AVS › AVS Forum › News Forum › Latest Industry News › PlayStation 4: Geared toward Home Entertainment
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

PlayStation 4: Geared toward Home Entertainment

post #1 of 237
2/9/13 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 
On February 20 at 6pm, it is likely the world will catch the first glimpse of the new PlayStation 4 from Sony. Engadget is the first U.S. news source to report the latest rumor: The forthcoming PlayStation 4 is going to be marketed as a home entertainment nerve center that interacts with mobile devices. Bigger, better video game graphics will take a backseat to promoting interactivity and content sharing.

Quite a few people think of the PlayStation 3 as one of the best options for the videophile on a budget. Sony spends considerable effort to maintain it as a premium platform, with early support for 1080p and 5.1 audio from Netflix and Vudu being two recent examples. That is quite a feat for a device released a full year before the iPhone even existed. I am anxious to find out if the PS4 is good enough to handle the next six or seven years' worth of innovation in home theater and content delivery.


Quote:
Sony is going to push the new console as a home entertainment "nerve center," with a focus on the hardware's ability to connect and share to mobile devices -- the rival that's pulling gamers away from traditional consoles.
source: engadget

Edited by imagic - 2/10/13 at 9:55am
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 237
2/10/13 at 6:03am
Sounds exciting. I will be looking for any news on that day.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 237
2/10/13 at 7:37am
I never understood how console gamers can continue supporting these consoles that keep getting further and further away from gaming, skimping on graphics/processing specs.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 237
2/10/13 at 7:49am
Will they be offering a special payday advance loan/home refinancing/child bartering system through Sony Credit Services to help make the $749.99 MSRP affordable?

Honestly I don't know, short of holographics, how they'll impress big numbers of people enough to upgrade, at least on the video game side. It seems to me like we're in an era where people expect the priority to be on software and milking every last drop out of their current hardware because it's already so powerful. Either that or cheap systems like affordable smartphones or simple Android set top boxes are set to dominate.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 237
2/10/13 at 7:59am
Thread Starter 
MSRP for the PS4 should be closer to $400, based on what I have read. It could get close to $750 with accessories and a couple games. There is no doubt the PS3 is powerful and still evolving as a platform. Sony considers the lifespan of a console to be more than a decade; the PS3 could shrink one more time and will almost certainly drop below the $200 price point. With Nintendo and Xbox out there vying for kids and online gamers, Sony knows they have to position the PS4 as a luxury platform. I think it will serve them well, and I think 1080P graphics will be enough of a boost in quality that PC gamers will give consoles a look, at least for a year. To a PC gamer, the entire cost of a console system is no different than buying a new video card - so there is a potential market. Platform exclusive games can still be a significant motivator. I will likely buy the PS4 solely to play a new version of Motorstorm and otherwise use the unit as a movie streaming hub the rest of the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bewlaybrothers View Post

Will they be offering a special payday advance loan/home refinancing/child bartering system through Sony Credit Services to help make the $749.99 MSRP affordable?

Honestly I don't know, short of holographics, how they'll impress big numbers of people enough to upgrade, at least on the video game side. It seems to me like we're in an era where people expect the priority to be on software and milking every last drop out of their current hardware because it's already so powerful. Either that or cheap systems like affordable smartphones or simple Android set top boxes are set to dominate.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 237
2/10/13 at 8:02am
Quote:
I never understood how console gamers can continue supporting these consoles that keep getting further and further away from gaming, skimping on graphics/processing specs.

This. I stopped buying Nintendo stuff a few generations back when they decided to skimp on graphics. The Playstation 3 is great, but they are going to have to provide something special in order for me to purchase the PS4. If it is a monumental leap in graphics, I'd be willing to pay for it. If they go the way of Nintendo, though, I'll put my money elsewhere. As it is, they should wait until they can provide 4k res graphics at at least 30fps.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 237
2/10/13 at 8:10am
Thread Starter 
I don't think we'll see a weak offering like the new Nintendo from either Sony or Microsoft. The marketing pitch may have changed and evolved to accommodate our tablet and phone-centric society, but there will still be a huge leap forward in the hardware. If you read about 4K, it's really not necessary for gaming. Achieving true, honest 1080P at high frame rates with no alias artifacts is enough for me. The human eye struggles to resolve more detail and 4K TV sets are far from affordable, while 1080P sets are going to keep dropping in price and improving in quality. I want to see 4K video coming out of the PS4, but I'm guessing it will be in the form of movies as opposed to the native resolution of video games.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blastermaster View Post

