Sony had an event today and as expected, it introduced the PlayStation 4. The next-gen platform is designed to shift focus from the living room to the gamer, Sony said, and overall, PlayStation’s approach is meant to make it possible for gamers to play wherever they want, whenever they want. 
 
 PS4 lead system architect Mark Cerny talked about how the evolution of the PS4 came about, saying it began five years ago, earlier on in the life of the PS3. The PS3 was a first step, which was designed to connect to a variety of services, but it was limited because of how early it launched in that world, Cerny said. 
 
 “Much less value is found today in blast processing or a system-on-a-chip,” Cerny said. He suggested tech could interfere with design innovation. The tech remains important, he stressed, but the idea was to create a platform that was all about experience. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s a tune Apple and Steve Jobs started playing years ago when they realized the spec race was a nonstarter in the mobile phone world. 
 
 “By game creators, for game creators. It is a powerful and accessible system,” Cerny said on stage, suggesting that this time around there was a strong emphasis on ease of development, hence the use of a standard x86 PC CPU. The GPU is designed for use with “practical tasks,” he said, with the overall goal of making development a painless experience. 
 
 Essentially, the PS4 is an advanced, x86-based personal computer, which means that it should be easy for developers to build. All of this is clearly an answer to a major complaint from studios about the previous generation, which was infamously tricky to master from a software perspective. 
 
 Sony also unveiled a redesigned DualShock 4 controller, which has the Vita-style touchpad depicted in rumors, ad works with a 3D “stereo” camera accessory to track its movements in a loose approximation of what’s possible with Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect. 
 
 The hardware is clearly also borrowing some tricks from mobile games. It has save states that allow users to quickly freeze and resume gameplay, without having to save just by switching on and off the console. There’s also background downloading, which allows digital titles to be played before they’re even completely on your local drive. 
 
 Social is another key tentpole for the PS4, according to Cerny. He described a new function that allows you to quickly pause and upload gameplay videos as easily as you might have done with static screenshots in the past. There’s also spectator functionality for watching “celebrities” gaming, something which seems to have been borrowed from Twitter’s success with famous members. Networking will also be based around real names and profile pictures, instead of strictly on gamer tags and avatars, too, and all of this will plug into mobile apps to help gamers stay in touch. ||||| It's been seven years since the giant, boxy, expensive, hugely-fun and hyped PS3 first arrived. Seven years is a long time. But the next expensive, gorgeous era of gaming is here: the PlayStation 4. Everything looks better, yes, but it's definitely more of the same. 
 
 The PS4, arriving in stores "Holiday 2013," is still very much a PC in terms of guts: an x86 processor, an 8-core combined CPU/GPU, (we're not sure of exactly which one), and 8 GB of unified GDDR5 memory (versus the PS3's 512 megabytes). And for those of you who worry about storage—don't, as the PS4 will have a local HDD (no word if there will be any solid state action). What does that mean for your eyeballs? 
 
 A live demo of generic Unreal Engine 4 fiery destruction looked fantastic and fluid, at least on par with a high-end PC from today. A look at the next Killzone title was even more impressive, though we don't want to get our hopes up too much about what's pre-rendered here and what isn't. If it is, lighting effects look absolutely phenomenal, with better flames, glare, and shadows than anything on any console. 
 
 But that's the idea, right? 
 
 Cityscape scenes and view distance are pleasantly massive. 
 
 Overall—and this is based only on demos projected onto a screen, not a real game on a real TV in your real home—the graphics are fantastic, but not of an OH MY HELL, nothing-else-like-it-even-close leap. Like, say, the first time you ever saw Sonic Adventure. A demo of Driveclub for PS4 wasn't appreciably better than the visuals you'd see on the latest Gran Turismo. I'd actually say it looked... the exact same. But we're not disappointed—there are absolutely scenes we've seen so far that could've only been pre-rendered on a PS3 or Xbox 360 and this thing isn't even out yet. 
 
