PlayStation 4 Launch: How Sony Secured a Generation | IGN Rewind

2013 was a major year for video games the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 had overstayed their welcome and consumers were looking for the next big thing is it too late in its life cycle to get a PlayStation 3 and should I just wait it was the perfect time to announce the next generation of PlayStation hardware and Sony did just that this is the foundation of our next Generation platform PlayStation 4 while on the surface this may have seemed like just another console launch it was only 2 years since the infamous hack of the PlayStation Network one year since the vaita failed to set the market on fire and over 6 years since the launch of the PS3 for Sony this needed to be a home run on this episode of IG and Rewind we'll be taking a close look at the launch of Sony's fourth PlayStation console and dive deep into how the PlayStation 4's launch would set the groundwork for one of Sony's most successful video game Endeavors yet this is the launch and reveal of the PlayStation 4 rumors of the next generation of PlayStation started popping up online via LinkedIn job hostings uh they found the CV on LinkedIn of a guy named AOS he worked at PlayStation uh for about 14 years starting in 1998 and what's interesting on his CV is that he worked on something called the next generation PlayStation he worked on PS2 PS3 vaita but he worked on this thing he only calls next generation PlayStation we don't know what that is but we assume it's the Next Generation console PlayStation 4 while numerous industry experts were speculating And discussing why they wanted a new PlayStation there was any official confirmation from Sony regarding a new console rumors hit the internet about the PlayStation 4 Sony's next Home console very exciting what's it Cod Nam uh code named orbus oh that's a hell of a name that's thing now there's the rumors have a few details to them including the CPU and GPU which I don't think are as exciting as a couple other pieces of uh information including fact that it apparently will not play Playstation 3 games wo there's going to be some sort of restriction placed on the system's ability to play used games now we also heard that there's a potential holiday release for 2013 so with all that said Colin uh true or fake uh it's probably true but I don't know I mean so we did reach out to Sony of course uh we talked to our people there uh their usual line when they don't want to tell us anything is we don't comment on rumors and speculation PlayStation 4's controller seems to have weaked Scott and these are very exciting times now uh the story comes by way of Destructoid who posted a picture this is the picture but we'll have a better version of it obviously appearing on your screen um of what looks like a PlayStation 4 devkit and a PlayStation 4 controller and a source indicates to ig that that controller is 100% real so there is no speculation about it that speculation wouldn't last too long though and here we go Sony will be making a big announcement on February 20th and all signs point to it being the PlayStation 4 playstation.com is advertising a meeting to be held on February 20th at 600 p.m. Eastern along with the invitation see the future we believe that PlayStation 4 represents a significant shift from thinking of PlayStation is merely a box or a console to thinking of PlayStation as a leading Authority on play this is the foundation of our next Generation platform PlayStation 4 today Sony held a special press event in New York City and they had tons of huge announcements for us let's get to it first off the big one the PlayStation 4 is official and it's coming as soon as holiday 2013 it will have an x86 CPU a gig of system RAM and what Sony is calling an enhanced PC GPU and a supercharged PC architecture it will be capable of running gorgeous Unreal Engine 4 games and even have millions of objects moving in real time on the Havoc engine you'll apparently be able to turn off the system while playing and pick up where you left off just by turning it back on dedicated always on Hardware puts a huge focus on social functionality where apps on VA smartphones and tablets allow you to chat even when you're away from your PS4 but we didn't just get to see the new console take a look at the new controller it's officially called the Dualshock 4 it has enhanced Rumble reduced latency a small touchpad and a light bar to track its movements it also has a share button but more on that in a bit not going to lie that looks pretty hot to me I'm Jamon Hatfield host and producer here at IGN you may recognize me from such shows as Games scoop what was the hype like around the office when the PS4 was initially announced so pre E3 when they had that PlayStation conference and then the controller leak like a week before yeah I think that was a little bit um it was a little bit muted at that point it was like like I said sounds great on paper it's the next PlayStation it's more powerful easier to develop for cool sounds good it was as things started to fall apart for Xbox you know it's just these you see uh the first- party platforms they like they rise and fall they come and go and like going into PS3 Sony had gotten cocky after two generations dominating the industry and then that bit him in the butt and then see the same thing happening with Xbox when they announced when you watch that reveal of the Xbox One it almost seems like they don't even uh think of Sony as a competitor anymore like they want to compete with Amazon and cable companies and Comcast so the whole reveal there's very little talk Of video games during that reveal there's talk about how it's going to be the center of your entertainment living room and you're going to run your cable box through it and it's going to change the way you watch sports M and uh yeah it's probably going to require an online connection and you can't trade your game games and you might not even be able to play used games on it so it's like what it just it sounded worse and worse the more we heard about it and that just made the PlayStation 4 sound better and better and better yeah and then of course like sort of like the the death blow was E3 this is going to be a bigger than normal E3 with a lot of focus on Next Generation consoles E3 2013 was an electrifying conference because not only was Sony showing off their new console but Microsoft was also showing off their new new Xbox even though Microsoft's press conference was aired before Sony's by a few hours the reception of their event was received in a less than Stellar way and ultimately led to diminished sales and a major blow to their Brand's reputation but that's another story for another time fortunately we have a product for people who aren't able to get some form of connectivity it's called Xbox 360 right later that evening all eyes were on Sony and the PlayStation 4 like an hour and we're like yeah this is okay we