Sony's announcement of a Feb. 20 PlayStation event is barely a day old, but anonymous sources are leaking even more information in the lead-up.
The latest rumor is that Sony's next-generation PlayStation system, code-named "Orbis," will allow players to record and share gameplay videos online.
According to Edge, who cites "development sources with working knowledge of both next generation consoles [PS4 and Xbox 720]," the new system will feature a redesigned controller that looks much like the PS3's current DualShock. There's at least one significant adjustment, though: A small touchpad will be placed where the Start, Select, and PS Home buttons currently are. Apparently, the touchpad is technologically similar to the one found on the back of the PlayStation Vita handheld.
The new controller will also accommodate a new button called Share. When pressed, the system will allow users to edit and share gameplay videos online and with friends. PS4 owners will have a lot of footage to work with, too, as the console "will continually record the most recent 15 minutes of onscreen action (with no processing penalty, claims our source)," Edge said.
As for the new system's release date, there's been speculation that the PS4 would slip into 2014, but according to Edge the PS4 will launch in the United States and Japan this year. Unfortunately, Europeans will have to wait until early 2014, due to "complexities involved in European distribution."
Sony has acknowledged that developing for the PS3 was too difficult due to the highly specialized technology it packed into the system's architecture, and it says it's learned from that mistake. As previous reports indicated, the PS4's internals will look a lot more like a high-end PC than a customized set of parts, making it easier for developers to work with.
These anonymous sources also said that even though the PS4 was reported to have 4GB of RAM compared to the Xbox 720's 8GB, "Sony's GDDR5 solution is capable of moving data at 176 gigabytes per second, which should eliminate the sort of bottlenecks that hampered PS3 game performance." Nonetheless, Sony has apparently told developers that it's pushing to add another 4GB to equal Microsoft.
There's most definitely going to be more rumors as Feb. 20 approaches, but it seems likely that a lot of these reports will end up being true. Sony's inability to keep secrets is well-known, and the system's description seems to be consistent across numerous media outlets.
