10 Awesome And Interesting Facts About The PS4

There’s no doubt that Sony’s PlayStation 4 has been dominating the console world since its release in 2013 and continues to do so as it moves into its 5th year on the market. We can only assume the success will carry on too, with a long list of excellent-looking games releasing for PlayStation 4 later this year and in 2018, including Days Gone, Assassin’s Creed Origins and Monster Hunter: World. If you’re still undecided on joining the PS4 community, here’s 10 facts about PlayStation 4 that show us how Sony have made it this far and made the PS4 such an incredible gaming machine.

1. A Console of Firsts

In terms of initial success, the PlayStation 4 was a console of firsts and features to trump the Xbox One. Of its own kind, it was the first to include a HDMI cable in box with the console. Now of course, we’re completely inundated with the things. Nevertheless, a useful addition to the console bundle at the time of release, allowing gamers to fully embrace the powerful graphics capabilities of the system without splashing out on a separate cable. PlayStation 4 was also the first PlayStation to allow movie streaming, providing apps for services such as Netflix in the store, sealing the deal on the PlayStation’s claim to being a true entertainment system in every sense.

2. Pretty and Practical

The sloping, parallelogram design of the PlayStation 4 isn’t just gorgeous, it also serves a purpose. The front is angled upwards to make sure the power and eject buttons are easy to press all while maintaining the sleek, seamless design. Also, the back of the console slopes inwards to help hide those horrible, horrible cables, keeping your desk that little bit tidier.

3. Lights, Camera, Sound Origination

The PlayStation Camera is a brilliant piece of hardware for gamers looking to get that little bit more out of their console experience. Touted as the ‘gateway to PS VR’, the camera itself isn’t fantastic quality but is used more for motion tracking. With the help of the light bar on the DualShock 4 controller, PlayStation Camera tracks your movements with impressive accuracy. And, with four microphones built in to the device, it’s incredibly precise in sound detection and sound origination.

4. Multitasking

The Dualshock’s PlayStation button can quickly whisk you away to the console’s home menu. But it can also manage your multitasking efficiently. Double pressing the button will allow you to switch between your last 2 applications in use so you can easily and seamlessly switch from gaming to Netflix and chill. You know…if you wanted to do that…

5. Play Hard, Share Harder

Speaking of buttons, the PlayStation 4’s share button is certainly a neat feature for quickly sharing screenshots and gameplay moments with your friends, or with a wider audience if you’re uploading to YouTube or Twitch. In fact, the PlayStation 4 is constantly processing the last 15 minutes of your gameplay, ready to upload, ensuring that you never miss out on any of your epic gaming moments that you want to share with the world. Or indeed any of your…less skilled and more hilarious gaming fails.

6. Control Freak

Picture this; Your friends are over, you’re all fired up for some multiplayer gaming action when you realise… you’re fresh out of Dualshocks. Never fear! The PS Vita is here! Yes indeed, your PS Vita can be used as an extra controller for your PlayStation 4! Simply start up the PS4 link application on your Vita, select remote play and get going! The Vita also doubles up as a second screen, which is a nice touch.

7. Dualshocked

Did you know the PlayStation 4’s exceptional controller, the Dualshock 4, was actually co-designed with members of Destiny developers Bungie? The developers actually worked closely with Sony to make sure the controller was comfortable, sleek and pretty much perfect for first person shooters such as… you guessed it, Destiny! In turn, we ended up playing our PlayStation 4 games with one of the most comfortable and technologically dynamic controllers on the market.

8. Big Spender

It’s no secret that in recent years, Sony has been raking in those all-important videogame exclusives for the PlayStation 4. With titles such as Uncharted, The Last of Us and 2015’s Game of The Year, Bloodborne, it’s certainly helped with the console’s immense success. But did you know that all the top ten best-selling games of 2016 can be played on the PlayStation 4? It’s true! With games like Battlefield 1, Final Fantasy XV and Overwatch all available on the platform, you certainly won’t be missing out anytime soon if you own a PlayStation 4.

9. Top of its Game

Following on from the success of the PlayStation 4 due to the software available for it, let’s take a trip back in time to the console’s initial release. Sony’s PlayStation 4 broke quite a few records in terms of sales, including becoming the fastest selling console with 1 million units sold on launch day. If you think that’s a baffling number, let’s see where the PlayStation 4’s ‘sold units’ figure stands today. Since its release in 2013, the PlayStation 4 has sold around 55 million units as of 2017. Again, that’s a pretty big number, but let’s put it in perspective. The Xbox one has sold less than half that amount with 26 million units shifted in the same time span. There’s no doubt that Sony are absolutely crushing their competition. We can only hope their success will continue into 2018 with some fabulous exclusive titles lined up for the PlayStation 4.

10. A Whole New World

The PlayStation 4 is certainly a powerful piece of technology able to render beautiful, immersive graphics with an 8 core CPU and holds up to 1TB of storage. That’s why it’s also an excellent machine for VR support, all while remaining very affordable. In fact, PlayStation 4 is the only console to have its own virtual reality hardware; PlayStation VR. With the ability to experience games like Resident Evil 7 Biohazard in virtual reality without having to buy a whole new machine to power it, PlayStation VR is perhaps the one of the best VR platforms for most people. Especially if you don’t want to break the bank. Sure, there are better options for virtual reality in terms of specs, but you’d have to buy a pretty powerful desktop setup to run them well which could set you back at least $700 (£550) before you even get to the VR headset. PlayStation VR is definitely the better option for the most part, offering a good VR experience while being affordable.

So that completes our ten facts about the PlayStation 4. Maybe it’s ten more reasons to buy a PlayStation 4 if you haven’t already, or ten extra reasons to love your console if you’re already the proud owner of arguably the best console on the market.