I just watched ps4 conference which was back on Feb. And since there is no thread, here we go.
8 core, 64 bit modified 'Jaguar' AMD CPU
GPU has peak performance of 1.84 TFLOPS
8 GB GDDR5 RAM
Blah blah blah, whatever. Basically a high end PC. Which means it's much easier for developers to create games for it (unlike for cell architecture of ps3) and should thus reduce development costs. It also might have something to do with the larger number of release games. The GDDR5 RAM should give faster load times than the standard DDR3 RAM.
Of course with new architecture there will be no native backwards compatibility. They haven't ruled out emulation but i don't think they will do it (i hope i'm wrong). But they are looking at cloud based emulation with Gaikai. Not sure exactly how that works but it's apparently supposed to be a long term solution to backward comparability. I'm also not sure how streaming would work with ps3 titles and if internet connection speeds would become an issue. I would much prefer local emulation, call me old fashioned.
They are also supporting independent game developers which I think is good for the industry as a whole.
There will also be ability to live stream gameplay and chat with friends while watching. It would also be possible to give control of your game to a friend who is watching your steaming. Similarly you could play your ps4 via a playstation vita, with the console sort of acting as game server. So they are some cool features which i think plenty of people would find attractive. (although i, along with penty others, probably won't have use for them).
But this media streaming is provided by Gaikai and the service would probably be a premium, paid for, service.
Maybe more importantly, they said they will not be locking games to a console and so you will have ability to play 2nd hand games. BUT they did not explicitly state there would be no fee involved, although the question was not asked. But given the consumer backlash towards Microsoft, they should see the sense in not charging.
Still, looks like a heap of good stuff, more than what i expected. But i still hopr they would provide local emulation of old games.
Oh, and i liked the look of Destiny by Bungie. Looks pretty cool.
8 core, 64 bit modified 'Jaguar' AMD CPU
GPU has peak performance of 1.84 TFLOPS
8 GB GDDR5 RAM
Blah blah blah, whatever. Basically a high end PC. Which means it's much easier for developers to create games for it (unlike for cell architecture of ps3) and should thus reduce development costs. It also might have something to do with the larger number of release games. The GDDR5 RAM should give faster load times than the standard DDR3 RAM.
Of course with new architecture there will be no native backwards compatibility. They haven't ruled out emulation but i don't think they will do it (i hope i'm wrong). But they are looking at cloud based emulation with Gaikai. Not sure exactly how that works but it's apparently supposed to be a long term solution to backward comparability. I'm also not sure how streaming would work with ps3 titles and if internet connection speeds would become an issue. I would much prefer local emulation, call me old fashioned.
They are also supporting independent game developers which I think is good for the industry as a whole.
There will also be ability to live stream gameplay and chat with friends while watching. It would also be possible to give control of your game to a friend who is watching your steaming. Similarly you could play your ps4 via a playstation vita, with the console sort of acting as game server. So they are some cool features which i think plenty of people would find attractive. (although i, along with penty others, probably won't have use for them).
But this media streaming is provided by Gaikai and the service would probably be a premium, paid for, service.
Maybe more importantly, they said they will not be locking games to a console and so you will have ability to play 2nd hand games. BUT they did not explicitly state there would be no fee involved, although the question was not asked. But given the consumer backlash towards Microsoft, they should see the sense in not charging.
Still, looks like a heap of good stuff, more than what i expected. But i still hopr they would provide local emulation of old games.
Oh, and i liked the look of Destiny by Bungie. Looks pretty cool.