PS4 News: Sony Playstation 4 May Be Priced At $400, Feature Cloud Storage [REPORTS]

With Sony’s cryptic video announcing a Playstation-related “event” on Feb. 20, rumors surrounding the next-generation Sony gaming console, likely called "PlayStation 4," went into overdrive. Dozens of news sites, including the Wall Street Journal, wrote that the event on the 20^th would usher in a new era for Sony, and the Japanese company would be revealing its successor to the PlayStation 3. Now, new reports hint at some potentially very interesting features, as well as price points, for the alleged PS4.

The Japanese newspaper, the Ashai Shimbun, released a report that said sources indicated that the PS4 would cost over 40,000 yen, which roughly translates to a $428 price tag in the U.S. Kotaku notes that when major Japanese sites like Ashai write about rumors, they usually have some backing. The Verge also wrote that the rumored price of the Playstation 4 is actually less than the initial price of the Playstation 3. When the PS3 was released back in 2006, the video game console cost about 60,000 yen and an astounding $599 in the U.S. Now, the least expensive PS3’s cost 24,980 yen in Japan and $269 in the U.S.

It seems like Sony has learned from its initially lackluster sales figure when the PS3 came out. Sales were poor due to the high price tag attached to the PS3, which resulted in many video game fans defecting to the Xbox 360, which was released around the same time, but at $499, a hundred dollars less than the PS3. It looks like Sony doesn’t want the same mistake to happen with the PS4, so a lower-priced PS4 -- somewhere around $400 -- is likely.

As for the features and specs attached to the Playstation 4, news outlets are saying that Sony might be including some unique and interesting features. The Nikkei Business Daily published a report saying the PS4 would include cloud technology from Gaikai, a gaming company that Sony purchased last year for $380 million. The Xbox 360 has utilized similar cloud technology, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sony would implement cloud technology in the PS4.

Kotaku published an article that went over the potential specs for the rumored PS4. The specs discussed weren’t for the final retail version of the console, but rather the current specs for the PS4 development kit, which means they are subject to change. The PS4 dev kit reportedly has 8 GB of memory, 2.2 GB of video memory and a Blu-Ray drive, which is on the PS3 as well. The CPU has eight cores and the console itself has four USB ports and two Ethernet ports. Interestingly, the HDD has only 160 GB of storage, but Kotaku writes that it doesn’t really matter, since this isn't the final retail version sold to customers; only developers can get their hands on this model, and they don’t need too much storage to work with.

The PS4 is certainly highly anticipated among the video game community, but, not even the console itself has been confirmed to be unveiled at Sony's Feb. 20 event. While Japanese papers like Ashai and the Nikkei Business Daily are assuming it’s a certainty that the PS4 will be released at the event, Sony hasn’t confirmed any rumors related to its features, specs, pricing, or even its existence.