In yesterday’s press conference, Sony introduced the PlayStation 4 console that pretty much everyone was expecting it to. The PS4 will use commodity PC hardware, will have a DualShock controller incorporating Move and a PS Vita-style touchpad, and will have built-in social and sharing features.
Also, games. Lots of them, including sequels to its Infamous and Killzone. And an upcoming streaming service that may possibly let you somehow play older PlayStation games. That’s about all we know, and most of it we’ve already heard through online rumors and leaks. Possibly the biggest surprise is that it’s going to be called the PlayStation 4, despite the cultural taboo around the number four in Japan.
Here’s what we still don’t know, and what we don’t even know when Sony will reveal:
What the PS4 looks like
The new hybrid controller was shown onstage, but there was neither hide nor hair of the PlayStation 4 itself, or any visible sign that it was the machine that was actually powering the game demos.
Whether it will be able to play used games
You already can’t loan or resell games that you buy digitally, on the PlayStation Network. But long-running rumors about Sony and Microsoft’s upcoming consoles say that they’ll somehow lock even game disc purchases to the original buyer (Microsoft recently filed a patent for a way to use the Kinect camera for this). Sony did nothing to address or dispel this rumor.
Whether Sony expects any women to buy the PlayStation 4
As Kotaku’s Patricia Hernandez points out: If it does, you wouldn’t have known it from the all-guy group of presenters that Sony brought on stage (or the sexist ads Sony ran for the PS Vita in France).
How much it will cost and what the release date will be
The PlayStation 4 is rumored to cost $ 399, but Sony’s representatives quoted no price, and gave no release date beyond saying it’d be during the holidays this year.
Whether the PS Vita will see a price drop in North America
Sony’s presentation made it clear that its handheld console, the PS Vita, can now be thought of as an accessory to its larger PlayStation consoles, a feature the PlayStation 3 has already taken partial advantage of. However, while it announced a price drop of about $ 50 in the Japanese market, Sony said nothing about its North American pricing being changed.
What a “dynamic preference-driven path through the world of content” is
This line was uttered at the press conference by “Sony big cheese” Mark Cerny, according to the liveblogging team at The Guardian. The English translation seems to be “it lets you choose what games you want to play or videos you want to watch,” and Sony big cheeses like Cerny apparently feel that the PS4 does this better than other game consoles.
Whether Sony’s customers agree — especially its female ones — remains to be seen.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Here’s What We Still Don’t Know About the PlayStation 4 (Hint: A Lot)
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Here’s What We Still Don’t Know About the PlayStation 4 (Hint: A Lot)
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Here’s What We Still Don’t Know About the PlayStation 4 (Hint: A Lot)
