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In a February 2013 press event Sony chose to finally reveal it's all new Playstation 4 gaming console to the world.

After 7 years in the making, we can finally see what the future of console gaming looks like.

While it didnt show the actual PS4 box itself they did reveal quite a lot of details about what the console is capable of and some of the new games we can expect on it at launch.

*E3 UPDATE: Sony revealed at the E3 conference the new console design. See below what the new Sony Playstation 4 looks like. *

Technical Details

The Sony PS4, as announced, will contain an AMD Jaguar CPU complete with 8 cores.

Moving away from the cell architecture of the PS3 and starting again with a more industry standard approach.

AMD had this to say about the announcement...

Sony gave a sneak-peek at its next-generation PlayStation®4 (PS4™) game console coming later this year and, here at AMD, we couldn't be more excited. Bringing a supercharged PC architecture that combines next-gen hardware, software, and the fastest game network in the world. This is all powered by a semi-custom designed AMD accelerated processing unit (APU) jointly developed in coordination with Sony!  In fact, the PS4 is the first announced design win based on semi-custom AMD APUs. This further demonstrates our commitment to take AMD technology into adjacent high growth markets as we diversify beyond the PC. What exactly is a semi-custom APU? Let me elaborate:  At the most basic level, an APU is a single chip that combines general-purpose x86 central processing unit (CPU) cores (in this case, 64-bit x86) with a graphics processing unit (GPU) and a variety of system elements, including memory controllers, specialised video decoders, display outputs, etc. Our semi-custom solutions take the same treasure trove of graphics; compute and multi-media IP found in our APUs, and customise them for customers who have a very specific high-volume product that could benefit from AMD’s leading-edge technologies. In the case of the PS4, we leveraged the building blocks of our 2013 product roadmap – the same technologies you find in the latest AMD APUs powering PCs, ultrathin notebooks and tablets – to create a solution that incorporates our upcoming, low-power  AMD “Jaguar” CPU cores with next-generation AMD Radeon™ graphics delivering nearly 2 TFLOPS of compute performance! This unique APU architecture enables game developers to easily harness the power of parallel processing to fundamentally change the console gaming experience. Not only creating the opportunity for new possibilities in software design, but also faster and more fluid graphics.  This is going to be a very exciting year for gamers, especially for those with AMD hardware in their PCs and consoles, as we have even more game-changing (pun intended) announcements still to come.  Look for some more exciting things happening at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March when we will provide even more info on how we are working with game developers to make AMD the hardware of choice for running the best games! John Taylor is the Vice President of Global Communications and Industry Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites, and references to third party trademarks, are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only.  Unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of AMD or any of its products is implied. John Taylor - VP of Global Communications and Industry Marketing at AMD

Sony made it clear that details of the console may change before the actual release of the console later this year.

Having said that, they told us that the PS4 console currently contains a massive 8 Gigs of powerful GDDR5 RAM memory.

This eclipses the memory of the PS3 by a long shot! The PS3 has 256 MB system and 256 MB video (total of 512MB!)

When asked if the Playstation 4 would support 4K output, the official answer is that "the PS4 supports 4K output for personal content, like photos or videos. Not games, PS4 games do not work on 4K."

However,  it's possible a future firmware update may enable the PS4 to output games in 4K resolution several years down the road if/when 4K TVs takes off, similar to the way stereoscopic 3D was enabled on the PS3.

You can see an overview of the current PS4 specs below.

The PS4 DUALSHOCK 4 Controller

DUALSHOCK 4 Controller for Sony Playstation 4

The new PS4 Dualshock 4 Controller sports the following new features:

The new PS4 Dualshock specs:

The Playstation 4 Camera

Sony have said that every Playstation 4 will come with a mono headset and a camera.

*E3 UPDATE: This bundling of hardware was not mentioned at Sony's E3 conference, therefore it would seem it is no longer the case for the PS4. UPDATE: Playstation Eye 4 to be sold seperately for approx AUD$80 *

Here are the PS4 camera specs:

Sony Playstation 4 Highlights

Here is some more details currently promoted for the PS4 system:

• PS4 promises games that can be experienced whenever, wherever and however you want, thanks to a system specially built to cater to the needs of the best developers in the world.
• You'll be able to play digital titles as they download from PlayStation Store, and update PS4 even when it is switched off.
• Immediately pick up any saved game where you left off – the "suspend mode" of PS4 gets rid of loading times and lets you carry on by simply pressing the power button.
• Gaikai technology will let you instantly try out sections of any game that catches your eye on PlayStation Store.
• Check out what your friends are up to and see the games, TV shows, movies and music recommended especially for you on the newly designed PS4 menu screen.
• Broadcast as you play via Ustream. If you get stuck, your mates can join in to help you or offer comments in real time.
• You can use a variety of applications, such as a web browser, while you play a game.
• Your favourite PS4 games will be playable on PlayStation Vita via Wi-Fi with Remote Play.
• Meanwhile, the new PlayStation App lets you turn your smartphone into a second screen – for example, to let you view a map or see how a friend is tackling the same part of a game

PS4 Interface Screen Shots

 



The Playstation 4 features a new clean blue interface with some focus on games, social, friends, streaming and removing the previous XMB design.

The rear view of the Sony Playstation 4 console showing connectivity.

PS4 Tools & Middleware Developer Support

SCE has announced that the following middleware companies have their innovative technology solutions available right now to support PlayStation®4 developers (as of February 20th, 2013 ):

The packaging imagery from Sony Australia showing the PS4 comes with 500GB HDD storage

 It is also asumed that they will continue some of their more popular franchises such as SingStar and Buzz as well as the highly succesful and popular MMO Playstation Home on PS4.

Cheapest Playstation 4 Australia

We will be monitoring the Sony Playstation 4 release date in Australia and post it as information comes in. Sony have detailed the Australian release date only as "holiday season 2013" so far.

We will also be actively monitoring the Playstation 4 price in Australia.

We will be listing the cheapest way for you to get the new Sony Playstation 4 in Australia.

We will be monitoring the online prices as well as store prices for the PS4 throughout Australia.

*E3 UPDATE: Sony revealed at the E3 conference the new console price. Sony Australia have set the RRP for the Sony Playstation 4 in Australia at AUD$549. So you are looking for a price for the PS3 that beats that! *