Sony Reveals More PS4 and Dual Shock 4 Details

Yesterday, Sony gave a presentation explaining a bit about the new PS4 hardware, the development environment (Windows 7 based IDE), and the changes to the Dual Shock controller. From the article: "The system is also set up to run graphics and computational code synchronously, without suspending one to run the other. Norden says that Sony has worked to carefully balance the two processors to provide maximum graphics power of 1.843 teraFLOPS at an 800Mhz clock speed while still leaving enough room for computational tasks. The GPU will also be able to run arbitrary code, allowing developers to run hundreds or thousands of parallelized tasks with full access to the system's 8GB of unified memory. ... The DualShock 4 controller that's standard on the PS4 eliminates one feature that was seldom used on the PS3 —the analog face buttons..." The trackpad will support two touch points, the rumble motors can be controlled more finely, and the analog sticks were tweaked for "reduced dead zone and better feeling tension that grips your thumbs."

Comments

Re:Any Word On compatability?

[Somebody Is Using My]

The Playstation 4 will not be backwards compatible with Playstation 3 games.

Playstation 2 games will be supported via emulation, /if/ you buy and download them from the Playstation store (so no, you can't just pop in a PS2 disc and expect it to work; you need to buy the game again).

In other words, for full backwards compatibility you need all three devices.

The missing article...

[boarder8925]

I think this is the article in question.

Re:Analog face buttons?

[Tmann72]

Yeah, you do. It's the four face buttons with the X, O, Triangle, and Square. They had analogue capability in that they could detect how soft or hard you pressed them. This was used more in the ps2 days, but has fallen out of use since it rarely made things better.

DNAS error -103

[tepples]

There are a few titles that have basically infinite re-playability, too, because they're about interacting with other people.

If by "interacting with other people" you mean "online play", Sony is known for closing these titles' matchmaking servers with DNAS error -103 ("This software title is not in service") to make you buy the sequel. If by "interacting with other people" you mean something else, please elaborate.

Re:DNAS error -103

[cayenne8]

If by "interacting with other people" you mean "online play", Sony is known for closing these titles' matchmaking servers with DNAS error -103 ("This software title is not in service") to make you buy the sequel. If by "interacting with other people" you mean something else, please elaborate.

Yeah, I'm a bit concerned on this front, but for a different reason.

I bought my PS3 a few years back because then it was a reasonable price for:

1. 3D Bluray player

2. It streamed Netflix 3. Now, it also streams Amazon Prime

4. Oh...apparently it plays games too.

I use it a great deal for watching HD YouTube these days, and streaming NF and AP.

I've bought like 3 games, I tried Red Dead Redemption and love the game, but can never get the hang of it.

I used to could play game quite well as a kid, but I can't seem to get the real memory and muscle memory to get down all the freakin' controls on the dual shock. Two joy sticks (that also are press-able buttons) and the other plethora of buttons, and then on top...this new (to me) 3rd person view.

I do ok till a gunfight hits, and next thing I know, I'm staring at the sky or the ground and blood stains are filling the screen.

I guess I need to find 2-3 weekends in a row, with nothing else to do but sit down and learn the damned controller.

The games look cool, I would thing that the Batman Arkham Asylum would be fun, but shit, I don't think I stand a chance to play that one till I can somehow develop the muscle memory for the controllers.

Anyway, I digress, but I bought the PS3 mostly as a nice BR player and streaming machine.

I hope those functionalities aren't dropped anytime soon after the PS4 comes out.