The Sony Playstation 4 was unveiled on the 10th of June 2013. This announcement comes less than a month after their main rival in the console gaming market (Microsoft) announced the Xbox One and almost 7 years since the announcement was made for the Sony Playstation 3. This next generation console is expected to be released in November 2013.
The Sony Playstation 4 has a semi-custom 8-core AMD x86-64 CPU, a 500 Gb hard drive, 3 USB 3.0 ports, a Sony Playstation Camera and 8 GB memory. It will support the new Dualshock 4 and Playstation Move controller systems. The console will also be compatible with Sony Playstation Vita portable console. You’ll be able to use your Sony Playstation Vita for remote play or as a second screen for streaming content directly from the Sony Playstation 4 console. All the upcoming PS4 games will be compatible with Vita (except for the ones using the Sony Playstation Camera).
The Sony Playstation 4 will not be region locked and the console isn’t subject to any form of digital rights management. Users can sell their games to another person, lend it to a friend or keep it forever – the game owner retains the rights to the game disc that they’ve purchased. PS4 users also won’t need to connect to the internet once a day to authenticate their games or console settings. In response to this announcement by Sony, Microsoft responded yesterday by announcing the removal of all digital rights management and once-a-day online connectivity requirements for the Xbox One. Tons of game titles are already in development for the PS4.
If you’re a Playstation Plus subscriber your monthly subscription will not increase when you purchase the Sony Playstation 4. Playstation Plus will be required to play multi-player online games on the new console though. The PS4 will also support cloud gaming. The cloud gaming service will give gamers on PS4, PS3 and the Vita system access to a catalog of PS3 titles. Users will then be able to stream these games over the internet using Gaikai’s network technology. At this stage it’s doubtful if cloud gaming will be available for South African PS4 users, but it still sounds awesome.
The PS4 online experience will also feature social sharing options, video and music content and services and more. Check out this video featuring the Sony Playstation 4 in action below:
The Sony Playstation 4’s retail price is $399 (Just over R4,000) – it’s $100 less than the announced pricing for the Xbox One console. It’s uncertain what the exact release date will be for the new console in South Africa, but I’m thinking that it will hopefully be available in our country by December 2013 or January 2014.
What do you think of the Sony Playstation 4? Would you purchase this rather than the Xbox One or is this your cup of tea? Leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you’ve enjoyed reading this article and viewing the video feel free to share this with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
Remember: If you need to sell some of your second hand stuff to save up for a new console you are more than welcome to place free adverts on the Junk Mail website.
Watch this space for updates in the Gadgets category on the Junk Mail blog.
