PS4 | Coming Holiday 2013; First Details

We have to be honest, we couldn’t stay awake.  No amount of excitement could keep us going at the kind of unearthly hour the PlayStation Meeting happened for South Africans.  However, we knew that all the answers as to what Sony was up to would be in our inbox via official Press Releases, and so without further ado, this is what you need to know…

The PS4 is real.

Sony has confirmed that their “most powerful platform ever” will be launching this coming holiday season.  Pretty much every rumour that has done the rounds over the last few weeks have been confirmed too.  Even that ugly controller.  We’ll detail each item we can more fully during the day, but these are the highlights of what Sony announced.

Sony Computer Entertainment president and group CEO Andrew House took to the stage at the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios in New York to announce Sony’s next-gen console, proclaiming that: “Our vision for the future is consumer centric and developer inspired.”  He also mentioned “ease of access” and and that the PS4 will allow “worlds to come alive with greater fidelity and intensity than ever before”.

But what does the console have under the hood and what does that mean to the gamer?

The PS4 houses a “highly enhanced” PC GPU, X86 CPU and 8GB of unified system memory.  It has a “new” dualshock that will work in tandem with a new version of the PlayStation Eye.  The controller offers enhanced rumble and reduced latency, a touchpad, a headphone jack and a new Share button.  The previously rumoured Share feature , allows players to record gameplay or screenshots and share them instantly.  Lead PS4 system architect Mark Cerny said: “Our goal is to make the sharing of video on PS4 as popular as the sharing of screenshots is today.”  The PS4 will now also support cross-game chat.

A “suspend mode” (also rumoured, but sounding not quite like the rumour did) will put the console in a low power state while preserving the game session, meaning the “time it takes today to boot a console and load a saved game will be a thing of the past.”

Applications such as a web browser can be booted while playing PS4 games, and the system enables titles to be downloaded or updated in the background, or in stand-by mode.  One of the more exciting announcements is that digital titles can be played while they’re downloading, as only a “fraction” of data is required to start a session.

Dave Perry, founder of cloud gaming platform Gaikai, was up next.  As rumoured, the PlayStation cloud services will eventually give players access to all of their favourite PSone, PS2 and PS3 titles, but will be rolled out in phases.  He said that the PS4 will let other players look over your shoulder virtually as you’re playing.  They can – if you allow them – post comments directly to your screen. Friends will also be able to “take over your controller virtually” and help you complete a section if you can’t beat it yourself.  “What we’re creating is the fastest, most powerful gaming network in the world. With Gaikai and the PlayStation Store, you’ll be able to instantly experience games for free [and only pay for the full experience if you want to]. Our vision is to create the first social network with meaning.”

Games.  What about the games?

No platform will be worth anything without some games to make you want the console.  In this regard, the announcements were tasty, but not overly surprising.

Except for the one about Diablo 3 coming to the PS4 and PS3.  Killzone Shadowfall was also announced – bringing the flagship FPS to the next-gen.  New action platformer Knack was announced, as was a new game from the Braid developer, which is called The Witness and will be a timed exclusive on PS4.

Sucker Punch announced inFamous Second Son which may not feature Cole.  Evolution Studios then unveiled Drive Club for PS4.  Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono demoed Capcom’s new engine, Panta Rhei, which is being used to develop a new IP for PS4 called Deep Down.

Bungie promised “exclusive content” for Destiny on the PS4.  Watch Dogs was confirmed as coming to the PS4 and Media Molecule presented a PS Move PS4 tech demo, while a Quantic Dream PS4 tech demo showed off the Heavy Rain developer’s “completely new engine”.

And what’s it all going to cost?

Nothing.  At least nothing was said.  Speculation is leaning to an E3 announcement of the price, but the rumours have proved true so far, so how about we start suggesting a low price point and hope for the best?

And also, no, there is no images of the console, so it could still turn out to be one ugly beast.

The Killzone Shadowfall trailer.

The re-run of the PlayStation Meeting.

Streaming by Ustream

This useful round-up is via the PlayStation Blog:

PlayStation 4

• PS4 promises games that can be experienced whenever, wherever and however you want, thanks to a system specially built to cater to the needs of the best developers in the world.
• You’ll be able to play digital titles as they download from PlayStation Store, and update PS4 even when it is switched off.
• Immediately pick up any saved game where you left off – the “suspend mode” of PS4 gets rid of loading times and lets you carry on by simply pressing the power button.
• Gaikai technology will let you instantly try out sections of any game that catches your eye on PlayStation Store.
• Check out what your friends are up to and see the games, TV shows, movies and music recommended especially for you on the newly designed PS4 menu screen.
• Broadcast as you play via Ustream. If you get stuck, your mates can join in to help you or offer comments in real time.
• You can use a variety of applications, such as a web browser, while you play a game.
• Your favourite PS4 games will be playable on PlayStation Vita via Wi-Fi with Remote Play.
• Meanwhile, the new PlayStation App lets you turn your smartphone into a second screen – for example, to let you view a map or see how a friend is tackling the same part of a game.

DUALSHOCK 4

• A new, built-in sensor will enable highly sensitive motion control.
• You’ll be able to interact with games in new ways thanks to a touch pad on the front of the controller.
• Additional sound effects will come from an inbuilt speaker; a headset jack lets you hear these in detail as well as chat with friends.
• The controller’s familiar dual analog sticks have been enhanced to provide better precision.
• New, curved L2 and R2 buttons will give you greater control.
• Upload images and video to Facebook with a tap of the new SHARE button.
• An LED Light Bar on the top of the controller will match the colour of in-game characters so players can keep track of each other. You’ll also be able to spot when a character has been injured, for instance.
• A new camera has been developed alongside the controller, and tracks the location of DUALSHOCK 4 via its LED Light Bar.

The games

• Killzone Shadow Fall: You play as an elite Shadow Marshal charged with keeping tensions between the Helghast and Vektans from boiling over.

• inFAMOUS: Second Son: Seattle is the setting and Delsin Rowe is the new hero with the ability to manipulate smoke.

• DriveClub: Social connectivity, cutting-edge graphics and the world’s greatest supercars feature in the latest title from Evolution Studios.

• Knack: Turn into a gigantic fighting machine thanks to the power of ancient relics in this vibrant new adventure.

• Watch_Dogs: Learn what it is to have complete control over a hyper-connected city.

• The Witness: The latest puzzle game from Jonathan Blow, creator of Braid.

• Destiny: A brand new first person shooter from Bungie Studios.

• Other titles being readied include Capcom’s Deep Down and Diablo III from Blizzard.