The Official PS4 Thread

[blackened23]

I read an article earlier on Ars about PS4 pricing, and they say that it's going to "target gamers in the broadest sense." Obviously, that still leads to nothing but speculation. At least based on what we know, I wouldn't mind seeing it for around $400-450. $400 would probably be the sweet spot, because it would be $50 more than the Wii U Deluxe, but you could argue that it offers more for that premium. They could offer a higher-priced model for extras such as a larger hard drive (750GB+?), more controllers, or perhaps even a packaged launch title?

So, what sort of price would you guys be alright with? What sort of premiums would you like to see packaged in and for what cost?

I would be okay with 500$. Although, there are rumors suggesting that both upcoming consoles may be subsidized down to 300$ if you subscribe to either PSN online or Xbox live for a period of a couple of years. Not sure how to feel about that...

I would say that xbox live easily is better than PSN online, although PSN online has gotten much better over the past year. And it's obviously much cheaper - with an option for a free version without monthly downloads. Hopefully more improvements are coming.

 

[American Gunner]

I think the most I will spend for a launch console will be $500. I just have to see what both systems are actually going to bring to the table. There are still a lot of unanswered questions on Sony's next console. They really didn't reveal as much as a lot of people seem to think they did back in February.

 

[Aikouka]

There are still a lot of unanswered questions on Sony's next console. They really didn't reveal as much as a lot of people seem to think they did back in February.

I'm curious; other than price, what lingering questions do you have?

 

[American Gunner]

They never discussed if the online will be free again or if you will need to pay for it like the rumors said a while back for one. They didn't really discuss how the online would work at all, other than saying that they will have the "fastest network" and that you can have your real name on your account. They didn't say what kind of storage it will have in it, and if it will be changeable like this generation was. And they didn't really go into their plans about using Gakai to stream this gen games. They just said "one day", but Sony is pretty good at saying they will do stuff and never following through.

 

[purbeast0]

if there is just 1 or 2 games that look interesting to me, i will probably purchase the new consoles.

 

[crisium]

I think the old $429/$529 rumour will be likely, unless they feel pressure from Microsoft's pricing and then they will do $399/$499.

"Gamers in the broadest sense" I wonder if that means they want it to be affordable to middle school kids saving allowance and high school kids after school / summer jobs? Are $349 or $299 real possibilities?

 

[sze5003]

I'm betting to say it will be around $500. Blu ray is no longer so expensive so no way for it to be as expensive as the first ps3.

 

[ManBearPig]

deleted

 

[cmdrdredd]

I think I may wait til all the kinks are worked out and then get one. I still have a lot of ps3 games to play.

I bet there will be some updates that clear up some early issues. Always is.

 

[gorcorps]

I bet there will be some updates that clear up some early issues. Always is.

Yeah, but if this previous gen is any indication there will also be HARDWARE kinks that would be worth holding out for a fix.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Yeah, but if this previous gen is any indication there will also be HARDWARE kinks that would be worth holding out for a fix.

Since it uses AMD hardware I think it'll be pretty solid. Low profile HSF and it's good to go.

 

[Aikouka]

Since it uses AMD hardware I think it'll be pretty solid. Low profile HSF and it's good to go.

It'll be interesting to see what sort of cooling they decide to use for it. I think the fat PS3's huge fan was an interesting approach given larger fans usually push more air (higher CFM) than smaller fans while producing the same amount of noise. Given the relatively low-powered CPU, it shouldn't require a ton of cooling, but the GPU will probably emit a decent amount of heat.

 

[cmdrdredd]

True...a breakdown of the system at release will be interesting.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Any more news about PS4?

The "always on" for XBOX thing may be related to the recent rumors of subsidised pricing. If you fail to pay and you turn the system turns on, it will attempt to authenticate your sub. If you didn't pay I'm sure there will be a nice little message about how you're a deadbeat and need to pay up

 

[darkswordsman17]

Yeah, but if this previous gen is any indication there will also be HARDWARE kinks that would be worth holding out for a fix.

The 360 was due to the solder, which a lot of other products (nVidia GPUs for instance) also had major issues with at the time. That's been well sorted out now. There's really nothing special in the PS4 and even likely the 360, at least hardware wise that should cause issues like those. Only thing I can think of is if they try to pinch pennies and try to slap just a small aluminum heatsink on the processor with no fan, or maybe something with the power supply.

It'll be interesting to see what sort of cooling they decide to use for it. I think the fat PS3's huge fan was an interesting approach given larger fans usually push more air (higher CFM) than smaller fans while producing the same amount of noise. Given the relatively low-powered CPU, it shouldn't require a ton of cooling, but the GPU will probably emit a decent amount of heat.

Its an all-in-one chip isn't it? That should help with cooling unless they just really skimp on the heatsink (just slap on a small aluminum one or something). Really I don't see why they couldn't get it down to not much larger than the Wii U (Wii U is 45nm isn't it? I think the PS4 is probably 32 or 28). The Wii U heatsink is pathetic but should be enough for it even, but a heatpipe/copper fin setup like a lot of laptops use could probably handle the PS4 chip with decent ventilation/fan setup.

 

[Aikouka]

Its an all-in-one chip isn't it? That should help with cooling unless they just really skimp on the heatsink (just slap on a small aluminum one or something).

I'm not really sure if the chip being an APU really helps much. Even if it was two separate chips, they would most likely be placed near each other and use the same heatsink. I got a chance to look at the 360's setup when I fixed its RRoD (about 3-4 years ago), and I believe that's what it does.