This. I stopped buying Nintendo stuff a few generations back when they decided to skimp on graphics. The Playstation 3 is great, but they are going to have to provide something special in order for me to purchase the PS4. If it is a monumental leap in graphics, I'd be willing to pay for it. If they go the way of Nintendo, though, I'll put my money elsewhere. As it is, they should wait until they can provide 4k res graphics at at least 30fps.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 237
2/10/13 at 8:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by blastermaster View Post

Quote:
I never understood how console gamers can continue supporting these consoles that keep getting further and further away from gaming, skimping on graphics/processing specs.

This. I stopped buying Nintendo stuff a few generations back when they decided to skimp on graphics. The Playstation 3 is great, but they are going to have to provide something special in order for me to purchase the PS4. If it is a monumental leap in graphics, I'd be willing to pay for it. If they go the way of Nintendo, though, I'll put my money elsewhere. As it is, they should wait until they can provide 4k res graphics at at least 30fps.

for the same reason AVR manufacturer's are forcusing more on networking and apps instead of what is is design to do in the first place, that's what today's buyers want.

I'm with you, I'd rather they focus on what it's meant do do, just like I wish AVR manufacturers should focus on better amp section and room correction implemantation mad.gif I have a blu ray player that has all the streaming and networking one can desire.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 237
2/10/13 at 9:35am
PS4K !!!! tongue.gif
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 237
2/10/13 at 9:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by img eL View Post

PS4K !!!! tongue.gif

It would be perfect timing for Sony to use that!wink.gif
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 237
2/10/13 at 10:49am
I have 2 PS3s and 2 360s and an Applet TV right now along with a high end computer with and Intel 3570K overclocked to 4200 and a Radeon 7950. Much to my disappointment, everything I have read so far about about the PS4 specs make it a no go for me. It would have to be a 4K movie player my future 4K projector. I only bought the PS3s for cheap Blu Ray when they came out.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 237
2/10/13 at 10:53am
Require all games to run true 1080p and 60FPS and I'm sold. Oh who am I kidding, I'm sold either way. I don't think graphics will take a backseat, they will be very powerful, just not the primary selling point anymore.

I'm also not sure Feb 20th is the PS4 announcement, it makes little sense to announce so early when Kaz Hirai said he'd be willing to have Microsoft tip their hand first. Most likely this will be announcing a streaming games service. Sony did buy Gaikai recently, and most consoles are officially announced at E3.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 237
2/10/13 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by imagic View Post

MSRP for the PS4 should be closer to $400, based on what I have read. It could get close to $750 with accessories and a couple games. There is no doubt the PS3 is powerful and still evolving as a platform. Sony considers the lifespan of a console to be more than a decade; the PS3 could shrink one more time and will almost certainly drop below the $200 price point. With Nintendo and Xbox out there vying for kids and online gamers, Sony knows they have to position the PS4 as a luxury platform. I think it will serve them well, and I think 1080P graphics will be enough of a boost in quality that PC gamers will give consoles a look, at least for a year. To a PC gamer, the entire cost of a console system is no different than buying a new video card - so there is a potential market. Platform exclusive games can still be a significant motivator. I will likely buy the PS4 solely to play a new version of Motorstorm and otherwise use the unit as a movie streaming hub the rest of the time.
Yes me also. I will buy this console for mainly the exclusive games and it's bluray player. I hope it's players quality improves.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 237
2/10/13 at 11:53am
With all the rumors floating around about the cup and gpu, if any are even remotely close, the unit should be fairly powerful. Enough to run games a 1080p and 60 FPS? not likely but 30 FPS? you bet!
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 237
2/10/13 at 12:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blastermaster View Post

... As it is, they should wait until they can provide 4k res graphics at at least 30fps.

Really, why? To show on what? Your 300" 4k screen?

Because on your average 40"-50" screen, 4k (and often full 1080p) is a nothing but a number that makes you feel good, since human eyes can't resolve such detail at normal living room viewing distances.

