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10 burning questions we have about PlayStation 4

  • Posted February 27th, 2013 at 00:01 EDT by Kyle Prahl
  • 10 Comments

Sony's PlayStation Meeting and PlayStation 4 reveal were nothing if not comprehensive. The two-hour coming-out party for the next generation of PlayStation hardware put recent E3 press conferences to shame and treated gamers to a detailed, thrilling look at games and features just around the corner.

Still, Sony's reveal left some wanting: no physical hardware was shown and a whole host of questions have yet to be answered. The PSU staff compiled 10 such questions, and I took a stab at fleshing out each of them. We can't promise you concrete answers in this article, but we can promise a glimpse of burning questions that Sony needs to answer in the coming months. Let's get started:

1. Will PS4 look similar in design to PS3, or will Sony opt for a brand new look?

The fact that Sony didn't show the physical PS4 console left some critics pining for more. I don't give this absence the same importance as others, but I am curious to see what the next evolution in Sony hardware looks like. At the PS2's launch, black was the new grey. Then came the PS3 to usher in the era of glossy electronics. Game consoles don't follow trends; they set them. Black or white, tall or fat - the look of PlayStation 4 will be talked about and dissected for months to come. Hopefully, the look won't define the system; I'd hate to be retiring my "Fat PS4" five or six years from now.

2. How much will PS4 cost?

This is a biggie, as the stickiest sticking point for PS3's early days was its exorbitant price tag. $600 (hell, even $500 for the 20 GB model) crossed the line from 'bold' to 'foolish,' and everyone's wondering if Sony will make the same mistake twice. For this reason, I don't think there's a snowball's chance it will. It's reasonable to think that the PS4 could launch with two SKUs, one priced at $499, but anything more than $429 for the base model would be retail suicide.

3. Will the trophy system remain as is, or will it be enhanced in any way?

We caught a glimpse of trophies in screenshots of the new PlayStation Store during Sony's PS4 reveal. Seemingly, things haven't changed much. Bronze trophies, Silvers, Golds, and Platinums - it's all there, but with PS4's OS looking more and more like a gaming social network, we expect that viewing your trophies and comparing them to your friends' will be easier than ever. Any improvements to the system will surely be subtle; automatic syncing of every trophy as it pops comes to mind. If anything, changes to trophies as we know them will come through streaming - peep in on your friend's game session to see how a certain trophy is won, or save clips of your favorite accomplishments for the world to stand in awe of.

4. Will PSN downloads be speedier?

To some extent, download rates are tied to the ISP of a given user, but PS3 was (and is) notorious for under-performing in this regard. Still, there's reason for hope. Coupled with Gaikai's renowned streaming infrastructure and a modified PC architecture that simplifies programming tasks, PlayStation Network should be well-equipped for faster download speeds. Then again, it might not matter; Gaikai's streaming technology will let you instantly try any PSN game before you buy. Furthermore, the same tech will minimize the time it takes to jump into a game, streaming the opening moments while it downloads and installs in the background.

5. Will PS4 be region-free?

We sure hope so. Being able to play games from other regions opens the world and unites PlayStation gamers across borders and cultures. It also puts amazing experiences in our hands faster. However, there are sticking points to regional freedom. Some territories may hold issue with graphic content--violent, sexual, or otherwise--that is perfectly acceptable in other parts of the world. Furthermore, region-locking helps publishers manage and meet the incredible demand for high-profile releases, stifles importing, and keeps regional prices relevant. As some can attest, this isn't necessarily a good thing: video games and consoles are notoriously overpriced in some countries. In troubled financial times, paying reasonable prices is a high priority, and rightfully so.

6. How ... (continued on next page)

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  1. Alpha2

    • 3:05am EST - February 27th, 2013

    I have to assume the PS4 will continue the tradition of having verticle and horizontal position choices. Because if they're going to force us to keep our PS3s they better have ways of minimizing the space PS4 takes up.

    The price so far has been rumored from anywhere between 400 and 500, so while it's still pretty expensive there's room for sony to either win on this issues or shoot themselves in the foot again, because if it's on the high side and they ask you to pay yearly fees for all the fancy streaming and stuff it's just going to be another 600 dollar system again.

    I can't imagine tropies will change any aside from how well they're displayed or how quickly yout updates can be attached to your account. They say there will be a lot of customization in the system so I suspect there will be an option to vainly display a video in your profile, much like Youtube lets you put afeatured video on your YT page.

    Okay for the billionth time. PSN is NOT slow. What's slow is your ISP period. PSN has to deel with millions of people so on Store update days it might be slow at first while millions of people check for up dates but that's how every site on the internet is. Youtube has been laggy all weekend because of traffic randomly stalling all over the place but you complain about it once or twice and then start letting it buffer when move on to the next video. If you down load something in the middle of the day when no one is trying to ravage the store for new content the downloads go as fast as any large scale download service. That said the complainers will NEVER be saticfied even with Sony claiming the new PS4 brand of the network will be the fastest thing ever, there are going to be slow moments still. Will it make streaming not suck? If Sony wants to charge people for it, then it better.

