Sony is reportedly shipping a new PlayStation 4 (Orbis) kit to game devs, with the final iteration slated to appear in January.
According to VG247, there are currently a total of four dev kits: one that is essentially a graphics card; the second, a modified PC; a third version that will be close to final spec and a final dev kit which will go live for developers next summer.
As previously speculated, Orbis is apparently based on AMD’s A10 APU series – which combines CPU and GPU on a single piece of silicon.
“PS4′s APU was described today as a ‘derivative’ of existing A10 hardware, [as] the hardware is ‘based on A10 system and base platform,'” VG247 Patrick Garratt confirmed. “The ‘ultimate goal’ for the hardware is for it to be able to run 1080p60 games in 3D with no problem; to create a machine that’s powerful enough for today and tomorrow’s market.”
Additional specs include 8-16GB of RAM, an optical drive (Blu-ray), a 256GB drive that could either be an SSD or traditional HDD, wiFi, Ethernet connectivity and HDMI out.
The Playstation user interface (UI) has also apparently been revamped, with players able to press the PS button mid-game and travel “anywhere” on the system.
In addition, the new PS4 Orbis is designed to download and execute system and product updates in the background, with a UI that is always in standby mode. Background downloads can of course be disabled.
