.1 × 1.1 in) (width × height × depth), with a weight of 183 grams (6.5 oz). It will record video in RAW and YUV (uncompressed) formats and will connect with the PlayStation 4 via the console’s auxiliary port.

PlayStation Vita

The PlayStation Vita can be used as a third screen device for streaming video directly from the console to the PlayStation Vita. This means game could be played remotely and act similar to how the Wii U controller works.

Other devices

Sony will allow you to use a tablet, smart phone, or other mobile device to interact with the PlayStation Network and will be similar to the Xbox SmartGlass for Xbox 360.

A PlayStation application will allow certain functionality on mobile devices and will be available for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Gamers can use this application to purchase PlayStation 4 games and media and have it downloaded to the console, watch live streams of games, and view maps from PlayStation 4 games.

Services

The PlayStation Network will have a variety of services such as the PlayStation Store, Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited, Netflix Amazon Instant Video and more. Gamers can use their real name so their friends know who they are or/both a username for online gaming.

Customers will be able to browse games on the PlayStation Store and stream games via Gaikai to try them out before buying.

The user interface will no longer use the Xross Media Bar from before and be similar to the new PlayStation Store user interface.

It will be possible to load up applications such as a Web browser while playing a game.

Downloadable games

The system will feature downloadable games, similar to the ones on the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 and other consoles. When purchased, the PlayStation 4 will download a portion of the title and allow the player to start playing straight away while the remainder of the game will download in the background similar to some MMORPG games such as World of Warcraft. This is possible because of the consoles secondary processor.

The PlayStation 4 will attempt to predict the games the player will purchase next and automatically download that game before the player even purchases it. Similar to how recommendations work on online stores.

Backwards compatibility

The PlayStation 4 will not include the ability to natively play or emulate PlayStation 3 titles.

While not available at launch, there is a plan to launch a cloud-based streaming service via Gaikai to play PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 games via its streaming service, at some point in the future. However older games can still be bought in the store. 

Social features

The DualShock 4 controller includes a SHARE button which allows the player to cycle through the last several minutes of gameplay to select a clip appropriate for sharing. Video can be uploaded directly from the console, either to websites, or another PlayStation Network user.

Gamers can live stream their games via services such as Ustream.Friends can comment or even help out.

The PlayStation 4 home screen will include personalised content from friends.

Announced games

Games currently announced for the PlayStation 4.

• Deep Down (working title) – Capcom.
• Destiny – Bungie.
• Diablo III – Blizzard Entertainment.
• Driveclub Evolution Studios.
• Final Fantasy (TBA) – Square Enix.
• Infamous: Second Son – Sucker Punch Productions.
• Killzone: Shadow Fall – Guerrilla Games.
• Knack – SCE Japan Studio.
• Watch Dogs – Ubisoft Montreal.
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt RED.
• The Witness – Jonathan Blow.

Videos:

PlayStation Meeting 2013.

PlayStation 4 Announcement Live Stream (Replay).

Watch Dogs (PC).

Thoughts

I havent played any PlayStation related stuff since the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation 2 so I am curious to see if the PlayStation 4 will make me come back to Sony after being a mostly Xbox 360 gamer. I like all three companies Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft but It’s too expensive to get all three consoles these days. You have to make a choice so I normally wait a bit before buying one.

So far the PlayStation 4 has me curious to find out more about it and to see what Microsoft have to offer as an alternative. There still many questions left unanswered but these two things are certain: Its going to be expensive and this will likely be last generation before other companies like Apple Inc. and Valve Corporation muscle into the mainstream console gaming market.

It be good to know what the situation will be like in three years time.

Source: Information help from Wikipedia.

Some of my other PlayStation related posts:

• Hotline Miami Coming Soon to PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
• All Currently Released Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLC Out in February for PC and PlayStation 3.
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dragonborn is Available. Other DLC Coming to PlayStation 3 Soon.
• Phantasy Star Online 2 Will be Free-to-Play on the PlayStation Vita in Japan. Also a Trailer.
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dawnguard is Now Available for PC but Not PlayStation 3.

Some of my other opinions:

• Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas 2012. Also Stalk Father Christmas Around on Google Maps.
• New Space Hulk Video Game Announced and My Thoughts.
• Spike Video Game Awards 2012 Winners and My Quick Thoughts on Award Ceremonies.
• Twenty New Grand Theft Auto V Screenshots and The Second Trailer. Also My Thoughts on The Games Potential.
• Assassin’s Creed Anthology is Out Soon. Also My Thoughts on What is Cheaper Digital or Physical?.
• The Walt Disney Company Now Owns Lucasfilm with New Star Wars Episode VII in Three Years. Also My Thoughts.
• Hotline Miami and First Update is Available. Also Three Trailers and Some of My Thoughts on The Game.
• My Opinion: Star Wars The Old Republic Subscriptions Plummet and is Now Going Free-To-Play.
• My Opinion: In Minecraft all Animals are Homosexuals and Why its Hard to Make Genderless Games and Films.