30 years of play

Join us for a journey through PlayStation® history and the consoles and games that made us. 

North American release

November 15th 2013

European release

November 29th 2013

Japanese release

February 22nd 2014

Arriving into a more connected online world, PlayStation® 4 ushered in more social and shareable experiences thanks to innovations like the DUALSHOCK® 4 controller’s Share button, live gameplay streaming, player Communities, and Share Play.

  But social features would be nothing without incredible experiences to share with friends – and fortunately, PS4 had no shortage of games worth showing off.

For the Players

PS4® was the first PlayStation console to launch in North America ahead of release in Japan, Europe and the rest of the world. Since then, it has sold over

117,000,000

consoles worldwide, and remains a gaming powerhouse with new games still being produced and played today.

Changing the game

Incredible games, a socially connected community of players, and the tech to show it all off in crisp high definition. In 2013, PS4 had it all.

8GB GDDR5

PS4 users were playing with power from the get-go, with 8GB of GDDR5 unified system memory giving it 16 times the RAM of the PS3. This exceptional capacity meant PS4 was designed for longevity, as developers continually pushed the hardware over its lifespan.

Sharing & communities

Share Play on PlayStation 4 let players share their screen with an online friend, allowing them to show off their skills, play together, or hand control over to the second user. Communities furthered this social side of the PS4, allowing users to set up groups for like-minded players to talk tactics and arrange matches.

Remote Play

Players wanting to use their PS4 but having to share a TV with other people could take advantage of Remote Play to control their console via a PC, Mac, smartphone or their PlayStation Vita and carry on playing using a DUALSHOCK wireless controller.

Console variations

Announced at the same time as its bigger PS4 Pro sibling, the original PS4 console also enjoyed a slimmed-down version in 2016.

PS4 ‘Slim’

In 2016 a slimmer, lighter variant of the PS4 console was released, packing the same features, power and gameplay experience into a more rounded and streamlined form factor.

PS4 Glacier White

In stark contrast from the matte black launch version, PS4 also enjoyed a Glacier White refresh for its base, slim and Pro models.

PS4 goes back to '94

Taking control

With the PS4 era came an updated and improved way to play. The DUALSHOCK® 4 wireless controller put sharing features within a thumb’s reach, added the new, tactile Touch Pad, and brought a zing of colour with the new light bar.

The Share button

A dedicated button on the DUALSHOCK 4 made sharing your achievements and gameplay effortless. Pressing and holding took a screenshot, while a double tap started (and stopped) the recording of a video clip, ready to show off on social media.

The light bar

Keeping tabs on whose controller is whose is made easy on PS4 as each DUALSHOCK 4 is assigned a different colour, which fills the pad’s light bar – blue, red, green or pink, depending on the order your PS button was pressed.

The touch pad

Positioned centrally on the face of the controller, the capacitive touch pad allowed for light-fingered sweeps to control pointers and served as a multi-position click input with up to four ‘buttons’ available, offering users enhanced control options.

The mic & speaker

Bringing a new layer of immersion to PS4 gaming was the controller's built-in speaker that put audio cues into players' hands, allowing them to be more distinct from the main game audio coming from the TV. And with an audio jack at the bottom of the handset for the included earpiece and mic, communication with other online players - or just enjoying game audio in a more personal way - became a breeze.

Welcome to PS4

On powering up their PS4 console, users would hear relaxing ambient chords, overlayed with a now iconic plucked melody. Inside the console’s home screen, the same floating ambient music played, but for the first time could be replaced with the users own music thanks to integration with the console media player or Spotify streaming service.

Iconic PlayStation 4 games

New faces and returning heroes made PS4 an incredibly diverse place to play.

Iconic PlayStation 4 games

New faces and returning heroes made PS4 an incredibly diverse place to play.

The Playroom

Preloaded on PS4 consoles, this augmented reality experience used the PlayStation Camera and DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller to showcase a range of minigames. The Playroom stars a raft of adorable robots, the inspiration for the later Astro Bot games.

