With a little jab at Microsoft’s expense in taking the European market “seriously” and not being “consistent”, Sony has kicked off its Gamescom press conference with more information about the PlayStatation 4.
Most importantly, it has confirmed its release date and plans. The console will launch in 32 countries in the holiday shopping season, with North America getting the console on November 15. Although Australian’s won’t have to wait too long to get their hands on the PlayStation 4, with the console available down-under, as well as across Europe and in New Zealand, as soon as November 29 hits in your local timezone.
The PlayStation 3 will still be available, but will be like the iPhone 4 – an entry point. The 12GB model will be priced at US$199 in North America and 199EUR in Europe. In addition, Sony will offer the digital edition of select games – namely Call of Duty Ghosts, Battlefield 4 and Assassin’s Creed IV – for gamers who have purchased a PS4 and the PS3 version of the game.
Sony is pushing hard on the indie games development scene for the PlayStation 4; reemphasising that they are helping indie developers through pub fund and loaning dev kits; and letting them self-publish so they can take full creative and financial control of their work. Games confirmed for PS4 include N++, Hotline Miami 2, and Wasteland Kings. New indie titles include The Chinese Room’s Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Tequila Works’ Rime, Arrowhead Studios’ Helldivers and Housemarque’s Resogun.
Oh, and did we mention Minecraft? Yes, that has been confirmed by Sony.
Sony is also partnering up with select European ISPs to have plans tailored for gamers, including reserved pipes and speeds up to 200Mbps, in order to ensure many PS4 users have access to fast broadband that will be necessary for the console. According to Sony, the average speed in Europe is 5Mbps – which could prove problematic, especially with its more ambitious plans in regards to the cloud.
Also announced was another price cut to the PS Vita in order to make it “more accessible”. The price has been slashed to US$199 and EUR199. In addition, Sony have announced more indie titles will be available on PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, announcing titles like Fez, Minecraft, Hotline Miami 2 and Starbound (excluding PS3). Borderlands 2 will also make its portable debut. However few dates were given, so expect plenty to stretch into 2014.
We’ll be updating this post with more Australian prices as they become available.