Sony has released more details on PlayStation Plus for the PlayStation 4, detailing new features for subscribers, as well as what will be available to all PS4 owners. As mentioned at E3 2013, owners will need to have a PlayStation Plus subscription to play online multiplayer games, but the social features of the PS4 and auto-updates will sit outside of PlayStation Plus.
Speaking to the Official PlayStation Magazing, SCE UK chief Fergal Gara has said that charging for online multiplayer on PS4 has helped reduce the price of the console. It’s the first time Sony will be charging gamers to play online, requiring a PlayStation Plus subscription to access the online component of games, although it was something Sony had to “agonise over for a very long time.”
When Sony first revealed details of the PS4 in New York back in February, there were only 126 developers working on games for the console. Sony has revealed that the number has now grown to over 500 developers via a press release. “Since February 2013, the number of developers joining has increased from 126 to 505,” says the press release.
Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed that the PlayStation 4, like the Xbox One, can use the power of cloud computing as and when it’s needed. Although the feature wasn’t mentioned in Sony’s E3 Press Conference, Yoshida says that developers are free to take advantage of the ability to do tough computational tasks in vast server farms.
Sony has tonight revealed the official box for the PlayStation 4. It’s unclear if the this is the final box art, but it looks very close to it. The box includes the size of the hard drive and color on the box, suggesting that these may change in the future. As with the PS3, Sony has offered different hard drive sizes and colours, so it’s safe to assume the same with the PS4.
Sony’s E3 press conference included a 7-minute live gameplay demo of Watch_Dogs, and we’ve included it below in case you missed it. The gameplay video shows how the game’s mechanics work and the wide variety of tools that Aiden has in his arsenal. The video also shows how friends can help you with co-op on mobile devices.
Andrew House, SCE’s President and CEO, has revealed that the PS4 is coming to western markets first due to “competitive pressures,” referring to Microsoft’s November release for the Xbox One. It will be the first time Sony has released a console in the West before releasing in its home country, Japan.
Sony revealed that PlayStation Plus will be available on the PS4 from launch, with one of the first games being the PS Plus Edition of racer DriveClub. The PS Plus version of the game will be the full game in terms of features and mechanics, but will have a scaled-back number of tracks and cars.
Sony has announced The PlayRoom for the PS4: an augmented reality application that uses the PS4’s Camera and DualShock 4 controller for fun and innovative experiments. The application tracks the Light Bar on the controller using the PlayStation Eye Camera to create holographic panels around you on the screen, allowing you to use the touch pad to scroll and select the various options.
Square Enix announced at Sony’s E3 Press Conference that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is coming to the PS4. But, Square Enix also revealed that gamers who purchase the PS3 version of the game will be able to transition their accounts to the PlayStation 4 version when it’s released in 2014.
