Gamers have been waiting five long years, but finally the moment is upon us for the release of Sony’s Playstation4. While there will be those Playstation heads who have had the new hardware on order way ahead of the November 15th release date, what about those who are still deciding whether to invest in the new machine. So, what can we expect from the Playstation4 – and is it worth the money? In order to help you decide, we took a look at what the Playstation4 has to offer…
As with any games system, the first thing people want to check for are the games, and Sony have got some heavy-hitters lined up for the launch. Lovers of first-person shooters should check for ‘Killzone: Shadow Fall,’ which makes the most of the stunning visuals that the PS4 has to offer. Sports fans will be well catered for with EA’s ‘Madden NFL 25,’ ‘NBA 2K14,’ and ‘FIFA 14′ all dropping alongside the console. Sci-fi lovers may want to investigate the latest from Finnish developer Housemarque; space shooter, ‘Resogun’ is one of the titles that will be made available for download at launch. However, for all the promises, there is some bad news for existing Playstation fans.
Unlike previous Playstation consoles, the PS4 is not backwards compatible, meaning that you won’t be able to play your PS3 games. Despite this, there are moves to address the situation via a cloud gaming service called Gaikai, which is due for release sometime next year. Gaikai promises to let users stream PS3 titles from the cloud, including to PCs, televisions, Blu-ray players, smartphones and tablets, although it is not yet clear how many titles will be made available – or if gamers will automatically gain access to PS3 games they already own. Another move that may become a staple for making the transition between PS3 and PS4 less painful could be indicated by EA’s ‘Battlefield 4′ and Activision’s ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts,’ both of which can be upgraded to the PS4 version for ten dollars.
While there are sure to be complaints over the lack of compatibility with the PS3 at launch, Sony have worked to align the Playstation4 with the PlayStation Vita hand-held device. This allows gamers to “untether” from the PS4 and carry on the game on your Vita by using your Wi-Fi connection. This allows players to avoid calls that they are monopolizing the television. However, that’s not all, as the integration between the PS4 and the Vita means that you can use your Vita to make PS4 game purchases, message friends and watch gameplay from remote streams while the main game continues on the television screen. Reports say that some games will even allow the Vita screen to display useful in-game information, like in-game maps, while you play on your TV!
With all of this gaming goodness, there is concern that the built-in 500GB hard drive won’t be able to cope, but Sony have it covered with the PS4′s user-upgradable internal drive. Add a standard SATA drive (up to 2 TB) for more space, or plug in a solid-state drive (SSD) to reduce load times.
As with the PS3, the Playstation4 offers much more than just gaming – as the console becomes a whole centralized entertainment hub. The PS4 gives users access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video and Redbox Instant streaming, as well as Sony’s own Video Unlimited streaming service, which includes a huge library of movies and TV shows, with more to be added weeks before they get a DVD/Blu-ray release. Other services like Crackle, Crunchyroll and Epix will also be available at launch, while TV shows will be available to stream the day after they air.
Music lovers will be able to access Sony’s Music Unlimited through the PS4, which offers millions of songs, and allows users to create custom soundtracks to listen to while playing games. Of course, this is not free, costing between $4.99 and $9.99 per month, although it can be accessed via PS4, PS Vita, Android and iOS smartphones and devices. Despite these features, Sony seem to have dropped the ball slightly on their hope to provide a complete entertainment hub, since the Playstation4 doesn’t support playback of music CDs or MP3s.
Sony seem to have worked hard on preparing the Playstation4, and while they have certainly lost out on not making the console fully backwards compatible from launch, there are sure to be plenty of eager gamers waiting to check it out. The PS4 has plenty to offer as Sony continue to push their console as the premier gaming device. Players will certainly enjoy the improved graphics and other added extras, but ultimately, as ever, this battle will be won or lost on the strength of the gameplay and games themselves.
The post PopCulturez Gaming: To Buy or Not to Buy? What To Expect From The PlayStation 4 appeared first on popculturez.com.
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