got called back here in an hour and Dam and I were like it's been a solid conference they I'm waiting for The Knockout Punch and then they just came out and beat the body to death like I mean it's six years 6 and a half years I've covered PlayStation for IGN I'm so used to them coming out and just screwing it up and they're come out like no we got this oh my God E3 2006 they screwed up then when they announced $600 $599 my God I don't know so where do we begin you have to it was backloaded this whole thing yeah I mean like they were teasing us the whole way I L it you wanted more I wanted more they showed they showed a hell of a lot of my God the Bombshells were the price the biggest question on everyone's mind was saved for the end of the conference everyone wants to know what's it going to cost Sony revealed that the PlayStation 4 which arrives this holiday season will be priced at $399 €399 and 349 lb Sterling 20% less than the Xbox One damn the most notable thing to come out of the entire press conference you know besides the console itself wasn't an announcement for anything Sony was selling but a direct shot at Microsoft Xbox One's always online DRM this is how you share your games on PS4 [Music] thanks this bold jab at the competition was what Sony needed to hammer its gaming first messaging and solidify its player first stance for the next generation of consoles I think they handled it as pretty they took that probably as pretty as far as you could um without being like distasteful the PS4 reveal was a massive success and Sony managed to not only reinvigorate the PlayStation brand but also amplify the competition's confusing message ing around its next Xbox console there were lots of people who gave their opinions on that issue to my Twitter account before E3 it's not that our Hardware policies are decided strictly based on user reaction like this but when we were thinking about what we had to bring across and how to bring it across it was a very useful Source considering how Sony referenced the feedback Microsoft had received towards the end of its conference it appears that even if the backlash didn't dictate what the Japanese company decided to do with the PS4 it was happy to capitalize on the negative reaction SE Japan Asia president hirashi kanano added as of now I feel like we're getting a very positive response for this system we made a list of what people expected from us debating over each point with user feedback forming the main basis for the list the software makers are also telling us that they feel like they really make some fun stuff with it a new platform always provides the basis for new forms of play so I'd like to see it connect to a revitalization of the marketplace it's the fact that I think for E3 and what E3 is designed to be Playstation One it I think Microsoft had better games I was more excited about their game lineup but only because I already knew they you know they came out and showed like updated versions for PlayStation games right I was like that's awesome and then what I got excited about the PlayStation was the price and then you know standing up for gamers like we've talked about and doing all these different things that's two different this is the time more than ever where you need to win on policy because you know a few years ago Sony announced the PS3 and they said it's $599 and people said no and had they said yes game consoles would forever be $600 plus dollar but they weren't and we changed that right and we spoke with our wallets and this time around Sony said we're not going to do the used game thing we're not going to rip people off and they stopped that dead in its track and if you're doing that you're an ass and you're ripping people off and that's the that's that's the tone they set and that's more important than any game in the world the games will come later but if the platform doesn't rip you off at the box it's a good place to start in those first party conferences there's always sort of a level of like one upmanship and they're always trying to outdo each other but that year is like I've never seen any of the first parti is be so blatant in their like thumbs up to Xbox like Jack Tron just they they addressed um deliberately the fact that their console was not going to require any sort of online connection you can trade your games you can play used games they're just like they they're every they hit the every week point that Xbox had sort of revealed for themselves yeah Sony took advantage of the excitement around the PlayStation 4 was nearing a cult-like status thanks to its well-received E3 press conference an effective marketing campaign Sony had positioned itself to become the console leader of this new generation early into its launch window and then you know of course on launch day was like there was so much more excitement like we have a video on IGN about this Mass unboxing of PS4s in the office cuz pretty much everyone in the IGN office had pre-ordered one let me just say we I don't think we had enough people to do a fun video like that for the Xbox One what's up everybody it's me Greg Miller and our personal PS4s have arrived here at the IGN office but everybody's so excited we all wanted to do do an unboxing video by ourselves so we said hey we'll do it all at once you guys ready yeah all right then 3 2 one what's there it is got the controller right here let's take a look at the dual shock M PlayStation Plus the best part about this is that if you hook it up to TV right now you'll be able to download one and only didn't really have a buil-in headset so nobody was ever talking in PS3 multiplayer games very very nice here that you can see the Wobble the Playstation Infamous PlayStation 4 wobble it's because of these little dots but don't worry about it it's okay guide but then it also comes with a controller oh my gosh we got the same that's why this is the evolutionary console ever made since the GameCube at least and this is the world's best HDMI cable because you know it came free a box well I'm going to do an in-depth walk through of this power cable starting at one end so I'm not sure what this end the console look pretty amazing got the I love what theyy make sure PS4 it looks great I'm going to go make out with this now some of us have to get back to work well that's the unboxing of the PlayStation 4 it was very entertaining as a gamer to watch and it was exciting to cover as an nigan employee so yeah I don't think I I wouldn't I have no notes the launch of the PlayStation 4 was lightning in a bottle the system was well on its way to becoming one of the bestselling consoles of all time topping the original PlayStation at over 117 million units sold at the time in this video thanks to some smart marketing and one of the most effective video game press conferences today Sony was able to revive the PlayStation brand and launch one of the most successful consoles ever thank you so much for being here good night