    Region free works, Look if I import a game these days it's because I really want it and it probably isn't comming out here. Or I want the Physical copy and the US branch has decided they only want to sell the Digital version. So either I don't buy the game or I get an overseas copy, either way I still bought the game. They did try to block people from downloading the JP version of the Metal Gear Rising demo which sucked for me after downloading a 3GB file but hey fine what ever I was still getting the game so it didn't matter but I really don't want to find out I cant even demo japanese games they way I have aside from that one. My Japanese account is just as valid as anyone elses and I don't bother theh Japanese in their games with that account so why punish people?

    The drive has to be at least 750GB - 1TB especially if they're pushing digital distribution, not to mention video recording and sharing? It has to be a meaty drive... of course if they want to knock a c-note off the price and just hit me up with a 350GB drive I'll happily put a larger one in later by myself as long as that's the only thing different about the two SKUs.

    Move controllers... and yeah, there really arent many things left. Maybe they can let you use the old PSeye for face cam rather than using the big all seeing Eye of Sauron 720p 3D camera all the time... Motion gaming is all but dead (thanks kinect) that doesnt mean they might not still release a few games that let you wave your hand or controllers around to do stuff, it's easy to implement and still offeres casual gameplay options. Dance games are still kinda popular so I dont see them not alloing full body scanning unless MS has a patent on it that would make difficult the ability to do it, much like they've done on the 360 with certain custom music options.

    Streaming will cost you. They might offer a cheap tier price for connecting you to PSN games and titles you "own" already, but everything else I expect to be straight up PSN plus subscriber features. They're not going to just hand out that kind of bandwidth for free, there's not way when they can charge you for it knowing more people will probably pay just because it's all "future-y" and stuff.

    Streaming was allowed with on disc PS3 titles, I dont see why you wouldnt be allowed to do the same with the PS4, especially since they wanted to tought the low power mode that the system can exist in and still maintain internet functionality, which means you should be able to access your PS4 from any available wifi source... but you'll probably have to go through PSN and if that's the case it's goign to cost you to access their streaming servers. If the apps are cooded properly there will likely be support for actual controllers but I suspect the support will be spotty and unreliable because bluetooth on tablets and phones all have widely varying degrees of consistency.

  2. yevon

    • 4:07am EST - February 27th, 2013

    I don't agree, Ps3 has a slow connection, Ps3 is limited itself. I don't know if it is a lack of memory, a bandwith reservation or a bad implementation of tcp/ip.
    It's a fact that ps3 has some optional  tcp/ip options that shoudn't be enabled that consumes unnecessary bandwith.
    In many countries is impossible to download more than 50% of your real speed. It doesn't matter if you open ports, activate Upnp. Speed tests through ps3 browser gives exactly that, 50% of your real speed. 
    I'm from Spain with a 30 Mbps connection.
     
    Through my PC I always download at 30 Mb/s at any serious service.
    I expect that Gaikai guys help sony developing a fast network and helping developing ps4 network configurations.
     
    They could also enable some p2p transfers between consoles for saving bandwith

  3. Corvette-Steve

    • 6:47am EST - February 27th, 2013

    Here's my burning question, what about the 3D capabilities? of the PS4  And why wasn't this shown ? 

  4. OsborneLV | Eric_Osborne

    • 9:33am EST - February 27th, 2013

    I want to know if I can play PS4 games anywhere on my Vita as long as both are connected. Also, what about the games I own on the Vita - can they be transfered to the PS4 or what cuz I have some minis cross play games on the Vita

  5. hairymaraca

    • 12:36pm EST - February 27th, 2013

    #3_I had read on a different article that 3D was not going to be a main focus of SONY. They said that 2 years ago that was the thing to do, but since it's not really catching on it won't be a focus. It will support 3D playback though.

  6. honomaru

    • 12:53pm EST - February 27th, 2013

    I wanna know what their plans are with Gaikai!

  7. FrEaKin_GaMeR

    • 2:15pm EST - February 27th, 2013

    I hope to see white version of the PS4 so it will give a wider color selection for those who will buy it at release date,black or white both are cool,but many want the white color including my self,specialy the white version of PSP Vita is already released so it will be a nice match,as we know the PSP VIta will play PS4 games which i have to say this,if sony creates new PSP which has mini triggers,L3,R3,bigger battery size with anti-ageing technology battery cells to prevent it from decaying within years so we don't have to buy new battery for it in future,also a new concept of touchscreen type which has 3D free glasses with solar panel clear layer combined technology which allow the PSP to absorb light as energy and trasfer it to the battery while gaming thus extending the gameplay.

  8. acecombat2011

    • 3:06pm EST - February 27th, 2013

    T500RS? Is this driving wheel going to be compatible ? It's pretty expensive so I would want to know before upgrading. I don't want to buy it just fo ps3 at this point but I do want to get one one day.

  9. the furbz

    • 5:31pm EST - February 27th, 2013

     Does anyone know if the current Playstation plus will be valid on the PS4? Or will I have to buy a new separate one?

  10. Alpha2

    • 11:47pm EST - February 27th, 2013

    Playstation plus will likely be folded into what ever new service they announce. All the easier to keep you buying it if they dont have to convince you to buy ANOTHER premium service. As for 3D, It still plays Bluray so I dont see why it wouldnt still be 3D bluray capable. It's not a focus for them this generation but I don't think that means they're taking it out I think they're just not pushing it as much as they are 4K video playback.

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