Sony was in New York a few days ago to announce the PlayStation 4, which they plan to have on the shelves sometime around the 2013 holiday season.

The hardware architecture was updated to include more traditional PC hardware based on a AMD x86 8 core processor, eight gigabytes of GDDR5 memory, and a AMD GPU. This will allow the new console to power the latest generation games and to provide a smooth experience for the new Sony online ecosystem.

Sony is adding some really cool features to it’s next-gen console. You get super high definition 4k output for movies (not games). The PlayStation 4 Eye is a dual camera and four microphone setup for 3D gesture tracking and voice commands kind of like Microsoft’s XBox 360 Kinect.

Social integration with Facebook and Twitter. YouTube integration is planned to allow the sharing of in-game footage. You will have the ability to take control of a remote users controller to help them through parts of a game where they might be stuck. Game streaming gives you the ability to play a game while it is being downloaded from the cloud. No more waiting for a game to fully download before playing.

There are a few issues with the new console though. Backwards compatibility with PS3 games might not be available on release. There is also a rumor that Sony might implement technology to block the playing of used games. Sony patented some technology that would allow them to ban used games, but it’s not known if it will be used in the new console.

Sony is in a good position right now because Microsoft hasn’t released any information on their next-generation console. If Sony can get backwards compatibility working and don’t ban used games, then the console should sell really well. If not, then I think a lot of people will wait to see what Microsoft has in store.