Articles about PlayStation 4

Over the holiday buying season, Microsoft managed to sell more Xbox One consoles in the US and UK than Sony sold PlayStation 4s, but globally Sony's console retains a healthy lead. Both companies like to lump together the current and previous generations of console, which makes comparing the Xbox One and PS4's sales tricky, but provides us with a general overview. During the holiday season, Microsoft sold 6.6 million Xbox consoles (360 and One) worldwide, while Sony sold 7.5 million PlayStations (PS4 and PS3). In 2014, Sony was the clear leader, having sold 18.8 million PlayStations, while Microsoft managed just 12.1 million Xboxes.

Obviously there’s still a long way to go, and a lot to play for in the latest round of the console wars and anything could happen in the next four or five years. Windows 10 could give the Xbox One a huge boost, and a run of great Xbox exclusive games could make a big difference too. However, the latest forecast from Strategy Analytics doesn’t see things improving for Microsoft in the coming years -- quite the opposite in fact.

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Taking a screenshot of your gaming prowess on your Xbox One will soon be as simple as screenshotting your desktop on your computer. It's a feature that has been requested for a long time, and promised for almost as long. Now head of Xbox Phil Spencer reveals that work is well under way and the ability to take screenshots should be coming to gamers soon.

The ability to record in-game video is nothing new, but the simple option to grab a screenshot is something that Xbox One owners are still waiting for -- although PS4 owners have enjoed this abilty for a while. With access to development software, Phil Spencer tweeted, er, a screenshot, of the screenshot feature in action.

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Since Microsoft and Sony’s next generation consoles launched in late 2013, PlayStation 4 has been outselling the Xbox One very, very comfortably. In fact, just a month ago I reported that the PS4 had sold double that of its rival in the first year.

However, in November Microsoft’s console finally managed to claim the top spot, helped in no small part by a price cut and some decent software launches coming into the holiday season.

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Today marks a monumental moment for Microsoft -- 10 million Xbox consoles have been shipped to stores. I don't care who you are, you must admit that is an impressive feat. Of course, Sony reached that milestone months earlier, but this should not detract from Microsoft's achievement.

Quite frankly, the video game console race is a jog, not a sprint. In other words, the PlayStation 4's early lead is not guaranteed forever; the Xbox One is still in the game (pun intended). Not only is the Xbox One now $50 less expensive than the PS4, but it has some exclusive titles that will have gamers overlooking its competitor, such as Halo and Sunset Overdrive. Yep, Sony should definitely be worried.

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If you’ve been following the sales of Microsoft and Sony’s next gen consoles, you’ll know that the PS4 has been outselling its rival each month. However, a year after they went on sale we finally get to see the scale of the sales difference between the two.

In the last quarter, Sony shipped 4.1 million PlayStations globally, of which 3.3 million were PlayStation 4s. Microsoft on the other hand shipped 2.4 million Xbox units. Now we don’t know how many of those were Xbox Ones, and how many were Xbox 360s (Microsoft doesn’t provide a breakdown), but given the older console still sells very well, it’s safe to assume the PS4 sales were double that of the Xbox One in that quarter. Now, let’s look at the bigger picture.

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Sony is known for its engineering prowess in a lot of consumer goods, such as TVs, Walkmans, cameras, etc. But what it is not known for -- in any good way, at least -- is software. Sony's software is generally the low point of its product, which isn't unexpected, as software was never the firm's focus. So, when you look at the PS4 and Xbox One, you will notice Sony's advantage in pure gaming, while Microsoft brings software features likes apps (e.g. Skype), and multi-window support.

Sony's update today finally delivers some of the 'next-gen' software features it bragged about a year ago. Share Play is now available and lets your friend join your game, even if they don't own it themselves. There are some limitations without a PlayStation Plus membership, but that was to be expected. YouTube will finally get an app on the PlayStation store. Additionally, you can now use the 'Share' button to upload gameplay highlights directly to YouTube from your PS4.

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Last year, I eagerly pre-ordered the Sony Playstation 4 and got it on launch day. This was a happy moment for me, but I did have some trepidation. You see, Sony's reputation had been soiled for many years. If you recall, in 2005, the company severely impacted the security of many Windows machines with its CD rooktkit software. Any other company likely would have lost its supporters over such a disgraceful tactic, but Sony has a long history and it weathered the storm. However, fast-forward to 2011, and the PlayStation Network was hacked. This was not a small thing; personal identifying information of 77 million people were exposed. As a result, the company's reputation was severely impacted. Unfortunately, as a PlayStation 3 owner, I was included in that group and had to sign up for identity theft protection (Sony paid for a year of the service).

