PlayStation 4's Blu-ray drive is 3x as fast as PS3's and PSN friends list cap raised

The PlayStation 4's new DualShock 4 controller can be charged even while the PlayStation 4 is turned off. The PlayStation 4's new Eye motion camera has a tilt sensor so it can tell players when its facing the wrong direction or if it's fallen off your TV stand. The PlayStation 4's Blu-ray disc drive is three times as fast as the PlayStation 3's. In case it weren't clear, Sony's PlayStation 4 panel at this week's Game Developers Conference wasn't chock full of major revelations, but it did provide plenty of interesting little details about the PlayStation 4 and its various hardware companions.

[StrongMan]

Just keeps getting better.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

Amen to that Bro!

[darthv72]

so it can tell players when its facing the wrong direction or if it's fallen off your TV stand."

Would it actually yell out: "I've fallen, and I can't get up!"

Now that would be really cool. Okay, bad joke.

[linkenski]

My worst fear has been resolved, thank god! Hopefully this gen will mean that we'll see the ending of overly long load times!

[darthv72]

are generally attributed to the amount of memory the data has to use. With 8gb, even if it were using the same bd drive, we would see improved load times due to such an increase in available memory space.

Having a quicker drive is just icing on the cake.

[Bathyj]

3x?
I thought they said 6 before. What are Pc drives up to?

[NoOoB101]

it is at 6x...ps3 is at 2x for blu ray drive. ps4 will be at 6x speed for the reader now.

[Bathyj]

Oh' thanks.
The article didn't really explain that properly and I thought the ps3 was 1x.
Bubble for helpful

[Bladesfist]

We use HDDs or SSDs as they are much faster than optical drives.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

Yeah but having a very large hard drive is expensive and a lot of people including me still wants physical media. In time digital is the way to go but today not yet. Not until everyone in the world has Internet connection at lightning speed just like electricity.

[ijust2good]

@bathyj Ps3 drive is 2x not 1x. PS4 has been confirmed as 6x. My PC bluray ray drive is 14x...thats 7x much faster than on PS4. So Sony went for cheaper one. Not suprising. The next xbox can go for the fastes 16x but i doubt it.

[kneon]

14x would be 2.333.. times faster than the PS4, so I assume you mean ps3.

I have 12x, 14x and 15x bluray drives in my machines and they are too loud for a console. I expect they went with 6x not only for the reduced cost but also to keep it quiet.

[TemplarDante]

3 X ( 3 times more than PS3)

[The_KELRaTH]

My PC has a LG x16 Blu-ray R/W - likely not the fastest.

[EffectO]

Memory is 16x larger though.PS3 like situation(partial install,hdd cache) won't help much.PS3 is riddled with loading times and yet it has 16x less memory to fill.

Fast hdd + full install would help but loading times are here to stay.

[Droid Control]

Spin that disc!

[lovegames718]

Im there baby!!!! just tell me where to send my money!!!!!!

[kayoss]

I sent my money to Sony. I signed a blank check and made it out to "I want a PS4". Hopefully they send me a confirmation code or receipt.

[PSVita]

***NEXT DAY ON N4G*** SONY buys Apple, MS, nintendo, google and facebook supposedly using a blank check sent by an anonymous supporter.

[T2]

Lol " I sent Sony a blank check" ...

In other news , charging while off = win

[imchuckbass]

3x faster than an awfully slow drive, is still awfully slow

Sony. Using optical storage like it's 1996!

If they really wanted to make this next gen, they'd put an SSD in it. But nope, gotta keep the costs down for the peasants.

[kayoss]

Do you understand the meaning of a cost effective console that can be affordable for most consumers? Sony and microsoft can easily put all the high end stuff into their next gen console and charge $1000 plus but no one will buy it. You do understand the definition of a business right??

SSD is fast, but honestly its not worth the price. I rather have 1TB SATA vs a 250 SSD that cost the same. Until SSD is the same price as SATA then it is reasonable to put them in consoles.
A console has a small housing and limited space when compared to a PC's Tower. Do you know how much noise a 16x blu-ray would make? and how much heat it would put out on a small console? C'mon use logic.

Calling people peasants because they buy a console is very immature and offensive.

[Hicken]

The trolls come out EVERY time.

maniacmayhem, where are you now? Quick to attack me, but nothing to say to guys like imchuckbass and Effect0?

Anyway, this is good to hear. If the PS4 supports SSD, expect load times to be very short, indeed.