So, Who’s Looking Forward To Seeing The PS4 Next Year?

A few months ago I’d gotten wind that some kind of meeting with Sony and developers was on the cards, what’s known as a ‘disclosure meeting’ where everyone signs non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) about upcoming hardware – in this case, it was to be for the PlayStation 4. Things had gone quiet since, until today, when news broke that the disclosure meeting did happen, and that some devs had already started to spill the beans under condition of anonymity.

From that report, we got our first (assumed) concrete information on what’s going to be behind Sony’s next console which, crucially, the platform holder isn’t using the phrase “PlayStation 4”. This is still codenamed Orbis, as it has been for well over six months, and it’s clear that that’s likely to remain the case until much nearer the big reveal.

That, according to the leak, is going to be next year, and before E3.

This nugget is of considerable importance, not least because now that that’s out in the wild, Microsoft have the chance to plan their attack accordingly. They’re unlikely to now wait until the big show in Los Angeles to show off the Xbox 360’s successor, for example – the 360’s lead in launching over the PS3 was hugely beneficial to the Redmond-based company and they’re now armed with information that they might not have had access to before, at least publicly.

But more importantly from the viewpoint of the gamer, we now have a date that’s likely to hold true, and even if Orbis is kept under wraps until the month of June 2013, we’ll know all about the console by next summer at the very latest.

[videoyoutube]In terms of hardware, though, things aren’t quite as clear cut. VG247’s report mentions an APU (a combined GPU and CPU that handles graphics as well as all the computational stuff), AMD’s A10 to be precise. That’s a nifty chip (it’ll run the likes of Crysis 2 on maximum settings at 1080p and a decent framerate), but it’s not necessarily one that you’d associate with “next gen”, at least not on its own. We’d assume that the A10, if that’s the chip carried over to the final models, would be paired with a discrete GPU for added grunt, or even our old friend Cell.

Chances are that the A10’s just there in the current dev kits as a guide, and it’s something that’s likely to change over the coming months to a newer, more powerful model. The fact remains though that by choosing something off the shelf (albeit tech that’s likely to be modified for Sony’s needs) the cost to build the console will be substantially lower, at least in terms of the chipset that runs the show.

Equally of note are the comments in the report from developers who cite Sony’s goals for visual fidelity for the games. 1080p is an obvious one to mention – especially as the PS3 has struggled from day one (and continues to do so) with reaching that resolution on all but the simplest looking games. Likewise, 60fps and 3D would be a real treat, especially at that resolution. And that’s apparently Sony’s target – “1080p60 games in 3D” without breaking a sweat.

Then there’s the onboard storage – which is apparently currently a 256GB hard drive. That’s actually more likely to be a solid state device, especially if those numbers are correct – hard drives don’t come in 256GB varieties, but SSDs do, and after the latest PS3 revision’s water testing with a similar slice of technology Sony will be more than comfortable with throwing in the much faster, more reliable storage device onto their next gen machines.

The UI, too, seems to be moving in the right direction. Perhaps by virtue of the increased RAM (between 8GB and 16GB for the dev kits at the moment, so probably 4GB in the final PS4) or the boosted grunt of the processors, the next gen Sony console will allow for a smoother in-game menu system that’ll allow users to move around the various elements of the user interface freely. The example cited is that gamers could pause a game, jump into the PSN Store, buy some DLC and then immediately return to the action.

The Orbis will be “always on”, too, downloading and updating in the background.

However, the PS4 isn’t likely to carry backwards compatibility, even if there is a Cell in there somewhere. Buying patterns and publisher decisions of late have pointed to a new trend: HD remasters – and there’s every chance that rather than letting Uncharted 3 work on Orbis, Sony will push out re-releases for the new hardware. We’ve been lapping these up recently, so why wouldn’t next-gen continue this currently rather fashionable new business model and sales channel?

But with a pre-E3 2013 reveal and (presumably) a late 2013 release, what could we expect in terms of new games? Well, it’s clear that the major releases for PS3 start to dry up in the first half of the year – after God of War and The Last Of Us first party AAA stuff is looking a lot quieter than it has been for a while. We know the likes of Ready At Dawn are working on a next gen game, and it’s reasonable to assume Naughty Dog, Guerrilla and Polyphony are too, amongst others.

This generation’s really starting to show its age now, and although I still have fears that next-gen will be all about trying to get more and more money out of us for games that’ll ship with half the content, in terms of new hardware alone I’m desperate to see what’s around the corner. I’m hopeful that Sony get this right, that the PS4 (or whatever it’s called) is easy to develop for, isn’t wildly expensive (they can’t do another £425 launch, that’s for sure) and the games turn out great.

More leaks are likely, so hopefully we’ll find out more soon enough.

79 Comments

  1. I’m naturally interested having been a gamer for over 20 years but for the first time in a long time, I can safely say this generation has not only put me off completely being a day one adopter but my interest in videogames has subsided too from the heady days of PS2, Gamecube and Xbox.
    It’s waiting to be re-ignited but I’m more than ready to wait and see, the damage has already been done.

