Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4)

The launch PS4 is black, mostly matte, and angular, with a prominent Death Star trench-like cut-out running along the narrowest sides of the case.

The top side and top half of the front side of the system are split into glossy and matte black finishes.

While the PS4's body was designed mostly for style, its controller was clearly designed for comfort. It keeps the same basic design and layout of previous DualShock (and Sixaxis) controllers, but has many welcome changes that make it feel more satisfying in your hands.

A colored indicator light sits hidden on a line between the two halves on top, glowing white, blue, or yellow to show what it's doing.

The console's design is clearly inspired more by the PlayStation 2 than the PlayStation 3.

The front holds two USB ports for charging controllers or other devices and a slot-loading Blu-ray drive you have to squint to see under the top lip of the system, in the trench.

The back holds an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, an optical audio port, and a modified USB port for accessories like the PlayStation Camera.

The overhang of the top side of the system makes it difficult to see the ports, but a few cutouts around them make them easy to identify by touch.

The bottom side of the system is split into two matte black halves.

Look at the PS4 from any angle other than head-on, though, and you'll see just how different it is.

The system is designed as a parallelogram, with a front bottom and rear top that jut out at sharp angles.

The lightbar is the most prominent aspect of the DualShock 4 because it glows. It lights up different colors based on who is playing and what game is being played, with blue as the default for the player in control and in the system's interface.

The included monaural headset is a simple earbud with an in-line microphone. The PlayStation 4 also supports Bluetooth.

The PlayStation 4 uses the PlayStation Dynamic Menu, an interface that shows shades of the PS Store's most recent redesign and hints of Microsoft's Metro interface (on the Xbox One).

The entire screen changes based on what you have highlighted.

The top of the screen holds icons for the PS Store, Notifications, Friends, Current User, Trophies, and Time.