PlayStation 4 (PS4) Console

A PlayStation 4 (PS4) Console is a 8th gen. PlayStation home console that succeeded PlayStation 3 and preceded PlayStation 5.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) support PS4 Compatible Games.
  • It can (typically) contain a PlayStation 4 Hardware, with an AMD Advanced Processing Unit.
  • It can (typically) operate PlayStation 4 System Software.
  • It can (typically) be a member of a PlayStation 4 Console Population (e.g., of ~92M in 2019-01).
  • It can (typically) be used by a PS4 User (within a PS4 user population).
  • It can (typically) have a PS4 User Interface (with PlayStation 4 User Experience Pages).
  • It can be a Voice-Enabled Gaming Console (if the user inserts a microphone in the DualShock).
  • …
• Example(s):
  • a 2013-11 PS4.
  • a 2014 PS4.
  • a 2015 PS4.
  • a 2016 PS4 (such as a PlayStation 4 Slim, or a PlayStation 4 Pro).
  • a 2017 PS4.
  • a 2018 PS4.
  • a 2019 PS4.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • XBox One (or XBox 360 or an XBox Scorpio).
  • Wii U (or Nintendo Switch).
  • a PS3 or a PS5.
• See: High-Dynamic-Range Video, Blu-Ray Disc, Accelerated Processing Unit, TSMC.

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References

2019

• https://sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/library/corporatereport/CorporateReport2019_E.pdf
  • QUOTE: ... PS3 incorporated many original advanced technologies, making it a challenging platform to develop for in terms of both technology and profitability. The PS4 system architecture more closely resembles that of a personal computer, which reduces the burden on game title developers. ...

2017

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_4 Retrieved:2017-2-13.
  • The PlayStation 4 (abbreviated as PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 during a press conference on February 20, 2013, it was launched on November 15 in North America, November 29 in Europe, South America and Australia, and February 22, 2014 in Japan. It competes with Nintendo's Wii U and Microsoft's Xbox One, as part of the eighth generation of video game consoles.

    Moving away from the more complex Cell microarchitecture of its predecessor, the console features an AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) built upon the x86-64 architecture, which can theoretically peak at 1.84 teraflops; AMD stated that it was the "most powerful" APU they had developed to date. The PlayStation 4 places an increased emphasis on social interaction and integration with other devices and services, including the ability to play games off-console on PlayStation Vita and supported Sony Xperia mobile devices ("Remote Play"), the ability to stream gameplay online or to friends, with them controlling gameplay remotely ("Share Play"). The console's controller was also redesigned and improved over the PlayStation 3, with improved buttons and analog sticks, and an integrated touchpad among other changes.

    Reception to the PlayStation 4 prior to launch was positive, with critics praising Sony for acknowledging its consumers' needs, embrace of independent game development, and for not imposing restrictive digital rights management schemes that Microsoft had previously announced for Xbox One prior to its release. Critics and third-party studios also praised the capabilities of the PlayStation 4 in comparison to its competitors; developers described the performance difference between the console and Xbox One as being "significant" and "obvious". Heightened demand also helped Sony top global console sales. By the end of 2016, more than 53 million consoles have been sold worldwide, with more than 57 million shipped.

    On September 7, 2016, Sony unveiled two hardware revisions of PlayStation 4; a slim build of the console, and a "Pro" version with an upgraded GPU and higher CPU clock rate to support 4K gameplay on supported titles. All models, including the original sold in 2013, support HDR10 high-dynamic-range color.

2017a

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_4_technical_specifications#Processors_and_memory Retrieved:2017-10-16.
  • The PlayStation 4 uses a semi-custom Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) developed by AMD in cooperation with Sony and is manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process node. Its APU is a single-chip that combines a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU), as well as other components such as a memory controller and video decoder encoder. The console also includes secondary custom chips that handle tasks associated with downloading, uploading, and social gameplay. These tasks can be handled seamlessly in the background during gameplay or while the system is in sleep mode. Though not much is publicly known of the PS4's audio capabilities, the console also contains a dedicated hardware audio module, which can support in-game chat with minimal external resources as well as "a very large number" of MP3 streams for use in in-game audio.

2017b

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_4_technical_specifications#APU Retrieved:2017-10-16.
  • The main APU (2013 release) had a die size of , with GPUs, CPUs and memory controllers on the same die.2013 release version APUs contained 20 GCN compute units on die,two of which are thought to be present to provide redundancy to improve manufacturing yield. CPUs plus CPU caches make up approximately 15% of the chip area, and the GPU compute units take up approximately 33% of the die area.

Device	CPU (Jaguar)				GPU (GCN)					Memory (GDDR5)				Special features
	Cores	Frequency	L2 cache	GFLOPS	Cores1	Frequency	GFLOPS	Pixel fillrate (GP/s)2	Texture fillrate (GT/s)3	Amount (GiB)	Bus width (bit)	Bus type	Bandwidth (GB/s)
PS4	dual 4 core modules	1.6 GHz	2 × 2 MB	102.4	1152:72:32	800 MHz	1843.2 (FP16/32)	25.6	57.6	8 GiB	256	GDDR5	176	8 ACEs in the GPU and additional modules
PS4 Pro	dual 4 core modules	2.13 GHz	2 x 2 MB	134.4	2304:144:32	911 MHz	4197.8 (FP32) 8395.7 (FP16)	29.1	131.2	8 GiB	256	GDDR5	217.6	1GB of DDR3 RAM for OS and Swapping Calculates 2 half-precision floats simultaneously

• ¹ Unified shaders : texture mapping unit : render output unit.
• ² Pixel fillrate is calculated as the number of ROPs multiplied by the base core clock speed.
• ³ Texture fillrate is calculated as the number of TMUs multiplied by the base core clock speed.

2017d

• http://forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2017/05/01/despite-analyst-predictions-playstation-5-in-2018-seems-unlikely-and-unwise/
  • QUOTE: … Sony is in such a dominant market position, it simply does not need to rush. They have sold over 60 million PS4s at this point, and no one else is even close to them. The Wii U ended its run with 13 million units sold, and while the Switch is selling much better, optimistic predictions put it at maybe 12-13 million sold in its first year, so it has a ways to go. The Xbox Scorpio is certainly going to be a shockwave to the market, but Microsoft has not been releasing sales data for the Xbox One for ages now, and the estimated totals are almost certainly no more than 25-30 million, half of Sony’s haul, at this point. … I could more easily envision a holiday 2019 PlayStation heading to market because that’s six full years after PS4 and three after PS4 Pro. … "

2017 e.

• http://sie.com/en/corporate/release/2017/170105.html
  • QUOTE:
    • PS4 has sold through more than 6.2 million units during the 2016 holiday season
    • PS4 has now cumulatively sold through more than 53.4*2 million units globally as of January 1, 2017.
    • PS4 software sales also remained strong during the 2016 holiday season with more than 50.4 million copies*3 sold in retail stores worldwide and through digital downloads on PlayStation®Store as of January 1, 2017. UNCHARTED 4: A Thief’s End reached a cumulative sell through of more than 8.7 million copies globally 4 as of December 21, 2016.

2013

• "PS4 Launches in North America on November 15th, Gamescom Wrap-up."
  • QUOTE: ... we’re happy to confirm that PlayStation 4 (PS4) will launch on November 15th in the U.S. and Canada ...

    

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