What to expect from PS4 reveal on February 20, predictions and insight
- Posted February 5th, 2013 at 11:51 EDT by Steven Williamson
- 19 Comments
We could stick “rumour” at the beginning of the headline above but we’d just be teasing you because it’s now common knowledge in the gaming world that New York City on February 20, 2012 is set to be the platform for Sony to reveal its next-generation console to the world. What we don’t know is to what extent PlayStation 4, PlayStation Orbis, or whatever name Sony has conjured up, will be shown.
The naming ceremony
First up, we’re almost certainly going to hear what Sony has named its new console. PlayStation 4 seems the most logical name but in Japan the number four is pronounced the same as the word for death and is considered bad luck. It’s widely believed then that Sony will instead come up with a brand new name to accompany the PlayStation brand, with most signals pointing to PlayStation Orbis, known to be the internal codename for the console for some time.
Personally, we think Sony won’t be bothered in the slightest about this superstition, and neither will the millions of Japanese gamers who will buy PlayStation 4. Sony doesn't need to come with anything fancy. PlayStation 4 is the best branding for the console and we’d be surprised if it’s called anything else.
However, some members of the PSU team believe Sony may brand its next-gen console slightly differently across territories. How about PlayStation Orbis in Japan and PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe, or even PlayStation 4 Orbis?
The launch date
PSU has learned that PS4 will be released in November and we believe that Sony will reveal the launch date window at the New York City event. It’ll probably hedge its bets by stating that PS4 will be released in Q4 2013. What we don’t know is whether we’ll see a worldwide release or a staggered release. It’s seems certain that Japan will be among the first territories to get the new console, but there’s also a good chance that North America will enjoy the PS4 this year. As usual, we predict that European gamers will have to wait a little longer. Expect a Q1 2014 release date for PS4 in PAL territories.
The specifications
There’s been a lot of rumours about the specifications for the PS4 and it’s likely we’ll get to hear about some of them at the NYC press conference, though Sony may hold some stats back until later this year, most likely for its big E3 press conference.
The latest specs, unearthed via Kotaku, are said to be from the PS4 development kits, and seem to tally pretty much with what we’re expecting, confirming that PC heavyweight AMD is Sony’s hardware partner. Of course, for the retail console we can expect some of these specs to change…
System Memory: 8GB
Video Memory: 2.2 GB
CPU: 4x Dual-Core AMD64 "Bulldozer" (so, 8x cores)
GPU: AMD R10xx
Ports: 4x USB 3.0, 2x Ethernet
Drive: Blu-Ray
HDD: 160GB
Audio Output: HDMI & Optical, 2.0, 5.1 & 7.1 channels
It's going to be interesting to see whether Sony reels off a set of specifications for the PS4 at this event, or whether it simply shows some of the games in action to emphasise its power.
The games
Developers have been working on PS4 games for some time, so it makes sense that Sony will show some of the titles in an attempt to blow us away with the graphics and power of its new console. This could be via a brief videogame montage that reveals some of the games that will be available at PS4 launch, or we may see individual presentations of certain games, though this is something we usually see at E3.
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Either way, Sony will almost certainly want to reveal the PS4 by showing us what it can do. What we don't know is what games will be shown. Check out our feature on the "PS4 launch games - the titles that will blow us away" to see our predictions.
The controller
Much has been made out of the rumour that Sony could be ditching the design of the DualShock controller in favour of a design that features a capacitive touch pad similar to that found on the back of PS Vita. It’s also heavily rumoured that the controller will feature a SHARE button giving access to a variety of ... (continued on next page)
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Comments
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joeyjoejoeshababadoo
- 12:21pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 1
Gotta admit that controller design looks uglier than the boomerang
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jimjim141 |
jtuohy- 12:21pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 2
Sorry but I do not believe for one second that the PS4 would be released in the Q1 of 2014. Vita was originally planned to be relesed in 2011 worldwide, but due to the tsunami and earthquakes in asia, it came out in US & EU in February. PS3 was also planned for a simultaneous worldwide release, however blu ray diodes and cell shortages it was delayed it for Europe. My point being is that they will aim for a simultaneous worldwide release for the PS4 and if they have no problems with production then we should see that. If the Wii U could release worldwide at roughly the same time, why not Sony?
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Gameoholic007 |
Demented007- 12:47pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 6
Nice specs, but I know their going to change, they always do. That controller does look like crap, thank God its not final design. I can't wait to see what the hardware is going to dish out for gaming (not just on graphics). Also, Im really anticipating on seeing what the final console/controller design will look like.
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SPOTTED
- 1:04pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 7
I still think the PS4 will only be slightly better than a PS3. I don't see how graphics can be that much better, and that's always a huge thing when generations switch over. The controller only looks "slightly" different. Getting a blu ray player in the system is also something "not new." It was a big deal to get it on the PS3 and a big deal to get a DVD player out of the PS2. And even a big deal to get a CD player out of a PS1. A blu ray on the PS4 is nothing special. All the specs I don;t understand, so I'll have to wait and see videos. That will tell a lot. Cmon Feb 20...GET HERE!