Killzone: Shadow Fall

Guerrilla’s sci-fi shooter series expanded its horizons with expansive, open-ended level design and the incorporation of stealth elements. A dramatic solo campaign was complemented by a raft of competitive and co-operative multiplayer options.

Resogun

One of the most-acclaimed launch titles of any PlayStation generation, Housemarque’s Resogun was a high-octane shooter set across five distinct, cylindrical worlds built from voxel, and celebrated for its visuals, fast action and blistering soundtrack.

inFamous: Second Son 

Set in a fictionalized version of Seattle, Sucker Punch’s open-world adventure casts the player as superhero-like Conduit, Delsin Rowe, who must battle the Department of United Protection across the city. Praised for its combat and visuals, Second Son was followed by the standalone spinoff title First Light.

Bloodborne

A PlayStation 4 exclusive from the makers of Dark Souls, FromSoftware’s supremely testing gothic adventure sees the player, as a Hunter, explore the decaying city of Yharnam, where a blood-based disease turns the inhabitants into horrific beasts.

The Last Guardian

Directed by Fumito Ueda, who previously helmed Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, this meditative journey through a fantastical land sees a boy form an unlikely partnership with Trico, a realistically unpredictable creature that helps to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Nathan Drake’s grandest adventure sees the PlayStation icon reconnecting with his long-lost brother and traveling to Italy, Scotland and Madagascar in search of a huge treasure horde that once belonged to an infamous pirate.

Horizon Zero Dawn 

Horizon Zero Dawn’s intricate storytelling is set in 31st-century North America and casts the player as the determined and capable Aloy, in an awe-inspiring world inhabited by dinosaur-like mechanical beasts.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

When Mister Negative threatens New York and the world, it’s up to Peter Parker to slide into his famous Spider-Man suit and save the day. This open-world superhero adventure recreates Manhattan in wonderful detail, presenting a playground to be swung around with glorious abandon and all manner of side-quests and collectibles to discover.

God of War 

Set long after his campaign of vengeance carved a swath of destruction through Greece, God of War (2018) follows an older Kratos who has made his home in the distant Norse realms, far from the ghosts of his past. On a quest to fulfil the final wish of the recently departed wife and mother, Faye, Kratos and his young son Atreus embark on an epic journey throughout the Norse realms that combines a fresh perspective on the series’ signature combat with a complex, emotional narrative.

Ghost of Tsushima

With a deft pivot worthy of protagonist Jin Sakai, Sucker Punch Productions' 2020 release transported players to Tsushima Island during the Mongol invasion of Japan, on a quest to protect Jin's homeland at any cost.

The Last of Us Part II 

Set five years after the events of Part I, this direct sequel finds Ellie older and more responsible than before. But when tragedy befalls her and the home she’s found, she sets out for revenge, taking its predecessor’s mix of stealth, horror and weighty combat to a new level.

The first Fortnite map

PlayStation® 4 Pro

PS4 steps up a gear with the first mid-generation update to a PlayStation console.

Officially launched in November 2016 the PlayStation 4 Pro featured an upgraded GPU – 4.198 teraflops of power – and a higher CPU clock for enhanced gameplay performance. 4K resolution was supported on select titles and PS4 Pro was fully compatible with all previous PS4 games.

2016

Global release

October 13th 2016

PlayStation® VR was announced in 2014 and launched two years later with the promise of fully immersing players in game worlds like never before. PS VR brought virtual reality experiences to console gamers in extraordinary new ways, transporting them to the top of Mount Everest and the bottom of the ocean with extraordinary clarity.

Live the Game

PS VR offered a 5.7-inch OLED screen with 1080p resolution and a 100-degree field of view. LEDs on the headset were tracked by the PlayStation® Camera, to follow the player’s head movements, and PS VR was compatible with both the DUALSHOCK 4 and PlayStation® Move controllers.

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Developed by Insomniac Games, Inc.