I'm surprised nobody has brought this up here. It looks like tomorrow will be the start of the next generation of console warfare. Sony Announces ?PlayStation Meeting 2013? for February 20th
FYI: If you have a PSN account, check your mailbox. You might have received a $10 gift credit on your account. This promotion was added last night in lieu of the announcement. Thanks again Sony!
Sony's vision for the future of gaming is here. Sony (SNE) unveiled the PlayStation 4 at a New York event on Wednesday. The new system features an impressive array of specifications and social enhancements. Here's the rundown: The Console: The PlayStation 4 will be powered by chips that would make any top-of-the-line PC user drool: A "supercharged" eight-core x86 processor, a PC-style graphics processor, and a stunning eight gigabytes of RAM. With these guts serving as the PS4's central brain, the console is capable of pushing graphics at 4K resolution, or supporting stereoscopic 3D in full 1080p for high definition televisions. That means it'll likely be ready for the next five to 10 years of living room display technology. Social integration: Impressive as the graphics are, the real leaps made by Sony were found in the PS4's ability to share content. The PS4's controller features a share button. When pressing it, users can share clips of the last few minutes of their game play and even broadcast real-time gameplay to friends. In some instances, friends will be able to communicate with one another and even remotely take over others' games. Related story: 4 features the PlayStation 4 must have The PS4 also features social networking integration and personalized recommendations for downloading games and media. Sony will allow users to log into their PlayStation profiles on phones, tablets or PCs. The Controller: Like every other iteration of the PlayStation controller before it, the PS4 controller didn't get too much of a makeover, but it packs a few new tricks. The new DualShock 4 controller sports a touchpad placed smack in the middle, which supports two-finger multitouch. Along the bottom is a 3.5mm headphone jack for connecting a headset, and along the top is a glowing, colorful LED light strip that will identify a player. The Network: More than ever, the PlayStation network is emerging as a central priority for Sony. And its plans for the PS4 are big. The biggest announcement Sony made Wednesday was that users will be able to "stream" PS4 games to the handheld PS Vita. But Sony doesn't want to stop there. Eventually, Sony says it will enable cloud gaming, which will allow users to play every title on any system, streamed from remote servers. That is how the PS4 will work around the fact that it isn't backwards-compatible with its PS3 predecessor, due to the radically different processors the two consoles have. The Camera: The PS4 features a built-in camera for 3D tracking and motion control, similar to the Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) Xbox's Kinect attachment. The Games: We're still a ways off from knowing what will be ready in time for the PS4 launch, and what will come after, but Sony already has a couple of big titles lined up. Developers showed off first-person shooter game "Killzone: Shadow Fall," team-based online racing game "Driveclub," and "The Witness," a puzzle solving game. Quantic, a game developed Heavy Rain, was particularly impressive. The game will feature over 30,000 polygons per video game character. That delivers as close to a photorealistic video game experience as we've seen. The Release: Sony hasn't given a firm release date aside from the fourth quarter, but generally that means it will arrive in time for the holiday shopping season. In other words, expect the PS4 sometime around November. First Published: February 20, 2013: 3:49 PM ET
After having bought a ps3 and psp for their 'remote play' feature which never panned out, I'm taking a wait and see approach. That, among other promised features, never materialized. Don't buy anything from Sony based on an announcement or future functionality, wait until they actually implement it.
I was a hardcore gamer when the ps3 came out. I really enjoyed this presentation, the specs sound stellar! A much simpler format was needed. The ps3's cell architect was a little tol ahead of its time and became a headache for multi platform producers. This system paired with Sony's amazing exclusive library will turn out to be a real treat!
I recently upgraded from a fat PS3 to a Slim PS3, I guess about 1 1/2 years ago. Combine that with the fact that I really don't have a whole lot of time to play games these days, and the PS4 becomes a "when we get around to it" purchase. Otherwise, It definitely looks very interesting. I will definitely be looking forward to picking one up after we've paid for our wedding, a honeymoon, a new TV, possibly a new wireless router, maybe a new speakers system, etc. The only major concern I have so far is no native PS3 backwards compatibility. They say this will be accomplished by streaming the PS3 games from the cloud... however, they haven't mentioned how this will occur. Needless to say, if they force people to pay for their PS3 games all over again, this could get a bit ugly. Also, as long as I can turn off the social networking features, I'm good.
Don't count on streaming ps3 games anytime soon. Sony is only going to focus on new console owners and how to bring the best on screen product to them. PS3 has a good 3-4 years left and those who have built a ps3 library over the years will be looking to port them after the initial buzz of the system has faded. Look for a system to be implemented in about 2-3 years after they get a good # of consoles on the market
If you already have a ps3, it shouldn't be too much of a concern as it will be better than streaming anyway due to latency. I have a 2007 60gb fat ps3 that has the hardware ps2 BC, so I'm not worried about that aspect (and as I said, never buy anything Sony based on something coming in the future). It'll all be about the exclusive software for me, if they have some amazing Uncharted games, maybe a GT6 that doesn't have broken controls then I'll probably buy it. Otherwise, I can run 3d blu-rays and all of that fancy crap on my ps3 and run the occasional game on my PC. All of that social stuff does absolutely nothing for me as announced.