Ahead of the Xbox One, Sony has unleashed the PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 is here, but as of this writing, PSN servers
have yet to go online. We're currently putting the system through our
rigorous review process, and will report back when we have the whole the
story. Until then, enjoy our updated hands on and keep checking back
for our full review.
The battle for the living room is a cold
war no more. Sony's PlayStation 4 is ready to go thermonuclear, hitting
North American retailers on November 15, and marching onto UK shelves
November 29. Housing some of the most powerful hardware ever to sit
before a television, Sony's new console is two sleek slabs of industrial
design fused together for one purpose: living room dominance. Since it was first announced at E3 2013, the PS4 has been in hot contention with Microsoft's Xbox One. When its rival stumbled with a now-reversed "always online" policy that had gamers fretting, Sony jumped at the chance to win hearts and minds and rack up pre-orders. Manufacturer
messaging aside, both systems have the same goal: to become your sole
source for movies, music, TV and gaming. After a hefty day one patch,
the PlayStation 4 will be begging for you to pack it to the gills with
streaming media apps and any of its twenty-two launch titles, which
range from mega-budget AAA titles to download-only indie darlings. At
$400/£349, PS4 is $100 cheaper than a $500/£429 Xbox One. Do note that
since every Xbox One is packaged with the new Kinect, you are getting
something extra for that hundred-dollar price difference. The
PlayStation Camera is sold separately for $59.99/£54.99. In
an ideal world, every gamer would get to have both. The two consoles
would share shelf space in living rooms worldwide, cats and dogs would
frolic together, Apple and Android fans would laugh off their
differences and everyone would have grown up with a pony. The
cold reality is that neither machine is cheap, and they're both vying
for the same spot in your entertainment center, your heart and your
budget. Even if you plan to eventually buy both, essential questions
remain: what can the PS4 do that the new Xbox cannot, and vice versa?
For the long and short of Sony's new system, read on, dear gamer, read
on.
Design
One look at the PS4 and you know you're seeing
Sony hardware. It's slim, sleek and jet black, roughly the size of a
second generation PS3.
The full measurements are 275 x 53 x 305 mm. It's a bit more compact
than an Xbox One, which is longer and taller at 274 x 79 x 333 mm. The
PS4 is 6.1 lbs, about two MacBook Airs heavy. In a feat of engineering
worth tipping your hat to, Sony has tucked the PS4's power supply inside
the system, leaving no external power brick to trip over. Microsoft's
system has held onto its power adapter, and weighs just a little bit
more, tipping the scales at 7 lbs. PS4
sports a sloped, asymmetrical design. That's its largest departure from
PlayStations past. It lies flat on its belly by default, but can go up
on its tiptoes with the help of a plastic stand, sold separately for
$14/£16.99. On its face is a slit of a mouth, a slot loading Blu-Ray disc drive free from the jutting and breakable disc tray of the Xbox 360. To its right are two powered USB 3.0 ports, which can charge your DualShock 4controllers when the system is turned off, a feature the PS3 sorely lacked. Along
the top, or the side if you've opted for the stand, is a light, which
glows blue when you boot it up. It breathes some life into the otherwise
cold industrial design of the system. Turn it on and it blinks a
yawning hello. Inside,
the PS4 is all business. It has a custom single-chip processor that
combines an eight core x86-64 AMD "Jaguar" CPU with a 1.84 teraflop GPU
based on AMD's Radeon technology. That's backed by 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, and
a 500GB mechanical hard drive. Sony
claims that the PS4's overall performance is ten times that of the PS3.
In an official FAQ, Sony also stated that the PS4's hard drive can be
removed with a little tinkering, and can be replaced with a larger
drive, or a solid-state drive for better performance. Sony says these do
it yourself upgrades will not void the system's warranty. Those
two USB ports are the PS4's only front facing connections. In the rear
you'll find HDMI, Ethernet, a digital optical audio out and a
proprietary auxiliary connection for the PlayStation Camera. For wireless connections, the PS4 uses 802.11 b/g/n for WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 for its wireless DualShock 4 controllers.
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