That said, I'll probably be waiting in line when the PS4 drops. These are just my initial thoughts.
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honomaru
- 1:18pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 8
I really hope it has a good lineup prepared for launch. I dont really mind the look of the controller as ultimately its just a thing in my hand and not in front of my face. I can get used to a banana with buttons on it if need be. Adaptability is the name of the game people, we arent accessorizing with these controllers are we? As long as it aint uncomfortable, I dont really care.
I definitely would like for them to delve into cloud gaming sometime during the next generation. Also more support for mmos please, as the console offerings at the moment are either paltry or non existent. Give the system a better internet browser as well. That should be common sense but web surfing on my vita still feels like something that would've been barely acceptable in like 2007.
I agree with spotted in that the improvement probably wont be earth shattering like in the previous generation jumps (at least at first). Ive seen a bunch of what if articles and the realitme tech demoes from Unreal (Samaritan) and Square Enix. Sadly we know this will obvioously not be the standard for next gen. However, here's to hoping that one game manages to reach such heights and become the new Uncharted of next gen. I think if the bar were to raise, it'd be evident in that multiplatform games of next gen MAY look like the exclusive titles of today, and a FEW of the exclusive titles of next gen MAY look like those amazing tech demos.
Wouldn't hold my breath on that though.
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Nakatomi Uk |
Nakatomi_Uk- 3:29pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 9
4X AMD DUAL CORE BULLDOZERS so are they spreading the chips across then to save heat and potential CPU failure across the system board???
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mikeghtmare
- 4:14pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 10
I actually differ with you, I think Sony will stick to Japan's tradition to skip the number 4 and they'll name it something else, but I don't think they'll use the codename Orbis as part of the name.
As for the controller, I think and I hope they'll take this chance to make it ergonomically better; it's been a cosntant point of criticism from XBox users who start usin PS and even PS users who have both systems, so I think Sony will improve upon it without making the changes too drastic like they tried with the PS3. -
Gameoholic007 |
Demented007- 4:15pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 11
@9- Those are development kit specs, the setup will change when the console goes into production. It would be pretty stupid to have 4 cpu chips on the mainboard, the cooling system would have to be massive to get the heat out. Im sure there will be multiple cores on a singe chip when everything is said and done, because its cheeper production wise. Their are different model multi core Bulldozer chips that currently exist, it depends on which one Sony throws in the next Playstation, unless their is a particular version that is being made only for the PS4. Too early to tell right now.
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Bones311
- 4:18pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 12
i still dont understand the use of the touch pad. I dont have a vita so I dont know what its used for in those games... but its on the opposite side where your fingers are already right next to. on this you would have to completely ignore either the dpad or the x/triangle/O/square buttons, to touch it... seems sort of a hassle.
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1solidsnake |
solid1snake67- 7:56pm EST - February 5th, 2013
- 13
do a screen of the controler like wii tablet make it that size with share button start and select and w/e else they can do but not that controller
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masta_js |
masta_js- 6:15am EST - February 6th, 2013
- 15
@ 7
Even though they are sticking with the BluRay drive, i think they'll go foward with ultra hd and lower hd capabilities for gaming and videos etc. Or a higher capacity bluray disc with even more space then the previous.Anyways we'll have to see for ourselves on the 20th feb.About the 160 hdd it don't matter as long as you can replace it later with a bigger hdd. Besides it makes PS4 less expensive at launch. -
TheTenth666
- 12:20pm EST - February 6th, 2013
- 16
games :
Uncharted 5
Gran turismo 6
Metal gear solid 5
Star wars game with Move
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Paulo Panganiban
- 12:32pm EST - February 6th, 2013
- 17
Considering that cell chips and blu-ray drives have gotten cheaper, here's hoping to PS4 having complete backwards compatibility with the PS3.
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Beasley2K
- 5:43pm EST - February 7th, 2013
- 18
"We could stick “rumour” at the beginning of the headline above but we’d just be teasing you"
This is a very poor starting sentence as the majority of information in this article were rumours - the rest was just speculation!
A lot of this article was very misleading: we don't know that the PS4 is going to be announced, that's just a likely assumption; we don't know a release window; and we certainly don't know any of the specifications - that's all rumours from outside sources.
Please stop passing rumours of as facts, PSU. I don't mind all these articles about rumours, as long as it's stated that they are just that. I do actually believe that a lot of what was stated will be true, but until it's announced officially, please make it clear that it's a rumour, as if I hadn't read the previous articles, I would have taken all this as fact and would have been very misled. Don't act like these rumours are facts, because until they're confirmed, they are just that: rumours.
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