After seven years, Sony Entertainment launched its new console, the Playstation 4, on Nov. 15. Selling more than one million console units within the first 24 hours, and 2.1 million console units after Dec. 1, Sony has sold more Playstation 4 console units on release than any Sony console in the past. Seven hundred thousand of this income came from European, Japanese and Australian regions alone, revealing the popularity of the console outside of the United States.
Sony Entertainment has released four consoles in the last 19 years (not including the Playstation Portable or the Playstation Vita.) This is more than its leading competitor, Microsoft Corporation, and its popular Xbox gaming console. Microsoft released its first console in Nov. of 2001, and its third generation console in 2013.
The 2013 release date for the next generation Playstation console nearly lines up perfectly with the release date of the Playstation 3, which launched on Nov. 11, 2006, only five years before the launch of its previous console, Playstation 2. This seemingly random release schedule for the next generation console keeps up with seemingly coherent releases of the Xbox consoles. The Playstation 4 hit public shelves just six days before the launch of the Xbox One, and the Playstation 3 came out only a year after the worldwide market launch of the Xbox 360.
Standard launch units include the Playstation 4 console and one Dualshock controller. The console comes complete with 500GB of data, Blu-Ray player, and USB inputs, HDMI, and Optical Digital Outputs. Sony’s Dualshock 4 controller comes with a touchpad built into the front of the controller, motion detection (via Sony’s patented three-axis gyroscope technology,) and vibration feedback. Audio hardware for the controller includes a 3.5 mm audio port for both headsets and standard headphones, and a single mono speaker that relays game audio from the controller. Internal batteries allow for direct USB charging from the console. An LED light bar located at the top of the controller allows for player identification based on color.
Software capabilities for online Playstation Network (PSN) access and Playstation Move motion gaming are included. Playstation Move camera does not come included with standard launch units. Additionally, the Playstation 4 comes with 8GB of available RAM which allows for high levels of graphic processing and multitasking facilities that allow for applications to run and switched or managed in the background. Software for the console runs on Sony’s Orbis OS, which is a modified version of the predeceasing FreeBSD 9.0 operating software.
Some launch titles for the Playstation 4 are Assassins Creed 4, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty Ghosts, Blacklight Retribution, and Fifa 14, Launch titles for 2014 are Divekick, Minecraft, Planetside 2, and Watchdogs. For more launch titles, click here.
Prices for standard Playstation 4 console units start at $399.99 in the U.S. Similarly the console is priced at €399.99 in European regions and £349.99 in the UK. Both Playstation Move camera and added Dualshock controllers retail at $59.99 on average in the U.S., UK and European regions.