Somehow, I still bought the PS4 and after only owning it a very short while, I got an email from Sony that my login credentials needed to be changed for security reasons (irregular activity). Enough was enough -- I decided to return the PlayStation 4 and be done with Sony for all things that require network connectivity. Today, the PlayStation Network is once again in the spotlight as it has been taken down for hours by a denial-of-service attack. Sony has confirmed the attack, saying that so far, there is no evidence of stolen information.

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Gamescom 2014, Europe's largest gaming event and tradeshow is taking place in Cologne, Germany right now, and Sony’s PlayStation Briefing will, like Microsoft’s Xbox press conference, be one of the highlights.

The PS4 is currently ahead of the Xbox One in terms of sales, but can it keep that momentum going? We’ll find out what games will be coming up for the console later today. Expect to see some gameplay footage for upcoming role-playing game Bloodborne (a PS4 exclusive), and interesting sounding horror game, A Million Ways To Die. We’ll also hopefully see some footage from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

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Microsoft might have seen sales of the Xbox One more than double in June, but the games console is still being outsold by Sony’s PS4, according to industry-tracking firm NPD Group.

While the uncoupling of the Kinect and introduction of a $399 base model has caused a clear sales spike it will likely be some time before we see whether that's enough to help the Xbox One catch up to its rival.

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A fan of Microsoft’s new gaming console? Prepare to rejoice. While up until now the Xbox One has been roundly thrashed by its arch rival, Sony’s PlayStation 4, it seems uncoupling the Kinect in order to allow the device to compete on price is paying dividends.

According to Microsoft, since the new Xbox One offering launched on June 9th, the company has seen sales more than double in the US, compared to May’s figures. Fantastic! But hold on… Maybe don’t start that party just yet.

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If you’re a fan of the Xbox One, you’ll be able to see what Microsoft has planned for its console later in the year by tuning into the tech giant’s E3 media briefing later on today. That kicks off at 9:30am PDT/5.30pm BST.

If, however, you’re more excited by Sony’s PlayStation 4, you’ll be pleased to know you can watch that press conference instead. Or, if you’re just a fan of games, irrespective of platform, you can tune into both.

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Believe it or not, system builders are a diverse set. Some people focus on looks, others on performance and some on value. However, gamers are typically the ones that push the boundaries with performance and high-costs when building rigs. While some people will write-off video games as a silly time waster, they are actually a vital driver of personal computing innovation. Hell, it is also good financially for the hardware business -- new games need better hardware and gamers are willing to pay to play.

Beyond expensive video cards and overclocked CPUs and RAM, gamers are constantly looking for a way to gain an edge. Anything that can make a game load faster, even by seconds, is extremely attractive to them. Today, SanDisk announces the Extreme PRO SSD -- a storage solution for gamers that want to utilize SATA III rather than much costlier options. PlayStation 4 owners will want to take notice too.

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Sony's PlayStation 4 console might be leading in the sales war against the Xbox One, but the PS4 isn't resting on its laurels, with Sony having announced plans to enter the Chinese market.

According to a Bloomberg Businessweek report, Sony will make and sell the PS4 in China, forming two joint ventures with Shanghai Oriental Pearl (Group) Co. in which Sony will own a 70 percent stake in one venture, and a 49 percent stake in the other.

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Nintendo Entertainment System vs. Sega Master System. Super Nintendo vs. Sega Genesis. PlayStation 2 vs. Dreamcast. For whatever reason, people are very passionate about the video game consoles that they buy. Apparently, it matters which console "wins" each generation.

The current battle is between Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One. Let's be honest, they are both great and their prices are virtually identical when Sony's camera accessory is factored in. You really can't go wrong buying either -- the exclusive titles should be the deciding factor. However, one of them has to win and according to IDC, the PlayStation 4 will be champion.

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At GDC last month Sony announced update 1.70 for the PlayStation 4 gaming console. Now some details are beginning to trickle out about what customers can expect from the update, the biggest of which seems to be a new method for editing and sharing gaming videos.

Known as SHAREfactory, the service will let gamers edit and customize these clips before sharing them with everyone. This isn't just simple editing either, it will allow the customer to utilize filters, transitions, and even add text and stickers.

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