Sony unveiled some details about the all-new PS4 at a gala event in New York last night, so here are five things we DEFINITELY know about the new console.
Were you watching the PS4 launch on UStream last night? We were, and we jotted down some of the key points from the event (apart from when the streaming went down, which happened pretty frequently). Still, we managed to catch some of the more interesting/important points regarding the next-gen console. So here they are…
1. The name
Okay, so first and foremost, we know that the new PlayStation console will be called the PS4. There were rumours that it was going to be called the ‘Orbis’ because it worked well with Vita as the two together mean ‘Circle of Life’… apparently. Thankfully, Sony decided to stick with a numerical format and went with good old PS4.
2. It’s social, like, really social
Are you the type of gamer who likes to sit in a poorly lit room for hours on end as you troll random gamers from the comfort of your fortress of solitude? Then you probably won’t enjoy the PS4 like Sony hopes gamers will.
It’s extremely social and you can send your mates footage of a deadly goal scored on the new FIFA game or the final stretch of a race in Gran Turismo. Better yet, if you’re finding a particular level on the likes of Uncharted a tad difficult, you can get one of your mates to remotely take control of your controller. On top of that, you will also be able to use your smart phone or tablet to connect to the PS4.
3. Brand. Spanking. New. Controller.
The new controller (pictured above) features a touch screen interface where the old start and select buttons used to be. The new controller will also feature an independent share button, so if something unbelievable happens in a game, then you can show your mates instantly and gain all the imaginary internet karma you can imagine.
4. It’ll be here in time for Christmas
There’s no specific date for when we can expect the PS4 in shops, but we do know it’s going to be available sometime this year. Sony said it will be available for the ‘Holidays 2013’, so that could be Paddy’s Day, maybe? We’re holding out hope for a March 17th release, but at least we know it’s definitely coming out sometime this year (probably closer to November).
5. PS Vita (finally) has a purpose
You know that thing you’ve been using as a paperweight for the past few years? Yes, your PS Vita. Well it finally has a purpose other than just gathering dust. You’ll soon be able to connect the Vita to the PS4 so that you can pause a game on the console and continue right where you left off on the Vita, just like the Wii U.
There’s one other important point we left out, that being that we still don’t know what the PS4 is going to look like. The leaks were true about the controller, so maybe there’s some truth to the design leaks of the console. We’ll just have to wait and see.
There’s also going to be cloud integration which will allow users to play games as they are downloading and to try games before you buy. So all in all, the new PS4 sounds pretty sweet.
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