News February 19 09:47 pm

More PS4 rumors! Price, release date, and...the ability to watch your friends play?

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We're now less than 24 hours away from the official Sony event where its expected we'll see the unveiling of the highly anticipated PlayStation 4. So what better time for even more rumors!? That's exactly Kotaku's thought as they recently ran an article featuring a slew of PS4 rumors and speculation.

Look, I've already written what we can realistically expect from tomorrow's event regarding the PS4, but they have something much, MUCH better: an unnamed, yet reliable source who claims there will be two separate PlayStation models. Furthermore, pricing for these models won't be announced until later this year (as I already expected). Although the current plan, according to this source, is to release them at $429 and $529, respectively.

The source also claims that you'll be able to "control the PS4 remotely from your tablet or smartphone. You'll be able to use a mobile device to chat with your PS4 friends or buy games which are then automatically downloaded by your machine." The latter half of that rumors seems to fall in line with Sony's recent changes to the PlayStation Store. An update at the end of January made it possible to purchase PlayStation Network games via the web. This feature may not come free, though, as the source points out that "most" of the PS4's online features will require a premium subscription. The new online service is said to be called "PlayStation World" and will likely replace PlayStation Plus -- though Kotaku points out there is no domain or trademarks registered for PlayStation World.

It gets better. Other features include the ability to watch other friends play games from your console's dashboard, even if you don't own the actual game they are playing. I actually have heard this rumor before; it's believed that in addition to spectating their games you'll be able to join in mid-level or match and play with them via streaming (Gaikai technology anyone?). At the conclusion of the single level or match, you will then be prompted to purchase the game. If you choose to do so, you can continue playing without interruption via a stream while the game downloads in the background. Pretty neat stuff, and certainly a clever way to boost sales.

This all certainly sounds like it could be legit. To verify his/her credentials, the source sent Kotaku two more images of the PS4 controller. It seems pretty similar to what we saw with the early prototypes.

PS4 prototype