PS4 Review 2015 Sony Playstation 4
The Sony PS4 Review 2015
This is the most powerful system and has undergone several updates since its launch in 2013. Over 20 million units have sold compared to about 8 million of the Xbox One consoles. It has held its price of $399 while Xbox One has gone down to $349 without Kinect.
The Ps4 design has also not changed since its launch, and why should it? The sleek, half matte, half gloss black system is quintessential Sony design. The PS4 meaurements are 275 x 53 x 305 mm, shorter and more barrow than the Xbox One. It weighs in at only a little over 6 pounds and carries its power adapter internally. That is appreciated when extra room is sparse and it is one less bulky thing laying around to trip over. It lays flat but can be stood upright with a separately sold stand that will set you back about $15.
The front contains two USB 3.0 ports fro charging the Dualshock 4 controllers, which it can do in standby mode to conserve energy. The back of the system has a HDMI port, ethernet, a digital optical audio out port, and a propritary port meant for the Playstation Camera. No AVI connections, only digital for the PS4. The PS4 still offers a HD Blu-Ray drive but no backwards compatibility with the PS3, PS2 or the original PS. although this is a much desired feature, we are told to include this compatibility would drive the price up too high on an already expensive system.
PS4 Specs
Under the hood you will find an 8 core x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” CPU with a 1.84 teraflop GPU based on AMD’s Radeon technology. It has 8GB of GDDR5 RAM for decent speeds, and a 500GB standard hard drive. The hard drive is upgradeable with no voiding of the warranty, and this is good because games are taking up more and more GB’s these days. Its wireless connections are 802.11 b/g/n for WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 for the DualShock 4 controllers. Sony has stated the PS4 is 10 times more powerful then the PS3.
Out of the box the PS4 contains the console, one controller, an HDMI cable, one USB charging cable, and a single earbud with microphone. The earbud plugs straight into the controller and does work well for what it is. You can however plug in another headset if the single earbud bothers you.
The PS4 allows you to play games without an update or connection to the internet unlike the Microsoft counterpart which does require internet connection before use.
The Dualshock 4 controller is much improved. It is a little heavier and larger than its predecessor but more comfortable to hold and use. It is more like the Xbox 360 controllers feel which is a good thing. Battery life is about six to eight hours and charges fairly rapidly in the USB 3.0 ports provided. It features a front facing light which can be taken over by games to add subtle nuances, such as GTA V flashing red and blue lights when the the cops are giving chase. Although it has not been fully realized to its full potential this controller also feature motion based control and a mouse-like touch pad.
Playstation Store
The Playstation Store has been rehashed and is better than before but still not as robust as Microsoft’s. Microsoft Live is also a more stable network then the Plastation Network, as it always has been superior. A PS+ subscription is required to play online multiplayer on the PS4, and will cost about $50 a year but does include a couple free games a month.
The Playstation Store now allows you to purchase titles before the release date and download them early. You will still not be able to play until midnight of launch day but that will appeal to those who are extremely impatient about playing new games. You may also begin to play downloaded games before the entire download is completed. this is a plus as bigger games mean more download times. Another cool feature is the Playstation app for mobile devices can begin a download for you while you are away. It will power up your system and begin the download and shut down so it is ready for you when you get back.
PS4 Features
The PS4 does sync with the PS Vita. You can connect up to four Vitas to the PS4. They can be used as extra controllers or to carry a game to another room so long as they are on the same WIFI network.
The PS4 has made sharing your game videos easier. You can edit them and upload straight to Youtube or other picture and video formats.
Playstation Now is a game streaming feature and has been released with a subscription fee of $20 to play as many games as you want. Otherwise you can rent individual games up to 90 days. Only not all games are included in the subscription and you may have to pay extra for the game you want. Streaming is relative quick and smooth and does not suck up you storage like downloads. Overall this is a great idea but somewhat pricey.
Playstation has also started rolling out Playstation Vue. This is a alternative to cable with many of the same channels other providers carry except there is no long term contract and no need for the extra cost of a cable box.
Spotify is a neat application that allows you to create a playlist from 1000’s of songs to listen to even while you play your favorite game. The application is free but subjects you to ads every few songs unless you upgrade. They also promise better sound quality with the premium service.
Conclusion
The PS4 is a great powerful gaming system and Sony has proven they are dedicated to improving their console over time. I rank it 8 out of 10 stars.