Today is an exciting day for gamers everywhere. As you may have seen live with millions of others across the world, just moments ago we introduced PlayStation 4 (PS4), our next-generation console that will deliver breakthrough gaming experiences for our fans starting this holiday season.

PlayStation 4 is centered on all of you – the gamers. It redefines rich and immersive gameplay with powerful graphics and speed, intelligent personalization, deeply integrated social capabilities, and innovative second-screen features. When we designed PlayStation 4, we focused on building an architecture that will allow the greatest game developers in the industry to push boundaries and dig deep within their imaginations to create the most immersive and unique games for you to enjoy.

The future of PlayStation is all about great games and entertainment, and at PlayStation Meeting 2013, we brought some of the brightest and most creative minds from the development community on stage to unveil the games that will define PS4. A partial initial lineup for PlayStation 4 includes first-party games from Guerilla Games (Killzone: Shadow Fall), Sucker Punch (inFamous Second Son), Evolution Studios (Driveclub), and Japan Studio (Knack), as well as titles from our partners such as Activision/Bungie (Destiny), Blizzard Entertainment (Diablo III), Capcom (Deep Down), and Ubisoft (Watch_Dogs). PlayStation also reinforced its commitment to self-publishing and the independent development community by having Jonathan Blow onstage who gave a sneak peek of his upcoming title The Witness. Finally, the incredible minds at Media Molecule and Quantic Dream gave glimpses of their conceptualization process and the future of gameplay with some remarkable footage. We only scratched the surface at the event, and will have many more exciting titles to come.

With so much amazing content in development for PlayStation 4, we want to give our fans every opportunity to check out virtually any PS4 game when it becomes available. In the future, when a gamer sees a title of interest in PlayStation Store, they can immediately start playing a portion of the actual game.

Our next generation console will change the way you interact with friends while you play. PlayStation 4 lets you instantly share images and videos of your favorite gameplay moments on Facebook with a single press on the DUALSHOCK 4 controller’s “share” button. You can also broadcast while you play in real-time through Ustream, allowing friends to comment or jump into your game in new ways. Be sure to check out the post from Shu Yoshida, WWS President, for his thoughts on DUALSHOCK 4 and the “share” features.

With PlayStation 4 we also want you to access your games quicker than ever before. PS4’s “suspend mode” eliminates the load time on your saved game and allows you to immediately return to where you left off by pressing the power button. PlayStation 4’s background downloading and updating capability also allows you to immediately play digital titles as they download, or update the system when the hardware is powered off.

Leveraging PlayStation Network with Gaikai technology, PS4 will make it easier for you to play your favorite games and access content wherever you are. We see PS Vita as the ultimate companion device for PS4 and it’s our long-term vision to make most PS4 games playable on PS Vita, so you can bring your favorite games from the big-screen TV to your PS Vita over Wi-Fi. We’re also introducing a “PlayStation App” for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices that acts as a second screen, allowing for unique gameplay possibilities such as viewing maps during an adventure game or remotely watching friends play during an epic battle—right from a smartphone or tablet.

With so much to look forward to in 2013, I want to take a moment to thank you for following PlayStation through our incredible journey and allowing us to bring the most advanced hardware, software and networked gaming experiences into millions of homes around the world. We’re excited about this next chapter, and will continue to provide you with more details about PlayStation 4 and the broader PlayStation ecosystem, as we get closer to launch this holiday season.

I’d like to give you a tour of DUALSHOCK 4 and the features that will provide game developers the freedom to create brand new experiences that previously were limited to their imaginations.

Design

DUALSHOCK 4 adopts the familiar form factor of the DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller with some key enhancements:

• Motion control is enabled by a new highly sensitive six-axis sensor
• Dual analog sticks fine-tuned for better precision plus improved surface materials and shape for more delicate manipulation
• L2/R2 buttons on the top of the controller employ a curved design for easier, smoother interaction
• A new “Options” button combines the functions of the DUALSHOCK 3’s “Select” and “Start” buttons for operating in-game menus

New Ways to Play, Share and Connect

In addition to these features that build on the controls that you already know, DUALSHOCK 4 offers new features that enable new ways to play, a key part of the PS4 experience. One of the biggest innovations we’ve designed centers on the deep social interactions that will surround all games on PS4.

The “Share” button allows you to easily broadcast your gameplay in real-time through streaming sites such as Ustream, where fellow gamers can comment and even join your game in new ways. For example, if you’re stuck in a difficult level, your friends can offer health potions or special weapons that you can use during gameplay. You can also instantly upload images or video to Facebook by pressing the “Share” button. As both a developer and a gamer, I’m personally excited about the opportunity to get help from friends when facing a challenge, and I can’t wait to see what my friends are playing in real time along with videos of their favorite in-game moments.

