Playstation 4 The Test Part 1 - OS

It is now 11 am on Friday morning.  I have got up and turned on my PS4, unforuantlly the controller needs charging, so |I will leave the unit on for a while.

I tired a Blu-Ray disc and while it does play, it is noiser and takes longer to load than the PS3.  Also it just says "Blu-Ray Disc"!  The PS3 was able to identify the Blu-Ray and display the title on the screen.

Also, as previously reported, PS3 game discs are not compatible, yet when you log into your PSN account it shows you all your trophies and game progress as on PS3!  I have yet to verify reports that PS3 games are available to download from PS Store.

The controller has been redesigned.  Still the same basic shape, the DUELSHOCK 4 has done away with the classic "Start" and "Select" buttons(!), replacing them with a touchpad, "Options" and "Share" buttons.

I will leave the controller charging a little longer, then report on NFS: Rivals.

Playstation 4 - The Unboxing

I got my PS4 at just gone midnight, after queuing for about 45 mins. (This did include me paying for the console).  I got the Killzone Mega Pack as it contained a camera and extra controller.  I'm not particularly interested in playing Killzone and might trade it in against something else.

I got home and opened the box.  I carefully took the box with the console in out and opened it.  I could only find one controller, the console and the cables.  There was no sign of a second controller or camera.  I was about to give and got to bed (as it was about 1 am by now), but then I look in the other box.  There was a smaller box in the bottom containing the camera and extra controller.

After redesigning the power pack on the PS3 to be horrible and bulky, Sony have returned to the two-pin "radio" style of plug used on the Playstation and PS2.  I "borrowed" the power supply from my Xbox Kinect (which I haven't used in almost a year!) and the PS4 illuminated.  I searched around for the "on" switch for a few minutes with no luck, then, serendipity(!), it came on!  Its obviously a touch sensor like the PS3, but I have no idea where it was!

I turned on my TV (reusing the PS3 HDMI cable) and I connected to my wi-fi, set the time and date and logging in with my PSN account.  I then linked my PSN account with my Facebook.  The new GUI (Graphical User Interface) loaded up, similar to that of the PS Vita.  I my opinion, they should never have moved away from XCross Media Bar used on PS3 and PSP, by far the best and most user friendly Playstation interface.

The new interface is blue, with several boxes.  After intinal set-up turned it all off and went to be around 2am!