So it looks like some of the info we posted previously was correct, including the controller. Here are some of my notes from the announcement to get the discussion rolling. What are your thoughts and comments?
Also, you can thank me for watching this press conference for you. OMG! Did anyone else think it was incredibly slow and not very moving?
Playstation Promise: Simple, Personalization, Immediate, Integrated, Social
Focused on gamers but platform for other stuff?
Sharing experiences, connectivity between devices and ease of connection
Expand vita’s stuff
Expand titles and programs, instant game collection and day 1 digital
Living room no longer the center
How does next gen gamer want to play
Want to change gaming landscape – mobility, mobility, mobility…
Access to entertainment, social media and more = new platform?
Accessing content better and most personalized gaming experience
Socially enriched content
Leading authority on play – gamers think playstation is best place to play
Explain how PS3 was connected and changed the type of system gamers used, and then focus back on games?
X86cpu, Enhanced PC GPU, 8 GB Unified memory, local storage HDD, GDDR5 for system memory
Controller looks like the one that was leaked – new features, touch pad for input, share button and headphone jack, light bar as more friendly way to ID players, designed w/ stereo camera to track position of controller via light bar. Share button on controller is central
Power button enters low power state – no longer booting, etc. – more like hibernation
Digital titles playable even as they are being downloaded
Social play is important, added hardware to support it, always on video compression and decompression systems
Transitioning to friends network based on real world friends, keeping alias and icon for anonymity, but most of new social dimensions will be interacting with friends from existing social networks. Applications on smart phones, tablets, web platforms and Vita to allow gaming experience to carry beyond living room.
System can get to know you and bring you closer to games you want to play. System learns your likes and dislikes and discover content PRELOADED on your console (WTF?). Vision to download titles before you even have a chance to tell them you want the game?
Want to have a connected experience. Gamer at center of playstation network. Delivery of what gamers want most from their entertainment experience. Fastest, most powerful network in the world.
Try it now feature of any game in store. Instantly experience anything you want?
Buy only what you love? So you get the game free and only pay if you like the game?
Facebook and UStream are partnering up with them. Create first social gaming network for gaming.
Spectating on games. This feature was on OnLive. Use share button on PS4 controller. Can broadcast from your game live to your friends. Friends can post comments to your screen. Ask your friend to take over your controller and assist. They’re “building” this into the system – not yet? New spectating tools for developers.
Enhancing their PS4 games on second screens. Key feature is remote play. It has been built into architecture of the hardware. PS vita is the ultimate companion device for PS4. Using full graphics of PS4 and taking advantage of PS Vita screen. Long term goal is to make all titles playable on the PS Vita.
PS3 titles are NOT natively supported on PS4 – exploring vision of making PS3 games (or any other PS games) playable on any device by using some sort of cloud device. Anything everywhere is the challenge and is vision of Playstation Cloud service.
POSSIBLE TITLES– at release?
Knack
Killzone Shadow Fall?
Drive Club – team based racing
Second Son – Sucker Punch’s exclusive title for PS4 – super powers, similar to infamous?
The Witness – from developer of Braid
Self-publishing on Playstation Network – smaller developers can bring breakthrough titles to PS gamers (then they showed The Witness) – how open will it be for other Indie developers?
Can get over 30,000 polygons – first attempt at using advanced stuff to permit real time rendering similar to CG films – quality they will get in future games
How many polygons were there in Halo4?
The Creative Console – Using the Move controller to create stuff in 3D via sculpting or collage and create sets, game levels, stories with the simplest possible interface. And to have a creepy dream where you control dolls having a rock concert or something.
The panty raid engine from Capcom can bring all sorts of new experiences
Developers think this is an easy platform to program for…
The game Watch Dogs looks pretty freaking awesome
From Bungie – Destiny will be on PS4 and PS3. Exclusive playable content just for Playstation community
I still do not understand why they let these guys talk for themselves. PS4 is looking great and I actually think it is a step closer to bringing online gameplay back to a virtual couch. I am interested in seeing what Microsoft has up their sleeves, it can’t be that much different. Destiny is just looking great.
Backward compatibility is interesting I’m predicting the Xbox won’t play 360 games which means two consoles and having to move your gamer tag back and forth??? I’m not sure I will buy the next gen unless there is something really compelling. Tying your mobility to one brand “all Sony” or “all MS” well fail in my mind. Charge me for the app on other platforms but make it available. esp if it is going to be all cloud based. I think if the big two want to finish off the other guys they should do cross platform gaming too. Lets face it they could get taken out buy the small android based guys if they are not careful….
Yep. I put down for the Ouya, just to affordable and the possibilities are intriguing. It actually will attract more developers, indie developers.
Yeah I bought into Ouya and GameStick and I don’t even have an Android phone. However, I see these low cost consoles could be the future. Gaming is becoming easier to get into for the average person. My wife has started playing games on her iPad. I think the quick to start, short time commitment games are going to be the future “big” growth area.
Considering that some of the most interesting games I have played this last year have come from developers that for all intents and purposes are indie developers (Telltale, Supergiant, Runic), I am behind Ouya. I am reticent to promote PS4 as an indie development system, considering its roots.
Looks like Sony took a hard look at the biggest complaints from their existing console in its early stages (i.e. hard to develop for) as they paraded up quite a few developers who talked about how easy it is to develop for the PS4. Whether this translates into indie games as well remains to be seen.
Not to totally off-topic, but indie games are having a tough time. Most of them are lower budgets which means that they can take risks which means we might find something entirely new and awesome, but generally big studios stick with known quantities and don’t risk $140million on totally new and outlandish stuff.
I did like some of the trailers for the games they showed. A couple of them struck me as really cool and looked like they’d be a blast to play!