Everything the PC gamer needs to know about the PS4 announcement

Hey, PC gamers. You’ve probably seen people talking today about something called a “PS4″. What is it? Who makes them? What does “PS” stand for? How are they up to four of these freaky things, when you can’t even remember there being a first one?

Well, don’t fret. Just because you run a gaming machine that’s already more powerful and has better graphics than the next generation of home consoles doesn’t mean you can’t expand your horizons a little bit — at least enough to understand some of the weird acronyms your friends were spouting before you interrupted and — correctly — changed the subject back to PC gaming (you should look into getting better friends, those ones seem untrustworthy).

[EbeneezerGoode]

PC gamers and PS3/4 gamers are NOT mutually exclusive.

I am 50/50 gamer between PC and PS3 at the moment. Will be PC + PS4 in future if Sony don't f-up between now and the launch.

[GamersRulz]

I was really surprised by PC gamers reactions to PS4 announcement. we ALL know that PC will always have an edge to any console released, yet the amount of insecurity showed by PC gamers is unbelievable.

It's like a guy who visit you in your house then start bragging that his house is better!! that makes me sick.

[xPhearR3dx]

Well when you have console gamers spouting about having 8GB of GDDR yet not knowing the slightest clue to what it really is, wat do you expect? PC gamers are all about hardware, and when informed people come in trying to act like know it alls, this is what you get.

PS Gamer - Holy S*** 8GB of GDDR

*PS Gamer Googles GDDR*

PS Gamer - I still don't know what it is, but we have 8 of them!! ZOMG It can out perform a PC!!

[Blackdeath_663]

saying GDDR doesn't mean anything you have to mention whether its GDDR3 or GDDR5

[guitarded77]

I disagree with you x10,000. I have a degree in computer science (programming), and have a bit of knowledge about architecture. Most PC exclusive players have an EXTREMELY LIMITED understanding of hardware and architecture themselves. Just because you put the pieces together out of boxes doesn't mean you understand how it works at different levels of abstraction. So stop acting like you know everything there is to know, and others don't.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

I expect them as human beings to not give a damn since it doesn't matter to them. In fact, it may be beneficial, since PC development won't be "held back" oh noez the ports! But, as entitled twats, I expect what we get.

[Bahpomet---]

AHND WAIT GDDR3 IS CURRENTLY UNRELEASED FOR PC AND WERE GETTING GDDR5 HOLY SHT AND 8 GIG BLOW ME

[clrlite]

GDDR5 and some people will be gaming on a PC as well as Playstation.

[Ju]

8GB GDDR5 is quite impressive, considering you can't buy a gfx card today which has that much amount of memory (max is 6GB).

And what we also don't know what it can deliver. If the core specs are true, it's about on the level what an A10K APU does, but with the significant difference that it has 8 cpu cores (2 clusters) and GDDR memory. Currently you can't buy APU motherboards with GDDR RAM.

Sure, it's not a top of the line PC these days, but it'll give everything you can buy today in the $1000 bracket a run for the money. Which is quite awesome.

[rainslacker]

From what I've seen maybe 1 in 100 in the PC crowd actually knows what they're talking about in regards to the numbers(Even less on here). For console it's maybe 1 in 250(Certainly less on here).

I have a basic knowledge of what the numbers mean having a degree in computer science, and my own personal interest in building comps, I just don't keep up on all the latest tech anymore because I'm not a tech junkie like I used to be.

Even some in the PC crowd said it wouldn't be 8GB of GDDR5 because it is too fast(so it'd be overkill) and too expensive, and even newer video cards don't come with that much.

I think the console crowd is blowing it a bit out of proportion, yes, but this is a pretty big thing for a console, and it will mean a lot to the games being made on it. It's the first time a console will be released with more memory than people were asking for(and very fast memory to boot), and is a huge plus for the PS brand for it's longevity.

Will it outpace a upper mid-high end PC? Probably not. Will it matter? Not at all.

[Jamaicangmr]

What a closed minded and intentionally misleading post.

Even if PS Gamers don't know the details of GDDR5 they do know however that it's better than the GDDR3 thats currently in their laptops and desktops so that alone is reason to celebrate.

I can't even believe you got so many agrees for that clearly skewed post.

[kevnb]

well the majority of pc gamers didnt say anything. What are pc gamers who truly dont care going to say? Now as a gamer that plays on both playsation and pc ill say the ps4 is about what I was expecting.

[clrlite]

It's more than what I'm expecting so I'm pretty happy, haha.

[guitarded77]

If you thought the PC community was bad, you should see the comments on Miiverse. Just ignorant fanboy dribble. However, I am delighted to see many of my XBOX exclusive friends say how impressed they are with the PS4, and how they plan on getting one ASAP.