On the front side of DUALSHOCK 4 is a light bar with LED that illuminate in various colors to match the color of the character in a game as a simple way to identify players. The colors can also provide useful information to players, such as when their character has taken damage during a game. DUALSHOCK 4 was developed alongside a second peripheral, a dual camera which can sense the depth of the environment in front of it and also track the 3D location of the controller via its light bar. The new camera incorporates four microphones capable of accurate sound detection and source origination, and it will support the PlayStation Move motion controller with more precision than ever before.

DUALSHOCK 4 also has a touchpad at the front of the controller as a new input method, offering more ways to interact with games. Additionally there’s a built-in speaker and headset jack to deliver high-fidelity sound effects from the games. A headset will be bundled with PS4, enabling gamers to chat with friends during online gaming and to hear sound effects from the controller.

There’s a lot built into DUALSHOCK 4, and the features were all thoughtfully designed with input from the development community (both our internal studios and third parties) and PlayStation gamers. Our goal was to give game creators an open canvas to express their ideas, and DUALSHOCK 4 combined with DUALSHOCK 4 will help us achieve the future of gaming that we at PlayStation see ahead of us.

What do you think? What’s your favorite new feature for DUALSHOCK 4?

PlayStation 4 will be incredibly powerful but elegant and easy to use, empowering game developers to create innovative gaming experiences we can only begin to imagine. As we prepared for today’s PlayStation Meeting, we asked some of the top game designers in the world to share their inspirations and ambitions for PlayStation 4. Please watch the video below to see the shape of things to come.

Today we are happy we can finally show you what we have been working on.

It has been an amazing journey for us so far, being offered the opportunity to be a launch title for the new PlayStation, and the subsequent mild panic to figure out how to best handle all of that.

But being able to now share it with you is both a scary and proud moment. We are hoping you will like what we have created, and are happy to present you with the first glimpse of Killzone Shadow Fall.

The piece of live gameplay we presented at the PlayStation Meeting 2013 shows you a new world, a new situation and a new hero.

The game is set in a near future, thirty years after the events of Killzone 3. The world is a very different place; two rival factions known as the Helghast and the Vektans live side by side in a futuristic city, divided by a vast wall.

Tensions are high, and the cold war they are embroiled in is about to go hot. In the midst of this all stands a Shadow Marshal, you. The most special of the special forces, tasked with maintaining the delicate balance.

From responding to bold attacks, to quiet infiltrations or all out combat, you will be required to adapt and think on your feet as you have to face a variety of escalating events that could destroy your home world.

We are looking forward to sharing some more of the exciting events and features that we have been working on. Keep your eyes out for more news soon.

Delsin Rowe is the star of Second Son, and you probably know someone like him: A 24 year-old who is absolutely convinced he’s destined for greatness; though so far that greatness has managed to elude him. He grew up just outside Seattle, where his great – if accidental – calling comes crashing into his life. After rescuing occupants from a fiery bus wreck, he discovers that he suddenly has the ability to direct, manipulate and even transform into… Smoke. Could he have absorbed this power from one of the passengers he pulled from the wreckage?

Setting the scene: It’s been seven years since the Cole McGrath episodes and the world has clearly changed. Anyone showing signs of being a so-called “bio-terrorist” is immediately handed over to the Department of Unified Protection (DUP) — a government agency created to ensure there is never a repeat of the catastrophic events of Empire City and New Marais. So Delsin, who has never been particularly respectful of authority, finds himself caught in the DUP dragnet – And decides he’s not going to go quietly.

Along the way, Delsin is going to ask questions that are not just relevant to the world of Second Son – but to the world we all live in today. A world where we are often instructed to surrender our freedoms to help improve our security. Ben Franklin once wrote “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Is he right?

As you play Second Son, you’ll explore lots of Seattle’s familiar landmarks. As with all games in this series, the path the gameplay and story take will depend on the decisions you make along the way. Of course, we are creating all these characters and locations at a remarkable level of detail – made possible by PS4. In fact, this trailer was produced in-house using our game engine – can you tell we’re having fun with the new GPU, tools, and our new VFX system?

We’ll be back in the coming weeks with more details, but until then you’ll find us at @suckerpunchprod, #SecondSon, and www.facebook.com/infamous.

When I joined Evo nine years ago, the first concept I worked on was for a racing game that was all about racing with friends. It combined the best cars (and they would have to be real ones), on the most breathtaking roads in the world, with gameplay that was totally focused on team-based racing.

I loved the job from day one.

The game was all about utter car passion. It was about connecting people who are as in love with car culture as we are, and creating a universe for these impassioned racers to all play together. We created web design concepts that showed how you could connect with people and access your club when you were away from the living room, and we created prototypes of the most immersive, detailed vehicle interiors and exteriors possible.

