News
Sony unveils Playstation 4
NEW YORK, Feb. 20, in the
year of our Lord 2013-- Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc. (SCE) today introduced PlayStation®4 (PS4™), its
next-generation gaming platform for the home, alongside the
videogame industry's brightest and most creative minds at
PlayStation®Meeting 2013. With unprecedented power, deep social
capabilities, and instant accessibility, PS4 allows game
creators to unleash their imaginations and deliver new play
experiences to gamers that were never before possible. The live
audience at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, along with
millions of fans streaming the event around the world, were also
provided with a sneak peek of some of the games that will
ultimately define the PS4 experience.
Andrew House, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc. officially announced PS4 and presented the
broader vision for PlayStation® evolving from a console in the
living room into the best place to play wherever gamers are:
"Our vision for the future is consumer-centric,
developer-inspired, and characterized by an unwavering
commitment to phenomenal play experiences," House remarked.
"Today we are revealing the genesis of an expanding 'idea' about
the future of play – an idea with enough potential to satisfy
the insatiable appetites of our creative community of developers
and gamers."
Acclaimed game designer and industry veteran Mark Cerny then
took the stage to discuss PS4 in more detail, including the
powerful system components that will give developers the canvas
to fully express their creative ideas and deliver more immersive
gaming that transcends today's expectations. Cerny, the lead
system architect for PS4, also talked about the five key
principles guiding the design of the consumer experience that
will surround all games: simple, immediate, social, integrated,
and personalized.
"We wanted to ensure that nothing would come between the
platform and the joy of play," Cerny said. "We also wanted to be
sure that the system architecture could fluidly connect the
player to a larger world of experiences, and provide easy access
to everything PlayStation® has to offer – across the console and
mobile spaces, and PlayStation®Network. And we were able to
create, in PS4, a platform by game creators for game creators."
David Perry, noted developer and CEO of Gaikai Inc., which
joined SCE group last year, announced the ambitions for
PlayStation®Network and how PS4 will leverage Gaikai's cloud
technology to deliver a sea change in how consumers discover,
access, share and enjoy games. Whether that's connecting PSN
more deeply into social networks or broadcasting the game a user
is playing in real time or getting help from friends in new
ways, the gaming experience on PS4 is rooted in social
interaction. Perry also discussed the company's goal to make
free exploration possible for various games, a concept he
described as, "Try it for free, share it if you like it, only
pay for games you fall in love with."
PS4 integrates second screens, including PS Vita, smartphones
and tablets, to wrap gamers in their favorite content wherever
they are. SCE's long-term goal is to make almost every PS4 title
playable on PS Vita by using Remote Play over Wi-Fi networks.
"PS Vita is the ultimate companion device for PS4, enabling
gamers to pull their games from their beautiful HDTVs to PS
Vita's beautiful 5-inch screen," Perry noted.
The spotlight moved toward some of the most creative individuals
in the development and publishing community, highlighting how
PS4 brings a new synergy between hardware and software to enable
new emotional states of play never before possible. "The future
of PlayStation is about great games – inspiring, new experiences
from the imaginations of the world's best creators," said
Michael Denny, SVP, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide
Studios.
Denny introduced developers behind some of the first-party
titles being created exclusively for the new platform, including
Guerrilla Games' Hermen Hulst, Sucker Punch Productions' Nate
Fox, and Evolution Studios' Matt Southern.
"'Next Generation' no longer just means 'more powerful
hardware,'" Southern said. "We're a next generation of gamer, we
want to play great looking games but in new ways that fit our
permanently-connected lives. To us, that means driving in a
team. It's such a thrill for a studio to be asked to help define
new PlayStation technology, so that we can bring our vision for
team based racing to life."
Celebrated independent developer Jonathan Blow then unveiled the
first official trailer for The Witness, which will be exclusive
to PS4 for console and underscores PlayStation's support of
developers interested in pushing the boundaries of play.
PlayStation®Meeting 2013 also featured two of the gaming
industry's most talented creators providing a glimpse into the
future of what's possible on PS4. David Cage from Quantic Dream
explored narrative-driven gaming and how PS4's powerful hardware
lets developers forget about technology and focus on creating
experiences that trigger emotions. "We can concentrate on what
amazing stories we want to tell and what incredible worlds we
want to create," Cage said. "We can take you to places you have
never seen before and make you feel emotions that you have never
felt in real life, without having to wonder if we will have the
horsepower to do so. We are now only limited by our
imagination."
Alex Evans from Media Molecule then re-imagined the concept of
user-generated content and creativity. Armed with a
PlayStation®Move motion controller, he demonstrated the freedom
of expression that PS4 offers to creators, whether they're
professional developers or gamers of all levels. Evans remarked:
"PS4, in our eyes, should be 'the creative console'. It's the
place you go to be inspired; It's the place to experience
other's dreams, or make your own: it's the place you go, to
make. With PS4, with the creative console, we want to change
making in every way: from music to gaming to story-telling."
Building on PlayStation's long-standing history of collaborating
with third-party partners, PS4 will have software support from
virtually every major developer and publisher across North
America, Europe and Japan. At PlayStation Meeting 2013, titles
in development and technology demos were presented by partners
including Activision Publishing, Inc., Blizzard Entertainment,
Inc., Bungie, Inc., CAPCOM, Epic Games, Inc., Havok, SQUARE ENIX
Co., Ltd., Ubisoft Entertainment, showcasing how the development
community has already embraced PS3's ability to make their
imaginations become reality.
The lineup of family friendly PS4 games shown at PlayStation
Meeting 2013 include:
Driveclub (WWS Evolution Studios)
Knack (WWS Japan Studio)
The Witness (Jonathan Blow)
Additional titles that will be available for PS4 will continue
to be announced, demonstrating the full support of SCE Worldwide
Studios, third-party developers and publishers, and the
independent development community.
"The arrival of PS4 is a critical initiative that presents an
enormous opportunity to dramatically evolve the game play
experience into something far grander than ever imagined," House
said, as he concluded the event. "From enhanced social
capabilities to intensified power to realizing bigger, better,
and more immersive game play, to the evolution of our ecosystem
to meet the requirements for a simpler, more adaptive interface,
we believe PS4 proves we have more to offer than ever before."