I have no absolute platform loyalty... I choose to game on every machine I can. Sure I prefer some over others, but the only time I talk negative is if I have a legitimate concern/criticism. When I see people who are platform exclusive outside of financial/time constraints, I relate their way of thinking to that of a racist. They hate something without good reason, which shows their ignorance.

[BanBrother]

"However, I am delighted to see many of my XBOX exclusive friends say how impressed they are with the PS4, and how they plan on getting one ASAP."

Funny thing that a lot of 'new gamers' don't realise is, that most people who own an Xbox 360 had a previous Playstation console, and still do. Nintendo fans have more of a chance to have had mainly Ninty products, and PC has been around for ages.

My first Xbox console was in 2008, after only having had Nintendo and PS consoles before-hand, and most gamers I know on my friends list either have a PS3 or still appreciate the PS brand because they had a PS2 the gen before.

If you see an 'Xbot', they are most likely quite young still, as their first console was either the Xbox or 360, so they don't appreciate the 'roots' us older gamers share. (Not saying all the young guys).

[Computersaysno]

I saw more people saying PS4 kicks PC azz!

Than people saying PC kicks PS4 azzz!

Not that it matters if they did say that. PS4's hardware is solid if unspectacular. What matters is what games the developers will create on it, and whatever they do create will benefit PC gamers hugely because of the similarities in hardware....

[jmc8888]

A 360 and PS3 could outperform a 3000-4000 PC (or 2500 in core PC parts to build yourself) from a 2004 PC (the year before the 360 launched).

A PS4 is comparable to a $600-800 in core 2011 PC parts. (motherboard, ram, psu, CPU, GPU).

You make the determination whether or not that is high end and whether or not that is a step back or three from the starting point of a new console generation.

This is not good for console gamers OR PC gamers.

It's not about a pissing match, it's about saying hey, you know how watered down games have been the last 4 or so years? Well now that'll start a couple years earlier this round.

[BitbyDeath]

Can you stop spouting lies everywhere.

[SonyNGP]

I don't get it. Is the author trying to imply that PC gamers don't know what a Playstation is, trying to convince them to buy a PS4 or what?

[TitanUp]

im 50/50 between sony and pc gaming im excited for the ps4.

[kevnb]

I dont need to know anything, Ill just get one when there are enough games to justify a purchase.

[MasterCornholio]

I dont know why some PC gamers got so mad with the unveiling of the PS4. Everyone has the right to enjoy games not only those who game on PCs.

Anyways i cant wait for the PS4 because with the increase in specs should mean an vast improvement in the type of games that we can play. Also i wonder what PSN is going to be like with Gaikai integration.

[FlameBaitGod]

I hate this really, don't stereotype people plz. PC gamers, xbox gamer's didn't get mad, fan boys did. This applies to everyone in here saying "I dk y PC gamers" when they probably saw like 5 comments of fan boys hating. Those hating are --->FAN BOYS <--- or just haters and don't say PC gamers always saying they look better than console because there's always battles here between consoles on which one looks better and has better graphics, that's hypocrisy

[izumo_lee]

I do not know why PC gamers are so defensive. The PS4 specs should excite PC gamers cause games on both platforms will be more identical & maybe more console games can be ported to PC.

With Gaikai Sony is looking to put a lot more content on multiple platforms from phones to tablets to maybe PCs. It is a win win for PC & consoles.

[Bahpomet---]

but not kenectbox720 hhehehehehe

[izumo_lee]

Well the next Xbox could fall in to similar things with the PS4, we just don't know much about it which is the problem when trying to compare it to the PS4.

However things aren't that rosey from the leaked specs & direction Microsoft is taking with their new system. Ironic the guy that has leaked most of the specs gets his home raided by police is suspicious & the always have to be connected & that Kinect 2.0 is mandatory is a little sketchy.

[Saryk]

I love how people just stereotype others. Since when did all these PC gamer start crying about the PS4?

I haven't shed a tear. But I am selling my PS3 on EBAY, if anyone is interested!

[jmc8888]

Not really. If you understand specs you realize that a PS4 is less than half of what the PS3 was at launch.

This is bad news for consoles AND PC owners.

Or for me, who buy them all, bad for ALL those items and the game industry at large.

