Two days and counting until the PlayStation 4 is upon us, and Sony is borderline overwheliming us with as much information as possible. It's a lot to tread through, but when it comes to new consoles, more is always better, right?
Earlier this week, Sony held a press event in the Big Apple, where they discussed the new User Interface at great length. Sadly, yours truly wasn't on the guest list, so we're playing catch up from those who were in attendance. A multitude of other outlets were there, but IGN seemed to provide the most comprehensive report. There's probably some things you've already read about, but here are the highlights:
- Switching between games and apps is easy enough, accomplished by a simple double tap on the DualShock 4 controller's home button, which will take you to the last opened app.
- Trophies are now rated by rarity, and given a value based on said rating. Why? Because bragging rights, that's why.
- For gamers who want to take advantage of all the tech the console has to offer, they can actually use the console's camera to log-in. All it takes is a small calibration, and some shots of your face from the proper angle. After that, your face can now be recognzied and used to log on. Don't set this up if you plan on any cosmetic surgery any time soon.
- If you have a buddy over, he / she / it can log-in as a guest and are given a temporary profile, the contents of which are deleted once they log out.
- Maybe you prefer gaming with your buds online only. In that case, party chat details were re-hashed. To summarize, players can chat cross-platform between the PS4 and PS Vita, as well as smartphones and tablets with the recently released PlayStation app. Text can be entered using the controller, or motion sensors with the PlayStation Camera. Or, you could just use the included headset to converse with your pals.
- Broadcasting direct from the console is possible, and as Sony hasn't enforced a limit when streaming to Twitch, players can stream gameplay 'til the cows come home. If you're not livestreaming, but still want to share some epic kill or rare event, Sony reminded everyone that the last 15 minutes of gameplay is recorded. Livestreams on Twitch or UStream can also be searched via keyword to see what is being streamed at the moment. There's a great potential here for eSports here, or even players who want to offer their own live tutorials.
- Speaking of sharing, it's a much easier process thanks to social media integration and distribution lists. With the friend list limit now upped to 2,000 (planned back in July), that's a lot of content that can go back and forth. For the friends on your list, you have the choice of revealing your name to them, or keeping things personal and sticking to your PSN ID. This is accomplished by making a friend on the list your "true" friend, something which both players have to agree to.
- When you're downloading games from the PlayStation Store, you now have the option of what part of the game to download first. Call of Duty: Ghosts for example offers the choice of single-player or multiplayer content first. Once whatever part of the game is downloaded, you should be playing in no time, as installation times promise to be quick. Players also have the option of downloading updates and content in standby mode, and using the PlayStation App to wake up the console.
- While some gamers are likely worried that they'll fill up the hard drive with games pretty quick, especially considering some of the games' larger install sizes, here's two bits of good news. First, the HDD is swappable, and apparently pretty easy. Second, movies and music are entirely cloud based, so you don't have to worry about downloading them, or having them take up space.
So that's what Sony had going on in New York. Meanwhile, across the seas in Hong Kong, something similar was happening, but video has snuck out, actually showing the UI in action. It's fairly basic stuff, showing what the console looks like when it's turned on, how logging in looks and works, etc., but I'm sure someone out there is interested.
The only problem is that the video is in Japanese and Cantonese, and has no English subtitles. Still, as it's a visual treat more than anything, it's worth a look. The demo gets underway at about the 4:45 mark. Check it out below.
On a similar note, Kotaku also made note of some cool new features of the UI, noting that the homepage will show you what your friends are up to, and you can join in from there if you're interested, and that the DualShock 4 controller can be charged while the system is resting.
Under the hood, the PlayStation 4 boasts Supercharged PC architecture, X86 CPU, Enhanced PC GPU, and 8GB Unified Memory according to the official specs.
It will support the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PlayStation 3. However, a Plus subscription will be required for online multiplayer games, but not for additional media services like Netflix. Sony has also updated the Dual Shock controllers with a touch screen and improved shoulder triggers, and bundles the console with a headset.
Demo kiosks (as well as the system itself) have already started making their way to various retailers, with more and more rolling out the closer we get to the console's launch date.
The PlayStation 4 is set to release on November 15 in North America and on November 29 in Europe. Day one games available for the system include Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, Need for Speed: Rivals, and more. It will retail for $399.
The company has some last minute games to announce, but won't be doing so until the console gets a bit of its own "midnight madness." The night before it launches, at 11pm EST, GameTrailers TV is hosing a PS4 All Access event, with Sony set to take center stage with some world premieres for titles that have not yet been formally announced in a blaze of last minute hype for the console finally releases. So it's got that going for it, which is nice.
Be sure to keep checking back with Gamenguide for more of the latest updates.