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Microsoft spent a lot of its May 21 Xbox event talking about entertainment services, so yesterday Sony was playing catch up. The company spent a portion of its E3 keynote talking about the PS4's entertainment capabilities outside of gaming.
Most notably, during its keynote, Sony mentioned that it would be producing exclusive original programming for PSN and PS4. Unfortunately, the company didn't go into detail on the content of this original programming, but Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton promised more information soon. Original content aside, PSN will also play host to Verizon's Redbox Instant, social movie site Flixter, as well as Netflix (already a popular service for PlayStation users), Amazon Instant and Music Unlimited, Sony's own music streaming service.
The company also confirmed plans for a cloud gaming service in 2014, though revealed little about its plans for the service. Sony did say that it would allow gamers on the PS4 and PS3 systems, followed by gamers on the PS Vita system, immediate access to a catalog of critically acclaimed PS3 titles. These games will be streamed using Gaikai’s network technology. For those who don't remember, Gaikai was acquired by Sony last summer for $380 million. PSN membership will carry over from PS3, though you'll require a PlayStation Plus subscription to play online, which kind of blows.
Of course, Sony also talked about games, detailing that it has more than 30 exclusive PS4 titles in development, 20 of which will launch in the PS4's first year of availability (for comparison's sake, Microsoft has previously stated that it will launch 15 Xbox One-exclusive titles in the first year of its availability). The PS4 catalog of games features 12 completely new IPs, including The Order: 1886 from Ready at Dawn. Sony's Shuhei Yoshida revealed that #DRIVECLUB, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and Knack will all be available at launch, while inFAMOUS Second Son will be available in the first quarter of 2014. Then there's Kingdom of Hearts III, Final Fantasy XV, Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, Watch Dogs, NBA 2K14, The Elder Scrolls Online, Mad Max, and Destiny.
Speaking during yesterday's keynote, VP of Developer and Publisher Relations Adam Boyes highlighted the work Sony has been doing with indie devs. As a result of this work, numerous new titles will be making their debut on the PS4 when it finally launches including Transistor by Super Giant, Don’t Starve by Klei Entertainment, Mercenary Kings by Tribute Games, Octodad: Deadliest Catch by Young Horses, Secret Ponchos by SwitchBlade Monkeys, Outlast by Red Barrels, Oddworld: New N Tasty by Oddworld Inhabitants and Galak-Z by 17-bit.
The PlayStation 4 is priced at $399, is due out in time for the holiday shopping season, and will come with one DualShock 4 controller. Additional DualShock 4 controller units can be purchased for $59, and the PlayStation 4 Eye will also be priced at $59 and sold separately.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
