There has never been a better time to be a gaming console fan as we move closer towards the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release. Excitement levels were once again raised through the roof with the recent confirmation of the PS4 release date in Europe and the US. Not wanting to let adrenaline and interest die down at this early stage, the PS4 announcement train is back, this time to inform us that we will be stepping away from the single option of black monotone controllers in favor of offering stunning red and blue variants that will surely be popular with those who want to inject a bit of personality into their gaming.
Microsoft has dominated the headlines over the past couple of weeks with its very public preparations for the launch of the Xbox One. But the present days are all about Sony and the PlayStation 4, though, and as well as announcing the PS4 release date, the Japanese company has taken the opportunity at Cologne-based Gamescom to announce some interesting news regarding the all-important initial titles. There will be no fewer than 33 games available for the next-gen machine by the year's close, and although the sum total doesn't quite match the number of titles available for the Xbox One, there's still plenty of variety therein.
Although the PlayStation 4 remained rather elusive for a period of time following its February launch ceremony, we have now seen enough videos and images of the console to gather a rough idea of its size. With that said, it's always nice to try and get a sense of perspective, particularly given how soon Sony's next games machine will be hitting the market, and as the folks of IGN have shown in a rather entertaining clip, it's certainly not going to command as much of your precious shelf space as you might have thought.
When you stack up the graphics prowess of the PlayStation 4 against the Xbox One, there's no doubt that the Sony console is reflected favorably, but as we know, there's a great deal of difference between the on-paper checklist and real world gaming. The PlayStation 4, overall, offers around 50 percent more GPU power than its Redmond counterpart, you can't really draw any firm conclusions from these figures alone. Eurogamer, in collaboration with Digital Foundry, has sought to compare the two unreleased machines by mocking them up using parts similar to those announced, offering a relatively strong idea of what we can expect from each.
As lead architects of pivotal tech gadgets go, it's fair to point out that Sony's Mark Cerny is a bit of a maverick. Far from being a fusty, out-of-touch droid, he's a gamer to the core, and at this week's Gamelab in Barcelona, told a refreshingly candid tale of his career from the days of working at Atari aged 17 to being the key figure in the development of the PlayStation 4.
Sony has gone to great lengths to gatecrash the Xbox One launch event by showcasing its PlayStation 4 right atop the ceremonious entrance of the next-gen Microsoft console, and to further push the PS4 envelope, the Japanese electronics giant has just introduced a new video showing off some of the machine's features. Included in the new clip are some glimpses of the next-gen user interface, a look into how the so-called video sharing feature will work, as well as insight into game downloads. Check out the details, as well as the video, after the jump.
When a rumor takes hold prior to a big announcement, a few utterances can often escalate into pure scaremongering, and in the run-up to the grand unveiling of the next-gen games consoles, many had feared we were moving towards a generation of so-called 'always on' connections being a prerequisite for enjoying any game. Suffice to say, Sony has stepped out and confirmed that gamers can happily enjoy games without an Internet connection, and what's more, used titles can be played without any fuss.
Retail price of both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have been confirmed by their respective manufacturers. Here are all the details.
Now that Xbox One has been announced, and naturally, immediate comparisons are already being drawn between it and the PlayStation 4 of Sony. Since we’re still a long way from seeing either of these two titans hit the market, it’s impossible to begin to compare the two up against each other in terms of performance, but taking into consideration the hardware specs of each, we can at least gauge a rough idea of how these two significant machines stand up to one another. Here, we’re going to use what information we already know to compare the hardware and features of each, and although this won’t be indicative of anything beyond mere reference, it does set the ball rolling.
Historically, PC gamers have lauded it over their console playing counterparts, claiming that their hugely expensive graphics cards are light-years ahead of the latest and greatest console hardware. It's the way it's always been, and it's made it possible for some truly impressive PC gaming graphics.
