This is it people, finally we know what the Sony PS4 looks like. There is a lot happening at the E3 conference happening right now, and we’re struggling to keep up. But, the one event everyone seemed to be waiting for was the Playstation 4 reveal. Sony still had a lot of questions to answer, questions such as:

What does the PS4 look like? Whats the Price? Is online multiplayer still free? And the big controversial one, Will used games have a fee?

Also see: E3 Convention – PS4 VS Xbox One Showdown

Here’s a quick recap of how the 2 competing consoles stack up, the Xbox VS the Playstation 4:

Xbox One VS PS4

Xbox One VS PS4

 

 The Look:

PS4

PS4

Surprise surprise, its a box! “It is a design that is sleek and visually impactful wherever it is placed,” said Andy House, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment said during the reveal. And that’s probably true, or at least, it’s fair to say that the PS4 isn’t any more obtrusive than the PS3 was. But it still looks a bit bulky at first glance, it does have one up on the Xbox don’t you think? Then again, if you put the Xbox on it’s side, they’re quite similar:

Xbox One

Xbox One

 

The Price:

PS4 is coming in low at $400, undercutting the Xbox One by a cool $100.

 

Used Games

The PS4 has NO new restrictions on used games! At all! And doesn’t need to go online to authenticate. Sony just won tons of hearts and minds. I’m sure xBox will have to rethink their used game policy now.

That means, specifically, that when you buy a PS4 game, it’s yours to do with as you please. As Sony gleefully highlighted, that means you can:

  • Trade it in at retail
  • Sell it to a retailer
  • Lend it to a friend
  • Keep it forever

Microsoft, by contrast, limits your ability to sell used games in a way that many in the gaming community felt onerous.

 

New Games

Sony had at least one major exclusive to announce for PS4. It’s a steampunk romp with (big) guns and (scared) horses. There is shooting, there are bad guys, there are intentional anachronisms aplenty. It’s called The Order, and while it might not be worth buying a PS4 specifically for, it definitely looks awesome!

There are other games. There’s Drive Club, a racing game. Infamous: Second Son, a sequel. Transistor, which, okay, that looked awesome.

Sony played up indie developers as well, highlighting everyone from Tribute Games to Young Horses to Switchblade Monkeys to Ragtag Studios. Yes, that means Octodad. And every single one of them will be making an exclusive debute on PS4. Although “debut” is different from “lifetime.”

Maybe the biggest get, though, is Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III, both of which appear to be PS4 exclusives.

From these first impressions, and specifically for the gaming community, the edge pretty clearly goes to the PS4 right now. Used games aren’t tainted by DRM restrictions, the console itself is cheaper, the graphics are sublime.

Regarding availability, all we know is it is “This Holiday season”, which is probably August/September.

 

Also see: