PlayStation 4 dev kit emerged !!!

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new kits shipping now, AMD A10 used as base
Developers are currently taking receipt of a new PlayStation 4 dev kit, VG247 has been told today, with a final version slated to appear in January. Yes, it’ll have Blu-ray. No, it isn’t being made in Japan.



Multiple sources have confirmed to VG247 today that a new version of the Orbis kit is now shipping to developers, and that it’s housed in a normal PC case.

There are to be four versions of the dev kit, we were told. A previous version was essentially just a graphics card. The version shipping now is a “modified PC,” and the third version, appearing in January, will be close to final spec. A final version will be delivered to developers “next summer”.

Some US developers attended a “disclosure meeting” at Sony’s offices this week, with a further meeting to take place in the coming weeks. The purpose of the meeting is for Sony to tell studios what the machine is designed to do, to detail hardware and to show a set of presentations.

Our source told us that Sony is only calling the machine Orbis, and is not using the words “PlayStation 4″ in these meetings at all.

Orbis, we were told today, is based on the AMD’s A10 APU series. An APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) is a combined CPU and GPU.

PS4′s APU was described today as a “derivative” of existing A10 hardware. The hardware is “based on A10 system and base platform”.

The “ultimate goal” for the hardware, we were told, is for it to be able to run 1080p60 games in 3D with “no problem,” to create a machine that’s powerful enough for “today and tomorrow’s market”.

The dev kits have “either 8Gb or 16Gb of RAM. Deduce from that what you will.”

The hardware is not being made in Japan, it was said.

When asked if PS4 will have an optical drive, specifically Blu-ray, our source responded: “Of course it has.” We’ve been told the hard drive will be 256Gb “as standard,” but it’s not clear if it’ll be a normal HDD or a solid state drive.

We were told that Sony’s aim with Orbis is to avoid problems involved in launching PS3 by creating something “very affordable” but that “isn’t a slouch”.

The machine has WiFi and Ethernet connectivity and HDMI out. Our source said the was “no difference” between PlayStation 3 and Orbis input/output.

The UI, however, has been revamped. It was said today that players will now be able to press the PS button mid-game and travel “anywhere” on the system. An example given was buying DLC from the PS Store mid-game then seamlessly returning to play.

“They’re trying to make it as fluid as possible,” our source said.

We were also told that the machine will be designed to accept system and product updates in the background, and that it’ll “always be in standby mode”. When you set the console up, we were told, you’ll be asked if you want to allow background downloads. You can, of course, disallow them.

No details have been given on the pad as yet. Confirmation is expected this month.

Orbis is expected to be announced at an event “just before E3″ next year.

quote nipsen

Well - after the entire Vita stunt, along with the "platform independent proprietary solution" evangelists in Sony marketing. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony decides to just package a PC with a Playstation brand.

And then force some amazing drm into it, while believing people will still buy the platform. Even though they can buy cheaper products elsewhere, as well as get better hardware on a PC. And even if all the games actually become multiplatform, and nothing they can offer only on the actual playstation will be worth buying.

Too bad, really. Was a lot of potential Sony threw away with the ps3. Frankly, they're still sitting on a pile of gold and starving to death..

quote Jeterocks

You do know what a dev kit is don't you?

quote JacqueseVonRIP

Holy moly, this must have been the quickest generation of gaming for me yet. And yet, it has even been nearly as good as any of the previous generations. I don't mean to sound like a grumpy old gamer (since I haven't played games as long as a lot of people here) but personally I feel this generation has been lacking in games that were in any way good enough to give me nostalgia in a few years time.
I think of my snes (which I didn't have a lot of games for), I get nostalgia.
I think of my PS1, I get nostalgia.
I think of my PS2, I get nostalgia.
I think of my PS3, and even though it's still the current gen, I can't see me getting nostalgic about most of the games I have now. A few, but not a lot.

quote jbh

I'm expecting a lot of changes between now and release, if any of that is anything to go by, or true for that matter. (althought it has been taken down which could suggest it is)

Anyway, the PS Orbis/4 would have a hefty tag with all that hardware. I do hope they go for a solid state drive though, I see nothing but positives on that front. The processor will decide it for me though, ditch the Cell. Pretty please. It really is nothing special Sony, and it makes anyone developing a multiplatform game for your platform have to do 10 times the work.

It's like Apple with this new lightning connector, I love my iPhone but why fix what's not broken and just overcomplicate things with a product that has far more cons than pros?