(You can even use the cables currently hooked up to your PS3 if you're moving that out.) PS4 power usage Luckily, most users will simply plug in an HDMI cable and a power cord and be done with this annoyance forever. This makes them a little harder to access when reaching around from the front or sides.

The design does come at a slight cost to functionality though, as the top back corner of the system creates a sort of lip over the rear ports. The slanted, lightly accented form really stands out in an entertainment center, coming off as nothing so much as a black monolith that magically plays games and apps on your TV. We discussed this a little bit in our first-day impressions, but we're big fans of the PS4's rather sleek, unique case design. Hardware designĮnlarge / The back top edge makes it a little tough to plug in the few plugs the PS4 needs. However, it's going to need some updates. As a piece of consumer hardware designed to be the center of a living room entertainment center for nearly a decade, the PS4 is off to a decent start. The result is somewhat of a mixed bag, complete with brilliant new features, major interface tweaks (for good and ill), long overdue fixes, and some new problems to replace the old ones. In any case, Sony's newest system clearly shows the company's desire to start over from scratch after kludging feature after feature on the aging PS3 over the years. Take the outgoing PlayStation 3-it's a far cry from the fat, buggy, compelling-game-free console it was at launch in 2006. But then again, it won't be the same system in 2020 that it is right now.

(This review builds on our initial impressions of the system from before that update, which you may want to read before continuing.)Īdmittedly, two days is not really much time to get a complete feel for the PS4. If the recent console cycle is anything to go by, the PlayStation 4 will be a major part of living rooms for at least seven years. We've been playing around with the Sony's next-gen console for the better part of a week now, including nearly two full days with the benefit of the crucial firmware 1.5 update that activates many of the system's features.

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