PlayStation 4: For gamers only

Sony (SNE) definitely accomplished that, making for a better console experience over itspredecessor. But unlike the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox One, the PS4 is not built to bea do-it-all entertainment box, and won't appeal quite as much to a casual gaming audience.

Design: Unlike the clunky and ugly PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 4 is slim and stylish, adding somelife to what would otherwise be an ordinary black box.

Sony's design allows you to stand the PlayStation 4 up on its side or lay it flat, which adds a nice bitof versatility over the Xbox One. And for the most part, the PlayStation runs cool and quiet, thoughit's not unusual to hear the fans and disc drive if you're in the middle of a graphically intense game.

Controller: The DualShock 4 represents thebiggest change ever to the PlayStation controllerin both form and function. And thankfully all ofthese changes are for the better. Longtimegamers will still recognize it as a PlayStationcontroller, but the ergonomic shift towards gripsthat are longer and less-angular than before makethis a much more comfortable controller to hold.

The joysticks have also been redesigned, which are spaced out a little further than before and have alip around the top which makes makes it all the easier to accurately pull off complex moves. Samegoes for the shoulder buttons, with the front pair being made larger, and the rear pair of springytriggers being reshaped to better fit the contours of index fingers.

Related story: Microsoft Xbox One is a $499 PC for your living room

Sony's also added in a handful of other neat features to the controller, including the LED bar and aspeaker. "Killzone: Shadow Fall" uses the speaker to deliver an in-game radio broadcast, and thecolor-changing LED bar to indicate your health status (which you notice once your fingers startglowing).

Performance: Like the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 is built on an 8-core AMD (AMD) processor,which should make the console easier to develop for than its predecessor. And like the Xbox One,that also means that the PS4 is not backwards-compatible with any of the old PlayStation titles. Sonypromises to launch its game streaming service next year, which will instantly bring a mountain of oldgames to the PS4. But until then, new owners are stuck waiting.

The PS4 will let games access as much of the processor as they want. Few, if any, launch titles everreally take advantage of a console's full power, but that could lead to the PS4 having the better-looking games than the Xbox One in the future. The Xbox One sealed off a chunk of the processor'spower strictly for apps.

For now, the PS4's graphics aren't overwhelmingly superior to the games on the Xbox One, thoughthere is a noticeable improvement over the PS3. Games like "Knack" and "Killzone" are early

standouts, with "Knack" showing off some impressive lighting and particle effects.

Software and apps: The PlayStation 4 system software is a mixed bag of sorts. While it's definitely animprovement over the PS3, the user interface feels a bit dated.

Updating games is a pain. If you pop a game disc in and an update is required, you cannot triggerthe update from within the game. You have to exit the game, navigate to the notifications menu, andlaunch the update from there. If you don't remember to fully quit the game, the PS4 won't do it foryou, which means you have to navigate back to the home screen before you can update. Figuringthat out is very unintuitive.

Related: CNNMoney's Best In Tech

App support is currently pretty sparse, aside from a handful of streaming video apps that includeNetflix (NFLX), Hulu, Amazon (AMZN), Vudu and a few others. Sony's own streaming music serviceand video store also come loaded on the PS4, but Sony made the peculiar and disappointing decisionmlb 15 the show to not allow users to play or stream their own video and music files.

Camera: The Sony Camera isn't terribly different from the Microsoft Kinect in concept, employing adual camera and multi-microphone array to track your movement in 3-D space. But Sony optedagainst packaging the camera with the console, making it a $60 accessory instead.

That means outside of a tech demo that comes with the console and some rudimentary voicecontrols, there's currently not much you can do with the camera.

PS Vita Remote Play: The ability to stream games from the PlayStation to Sony's portable PS Vitawas something that was introduced last generation with the PS3. It's back again on the PS4. Thoughit's appeal and utility is limited by the number of available games, it's still packing improvementsand promise.

One of the best implementations is the fact that Electronic Arts (EA) created a custom controlscheme for "Battlefield 4" when you're using the PS Vita, ensuring you have access to all the game'sfunctions. It's a small detail for a niche group of PS4 owners, but it's one that makes the feature allthe more appealing.

Sony also made many improvements to the online experience of its PlayStation Network. One of thefirst things you see when you turn the system on is a feed of everything your PSN friends are up to.Launching a party chat is only a few clicks away, and sharing game footage on Facebook (FB),Ustream or Twitch is as simple as hitting one dedicated button on the controller.

Sony has built an entire experience around the live-streaming of game footage, called Live fromPlayStation. You're free to drop in and comment on someone's gaming session, which is asurprisingly engaging experience. Watching someone attempt a comeback in FIFA '14 can evokesome of the same anxiety and excitement you get while watching an actual soccer match. And youcan post footage to prove you actually accomplished something unbelievable in "Battlefield 4."

While it's not a feature for the more casual set, it's something that is destined to be embraced bythose firmly footed in gaming culture.

Conclusion: Ultimately, the PlayStation 4 is a very good gaming machine that is just now waiting forthe games to arrive. Sony made an effort to understand what a hardcore gamer wants out of a

console and single-mindedly delivered that experience.

But that also means that this is little else than a gaming machine. It will take some time to see howthe app situation shakes out, but as it stands now, the PS4 can't replace the other boxes in yourliving room. It would be nice to see Sony provide some of media hub functionality to the PS4 in thefuture.

But if all the PlayStation 4 ever amounts to is a very good gaming machine, it will still be a verysatisfying console.

CNN International Senior Producer Ravi Hiranand contributed to this review

CNNMoney (New York) November 26, 2013: 2:06 PM ET