At the E3 conference, Sony finally announced that the Play Station 4 is going to be priced at $399 (Rs 23,300 approx). This could be a direct hit for the Xbox One that’s launching in November with a price tag of $499 price (Rs 28,900 approx).
For the £350 asking price you’ll get the Playstation 4 console complete with a 500GB hard drive, built-in Blu-ray drive and the brand new Sony PS4 controller effectively pricing Xbox One’s Kinect sensor at $100.
The company had earlier announced that the PS4 would have no restrictions on used games with its console. This is another marked difference from the Xbox One, as reported earlier, because Microsoft has been quite clear on its stand on used games.
These moves are a clear strategy by Sony to get ahead of Microsoft in the market. The $100 difference will definitely be a major point that will factor into any console buyer's mind. And being able to play your old games will definitely be another point on any gamer's mind. The backwards comaptibility in the PlayStation 4 isn't handled by the console itself. Rather, it will be streamed to players through Sony's cloud gaming service Gaikai.
The console, according to SCEA president and CEO Jack Tretton, the console will not contain any authentication requirements; no “always online” and no “stopping” if you have not authenticated in 24 hours.
PlayStation Plus carries over PS4 and while you can still play all your single-player games, you will need a Plus membership to play online multiplayer games.
The new console, shown off at the company’s press conference at E3 in Los Angeles looks to be slim and thin, a vast contrast to Microsoft’s large and bulky Xbox One console.
“It is sleek and visually impactful wherever you put it.” Anthony House, head of Sony Computer Entertainment said as he revealed the new console to the packed stadium.
Keeping with the black and blue colour scheme the console will be able to be sat vertically and horizontally on your shelf.
Sony began by talking about its existing hardware: The PlayStation 3 and the handheld PS Vita. However, no hardware refresh was announced for either device.
“Vita is just beginning its life cycle,” Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Jack Tretton said, noting that the Vita will be the “ultimate companion device” to the PlayStation 4.
Despite the lack of new hardware, Sony did show off a slew of big-ticket new games that will work on the PS3, including Batman: Arkham Origins and Grand Theft Auto V.
PS 4 Specs:
Main processor
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Single-chip custom processor
CPU: low power x86-64 AMD "Jaguar", 8 cores
GPU: 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD RadeonTM Graphics Core Next engine
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Memory
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GDDR5 8GB
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Hard Disk Drive
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Built-in 500 GB ( upgarable )
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Optical Drive
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BD 6xCAV
DVD 8xCAV
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I/O
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Super-Speed USB (USB 3.0), AUX
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Communication
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Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth® 2.1 (EDR)
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AV Output
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HDMI
Digital Output (optical)
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Dual shock controller: