Sony PlayStation 4 launched
PlayStation 4 has launched last night. No word on price or exact time line on release. Heck we didn’t even get to see it… but is has launched.
In a bit of a hasty move Sony ran a PS4 launch party of 1,200 in Hammerstein Ballroom in New York yesterday. In a desperate rivalry with Microsoft, Sony decided to launch the non existent gaming console prior to Microsoft’s Xbox 720 scheduled to be launched on E3 Show in June.
As expected the new motion-sensing Playstation 4 console communicates with PlayStation Eye camera. Android smartphones can be used to brag about the gaming results achieved, as well as to control the console itself.
Sony had acquired Gaikai for some $360 million. Gaikai’s technology enables Playstation 4 to stream games from the cloud and do so instantaneously. 15 minute of your play can be recorded by pressing a Share button. Streaming of games can be enabled on Sony PlayStation Vita via new “Remote Play” feature of PlayStation 4.
Gaikai’s founder David Perry announced a new concept on the launch of PS 4. Without going into details he ushered,
“Try it for free, share it if you like it, only pay for games you fall in love with.”
Gaming industry is no doubt going through tremendous changes, given that over a millions of free, or nearly free apps are now playable on smartphones. Sony itself incurred major losses since launch of last Playstation 3 in 2006. That year alone, Sony’s gaming division lost about $2 billion. In March 2009 Sony reported operating loss of $600 million. To play it safe, there is no custom processors specifically built for the console as we saw in PS3. PS4 runs on more generic hardware. Instead of a custom chip set, PS 4 has octa-core (8 core) x86 based PC processor which brings the costs down, but create a small problem. New Playstation 4 will not be able to run PS 3 games on Blu-ray disc drive. The only way to play PS 3 games will be via internet.
Sony PlayStation 4 controller
As for other specs we haven’t been given a whole heck of a lot. We know PS 4 will have 8GB of built in storage, and that there will be tier-one graphics. The so called “supercharged PC”, PS 4 will be able to play games without a hiccup even when downloading. There will be new stereo camera ‘sensing’ the depth of space.
The pricing has not been announced, but it is believed that PS4 will be cheaper than Xbox 720 and given the generic nature of the hardware it should also be cheaper than PS3. Backward compatibility will be preserved. The first game expected to be crafted for PS4′s capabilities will be Diablo III. Watch Dogs from Ubisoft, the powerful hacking game, is said to be cutting-edge. New Final Fantasy, Shadow Fall and other games will be made for this new PS 4 gaming console.
“One of the big challenges we faced in the past was that we created great technology that we handed over to the development community, and they had to go through a learning curve before they could harness it. And when they did, we saw some phenomenal games,” Jack Tretton, the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America said. “We wanted to lower that barrier of entry and really give them the ability to create tremendous gaming experiences from Day One.”
The price has not been specified, but Mr Tretton hinted that price of PlayStation 4 will not be as high as initial price of PS 3. PlayStation 3 now sells for about $300, but started off at $500 in 2006. Price of PS 4 should then be less than $500.
Via wsj and other sources
Related posts:
- Sony PlayStation 4 (rumors)
- Sony PlayStation 4 launch?
- Playstation 4 to be cloud based
- Heard of Sony EyePad? It’s just been patented.
- Sony Snaps Up Gaikai Game Streaming Company
Sign up to the Gadgetmix Newsletter (free) for news and reviews mailed directly to your mailbox CLICK HERE
