Playstation 4

The PlayStation 4 launched in North America in November 2013 at $399, and after the PS3’s rocky start, Sony clearly learned its lesson. The messaging was simple, the price was competitive, and the hardware was developer-friendly from the ground up. It went on to sell over 117 million units, making it one of the best-selling consoles ever made and the centerpiece of what many consider PlayStation’s strongest generation for exclusive software.

Spider-Man and Spider-Man Miles Morales are two of my favorite games from this generation. Then again, I am a big Spider-Man fan in general, so that could be fine.

PlayStation 4 Games and Library

The PS4 exclusive library is one of the strongest in console history. God of War, The Last of Us Part II, Bloodborne, Horizon Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Uncharted 4, and Ghost of Tsushima all launched on the platform and each one set a high bar for production quality and storytelling. Third-party support was equally strong, with the PS4’s install base making it the primary platform for most multiplatform releases throughout its lifecycle.

PlayStation 4 Hardware

The PS4 was built around an x86 AMD processor and 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, a architecture that made it significantly easier to develop for than the PS3’s Cell processor. The DualShock 4 added a touchpad, a light bar, and a Share button that let players capture and broadcast gameplay directly from the controller. Sony followed up with the PS4 Slim in 2016 and the PS4 Pro the same year, the latter adding 4K upscaling and improved GPU performance for supported titles.

PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Network

The PS4 generation saw PlayStation Plus become a required subscription for online multiplayer, matching Xbox Live’s model. In return, Plus continued offering free monthly games and expanded its benefits over the console’s lifecycle. Share Play allowed players to hand off controller access to a friend remotely, and the PS4’s streaming integration with Twitch and YouTube made broadcasting gameplay more accessible than it had ever been on a console.

PlayStation 4 Legacy

The PS4 generation defined Sony’s identity as the destination for cinematic, story-driven single-player games. The franchises and studios that emerged or matured during this era, including Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Guerrilla Games, and Insomniac Games, continue to drive PlayStation forward on PS5. Many of the PS4’s best exclusives have since been ported to PC, extending their reach well beyond the console itself.

The PS4 didn’t just recover the ground the PS3 struggled to hold. It pushed PlayStation further than it had ever been.