Everything About The PS4: Affordable Or Not Affordable, That Is The Question


As information continues to be revealed about the PS4, the least likely it seems the PS4 will go for $350-$500. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the PS4 priced at $700-$800 on launch. Nothing is cheap in this world anymore, so why should we expect the PS4 to be?

Nothing about the PS4 controller seems cheap, considering it has a camera, PS Move sensor, changing light bars, touch screen, and features like a Sony portable device. When you add in the headset, console, controller, games, and new features, it doesn’t sound affordable anymore.

Let’s say the console is $350-$500. In this economy, not many people can afford a high priced console and high priced games to go along with it. Games are $60 a piece now, which is outrageous. Sony says it will offer $1 games, but we all know those are usually games nobody really wants to play. And if you want another controller, it will cost $60 or more. You can’t have high-tech without a high-tech price.

Below are all the details we know so far about the PS4.

Hardware Specs:

The PlayStation 4′s internal specs are as follows;

  • Main Processor: Single-chip custom processor
  • CPU: x86-64 AMD “Jaguar”, 8 cores
  • GPU: 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD next-generation Radeon™ based graphics engine
  • Memory: GDDR5 8GB
  • Hard Disk Drive Built-in
  • Optical Drive (read only): BD 6xCAV, DVD 8xCAV
  • I/O Super-Speed USB (USB 3.0)
  • Communication Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T), IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth® 2.1 (EDR)
  • AV output HDMI
  • Analog-AV out
  • Digital Output (optical)

The console will also include an unknown amount of USB 3.0 ports & each system will ship a “Mono Headset” for cross-game chat & other social features. Sony has not yet confirmed the exact size of the consoles hard drive but they have stated that the PS4 will have “a very large hard drive in every console.”

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 Design:

One of the biggest surprises from the February event was that Sony did not reveal what the new console actually looks like. When asked why the console was not shown, Sony said that the final design had not yet been completed. The console is expected to be officially revealed to the public at E3 in June.

What do you think, a rushed event or smart marketing by Sony?

New Features:

  • 5 Core Principles – Simple, Immediate, Social, Integrated, Personalized
  • Central Device – The PlayStation 4 is targeted to be the “central device in the living room”Central Device – The PlayStation 4 is targeted to be the “central device in the living room”
  • Update While Turned Off – Your PS4 will update to the latest software even when it’s switched off
  • Play As You Download – You’ll be able to ply digital titles as they download from the PlayStation Store
  • Pick Up Where You Left Off – Immediately pick up any saved game where you left off with ‘suspend mode’ this gets rid of long loading times and lets you carry on playing by simply pressing the power button
  • PSN Friend Limit Is Increasing – Sony is increasing the number of PlayStation Network friends from the current cap of 100 to… well, Sony have not yet said
  • Very Large Hard Drive – Specifics as to as what the exact size of PS4 hard drives would be are unknown yet, but a Sony rep has stated there will be “a very large hard drive in every console.”
  • PS4 Chargers Controller While Sleeping – When it’s sleeping, the PS4 will charge your DualShock 4 controllers
  • Headset In Every Box – The PS4 will put a headset in every box so that communication is easy between you and your friends
  • Using Your Real Name – The PlayStation 4 will integrate itself into your social networks using your real name on the console. Although this is only optional, if you do choose to enable this you’ll import your friends from various social networking sites and you’ll use your real name. You can also decide which of your PSN friends see your real name.
  • Anytime Remote Play – With remote play on the PS4 both screens will be mirrored, this means they’ll both be showing the game. You can start Remote Play at any time on the PS4.
  • Colors = Numbers – The light bars on the DualShock 4 are able to identify players. The color/player relationship is always the same. Player 1 will always be blue, Player 2 red, Player 3 green, and Player 4 pink. Plus, that light bar can be used to display muzzle flashes from your gun, health and so on.
  • PS4 Dev Environment – Windows 7-bit, tools are fully integrated into Visual Studio 2010 and 2012
  • Simplified User Interface – The PS4′s UI will allow you to be more social with your friends as well as give you at a glance info without loading the game. See what new DLC is out, what friends are saying and much more.
  • Always Sharing –  All of the PS4′s streaming and sharing abilities are on the hardware, developers don’t have to do anything special to their game.

