So how’s about that PlayStation 4 announcement. My apologies for the kind of lunacy that came through in my initial thoughts. I was excited and having internet troubles. Having about a week now to process the event, I have a little bit different view on the device. First, where was the hardware? It’s not that big of a deal, it’s clearly running, but I like to see the physical design. It helps to know some idea of the dimensions. Second, if I don’t care about social media, not only is the Share button kind of meaningless but is there anything really new for me? It’s a safe bet that most of our questions will be answered at E3, including hard drive sizes, SKUs, prices, etc. My predictions is that we likely won’t see a hard drive smaller than 500GB. We might see one as big as two terabytes, but I’m doubtful. There’s an idea that Sony might release a discount system with no hard drive that’s open for customers to add their own external media in any size they like. Seems unlikely, but it would be useful for certain consumers.
In the aftermath of the event we’ve also gotten a little more detail on the DualShock 4 and new PlayStation Eye. The DS4 measures 162mm wide x 52mm tall x 98mm deep. It weighs around 210 grams. In contrast, the DS3 is 160mm x 55mm x 97mm and 192 grams. Contrary to my first indication, the Start and Select buttons do seem to gone. In their place is a monospeaker, a two-point touch pad, a Share button, and an Options button. It also features six-axis motion control, a headset jack, and a light bar presumably used in conjunction with the new Eye. Very little is known about the new Eye, but it does seem to borrowing from the Kinect’s profile.
It’s also worth noting that Sony will not be following Nintendo’s example of utilizing your existing controllers with their new toy. The DualShock 3 will not be compatible with PS4 in any way. During the press event, Media Molecule did display Move controllers working with the new console. Shuhei Yoshida stated explicitly that PS4 won’t “support DualShock 3 but it does support PS Move.” When pressed about whether other Bluetooth enabled devices, such as headsets, would make the jump to next-gen a PR rep interrupted with a standard “I don’t think we’re addressing additional peripheral support at this time.” To which Yoshida responded, “That doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t work.” Curious.
The PS4 will not require an always-on internet connection according to Shuhei Yoshida. “Yes, you can go offline totally. Social is big for us, but we understand there are some people who are anti-social! So if you don’t want to connect to anyone else, you can do that.” He also elaborated on a few reasons why you may want to stay connected, “The system has the low-power mode – I don’t know the official term – that the main system is shut down but the subsystem is awake. Downloading or updating or you can wake it up using either the tablet, smartphone or PS Vita.”
Another major concern for next-gen is backwards compatibility. As most console manufacturers can attest, the feature is in high demand but low use. In the first stages of a new console, when the game library is small, this allows players to continue using the new device with older games. But very few people actually take advantage of it. As explained at the press event, the PS4 will not have backwards compatibility built in, but the future of Gaikai’s technology is such that any PlayStation game from any era may eventually be playable on the system via streaming. But what about PSN games?
Personally, I don’t like to think about how much money I’ve spent on PSN content over the last few years. Sure, way too much of that was extra content for Rock Band, but I’ve also purchased a lot of classic games, HD remakes (Super Puzzle Fighter), time wasters (Peggle), and a huge amount of content from PS Plus. Surely that will transfer, right? No! This comes once again from Shuhei Yoshida. But, it sort of makes sense. PS3 era content is designed to run on the system’s unique cell processor. PS4’s architecture is much more similar to a PC. The tech just isn’t compatible. Although Sony does say they will attempt to make older games playable on the system “in some form.” Again, this is probably related to their ownership of Gaikai.
The lack of backwards compatibility for physical and digital media is a bit of a blow to Sony die-hards. It has taken some of the wind out of my sails. However, the official line on PS Plus is that it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. So I would expect we’ll see more information about how that will incorporate into the next-gen, but it’s doubtful to come anytime soon. The next big step for the PS4 is expected to be E3 in June. Stay tuned for more information until then.
[Update: According to Shuhei Yoshida speaking with the PlayStation Blogcast, the PS4 will come bundled with a head set. The PS4 will also feature cross-game chat for the first time.]