[saint_seya]

just dun get a ps4, noone will obligate u to get one, and btw u can talk as much as u want.
What upsets me about pc gamers, u guys complain about console specs and how they hold back the pc comunitiy.
U know what? the only thing that hold back pc games are pc players, the fact that someone can have a quad-sli when others just can have single gpus, or the fact that some people gets the latest direct 11 cards when some wait for the next one and sticks to the one they have. Point here is u guys blame consoles and everyone else, when in reality the only thing that hold pcs back are pc gamers.
I game on pc too, but im not that blind. U will never get games that make full potentiall of your high end pc's, because not all the pc players that game can play a game like that. U can talk of setting tweaks, but the truth is a game created with the lower system in mind #lower pcs expects to run# wont never be as good as a game created for only a high end setup.

[clintagious650]

I dont blame pc gamers imo if i was a pc gamer only & put all dat money into my pc & see ppl talkin down about pc id prolly be butthurt too & try an defend my $1,500 swooped up pc aswell. But i would never get mad if an exclusive went to another console cause id actually want more ppl to play that game & see what they been missing out on.

[coolmast3r]

I'll stick with the perfect combination - my lovely PC and PS4 =)

[hiredhelp]

Have i missed a post lol I havent seen any angury comments from PC Gamers... Anyhows im PC Gamer moved from ps3 just after uncharted 3 back to my old PC seat im very delighted to see the ps4.

This good for both sides PC/SONY FANS
PC no longer has to worry about hash or badly ported console games to PC as the system will be basicly a PC based system with x32.
making it easyer for a transition for devs, with that in mind PC Gamers also can now have more DX11 support less DX9 witch finally gonna come as a real treat for console owners.

PLUSSSSS If kratos shows up on ps4 i might have to break into my bank have a ps4 next to my PC.

[jmc8888]

The good news is that ports will be upgraded in quality, initially.

The bad news is, once that gets used to, there isn't much more to be had people.

The PS4 is weak compared to what the PS3 launched at (and it's problems).

People simply don't realize that instead of besting thousands of dollars of hardware from a year earlier like the PS3 and 360 DID, 2 year old sub 1000 dollar PC hardware is beating it.

Think about it. You had tri core CPU's whereas the year before you had $1000 dollar PC CPU's that were single core. Even the brand new stuff was only dual core.

You had the latest graphics line GTX 7800, simply with a reduction in video memory for the PS3.

Compared to now when not only do you have performance of 1.2-1.8 TFLops versus 3-5.6 TFlops...AND you'll have newer versions coming out that will up that.

PLUS you have the ability to SLI these.

That's a HUGE shift. It's like going from a V8 to a 4 cylinder and saying my new car is just powerful as my last new car.

This is not good long term for anybody. Not PC. Not Sony.

The 720 is going to be 1.2 TFlops and there you have it. A $139 graphics card at newegg (or 124.99 after rebate) card is more powerful than a 720.

A midrange 2013 PC will outdo a PS4 by 2.5-3x.
An uber 2013 PC will outdo a PS4 by 8-9x.

So from about parity to that. That's a vastly different starting point, and yes it IS concerning.

[Ju]

No. Nothing what you just said is actually true. The top of the card which costs you a fortune right now clocks in about 4.5TF, and that's the just release Titan. That card alone goes beyond the $1000 ... and comes with "only" 6GB GDDR5.

A pitty is, that you can't run a $139 graphics card on it's own. So, this is a pretty mood point to compare to begin with.

I was looking into building me a real cheap entry level PC. The only "luxury" i was looking into was a SSD, but the rest is the fast cheap componentes I could get. Incl. a case, a drive, a BD, 8GB DDR3, 200GB SSD and incl. a $99 OEM Win7...APU A10-5800K - not including a graphics card. This is half of what a PS4 can do (no GDDR, half the CPU cores, etc). Sets you back at around 600-700 (incl. +shipping etc).

In no way, is this a comparable machine, neither in price nor performance. I is not even close to 2.5x the PS4 and yet it is 50% more expensive.

IMO, a PS4 is quite competitive. If they'd release this with an OS (say Ubuntu) this would actually be a nice PC alternative (and, LOL, would probably run Steam).

[hiredhelp]

Ok maybe one pc gamer mad ^^ jmc888

[Longsama]

As a guy who plays on my PC mostly, PS4 justified it's place in my home with it's connectivity. True remote-play on the Vita, Being able to sit in my house and tag-team a single-player game with my friend. No longer sitting and waiting for downloads ever!! They basically turned every game into a semi multi-player experience. I mean Sony literally changed what I thought was possible for video-games, not graphically(Even though it is nice to see them catch up) but player options-wise.

[jmc8888]

The remote play is not entirely true. The Vita will become a dumb client (or passive client) which is not using the Vita's capabilities other than access it's controls. It'll be receiving a stream like a Wii U gamepad IF it is near a PS4.

