Official PlayStation 4 Thread

[Swarley]

How is blu ray going to work on the new Xbox? Do they have to pay Royalties or something? Didn't Sony create the blu-ray?

Sony was the first to release a Blu-ray player, but they didn't create the technology.

[KNUBB]

Sony was the first to release a Blu-ray player, but they didn't create the technology.

Actually Sony and Pioneer collaborated in the creation of the blu ray

[padman59]

I believe Microsoft has to license the technology, and presumably some of that money goes to Sony since they helped develop blu ray and belong to the Blu-ray Disc Association.

[Swarley]

Actually Sony and Pioneer collaborated in the creation of the blu ray

Well yeah. I was basically just making it short and sweet in saying that Blu-ray isn't directly owned by Sony.

[Swarley]

Sony to let Microsoft make the first move

You may have noticed that there are lots of rumours flying about regarding next-gen consoles. No one knows definitely when Microsoft and Sony will unveil their successors to the current Xbox and PlayStation, but Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai has said that it will let Microsoft make the first move.

In the Business section of The Times today, Hirai said, "Why go first, when your competitors can look at your specifications and come up with something better?"

With Nintendo already out the next-gen blocks with the Wii U, can Sony hold its bottle until the Microsoft announces? Surely his comments are slightly disingenuous, since there would be relatively little scope for changing the specs of the PlayStation this late in its development cycle. It's more likely that the additional time would be use to adjust the messaging surrounding the announcement.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/21/ps4-sony-will-let-microsoft-make-first-move

[IamMedellin]

isnt that what happened last time Sony?

what's that old line about people not learning from history being doomed to repeat it....

[Swarley]

isnt that what happened last time Sony?

what's that old line about people not learning from history being doomed to repeat it....

That was my thought, but then again, there's no real harm in letting the other announce first as long as they make sure the system drops this fall.

[KNUBB]

isnt that what happened last time Sony?

what's that old line about people not learning from history being doomed to repeat it....

Announcing 1st and releasing 1st are two separate things.

[IamMedellin]

Announcing 1st and releasing 1st are two separate things.

true but by the Sony Head's reasoning of "Why go first, when your competitors can look at your specifications and come up with something better?" you would think that if Sony applied this mindset..then coming up with something better might delay release just a bit...

:puft:

[Swarley]

The PlayStation 4 Has A New Controller, Fancy User Accounts And Impressive Specs (So Far)

Last March, we gave you an early look at how the PlayStation 4—code-named Orbis—was shaping up. Nearly a year later, we're about to bring you a clearer, more timely update, including new technical specs and information on an upgrade to Sony's traditional controller design.
The information you're about to read comes from official Orbis documentation, a hive of more than 90 PDFs about the forthcoming console. The details of the files were shared with Kotaku by an individual known as SuperDae, the same person who last year attempted to sell a pair of next-gen Xbox development kits on eBay.

What follows won't tell you when the PS4/Orbis is coming out or even what it's destined to be called. Our best sources are mixed on whether the new Sony console will be out late this year, to match the expected launch of the next-generation Xbox, or whether Sony will wait until 2014. What you will learn about below are some of the guts of the console (as they stand for now, at least) and how it works. Some of those details were familiar, matching things we'd heard before; others were new and refreshingly specific.

SPECS

We'll begin with the specs. And before we go any further, know that these are current specs for a PS4 development kit, not the final retail console itself. So while the general gist of the things you see here may be similar to what makes it into the actual commercial hardware, there's every chance some—if not all of it—changes, if only slightly.

That being the case, here's what we know is inside PS4 development kits—model # DVKT-KS000K—as of January 2013. As you'll see, some things have changed since earlier kits became available in March 2012.

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

If you think the HDD is small, remember, these are the specs for a machine that developers are using to make games on, not the console you'll own and be storing media on. And don't worry about having two ethernet ports; as this is a dev kit, one is there for local sharing/testing purposes.

Interestingly, while some of these specs (such as the 8x core CPU) match with those reported by Digital Foundry only a few days ago, others like the RAM (DF reported 4GB of GDDR5, while we've heard 8GB) differ.

We've learned there's a headphone jack on the front of the console, but it's unclear whether that's just for dev kits or is an intended feature of the final retail console.

CONTROLLER



Ever since the release of the original PlayStation, Sony has maintained roughly the same basic controller design. This trend may be continuing with the PS4, because we've learned that developers are working with—and dev kits support—both the Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controller. This suggests that, for the most part, the design and capabilities of the PS4's controller will be similar to those on the PS3. The documentation also shows a Move controller, suggesting Sony's Wii-style motion wand will work with the new console.

