 "Touch-pad gaming")
The Sony PlayStation 4, aka PS4, goes on sale in India from Monday. If you've pre-booked Sony's latest gaming console, you probably know why you're spending Rs 39,990 on it. For the rest, here's a closer look at the newest console in town.
The PS4 is similar in size to the previous generation PlayStation 3 Slim and is small enough to fit in perfectly in the living room. And if you already own a PS3, you can use the same cables to connect the PS4 to the power socket and to your big-screen television. In case you've spent a bomb on a 4K TV, you're in luck. The PS4 outputs video in 4K.
If you're still wondering what kind of video the PS4 will throw at your TV, try this: watch the cut scenes from the game The Last of Us on the PS3, which had about 512MB of memory, and then see it on the PS4, which has 8GB of memory. If game designers make full use of the available memory, we're in for a visual treat.
A caveat: if you use your PS3 as a media server and use it to stream videos/music from your PC to your entertainment system, hang on to your old console. The PS4 is yet to incorporate support for such streaming and still doesn't support MP3s.
Another significant upgrade the PS4 comes with is its new controller, the Dual Shock 4. The Select and Start buttons from the Dual Shock 3, which came with the PS3, are replaced by the options and share buttons - yes you can share gameplay and videos and screenshots with your friends. The new sticks provide a better grip - their tops are recessed, like they are in the Xbox 360 controllers.
If you're a PlayStation Plus (PS Plus) member, you get to download some fabulous games such as Resogun, Contrast and Driveclub PS Plus Edition free of charge. And you need a subscription to play in multi-player mode - which also includes one GB of online storage.
But the most significant addition has been the touch pad on the controller, which really helps while navigating the new horizontal menu. It also has a speaker and a 3.5-mm jack for headphones. When it's turned on, a light glows at the back, to identify the player. The PS4 also charges the controller via its two front USB ports even when it's off - a feature its predecessor lacked. And it is also compatible with the PS3.
If you have the PS Vita, you can use the portable console as a controller, but both the PS4 and the Vita needs to be connected on the same Wi-Fi network. Also, one can finish a game you started playing on the PS4 on the Vita (using its display) in case guests arrive and you have to exit the living room in the middle of a boss battle. All this at the flick of a switch. One can also use the Vita as the second screen to make app purchases.
One can also use the free PlayStation app on an Android or iOS device to push a game to the PS4. The console can start downloading switch itself off after it finishes the job, after you tell it to do so remotely. The PS4 comes with a mechanical 500 GB user-replaceable drive.
Other games to look forward to include exclusives such as Knack and other big titles like Killzone: Shadow Fall, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, NBA 2K14, Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Need for Speed Rivals and NBA LIVE 14.
But what gamers can look forward to is Famous Second Son, a PS4 exclusive, set to release in March. The adventure game is about superhumans, feared by society, who are hunted down and caged by the Department of Unified Protection. The game is set in Seattle, and one plays as Delsin Rowe, with his new-found superhuman capabilities, as he takes on the department.
The PS4 isn't backward compatible with PS3 games yet and it's still early days for the console so the gaming library is thin, but with some games offering to carry over your PS3 trophies to your new console and many big ticket games in the pipeline this year, we're in for some exciting times.
The PS4 is similar in size to the previous generation PlayStation 3 Slim and is small enough to fit in perfectly in the living room. And if you already own a PS3, you can use the same cables to connect the PS4 to the power socket and to your big-screen television. In case you've spent a bomb on a 4K TV, you're in luck. The PS4 outputs video in 4K.
If you're still wondering what kind of video the PS4 will throw at your TV, try this: watch the cut scenes from the game The Last of Us on the PS3, which had about 512MB of memory, and then see it on the PS4, which has 8GB of memory. If game designers make full use of the available memory, we're in for a visual treat.
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Another significant upgrade the PS4 comes with is its new controller, the Dual Shock 4. The Select and Start buttons from the Dual Shock 3, which came with the PS3, are replaced by the options and share buttons - yes you can share gameplay and videos and screenshots with your friends. The new sticks provide a better grip - their tops are recessed, like they are in the Xbox 360 controllers.
If you're a PlayStation Plus (PS Plus) member, you get to download some fabulous games such as Resogun, Contrast and Driveclub PS Plus Edition free of charge. And you need a subscription to play in multi-player mode - which also includes one GB of online storage.
But the most significant addition has been the touch pad on the controller, which really helps while navigating the new horizontal menu. It also has a speaker and a 3.5-mm jack for headphones. When it's turned on, a light glows at the back, to identify the player. The PS4 also charges the controller via its two front USB ports even when it's off - a feature its predecessor lacked. And it is also compatible with the PS3.
If you have the PS Vita, you can use the portable console as a controller, but both the PS4 and the Vita needs to be connected on the same Wi-Fi network. Also, one can finish a game you started playing on the PS4 on the Vita (using its display) in case guests arrive and you have to exit the living room in the middle of a boss battle. All this at the flick of a switch. One can also use the Vita as the second screen to make app purchases.
One can also use the free PlayStation app on an Android or iOS device to push a game to the PS4. The console can start downloading switch itself off after it finishes the job, after you tell it to do so remotely. The PS4 comes with a mechanical 500 GB user-replaceable drive.
Other games to look forward to include exclusives such as Knack and other big titles like Killzone: Shadow Fall, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, NBA 2K14, Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Need for Speed Rivals and NBA LIVE 14.
But what gamers can look forward to is Famous Second Son, a PS4 exclusive, set to release in March. The adventure game is about superhumans, feared by society, who are hunted down and caged by the Department of Unified Protection. The game is set in Seattle, and one plays as Delsin Rowe, with his new-found superhuman capabilities, as he takes on the department.
The PS4 isn't backward compatible with PS3 games yet and it's still early days for the console so the gaming library is thin, but with some games offering to carry over your PS3 trophies to your new console and many big ticket games in the pipeline this year, we're in for some exciting times.