On Feb. 20, Sony revealed hardware specs and gameplay footage for its new product, the
Playstation 4. This event was heavily anticipated amongst gamers all across the world and Sony
delivered.
With everything that Sony revealed, the question was if they are going about things better than
they did seven years ago with the PS3, and if this console will have the makings to become the next
generation gold standard for video gaming?
Watching the press conference, I immediately noticed that Sony was done with heavily
emphasizing the hardware specs and other side features (even though it still was mentioned). It was all
about the games, and as a gamer for 16 years, that was what was most important to me.
Sony unveiled games including Killzone 4, Infamous: Second Son, and Watch Dogs, all which
looked very impressive. I was concerned a bit however with the graphical properties. As I watched the
gameplay footage shown by Sony, it just seemed that the leap from Playstation 3 to 4 so far hasn’t been
blowing away minds with their visuals.
That said, with the many hardware upgrades including an 8 core AMD processor, you would
expect Sony to blow your head off with how great their games looked. All I could think about when I was
watching the gameplay clips Sony had put together was how similar of a level it was on with the
Playstation 3.
So what does this do for the future of the eighth generation of gaming? I’ll say this: a lot of
people are going to be holding onto their almost-as-capable PS3s until we start to see the initial bugs
worked out and maybe a price cut.
The future of gaming consoles will inevitably be tied to PCs. In recent years, we’ve been able to
see this evolution, evidenced by the sixth generation’s implementing of DVDs and the seventh including
computer components like processors and hard drives for saving.
During Sony’s unveiling, they shared that the PS4 will have an 8 core processor, a separate CPU
chip for downloading/uploading and 8 GB of GDDR5 memory. Is this approach the best suit to handle
the future of gaming? It’s the only way gaming consoles can compete with the all mighty gaming PC.
Sony does seem to have a good handle on what they want to do with the system and how they want to
integrate its features into everyday life via its new social network.
Can this type of system actually thrive? In my opinion it can and will.
In today’s society, nobody is without their smart phones and tablets. We live in a world where
sociability is engraved in everything we do. Taking pictures and sharing them on the Internet, along with
videos, has started to become how individuals tell the story of the human experience.
Playstation has jumped into that boat by not just allowing you to access Facebook through the
built in web browser, but by allowing you to share any game footage you’ve played through with the
push of a button and upload it to participating servers. Sony is making video gaming part of that social
human experience by using the internet as its medium. I believe that the combination of Sony’s social
features along with its hardware and software will leave Sony yet again with the crown of gaming that it
once possessed long ago with the Playstation 2.
Thomas Kaufman can be reached by email at kaufman.record@live.com.