Sony's Playstation 4 is without doubt the front-runner in today's battle of the consoles. At the last count it had shipped well over 36 million PS4s around the world, with the competing Xbox One from Microsoft has only been able to shift around 20 million consoles.
We can pretty much call this generation of the console war as over - Microsoft has stopped reporting on its own console sales.
But with stellar showings at E3 2015 and Gamescom 2015 Microsoft is doing everything it can to create a bit of a renaissance this year.
Though 2016 sees Sony looking to deliver on the platform exclusive promises that we didn't see last year. And our Nathan Drake looks set to drop one of the most eagerly awaited titles of 2016.
What Microsoft hasn't got though is updated hardware and that's something the chunky, VCR-looking Xbox One needs to change.
Sony has.
The new PS4 hardware update, however, has been pretty low-key and is currently only available in 500GB trim. The current 1TB consoles out in the wild are all still running the older CUH-1100 series hardware - something to keep an eye out for if you're looking to pick up a new Playstation 4 this year.
This CUH-1200 series of consoles has had some pretty major refinements to its build, even if it isn't the anticipated 'slim' version that some were expecting.
What's new?
There are a few cosmetic changes to the design. For a start the two-tone finish of the original PS4 is gone, replaced by a complete matte black finish.
Something that's going to be more divisive though is the way Sony has replaced the touch-sensitive power and eject buttons with actual physical press-buttons. Being able to register when they've been depressed is sometimes preferable, but I never had a problem with the original's touchy-feely buttons before.
And these slightly wobbly, hollow-sounding buttons definitely feel a little cheaper.
But it's the internal components which have seen the biggest changes.
The actual motherboard itself is smaller and there are fewer memory chips arrayed around the AMD APU at the PS4's heart. That doesn't mean there's any less GDDR5 memory in the new CUH-1200 series consoles, Sony has simply used higher density Samsung 8Gb chips so it doesn't need to use as many of the 4Gb memory chips it previously used.
Sony has also used a re-designed Blu-ray drive inside it. Which probably goes to explain why you get less drive/disc noise from the new unit too.
The drive spins down a lot quicker and doesn't seem to have the same aural note as the original device.
Noisy neighbour
And noise is a key factor in the new design too.
It's subjectively quieter than the original PS4; almost noiseless when sat under your TV. That's also largely down to the fact the new PS4 runs cooler thanks to its lower power draw, which means the fans need to spin up less when the machine is being taxed.
It's really impressive what Sony has managed to do in terms of the power draw of the new CUH-1200 series of consoles, and that has had a knock on effect on the whole device.
At idle the new Playstation 4 uses around 20% less power and around 36% less when running in Rest Mode. When in that state the new machine is now drawing only 9W from the wall.
The most impressive change though is what's going on when the PS4 is running at full tilt in game. I ran a graphically-intensive section of The Last of Us Remastered on both consoles and while the original machine is hitting 151W at peak the new PS4 is only hitting 114W at most.
That's a huge saving in power - around 25% less.
The manufacturing moves haven't affected the console's performance, just made it cooler, quieter and more efficient. And when Sony can do that with likely a cheaper bill of materials (especially given the simplified Blu-ray and less memory silicon) it only helps boost its margins.
And could also mean a price-cut this year might be on the cards. We may find out at this year's Paris Games Week after Sony avoided Gamescom 2015 to make a splash later in the year.
Elsewhere it's exactly the same as the original console which has so effectively claimed dominion over the current-generation console war.
The controller hasn't been altered and it runs exactly the same firmware revision as the standard console. There has also been no change in gaming performance - and so no move towards getting 4K gaming anywhere close. But that also means existing PS4 owners shouldn't be too worried.
What it does mean though is that if you're going to be buying a new PS4 this year you absolutely need to make sure it's this updated one. And that, at the moment, means limiting yourself to the 500GB version as the 1TB CUH-1200 series still hasn't found its way out into the wild.
Handy hint - if you are looking to buy a new PS4, check the box before you buy.
Around where it mentions the hard drive capacity it will state the model number. If it says anything like CUH-1200 (in the UK our model number is CUH-1216A) then you're golden, but if it's CUH-1000 or CUH-1100 then put it back.
If you're worried about the storage don't forget you can always upgrade your PS4 hard drive yourself.
Original review:
Getting ready to celebrate its two-year anniversary in November, the PlayStation 4 is really getting into its stride now and is well on its way to becoming one of the most successful games consoles of all time.
After selling an incredible one million units in just its first 24 hours on sale in the US, the PS4 has now been snapped up by nearly 24 million gamers worldwide at its last count.
That's a huge number which is even more impressive when you consider it's almost double the number of Xbox One consoles that have sold in the same time period. The sales gap is growing every day, too, despite Microsoft's price cuts to bring parity to the dual.
Things certainly don't look like turning round for the PS4 either.
Sony has recently redesigned the console for the CUH-1200 model, with a less power-hungry PSU and quieter operation as well as a fully matte-black design.
Unless you go for one of Darth Vader's own PS4s anyway...
With more graphical power than the Xbox One, 32 times more system memory than the PS3 and a firm focus on pure gaming experiences rather than media might, the PS4 has established itself as the console to beat of this generation.
