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Tomorrow is Microsoft's big Xbox event, so to try and steal their thunder Sony released a sneak peek of the PS4 hardware. It's a blurry wide shot of the box cut, with quick flashes of close ups. If they showed the box itself we'd be excited. Instead we're just disappointed -- again. Sony, if you want to steal someone's thunder by showing your junk -- you need to show your junk. Let's break down this failure frame by frame.

Per Sony's reveal of the PlayStation 4, we already knew a whole bunch about their latest and greatest controller -- the DualShock 4. The Share button, touchpad, and all that jazz. We've seen it from afar and in photos, but now Sony's released a video that showcases exactly what features on the DualShock 4 they think are pretty awesome.

Video game box art tends to be a bland, boring affair. It's either toned down to meaninglessness to appeal to one demographic or the other, or it looks like it came out of what must have been some kind of artistic fever dream that no longer makes sense to mortals. That's why the recently revealed box art for Quantic Dream's BEYOND: Two Souls is honestly such a breath of fresh air.

We've seen some details about the PlayStation 4 and what it can do, but at their big event last week Sony failed to actually show us the box. We know it largely doesn't matter what the thing looks like. Folks don't usually buy a game console based on how it looks in their living room, but we haven't been able to stop speculating about what the PS4 is going to look like. While we anxiously await the official unveiling from Sony, we're forced to imagine what might be. Here's a list of 13 things we'd like the PS4 to look like.

During Sony's event where they finally revealed the long-expected PlayStation 4, Bungie was brought on stage to reveal that their newest video game, Destiny, would also be coming to Sony's next-gen console. Unfortunately for Bungie, someone apparently told their presenters to look as awkward as possible. It was... painful, to say the least. The image above came out shortly after as a direct result, and the entire Internet chuckled at their seeming discomfort. Now Bungie has accepted this fate, and posted a photo of the entire staff in blazers trying to look just as awkward.

Sony didn't give us a look at what the PlayStation 4 actually looks like during their event last night, but it's safe to assume it is not a human-sized robot that shoots lasers from its eyes. That didn't stop the goodly folks at Next Media Animation from speculating as such. Their animated version of the event is borderline insane, and a lot more fun to watch than the event itself.

Well, folks, the future is now. Just like everyone expected, Sony announced the PlayStation 4 at their event last night. The revelation was rather quick, but then they spent almost two hours discussing the console's controller, video games, and assorted details. So, what exactly is different with this iteration of the PlayStation? What games are set to launch with it, and what's up with the new controller? All these questions and more are answered just below.

It's finally happening! The time has come! Today is Rex Manning Day! At 6pm EST, Sony PlayStation will officially start their event. If you've been following along, the entire world -- including us -- seems to think that the video game giant will reveal their latest home console, the PlayStation 4. Given the amount of hype that's been built, it'd be foolish to do anything else.

Images of what has since been confirmed, not by Sony, but multiple sources, as an official PlayStation 4 controller prototype started circulating yesterday. The first image that surfaced was, shall we say, not great. The angle made it look like the whole thing was rather stubby, and the screen or touchpad -- who knows at this point -- in the middle looked completely superfluous. The latest image to crop up doesn't put all of these concerns to rest, but it certainly makes the whole thing look a lot more polished.

It's finally happening, people. Sony's having an event on February 20th at 6PM EST, and all signs point to this being the event where the company finally announces the PlayStation 4. If they really do announce the successor to the PlayStation 3, it'd give Sony a nice long while to build up buzz for their lineup at Electronic Entertainment Expo this year. There's a remote chance that this has nothing to do with the company's next console, but it's ridiculously slim.

Good news for Chinese gamers! China is thinking about lifting its ban on game consoles. The news is just speculation right now, and it's based on the Playstation 3 receiving a quality certification from the Chinese government, but even that speculation has been enough to bump up stock prices for Sony and Nintendo, both of which are champing at the bit to enter the Chinese market. Obviously, a lifting of the ban would help those companies greatly. It might also destroy the mental and physical development of Chinese children, since that's what the ban was trying to protect.

There was once a time when Sony never would have dreamed of letting the competition get a head start reaching the market before any of their PlayStation consoles. But going into 2013, the company has achieved some level of mature wisdom since releasing the PlayStation 3, with Sony's CEO, Kaz Hirai, hinting that the upcoming PlayStation 4 will be released after Microsoft's successor to the Xbox 360. Certainly a bold statement on Hirai's part, especially when buzz around Sony's corporate office seems to be saying otherwise.

They say when something isn't broken, don't fix it, and Sony's DualShock controllers -- first released in 1997 for the original PlayStation system -- is a prime example of this timeless maxim. Applauded for its intuitive design and general comfort, Sony has been sticking with virtually the same controller design for the last 16 years, experiencing only minor tweaks that never diluted what made it so popular with the gaming community. With the PlayStation 3 gradually fading into the background to make room for its successor, it has been reported that Sony will be eschewing the tried-and-true DualShock route in favor of a new controller utilizing touch screens and other features for the fourth installment of their best-selling line of game consoles.

People, people, please, we all knew this day was coming eventually. 13 years after making its debut in Japan in 2000 and becoming the most overwhelmingly popular game system of that decade, Sony is no longer shipping PlayStation 2 units to Japanese retailers. It's definitely the end of an era in the gaming industry, but take solace in the fact that not since the olden days of the original Nintendo Entertainment System has a video game console endured for so long.

The cassette tape has certainly already had its time in the spotlight. The heydays of the medium's usage are long since over, and apparently those still making cassette devices are coming to this same realization. Yes, there are still companies out there making these things, but not for long. Sony's apparently going to stop production of their latest cassette player/recorders as of January. If you really want to own one of these suckers, now's probably a good time to buy.