Not unless you pull up a chair and sit at 5 feet from the screen -- basically, if you have perfect eyesight, the maximum distance from which you can resolve 1080i on a 50' screen is about 6.5". For a 40" screen, the maximum distance it's just over 5 feet.

Even for 100" screen, the maximum distance beyond which you cannot resolve 1080i is just over 13 feet. Which means that all this 4k push is little more than marketing ploy to up-sell our average Joe to a new TV set in time for the next Super Bowl and make him feel like a "man," regardless of the dubious real world benefits.

Not that 4k is not a good thing in the right set up, but just keep it in perspective.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 237
2/10/13 at 12:59pm
The PS4 will be another platform designed to funnel even more money to Sony. I'm not getting on the anti-corporate bandwagon, just noting that more and more games seem to be nothing more than a platform to peddle add-on content. And you just know the PS4 platform will almost certainly close down the used game market. I get the sneaking feeling gaming will take the backseat here and that any additional features will just echo what is already available on other devices currently in the market. If I see another device that unnecessarily ties into Twitter, Facebook or some other trendy website I'm going to puke.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 237
2/10/13 at 1:46pm
Never did buy a PS3.
Definitely getting a PS4.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 237
2/10/13 at 2:20pm
I wish it was out already!!
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 237
2/10/13 at 4:39pm
PS4 or should it be rightfully called the BS4?

Will it play MKV - probably not
Will it play iso files - probably not
Will it play VC-1 based M2TS files - probably not
and on and on.

The PS3 technically could handle all of the above but Sony in its infinite wisdom (and greed) elected not to support those files.

Meanwhile, people use XBMC, Plex and other software on the Mac (Win and Linux too) for free, or they get a Dune or Popcorn player and some use the newer Blu Ray players to stream content from their drives or Netflix and Hulu etc.

Sorry Sony, some of us just aint buying your "media center" BS-4. People with the PS3 should continue to use them and choose other devices for the difference that supposedly the new Sony Played-Out station will cover.

Gripe over (grin)
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 237
2/10/13 at 5:11pm
I think Sony is forgetting who made them one of the top systems in the world...gamers! !!!!
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 237
2/10/13 at 6:00pm

I was never a fan of sony consoles,

but the ps4 has my eyes hooked on it's rumors, and i'm excited, with rest of gamers.! :)

Reply
Reply
post #22 of 237
2/10/13 at 6:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by w1retap View Post

I never understood how console gamers can continue supporting these consoles that keep getting further and further away from gaming, skimping on graphics/processing specs.

This comment is misguided at best. The PS3 and 360 have more fantastic games than any console generation prior. I, for one, love the new consoles from recent memory, and I am sure the next ones will be even better. What should we do, take up PC gaming? It costs and fortune, and very few AAA titles come out on PC anymore.
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 237
2/10/13 at 6:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blake18 View Post

This comment is misguided at best. The PS3 and 360 have more fantastic games than any console generation prior. I, for one, love the new consoles from recent memory, and I am sure the next ones will be even better. What should we do, take up PC gaming? It costs and fortune, and very few AAA titles come out on PC anymore.
I plan to build a PC for gaming, mostly for the multi platform games. But I'd still buy this console for the exclusives. I don't think all the media the a Playstation offers sways gamers away from gaming, we still watch movies, TV and still love gaming. And to me the specs of this new console should blow our minds with the games to come. The PS3 had an amazing array of games and some of them were sup rising in the graphics area, pushing the console to it's best. I'm sure game developers will do the same for the PS4 for some games, it's history in the making. This is 100% on my list.
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 237
2/10/13 at 6:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blastermaster View Post

This. I stopped buying Nintendo stuff a few generations back when they decided to skimp on graphics. The Playstation 3 is great, but they are going to have to provide something special in order for me to purchase the PS4. If it is a monumental leap in graphics, I'd be willing to pay for it. If they go the way of Nintendo, though, I'll put my money elsewhere. As it is, they should wait until they can provide 4k res graphics at at least 30fps.

What a dumb post. You know how much horsepower you need to push 4k resolution games, way more than 1080 and brings no benefit unless super large screen with close viewing. Yes, let's all wait until PS4 can push 4K graphics so Mr. Blastermaster can enjoy it with his 150" screen with 8 feet viewing distance, LOL.

