It’s almost here. Sony’s PS4 is nearly in our greedy, clammy hands. With all the hype that’s been generated over the course of the past year regarding both Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen console offerings, there has been an impossibly large stream of news that has continuously flowed our way detailing everything and anything there is to know about the consoles. So much news, in fact, that it’s been difficult to remember all of it.
To help jog your memory, we’ve put together a list of everything you should know about the PS4, including its specs, launch library, its potential storage problems, and its 2014 games line-up.
Check out the gallery below to get the low-down on the PS4.
PS4 Buyer's Guide
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What you'll get on day one...
Inside the PS4 is a single-chip x86-64 AMD Jaguar 8-core processor, 8GB of GDDR5 RAM.and a 1.84 teraflops AMD Radeon graphics engine. To summarise, that means it'll be the most powerful home console ever, and will run native 1080p (super-pretty high-definition visuals) at 60fps.
In terms of exclusive games, the PS4's launch is lacking when compared with the Xbox One, with Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack being the only notable Sony first-part titles. Its multi-platform titles include the likes of Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Assassin's Creed 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts bolster its launch.
The PS4 will have 500GB hard drive for storage, but considering that Killzone will require a mandatory 40GB install, expect this hard drive to fill up quite quickly. Sony has said that these hard drives will be swappable, which could prove to become a pain in the future, and haven't made any announcement in regards to whether or not they'll release another model of the console with a larger hard drive in the future.
Like its predecessor, the PS4 will play blu-rays, and its powerful graphics engine also means that photos and home movies will be viewable in Ultra High Definition. It's not been confirmed whether or not UHD will be available for other video content, though this could be a possibility in the future.
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The PS4 in 2014
While console launches are notoriously slow, early adopters of the PS4 will likely be looking to 2014 to see what games they can expect to get their hands on next year.
The biggest games in the PS4's near future are as follows:
- Infamous: Second Son (February 2014)
- Driveclub (Q1 2014)
- Daylight (Q1 2014)
- Watch Dogs (Q2 2014)
- The Witness (Q2 2014)
- Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Q2 2014)
- The Elder Scrolls Online (Q2 2014)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition (Q3 2014)
- The Order: 1886 (TBA 2014)
- Final Fantasy XV (TBA 2014)
- Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (TBA 2014)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (TBA 2014)
- The Evil Within (TBA 2014)
- Tom Clancy's The Division (TBA 2014)
- The Witcher 3: WIld Hunt (TBA 2014)
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What you get with PlayStation Plus...
Unlike the PS3, if you want to play your PS4 games online a PlayStation Plus subscription will be required. While there have been many who have bemoaned Sony going down this route, PS Plus on the PS3 offered enough value for money to warrant its price point, which was in line with that of Xbox Live's, with its plethora of free games and exclusive deals.
PS Plus on the PS4 will be the same price, and will continue to offer free access to digital games, starting with Resogun and Contrast. The majority of apps such as BBC iPlayer and the like will be free to use without a PS Plus account, while subscription services such as Netflix will require an additional monthly fee.
PS Plus subscribers will be able to download game patches while the console is on standby, meaning that your console can discreetly power up in the middle of the night and perform its updates ready for you in the morning. Being subscribed to PS Plus on a console will also allow anyone who plays on that console to also play online, meaning that your housemate will still be able to join in on a game of Killzone with you even if they aren't a member themselves.
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Compatibility
Annoyingly, the PS4 won't be backwards compatible with any PS3 games, though there are plans to offer gamers a server-side emulation of PS3 games, along with streaming PS3, PS2 and PS One games. No date has given for when this feature is expected to arrive.
The PS4 will share remote compatibility with the PS Vita, which means that if you're in the middle of a game but on your PS4 but have to leave, you can transfer it over onto your Vita and continue playing on the small screen, similarly to how the Wii U's GamePad works only, y'know, you can actually leave your house.
Considering the Vita is currently underperforming in terms of sales, Sony will be hoping that this feature helps boosts its popularity.
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A live user interface
The PSN's live user interface enables you to see what your friends are up to in the games they're playing, and jump in to lend them a hand. Gamers can share messages requesting help from their friends on particularly difficult parts of a game, or simply share their experiences with each other via recording and uploading gameplay footage as and when it's happening.
