Sony officially announces the PlayStation 4 (UPDATED)

ps4logo

 Well, it’s official.  Sony has unveiled the PlayStation 4.  Most of it, anyway.  Everything but the console itself, actually.  But pretty much everything else.  Read on for all the details, and a digital TON of video.

At a media event tonight in New York City, Sony Computer entertainment announced their next generation game console, known (for now) as the PlayStation 4.  I say “for now” because I’ll be launching a petition shortly after this article is published to have the name of the PS4 officially changed to PL4YST4TION.  But enough about that.  The presentation just wrapped up minutes ago, and here are some of the major points that were made about the console.

  • The PS4 was designed with ease of development in mind. Will be made of “supercharged” PC components, including an 8-core X86 processor, a GPU capable of nearly 2 teraflops, and 8gb of RAM.
  • Dualshock 4 controller will feature more refined inputs, a touchpad, a headphone jack, and a “share” button.
  • The share button will allow players to upload screenshots and video clips of their game play, which is automatically recorded.
  • Through the share feature, players can view, comment on, and even assist with their friends’ game play.
  • Games can be saved and paused indefinitely without shutting the system down.
  • Downloads and updates can be performed in the background, and even if the console is off.
  • PS4 games can be streamed to and played on the PSVita through a system called “Remote Play.”
  • The PS4 is not backwards compatible, but plans are underway to have all past PlayStation titles available for download at some future date.
  • Sony is calling their cloud storage strategy “Everything Everywhere,” not to be confused with the Everclear song, “Everything to Everyone.”
  • The launch window is Holidays 2013.

While the console itself wasn’t shown, the new Dualshock controller was.

Dualshock4

Yes, that is a stereo 3D camera sensor thinger.  Yes, it does look a lot like the Kinect.  No, I don’t know what it does beyond “sensing where the controller is in the environment.”  It will also record every time you pick your nose or eat sweets after 8:00pm.

As you can imagine, there was a lot of video played at this event.  While it will take some time for all of it to appear online, a good portion of it is already available for your viewing pleasure.  First up is a trailer for the PlayStation 4 (or PL4YST4TION) itself.  Check it out below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7QhUL8NUK4]

UPDATE The entire Sony presentation is now available.  You can watch it below.  Or you can skip over it, and continue to the highlights I’ve so selflessly collected for you.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiNGZMx2vhY]

Next up is a trailer for Killzone: Shadow Fall.  A full demo of the game was shown during the presentation, and we’ll bring that to you as soon as it’s available.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUZJTjns6Qg]

Next up is inFAMOUS: Second Son, the next game in the popular franchise from Suckerpunch Games.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHSeyPl–Fw]

Then there is Knack, the new game from legendary game designer Mark Cerny.  Mark first gained fame via designing Marble Madness, and has worked on some of the Playstation’s most successful franchises, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Jak & Daxter.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q59tHyhDMkI]

And now for a brand new IP from Capcom, tentatively titled Deep Down, which looks friggin sick.  In a good way.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9UmHm9HA3c]

Remember Watch Dogs?  That amazing demo from last year’s E3 that nobody believed was a current generation game?  Turns out, everyone was right.  It’s headed to the PS4, and Ubisoft has some brand new game play to show off.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtBh4QzZKz4]

Also shown off for the first time was a game called DriveClub, a first person driving game which promises to bring unsurpassed realism to the racing genre.  Seriously, the dude who introduced it spent like five  minutes talking about fabric patterns and stitching and stuff.  And the headlights in the cars work like real headlights, with bulbs and everything.  So obviously, this will be the best game ever.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u541wKmf0UU]

Jonathan Blow, the creator of Braid, unveiled his new game The Witness.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brd0F7rlXCI]

Bungie, fresh off the reveal of their new game Destiny, was on hand to show off some new game play, and to announce that they would be developing exclusive Destiny content for the PS4. And by “some game play,” I mean about 10 seconds or so.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kJkiwDeWqQ]

There were also tech demos from Square Enix and Media Molecule, as well as an appearance by Blizzard, which announced that Diablo 3 would be coming to PS4 with a brand new control scheme meant to take advantage of the Dualshock 4.  We’ll bring you more video as it becomes available.  Noticeably absent from the event were longtime PlayStation developers Naughty Dog and Insomniac, as well as publishing giant EA.  I have to assume those companies are saving their next generation reveals for E3.  I would also have to assume that the PS4 console itself will be revealed at E3, since it was conspicuously absent from the presentation.

So what do you think?  Let us know!  I’m talking about my petition, of course.  Not the console itself.


About the Author: (@Joe_of_the_Dead) Lead Editor, Writer

Joe was born in a time of war. A console war. Two electronic titans were locked in a heated battle for the living rooms of America. Which titans, you ask? Well, the Fairchild Channel F and the Atari 2600 of course. You see, Joe is old. So many of his favorite games tend to be on the older side as well. But that hasn’t stopped him from developing unhealthy obsessions with such modern franchises as Halo and Mass Effect. Just don’t tell him how long it’s been since the original Metroid was released. His aging heart can’t take the shock.

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