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Fans unimpressed by PlayStation 4 event

By Gregory Peake
Johannesburg, 21 May 2013

The Sony PS4 pre-release event would be better described as a pre-pre-release, with Sony failing to give details on price or the look of the console. The absence of a working build at the event did not go unnoticed.

What the two-hour event did provide was gameplay footage, blurry, fast-moving videos of the console (filmed at strange angles and obscuring the shape significantly), and further details on the next generation's controllers.

When pressed about the lack of an actual PS4 at the event, Sony Worldwide Studious VP Michael Denny told Edge: "It's more important for us to talk about the controller at that event, because, of course, we wanted to talk about how we'd improved the DualShock 3 with tighter sticks, better triggers, cut-down latency and new features, with the touch-pad, lightbar, etc.

"After five years in the planning phase, the most important starting point for us was to explain our vision for what next-gen gaming is and what PlayStation 4 should be," explained Denny, defending the lack of details around design.

Previous reveals included details such as the 'share button', which allowed for live streaming with friends, as well as other forms of social media integration.

He continued: "And don't get me wrong, we all get excited, we all love the look of these devices and it's very important, but that is for another day."

Denny said: "I'm not sure it's instructive for me to start trying to describe or talk about what I've seen or haven't seen in terms of the actual look of the box.

"But you know it's going to be another fantastic design and we can't wait to reveal it," he concluded.

Unrelated to the event, German gaming site Playfront (translated text here) reported that Sony India briefly featured the PS4 on its site, listing its price at EUR399 (R4 850). However, it was unable to provide proof of this, and any evidence was quickly taken down by the site.

This is in line with estimates put forward by next-gen analysts, with British newspaper The Times quoted by PC Advisor in February as stating that the console would cost approximately £300, later updated to £350 to £400.


Sony seems to be holding back the real reveals until closer to the E3 conference, an approach that seems to be proving unpopular. Hopefully Microsoft is taking notes, as it reveals its Xbox successor tonight.

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