Sony Unveils Playstation 4

gamesnews

20 Feb

The Playstation 4 is official! Sony have officially announced their next generation console, paving their vision for the future of gaming.

In terms of system hardware, the team have elected to question developers and create an architecture, such as an X86 CPU, supercharged PC graphics and a local hard drive for storage.

The Dualshock 4 is similar to controllers of previous; but with a more streamlined design and a few extra added features, including a 'share' button, a light bar on the back for movement control, and a touch pad on the front.

To further enhance the experience, Sony have focussed on some key goals. Making PS4 accessible and easy-to-use through the touch controls, immediate with a secondary chip enabling background processing (similar to instant-on functionality you get with smartphones and tablets). The social aspect is especially interesting, as video of your gameplay is actively compressed in the background and uploaded as you play, making for an almost-archived live stream of your best plays. All this can be operated via the aforementioned 'share' button. And using your likes and dislikes, specified by your buying habits and content you add/play, your experience will be personalised.

Guerilla Games have taken to the stage first to announce 'Killzone: Shadowfall.' Unlike their PS3 demo, this has been played in real-time, with some seriously intense action. Are the graphics better? Greater clarity, yes; but the step-up between this and the PS3 isn't as significant as that between the PS2 and 3.

Next up is Drive Club, be the team who brought you the WRC series of previous generations, an online connected team racing game. Form part of a club with your friends, set time trial records, drag race, compete online, all in the greatest examples of car porn.

Suckerpunch begun their presentation with a rather somber tone, informing us that we are under extreme surveillance in Britain, to the point that there is one security camera for every four people. But asks the question about what would happen to an already paranoid state when superheroes shake the status quo. Infamous: Second Son hopes to answer this!

Fortunately, they have not just focussed solely on mainstream titles, also giving access to the likes of Jonathon Blow, the creator of Braid, as he introduces an interesting puzzle game by the name of 'The Witness,' with an amazing art style and thought-provoking design.

Media Molecule, the creators of Little Big Planet, have introduced the next generation to their open creativity base of games, with 3D sculpting enabled by Playstation Move. While we've never been fans of movement based-gaming, in this state of artistry and creativity, we're looking forward to seeing how this idea develops.

Playstation wouldn't have been quite right without Capcom, and they have announced their new engine, codenamed Panta Rhei, with which they've unveiled a new IP 'Deep Down.' Kind of looks like a cross between Skyrim and Monster Hunter, with amazing graphical quality.

Next up, followed with anticipation and excitement, was Square Enix. Of course, they have had a 16-year relationship with Playstation, starting with Final Fantasy 7. They have only showed a tech demo, showing a fight/chase through a shanty town; but a bright future is ahead in terms of visual finesse. But wait! As Shinji Hashimoto, project manager for Final Fantasy takes the stage, and announces a 'new Final Fantasy title.'

If you can remember Ubisoft's Watchdogs demo from back at E3 last year, turns out it was a next generation game as we all predicted! Another interesting social commentary on technological control through manipulation and intrusion of privacy.

Blizzard Entertainment have announced an interesting strategic partnership with Sony. After a vast history with PC development, with some early routes in consoles, it's with great excitement to Playstation fans that they will bring Diablo 3 to Playstation 4 (as well as Playstation 3).