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Everything you need to know about the PlayStation 4 [video]

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

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The PlayStation 4 announcement just wrapped up and there’s a ton of news from the video game company. Here’s everything you need to know about the PS4 and the games coming to the new console.social gaming

Let’s start off with Sony’s vision of how gaming should be.

Personalized/Social Experience

Sony put how gamers game at the focus of today’s PlayStation 4 press event. The company is putting an emphasis on how gamers interact with one another by creating a more social experience. At the core of this experience are apps for mobile devices. Sony wants gamers to continue using PlayStation services even when they’re not gaming. There will be mobile applications that will allow users to interact with their PlayStation Network friends while they’re away from their consoles.

Sharing has also been greatly improved. The PlayStation 4 will make sharing video clips just as easy as sharing a screenshot.

video sharing

PlayStation Network

The PlayStation Network will still be a core part of the PlayStation Experience. Sony is touting its Music and Video Unlimited services to feed content to its PlayStation Network users. They are also working with video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon to give users as many choices as possible for obtaining content. Sony is currently still working on hammering out the details with more online services.

Unified Experience

Perhaps the most shocking reveal during the PlayStation 4 conference was the announcement that Sony will work on making all PlayStation 4 titles playable on the PlayStation Vita with Remote Play. Sony will be using technology from Gakai to use the PS4 as a server and the PS Vita as a client. Games will be rendered by the PS4 and will be sent over the Internet to the PS Vita. This creates a unified experience wherever you are. Games will be synced to the cloud so you can pick up where you left off. David Perry consistently referred to the service as PlayStation Cloud. An iOS and Android PlayStation app is also in development, which will add some ‘second screen’ features to PlayStation 4, like in-game maps and Store access.

Unfortunately, the PS4 will not be backwards compatible with PS3 game discs. Backward compatibility will come in the form of cloud streamed games.

PlayStation Cloud

The PlayStation Cloud will contain PlayStation’s entire catalog of games. This will let players access old, new, and future games through its cloud service. The PlayStation Cloud will be how Sony handles backwards compatibility with older games.

The Games

Killzone: Shadow Fall

Sony showed off this graphically impressive game with several minutes of in-game footage. This wasn’t a pre-rendered cut scene so the final product should be spectacular looking.

Drive Club

This is Sony’s response to the popular Xbox 360 racing game, Forza Horizon. Drive Club will feature team based racing where you and your “crew” will battle other teams to be the best racing team in the world. You can watch live as results come in all over the world. Drive Club wants this game to be more than just a racing game with a heavy social aspect.

Infamous: Second Son

The PlayStation 4 exclusives keep on coming as Sucker Punch revealed the next Infamous game, Infamous: Second Son. This game will explore a dystopian universe where normal citizens begin gaining super powers and revolt against a watchdog government.

Watch Dogs

Ubisoft showed off more footage from their open-world game, Watch Dogs. The game will be released on multiple platforms and is not a PlayStation 4 exclusive. Players will be able to hack electronic devices in the game to manipulate people and environments. The game looks beautiful and fluid with fast paced action.

The Witness
the witness

The Witness will not be a PS4 exclusive but will debut on the new console first. The Witness is a 3D puzzle adventure game that will arrive on PC and iOS sometime this year. Sony touted how independent developers can easily make games for the PS4.

Diablo III

diablo3

Blizzard will be bringing Diablo III to the PS4, marking the return of Blizzard to the console gaming market. The game will be optimized for console controls and will feature a four player co-op mode.

Destiny

destiny

Destiny was teased weeks before but now we’re finally seeing it shown off in person. The game shows sweeping vistas with beautiful scenery and aliens, which all looks very impressive. There is still little known about the game other than it would be an “always connected” first-person shooter. Developer, Bungie, has also stated that PS4 players will get exclusive content. Probably a hat for your character or something.

Disappointment

Playstation_Banner

Sony wrapped up the conference with no hardware reveal, which left many Sony fans wanting. The PlayStation 4 is still an enigma of a console but at least now we know what killer titles to expect at launch. Sony has yet to announce a solid release date for the console, only saying that it will be released in the 2013 holiday season. Sony will make an appearance at E3 with more details.

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

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