PlayStation 4 Officially Revealed!

There's been many rumors about Sony's nextgen video game console. They invited us to "See the Future" on February 20th and everything pointed to that PlayStation 4 would make its first appearance. And I was very excited and a little nervous for the PlayStation Meeting 2013. It's always a special feeling when a new video game console is announced. I remember the last times it happened, and it's a wonderful feeling.

Today was the day everyone's been looking forward to. It was an exciting day for gamers everywhere. And it didn't take long before Sony revealed PlayStation 4 live to millions of gamers across the world. This next-generation console will deliver breakthrough gaming experiences for fans starting this holiday season.

PlayStation 4 is centered on all the gamers. It redefines rich and immersive gameplay with powerful graphics and speed, intelligent personalization, deeply integrated social capabilities, and innovative second-screen features. When Sony designed PlayStation 4, they focused on building an architecture that will allow the greatest game developers in the industry to push boundaries and dig deep within their imaginations to create the most immersive and unique games for gamers to enjoy.

The PS4 Games

The future of PlayStation is all about great games and entertainment, and at PlayStation Meeting 2013, Sony brought some of the brightest and most creative minds from the development community on stage to unveil the games that will define PS4. A partial initial lineup for PlayStation 4 includes first-party games from Guerilla Games (Killzone: Shadow Fall), Sucker Punch (inFAMOUS: Second Son), Evolution Studios (DriveClub), and Japan Studio (Knack), as well as titles from partners such as Activision/Bungie (Destiny), Blizzard Entertainment (Diablo III), Capcom (Deep Down), and Ubisoft (Watch_Dogs). PlayStation also reinforced its commitment to self-publishing and the independent development community by having Jonathan Blow onstage who gave a sneak peek of his upcoming title The Witness. Finally, the incredible minds at Media Molecule and Quantic Dream gave glimpses of their conceptualization process and the future of gameplay with some remarkable footage. Sony only scratched the surface at the event, and will have many more exciting titles to come.

With so much amazing content in development for PlayStation 4, the fans will get every opportunity to check out virtually any PS4 game when it becomes available. In the future, when a gamer sees a title of interest in PlayStation Store, they can immediately start playing a portion of the actual game.

DualShock 4

The new DualShock controller to PS4 has been redesigned and now features a more rounded form factor as well as what appears to be a slightly rubberized grip. The new, built-in sensor provides a highly sensitive motion controller. You can interact with games like never before thanks to the touchpad on the controllers' front panel. Sound effects are played back through a built-in speaker, and headset jack. You can both hear the game sound and chat with friends. The dual analog sticks on the controller have improved and got better precision. With the new, curved L2 and R2 buttons, you get even more control.

You will instantly be able to share images and videos of your favorite gameplay moments on Facebook with a single press on the DualShock 4 controller’s new SHARE-button. You can also broadcast while you play in real-time through Ustream, allowing friends to comment or jump into your game in new ways. This new feature will change the way you interact with friends while you play.

An LED Light Bar on the controller's top matches the color of the characters in the game so that players can keep track of each other. You can, for example, also see when a character has been damaged. The new Light Bar isn't just a way to identify your player number. It also works like a PS Move. Another reason that the Move functionality was incorporated into the DualShock 4 is to enable the console to know where you're sitting in relation to the TV, and your on-screen character. 

PlayStation 4 Eye

A new camera has been developed in conjunction with the controller, and it tracks the position of the DualShock 4 via the LED Light Bar. The PlayStation 4 Eye comes with a pair of 1280x800 cameras, four microphones and an 85-degree field of view. The two lenses are designed to be used in a variety of ways, including triangulating the 3D space, gesture recognition, Kinect-style body tracking, and in conjunction with accessories like the Wonderbook or DualShock 4 controller. The original PlayStation Eye camera only has one lens, and it had to do everything. With the new unit, one camera will concentrate on capturing the action and ensuring good picture quality, while the other is dedicated to motion tracking. Sony is also aiming to enable users to take 3D pictures and video and store it on the console. As for the microphones in the new PS Eye and how that'll impact interaction with the PlayStation 4 on a system level isn't known at this time. Though it'll be incorporated into games using voice commands.

The PlayStation Move controller will also work on PlayStation 4. Media Molecule, the creators of LittleBigPlanet, introduce on-stage what the company's been creating for the nextgen game system. They showed a video where they sculpted a digital clay and created their own characters and environments using the Move controller. You could then control the characters with the Move controller and act as puppeteers. Media Molecule didn't announce an actual game title, but is certainly working on a new game for the PS4.

With PlayStation 4 you will be able to access your games quicker than ever before. PS4’s “suspend mode” eliminates the load time on your saved game and allows you to immediately return to where you left off by pressing the power button. PlayStation 4’s background downloading and updating capability also allows you to immediately play digital titles as they download, or update the system when the hardware is powered off.

PS4 will make it easier for you to play your favorite games and access content wherever you are by leveraging PlayStation Network with Gaikai technology. Sony sees the PS Vita as the ultimate companion device for PS4 and it’s their long-term vision to make most PS4 games playable on PS Vita, so you can bring your favorite games from the big-screen TV to your PS Vita over Wi-Fi. They're also introducing a “PlayStation App” for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices that acts as a second screen, allowing for unique gameplay possibilities such as viewing maps during an adventure game or remotely watching friends play during an epic battle—right from a smartphone or tablet.