Sony’s expertise – Kept PS4’s Power Usage Under 250 Watt for a reason

By Manjul Jani On January 22, 2014 News Playstation PS4 comments

It is always enlightening to read or hear about expert engineers who crafted the next-gen console, talking about the pros and cons of its design and it can be amazing to realize how selections that look illusively dislocated can instead be profoundly connected in ways that will surprise you. There are numerous such design selections decided for PS4 but one of these is quite fascinating, which was explained by Sony Computer Entertainment Engineering Director Yasuhiro Ootori at a tech lecture at INTERNEPCON Japan trade show in Tokyo.

Sony strictly instructed its engineers to keep the PS4’s power usage under 250 Watt and Mr. Ootari highlights the significance of this decision. Your guess must be that this decision was taken to control heat generation or simply conserve power and decrease energy bills, but that is not the real purpose behind it.

Mr. Ootori explained the 250 watt is the upper limit to use a two-prong power cord, according to safety regulations. If more then 250 watt power is consumed, PS4 would require a three-prong power cord with a three-pin power intlet on the back of the console. Such a connector is larger in size and would hinder Sony’s vision of reducing the size of PS4 console.

Which is why, Sony put its best designers at work to make PlayStation 4 as power-efficient as possible in order to keep the usage below 250 watt.

Below is the image of PS4’s power source without its case (courtesy of Ifixit) and it is visible that the power inlet is truly very small and contributes in saving ample space.

If you interested in other technical details explained by Mr. Ootori in his lecture, check out this report by Dualshockers.

We are really impressed by Sony’s technical effort to make a compact and reliable PS4. Do share your reactions below, in the comment section.