Sony has begun shipping new versions of the PlayStation 4 dev kit to developers, a report from VG247 claims. According to the site, "multiple sources" have confirmed that the new version is being shipped, complete with Blu-ray and housed in a "normal PC case."
The report reads that there are to be four versions of the dev kit, with one currently being shipped being a "modified PC". The third version, which is set to appear in January, will be closer to a final spec. The final version will be delivered to developers "next summer."
The shipping of this new version is said to come after a series of US developers meetings that took place at Sony's offices this week. Sony allegedly discussed hardware details and the overall purpose of what the machine is designed to do. Interestingly, the sources also say that Sony is referring to the machine as "Orbis", and not the "PlayStation 4" as many sites have been calling it.
The dev kits are apparently based on the AMD's A10 APU series and come with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM. As we mentioned it also comes with Blu-ray and a 256GB hard drive as standard to ensure that hte console will be able to run 1080p60 games in 3D.
Similar to the current PlayStation 3, the Orbis is equipped with both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity as well as HDMI out slots. The big difference this time around, however, is the UI. It has allegedly been redesigned to create a more fluid, extensive navigation system. By simply pressing the PS button mid-game you can navigate to any portion of the system. This new design was shown off through the purchasing of DLC from the PS Store without having to leave the game. It's also capable of accepting system and product updates and running them in the background.
No details regarding the Orbis' controller have been leaked and Sony does not comment on speculation or rumors. The PlayStation 4, or Orbis, is expected to be announced at an event "just before E3" in 2013.