It's a games console built by gamers for gamers and won the hearts and minds of many from the word go, with lots of prospective next-genners left feeling alienated by some of Microsoft's bizarre policies and choices for the Xbox One – many of which were reversed as a result of a backlash.
What's more, the PS4 is now available online for less than £300, which is about the same price as Microsoft's Xbox One bundle without Kinect. It doesn't come with the PlayStation Camera but this can be bought separately for £39 if you really want one.
We don't think it's necessary, but we'll get to that.
- What should we expect from the PlayStation 5?
The differences between the PS4 and Xbox One are evident before you even switch them on.
Despite the two consoles both sporting similar half-matte half-gloss finishes and containing very similar internal components, they really couldn't be more different.
For a start, the PS4's parallelogram form is small and sleek in comparison to the enormous VCR-like cuboid of the Xbox One. And this means that the PS4's box is half the size and weight, and with the new PS4 versions arriving later this year they're getting even lighter.
The Sony console can be extracted from its packaging and plugged in and booted up in a couple of minutes.
Xbox One on the other hand comes in a huge, hulking box. It's fiddly to open and unpack, and it's full of little compartments, with loads of cardboard and plastic bits to get in your way.
This is the kind of streamlining that typifies the PlayStation experience with PS4.
It's a console designed for gamers to play games and in this respect it could be described as more of spiritual successor to the PlayStation 2 – still the best selling games console the observable universe has ever known.
Design
One look at the PS4 and you know you're looking at Sony hardware. It's slim, sleek, available in jet black and shiny white, and amazingly it's roughly the size of a second generation PS3 Slim.
You could also pick it up in PSOne grey for a limited amount of time, but thatdidn't end so well...
The full measurements are 275 x 53 x 305 mm so it's a lot more compact than an Xbox One, which is longer, taller and squarer.
In a feat of engineering worth tipping your hat to, and in spite of the PlayStation 4's slim stature, Sony has tucked the power supply inside the system, leaving no external power brick to trip over.
The Xbox One on the other hand retains the external power brick of the Xbox 360, leaving you with more mess behind your TV, though without the ol' 360's overheating issues.
The PS4 is meant to lay flat on its belly but, if your media centre can only accommodate a vertical machine, Sony has a plastic stand it sells separately for £17 which helps the system stand up straight.
On the front-facing side you'll find a slot-loading Blu-ray disc drive and to its right two powered USB 3.0 ports, which can charge your DualShock 4controllers even when the system is turned off and are used to sync controllers when taking gamepads from one place to another.
Spin the system around and you'll be met with an HDMI (still only 1.4 m'afraid), Ethernet and a digital optical audio out port, as well as a proprietary auxiliary connection for the PlayStation Camera.
Along the top - or the side if you've opted for the stand - is a light, which glows blue when you boot it up. It breathes some life into the otherwise cold industrial design of the system. Turn it on and it blinks a yawning hello.
PS4 specifications
Inside, the PS4 is all business. It has a custom single-chip processor that combines an eight core x86-64 AMD "Jaguar" CPU with a 1.84 teraflop GPU based on AMD's Radeon graphics technology. That's backed by 8GB of mega-fast GDDR5 RAM, and a 500GB mechanical hard drive.
You can also remove that 500GB drive and replace it with a larger drive, or an SSD for better performance. Sony says these do it yourself upgrades will not void the system's warranty which is fabulous.
There is also a new 1TB version of the PlayStation 4 on its way in July if you don't want to take to your console with a screwdriver.
Overall, Sony claims that the PS4's overall performance is ten times that of the PS3.
For wireless connections, the PS4 uses 802.11 b/g/n for WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 for its wireless DualShock 4 controllers.
What's in the box?
You're bringing home more than a just a stylish, black or white parallelogram. In addition to the actual system you get a power cord (not a big power brick), an HDMI cable, an earbud microphone combo, one DualShock 4 controller and its charging cable (we charged our DualShock 4 pad using the Xbox One and the world did not end).
Extra controllers don't come with another charging cable, so don't lose that one.
Also, note that we said earbud singular, not earbuds, as in just for one ear. It's cheap but serviceable, but you can actually plug any headphones you already own into the controller's headphone jack, so it's not much of an issue.
New features
If there's a team that works harder than Sony's internal development team, we'd like to meet them. As it is, they roll out monthly (sometimes bi-monthly) updates that drastically change the interface and feature set of the system.
The biggest changes of the past years? The Sony-exclusive rental streaming service called PlayStation Now - finally now in paid beta form in the UK- Remote Play, Sharefactory and Share Play, which debuted in system firmware 2.0.
Of course there have been myriad minor changes like the ability to turn off HDCP, play games while they're downloading, upload clips to YouTube and set themes and background images for the home screen in that time as well.
All of these features can be found sporadically throughout the new PlayStation Dynamic Menu, the primary GUI of the PS4. It's capable of delivering games, movies and TV shows into your home at lightning speeds as well as connecting you to your friends and other online gamers through the PlayStation Network.
Remember to use the ability to post to Twitter and Facebook to share your best brag-worthy gaming moments and, if you're feeling outgoing, you can stream to Twitch here too.
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