Sony unveils the PlayStation 4, will not be compatible with PS3 games

After all of its recent theatrics, it seems to finally be time. Sony seems to have finally announced its next-gen console—the PlayStation 4. While we still don’t have much information on the console, it is still good to hear some official acknowledgement about it. After Sony’s event though, it probably won’t be long before Microsoft retaliates with an announcement of its own.

Sony has confirmed that an AMD-based x86 processor will be powering the console. It will have 8GB of unified high-speed memory and a “massive” hard drive. The new controller—dubbed the DualShock 4—also seems to be the same one which we saw earlier this month. It will have a touch pad that will have a share button, a headphone jack and a light bar to identify players. The light bar also works much like the Move sensor through a 3D camera.

Sony then showed off some videos of Unreal Engine 4 running on the PlayStation 4, where you can look around the world using the touch pad. Sony has announced that with its next-gen console, it will allow developers greater freedom. It will let developers explore new business models. This could mean an emergence of free-to-play titles on consoles.

Sony has made it official. The PS4 does, in fact, exist (image credit: The Verge)

The console will also feature some new quality-of-life changes. The console is said to have a low power-state and auto saves games. You don’t have to wait for the game to load the next time you’re switching on the console. According to the company, the console can also download games in the background, even when the system is powered off. Games can also be played while they’re being downloaded.

The Share button on the controller will let you upload any video you from your console quickly to video services. According to the company, "Our goal is to make sharing of video as popular in PS4 as screenshots are today." Videos are automatically uploaded while you play a game.

Taking a page out of Microsoft’s Xbox Smartglass, it looks like the PlayStation 4 will have some integration with smartphones and tablets as well. Presumably, apps will let you access the social aspect of PlayStation Network.

Sony has also finally unveiled what the company has been doing after acquiring video game streaming service Gaikai. The company has apparently helped Sony design the social aspect of the PlayStation 4, along with integrating game streaming on the console. "When your friends purchase a new game, you'll know immediately," says Dave Perry, CEO, Gaikai. "What we're creating is the fastest, most powerful network for gaming in the entire world."

As was expected owing to the radical shift in hardware architecture, Sony has announced that PlayStation 3 games will not run on the PS4, but the company says that it is exploring ways to make PS3 games available on “any device”.