Sony has always offered some of the most innovative products, and its video games have been among the best without a doubt. Now you have a new video game console from Sony to look forward to, the PlayStation 4. Most likely, the name of the console will be titled PS Orbis and it will be released around the Christmas season of 2013. Getting some information from a key informant, some specifications of this video game console have already been released. However, the timing of Sony’s release is not official, so there is always the possibility of a change in the announcement.
The PS Orbis will be built around the AMD Southern Islands GPU and AMDx64 CPU. AMD Southern Islands GPU is a name given to many of AMD’s 2012 high-end PC cards. The PlayStation Orbis GPU will be able to display games at a resolution of approximately 4096×2160 pixels, which happens to be more than what typical HDTVs require. It will also be possible to play 3D games in 1080p.
Sony’s current PlayStation console contains a chip that allows users to play older PS2 game titles. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 4’s backwards compatibility feature has been completely ignored (so it seems at the moment) and is focused solely on future-gen titles. For those who love to play their PS3 games, you might want to stay put until the issue is clarified in more detail, as PS Orbis won’t let you play them. This is Sony and Microsoft’s attempt to kill off the second-hand video game market. Also note that there will be no resale value for any PS4 games, as it is said that they will not be tied to the Sony Entertainment Network. PlayStation 4 will have a 32nm Cell processor with around 16 SPEs, which is double what PlayStation 3 has. There is potential for a great partnership with Google.
PS Orbis will also come equipped with a downloadable Blu-Ray feature which may make things difficult for some. Digital distribution is definitely a step forward, although there’s no denying that not all users of this game console will have access to fast broadband connections. To play the new games you will have two options, a PSN download or the Blu-Ray disc. If you choose to purchase the disc, then there is a PSN account you need to be locked into, and only then can you play the game, save it to your HDD, or attach it as downloaded in your account history. Although the Orbis has yet to be released, and probably no one has seen it, fan-created images of this new console are already being posted all over the internet.
If it is anything like the posted images, it certainly looks great and immensely attractive. It’s not that the previous models didn’t look good, just that with further development, this one looks even better. As already mentioned, the release date is said to be around the 2013 holiday season, most likely around Christmas. Sony will launch its PlayStation 4 before the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox 720. Previously, Microsoft 360 launched a year before PS3, and this got it off to a great start. People had already bought it before they even took a look at PS3. It is natural to believe that this time Sony will not take such risks. Whether the name PlayStation Orbis is just a nickname or the real name has yet to be found out, but one thing is for sure: the new PS Orbis will definitely take the world of gaming one step ahead of anything we’ve seen before.