For me, all I want for PS4 is for it to play games, have a nice comfy controller, free online. That's it. They should aim for 1080P, 60fps for most games if possible. Of course have improved graphics from ps3, otherwise why release it.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 237
2/10/13 at 8:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Burton View Post

I plan to build a PC for gaming, mostly for the multi platform games. But I'd still buy this console for the exclusives. I don't think all the media the a Playstation offers sways gamers away from gaming, we still watch movies, TV and still love gaming. And to me the specs of this new console should blow our minds with the games to come. The PS3 had an amazing array of games and some of them were sup rising in the graphics area, pushing the console to it's best. I'm sure game developers will do the same for the PS4 for some games, it's history in the making. This is 100% on my list.


Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't the specs and AMD APU wiith a graphics card equal to a 7770. Consoles used to push the envelope and at least be equal to current PC tech if not slightly above on release.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 237
2/10/13 at 8:12pm
I just hope they they give us the whole picture on the 20th.. Don't just show us a teaser to keep us guessing. No way I want to spend another year reading rumors and speculations- tell me what you're coming out with.
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 237
2/10/13 at 8:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LowellG View Post

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't the specs and AMD APU wiith a graphics card equal to a 7770. Consoles used to push the envelope and at least be equal to current PC tech if not slightly above on release.

Are those specs confirmed? If they are, then I'm not surprised the graphics is not that powerful. Sony got so much flack from the ps3 and its $599 U.S. release price. I doubt they are going to push too hard on the hardware this time around as not many want to pay that much for a console.
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 237
2/10/13 at 9:42pm
You are absolutely correct. Unless something drastic changes the graphical prowess of the PS4 is going to be about equivalent to what was considered an entry level gaming card in mid 2012. By actual release PC's will have cards available that are easily 50% more powerful in just raw processing power.

What i am pleased about is that they are finally moving to DX10 capable hardware. There are so SO many things about DX10/11 that crap all over DX9 in image quality, post processing, etc etc.

I love all the people who say "oh as long as it does 60fps at 1080p" than thats all that matters? I can load up Quake 3 at 1080p and it will run 300fps, but its old as hell and it shows.

Now, if it was capable of doing 1080p at 60fps with graphic quality deliverable by the Frostbite 2 engine at max settings, then i'd be happy with it. Unfortunately the hardware provided will have difficulty doing that.
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 237
2/11/13 at 5:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan1 View Post

Really, why? To show on what? Your 300" 4k screen?

Because on your average 40"-50" screen, 4k (and often full 1080p) is a nothing but a number that makes you feel good, since human eyes can't resolve such detail at normal living room viewing distances.

Not unless you pull up a chair and sit at 5 feet from the screen -- basically, if you have perfect eyesight, the maximum distance from which you can resolve 1080i on a 50' screen is about 6.5". For a 40" screen, the maximum distance it's just over 5 feet.

Even for 100" screen, the maximum distance beyond which you cannot resolve 1080i is just over 13 feet. Which means that all this 4k push is little more than marketing ploy to up-sell our average Joe to a new TV set in time for the next Super Bowl and make him feel like a "man," regardless of the dubious real world benefits.

Not that 4k is not a good thing in the right set up, but just keep it in perspective.

I'm amazed at how many experts there are regarding 4KTV. Experts on something that doesn't even exist yet outside of a few demos.

I remember years ago when people said no one could tell the difference between 720 and 1080 lines of resolution. Once 1080 TVs came out and people could see a difference, those people suddenly kept their mouths shut.

The flaw in the 4K argument is I can see an improvement in clarity when looking at say, a table, as opposed to looking at a TV. So there's clearly room for improvement in resolution the human eye can detect. Maybe I won't be able to tell a difference between 4K and 3.9K, but I think I will certainly see a difference between 1080 and 3.9k.

If Microsoft and/or Nintendo release a 4K product and Sony does not, it will be a disaster for Sony. Why would they take the chance of complete failure by not releasing a 4K product?
Edited by KidHorn - 2/11/13 at 5:32am
Reply
Reply
post #30 of 237
2/11/13 at 5:33am
I agree ^^^. I wish they would make it to where you can change the aspect ratios as well. That would be awesome.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Latest Industry News

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › News Forum › Latest Industry News › PlayStation 4: Geared toward Home Entertainment