PlayStation 4: Everything You Need to Know

After all the leaks, rumours and speculation, Sony’s PlayStation 4 has finally been announced. Kaz Hirai wasn’t there (sad, I know) but a handful of developers and key personnel from Sony took the stage in New York today and dropped a ridiculous amount of information regarding Sony’s next flagship console.

If you happened to miss the PlayStation Live event or need a quick summary of all those juicy next-gen details, we’ve got you sorted!

1It’s called the PlayStation 4

• The ‘PlayStation experience’ will be expanded onto smart-phones and tablets.
• The PlayStation name is going to be beyond hardware, allowing newer business models such as episodic or free-to-play games.
• Coming ‘Holiday 2013′
• Actual console was not on display.

PlayStation 4 specifications

• 8GB GDDR5 of Unified RAM
• Custom 8-core AMD x86 CPU
• Enhanced PC GPU
• HDMI, analogue and optical ouput
• Built in 80.211 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1
• Local HDD storage

2The Dual Shock 4

• Sports a similar design to the Dual Shock 3 and looks almost identical to prototype photo leaks pre-conference.
• A touch-pad is present in the middle of the controller.
• Share and Option buttons are found on the left and right sides.
• A Light Bar / sensor is located above the touch-pad for “player identification”.
• Controller also has concave analogue sticks similar to the Xbox 360.

3Streaming and console capabilities

• The system will be able to suspend and resume games on the fly via RAM.
• Digital titles will be playable as they are being downloaded.
• Via UStream, you can stream gameplay on the PS4 to your friends.
• You can also allow a friend to ‘take over’ your game online.
• The share button allows you to upload to social media services and websites such as Facebook and UStream.
• The system will be able to ‘predict’ content you may like and pre-load it for you, allowing instant demos of titles.
• PlayStation Network aims to be the “fastest gaming network in the world”

Remote Play

• The Vita “is the ultimate companion device for the PS4”.
• Sony is planning to make all games on the PS4 accessible on the Vita via Remote Play.
• PS3 titles aren’t natively supported on PS4, however they can be playable via a streaming / cloud service.

4Games, games games

Knack from Japan Studio SCE

• First PS4 game revealed.
• The game is being directed by Mark Cerny.
• Remote Play with the Vita was shown.

Killzone Shadow Fall by Sony Computer Entertainment

• First Person Shooter from Guerrilla Games.
• Gameplay footage was shown with a live demo on stage.
• The demo was then uploaded via the ‘share’ button on the controller.

DriveClub from Evolution Studios

• New racing game from the creators of Motorstorm.
• Rewards you by playing in groups or ‘clubs’.
• Create and share challenges on the fly with DriveClub app, with tablets and smart phones.
• This works similar to the Autolog featured in current Need for Speed Games.

inFamous: Second Son by Sucker Punch

• Appears to be a spin off to the inFamous series.
• PS4 exclusive title.
• A trailer was shown, but unconfirmed if this was CGI or gameplay footage.

The Witness by Johnathon Blow

• First person puzzle game from the creator of Braid.
• Will launch on the PlayStation 4.
• PS4 console exclusive, however a PC and iOS port will be coming.

Media Molecule Tech Demo

• Alex Evans showcased a demo which allowed the PlayStation Move to draw 3D objects into games.

Deep Down by Capcom

• Yoshinori Ono from Capcom showed off a new IP “Deep Down” (Note that this is the working title)
• Deep Down is set to be a PS4 exclusive.
• The game was shown running on Capcom’s new next-gen engine “Panta Rhei”.

Square Enix is developing a PlayStation 4 title

• The Luminous Engine demo, “AGNIS PHILOSOPHY” was shown. This was previously seen at E3 2012.
• Shinji Hashimoto, brand director for Final Fantasy and said: “I have one thing to say, we are preparing for development of a Final Fantasy title”
• “Please be excited for E3 this year”

Watch_Dogs by Ubisoft

• New on-stage demo was shown.
• Will be available on PlayStation 4, but is not a console exclusive.

Destiny by Bungie

• Multi-platform first person shooter which has elements of MMO’s.
• Destiny will be available at launch on PS3 and PS4.

Diablo III by Blizzard

• Diablo 3 will be available for PS3 and PS4.
• 4-player co op mode that also includes split screen.

So are you are excited Sony’s PlayStation 4? Wetting your pants in anticipation or simply not impressed? Let us know in the comments below!