As expected amid all the recent rumors, Sony has announced the PlayStation 4, which will appear in stores in time for the upcoming holiday season. Seven years after the launch of the PlayStation 3, Sony on Wednesday presented the PlayStation 4 in the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York’s Manhattan Center.

The Japanese electronics giant hyped the machine as a “supercharged PC” with the ability to effortlessly share interactive experiences, by instantly broadcasting video of gaming action or virtually handing out health potions to friends online.

“Today marks a moment of truth and a bold step forward for PlayStation,” said Andrew House, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.

Specs

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As expected, the new PlayStation 4 will have eight core CPU, 8 GB of RAM, multiplayer, voice chat, video chat, store, and browser features. In addition, it will have optical/camera motion controls, HDMI video output, both wired and wireless controller type, built-in rumble support and more social features to download or stream games, games updates, TV shows, movies and more from internet.

Redesigned controller

Among the novelties of the PlayStation 4 is the new DualShock 4 control, very similar to the old versions of the command, but that includes a touch screen, headphone jack, a touchpad and a blue reflector strip and a specific action button will serve to join the streaming portal of games.

The command will have light bars that identify each player not only for color, but by motion or a 3D camera track the activity of the person. The new controller will connect with Sony’s Android based smartphones enabling phone users to chat with PS4 gamers and to control their PS4s remotely.

Improved User Interface

The user interface has been redesigned to function as a social network among users of PlayStation 4, with chat features and even playing games with another friend. Also, through instant messaging, friends can help in difficult missions.

To this end, Sony has partnered with Facebook and Ustream where users can comment instantly their experiences in each game and also with Gaikai, a company that the Japanese company acquired last year and used its technology to offer streaming services from the PlayStation Store.

Backward Compatibility

Using Gaikai’s technology to provide backwards compatibility gives the PlayStation 4 an edge over others. PS4 can instantly stream game content from the console to Sony’s handheld PlayStation Vita through a feature called “Remote Play”.

The PlayStation 4 will integrate with the PlayStation Vita handheld console for users to play remote controlling and modifying games with messages, but also integrate with smartphone and tablet apps to download or search for videos. But it was also announced that for the moment there is no compatibility with PS3 games and hope very soon Sony to create titles that also work on PlayStation Vita.

More Social

One of the most obvious changes to the gaming console is that music tracks can be downloaded directly from the Internet and you can start playing even before the download is complete.

The PS4 is designed to ‘know’ the players as to be able to predict which games people will buy and have them preloaded and ready to play.

Sony also gave the green light to create “the most powerful gaming network in the world,” said David Perry, head of cloud gaming company Gaikai. “By combining the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Network, and social platforms, our vision is to create the first social network dedicated to games.”

According to Perry, a button to control the PS4 will allow players to instantly share the game in real time with your friends, which may, in turn, make comments or come to the rescue of a colleague in trouble.

The new console should also allow access a wide range of entertainment referring especially music and videos, and stating that the group works to make new associations such as the online movie rental company Netflix.

Exciting Games

In terms of games, the PlayStation 4 will have more support from third party developers. Sony showed several first-party titles, including Shadow Fall, and a puzzle game from Braid creator Jonathan Blow called Witness; Drive Club, a team-based driving game with incredible graphical detail from British developer Evolution Studios; Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs; and the surprise gaming package from Developer Bungie – once owned by Microsoft.

Leading manufacturers of video game consoles are racing to upgrade their devices. The Japanese Nintendo was the first to take a step forward in presenting its Wii U, which replaces the Wii, the console that expanded the audience of video games through remote that detects the movement of the player and it sold 100 million units since 2006. Experts also expect that Microsoft will showcase its bestselling next generation Xbox 360 at the E3 Show in Los Angeles in June.