Sony PS4 reveals its face and its $399 price (hands-on):
The PlayStation 4 was originally announced at an event in New York City back in February, during which we heard plenty of details about features and strategy but didn't glimpse the system itself -- just its new controller.
Sony didn't make the same mistake twice. At the E3 gaming show in Los Angeles, the PS4 finally showed its face -- and its price: $399, which undercuts Microsoft's Xbox One by $100.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 games and sequels: The Order, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and Infamous: Second Son. 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.
Sony didn't make the same mistake twice. At the E3 gaming show in Los Angeles, the PS4 finally showed its face -- and its price: $399, which undercuts Microsoft's Xbox One by $100.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 games and sequels: The Order, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and Infamous: Second Son. 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.
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