16w ago - Yesterday Sony teased with a PS4 / Orbis
promotional video on their next-generation console, and today Edge-Online.com (linked above) has revealed some additional PlayStation 4 details as well.
Below is the scoop including purported PS4 launch dates, to quote: "Development sources with working knowledge of both next generation consoles have told us that PlayStation 4 will be more powerful than the next XBox, will ship with a redesigned controller and launch by the end of the year in Japan and the US. PlayStation 4's European launch will follow in early 2014.
Sony is set to reveal its next PlayStation on Wednesday February 20th at an event dubbed 'see the future'. Sony Computer Entertainment released a teaser video last night to announce the event. Below, our sources revealed what to expect from PlayStation 4.
The controller
Sources close to the hardware have revealed to us that PS4 will ship with a redesigned controller which is the same size as an existing DualShock but features a small touchpad in place of the existing Select, Start and PS buttons. The tech is based on Vita's rear touchpad, and is similarly responsive in use.
A new Share button on the controller will, when pressed, launch a new feature that will allow screenshots and video to be distributed online. The PS4 hardware will continually record the most recent 15 minutes of onscreen action (with no processing penalty, claims our source), which users will then be able to edit and broadcast via the Internet.
The launch
We're told that PlayStation 4 will launch in Japan and the US by Christmas, with a Euro rollout following in early 2014, the delay attributed to the complexities involved in European distribution. Alongside the console, Sony will also introduce a new, improved iteration of its PlayStation Eye peripheral, which remains compatible with the PlayStation Move controller. Move will be available at launch, but it's not clear yet whether it will be bundled with the hardware."
Update:
VG247.com has now seemingly confirmed that the PS4 controller will include a front touch-pad, speaking a week before the console's expected reveal in New York.
To quote: "A VG247 source said today that PS4′s rumoured controller touch-pad is real. The input is on the front of the handset. The Start and Select buttons have been moved as a result.
The controller is "more or less" the same shape as the current DualShock. We've been told today that the L2 and R2 buttons have been remodelled for the better.
Sony is expected to announce PlayStation 4 at a New York event next Wednesday."
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To quote from http://www.destructoid.com/what-the-hell-is-this-the-new-playstation-controller--244985.phtml: "Update: Multiple sources have confirmed that the photo is real, but is an early prototype.
Remember when we told you of rumblings on the next PlayStation system's controller and how it might have a touchscreen? Well, get a look at this strange thing. This image looks like a PlayStation-style controller plugged into something that looks like a development kit.
It does look like a touchscreen has been worked into the middle of the controller. What's that thing on the top? Also, get a load of those analog sticks. They look like belly buttons. Gross!
Apparently they've tried out several versions of controllers for whatever this next game system is; it's possible that this is one of them.
There's a chance we'll know more next week at Sony's big reveal of... something in New York.
I like the touchscreen thing (if that's what it is), but I was kind of hoping that this is fake so I don't have to think any harder about what the blue light is for. Don't say it!"
From http://www.vgrevolution.com/2013/02/rumored-playstation-4-controller-information-with-images-and-details/, to quote: "We just received a tip from a person within the advertising and brand marketing industry, with some BIG information about what might be a brand new controller for the Playstation 4. The information allegedly comes from advertising agency Bartle, Bogle, Hegarty New York who recently acquired the SCEA account. The controller renders and description also lines up with recent patent information for a new controller.
The controller is being called "SplitShock." It incorporates PS Move technology and PS Vita touch technology into the PS4 controller. The biggest change is the removal of the thumbsticks we have been so accustomed to over the years. Gamers will instead use a Vita like touchpad to control their games. The new controller is also rumored to have 4gb of built-in memory allowing the controller to double as a memory unit as well.
If this is truly the design route Sony is taking this could be BIG in changing the way we play games or it might be a BIG disaster moving away from tried and true controller design. My feeling is this might be the new PS Move controller doing away with the wand and nun-chuck, we highly doubt thumbsticks will be going away as touchpad technology just doesn't offer the control you need in FPS games.
This can also be total BS. Leave us some thoughts below, do you think this is the new PS Move controller or is Sony going to kill thumbsticks?? Either way we are waiting for comment from SCEA, until then check out the controller renders and the advertising information we were provided."
From http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/14/a-closer-look-at-the-playstation-4-controller-prototype, to quote: "Earlier today we got a first look at what our sources have confirmed is a prototype controller for Sony's forthcoming console, the PlayStation 4. While the photo provides only a limited view of the new design, it represents the culmination of several persistent rumors over the last few months, including reports of an integrated touch surface and PlayStation Move support. But what else can discern from the photo? Read on as we take a closer look.
Touch Surface
There had been rumblings Sony's integration of a touch surface for its next-gen controller, and it seems those reports were accurate. In the middle of a photo we can see a glossy plastic panel, not unlike the kind found on the back of the PS Vita. While the intended purpose of the panel is unclear, it's important to note that it occupies the space previous reserved for the start and select buttons, which have either been removed or are out of view.
Given the placement of the touch panel and Sony's implementation on the PS Vita, it will likely be used for gesture-based navigation and tap commands for functions assigned to certain areas of the surface. There's also the possibility that panel also features some sort of LCD screen, which also had been previously rumored, but may not have been powered on or functioning at the time of the photo.
Motion-Tracking LED
Perhaps what's most immediately apparent is the top-mounted LED, like the type found on the PlayStation Move. It seems likely that the next PlayStation will use the integrated light to track the motion of the controller, perhaps aiding in the aiming or perspective of an in-game character.
But whereas the PlayStation Move controllers was designed to be an extension of the player's arms and serve as a replacement to the DualShock 3, this implementation seems to have been designed to work alongside the standard input methods. Unless, of course, Sony expects users to dual-wield controllers and flail their arms.
What's most interesting about this revelation is its implications for the PlayStation Eye camera, which is used to track the LEDs - will we see a new improved version? Or, perhaps, will one be integrated into the console itself?"
Finally, according to the http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323478004578306663577439962.html the Sony PlayStation 3's successor will be able to stream PS3 games via streaming service Gaikai that Sony acquired in 2012 for $380 million, to quote:
"The new technology, to be unveiled Wednesday along with the new console, will allow users to play games delivered over the Internet, these people said. The streaming service, they added, is designed to use current PlayStation 3 titles on the new console; the new device is also expected to play new games stored on optical discs."
More PlayStation 3 News...