  2. I’m glad it’s not going to have the rumoured 4K rez; it would make it more expensive (I think), and if they can guarantee 1080p at 60fps in every game it’s all I need.
    As for the interest in it, well, I think Summer 2013 is a good date for it to arrive, although I doubt I’ll be buying as soon as it comes out. It will surely be expensive, and I still have PS3 games on the back burner that deserve to be played.

    • Every time I see someone say something as retarded as this, I want to punch them. Modern AMD GPUs support 4K resolution naturally, it doesn’t cost a single cent extra to support 4K in a system like the PS4. 4K TVs are expensive, but in the future they’ll be standard just like 1080p is now. However, supporting 4K resolution is NOT EXPENSIVE.

      IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE FOR HARDWARE TO SUPPORT 4K RESOLUTION, MOST MODERN GPUs SUPPORT IT ANYWAYS. The PS4 will have two modern GPUs from AMD, if all the rumors are accurate, and AMD GPUs generally perform really well at high resolutions compared to Nvidia offerings. I expect good 30 FPS 4K resolution gaming two or three years after the PS4 releases, personally.

      • I’m sorry, could you maybe write everything in caps ? I’m having trouble seeing your answer with that big pile of crap you left in the first phrase :)

      • XisTG confirmed for complete imbecile, details at 4.

  3. I’m certainly looking forward to the launch of the PS4. Mainly because I wasn’t a part of the PS3 launch, and prior to that I was far too young to even know what was going on in the gaming industry, aside from the fact I loved playing on my N64 and PS2. So yeah, it’ll be sweet to bring home some new hardware on launch. I will definitely consider jumping ship if the PS4 is a struggle to develop for, as this gen has left me a little sore seeing what multi plat games look and run like on PS3 compared with the Xbox (think Skyrim). I do hope the standard of gaming is 1080p@60fps, and the 3d aspect isn’t really a concern for me.
    Having said that, if I don’t like the look of either console, I’ll just switch to PC gaming, I think that Steam’s Big Picture (or whatever it was called) looks good, and if I can get that running smoothly with a controller, then I’m sorted really… those steam summer sales are just too good to miss out on, heh.

    • Two things wrong with your Steam bits: Steam isn’t a good replacement for PC gaming because of the lack of physical copies of game(it’s a DRM service), and Steam does not sell games. They sell licenses to download and play games, but they have nothing against closing your 268-game account if they feel like it. Happened to me, I had to quit PC gaming over it. For four years I was a Steam gamer, I used around 90% of my entertainment money on Steam alone. I lost the account just because some Steam Support employee didn’t like me, and since Steam has a monopoly on the PC gaming industry I’ve had to quit PC gaming. This. Is. Horrible. I kinda wanna off myself over the whole matter, but instead I’m just investing into Playstation gaming. ;___;

  4. Cannot wait.

    For me, the PS4 has to output 4k. That’ll ensure 10 years compatibly, and 4k is where I am looking for film playback. 4k is the resolution that perfectly recreates film stock, so the picture can never be bettered on pretty much every film to date.
    I’ve embraced 3D and Move this generation. Games such as Datura, Unfinished Swan and 3D Sharpshooter FPSs have defined immersion for me… I want more, but can see it’s likely to remain a ‘nice to have’ unless the console is built around it.
    Finally, Trophies, Plus and Digital Purchases need to carry from the PS3 to PS4.
    This means backwards compatibility from the outset.
    Imagine having to re-buy every app you’ve bought on the Apple Store just because you bought the new iPhone. Okay… bring out HD or new versions, but I want my digital back catalogue, I want my SingStar catalogue and my Instant Games Collection.

    • Happy for gaming to be 1080p60fps (especially if 3D), but it’d be nice to allow developers to push the boundaries of the chipsets to the future. Wipeout and GT would probably be prime candidates for this.

      • I personally still think 3d is a gimmick, always has been and always will be. It still doesn’t immerse you in anything, it just looks different and then you get used to it after a while. I get headaches from it too if I’m watching a film, so its not for me.

        I think 4k res is too much, especially if they will be streaming games, it wont happen.

        Backwards compatibility wont happen, I can’t see why people want to play old games on a new system that can do more. It seems pointless.

        Whatever they do I just hope its enough to keep those exclusive games coming and being great as they have been.

      • 3D combined with Move is immersive, it getting closer to how I imagined VR could be when I first played around with it a decade ago – being able to move objects yourself in a 3D space creates that perfect connection between body brain and game.
        I’m lucky that I don’t get the headaches from 3D stuff (god knows what it’s doing to my eyes) and appreciate what ‘good’ directors are able to do with 3D film.

