We still have absolutely no idea what the PlayStation 4 looks like, but we're getting a better picture of what's within: Sony's just released a list of tech specs for the console. Confirming months of rumors, the PS4 will primarily have AMD silicon inside, in the form of a "single-chip custom processor" with eight AMD Jaguar CPU cores, and a next-gen Radeon graphics engine capable of 1.84 teraflops of performance.
Here's the full spec sheet:
- Single-chip custom processor, with eight x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU cores and 1.84 TFLOPS next-gen AMD Radeon based graphics engine
- 8GB GDDR5 memory
- Built-in hard drive
- 6x Blu-Ray and 8x DVD drive
- USB 3.0 and auxiliary ports
- Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1
- HDMI, analog AV-out, and optical S/PDIF audio output
- DualShock 4 controller, with two-point capacitive touchpad, three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer, vibration, light bar with three color LEDs, mono speaker, micro USB port, stereo headset port, extension port, 1000mAh battery
- PlayStation 4 Eye camera, with two 1280 x 800 cameras, f/2.0 fixed focus lenses, 85-degree field of view, 30cm minimum focusing distance, four-channel microphone array
What does it all mean? Looking at the existing PlayStation 3, it's immediately clear that Sony's playing to its strengths while trying to address some of its former weaknesses.
At launch, critics slammed Sony for charging upwards of $500 for the PS3, arguing that it had too many features. HDMI, Wi-Fi and optical audio didn't come standard on the Xbox 360 at launch, but they all proved important over the years. Meanwhile, the fast XDR memory of the PlayStation 3 came in handy, but there was far too little at 256MB. Here, Sony's seeking to maintain the speed with GDDR5, but ups the capacity to a generous 8GB. Similarly, gamers ended up appreciating the PS3's built-in hard drive when they started downloading games or installing them, but the first-generation 2x Blu-ray drive made that a painfully slow process.
The Microsoft Kinect took the world by storm at its debut, and not just because of the 3D depth camera: the always-on microphone array allowed a Kinect-equipped Xbox 360 to recognize voice commands. Now, with the PlayStation 4 Eye, Sony will have both motion tracking and voice recognition hardware at its disposal, but also higher resolution and a much larger field of view. While the Kinect can only fit two people in its sweet spot, and has difficulty tracking them at times, the PlayStation 4 Eye could do more... theoretically, anyhow.
Last but not least, there's that custom AMD processor to discuss, and here's where we need to be extremely careful about jumping to conclusions: with a custom design, there's no telling exactly how powerful the processor might be, or how much developers might get out of it. Still, we can draw a few parallels: we actually saw a quad-core Jaguar processor at CES, inside AMD's Temash reference design. Contrary to what you might believe, Jaguar actually isn't a beefy CPU; AMD's selling the tiny cores in chips designed for low-end laptops and tablets. And yet, with floating-point performance of 1.84 teraflops and a next-gen Radeon architecture, the GPU will likely have more power than a 1.76 teraflop AMD Radeon HD 7850, a mid-range graphics card for gaming computers.
Comments
I CAN’T WAIT FOR E3!!!!
I bet Gran Turismo 6, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Uncharted 4, and many more will be shown!
By kennyamr on 02.20.13 9:44pm
I CAN’T WAIT TO SHOW ME WHAT THE FUCKING CONSOLE LOOKS LIKE.
By tec2030 on 02.20.13 9:44pm
A big orb.
By straydog on 02.20.13 9:45pm
PS9?
By tec2030 on 02.20.13 9:46pm
Yes
For those who don’t get the reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdh4TqWFfX4
By straydog on 02.20.13 9:52pm
Why? Is this likely to be a decisive factor in a purchasing decision?
“I really want to play PlayStation games, but the console is ugly. Pass.”
By macomeau on 02.20.13 9:50pm
I’ve got a nice living room, this goes in my living room. yeah. it matters.
By alexeiw123 on 02.20.13 9:55pm
It matters, but it shouldn’t be a deciding factor in deciding to purchase the thing.
By Ben49 on 02.20.13 9:57pm
This is true, but knowing it looks mint sure adds to the appeal.
