Gamescom 2013 PlayStation Press Conference Highlights

At Gamescom in Germany, Sony announced the release date of the PlayStation 4 in the United States and Europe. November 15, 2013 will be America's date of release, in time for the Black Friday sale. Europe will be getting the PS4 two weeks later, on November 29. Sony also announced that the PS4 will be available in 32 countries this year. This hopefully means that Asia will be getting the PS4 by the end of 2013.

Sony says that over 1 million PS4 consoles have already been preordered.

PS4 systems will come bundled with a free 14-day PlayStation Plus subscription. This was likely included to compete with the Xbox One, which will also come with a free 2 week trial of Xbox Live Gold.

At the opening of the Sony presentation, the PS4's user interface was briefly demonstrated without narration. Aside from a different look and design, various features were shown such as watching and instantly joining your friend's game session, leaving comments with other users on an on-going game (similar to YouTube), and using the share button in-game to take a snapshot and post a picture online with a caption. It was also announced that gameplay can be broadcasted online via Twitch using the share button on the DualShock 4.

On the PlayStation Vita front, the system is getting a price cut. Both versions will be available for $199 beginning today. This price cut has already been in place in Japan since early this year.

Additionally, prices for PS Vita memory cards will be "significantly" reduced, though details of the pricing scheme were not announced.

Remote Play on PS Vita was demonstrated using Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag.

For PlayStation 3, gamers who purchase the PS3 version of certain games such as Watch Dogs and Battlefield 4 will for a limited time be given a chance to upgrade to the PS4 version at a "significantly discounted price". However, specifics such as period and prices were not detailed.

Finally, as for software-related news, here are some major announcements:

Gran Turismo 6 worldwide release date: December 6, 2013 (PS3)
Little Big Planet Hub - A free PS3 game coming this year focused on community generated levels and challenges
Grand Theft Auto 5 - PS3 exclusive bundle includes custom Pulse Elite headset

Gameplay videos of AAA and indie games were also presented, including inFamous: Second Son, Drive Club, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Assassin's Creed 4, Murasaki Baby, and Big Fest. In addition, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, the sequel to Dennaton Games' indie hit title, was officially announced, coming first to PS4 and PS Vita next year.

Update: No Asian countries are included in the list of 32 countries receiving the PS4 this year.

United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Mexico
Panama
Peru 

Also missing from the article was the price cut for the 12 GB version of the PS3 super slim, which is now available for $199.