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.

Resident Evil 6 coming November 20, 2012

Capcom has confirmed that Resident Evil 6 is in development and is coming this November.

The game is being released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 20, 2012. A PC version is coming at a later date. Capcom describes the game as a "blending action and survival horror" and is "the most ambitious, immersive and feature rich title of the series to date and promises to be the dramatic horror experience of the year."

The Capcom developers say Resident Evil 6 has been in development in secrecy for a number of years and has the largest team working on the game in the series' history. The staff currently sits at about 150 people, but if you include contributing parties, the total could reach as high as 600.

Resident Evil 6 will follow Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield who will be "joined by new characters, each with their own unique perspective and involvement, in this relentless dramatic horror experience enacted on a global scale." The game's story between Chris and Leon will progress simultaneously. Leon's story is set in America while Chris' is in a city in China.

Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield will star as the main protagonists, but Capcom says there's an additional main character, an unnamed male who's described as "the man who's told to save the world."

Executive producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi also confirmed zombies are returning for the sixth game, and noted that there are "many secrets" still surrounding them. A new enemy was also revealed, the Javo.

He also said that the game is being made to be the "ultimate horror entertainment" and highlighted two key concepts: "The fear the lies ahead" and "everything is overwhelming."

Here's a synopsis of the game's plot:

It has been ten years since the Raccoon City incident and the President of the United States has decided to reveal the truth behind what took place in the belief that it will curb the current resurgence in bioterrorist activity. Due to be by the President’s side is his personal friend and Raccoon City survivor, Leon S. Kennedy, but when the venue suffers a bioterrorist attack, Leon is forced to face a President transformed beyond recognition and make his hardest ever decision.

At the same time, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance member Chris Redfield arrives in China, itself under threat of a bioterrorist attack.  With no country safe from these attacks and the ensuing outbreaks, the entire world’s population is united by a common fear that there is no hope left.

“Resident Evil 6 represents a giant stride forward in the evolution of the series,” commented Katsuhiko Ichii, Head of R&D and Global Marketing. “The development team, led by Hiroyuki Kobayashi, is working tirelessly to deliver the most impressive Resident Evil title ever both in terms of scope and production values.

"We are all genuinely excited by the title and cannot wait to share it with the world.”

Alan Wake on PC in 2012

Remedy Games is getting ready to launch Alan Wake on Steam this February -- the developer's first self-published title -- with a hefty FAQ session on its forum. Steam's Alan Wake will not be available on Mac, won't use Games for Windows Live and won't have a demo. It will use Steamworks, support keyboard and Xbox 360 controller input, and will include 'The Signal' and 'The Writer' DLC packs with the game.

Alan Wake on Steam can support stereoscopic 3D through NVISION 3D, although it is performance-intensive, Remedy warns. For normal gameplay, the expected system requirements are fairly standard.

Remedy says it is "still finalizing the optimizations and graphics scalability, so some details can still change," but these are the minimum specs for Alan Wake on PC:

• OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7
• PROCESSOR: A dual core processor is required:
• AMD: Athlon X2 2.8GHz
• Intel: Core 2 Duo 2GHz
• MEMORY: 2 GB
• HARD DRIVE: 8 GB
• VIDEO CARD: DirectX 10 compatible or later with 512MB RAM
• AMD: ATI Radeon 3650, 4450, 5550, 6450 or higher (per series)
• NVIDIA: GeForce 8600GT, 9500GT, GT120, GT430, GT520 (per series)
• SOUND CARD: DirectX 9.0c compatible
• INPUT: Mouse and keyboard, Xbox360 controller also supported

For max settings, Remedy suggests the following:

"For a solid performance, Remedy recommends a modern quad-core CPU and a graphics card with around 2000 in 3DMark Graphics Score as seen here. For max settings and high resolutions, a top of the line graphics card and CPU is needed."

Grand Theft Auto V is officially announced!

Rockstar Games has finally announced the long rumored Grand Theft Auto V on it's official site. It was just a matter of time before they announced this. We weren't given any news about the next installment in this very popular franchise. 

However, we got a first look at the new Grand Theft Auto V (Five) logo. And at the bottom of Rockstar Games' site is a text that says, "Trailer 11.02.11." 

So it's safe to say that on November 2nd, we will get to see where the next game will take place. Many believe that it will take place in San Andreas? However, in the end, it doesn't matter because it will be amazing wherever it will be.

This is very exciting news to me because I've loved the Grand Theft Auto franchise ever since the first game. And I loved it even more when it turned into the 3D third-person shooter we all love today. I'm going to buy Grand Theft Auto V on the release date, just like I did with Grand Theft Auto IV.