The Unofficial PlayStation Handbook: A Guide to Using PlayStation 4, PlayStation TV, and PlayStation 3​

By Katie Morris

If you are new to the PlayStation console or just want to learn more, this is an essential guide for you. With chapters covering PS3, PS4, and PlayStation TV this guide covers every aspect of PlayStation you can think of!

This book is a bundle of three books. Each section can also be purchased individually.

Please note, this book is neither written or endorsed by Sony and should be considered unofficial.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookCaps
• Release date: Nov 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311038197

Book preview

Gadchick Presents:

The Unofficial PlayStation Handbook

A Guide to Using PlayStation 4, PlayStation TV, and PlayStation 3

By Katie Morris

© 2011 by Golgotha Press, Inc./GadChick

Published at SmashWords

www.bookcaps.com

PlayStation 4 (PS4)

The Unofficial Guide to Using PlayStation 4

Introduction: Welcome to PlayStation!

Congratulations on your purchase of what Sony Computer Entertainment touts as the world’s most powerful gaming console, the PlayStation 4! In its first year alone, the PlayStation 4 has already sold nearly 15 million units internationally and has been heralded by critics and consumers alike for its powerful hardware and new features. In 2014 it won gaming mega-website IGN’s People’s Choice Award for best console (in competition with the xBox One and Wii U). Accordingly, the PlayStation 4 dominated gaming console sales throughout 2014, making it one of the best and fastest-selling gaming consoles ever designed.

In addition to its beefier hardware, Sony has added a variety of new and innovative features, including the Dualshock 4 controller, the PlayStation Camera, and the PlayStation Move controller. Additionally, with the new system, players can connect their smart phones, tablets, PS Vita or PS TV to act as second screen interfaces to interact with your PS4.

The new PlayStation 4 user interface will be familiar to those already used to the PlayStation 3 interface, but the look and feel of the PS4 has been enhanced with dynamic menus that can be changed based on user preferences. Third party apps, such as Netflix and Hulu, can now be displayed directly on the main screen for faster access. Additionally, the system now can be controlled using voice commands from a microphone headset or from the built-in microphone on the PlayStation Camera.

With the release of the PlayStation 4, Sony has begun to emphasize social gaming, which goes far beyond mere multi-player gaming with the ability to share directly to social media sites like YouTube and Facebook with just a click of a button. Ever wanted to share a video of yourself beating that final boss with your Facebook friends? With the PS 4, this is now possible with just a couple of button presses using the new Share button on the Dualshock 4 controller.

In addition to faster and easier access to internet services like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, the PlayStation 4’s built in web browser is based on the same engine used by Google Chrome and the new Safari web browser, making it the most compatible browser available on any console. Whereas in the past and with other consoles, web browsing could be a bit of a headache when it comes to things like accessing YouTube videos, the PS4’s web browser is as easy and intuitive as the web browser on your computer, and it’s automatically compatible with the web’s most advanced websites.

This guide will introduce you to how to use the most advanced features of the PS4. Now might be a good time to warn your significant other and boss that they might not see you for a while as you get familiar with your new best friend, the Sony PlayStation 4!

Chapter 1: Meet Your PlayStation 4

In this section, we'll introduce you to your PS4 and giving you some background on PlayStation and the Sony Entertainment ecosystem, the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Now. If you're already familiar with PlayStation, some of this may be old news, but if you've never even heard of Sly Cooper, let alone Handsome Jack, this section is a great place to start.

1.1 The World of PlayStation

If this is your first dance with Sony PlayStation, then welcome to the club! There's a galaxy of absolutely fantastic games waiting for you, whether you like first person shooters (Call of Duty), action-adventure (Infamous), racing (Gran Turismo), roleplaying games (Final Fantasy), or horror (Resident Evil), PlayStation's got you covered! Many of these games have enormous cultural cache too, so prepare yourself for a whole new fandom to get involved with.

To catch you up to speed, the first PlayStation was released in 1994 in Japan. The PS1 unleashed massively popular games franchises like Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid on the masses, many of which continued across multiple generations of PlayStation consoles.

The PS1 was followed by PlayStation 2 in 2000, which is to date the world's best-selling gaming console. PS1 and PS2 were both fairly straightforward consoles, though PS2 did step into the Internet Age by introducing online playing. PS2 games were purchased as CD-ROMs (the console could also play DVDs and CDs – for you young 'uns, these archaic media storage devices were hugely popular back in the dark ages of the year 2000!). Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was the bestselling game released for PS2, and mega-popular series like Kingdom Hearts and God of War started during this era as well.

In 2006, Sony released PlayStation 3 to somewhat mixed reviews, due to a limited selection and problems with backwards compatibility. However, PS3 turned out to be a masterful maneuver in Sony's campaign to conquer your living room, and while there was initially a paucity of PS3 games, that's certainly been corrected since! Final Fantasy VIII, Resistance: The Fall of Man, Assassin's Creed, and Devil May Cry 4 all debuted as PS3 games. Along with its stable of varied and complex games, PS3 also functioned as a full entertainment console, allowing players to take a break from their games with streaming music and video capabilities, photo storage and management, and more.

And of course, the most advanced gaming console the world has ever known – the PlayStation 4 - was released in 2013, with a greater focus on social and cloud-based gaming, thanks to the new Share button on the Dualshock 4 controller, PlayStation Now streaming, and Remote Play. It’s a game changer, and it won’t be long before you can’t imagine life without it.

