According to information coming out of Japan (from newspaper Asahi Shimbun, via The Verge), Sony’s PlayStation 4 will be launched in the east for around 40,000 Yen. That’s roughly around £270 in the UK and $430 in the US. Compare these numbers to the PlayStation 3’s launch price of 60,000 Yen, which is around £420 and $600, and it’s a bit of a tasty price drop for the unit.
The report in the Japanese paper also states that the console will be announced on February 20, and will see the light of day in Japan and the US this year. No mention was made of Europe, so it could be late this year, or possibly 2014.
The drop in price is surely a good thing, probably down to the fact that the new unit won’t feature crazy tech like the Cell processor, but will instead be made up of more economical, PC-like parts, much like the Xbox.
The same article also states that the new controller, which may ditch the much-loved DualShock design, will include a touch screen, but will be almost the same shape as the Dual Shock. Hmmm.
The PS4 may also make use of cloud technology provided by Gaikai, which is a gaming service bought by Sony in 2012 for $380 million.
So, another day, another rumour, but you can’t deny the new consoles are intriguing beasts. Of course, if the rumours are true about dates, then we’ll have some concrete facts very soon.
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