PS4 Launch: What we expect to see

PS4 Release Date
For Sony to truly capitalise on the arrival of its next-generation console, we would expect to see a PS4 release date take place ahead of the lucrative pre-Christmas shopping period. Whilst according to recent reports this looks set to be the case, it appears that a 2013 PS4 release might only be offered to select territories.

With latest rumours claiming that the US and Sony’s native Japan will be afforded a November PS4 release date, it has been suggested that due to “complexities involved in European distribution” a PS4 UK release date, along with the console’s entire European arrival, has been pushed back until early 2012. An issue that stifled sales of the Nintendo 3DS in the not too distant past, such a fragmented release across such a key market, is unlikely but, unfortunately for British based gaming fans, not totally out of the question.

According to recent reports, “development sources with working knowledge of both next-generation consoles,” have hinted that the “PlayStation 4 will launch in Japan and the US by Christmas, with a Euro rollout following in early 2014.”

Although we expect Sony to officially unveil the PS4 this evening, we imagine the Japanese manufacture will hold off revealing the PS4 release date until the E3 gaming expo in June.

PS4 Games
With any new console comes a tantalising selection of new games and we don’t expect the PS4 launch to be any different, with Sony expected to at least offer some indication as to what consumers can expect in terms of PS4 games.

Although murmurs of a new Gran Turismo title have been bandied around, we can’t see a new iteration of the ultra-realistic racing being readied in time for the likely pre-Christmas PS4 release date.

A title we can see making it to the new PS4, however, is Rockstar’s eagerly awaited GTA 5 release. With the game recently delayed until September, the next instalment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise is a likely candidate to hit Sony’s next-gen gamer at launch, an expectation recently highlighted by industry analysts discussion the posibility of a GTA 5 PS4 offering.

We think the closer proximity of GTA V to the next cycle could, at the margin, impact lifetime sales of the title, though we believe that a title of GTA’s stature will still be a major seller regardless,” Cowen  & Company analyst Doug Creutz said recently.

“We think there also could be some impact on the legs of likely GTA V downloadable content as the next-gen installed base increases through 2014. However, we suspect Take-Two may have plans to eventually publish GTA V on the next set of consoles in some form to offset this.”

PS4 Price
Again, although we do not expect the PS4 price tag to be confirmed this evening, it is likely that Sony will be forced into a competitive pricing structure due to expected competition from the Xbox 720 and a recent rise in social gaming via smartphones and tablets.

Offering an insight into the PS4 price, which we believe will be announced at E3 2013 at the earliest, recent reports have claimed Sony’s next-gen gamer could land around the £300 marker when it finally makes it to UK retailers.

What would you like to see Sony do with its next-gen console at the eagerly awaited PS4 launch event? Let us know and make your prediction of what will be unveiled via the TrustedReviews Twitter and Facebook feeds or through the comment boxes below.