Sony PlayStation 4: everything you need to know – The Verge

Sony prepares to bring PlayStation to China

2014-05-26T04:02:11-04:00

Microsoft and Sony's global battle for gaming dominance is about to spill over into China. After the country's longstanding ban on home consoles was lifted earlier this year, Microsoft announced it'll start local sales of the Xbox One in September, and now Sony's putting plans in motion to do the same with its PlayStation. Documents filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange show Sony has set up a pair of joint ventures with Shanghai companies for the production and sale of PlayStation hardware and software.

"Quality, healthy games that are suitable to China's national conditions."

In the wake of the ban lifting in January, all Sony had to say wa …

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Sony extends PS4’s lead over Xbox One despite ‘Titanfall’ launch

2014-04-17T19:03:07-04:00

Titanfall was the best-selling game for the month of March, according to NPD, but it didn't help Microsoft take the lead in the latest console war. Today, Microsoft has announced that the Xbox One has shipped over five million units to retailers, but yesterday Sony reported selling seven million units of the PlayStation 4. That's a sizable lead for Sony, especially considering that Sony says those consoles were actually sold to consumers, not just those sitting on retail shelves. (The PlayStation 4 is frequently sold out.)

Still, it's important to note that neither company is losing this battle: both Sony and Microsoft's gaming machines are …

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Sony reveals Project Morpheus, its VR headset for PlayStation 4

2014-03-18T20:58:09-04:00

Sony has revealed its plans for virtual reality technology on the PlayStation 4. Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, showed off a prototype headset at a Game Developers Conference 2014 event entitled Driving the Future of Innovation. "Nothing delivers a feeling of immersion better than VR," said Yoshida. "VR has been a dream of many gamers since the computer was invented. Many of us at PlayStation have dreamed of VR and what it could mean to the gaming community."

"Nothing delivers a feeling of immersion better than VR."

The VR system is currently codenamed Project Morpheus, and will work with PlayStation 4. While still in p …

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Over 322,000 PS4 consoles sold on Japanese opening weekend

2014-02-25T01:29:31-05:00

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The PlayStation 4 appears to be off to a good start in Japan. According to figures from Japanese magazine Famitsu, 322,083 PS4 consoles were bought in the first two days on sale - that's nearly four times as many as the 88,443 PS3 systems sold on its opening weekend back in 2006.

Nearly four times as many as PS3

However, the circumstances were a little different. While the PS3 was extremely supply-constrained for its first few months, and its successor remains hard to find around the world, Sony appears to have secured a lot of PS4 stock for the Japanese launch.

It's also worth noting that the Wii U sold 308,570 units in Japan in its first …

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PlayStation 4 goes on sale in Japan, and there’s no competition

2014-02-21T22:24:04-05:00

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The PlayStation 4 is now available in Sony's home country of Japan, over three months after it first became available in the US. The release comes after Sony has racked up impressive figures elsewhere; the company announced earlier this week that it has sold over 5.3 million consoles worldwide as of February 8th, and managed to nearly double Microsoft's Xbox One sales in the US for the month of January. It remains difficult to find on store shelves.

In Japan, the console is being offered in two packages: a regular edition for ¥41,900, and a bundle with the PlayStation Camera peripheral for ¥46,100. Both options also include a downloadable v …

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How the PlayStation 4’s ‘Playroom’ brought out the worst in gamers

2013-11-29T08:27:39-05:00

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The stars of Sony's The Playroom are meant to be its robots. Small, white, and cute, they jump and wiggle around at the feet of their owner. The Playroom - an alternate reality game that comes pre-loaded on PlayStation 4 - projects the miniature machines into players' living rooms. Using the PlayStation Camera, players can interact with them, kicking, flicking, and cradling them as they frolic and cower.

But on the world's biggest video-game streaming site, Twitch, the stars of The Playroom haven't been its robots - they've been its players. The PlayStation 4 can stream any of its games live. Streaming a video game is like having someone wa …

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How much faster is a PlayStation 4 with an SSD?

2013-11-25T05:14:01-05:00

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We've known for a long time that users will be able to swap out the hard drive in Sony's PlayStation 4 for another model, but what type of drive makes for the best replacement? Tested recently ran a side-by-side test with a trio of drives to determine which offers the best performance and value. A 256GB Samsung SSD, a Sony-issued 500GB standard drive, and a 1TB hybrid drive (a regular hard drive with a small amount - in this case 8GB - of solid-state storage added) were all used to boot up the console and load various games, with the results unsurprisingly showing the SSD outperforming the original drive across the board.

Hybrid looks like a …

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Sony sells over 1 million PlayStation 4 consoles in just 24 hours

2013-11-17T06:40:56-05:00

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Sony's next-gen PlayStation 4 console is off to a good start. The company announced today that it has sold over 1 million consoles in just 24 hours. Sony's PlayStation 4 only launched on Friday in the US and Canada, so it's an impressive start for just two regions. "We are thrilled that consumer reaction has been so phenomenal," says Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment. "Sales remain very strong in North America, and we expect continued enthusiasm as we launch the PlayStation 4 in Europe and Latin America on November 29th."

The PlayStation 4 is now Sony's fastest-selling console, with North American sales surpa …

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Sony PlayStation 4 review

2013-11-15T10:27:04-05:00

Seven years is a technological eternity. Yet the PlayStation 3 has sold well for that long, ever since DJ Fatman Scoop and Ludacris hosted its blowout launch event in New York City in 2006. At launch, the PlayStation 3 was big, heavy, and expensive - it took nearly two revisions and almost a dozen SKUs of PS3 to get Sony to 2013. The console now starts under $200, the controller rumbles, Blu-ray is the dominant physical disc format, backwards compatibility is a moot point, and there's a large back catalog of titles both physical and digital. PlayStation Move exists now.

But even as the current generation continues to adapt and evolve, Sony …

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PlayStation 4 launch freebies include $10 digital credit, 30-day PS Plus and Music Unlimited trials

2013-11-08T10:29:34-05:00

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The launch of any new console can do some serious damage to your bank account. But one week ahead of the PlayStation 4's launch, Sony is announcing a trio of free pack-ins meant to reward games who invest in the console early on. For a limited time, PS4 buyers in the United States and Canada will receive three bonuses packed in with the console. First is $10 worth of PlayStation Store credit that you're free to use however you'd like, be it for a game purchase or HD movie rental. Next is a 30-day trial for Sony's Music Unlimited service. Unfortunately, this one's only valid for new premium plan subscribers.

But the third voucher is arguably …

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