By alexeiw123 on 02.20.13 10:00pm
This I agree with. I just think all the “they’re not showing us the console” stuff is dumb. It’s coming out in, like, 9 months. We’ll see it before it’s released. The people for whom the appearance of the console is actually a purchase-defining factor must be vanishingly small. Beyond that, Sony has an established track record of making nice looking, if perhaps bland designs. Microsoft’s consoles have been much more out there (and that’s not saying much), but that didn’t stop people from buying them.
It’s a manufactured controversy about nothing.
By macomeau on 02.20.13 10:36pm
It’s not just about what it looks like. It’s about how big it is, how the discs load, whether it has an external power supply, where the ports are, etc. These are practical questions, not just aesthetic questions.
And just ask MS how their original design for the Xbox “didn’t stop people from buying them” – they’ve admitted that it did. Design matters.
By badasscat1 on 02.21.13 12:39am
It’s all in the specs already! Look for something else to complain about.
By Super Number on 02.21.13 10:09am
The software, platform and games is far more important. I mean, seriously, the glossy plastic on kinect and 360 slim looks like ass, no slot loading dvd looks like ass and the freaking software itself is laden with ads. I still bought one, and sales are fine.
This is unexpected, but a non-issue. People will forget all about this in a couple months. Better than pre-renders that turn out to be unrealistic (which happened to Sony last time).
Beyond all that, no one is talking about the lack of a cheap tablet or tablet gaming plans. I’m not sure Vita is viable to plug that hole, even for their hardcore gaming market.
By nico_mach on 02.21.13 11:28am
that they’re not showing it means they have no idea yet about what it looks like.
they’re probably still sorting out cooling for the box.
By lassikin on 02.21.13 3:55am
The cooling for the 360 was actually adressen by MS long ago, think they came up with an solution when the xbox elite got released :-)
By Mathias Mains on 02.21.13 9:24am
Yeah, I assume it’s something like this. They know what the hardware is, but not how they’re going to put it together – yet. Then I fall back to the position that Sony generally seems to know what they’re doing design-wise, and that we will see what it looks like before it goes on sale anyway.
The only way not showing off the box is a story is if you think the PS4 is vapourware. Otherwise it’s just a footnote. They showed us half a dozen demos running on the hardware, but not the plastic wrapped around the hardware. Which is more relevant?
By macomeau on 02.21.13 10:33am
for casual gamers who would like some living room entertainment it should be. Just like lots of people buy the iPhone for the looks
By bensun6 on 02.21.13 12:43pm
OK, Martha Stewart…
By Super Number on 02.21.13 10:10am
I kind of got blasted a while back because I wanted a really nice looking monitor (I really like the Apple-style edge to edge glass), so I sympathize. At the same time though, this seems a little different to me. A monitor is kind of front and center where everyone can see. My consoles are generally behind a shelf or out of the way, so it’s not as big an issue to me.
By moore on 02.21.13 11:33am
Trust me. I was talking to someone the other day. He brought a S3 because Apple didn’t do enough to change the back design of there device enough. People are weird.
By almost.david on 02.20.13 9:57pm
Granted, but I did include a caveat. If your friend really wanted iOS apps, they’d get an iPhone regardless of design. If you really want PS games, you get a PlayStation.
Besides, it’ll be a big, black rectangle like most consumer electronics. Maybe there will be a gray or a white one. It’s not going to be a bucket of rusty parts. All this “what does it look like” stuff is misdirected attention.
By macomeau on 02.20.13 10:04pm
Playstation 4: RATROD edition.
A bucket of HDMI-compatible rusty parts with a cloud service. Bask in the glory of their sonystyle!
I’m shocked they seem to still be using the Spiderman font. Can we get an update, please?
By nico_mach on 02.21.13 11:32am
There’s a fine line between a the appearance of a mobile handset that you hold in your hand daily and show people daily, and a console that sits beneath your TV for only yourself and your guests to see.
By Envious on 02.20.13 10:24pm
well if it is the size of my amd desktop, i wont be buying it.
By speed_demon on 02.20.13 10:19pm
Or maybe they didn’t show it bc it’s not done yet. There’s gotta be a reason there’s no delivery date, no console, and no damn price at an event unveiling.
By techisfun on 02.20.13 10:34pm