SA to get PS4, Sony says
2013-02-21 13:20
Cape Town – The Japanese electronics giant Sony which launched their new PlayStation 4 on Wednesday in New York said the new gaming system will be available in South Africa.
“At this time we have no official release date or recommended retail price for South Africa. We are however confident that a simultaneous release will shortly be available for all major territories. Ster Kinekor Entertainment expect to have more details on release strategy in the next few weeks,” Mario Dos Santos, chief executive officer of Ster Kinekor Entertainment, told News24.
Sony's next generation computer entertainment system redefines rich and immersive gameplay with powerful graphics and speed, intelligent personalisation, deeply integrated social capabilities, and innovative second-screen features.
The PS4 can effortlessly share interactive experiences, by instantly broadcasting video of gaming action or virtually handing out health potions to friends online.
The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) has been enhanced in a number of ways, principally to allow for easier use of the GPU for general purpose computing (GPGPU) such as physics simulation.
The PS4 is equipped with 8GB of unified system memory, easing game creation and increasing the richness of content achievable on the platform. GDDR5 is used for this memory, giving the system 176GB/second of bandwidth and providing a further boost to graphics performance.
Features
For the first time ever, gamers can share their epic triumphs with the press of a button. Gamers simply hit the “SHARE button” on the controller, scan through the last few minutes of gameplay, tag it and return to the game. The video uploads as the gamer plays. Gamers can also share their images and videos with their friends on social networking services such as Facebook.
PS4 also enhances social spectating by enabling gamers to broadcast their gameplay in real-time to friends using live internet streaming services such as Ustream. During live broadcasts, friends can make comments on the streamed gameplay and, if a gamer gets stuck on a challenging level, friends can also join the game in completely new ways.
Users can connect their Facebook account with the Sony Entertainment Network account. Through PS4, users are able to deepen their connections through co-op play or “cross-game chat”.
PS4 Second Screens
PS4 integrates second screens, including PlayStation Vita (PS Vita), smartphones and tablets, to wrap gamers in their favourite content wherever they are. A key feature enabled by second screens is “Remote Play” and PS4 fully unlocks its potential by making PS Vita the ultimate companion device.
A new application from SCE called “PlayStation App” will enable iPhone, iPad, and Android based smartphones and tablets to become second screens. Once installed on these devices, users can, for example, see maps on their second screens when playing an adventure game, purchase PS4 games while away from home and download it directly to the console at home, or remotely watch other gamers playing on their devices.
PS4 also enables games to be downloaded or updated in the background, or even in stand-by mode. The system takes it one step further by making digital titles playable as they are being downloaded.
When a player purchases a game, PS4 downloads just a fraction of the data so that gamers can start playing immediately, and the rest is downloaded in the background during actual gameplay.
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