In case you haven’t heard, Sony is slated to unveil the PlayStation 4 tonight at 6 PM Eastern Time. Multiple outlets are reporting some advance details, and we’ll have a full rundown up on Techcitement this evening. In the meantime, here’s a cheat sheet of rumors everyone seems to agree upon.
IT MIGHT BE AVAILABLE BY CHRISTMAS
Sony supposedly intends to have the PS4 on the market in November, in time for the all-important Christmas shopping season. That’s a particularly interesting move if you recall that the PS3 was beaten to the market by the Xbox 360, allowing Microsoft to gain an early lead on Sony in terms of sales and user base. If the rumors are true, Sony seems eager not to make that same mistake twice.
THERE WILL BE TWO DIFFERENT MODELS AVAILABLE
One priced at $429 and one at $529. No word on what the different models might entail, although perhaps an included subscription to “premium” online services is included with the higher-end model. Speaking of which….
YOU CAN KISS YOUR FREE PLAYSTATION NETWORK SERVICE GOODBYE
Okay, okay, maybe not. But the word is that Sony will take a page from Microsoft’s Xbox Live playbook by separating its online service into multiple tiers. In fact, Kotaku quotes a source as saying that “most” online features will require a paid subscription. If you’re a fan of the current, free-to-use PSN model, that news kind of sucks.
IT WILL INTEGRATE WITH YOUR PHONE, TABLET, AND A BUNCH OF SOCIAL NETWORKS
Supposedly, you will be able to remotely access your PSN account, chat with friends, share achievements on Facebook and Twitter, and purchase games for download, all from your device of choice. Handy, if not exactly revolutionary. (On the PC, Steam has rolled out some similar features. Microsoft has been pushing such integration with Xbox Live for a while now.) Somewhat more interesting is the rumor that the controller itself will feature a “share” button, allowing for instant posting of screenshots or even gameplay footage from your current session. You also may be able to watch your friends play a game (even one you yourself don’t own) via a spectator feature.
YOU’LL BE ABLE TO STREAM PS3 GAMES
At least, according to IGN, via the Wall Street Journal. That’s a cool feature, but it also goes some way towards counteracting an earlier rumor that the PS4 won’t be backwards compatible. Although, if users find themselves being charged money to stream games that they already purchased once, it might raise some hackles.
TOUCHPADS! MOTION SENSORS! CAMERAS!
You name a weird, trendy new control mechanism, the PS4 supposedly has it. The controller reportedly has a touchpad where the start and select buttons usually live, a la the PS Vita’s rear-mounted panel. Additionally, Kotaku’s source claims that the system will ship with a new version of the PlayStation Eye peripheral.
IT WILL SECRETE A NUTRIENT-RICH, MUCILAGINOUS FLUID
Actually, no one is reporting this, but I’m willing to stake my reputation on it.
The price differential can be accounted for partially with hard drive size probably. I can imagine if the Eye is included one bundle might have more Move accessories. That’s my guess.
Wowzers! I would be down for it, were I not spending way too much money on student loan payments. So cool.