Except…they weren’t possible. Our concept was simple, but needed a socially connected network and audiovisual technology that wasn’t available.

When we knew PlayStation 4 was coming, we realised that the time was right to make the Driveclub dream a reality. It was time to combine nearly 15 years of racing game pedigree and a rapidly evolving, connected gaming landscape – this seed of an idea was ready to be realized and the buzz at Evo was unstoppable.

So what did we do?

We expanded our vehicle handling and design team so that together, we have over 50 years’ experience working on the most prestigious racing titles out there, including – WRC, Formula 1, Gran Turismo, MotorStorm, WipEout, Project Gotham Racing, GRID 2 and many more.

We used our PlayStation Vita launch game as a bridge between MotorStorm and Driveclub, testing our theories about connecting social networks with asynchronous challenge-based racing on multiple devices at the same time. It worked really well.

We collaborated with the best car companies in the world, working with them to create the most detailed and authentic car interiors and exteriors possible. The result is staggeringly immersive and visceral. This isn’t cockpit view; this is first-person-racing.

And now, almost a decade later, we’re finally making the game we’ve always wanted to make. It’s time to share our passion, to show you the first glimpse of Driveclub and we can’t wait to show you more.

Watch_Dogs is back. In reality it never really went away, but it has been a while since E3 2012. A lot of development has been done on our side. We know you have many questions. Believe this: we’ll do our best in the upcoming months to answer all of them… well, most of them.

For now, though, the whole development team is very proud to show you this new gameplay demo where you’ll get to see yet another facet of Watch_Dogs in action. In it, you can see that Watch_Dogs will be a game of opportunities and choices; of connections and consequences.

As we continue our march towards launch you’ll get to know Aiden Pearce, our mysterious protagonist. Learn what drives him and what makes him tick. You’ll get to experience and understand the concept of a hyper-connected, smart city. You’ll realize what it is like to have complete control over a major city right at your fingertips and the chaos it can create.

Watch_Dogs will be available on PlayStation 4 at launch, as well as the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. Keep checking back with us by visiting the official website, Facebook page and Twitter account.

Destiny is being developed for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, with both versions available at Destiny’s launch. Even better, the PlayStation versions of Destiny will feature exclusive in-game content, only available on PlayStation.

We’re thrilled to share this moment with you. It’s been a long time coming. We’re looking forward to sharing even more in the months ahead.

Now that Diablo’s out of the bag, I just want to say that we’re stoked to be bringing Diablo III over to PlayStation. We got our start in console games, and a bunch of us, myself included, have been looking forward to this day for a very long time.

We’re putting a lot of work into doing Diablo III right for PS3 and PS4. All of the upgrades we’ve made to the PC version since launch will be included. On top of that, we’re completely redeveloping the interface, controls, and camera so that the traditional Diablo hack-and-slash, loot-collecting, dungeon-crawl feels natural and fun with a controller in your hands.

I know a lot of people will have a lot of questions about the game, and we look forward to getting into all of that as development progresses. For now, I just want to say thanks to all of you who kept pushing us to get back to console, and please come check out the game at PAX East if you’re in Boston in late March.

It was a great pleasure to be able to introduce the title at the PlayStation Meeting in New York. With our new project, Knack, we are really trying to take advantage of everything that the PlayStation 4 supports, from the graphics capabilities of the platform to the physics simulation necessary to handle our very unique hero. Over the years I’ve been involved in a number of character-based action titles – Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank – and with the gameplay of Knack, we’re trying to focus on the essential fun behind the action/platform gameplay. I’m hoping that we can make something that excites those that played the classic games back in the day, as well as something that attracts new fans to the genre.

I’m sure you saw a lot of things in the trailer and might be wondering what exactly the game is all about.

The Doctor (a not-so-mad scientist) studied ancient relics from a long lost civilization for many years, and finally found a way to bind them together and give them consciousness. The result is Knack, a creature with mysterious powers – for one, he can incorporate more relics into his body as he finds them, which allows him to transform from a three-foot tall creature into a gigantic wrecking machine.

During the game Knack also discovers that he has a skill (in other words, a knack!) that allows him to incorporate ice, metal and other substances into his body, giving him new abilities from level to level. The result is gameplay which is a little bit like Crash Bandicoot, and a little bit like Katamari Damacy, in that the Knack can get quite large indeed. There’s also a touch of God of War in there, in that there is an epic feel to the game in places.

As for the story, mankind is threatened by a resurgent goblin army and Knack steps forward to protect them – until it becomes clear that an even greater danger is posed by elements of the human community.

Right now we’re hard at work on the game and developing for PlayStation 4. It has been an incredible opportunity to contribute this early on to what’s shaping up to be a very interesting year for the industry. This is just a small taste of what’s in store and you’ll be hearing more about Knack and how it plays on PS4 very soon.