PlayStation 4: Web reaction to Sony's 'invisible' console

Given time, Sony's PlayStation 4 announcement may be seen as the turning point for its fortunes or, perhaps, a squandered opportunity.

Luckily the internet doesn't delay and delivers gigabytes of insight of a major tech event such as this within minutes.

Many were bemused that the one thing missing from the PS4's launch was the console itself. But others were intrigued by the firm's latest gaming innovations.

This is a selection of the material published within hours of the New York event.

The Verge:

Sony's decision to not announce the price or a firm shipping date for the PlayStation 4 will no doubt give the company room to manoeuvre should it need to respond to any gaming announcements from Microsoft.

Gizmodo:

Sony has revamped its user interface for the new video games console

As the hours of demos and introductions dragged on, it became increasingly obvious that we weren't actually going to see the PlayStation 4. Sony either isn't ready for primetime, or Sony thinks the best way to get us interested is to play hard to get.

Wired:

Talk is the cheapest thing there is. And that's basically what Sony did today: It espoused a philosophy, said the names of a lot of popular games, but didn't give us any real, concrete information in an age where it's more important than ever.

Computer and Video Games:

Sony is not only responding to a world disrupted by Apple, that will only continue to fragment, but is trying to see past it; to carve its own niche. It's no small step that PS4 is being developed out of the west, and not Japan - yet even more surprising to learn that work began on it five years ago.

Spong:

Most exciting is the share button. The PS4, we're told, will sneakily and transparently monitor and buffer our last 15 minutes of gameplay. This will be a boon to all those who think there is not enough inane video drivel on YouTube.

Techcrunch:

A new Killzone game was among the exclusive software titles unveiled at the event

What was missing from Sony was a discussion of anything that could've made it a more broadly appealing device. It (and we, as potential customers) needed way more than a falling back on graphics, eye candy and tech demos, which may have served the gaming industry well in the past, but which have done nothing to stem the rising tide of mobile platforms like iOS and Android.

Stuff:

The PS4 looks to be a confident riposte to the Nintendo Wii U, with an array of social gaming features that look set to - potentially - enthral and irritate in equal measure. Microsoft, the ball's in your court.

Cnet:

The PS4 looks like it's long on promises and big-picture dreaming, but currently short on clear, concrete reasons why anyone would be tempted to buy one.

New York Times:

New features cannot hide the fact that PlayStation 4 is still a console, a way of playing games on compact discs that was cool when cellphones were not smart.

Journalists at the Sony event were shown the PS4's new controller and camera sensor

Twitter:

So Sony, you assemble the video game community to announce the PS4 but you only show the controller?!? Hahahahaha @Reikmoto

Does Sony employ any women to do presentations? The female gender was missing completely! @KaratewithaZ

Can't watch the #PS4ever livestream right now due to the blue ring of permabuffering. This is why needing the internet to play games sucks. @NikoleZ

I really want #Playstation to do well... but is it just me thinking 10 months is a LONG time to hold out a release? @JDLuccia

#Ps4 .... The controller and the cloud gaming has me won over already. Microsoft would need to be releasing a holographic 4d Xbox to get me @Shanecorcoran

The ps4 is a true engineering feat. it's built on x86 architecture, with 8gb built in, sharing, a new controller, and it's INVISIBLE. @JordanrCrook

Too few details for me to make a solid call but I wasn't blown away. And I've owned every console since the Magnavox Pong @Gartenberg

Really looking forward to see what the next Xbox brings to the table. More so then I did a couple hours ago. @jbarraud

PlayStation 4 looks interesting, new controller and super quick gameplay. Looking forward to its launch @fidoo89

No box, no price, no release date, and a lot of games that look like hi-res versions of what we've played before. Hmm and where was EA? @artanBdoyle

Capcom revealed it was working on a new games engine to be used in PS4 games

Facebook:

Sony hold the biggest press conference since the PS3 and they only show the controller when it's been leaked on the net ages ago. What was the point Sony? And the fact that PS3 games are not compatible is a joke. Sanjay Sisodia

Really surprised that they went with PS4. I thought there was some controversy about the number 4 in Japanese meaning death or something...??? David Atkins

I don't understand why so many are complaining that Sony didn't show the PS4. Tactically it's the most right thing they could do, or do you really think that Microsoft was excluded to watch this presentation? If they would have revealed the console now, they would give Microsoft the chance to make improvements. Lisa Fria

The future? It's basically a PC with a special share button. I don't need a PS4. A Chambers

If you think its not OMG then you didn't understand what you saw. Daniel Baker