Sony are the first to have unveiled their next generation console during a special “See The Future” conference in New York and have given gamers a glimpse at the PS4. Here’s a rundown of just the facts about the new piece of hardware coming Holiday 2013.
• Started development 5 years ago as “a platform by game creators, for game creators”
• Goals – nothing would come between the platform and the joy of play, fluidly connect player to a larger world across mobile, console and PSN, and to keep developers happy
• PS4 is like a “supercharged pc” – X86 CPU, enhanced PC GPU, 8GB unified memory and local storage HDD
• GDDR5 memory – typically reserved for high end graphics cards – 167GB per second
• Dedicated video compression and decompression – always on
• Graphics comparable to CGI movies
• DualShock 4 controller – Enhanced feel of joystick and triggers, reduce latency, touchpad, share button, headphone jack, increased rumble, lighter weight
• The PS4 won’t support the DualShock 3 but will be Move compatible
Camera on controller tracks 3D position of player and players can look around the game environment using the touchpad
• Players can suspend and resume play sessions with power button – progress saved in RAM
• Secondary custom chip will enable background download or upload, even with the main power off
• Digital titles can be played as they’re downloading
• Live streaming and sharing capabilities of videos and screenshots
• The PS4 learns your likes and dislikes and preloads content onto your console
• Social gaming “at the core of PS4 gaming experience” – sharing content and assisting each other in game
• Remote control will allow a friend to take over your controller to play sections for you. Sony want every game to have this feature
• PS Vita owners will be able to stream PS4 games onto the handheld device
• PlayStation App for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices will also act as a second screen
• No backwards compatibility – PSX, PS2 and PS3...