So for those who were working or couldn't get access to the live stream of Sony's Playstation 4 Event last night, here's a recap of what Sony is bringing to the table with the successor to the PS3. We'll cover some of the games announced in separate articles, but here's the skinny on the system itself, which is coming Holiday time this year.
The Obvious
Lots of horsepower under the hood to produce some jaw-dropping graphics. Peep the trailers for Killzone: Shadow Fall or the demo of Unreal 4 for proof.
Sharing Is Caring
Social Media has become a huge selling point for consoles lately, but if Sony delivers what it promises with the PS4, then we might just have the most well-implemented social network ever in a console. A share button is built directly into the controller, so with one tap of a button you can not only share screenshots but upload gameplay videos directly to your social media of choice. You can also comment on other people's videos and gameplay in real time. Interested to see how gamers use this feature, but the cynical part of me just pictures basement dwellers using this as an excuse to harrass people. Guess we'll see.
Multitasking
Sony has been stranded in Apple land when it comes to this, but the PS4 can play partially downloaded games as well as update games and run other tasks in the background while not disturbing your playtime.
The Controller
Taking some cues from the VITA, the new Dualshock 4 has a touchpad on the front for additional gameplay input, as well as revised triggers and analog sticks. It also looks a bit heftier than the Dualshock 3, but can't confirm that until I get some hands on time. It also has MOVE tech built right in, with a light bar emitting a kinda sweet blue glow that the new stereo camera reads and recognizes once you're in range. Clearly someone took some notes on what the competition did right, which is completely fine by me.
THE VITA IS ALIVE!
At least for a bit longer anyway. Sony is positioning the VITA as the number one companion to the PS4, and truthfully I think it can succeed that way (because the other method clearly hasn't been working). You can transmit a game to the VITA from the PS4 quickly and lag free, so the other person can do something else on the main screen. Nice way to make a device that was quickly becoming irrelevant infinitely more desirable.
The Cloud
When Sony purchased Gakai, you knew it wasn't just to have a $380 million dollar paperweight, and it seems that money was well spent (at least in theory). Due to Gakai's tech, the transfer to VITA from PS4 is a doable reality for Sony, and if things go according to plan they will play a huge part in making backwards compatibility a thing of the past. Sony plans on having games from PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, and Vita available to download and play seamlessly from the cloud onto your PS4, and eventually on your VITA as well. No word on when this feature would be implemented, but I wouldn't bet on having it available at launch.
All in all I think Sony came to play, and this was a pretty nice opening salvo. Time will tell if half of these promises come to fruition, but if they do (and the system doesn't look like shiny roadkill) then I might actually have a hard decision to make come this December. So, what does everybody think? Let us know if you're already planning to stand in line come release day, or sitting this one out.
