What we want to find out at the PS4 reveal
It's pretty much set in stone, in the early hours of tomorrow morning Sony will almost definitely reveal the PlayStation 4 and usher in a new era of gaming. Sony is hosting an event in New York City and has hundreds of industry insiders from around the world attending, so we're pretty sure this isn't an announcement of yet another PlayStation 3 Slim model.
Console reveals are some of the most exciting events in the games industry, full of speculation, rumour, anticipation and... pre-rendered demos. We're hoping the PS4 reveal lives up the hype, and here are a few things we want to find out about Sony's newest hardware.
How big a part will streaming play?
Much was made of the news that Sony had decided to splash out $380 million USD on cloud gaming company Gaikai. Many people are pointing towards streaming as the future of gaming, the ability to play games over the web without even downloading them. This might be too much for some broadband connections to handle but it's definitely a possibility in the future.
What does it look like?
Let's face it; we're all tired of seeing the hundreds of PS4 mock-ups that are floating about on the internet right now. Any teenager with a copy of Photoshop can find an image of a toaster and write 'PlayStation 4' on the side in a futuristic font. Tonight, hopefully, we'll finally be able to see what the next-generation looks like. How big is it? What colour? How many USB ports does it have? And will they finally change the design of the DualShock?
Price range?
The pricing of the PS4 is a big, big deal. The PlayStation 3 was very expensive at launch and that might have driven some people over to the Xbox 360. Multiple sources are saying that the PS4 will have a lower launch price so the general public isn't alienated. It's unlikely that a price will be announced tonight, but when it does arrive something around the £300 GBP mark would be very welcome indeed.
Will pre-owned games be blocked?
There has been lots of talk about Sony and Microsoft's plans to block pre-owned games. Sony has already patented technology that can 'tag' pre-owned games to one particular console or account. This would basically destroy the second hand market and retailers that rely on selling these pre-owned games would also suffer greatly. Hopefully tonight we'll find out Sony's plans and whether it intends to stop players from ever trading in games again.
Games!
Last but certainly not least, we want to see some games. And not just 30-second teaser trailers, either. We want to see real, actual, genuine, in-your-face gameplay footage. This is the chance for Sony to show off what its hardware can do and wow audiences around the world. Are we likely to see Gran Turismo 6 shown off for the first time? Possibly. And hopefully there will be a few more exclusives thrown in as well.