PS4 Dev Kits Distributed to Developers

PlayStation

Developers are receiving a new version of potential PlayStation 4 development kits with a final batch expected next year, according to a report by VG247.

Anonymous sources told the site the dev kit, code-named Orbis, is currently being shipped in a modified PC case. The report confirms Orbit uses Blu-ray and is not being built in Japan.

This is the second version of the Orbis dev kit being shipped out to game developers. The first version was basically just a graphics card. A third batch is expected to be distributed in January with a final version to be shipped next summer.

U.S. developers who are receiving the kit attended a disclosure meeting at Sony’s headquarters to learn what the machine is designed to do and get the specifics of the hardware. Sony has only called the machine Orbis and has made no reference to the PlayStation 4. VG247 reports Orbis will be officially announced at an event just before E3 next year.

Orbis is backed by AMD’s A10 APU series. The CPU and GPU are combined with an APU (Accelerated Processor Unit). The company is aiming to make hardware that is able to easily run games in full 1080p and 3D without any issues.

Kits have either 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM. The PlayStation 4 hard drive is expected to have 256 GB of storage space. However, it is not clear if that will be standard or solid state drive.

Sony is hoping to avoid the problems involved with launching the PlayStation 3 by developing Orbis into something that is affordable but is also in line with current technology.

The dev kit also has WiFi and Ethernet connectivity with HDMI out, the same input and output included on the PS3.

However, there are enhancements to the UI. Gamers will be able to press the PS button on their controller during a game and navigate to anywhere in the system. For example, players will be able to pause a game and purchase DLC before seamlessly switching back to the game. The system is also designed to receive system and product updates in the background as it will always be in stand-by mode. That means background downloads can be accepted to make sure players can receive new content without the pain of waiting for downloads.

Ryan Bloom

Ryan Bloom

Associate Editor at Gaming Illustrated
Ryan Bloom is a writer and avid gamer from Santa Ana, CA. He received a B.A. in Communications with a minor in American Studies from California State University, Fullerton in 2010. Follow him on Twitter @BloomsTweets.
Ryan Bloom

@BloomsTweets

Associate Editor, News & Preview Lead, Game Reviewer for @GamingIllustrat, professional writer and multimedia journalist
apparently Google Play thinks Pusha T is Kanye West - 1 day ago
Ryan Bloom

Latest posts by Ryan Bloom (see all)

TAGS: , , , ,
  • TJ Omaha

    That’s a lot of RAM for a console.

  • Zarif

    PS4 is gonna be the best console

  • Tenacious D

    I agree that PS4 will likely be the best console, though I think this will only matter spec-wise too us geeks. Graphically and physics wise, the MS system is likely to be very similar, though I don’t know if MS is as gung ho for 3D as SONY.

    However, reliability is probably going to be better once again on Wii-U (gah) and PS4. I can’t see MS risking another near class action from Europe or America like they suffered with that awful 360. My “Leet” died in seven weeks, but I have two PS3s going strong five years later.

  • james braselton

    hi there yeah 256 gegabytes flash drive 250 gegabyte hard drive soo flash drive has 6 gegamytes extra capacity soo flash drive holds more data then hard drive with faster read write speeds