Anyone ready for PlayStation 4?

On February 20th, Sony held a press conference to show off the new goodies that they have for us. The main reason for the conference? To unveil the PlayStation 4. One second, I'm going to nerd out for a second.

What else can I say? Heck yes! It's been confirmed, it's set in stone. It's.....awesome.

Rumors have been spread and spread about the new console generation. The Xbox 720, the Wii U, the PlayStation 4. Though we still have nothing on the 720, which is still just a cache of rumors, Nintendo already released the Wii U, and Sony has confirmed the PS4. It's not looking good for Microsoft. By that, I mean their fan base.


But on with the conference!

In this conference we were mainly told how Sony is pushing the barriers of gaming and how they could do that with the PS4. Now remember, most of conference was talking (not showing) and explaining the new console. But I'm going to skip over it just for you.

We were shown the new controller, the DualShock 4. Now you are going to see differences in this controller compared to the DualShock 3. For one thing, there's no Start and Select button. Instead, there's a touch pad and two new buttons, the share button and options. Let me say this now, I love having my start and select buttons. So this is kind of heart wrenching for me. To know that they aren't there... It makes me feel like my two children are gone. It brings a tear to my eye.

Alright, I was faking it; but really, I miss them. The share button brings you to a new level of showing your friends a game. How? You can livestream to video streaming sites like TwitchTV, Livestream, and UStream. You can quite literally bring the game to your friends. They can even watch you and chat through the PS4. The options button; I have no clue what it does. Sony didn't elaborate on any of it's functions. My best guess? It's the start and select button combined, it holds controller options and whatever else they moved to that small button. The rest of the controller is dynamically the same in terms of structure. It holds the same basic shape of the Dualshock. The thumb sticks have been redesigned slightly. They now have an indent, which probably helps with your fingers slipping. The wings of the controller apparently have their own rubber grips, as seen from looking at it closely. Triggers and bumpers are now more curved. Instead of an IR set of lights for the controller, it now has one light bar. Normally it is blue to signify 1st player, but their colors change depending on what port. It also flashes when low on battery. All in all, I love the new look, but I'm not too keen on the touchpad and no start and select button.

On to the next segment of the conference; the game trailers. Good Lord, those trailers were great. Let's start with one of the first ones they showed off, Knack.

Knack is the first confirmed PS4 game and it's one that shows off how many polygons can be shown onscreen. They did this using the actual character; Knack. Knack is a small robot that is powered by mythical gems in his body. He can assemble himself with anything around him. Thus, he can make himself larger and more powerful. If he wants to be quick on his feet, he can create long legs for speed. And at the end of the day, you can't help but wonder how a tiny, cute robot could be so destructive. That's the name of the game; destruction. You can watch the smallest of fragments among a huger set of particles.

The next trailer, or tech demo, was made by Quantic Dream. Quantic Dream has been known to make really immersing games: Indigo Prophecy(Fahrenheit in the UK), and Heavy Rain. These games make you feel emotion, and draw you in with the characters they create. Well, with what they showed us at the conference; they are really showing you what the PS4 can do with graphics. Just look at this old man. Think he is really there? A live person? Wrong. That is what the PS4 can do with their graphics. This guy looks so realistic, no miscounted polys, no character clipping. Over 30,000 polygons moving to create movement and emotion. Quantic Dream showed us how amazing they made this old man look. He breathed, blinked, and had the texture for it. You could see his wrinkles, his temples and the veins on the top of his head. All of it looked breathtaking. Quantic Dream; we love you.

The next trailer made my day. Let me introduce you to InFAMOUS: Second Son. Now this is coming from a die hard fan of the Infamous series. I LOVE these games. And the trailer just makes me want to see more. The game is suppose to take place seven years after Infamous 1 and 2's story. The new location is the military state of Seattle, Washington. The entire state is in a lock down and is constantly monitored for good reason. DUP(Department of Unified Protection) does not want anything like what happened in the first two games to reoccur.

Thankfully, our main protagonist can stop such a thing. Gifted with conduit-like powers, Delson Rowe, seeks to stop the oppression. Already, I love the trailer's graphics and Delson's attitude. He's cocky, kind of lovable, and has the looks for his character. That being that he sort of looks like a college dropout, or a survivor, both just like Cole. And I love that beanie he is wearing.

And finally, the last big thing about the conference; Watch Dogs. Oh man. I have been waiting for this game for a long time. The concept is amazing. Every major city is connected to a central CPU hub. And every electronic scrap of data is connected to the that hub. Now imagine you had the access to that data. Everyone's personal information to tied to it, and the power to control any electronic devices is open too. Sound amazing yet? It just gets better.

You are Aiden Pearce, a hacker and turned vigilante with access to this system. You have the brains for the job, but you don't just do this for fun. You have access to everyone's personal data, and, don't forget, you aren't tied down by the story-line. It's an open world game, filled with parkour, GTA car physics, and side quests. Your family is being hunted, thanks to your history. But you aren't going to back down easily. With your skills, you fight back and stop your enemies, but not just them. You can help anyone in the city that requires it, becoming the de-facto "masked crusader" of Chicago. The graphics look stunning, really making you feel like the city is alive with people and events. Everything is dynamic, from the lighting and time swapping, to the people's day to day life. They aren't just faces with voices, you know their past and their medical history, making you feel kind of bad that you ruined their day with a high speed police chase. It's amazing to watch, to walk around, and just think of the possibilities with Watch Dogs. It can't come any sooner. And as soon as I know a price for the PS4, I'm picking this game up the first day of release.

And that is the conference! It was just eye candy to see all the amazing games Sony is bringing us. The system? It's graphics are an amazing step up, surprisingly. I didn't think you could get better, but hey; I'm impressed. I still don't know what it looks like, but I'm sure it'll impress somehow. And still no price, sadly. When I know it, I'll really think about it. Sony hasn't let me down yet with any of their consoles. The controller? Can I just have my start and select buttons? But enough gushing; I really hope you enjoyed the post, this is my heart you're reading right now. Keep on gaming everyone!

Every one of these images were found at their own wiki.
watchdogs.wikia.com
Knack.wikia.com
Infamous.wikia.com
Ign.com
I do not own ANY of these products. PS4 and any other related symbol is owned by Sony.
The rest can be said with the games.
Don't sue me, guys, I love your stuff!