The PlayStation 4 has kept its appearance under wraps so far, but at E3 it's finally shown its face...and its price: $399, which undercuts Microsoft's Xbox One by $100.
The PlayStation 4 was originally announced at an event in New York City back in February, during which we heard lots of details about features and strategy but didn't glimpse the system itself -- just its new controller.
Now that it's been revealed, we know that it's: a black box. In fact, it not only looks like a PlayStation 2 on steroids, but it bears more than a passing resemblance to the equally portly and piano-black Xbox One. DualShock 4: Hands-on with the new PS4 gamepad.
Hands-on
At first glance, it's difficult to see any real discernible difference between the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 and the DualShock 3 of the PS3, but after a few seconds the differences are readily apparent if you've spent a good amount of time playing PS3 games.
Trigger buttons are improved over the DualShock 3, but they honestly don't feel much more like actual triggers as they're flatter and wider than, say, the Xbox One's. The shoulder buttons, however, are much softer and more comfortable feeling than either the PS3's or Xbox One's in my opinion.
The D-pad was disappointing, forgoing the tight precision of the Xbox One's D-pad. I honestly couldn't imagine playing a fighting game on it, at least with anything approaching a modicum of success. The lack of tactile feedback when pressing different directions is troublesome. The controller feels as light as the previous incarnation's, and its handles feature a grippier texture on the back and bottom. The touch pad feels smooth with a slight groove, and depresses pretty easily. I’ve yet to use it in an actual game, however.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
The analog sticks deliver an appropriate amount of feedback; however, the texture on top of the sticks was distracting. I didn't actually get to touch the PS4 console, so I can't say how light it is or how its buttons or Blu-ray drive work. The system definitely has a look like no other console I've seen. I mean sure, it's black and squarish like most consoles, but it also has this bisected design that looks quite space-age.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Design
About that design: the angled parallelogram design of the PS4 clearly conjures PlayStations of the past, most clearly the PlayStation 2. It's an attractive look, but it's boxy; it doesn't seem nearly as big as the Xbox One, however. Also, box design really means nothing. But, hey, at least we know what it'll look like next to our television, and it's fine-looking without being obtrusive.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Used games: Yes
The PlayStation 4 will support used games and won't need to be online in order to play games. Both of these issues have reared their heads on the Xbox One.
(Credit: Sony Computer Entertainment)
PlayStation Plus and PS4: Free games
The PS4 will support the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PS3, with no new subscription price increase: it's all folded together.
The PS4 will have its own Instant Game collection service; Drive Club PS Plus Edition will be the first free game at launch, with one free game per month after that. Titles will include Don’t Starve and Outlast.
Sony’s been smart to offer up free games via Plus, and you have to wonder if Microsoft is taking notice: a similar offering of free monthly games was announced for Xbox 360 owners subscribing to Xbox Live Gold.
(Credit: Sony Computer Entertainment)
Video content and services
Leading off the PS4 discussions at E3 was a mention of Sony's video efforts, seemingly aiming for a similar type of video-content approach with the console as Microsoft is with the Xbox One. Sony touted its studio strength and the eventual launch of exclusive videos coming only to the PS4, but it’s unclear what those are.
Video services like Video Unlimited, Redbox, and Flixster are some of the services launching on the PlayStation Network, but it looks like these services will be available on the PS3, too.
The big challenge with fronting content as a reason to buy a console is this: can game systems really become video networks? Microsoft and Sony seem to be betting on this direction, and it’s a dicey endeavor.
Gaikai and cloud streaming
Gaikai cloud technology, acquired last year by Sony, was discussed back in February as a possible trial-based way of playing games before buying, working via streaming-game technology. Back then, David Perry, CEO of Gaikai, discussed the many ways that PlayStation Cloud services will potentially reinvent the back end of the PlayStation experience.
Gaikai technology will also be used to power the PS4's spectating experiences, and that aforementioned ability to continually one-button broadcast your game progress via Share. It's certainly the first time a home gaming console has entered this territory, although PC gamers have enjoyed similar types of functions and services (OnLive, for instance). The streaming/sharing technology will also work with Facebook and Ustream.
It doesn't seem to be coming this year, though. Sony announced at E3 that the PlayStation’s cloud gaming service will be available in 2014, offering PS3 games streamed via the cloud. The service will start in the U.S. first. And, interestingly, Gaikai services won't be limited to the PS4; the PS3 and eventually the Vita will benefit from Gaikai as well.
New games
Sony demonstrated games at E3 -- as you’d expect -- in a mix of new IP and sequels: The Order, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and Infamous: Second Son, and The Dark Sorceror. Some of these were teased back in February at Sony’s last event. It was hard to glean, just like before, what advantages the PS4 was offering these games that the PS3 couldn’t accomplish, but for the most part these games looked pretty.
Sony's also pledging massive third-party support, and a very easy process for independent developers to publish on the PS4. More to come, but read below on details from the New York event. This post will be updated.
(Credit: Sony Computer Entertainment)
Hardware
The PlayStation 4, as you'd expect for a seven-years-later follow-up, has impressively bumped specs:
An eight-core X86 AMD Jaguar CPU
1.84-teraflop AMD Radeon graphics engine (with "18 compute units")
8GB of GDDR5 memory
500GB hard drive
Blu-ray drive
Three USB 3.0 ports
802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
Ethernet, HDMI, Bluetooth 2.1, optical audio and analog AV out
The PS4 will use a 500GB hard drive for storage; the same as the Xbox One. The specs overall match that of a modern PC with integrated AMD processors and graphics, or so it seems. It's not a particularly stunning set of specs for a PC, but it's far ahead of any existing game console. It's just not as ahead-of-its-time on the hardware end as the original PlayStation 3 seemed to be.
Immediacy of response reducing lag time while accessing content is also one of the promised PS4 features (unlike the extremely laggy Wii U, perhaps). The PS4 will allow speedy background downloading, and Sony claims that games will even be playable as they're being downloaded.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
Yes, the PS4 will have a Blu-ray drive that can also play DVDs, although Sony curiously left any mention of that out of the presentation. According to Sony's press release issued after the event, the PS4 will also have three USB 3.0 ports, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI, Analog AV-out, and optical digital audio output.
What about PS3 games playing on the PS4? Sony has so far discussed PlayStation 3 gameplay on the PS4 under the same umbrella as playing PlayStation 1 and PS 2 games, via a digital library in a yet-to-be-determined PlayStation Cloud Service. Whether this would be accomplished via streaming, digital downloads, or emulation wasn't specified, but it sounds like Sony's answer to the Virtual Console.
credit by http://reviews.cnet.com/ps4/
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