Prepare for Sony Playstation 4

Seven years after Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo last locked horns in the console race, gamers find themselves once again at a crossroads as the giants of video games prepare to flex their muscles and show off their newest crop of world beating technology. Nintendo’s offering, the Wii U, was released a year ahead of the game but has received a distinctly mixed reception. This Christmas however, Sony and Microsoft will draw the battle lines as they seek to win the hearts, minds and money of gamers.

E3, June’s gaming showcase, is looming in the distance as the standout event for learning about Sony and Microsoft’s respective plans, but we already know certain pieces of information about the launch of the PS4 which we can get very, very excited about.

For the technically minded folk, of which I am most certainly not one, the inclusion of 8GB of RAM and an x86-64 processor might be the best news you’ve heard all day. For everyone else, it basically means that the PS4 has the power, graphics and running speed of a hugely powerful PC. While we may not fully understand the mechanics of it all, it is certainly an enticing proposition, opening up the possibility of simultaneous multitasking. Who wouldn’t want to be able to play a game, browse the web and stream a TV programme all at once?

Certainly the tech sounds pretty spectacular, but it comes at a price. Literally. With the price tag currently unannounced but expected to range from anywhere between £300-£600, students could have to make the most difficult of decisions; whether to prioritise gaming or the year round consumption of £1 vodbulls. There is however some good news on the price front. Sony bosses have finally spoken out to dispel the rumours of blocking pre owned games, saying they will “do the right thing”. Which means that even if you have to shell out the equivalent of 100 entries into Smack, a few years down the line you’ll still be able to pick up old copies of FIFA and Call of Duty for pennies.

It is too soon to say for sure what games we can look forward to come launch day, although there have been hints dropped as to titles that may be tied in with the console’s release. A new Killzone game, alongside a racing title named DriveClub both feature. An exciting project from Ubisoft, dubbed Watch Dogs also headlines, which simply put, seems to be a stunning cross between GTA and Assassins’ Creed.

There are promising signs too, more generally, on the developer front. 126 developers have signed up to produce PS4 games including heavyweights Activision, EA and Rockstar to name a few, meaning we should never be short of an engrossing new title to occupy our attention.

So long seen as an individual pursuit, Nintendo pioneered a new socially interactive form of gaming with the Wii, and the PS4 looks set to expand this notion even further. For the first time, you will be able to watch your friends playing their games and if the moment so takes you, even jump in and take control, as well as instantly upload video footage of your gaming pursuits for the perusal of interest parties. The newly designed Dualshock 4 controller even has a ‘Share’ button right in its centre, so if you hit that 40 yard free kick or finally kill that pesky boss in Resident Evil your Facebook friends and Twitter followers will be the first to know. It all makes for an unbelievably immersive, socially aware and inclusive gaming experience for everyone to enjoy.

While the news emerging from Sony is tantalising, there is still so much more to come. As of yet, we don’t even know what the PS4 or Microsoft’s new console, at the moment called the Xbox 720, will look like. So, while we can wet our lips in anticipation, keep an eye out for E3 news. It promises to answer all of our questions, show off some incredible technology and some even more incredible games.