The new PS4 boasts an 8-core processor similar to desktop CPUs, and a "highly enhanced PC GPU for better graphics. Also under the hood is 8GB of RAM, which is 16 times more than the PS3 and Xbox360. (Both have 512 MB of RAM; 256 for the system and 256 for video.) Sony stated it had built the new PlayStation on top of a traditional PC architecture, making developing games easier.
The PS4 will also enable gamers to run the game on the console and remotely send the video via the internet to your handheld PlayStation Vita. This should help boost sales of the Vita, which since its launch has failed to prove popular in a market that has shifted to mobile gaming on smartphones and tablets.
The controller has also been retooled and features a touchpad and improved wireless hardware.
Sony was very coy throughout the early part of the presentation. They gave only very brief outlines of the hardware specs and instead focused more on the new cloud system and social sharing aspects. The second half of the event was dominated by developers and the games they will release.
Sony did not announce any prices or console configurations, or say specifically when it would be available, saying only before the end of the year. In yet further teasing, the company only showed the controller and not the console, raising the big question: what does the PS4 look like?