Sony Launches PS4, the Newest Generation of PlayStation

By Jane McEntegart
published

It's finally here.

The PS3 hit the market in November of 2006. Over the last few years, the market has been looking towards the next generation of PlayStation, the PS4. Today, after months of teasing us with photos, unboxings, and demonstrations, Sony officially launched the PS4. It's only available in select markets right now, but the PS4 has arrived.

The PS4 console packs an eight-core 64-bit x86 Jaguar CPU from AMD; a GPU with a unified array of 18 compute units, collectively capable of generating 1.84 Teraflops of processing power; 8GB of RAM; 802.11n WiFi; Bluetooth 2.1; USB 3.0; and an upgradeable 500GB hard drive. It'll set you back $399.

Sony says there will be 33 PS4 titles available by the end of the year, 15 of which will be Blu-ray titles SCE World Studio. The rest is made up of digital download titles. Sony is calling them the 'launch frame' line up, which means not all of them are available starting today, but they will be out in the next six weeks. Check out the full list below for what you can expect over the next month and a half:

  • NBA 2K14
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts
  • Skylanders Swap Force
  • Need for Speed: Rivals
  • Battlefield 4
  • Madden 25
  • FIFA 14
  • NBA Live
  • Killzone: Shadow Fall
  • #DRIVECLUB
  • Knack
  • Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag
  • Watch_Dogs
  • Just Dance 2014
  • LEGO Marvel Superheroes
  • Basement Crawl
  • Pool Nation Extreme
  • Contrast
  • Warframe
  • Pinball Arcade
  • War Thunder
  • N++
  • Minecraft
  • DC Universe
  • Planetside 2
  • Counterspy
  • ResoGun
  • Flower
  • Doki-Doki Universe
  • Hohokum
  • Tiny Brains
  • Super Motherload
  • Blacklight

The PS4 launches in Europe and Australia in two weeks, on November 29. UAE and Saudi Arabia will follow, on December 13, with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia getting the console on December 17, 18, and 19, respectively. South Korea, South East Asia, South Afrida and India are also suppsed to get the console in December, though Sony hasn't talked about specific release dates for those markets. Bringing up the rear, a whopping 99 days behind the North American launch, is poor Japan.

Head on over to Tom's Guide for their PS4 review, and stay tuned for our in-depth technical analysis of the new consoles coming soon.

Follow Jane McEntegart @JaneMcEntegart. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Jane McEntegart
19 Comments Comment from the forums
  • cubebomb
    they launch it and you cant even buy it.
    Reply
  • Innocent_Bystander-1312890
    That's pretty normal at launch... wait a few months, get others to beta test it for you, get the first hardware rev and you'll be set.

    IB
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    That's odd. The country that is the home of Sony is behind a US launch. Normally Japan gets the new Sony/Nintendo consoles and we have to wait it out.
    Reply
  • lp231
    I remember when PS3 came out, the news media was all over it and you see lots people camping outside for days just to get one.
    Reply
  • 9a3iqa
    As a PC gamer I welcome the arrival of the PS4 even though I won't be buying it. That is because games ported over to the PC will not be as watered down anymore since the PS4 is 8x more powerful than the PS3 and also shares a common architecture with the PC, meaning devs can spend less time porting and more time polishing.
    Reply
  • ircluzar
    Excuse me editors but I believe Watch_Dogs is not coming out until at least Spring 2014
    Reply
  • chomlee
    I picked up my pre-order last night at BB. There were about 80-100 people there, some with pre-orders and others waiting to purchase the rest. they say they hold the pre-orders for 8 days and then release the ones that are not claimed (might be a good time for others to check back). Anyhow, cant comment on the game graphics yet, the interface seems similar to the PS3 (nothing to steller there). I started it this morning so I could have it download my copy of BF4 while I was at work.

    I will say that it is very disapointing that the titles that are most interesting are the ones that have the longest delay (such as watch dogs). This reminds me of Killzone 2 for the PS3 which showcased the game (with a fake video) and then when the PS3 was released, Killzone 2 was delayed (for about 2 years).
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    yeah time to challenge my pc :) i think the gtx 670 can hold everygame at 1080p full
    Reply
  • gm0n3y
    Is it just me or does it seem like there is far less hype this generation than the last one? I have a lot of gamer friends and I don't know anyone that is planning on getting one of the new systems until early next year. Maybe everyone is just wary of new consoles after the Wii U fiasco and wants to wait and see. I wonder how many PS3 users will get the PS4 without realizing that you have to pay for online play.
    Reply
  • stevo777
    It was very simple for me. I have a Wal-Mart about a mile from me and I had put 10% down in September for pre-order. No lines, no hastle. Walked in about 12:15AM and was home with it by 12:30 or so. The PS4 is very nice, but I don't like that you have to go through the PSN to get online with it. Oh well, regardless that the PC can be more powerful, there will still be a lot of system exclusive games that I don't want to miss out on.
    Reply