Sony's Official PS4 Unboxing Video Unveiled

Sony recently unveiled its Official PlayStation 4 Unboxing Video. PS4 release is set to roll out November 15. The company also plans to be launching a microconsole for this year. Sony’s PS Vita TV be launched in Japan for this month. The PS Vita TV has the ability to stream digital content and offer gaming. PS4 delivers next-generation gaming for Android mobile gamers. The device features remote play, Wi-Fi, console records video and enhanced connectivity functionalities. Opportunities in digital are continuing to grow within the gaming market.

After the North American launch, PlayStation 4 (PS4) will also be released on November 29, 2013, in Europe and Central America, South America and Australia. PS4 will also launch December 2013 in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. The Japanese launch is set for next year, February 22, 2014. PS4 main competitors include Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii U.  PlayStation 4 features a more simplified version of an AMD processor and social gaming functionalities. The company aims to attract more developers and better engage its consumers through built in social "share" buttons with live friend streaming.

Sony PS4

PS4 offers and integrates with an Android smartphone app. The devices is also compatible with an interactive controller which responds by human gestures. PS Vita TV, PS4 and PSP are in competition with Nintendo, Microsoft and Apple’s line of gaming products. The company is presently in negotiation with expansion through major digital content providers to offer an more cost effective Internet cable alternative. PS Vita TV is presently targeted towards the Japanese market and Hulu. Apple has been under pressure from Android’s platforms fragmenting the market.

TV has evolved, embracing social media content and has expanded into new device channels such as gaming. Branded entertainment in digital is the future. Gaming initiatives with Android have contributed to the evolvement in mobile. Driving content engagement is crucial to gaming. Consumers have been willing to adapt to this consumption.

Microsoft’s Xbox is still a main competitor in console gaming. The device is offered at $500 making it more expensive than Sony and Apple’s gaming product for TV. The competition may soon heat up as Sony integrates its gaming product with TV, competitors such as Apple may leverage its iOS gaming platform in efforts to take gaming to the next level. The high cost of many Microsoft systems made them a tough sell in economic conditions.

Sony reported as of August 2013, “Over one million pre-orders have been placed for PlayStation 4.” Sony’s PS4 will deliver a true interactive experience. The gaming console will be compatible with other services such as the PlayStation App and cloud-based gaming, Gaikai. The PS4 app will connect with Android smartphones and tablets.

The merging of TVs and gaming is changing. "There should be over 150 million online console gamers globally by 2017 as well, so the opportunity to sell these gaming enthusiasts digital assets through Wii U, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 consoles will be substantially larger than it is today.The number of Web-connected consoles should top 200 million worldwide by 2017, making these appliances a key on-ramp for not only big budget and indie games but a wide variety of multimedia and social applications and services," stated Lewis Ward, IDC Research Manager.