        As a film enthusiast – 4K is the holy grail, better for me than the move from DVD to BluRay (which the PS3 pretty much ushered in)… as it represents the moment visually where the digital transfer cannot be bettered.
        Most BluRays are 4K conversions – getting the most out of the format, and whilst I doubt most will tell the difference (like those that still question the improvement from DVD to BluRay) it’s more the knowledge that they’ve reached the limit.

        Backwards compatibility is going to be a HUGE issue going between the generations.
        I think you’d agree that you’d expect to keep your trophies… and that you’d expect to keep your wallet balance… how about movies that you’ve purchased?
        The PSN has been a huge success – especially with games such as Journey.
        I’d happily keep my PS3 connected up through my AV system to be able to play things like SingStar, but it’d immediately make PS4 a definite purchase if I can just pick up where I left off, with my digital PS3 content, and then whatever games come out in the PS4 release window.

      • Because games don’t stop being great just because someone makes a new one with some more pixels in it.

        I’m still waiting for games to be as super-playable as they were in the 90’s before the PS1 ushered in the switch to 3D gameplay environments even though the console was barely powerful enough to run those 3D environments with more than a few polygons on the screen & framerate slowed to a crawl to the point that gameplay was massively hindered outside of a couple of titles like Tomb Raider & suchlike.

        The shear volume of games available on the PS2 alleviated the problem with plenty of great titles, but this gen has largely been an irrelevant arms race that seems to be only just becoming into fruition actually in the next gen with systems powerful enough to run the ideas without dropping framerates, screen-tearing or awful texture pop-in being an issue as well as hopefully being powerful enough to have game-changingly more advanced AI. Sure, I’ve been amazed at some titles along the way like the super-playable Warhawk, & scared out of my sking by the original Dead Space, been open-mouthed at Uncharted2, wasted weeks or even months of my life in FIFA, had an amazing blast with Split/Second and had the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end whilst nearly, or actually in tears with Flower & Journey…

        …Actually, no… it has been great, roll on the PS4 launchday, I’ll be front of the queue, just like always!

      • Haha last paragraph summed it all up nicely.

      • Bilbo, Sony spent tens of millions of dollars in R&D making the Cell processor 22nm to slim down the Super Slim PS3 revision. There’s no way they would just waste that money on a simple revision, I have no doubt in my mind that they’re slapping that small, energy-efficient chip that produces very little heat into the PS4. It’s going to happen, it’d be business suicide not to pull that off.

        You say 4K is too much, I say just keep playing on lower-resolution 1080p displays. It’s disgustingly retarded that people are whining about the fact that it supports 4K, there is NOTHING wrong with that. It’s a good thing, don’t make it out as if it isn’t. The PS4 will rock as a home theater device, paired with a high-end projector. I’m just aiming for a 1080p one soon, but in three or four years that 4K compatibility will be very useful.

  5. ready for the PS4 would get it tomorrow if they released it.
    looking forward to Uncharted 4 GT6 KZ4 bring it on, Sony make loads of new IPS will be great old & new is how I like it.

  6. I hope all my PSN purchases at least are playable on the next and future generations of playstation consoles. I can store away my ps3 and discs in the attic when i buy a ps4 and return to them many years in the future (like has been done with Nes, Megadrive etc. over the years) but how will i access all my purchased digital content? PS3’s might even be discontinued from accessing the psn at that stage so i might not even be able to re-download those purchases.
    I know Sony can’t be expected to continue to support games 10, 15, 20 years into the future but it’s not like i would be looking for a brand new car – it would be just a simple ‘copy and paste’ to allow me to be able to continue enjoying my purchased content.
    That said, i’ll have to wait until we hear some concrete information on PS4 before i’ll know for sure how i feel about jumping into another generation of digital distribution. I will still probably buy a ps4 but if i can’t access my current purchases i won’t see the point in purchasing new content in that manner… even though that will limit my choices somewhat.
    Perhaps i was just spoilt with my backwards-compatible 60gb ps3 and ps2 before that :?

    As for another gen of HD remasters? They’ve pretty much HD-remastered almost everything pre-HD generation that anyone might want ( Turrican and Flimbo’s Quest still missing sadly) and i think current gen software will stand up through and beyond the next generation before those will warrant a makeover.

    I’ve spent too much time focusing on the negative and it’s late now, so i’ll have to save the positives for another day :-)

  7. £449.99 price tag.

  8. I’m ready. My PS3 has barely spun a disc since April.

    Although I do have BlOps coming soon (hopefully it gets more than the 10 hours MW3 got, what a waste) and WRC3 for christmas, and possible NFSMW.

    I’ll order it through work and hopefully get a nice discount, even if I get it a little late.

  9. A bit of a lame question but I wonder whether it will get a faster Blu-Ray drive? :P
    I’m excited to see the news start trickling out! More more more! :)

  10. When Red Faction: Guerilla came out they said Coop wasn’t possible because the PS3 couldn’t handle it. All I want is Red Faction: Guerilla 2 with local Coop…
    Oh yeah, THQ killed that franchise off… *sob*

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