November 15 - That
was the day Sony unleashed the PlayStation 4, the long-awaited follow up to the
company's PlayStation 3, a machine that debuted all the way back in 2006. The
road leading up to launch has been tedious and bloodied by an intense rivalry
with Microsoft's Xbox One, which was due exactly one week
later.
Despite its
smallish size, at least compared with an Xbox One - the PS4 packs a lot of
power under the hood. The box is 2 inches high by 11 inches wide by 12 inches
deep, weighs about 9 pounds, and packs in 8GB of DDR5 RAM. The CPU is a
low-power x86-64 "Jaguar" eight-core chip, and the graphics are
powered by a 1.84 TFLOP AMD Radeon "next engine." The fine print may
not impress the layperson, but suffice it to say, the PS4's innards are in line
with a mid-to high-end gaming PC. Like previous PlayStations before it, the
PS4's 500GB hard-disk drive is user replaceable (a standard SATA laptop hard
drive or SSD will work), something I'm thrilled Sony has decided to keep
intact. That 500GB may seem like more than enough storage, but with game sizes
beginning to flirt with 50GB apiece, that might not cut it a few years down the
road. The PS4 boasts a striking angular design with a modestly low profile. The
front end angles toward the user, sleekly hiding two USB 3.0 slots to the right
and a slot-loading 6x Blu-ray drive to the left. Between these two ports are
touch-sensitive power and eject buttons that give off familiar PS3 beeps when
activated.
Around back of
the PS4 are four simple interfaces in addition to a standard power connect --
the same size plug each PlayStation in the past has adorned. From left to right
there's an optical audio, HDMI, Ethernet, and auxiliary port, which is used for
the optional PlayStation Camera. Note that the PS4 must be connected to an HDTV
with an HDMI input; there are no analog (composite or component) outputs for
this PlayStation.The PS4 is equipped with wireless 802.11 b/g/n protocols (but
not 5Ghz nor the new 802.11ac standard) and also supports Bluetooth 2.1. That
said, Sony has indicated that most current Bluetooth peripherals including
headsets and older DualShock 3 PS3 controllers won't work with the PS4. The
main exception is the PlayStation Move if and when there's a PS4
game that's designed to work with it. The PS4 has two power off modes when not
in use. It can be turned completely off or it can be put into standby mode.
It's worth noting that the PS4 must be on or in standby mode to receive
automatic updates or be woken up remotely. The top surface of the PS4 is
one-third glossy and two-thirds matte black. Between these finishes is a slick
multicolor LED that glows amber in standby, white while powered on, and blue
when booting up. Unlike the Xbox One, which must rest horizontally, the PS4 can
be used vertically as well. Sony recommends using a dedicated stand for
vertical operation, but the PS4 seems to sit on its side just fine by itself. Included
inside every PlayStation 4 box is the console, power cord, a 6-foot HDMI cable
(finally!), a DualShock 4 controller, a Micro-USB cable (to charge the DualShock
4), and a monoaural earbud for online chat. (The earbud plugs directly into the
DualShock controller; you can alternately use any pair of headphones with a
standard 3.5mm plug.)
To conclude, the PlayStation 4 serves up dazzling graphics, runs on a simplified
and logical interface, and boasts a fantastic controller. It's also $100
cheaper than rival Xbox One and has the upper hand on indie and day one
digital-only offerings.
One lacking point for PS4 is that the triple-A
titles are lacking at launch, and the PS4 won't come close to matching its
predecessor's gaming or software library for months or possibly years. PS3
games aren't compatible, though Sony is hinting that its Gaikai game-streaming
service will open the door to retro gaming in 2014. The PS4 also has no DLNA
compatibility or media playback support which made its predecessor such a great
all-around content player.
The
PlayStation 4's beautiful graphics, blazing interface, and near-perfect
controller make it a worthy successor to the PS3, but it would be wise to wait
for more titles and features before you buy.
Source: PlayStation
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