PS4 launch: specs, games, features and more - everything here

News by Dave Cook Contributor

Published on Nov. 29, 2013

PlayStation 4 is out now. VG247's Dave Cook runs down all of the console and game essentials from specs and launch games, to future releases and interesting quotes. Get it all inside.

Christ alive it's actually happening isn't it? Someone pinch me.

We're finally here, the day PS4 has launched throughout the west, and from this side of the fence it's been one hell of a wild ride. Over the past few years we've seen several mad theories regarding Sony's next-gen strategy, but now there's no shroud or mysteries left to unravel, just the bare facts presented for your consideration. What happens after today is anyone's guess, but we'll be here as always, writing about it from our orbital news platform that never sleeps.

So to mark this momentous occasion, I thought I'd compile a hub page full of the juiciest quotes, the essential knowledge and impressions from our own team. Consider it a PS4 survival guide if you will.

The PS4 reveal and launch day details

PS4 was announced at the PlayStation Meeting 2013 event on February 21, and our very own Stephany Nunneley was at the reveal show in New York. In fact, you can still watch the Sony's stage presentation in full if you'd like to refresh your memory.
Now, almost a year later we're at launch. Sony recently celebrated the occasion by publishing this PS4 unboxing video. Look, it's really real! If that's not enough, here's a video of a Sony developer ripping the console open and discussing its innards.
Here's a trailer detailing the PS4 interface and PS Store functionality.
Sony recently released some PS4 trailers specifically for the console's American and Canadian launch. Watch them here.
The company also published an FAQ guide that answered 160 PS4-related questions. You can read it in full here.

PS4 Games

PS4 will cost $399 / £349 on its own and games will come in at a range of prices, both physical and digital. You'll find the entire PS4 launch game line-up through the link.
This trailer states that here are over 180 games in development for PS4 right now.
At the official US launch event we saw the first Uncharted 4 teaser trailer, and inFamous: Second Son was dated along with some new footage.
If you buy a game disc and install it to your PS4 hard drive, you should be able to play it almost immediately after starting the installation, according to recent hands-on reports. The game will continue to install in the background.
Games on Sony's platform will - much like their PS3 and PS Vita counterparts - have unlockable trophies. We learned earlier this week that each trophy will now be ranked in terms of rarity. How rare a particular trophy is will shift dynamically depending on how many people have unlocked it. Get the details here.
This is what the new PS4 trophy unlock animation looks like.
We've already posted PS4 trophy lists for Killzone: Shadow Fall and Need for Speed: Rivals, if you want to check them out ahead of getting your console.
Games will also come with capture capabilities thanks to the PS4's DVR function, allowing you capture 15 minutes of gameplay at a time. You can then share this online with the world. However, if you prefer to use an existing capture card, our very own Sam Clay has produced this video showing you how to set it up for use with Sony's new console.
Sony confirmed this week that it will continue to allow gamers to share and re-sell their games as they see fit, after changes to its software usage terms caused some concern.
To play games online you'll need a paid PS Plus subscription, similar to Xbox Live, except you'll get a wealth of free games each month. Sony confirmed this week that indie releases Don't Starve and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth will be free on the service when they launch.
You will be able to play your PS4 titles on PS Vita using both console's remote play feature. For example, Blizzard recently confirmed that Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition would come with the feature as standard. It's helpful if you get booted off the telly.

PS4 specs and firmware

The PS4's official spec sheet was released by Sony back in June. You'll find them through the link. The key stats are that it houses a 500GB hard drive, 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, an x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” eight-core CPU, and a 1.84 teraflop AMD Radeon GPU.
This official trailer from Sony shows off the PS4 up-close and includes a visual run-down of its specs.
Sony has overhauled the PS4 interface into a hybrid of the PS3's XMB model and a standard menu format. It's quite pleasing on the eye and you can see it detailed in full via this official trailer.
Just in case you needed the extra social bandwidth, Sony has upped your PSN friends list cap to 2,000 people. That's quite a lot, isn't it?
Sony has also confirmed that you will be able to use your real name as your PSN ID from today.
The PS4's PSN Party Chat feature will support up to eight players gabbing away at the same time, and this also applies to cross-gen chat as well.

DualShock 4 and the PlayStation Camera

Sony's DualShock 4 controller boasts motion control, a 'Share' button, touchpad, redesigned triggers and shoulder buttons, a built-in speaker, enhanced rumble and many other features. You can see the pad's full spec sheet here.
The DualShock 4's something of a indiscriminate beast. It works on Xbox 360, and Mac, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the PS3. Hit the links for video footage of it running on each format. Oh, and it'll work with PC at launch too.
PS4 architect Mark Cerny said that the controller's design was approved by FPS players, and that the stick placement was left alone to keep them happy. Lovely chap.
The PS4 controller design was, however, closer to the Xbox 360 pad at one point, according to Sony's Toshimasa Aoki.
DualShock 4 will come in three colours. See them all in our gallery.
We heard recently that the PlayStation Camera will launch with limited voice commands to start with, but that more phrases and features will be added over time.

PS4 apps, multimedia and the cloud

Back at the February reveal we heard that PS4 would use a SmartGlass-style app on Android an iOS, an app we now know simply as the PlayStation App. It's out right now, and if you have a PS Vita, it will also be 'PS4 ready' with the release of firmware update 3.00.
Sony's Video Unlimited app will also stream movies straight to your PS4 via the cloud. It's said to deliver content in about ten seconds. Yikes.
Speaking of video, the PS4 will support 3D Blu-Ray playback from today.
Sony released a full list of PS4's launch window apps recently, including Redbox, Hulu and Netflix.
Launch title Knack has a companion app called Knack's Quest, which is available on iOS now.
Sony's betting its chips on cloud-streaming game service Gaikai, and if Sony's Shuhei Yoshida has his way, he'd like to see PlayStation games streamed on the PS4, TVs, tablets and PC.

PS4 trailers

In case you're one of those folk who would rather watch the games rather than hear about them, I've chucked together a quick list of recent PS4 game trailers and commercials for you to enjoy. Careful not to let them get in the way of your work now.