Really I don't see why they couldn't get it down to not much larger than the Wii U (Wii U is 45nm isn't it? I think the PS4 is probably 32 or 28). The Wii U heatsink is pathetic but should be enough for it even, but a heatpipe/copper fin setup like a lot of laptops use could probably handle the PS4 chip with decent ventilation/fan setup.

Yeah, I hope they just don't go with a cheap cooling solution. Although, that's one area where I prefer the PS3 over the 360. I own two old 360s (one with HDMI, one without), two new 360s (one glossy, one not), two new PS3s and one old PS3 (80GB partial BC). When it comes to things like Netflix, I don't like using the 360... it's just too noisy with that puny little fan in the back. The PS3 still makes noise, but it's so much quieter, and I really like that. I tend to spend a bit more on components just to make them quieter, so that's probably not too surprising.

 

[purbeast0]

hadn't seen this posted here.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/25/playstation-4-developers-discuss-the-dualshock-4

the thing i don't get is the light bar. the way they talk is that the ps4 has to see it in order for it to work. well my ps4 gonna be in a closet out of sight.

the share button seems pretty damn neat though, as long as you can just save the video to the hdd and do what you want with it.

 

[Aikouka]

the thing i don't get is the light bar. the way they talk is that the ps4 has to see it in order for it to work. well my ps4 gonna be in a closet out of sight.

The PS4 itself doesn't need to see it, but the PlayStation Eye 2 (the camera) needs to see it.

the share button seems pretty damn neat though, as long as you can just save the video to the hdd and do what you want with it.

I've been wondering about the Share feature since they announced it. If it's as basic as they've been implying, then it will be nearly useless to the people that currently use streaming the most. People that stream need to use overlays, because they tend to have sponsors, or they want to use logos to help push their own brand/channel. Also, what you mentioned is also important. Some people like to create reviews/previews, and they need to use a real editor to work on footage. So, if they could save it to the hard drive and access it later, that would be nice.

Oh, a good idea just came to mind... Sony already produces their own video software (Sony Vegas). They should create a NFS server on the PS4 that serves all items in the recordings folder, and a Vegas plug-in could easily look for all PS4s on your LAN, and make the videos available to you. That would be just another piece of good integration that is necessary for the PS4 to truly be a force to reckon with.

I'd also love to see some really good integration with the Vita. I'm a bit worried that the Vita integration will end up like it did with the PS3: a lot of promises that never came to fruition. However, I think that mostly dealt with the PS3 not being built with those features in mind.

 

[purbeast0]

The PS4 itself doesn't need to see it, but the PlayStation Eye 2 (the camera) needs to see it.

if both the ps4 and 720 require some sort of camera to work that must be hard wired to the console, that is going to pose a problem for my setup and i won't be getting one at launch if that is the case and they don't have wireless versions.

 

[Aikouka]

if both the ps4 and 720 require some sort of camera to work that must be hard wired to the console, that is going to pose a problem for my setup and i won't be getting one at launch if that is the case and they don't have wireless versions.

I can't imagine that they would require the camera, as none of the features sound that pivotal. In fact, screen orientation swapping would probably mess me up more than anything!

As for wireless, it might be possible for them to do it, but the problem is extra latency that's being added into a thing that already has complaints about latency to begin with.

You may just have to get one of these unsightly things...
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?p_id=7532

 

[purbeast0]

I can't imagine that they would require the camera, as none of the features sound that pivotal. In fact, screen orientation swapping would probably mess me up more than anything!

As for wireless, it might be possible for them to do it, but the problem is extra latency that's being added into a thing that already has complaints about latency to begin with.

You may just have to get one of these unsightly things...
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?p_id=7532

already have one of those actually lol, but only 25ft long, that i use for my joystick when playing fighters.

 

[disappoint]

I hope the PS4 does 3D at 1080p/60 over HDMI. I'm not dropping resolution to do 3D. Would that be HDMI 1.4b or 2.0?

 

[JackBurton]

I hope the PS4 does 3D at 1080p/60 over HDMI. I'm not dropping resolution to do 3D. Would that be HDMI 1.4b or 2.0?

It should be able to do 1080p/60. That really shouldn't be a problem. Now 4k at 60 fps is another story.

 

[Aikouka]

I hope the PS4 does 3D at 1080p/60 over HDMI. I'm not dropping resolution to do 3D. Would that be HDMI 1.4b or 2.0?

That was introduced in HDMI 1.4b.

And do you just mean with the next-generation consoles? Because with the PS3 and the 360, most of the games are already rendered at 720p or below... so why would 720p60 for 3D matter?

It should be able to do 1080p/60. That really shouldn't be a problem. Now 4k at 60 fps is another story.

Just to be clear, 1080p60 does not mean 1080p at 60 FPS. I'm wondering how many games that are visually intensive will even be targeting 60 FPS at 1080p to begin with (Thief isn't...). Although, 60 FPS with 3D off means that they'll have to do something to keep their target frame rate with 3D enabled.

Given how Sony stated that 3D isn't their main focus anymore, I really doubt that they'll push their games to implement 3D. Although, I could see games like Trine 2 being ported to the PS4 and having 3D.

 

[zerocool84]

PS4 will not include always-online functionality as 'many countries do not have robust Internet,' says Sony

http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/8/4311578/ps4-will-not-include-always-online-functionality-says-sony