1.2 The PlayStation Store and the PlayStation Network

A crucial part of the Sony content system is of course the PlayStation Store. The PS Store is the equivalent of Google Play or the Apple Store, and it came into being around the same time as the PS3. No more long waits outside of Best Buy waiting for a hotly anticipated new game to drop – thanks to the PlayStation Store, you can purchase and download new titles from the comfort of your own home (though you can certainly still purchase physical PlayStation games if you want to).

In order to use the PS Store, you must register for a PlayStation Network account. Your PlayStation Network account requires login credentials and a unique screen name that gives you a portable PlayStation identity. You'll use it to log into the PS Store through your PS devices or through the PlayStation website.

You will need a PlayStation Network account to get the most out of your PS4, and we'll show you how to set one up in 2.7.

1.3 PlayStation Now

PlayStation Now launched in 2014 in open beta, meaning basically that it's still a work in progress, but you're welcome to watch the last few stages of its development! PlayStation Now streams video games, like Netflix streams movies and Spotify streams music. Great idea, right? Right now, there are about 150 PS3 games available on PlayStation Now and the pricing per rental varies from game to game. We'll admit that we were a little disappointed by how astronomically expensive PS Now prices are, but hopefully Sony will introduce some sort of subscription option, a la Amazon Prime, that will make the service more palatable.

PlayStation Now is remarkable mostly for the fact that it works at all – it's one thing to stream garden-variety audio or video, and something else entirely to stream something like God of War. Video games are graphics-intense and require a lot of horsepower to run, and that occasional blip you might experience while watching a show on Hulu could be downright devastating if it occurred at a crucial moment of gameplay! However, we're pleased to report that streaming on PlayStation Now is actually pretty solid. The graphics quality suffers a little, but we didn't experience any significant lag. For more on PlayStation Now, be sure to check out 3.4.

1.4 PlayStation Plus

PlayStation Plus is a bundle of features that can be purchased in twelve-month ($49.99), three-month ($17.99) and one-month ($9.99) increments. A PlayStation Plus membership gives you access to online extras, online multiplayer mode on PS4, and Instant Game Collection (a number of free games that changes on a monthly basis). PlayStation Plus subscribers can also store up to 1 GB of save files in the cloud, just in case. For more on PS Plus, see 4.1.

Wrap Up

PlayStation has come a long way since its first dedicated console hit the market in 1994. What started out as a single-purpose gadget has evolved into a complex ecosystem of worlds, characters and, of course, players. So now that you've got some historical context and a general knowledge of the services and extras that make up the PlayStation experience, let's get your PS4 up and running so you can start playing!

Chapter 2: PlayStation 4 Basics

Welcome to PS4 boot camp! In this section, we'll cover all of the basics – unboxing your PS4, getting to know the device's hardware, unlocking the mysteries of the Dualshock controller, setting up your PS4, navigating its interface, connecting to your home network, and getting started with a customized profile on the PlayStation Network. By the end of this chapter, you should be a confident and competent PS4 owner!

2.1 Unboxing Your PS4

The contents of your box may differ, thanks to the plentiful options available when buying your PS4! The PlayStation 4 ships in a variety of flavors, in different colors (white or black), and may include different games or accessories. Like many consoles, buying a combination pack that includes a game, or perhaps a PlayStation Camera, is a very common (and worthwhile!) option. In its most basic form, though, the PS 4 comes packaged in a box similar to the one pictured below.

Figure 1: White PS4 Box

Though your PlayStation 4 might have come with a variety of different games or accessories, every PS4 will come with the items pictured below.

Figure 2: Contents of white PS4 Box

In addition to the console itself, the PlayStation 4 ships with a Dualshock 4 controller, a Figure-8 120v AC power cable (in areas outside the United States it may ship with a different style cable), a standard HDMI cable, a micro-USB cable used to charge the Dualshock 4 controller or to connect accessories to the PS4, a mini gaming headset that includes an ear piece and a microphone, and a brief quick-start guide.

If you already own a PlayStation 3, you may notice that the AC power cable and the HDMI cable are identical to the cables you already own. However, the USB cable used for the Dualshock 4 controller has been changed to a smaller micro-USB cable, as compared to the Dualshock 3’s mini-USB cable. It should be noted that the micro and mini USB, as well as the figure-8 AC power cable and HDMI cable, are standard cables used for many types of tablets and devices, not just the PlayStation console. So when your naughty cat destroys any of these cables, at least they’re cheap and easy to replace!

2.2 Using the Dualshock 4 Controller

The Dualshock 4 is easily PlayStation’s most advanced handheld controller to date. If you are familiar with the Dualshock 3 controller, you’ll understand most of the basic buttons on the Dualshock 4 controller (though it’s primarily used with the PlayStation 3, the Dualshock 3 controller is also compatible with the PS4, but does not have as many features and may affect some game play for certain games).

Figure 3: The front of the Dualshock 4 controller.

The left analog joystick is used to control movement in most games and is also used for navigating through menus in the PS4 user interface. It is used like a traditional joystick. The right analog joystick is most often used in first person shooter games to control the direction that the character is looking (whereas the left joystick controls which direction the character is moving). If you’re new to first person shooters, this can take some getting used to, but soon it becomes quite natural, we promise! It should be noted that both the left and the right joysticks can be also pressed down like buttons. When this is required, they will be referred to as the L3 and R3 buttons.

The d-pad (directional pad) is also sometimes used for navigating menus and for movement in games, but since the introduction of the analog joysticks with PlayStation 3, many games disregard the directional pad altogether, or assign the buttons to different functions, such as switching between weapons in some first person shooter games. The d-pad is used frequently for games on the PS