Introducing PlayStation 4:

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Dualshock  4:

  • The Start/Select buttons are now “Options.” New System button is “Share.”
  • Now includes speaker, stereo headset jack, light bar, vibration and “extension port”
  • Buttons are going back to digital over analog
  • L2/R2 – Curved design to get rid of the accidental video fast forwarding
  • 1920×900 resolution on the analog touchpad
  • Colors are the Player Numbers: 1-Blue, 2-Red, 3-Green, 4-Pink
  • Light bar can be used for muzzle flashes, health bars, etc
  • Built in lithium-ion rechargleable battery
  • “The PS4 Eye will enhance the PS4 user experience.” High sensitivity dual color cameras – 1280×800, 12 bits/pixel, 60Hz
  • Dedicated port for the PS4 Eye camera

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Some minor details were also released regarding the PlayStation 4 Eye, we know it will consist of having a 1280×800 pixel sensor capable of capturing video at 60 frames-per-second — quite an advantage over the Xbox360′s Kinect 640×480 30fps sensor. Don t worry about it taking up a USB port on your consoles for we know it will have its own dedicated port. Sony says the Eye can be sued for “walkthroughs, taunting in killcams, login, and speech recognition and also has the ability to tell whether you and a friend switched places during a split-screen game.”

Games:

Here is a list of all the confirmed games so far for the PlayStation 4, click on a game to view it’s official PS4 trailer.

  • Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag — Ubisoft Montreal
  • Blacklight: Retribution – Zombie Studios
  • Deep Down — Capcom
  • Destiny — Bungie
  • Diablo III — Blizzard Entertainment
  • DriveClub — Evolution Studio’s
  • Final Fantasy — Square Enix
  • Infamous: Second Son — Sucker Punch
  • Killzone: Shadow Fall — Guerrilla Games
  • Knack – Studio’s Japan
  • Primal Carnage: Genesis  – Lukewarm Media
  • Sniper Elite 3 — 505 Games
  • Star Wars 1313 — LucasArts
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — CD Projekt RED
  • The Witness — Thekla Inc.
  • Watch Dogs — Ubisoft Montreal

Sony also showed an image of all the companies that have agreed to work with them in creating games for the PlayStation 4.

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 User Interface:

Sony has now ditched the PS3′s XMB (Cross Media Bar) interface and given the PS4 a completely new look.

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Sony also showed a little of what we can expect our profiles to look like.

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Release Date:

At the end of the PlayStation 4 announcement in February  the PlayStation 4 was confirmed for a holiday 2013 release. It’s not known at this time whether this will be a same-day worldwide release or only in certain countries/territories.

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Price & Bundles:

Price:

A price has not been announced for the PlayStation 4 as of yet, we’ll be sure to update you when that information becomes available.

Bundles:

A trusted source has told Kotaku that…

“there are two models planned for the new machine, and that pricing won’t be announced until later this year, possibly around E3. The current plan … is to release them at $429 and $529, but that could change.”

Compatibility:

Games & Accessories:

  • PlayStation 4 Discs
  • PlayStation 4 Downloads
  • Used PlayStation 4 Games
  • PS Move
  • Headset
  • Won’t Play PlayStation 3 Discs
  • Won’t Play PlayStation 2 Discs
  • Won’t Play PlayStation 1 Discs
  • No PlayStation 3 Downloads
  • No Dualshock 3 Controller

Streaming:

  • Netflix
  • Hulu Plus
  • Amazon Instant Video
  • Crackle
  • Crunchyroll
  • Vudu
  • NHL
  • MLB. Tv
  • Cinema Now
  • Epix
  • Music Unlimited
  • Video Unlimited
  • No YouTube
  • No NFL Sunday Ticket
  • No HBO Go
  • No Max Go
  • No Showtime Anytime
  • No LoveFilm

Other:

  • Facebook
  • PlayStation Plus
  • Internet Browser
  • Blu-ray / DVD’s
  • Won’t Play Audio CD’s

PlayStation 4 – See The Future:

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PlayStation 4 – Ethos:

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Comment down below, and tell us if you think you will be able to afford the PS4 and its assets.