Home > Gaming > Official: Sony PS4 Has Instant On, Social Networking + The Fastest Gaming Network

Official: Sony PS4 Has Instant On, Social Networking + The Fastest Gaming Network

Currently taking place live in New York, the PlayStation 4 marks a dramatic redesign of the PlayStation 3. The interface is completely new, the hardware has been influenced by developer feedback and the console will be fluent in social connectivity.

“Today we’ll show you how we’re strengthening the PS ecosystem, through hardware, software and networking,” Andrew House said, Sony Computer Entertainment’s Group CEO. 

“With mobility and the ability to share content becoming an increasingly important part, connectivity between devices—and the ease of which they connect—has become central,” said House.  The PS4 is but a component, however key, in a gaming environment which spans a variety of devices.

Sony has already showcased the controller, which features a touchpad, a 3.5mm port and a share button. In addition to Sony’s Dualshock 4 controller, the PS4 will come with a stereo camera peripheral which will track the position of the controller.


Image credit: TechRadar

Sony also claims it will be apart of the “fastest gaming network in the world.”


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Mark Cerny, Sony’s new lead architect, reveals the PS4 will have an 8-core x86 processor, “enhanced GPU”, 8 GB of unified GDDR5 memory, hard drive, and a secondary custom chip to handle social features and uploads/downloads.

Cerny claims Sony stuck to five main design principles for gaming on the PlayStation 4: Simple, immediate, social, integrated, personalized. From here on, we’re reverting to a live feed:

10.30: The share button on the controller allows gamers to broadcast their action socially. Comments can be broadcast on a players screen in real time. Friends can drop in ‘special items’, such as health potions, during game play.


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10.35: The PlayStation 4 will not be backwards compatible with native PS3 games, but Sony plans on having PS3 games playable on the PS4 via the cloud. The ecosystem consists of the PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. 

“PS Vita is the ultimate companion device for the PS4.”

PS4 gaming action can be viewed on the PS Vita’s 5 inch OLED display through remote play. In doing so, Sony’s PS Vita becomes a vital companion device and a much more attractive buy to consumers.

10.37: The PS4 will have access to Sony’s music and video unlimited content services. Content from other VOD services will also be available.

10.38: Developers provide testimonials on Sony’s support, claiming they’ve designed the console to be developer-centric.

10.45 Games can be stored on the PS4s RAM and resumed instantly when on. Games can be played as they’re being downloaded.

10.46: “PS4 will bring a new synergy to hardware, software and the fastest gaming network in the world.”

10:49 Killzone Shadowfall Demo


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10.58: Sony is showcasing Drive Club. A realistic driving game, which can be accessed via apps on smartphones and tablets. “We’ve gone borderline insane with real world details and subtleties.”

11.00: As Sony showcases some fantatic new gaming titles, we’re taking this opportunity to recap some things we’ve missed. The Vita will be tightly integrated with the new console. “Our long-term goal is to make every PS4 title playable on the Vita,” says Gaikai’s David Perry. Another long time Sony goal is to make every PS3 gaming title, along with PS1 and PS2 titles, available on any device.

11.08: Self publishing on the PS network, Sony is encouraging the indie gaming market.

11.10: Developer Jonathon Blow has taken the stage to discuss a new game called ‘The Witness.’ “The witness takes place in an open world, but as most games” try to make their worlds as big as possible, in The Witness “we’re trying to make the world as small as possible in order to make the experience as detailed as possible. Everything in this world is carefully placed. Everything is there for a reason.”  

11.11: Andrew House has returned to the stage. What follows now “is a glimpse of the future.” House has introduced David Cage of Quantic Dream, who was responsible for the amazing Heavy Rain.

11.18: “Getting the player emotionally evolved is the holy grail of all game creators,” begins Cage. In an interesting reference, Cage talks about the silent era of cinema, claiming emotions were contained by constrictive technology. With the PS4, game creators can forget about technology limitations. He provides a real-time demo. “We are now only limited by our imagination.”


PS4 realtime gaming has reached cinema grade CGI

11.26: “Every major third party partner across North America, Europe and Japan will support PS4,” Andrew House.

11.32: Upcoming games from Capcom, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Blizzard and Activision are being showcased.

12pm: Sony has ended the show with the gaming previews, which frankly hold a lot of promise. However, the company hasn’t revealed what the console actually looks like, choosing to only offer a brief look at the already leaked controller. What we do know is the PS4 will be released ahead of Christmas.


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