You won't be able to play your PS4 games at a library, school, bus, whatever. Only by your house, and probably within around 30 feet. Even then, it won't be an dynamic interactive aspect because of the lag. Some things can be simple static interactive, so more like an inventory screen that doesn't need to do stuff fast. But it won't be able to call in killstreaks on CoD or be used like a camera/scanner in games like Zombi U.

The waiting for downloads thing is nice, but minor. A feature, but a small one.

[Ju]

It runs a WiFi connection. You can be anywhere you want as long as you have a IP connection to your PS4 "server". Same as remote play. Not sure where you're getting this 30ft information from.

Also, it is a second screen feature, so it goes beyond what the current remote play is. Technically it could support a totally different input scheme if the game/app allows it, this includes touch.

It can run in parallel to the game running on the PS4 (see spectator mode, which actually allows you to watch what is currently running on the console).

And with that said, it can run on e.g. a tablet and provide strategic information incl. touch input from a tablet, phone or the vita (or even PS3???). Look into what Gaikai actually is and you will get an idea.

[urwifeminder]

I will stick with my pc i dont need to know anything about ps4 but thanks for thinking about us.

[PersonMan]

Because of the PS3 and 360, gamers have been getting higher res current gen games on PC. I play on PC and PS3 and I have to admit, I still don't see anything on PC that is equal to what they showed last night on the PS4. Starting next gen, you'll start to see PC games look like PS4 games, but as for right now, PC just gets higher resolution current-gen games.

Looking at the Witcher 2 and Crysis 3 on PC, they still don't look as good as the demos we saw at the show. Just saying... The lighting and physics were so much better. The draw distances were outstanding as well. Even with the draw distances cranked up on PC, you can still tell that they were mainly designed with consoles in mind.

Expect to start upgrading your PCs folks. You're about to get some hardware demanding games once the PS4 hits.

[leogets]

really? go on YouTube and all the butthurt PC fanboys r rageing about their beloved PCs are untouchable and that ps4 graphics r 2 years old. still yet to be proven on what games they r talkin about lol by the way this post wasn't aimed at you it was meant for hired help.. my tablet was laggin

[Korezo]

The only impressive game I saw was Deep down from Capcom, but thats my opinion.

[Longsama]

What I think is awesome is that Ps4 brings these type of graphics to the mainstream, which means more money for developers who make the best looking games. Which means the standard of graphics rise for everbody especially PC.

[PersonMan]

Why the disagrees? Games are mainly designed for consoles. You can tell.

Playing multi platform games on PC reminds me of playing PS2 HD remakes on PS3. There's nothing truly better about the game, it's just got more pixels. The lighting is the same, the textures are just higher res. Still no real-time reflections, destructible environments are still very rare.

When you game on PC, you're just playing current gen technology at a higher resolution and framerate.

Like I said before. Even the Witcher 2 on PC looks current gen. It definitely doesn't look photo-real like many PC gamers think their games look.

You have to remember, the developer decides what the game will look like and most of the time, they use the least powerful system and then scale it up.

The stuff they were showing at the PlayStation conference looks miles ahead of anything I've seen on PC to date. So as you can see, it's up to the developer to deliver the graphics.

Also, when I think of graphics, I don't just see a still image. I also want to see leaps and bounds in animation quality. I want to see better face animations, better overall character animations. I want to see dynamic shadows EVERYWHERE from EVERY light source (which is also rare, even on PC).

[aquamala]

What I saw from the demos last night is that console games will finally look more like pc games today. Good news for console gamers

[LAWSON72]

I think the specs are ok too bad the aa in that kz demo was not very high, because i seen quite a bit of jaggies. Also i was wondering was the demo at 60 fps or 30.

[givemeshelter]

I am loving this. I am a PC gamer foremost and WHY DO I LOVE THE PS4 early specs? Because its using an X86 CPU(About damn time Sony!) which will make ports easier and the fact it's running DDR5 ram will also lower the price for said parts respectively because of mass production in these consoles.
Expect to see more Graphic cards for your PC having a minimum of 3GB of DDR5 ram because of this. I am happy.

[Ve_Chuy]

The only thing that i hate of the consoles is the delay in the advance of the game graphics, for the games can run on the consoles developers cant create games with amazing graphics. Just tell me 1 game that needs the all the power of the last generation of graphics card to run at max settings none, just with a gtx 570 you can run any game at max settings. And Dont come with that crap that graphics doesnt matter it matter the gameplay, to me graphics are important as the gameplay like a 50%-50%

[Plagasx]

I'll play PS4 for Exclusive PS4 games and I'll play my PC for mods and mutiplatform games.

[hiredhelp]

Well all i can say is im sure respectable Gamers PC gamers like myself are the minoraty that arnt upset Why whould we be lol.