Sony's PlayStation 4 Officially Announced: Is it 'The Future of Play'? - Shelly Palmer

quotPlayStation wants to win the war against realityquotAlongside a montage of the company39s biggest video game icons that mantra was how Sony kicked off its massively hyped PlayStation event from New York City on WednesdayTo win that war Sony officially announced the PlayStation 4 the most advanced video game system the public has ever seenWhile Sony announced no price no release date aside from 39Holiday 201339 and didn39t even show a glimpse of the console in its twohour presentation it did show off the new controller fleshed out its integration with Gaikai cloudbased gaming showed off a bunch of brand new games and laid out the goals it hopes to accomplish with the PlayStation 4SISIPSony designed the PlayStation 4 with an acronym in mind SISIPSISIP stands for Simple Immediate Social Integration Personalization Each of these areas defined how the PlayStation 4 would be made and how it would stand out from the rest of the video game field What does each mean Let39s break it downSimpleSony said it wanted quotnothing between you and the gamequot To achieve this they wanted to make things as simple as they could possibly beNothing is more than a button press away Immediacy is a big deal and a big focus with the PlayStation 4ImmediateSony acknowledged that immediacy is now an expectation and it aims to reduce the lag time between you and the contentOne of the system39s coolest features and one that few amp8211 if any amp8211 preview or leak mentioned is a button that lets you suspend and resume your play session Pushing this button sends your console into a lowpower mode ready to resume when you are No longer will you have to wait for your console to boot back up and have the game loaded again One button press and you39re right back where you left offImmediacy also means being able to play games as soon as you can The PlayStation 4 has a secondary custom chip that manages your uploads and downloads which means you can download and update games in the background nothing special there but also download only part of a game and begin to play it before the whole thing is downloaded That39s very coolSocialOne thing that the leaks DID nail was the inclusion of a brand new Share button on the new controller You can take videos from parts of your gameplay Do something really cool Maybe something really stupid You can upload those to Facebook or Ustream two official partners of the PlayStation Network so your friends can stand in awe of you amp8230 or mock you relentlesslySony acknowledged that spectating has become very important and prominent in the video game community which is why this share button is such a big dealYou can also share a live stream of what you39re playing which lets you broadcast 100 percent in real time to your friends who can post comments on your screen They can help you out in tough areas or trash talk you when you mess up Really super stuck The PlayStation 4 also lets friends take over your controller remotely and help you get through a tough partThat39s ridiculously coolSocial also means that developers can design their games to have friends help you out in certain points like dropping potions or wiping out bosses when you39re stuck The WiiU39s New Super Mario Bros U did this locally but this is all done live over the PlayStation Network Nothing like this has ever been available in video gamesWhile we39re talking about the WiiU another similarity to Nintendo39s console You can use a PlayStation Vita to play PlayStation 4 games without using your TV Kids or spouse come in the room and want to watch TV Let them watch TV and you can still play the new Infamous The WiiU39s GamePad advantage just shrunk considerably amp8230 assuming you own a Vita which not many people doIntegrationFrom the start of its presentation Sony addressed our desire and our need for mobility Sony brought up the PlayStation Vita which they called the world39s most powerful handheldSony said it initially shaped the gaming landscape But in recent years it was the gaming landscape that shaped Sony We all became more mobile and wanted to play what we want where we want when we want Sony calls this quotEverything Everywherequot and it is a major focus with the PlayStation 4The Integration element of the PlayStation 4 will bring applications to smartphones and tablets web platforms and the Vita This will quotallow PlayStation 4 conversations to extend far beyond the living roomquotPersonalizationSony didn39t spend much time on this element but it holds a lot of promise The PlayStation 4 will get to know you and closer to the experience that you want in a video game console Rather than have a generic experience that39s the same for everyone Sony wants your PlayStation experience to be special and unique to youWhat Else is CoolSony showed off a whole bunch of video footage from upcoming games Watch Dogs which was shown off at last year39s E3 got a big reaction from the crowd We also saw for the first time new entries in the Killzone and Infamous franchisesJonathan Blow the mad genius behind indie smash hit Braid showed off The Witness which will be a mustplay when it comes out Braid was beautifully frustrating and The Witness seems to be more of the sameBlizzard also showed up and announced a partnership with Sony and also announced that Diablo III is coming to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 Pretty coolBungie is also coming to the PlayStation 4 with its newlyunveiled game DestinyPlayStation Move is sticking around and appears to be doing so in a big way The new DualShock 4 controller pictured above features a 39light bar39 that the new Move sensor will detect and interact with in brand new waysSony reemphasized its focus on media like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video It mentioned how widespread the PlayStation 3 was used for media and it wants the PlayStation 4 to continue in that legacyThe PlayStation 4 will also give developers more freedom to quotmake the games they39ve always wanted to makequot The new console will let them tinker with episodic content as well as freetoplay gamesSony set itself up to be the future of play Let39s see if that39s actually the case Seeing the console will be a good first stepShelly Palmer is Fox 5 New York39s Onair Tech Expert WNYWTV and the host of Fox Television39s monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Living He also hosts United Stations Radio Network39s Shelly Palmer Digital Living Daily a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology media and entertainment He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC an industryleading advisory and business development firm and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences the organization that bestows the coveted Emmyamp174 Awards Palmer is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2nd Edition York House Press 2008 the seminal book about the technological economic and sociological forces that are changing everything Overcoming The Digital Divide How to use Social Media and Digital Tools to Reinvent Yourself and Your Career York House Press 2011 and Digital Wisdom Thought Leadership for a Connected World York House Press 2013 For more information visit shellypalmercomRead all Shelly39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer ReportCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

Sony's PlayStation 4 Officially Announced: Is it 'The Future of Play'? - Shelly Palmer

Author

Publish date

Channel

Shelly Palmer

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

More Videos:

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

Sony's PlayStation 4 Officially Announced: Is it 'The Future of Play'? - Shelly Palmer

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Shelly Palmer

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

The payment was successful

Cookies