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 A demo by Quantic Dream showing off realtime facial detail running straight off the PS4 was brilliant. And it was just a demo. Imagine this tech behind the team who made LA Noire. On the other hand, it's just a single guy's head floating in space, and a demo, at that. But his skin looked real, man. 
 
 A demo of Capcom's PS4 "Panta Rhei" engine looked like a mix between pre-rendered PS3-splendid, and current-gen PC smooth. 
 
 Spectacular lighting and facial graphics, once again. 
 
 Some bad news: no native PS3 backwards compatibility. But! You'll have PlayStation Cloud, permitting streaming access to old titles without the need for discs. Sony is frustratingly mum on how PlayStation Cloud will actually work, though. 
 
 The DualShock makes a return as well—the DualShock 4—sharing the same general design as its predecessors. But it'll now share a touchpad in the middle, a share button, a headphone jack, and perhaps most importantly, a light bar that'll track movement with a PlayStation Move-style controller. 
 
 That means movement gestures baked right into your hand—no need for a separate wand to wave around. Just one controller. 
 
 There's also very impressive stuff going on in the background—games will be "instantly" bootable from sleep, and a secondary processor will handle downloading games in the background, giving you the ability to actually play games while they're being transferred from Sony's servers to your PS4. This will be nice for anyone absolutely sick of PS3's historically bad download wait times. 
 
 A dedicated video-processing chip will let you stream video from your gaming session without leaving your session, sharable straight from a social-oriented button on your controller. Your friends will actually be able ot watch you play from their won couches, remotely offering tips and banter. Or hell: ask a friend who's just better than you to take over your game from their controller and beat that horrible boss. UStream integration will mean your performance can be a public one if you'd like, too. 
 
 All the usual streaming video apps—Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, et al—will be there. Just like PS3. 
 
 The new social gaming interface looks decent, but Sony is pushing "social integration" pretty hard here (well beyond finding strangers to kill), and it's questionable how much anyone really wants a social network on their phones and tablets built around gaming. We already have too many. Luckily, Facebook will be integrated inside the PS4, connecting with the PlayStation Network to fill it out with the online life you've already been building, rather than tediously starting from scratch. 
 
 Personalization is an interesting emphasis—Sony says it'll study your downloading and playing habits to actually predict the next titles you'll want and download them ahead of time. Unless that's very smart, it's going to be very annoying. 
 
 Remote play—continuing where you left off on another screen—will be another bullet point for the PS4. Expectedly, the Vita will be the go-to small-screen, with PS4 titles streaming straight to the Vita's 5-inch display. Unfortunately, it looks like it'll have to be wired, but Sony says the "goal" will be every single PS4 title playable on Vita. 
 
 So what does it look like we have here (or will have) in the PS4? The PS3... but... more. Where the PS3 was fast, this is faster, pretty becomes prettier, everything a little expanded. It's a stiffer drink you've had before. 
 
 Of course, no word on how much this thing will cost, and to our disappointment and exasperation, we have no idea what the console will look like. Maybe it's a pyramid. Bloody hell, Sony.
– Sony today unveiled its next-generation gaming system, PlayStation 4, saying the console will be part of a new ecosystem focused on hardware, software, and "the fastest, most powerful gaming network." The new console is the Japanese electronics giant's first major game machine since the PlayStation 3 went on sale in 2006. Today's unveiling is Sony's attempt to steal the spotlight, at least until Microsoft unveils its next Xbox in June at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles. Among the PS4's revisions is an updated controller that adds a touchpad, motion control, and a "share" button. The controller also features a light bar, which means a new PlayStation camera can more easily track the device. Sony has struggled lately to keep up with Microsoft and other rivals such as Apple and Samsung. The company is promising nifty mobile devices, sophisticated digital cameras, and other gadgetry as part of its comeback effort. More details at Gizmodo and TechCrunch.