Sony Introduces the PlayStation 4

BY LEO BARRATA JR.
SC Staff Writer

Sony held a press conference in New York City on February 20, where they announced their next-generation videogame console, the PlayStation 4.

The console is set to be the newest iteration in the PlayStation series, which hasn’t had a home-console release since the PlayStation 3 in 2006.

Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., hopes the PlayStation 4 will exceed player’s “wildest expectations.”

“We believe that PlayStation 4 represents a significant Shift from thinking of PlayStation as merely a box or a console, to thinking of PlayStation as leading authority on play,” House said. He also mentioned the new console is “the future of play” and “sets a new industry standard.”

The new console is superior to the PlayStation 3 in all aspects. Improvements over the PlayStation 3 include better graphics, a faster processor, an improved controller, enhanced social features, a stereo camera and more.

Although Sony did not show off the actual look of the console itself, it did unveil the console’s controller, the Dual Shock 4.

The controller is similar to past Sony controllers, except this one features a share button, a small touch pad, a blue LED bar and has a ““tighter sense of control.”

Enhanced social features were the main focus of the presentation. “It’s designed to make accessing the content users love easier than ever,” according to House.

By pressing the share button on Sony’s new controller, players can live-stream their game over the internet and allow their friends to watch them live, post comments to appear on screen, or even take control of the game.

The PlayStation 4 will also utilize a stereo camera, which detects the PlayStation controller’s movements and the player’s room environment.

The camera will perform functions similar to Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect.

Spec wise, the PlayStation 4 looks to be quite the powerhouse. Mark Cerny, lead developer of the PlayStation 4, said the PlayStation internal architecture is “like a PC in many ways.”

Cerny also went on to say the design was made “by game creators, for game creators.” One main goal for Sony was to make the PS4 as convenient as possible for game developers. By getting input from the biggest game developers in the industry today, Sony feels they’ve built a machine developers want to make games for.

The console will utilize an X86 CPU, a highly enhanced PC GPU, 8 GB of high-speed GDDR5 RAM and a local HDD hard drive. It also features an extra custom CPU chip for simple functions.

“Today marks a moment of truth and a bold step forward for PlayStation as a company, as creators and innovators, and as industry leaders,” House said.

Sony did not unveil the cost of the PlayStation 4, but did announce that the console will be released by the end of the year.

More details for the new console will likely be unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June, where Microsoft is also expected to unveil its next-generation gaming console.

Email Leo at:
leobarratajr@gmail.com