PS4 release date, price and more are right here

Are Sony really going to be first out of the blocks towards the next-gen?

We’ve got the Ustream live-feed below, which will show the whole conference from 11pm GMT/6pm EST. You can even look at the show floor now if you’re into that type of thing. While you wait, why not check out the information below that has been leaked/made-up so far.

Since the mysterious teaser video Sony put out on February 1st, the interwebz have been awash with PlayStation 4 rumours. All suspicion will be erased on February 20th when Sony host a conference in New York to explain just what the hell is going down. But like good internet detectives should do, the virtual gumshoes across the globe are digging deeper to find out more for themselves.

We’re as excited as anyone about getting a new console, so we thought we’d round up as much stuff as we can and leave it right here for you to chew on when you like. No need to thank us. You’re welcome.

• The announcement is definit/ely about a new console – So says games industry analyst, Michael Pachter on his Twitter He cites the fact that both media and investors have been invited to the event. Our invitation must’ve been lost in the post.
• PS4, or whatever it’s called, will use Gaikai cloud technology – A game streaming service has been in the pipeline since Sony and Gaikai shook hands on a $380m, and could mean HUGE implications for gaming on PS4. See Dan Dawkins’ excellent opinion piece on CVG for more. But most recently, Japanese newspaper, Nikkei says the next machine will have Gaikai technology inside it.
• You won’t be playing your old PS3 games on it – This again, according to Nikkei (Japanese readers only), who suggest that the PS3 Cell Chip has been given the chop for the next machine. Now what are we going to play our old games on? Oh yeah, this PS3 we’ve had for ages.
• New DualShock will have Vita-style touchpad – A comprehensive article from Edge points to a new controller with touchpad elements, front and centre. Expect early PS4 games to cram this tech in somewhere.
• It’s coming in 2013 – Well, if you live in North America or Japan, it is. The Verge cite Nikkei and The Asahi Shimbum as nailing their colours to the mast for a 2013 launch date. No mention of release dates for anywhere else though, so bad luck if you live in Burkino Faso or anywhere else.
• It will cost about ¥40,000/$399 – Gamesindustry International say that this is the likely price for the new machine. With basic maths (read: www.xe.com) we calculate that this is around £254/€297. And if you carry the one, and add the screw you Europe tax, we’re most likely looking at £400/€465. About the same as the PS3 launch price.

UPDATED BULLETPOINTS FROM 19/02/2013

• Price will be lower than PS3 in the UK – This according to Kotaku via The Times (paid subscription needed to view article). £300 is the price being bandied around, which makes it around £100 cheaper than when PS3 launched. It’s not quite impulse buy cheap, but it’s better than we expected. If true, obviously.
• New DualShock image revealed? – Destructoid found this image and this one floating about on the interwebz, which shows a supposed prototype of the new controller plugged into a PS4 dev kit and sporting key functions. These tweaks look like a headphone jack (just like the Xbox pad), a touch-screen and bevelled analogue sticks.
• Cross-platform play to tablets and other hardware? – Now this is quite a biggie. The Wall Street Journal report that PS4 could possibly deliver cross-platform gaming with phones, tablets and other hardware. They’ve already tried this out with PS3 and Vita, but the options to do stat-tweaking on phones makes our OCD purr with delight.
• Seamless integration with social networks – Again, the Wall Street Journal allude to the fact that uploads to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube video clips will be at the forefront of PS4′s tech. So now you’ll be able to show off about your platinum trophies in double-quick time.
• Motion gaming is here to stay –  TechRadar suggest that the PS4 will launch alongside a brand-new PlayStation Eye that will be way more advanced than the previous versions. Yay?
• Last Guardian will finally release on PS4 – Former Bigbig developer, Kenny Linder, mentioned on NeoGaf that Team Ico game has been in development for PS4 for ages. Expect it to appear on PS5 some time in 2021.

MORE UPDATES FROM 20/02/2013

• Sony/Gaikai registers ‘PlayStation Cloud’ domains – Superannuation dug up a whole host of PlayStation based domain names that Sony/Gaikai registered recently. No prizes for guessing that this will almost certainly confirm the PS4′s enhanced cloud service.

It all sounds pretty exciting, huh? We’ll keep you updated with any breaking developments as and when they, umm, break.

We’re just keeping our fingers crossed that the PS4 will continue to have DLC. Otherwise, you know, DLCentral will be the shortest run gaming site ever and it’s back to dancing for coins in the town centre for us.