There is a new controller in development for the PS4, though, known internally as the Orbis Development Tool, and while it keeps many of the same features as the current pads—like the four iconic PlayStation face buttons, two thumbsticks and shoulder triggers—there's one key addition.

British site CVG speculated last week that, because they'd heard the PS4's controller was "trying to emulate the same user interface philosophies as the PS Vita", that meant it would feature a touch screen. Instead, the Orbis' controller features a capacitive touch pad, like you find on the back of a Vita (presumably it's also on the back of the PS4's controller), that can recognise two-point multi-touch. The entire pad can also be "clicked" for an additional input button.

The PS4's controller will again be capable of motion-sensing, like its PS3 predecessors, only now with improved technology like tilt correction. It will also feature vibration, which Sony has thankfully learned is a next-gen feature you need to launch with. It'll also have an RGB LED light in it.

While there have been reports of the PS4 controller featuring "biometric" technology, there was no mention of it in the information we were provided.

There's one other addition to the PS4's pad you won't find on a DualShock 3: a "Share" button. We're not exactly sure what it does. The most likely use would be to allow users to share some aspect of their gaming experience to Twitter or Facebook. Maybe a screenshot? We have no idea. But that Share button might have something to do with...

ACCOUNTS



Sony is trying to change the way you think about user accounts with the PS4. As it stands now, and this applies to all current consoles (and the Wii U), when you log in, you log in as a single user. With Orbis, Sony is moving the place of "ownership" away from the console, with something it calls "multi-user simultaneous logins."

Which means that the PS4 will let more than one person be logged into the same system at the same time. It achieves this by linking control pads to user accounts; as each new controller syncs with the system, that player's account can be logged in as well. Accounts won't be "locked" to a controller; you'll simply be prompted to sign in to an account every time an extra pad is connected to the console.

One application we learned about for this feature would be that, were four players in a co-op battle able to defeat a boss, then all four would receive trophies.

We only learned of this feature in relation to local accounts stored on the console itself. It's unclear whether you'd also be able to do this via the PlayStation Network if you were playing online.

——

That's it for now. Remember, none of this information is confirmed, and even the information that is locked down in January 2013 may change before the console's eventual release, which is likely not for at least another nine months, at minimum. This is just what we've been told Sony is working on and planning for as of today. That being the case, how do you think it's shaping up?

http://kotaku.com/5977849/the-playstation-4-has-a-new-controller-fancy-user-accounts-and-impressive-specs-so-far?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Twitter&utm_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow

[Swarley]

So with the PS4 reveal looming, some IGN guys go over the list of all the Sony studios and what they think each one is currently working on...

[Handleit_44]

ORBIS Devkits Roadmap/Types

1) R10 boards with special BIOS, running in generic PC’s

2) “Initial 1″ — Early devkit

model number: DVKT-KS000K
SCE-provided PC equipped with R10XX board
Runs Orbis OS
Available July 2012

3) SoC Based Devkit: early version of the ORBIS hardware

Available January 2013

R10 Board (with special BIOS) assemble in a Generic PC

Requires Windows 7 64 bit edition
Recommend
Sandy Bridge (Intel) or Bulldozer (AMD)
Minimum 8 GB RAM (system memory)
650 Watt PSU
VS2010 SP1
DWM (Desktop Windows Manager) must be turned off
Application will use Windows services for everything except GPU interface
SCE will provide “Gnm”, a custom GPU interface

DVKT-KS000K (“Initial 1″)

Runs Orbis OS
CPU: Bulldozer 8-core, 1.6 Ghz
Graphics Card: R10 with special BIOS
RAM: 8 GB (system memory)
BD Drive
HDD: 2.5 ” 160 GB
Network Controller
Custom South Bridge allows access to controller prototypes



SoC Based Devkit

Available January 2013
CPU: 8-core Jaguar
GPU: Liverpool GPU
RAM: unified 8 GB for devkit (4 GB for the retail console)
Subsystem: HDD, Network Controller, BD Drive, Bluetooth Controller, WLAN and HDMI (up to 1980×1080@3D)
Analog Outputs: Audio, Composite Video
Connection to Host: USB 3.0 (targeting over 200 MB/s),
ORBIS Dualshock
Dual Camera


The last devkit is the closer one to the retail console. Expect a machine with these specs or similar to these ones. Obviously, Sony could introduce changes in these features, but don’t expect deep mods.

[Handleit_44]

[Swarley]

Seriously, 6pm EST on 2/20 can't get here soon enough.

[Swarley]

4 hours since Handle posted the video and I'm the only one to respond? Nobody else is excited for this press conference?

Come on, VSN...